Where Should I Rent My Apartment In Bangkok?

[bobtodd]

Hello guys,

I am going to rent an apartment some where nice in bangkok,

I dont know the city and dont know which part of city is good which part is bad

I am an internet marketer and my job will be done at home ( i need high speed internet access too )

My budget is 40K ~ 50K baht monthly

Can you guys give me some advice ?

[ProfessorFart]

You can pretty much take your pick for that sort of budget.

It all depends on your personal preferences.

Do you like to be in the thick of it (Sukhumwit, Silom, Rachada etc) or are you more of a peace and quiet person (Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan)?

[ProfessorFart]

Double posted! Oops!

[ericB]

Double posted! Oops!

a nice place , cheap, quiet, with a good speed of internet if using True (I did used a 2 Mb/s during 2 years and it was mandatory for my work as I was freelance programmer) can be find near Rachada/Huay Kwang (namely Intamara Soi 49 and upper).

There are several new or relatively new condominiums, rent being 5k to 15 k (depending the size of the unit). I was renting a one room unit (4.5K a month) the condominium was having swimming pool, training room , guards, and management people. A double appartment in that condominium (but there is a lot there) was renting at 8 k (saw some very nice).

Another advantage is it's quite close of the MRT (10 mn walk)so even if physically far of the heart of city, you can easily and for cheap go almost everywhere.

[stbkk]

As you say you don't know the city, I'd recommend that you get somewhere close to the Skytrain or Underground (try the trip to the station yourself, don't rely on an agent/owners idea of 5 minutes!).

That will help you get your bearings to start with.

For that budget you shouldn't have a problem finding something.

High speed internet (at least the Thai version of that) should not be a problem in that area.

Lower Sukhumvit is 'lively' and more westernised, further out is (relatively) quieter.

Good luck.

[ProfessorFart]

This is a very rough guide to the city.

Basically the city centre tends to get divided into 5 areas:

Sukhumwit

Silom

Siam

Chinatown

Banglamphu (or Rattanakosin)

Sukhumwit and Silom are similar. Both are business, tourism and expatriate areas with large foreign populations. There are supermarkets, restaurants varied nightlife options, good mass rapid transport links and pretty much all the trimmings of the West close by. The downside is appalling traffic, crowded pavements, noise, pollution etc.

Siam is the main shopping area of downtown Bangkok, with several large Western Style Malls to be found there. Accommodation here is a little thinner on the ground than the above two, tends to be more upmarket, and more expensive to boot. This area also has good mass rapid transport links.

Chinatown is the most chaotic part of the city for me. Accommodation options are limited here, but it makes for an interesting part of the city to live in if you can handle the chaos. Transport links here aren't too clever although its close to Hualamphong Station (BKK's main station which also is the start of the underground line)

Banglamphu is the old part of town and the cheapest but compared to Sukhumwit and Silom accommodation is not as easy to find here. In addition, the creature comforts found in the above tend to be a little more spread out here. Banglamphu is also out on a limb as regards to getting on the rapid transport system.

Pros for the area are that it can be a lot quieter here than other areas of Bangkok and has less of a 'concrete jungle' feel to it than other parts of Bangkok. After rush hours, getting around isn't too much of a nightmare here.

Once out of central Bangkok the suburbs are surprisingly similar. They tend to be a lot cheaper than downtown with some of the trappings of modern life (a few supermarkets, cineplexs etc) nearby.

Traffic tends to be lighter here and even if you are off the rapid transit lines, there will usually be a minivan and bus service which will utilise the expressway system giving a fast link to downtown (Victory Monument in most cases) and in turn a link to the rapid transport system.

Apologies this is so vague however you haven't really given us much to go on as to your personal preferences.