Housing

[mumx4]

I was wondering why alot of expats live in compounds, we are moving to Bangkok soon & am wanting to know about free standing house verses compound advantages & disadvantages!!...Can you have animals in compounds? We have a german shephard which is a large dog & also a cat. Are the compounds individually fenced?

Your advise would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[barryofthailand]

I'm not too sure about Bangkok. I live in Chonburi province, and your right. a lot of expats live in What we call expat villages. I myself live in a free standing house on a regular soi, surrounded by Thai people. My neighbors are very nice. I prefer living here, than in an expat village. Plus in an expat village they charge almost twice as much for the houses. The yards are fenced in, but not a very high fence.

I have an eight foot wall which copletely surrounds my house. I think you will probably want to live in a suburb of Bangkok. You also need to check on the regulations for bringing animals inrto Thailand.

[samran]

all sorts of accomadation, from "Moo Baans" of varying quality to free standing houses down some leafy hidden soi.

Moo Baans are what you'd loosely call a compound, but they are usually located on the outskirts of town, are a pain in the arse to get to and from. The are pretty self contained with a local Villa supermarket and starf$%ks Coffee House. The one around ISB (Int'l School of Bkk) comes to mind. Nice, but so far away from civilisation its not worth it. Yes, and you can have Suzie the dog along too.

There are some gems of houses though up some of the quieter Sukhumvit and Silom sois which were built back in the day when the area was the surrounded by klongs and high rises weren't even concived of. Best bet is to approach some of your more established real estate agents who will show you around.

Basic advantage of a free standing house, is for some stupid reason they are cheaper than many condo's, but thats just been my experience. You'll have to employ a gardener, unless you fancy getting eaten alive by mozzies while doing the lawn!

[samran]

Oh, and why do lots of expats live in compounds? The answer is they don't. Most live all around the place, and have no need for compounds. Even the Australian embassy got rid of its compound cause it was seen as too much of a safety risk to have all embassy staff living in the one place.

[bkk_mike]

I live out in the suburbs.

Since I don't have to travel in to work every day, so don't have to drive in/out in the rush hour, it's actually pretty easy to get around, and isn't a pain in the arse to get to...

Where you live should really be dependant on where you'll be working, and where the kids will be going to school (if you've got them - id of mumx4 suggests you do...). Living in the outskirts would be a pain if you work in the centre, but sukhumvit probably isn't the best place for kids in the evening.

There is one other reason why foreigners might tend to be in compounds, and that has more to do with the fact that they can't buy land, so compounds near international schools tend to be bought up by Thais specifically for rental to foreigners (since they'll pay more to rent a home near the school), which also means those rentals tend to be advertised in the English Language press, resulting in a congregation of foreigners in one area...

Edited April 21, 2005 by bkk_mike

[mumx4]

Many thanks for all your help, we will more than likely be coming for a look see next month so will keep all your info in mind...Thanks again

[aletta]

Get out and live among the Thais,certain to have more fun.