Moving To Bangkok

[mumx4]

Hi all

We are moving to Bangkok from Singapore & was wondering if anyone could be of help as I know really no nothing of Bangkok....

My children currently go to the Australian International school here in Sing & was wondering which are some of the best schools there, we are probably looking at the IB system as there is no Aussie school there. Also is it better to live in a compound or is it safe enough to live in a free standing house as we do have animals & where are the best expat areas to live preferably close to the school whichever we may choose.

Sorry for all the questions just eager to find out what I can by people already living there.

Thanks in advance

[IMA_FARANG]

Hi all

We are moving to Bangkok from Singapore & was wondering if anyone could be of help as I know really no nothing of Bangkok....

My children currently go to the Australian International school here in Sing & was wondering which are some of the best schools there, we are probably looking at the IB system as there is no Aussie school there. Also is it better to live in a compound or is it safe enough to live in a free standing house as we do have animals & where are the best expat areas to live preferably close to the school whichever we may choose.

Sorry for all the questions just eager to find out what I can by people already living there.

Thanks in advance

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that's a big question which would takea lot of answering.

To help break it down a little;

1. How old are your children? Do they have any fluency in Thai?

2. Do you and your husband drive? From what little information you give it sounds like you might want to live on the outskirts of Bangkok, but that would mean a commute into/out of the city.

3. The International schools in Bangkok can be quite expensive. If you can afford them they are good, and have the advantage of being taught in English. Otherwise you might consider home schooling programs. Normal Thai schools would, of course, be in Thai.

4. If you're going to be living here, go on the Farang ladies forum, and introduce yourself. Many of them will have practical details covering life in BKK. They can give good advice.

5. I don't actually live in BKK, so I'll defer on that part of the question. There should be a number of people who do actually live in BKK who can give better advice than I could.

Hope you like Bangkok. Even I would admit it does take adjusting to the life style. It isn't for everyone. But keep a sense of humor, and an optimistic attitude, and everything should work out.

[Nordlys]

Hi,

Many expats in Bangkok live in areas called Sukhumvit (that is anywhere between Petchaburi Rd and Rama 4 Rd, up to soi 63 (Ekamai) to the east), Central Lumpini (Ploenchit, Soi Langsuan and Wireless Road area), CBD (Central Business District, Silom and Sathorn Rd. area), Pathumwan and Rama 3/Riverside.

http://www.internationaleducationmedia.com...and/schools.htm

See link above for the list of international schools in Thailand.

The oldest, largest, accredited (in US and other countries) and perhaps the best and most prestigious (and most expensive) int'l schools in Thailand are ISB and RIS (Ruamrudee Int'l School). ISB is located in Nonthaburi and RIS in Min Buri, both at the outskirt of the city. I believe both schools provide school buses for students living in central Bangkok particularly those in Sukhumvit area.

Hi all

We are moving to Bangkok from Singapore & was wondering if anyone could be of help as I know really no nothing of Bangkok....

My children currently go to the Australian International school here in Sing & was wondering which are some of the best schools there, we are probably looking at the IB system as there is no Aussie school there. Also is it better to live in a compound or is it safe enough to live in a free standing house as we do have animals & where are the best expat areas to live preferably close to the school whichever we may choose.

Sorry for all the questions just eager to find out what I can by people already living there.

Thanks in advance

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[mumx4]

Hi all

We are moving to Bangkok from Singapore & was wondering if anyone could be of help as I know really no nothing of Bangkok....

My children currently go to the Australian International school here in Sing & was wondering which are some of the best schools there, we are probably looking at the IB system as there is no Aussie school there. Also is it better to live in a compound or is it safe enough to live in a free standing house as we do have animals & where are the best expat areas to live preferably close to the school whichever we may choose.

Sorry for all the questions just eager to find out what I can by people already living there.

Thanks in advance

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that's a big question which would takea lot of answering.

To help break it down a little;

1. How old are your children? Do they have any fluency in Thai?

2. Do you and your husband drive? From what little information you give it sounds like you might want to live on the outskirts of Bangkok, but that would mean a commute into/out of the city.

3. The International schools in Bangkok can be quite expensive. If you can afford them they are good, and have the advantage of being taught in English. Otherwise you might consider home schooling programs. Normal Thai schools would, of course, be in Thai.

4. If you're going to be living here, go on the Farang ladies forum, and introduce yourself. Many of them will have practical details covering life in BKK. They can give good advice.

5. I don't actually live in BKK, so I'll defer on that part of the question. There should be a number of people who do actually live in BKK who can give better advice than I could.

Hope you like Bangkok. Even I would admit it does take adjusting to the life style. It isn't for everyone. But keep a sense of humor, and an optimistic attitude, and everything should work out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for your help...very much appreciated

Can you tell me if there is a community of Philippino's in Bangkok, we would like to bring our maid with us but I am worried that she may find it hard to make friends, so my question is do many people have Philippino maids????

Also whats the norm, do they have weekends off or just 1 day a week. Here in Singapore the norm is that they have every Sunday off.

Many Thanks again

[Explorer]

There are Phillipinos community in bangkok, they would normally meet up before/after church on sundays. (like always)

I am not sure of other churches around Bangkok but the Holy Redeemer (where i attend) at Ploenchit have a lot of Phillipinos during the 11am mass on sundays.

Maybe it's a good place for your maid to socialize during the day off. Anyway, phillipinos are known to be nice and freindly, i bet your maid would not have any problem making friends with other phillipinos here later on.

Hope this helps

Explorer

[Digger]

Hi all

We are moving to Bangkok from Singapore & was wondering if anyone could be of help as I know really no nothing of Bangkok....

My children currently go to the Australian International school here in Sing & was wondering which are some of the best schools there, we are probably looking at the IB system as there is no Aussie school there. Also is it better to live in a compound or is it safe enough to live in a free standing house as we do have animals & where are the best expat areas to live preferably close to the school whichever we may choose.

Sorry for all the questions just eager to find out what I can by people already living there.

Thanks in advance

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that's a big question which would takea lot of answering.

To help break it down a little;

1. How old are your children? Do they have any fluency in Thai?

2. Do you and your husband drive? From what little information you give it sounds like you might want to live on the outskirts of Bangkok, but that would mean a commute into/out of the city.

3. The International schools in Bangkok can be quite expensive. If you can afford them they are good, and have the advantage of being taught in English. Otherwise you might consider home schooling programs. Normal Thai schools would, of course, be in Thai.

4. If you're going to be living here, go on the Farang ladies forum, and introduce yourself. Many of them will have practical details covering life in BKK. They can give good advice.

5. I don't actually live in BKK, so I'll defer on that part of the question. There should be a number of people who do actually live in BKK who can give better advice than I could.

Hope you like Bangkok. Even I would admit it does take adjusting to the life style. It isn't for everyone. But keep a sense of humor, and an optimistic attitude, and everything should work out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for your help...very much appreciated

Can you tell me if there is a community of Philippino's in Bangkok, we would like to bring our maid with us but I am worried that she may find it hard to make friends, so my question is do many people have Philippino maids????

Also whats the norm, do they have weekends off or just 1 day a week. Here in Singapore the norm is that they have every Sunday off.

Many Thanks again

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats a novel thought - bringing a Philipino maid from Singapore to work in Thailand. Somehow cant see them getting a work permit very easily though !!!!

To the poster: Thailand has lots of people that do not earn much money and domestic work is not a category of employment where they grant too many work permits to the best of my knowledge. You are more than likely going to need to leave the Philipino in Singapore and hire another new maid in Thailand who is Thai.

[grahamb]

Thats a novel thought - bringing a Philipino maid from Singapore to work in Thailand.  Somehow cant see them getting a work permit very easily though !!!!

To the poster:  Thailand has lots of people that do not earn much money and domestic work is not a category of employment where they grant too many work permits to the best of my knowledge.  You are more than likely going to need to leave the Philipino in Singapore and hire another new maid in Thailand who is Thai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is possible though. There are a Filipino/British couple in our building who have a couple of Filipino maids. I'm not sure if they have work permits, etc. for them though...

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Thats a novel thought - bringing a Philipino maid from Singapore to work in Thailand.   Somehow cant see them getting a work permit very easily though !!!!

To the poster:  Thailand has lots of people that do not earn much money and domestic work is not a category of employment where they grant too many work permits to the best of my knowledge.   You are more than likely going to need to leave the Philipino in Singapore and hire another new maid in Thailand who is Thai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is possible though. There are a Filipino/British couple in our building who have a couple of Filipino maids. I'm not sure if they have work permits, etc. for them though...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They'll be family friends

[mumx4]

Thats a novel thought - bringing a Philipino maid from Singapore to work in Thailand.   Somehow cant see them getting a work permit very easily though !!!!

To the poster:  Thailand has lots of people that do not earn much money and domestic work is not a category of employment where they grant too many work permits to the best of my knowledge.   You are more than likely going to need to leave the Philipino in Singapore and hire another new maid in Thailand who is Thai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is possible though. There are a Filipino/British couple in our building who have a couple of Filipino maids. I'm not sure if they have work permits, etc. for them though...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They'll be family friends

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

She is already a family friend & she means alot to us & is very close with the children that's why we want her to come with us, but she also needs a life outside of the home...Hence my previous question.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The Thai Embassy in Singapore won't make visa issuance too easy for her, and getting a work permit in Thailand is not possible. My comment about family friends was made tongue in cheek.

[~G~]

Is it a coincidence? Someone just started a topic in this forum for a maid seeking work in bangkok -

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=32260

[jrpreece]

Hi, I'm from Canberra and I'll be moving to Bangkok next year and I have a couple of questions:

1. Which International Schools offer schooling for years 11 & 12?

2. If the kids start at the start of the year at the end of the break, would they be doing half of their previous year (eg: My son is doing Year 10 this year - would he be doing the last half of Year 10 again over there?)

That's all for the moment.

Thanks.

[tlpeng]

Hi, I'm from Canberra and I'll be moving to Bangkok next year and I have a couple of questions:

1. Which International Schools offer schooling for years 11 & 12?

2.  If the kids start at the start of the year at the end of the break, would they be doing half of their previous year (eg: My son is doing Year 10 this year - would he be doing the last half of Year 10 again over there?)

That's all for the moment.

Thanks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Jrpreece,

My daughter is studying in Regent International but still at preschool level. I know their graduates had "offers from Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, from MIT, Michigan and Stanford (with a full scholarship ) in the USA, from the National University of Singapore (a full scholarship)". So it probably offers what in OZ is yr 11&12. By the way, my daugther's new teacher seems to be from Australia too!

Welcome to Thailand. Let me know if need any further info. I've been on the receiving end of this forum and would like to contribute too!

Rgds

TL

[tlpeng]

Hi all

We are moving to Bangkok from Singapore & was wondering if anyone could be of help as I know really no nothing of Bangkok....

My children currently go to the Australian International school here in Sing & was wondering which are some of the best schools there, we are probably looking at the IB system as there is no Aussie school there. Also is it better to live in a compound or is it safe enough to live in a free standing house as we do have animals & where are the best expat areas to live preferably close to the school whichever we may choose.

Sorry for all the questions just eager to find out what I can by people already living there.

Thanks in advance

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK... here to share my experience:

We moved here from Malaysia with our Philippino maid too.

1) Accommodation - we wanted landed properties as we felt it is better for our children... and in case we may want pet. The place we found is a "fully serviced" gated community with less than 50 homes. No sky-train/bts station but there are 2 daily transport to Tesco Lotus and Emporium (Sukhumvit - 15-30min). Otherwise, it will be just a phonecall and the guard will get a taxi to your doorstep.

Within 2-3km raidus there are at least 4 international school. I visited 3 of them (Regent, KIS, Niva... btw Niva was set up by M'sian/S'porean). Another one is a French school.

2) School - I know for sure Regent and KIS are IB schools.

3) Thai Embassy in M'sia gave our maid Non-Immigrant Type B. Sounds good... but have some problem now partially due to our ignorance.. or this whole is just simply confusing. Anyway for us it is now settled as she is going to Canada to join her sister (and we now are looking for a Thai helper). We found a church off Ramkamhaeng Rd (near Ram Uni, not far off Sukhumvit) where congregation are multi nationalities. She has made friends with about 5-10 Philippinos there. I heard that our mooban just added 2 new families w Philipino maids but not sure of their status.

Feel free to call me for help 092003531