Where Should We Live?

[verity]

Hello everyone,

My family is moving to the rayong area of thailand. It's me, my daughter (will be one when we move) and my husband.

We want to live in a nice area that is family friendly, and easy to walk around. Any suggestions? Places to avoid? etc..

[bellagrego]

I suggest the first place to avoid is exactly the area that you are moving too. It is about number 3 on the pollution list behind Bangkok, and Chonburi. There is an endless supply of industrial pollution, airborne and water as well. If you must stay nearby for family reasons then go north or south of that location. Up to BanChan or south to Chantaburi. Chantaburi Has charm ,character, and a nice park. Just stay clear of that industrial corridor and you will be Ok.

[PattayaParent]

Where will you / your husband be working?

Commute time may dictate where you want to be.

[Bedrockguesthouse]

My suggestion is Ban Phe. No girlie bars or that nonsense. Ban Phe is the gateway to Koh Samet Island. Its 17 kms east of Rayong. Definitely a good family area. Families from Pattaya Jomtien are moving this way for a more relaxed family environment. Ban Phe is a fishing port. Its worth a look. As for staying in Rayong central no way to polluted. Many of the farang teachers that work in rayong at assumption live in this area. I guess being 12 minutes away from Samet Island via a speedboat is a good attraction.

Well good luck with your choice.

Stop in at bedrock guesthouse if your in the area.

rgds Mark

[tvaddict]

Ban Chang-

simple answer really

on the right side of maptaput /rayong to avoid most pollution

closer to motorways, airport and bangkok ( it is useful)

2hrs 15 mins from central bangkok

40 minutes from pattaya- loads of convenience to make life easier

2 international schools in the area- Garden in Ban Chang itself and St Andrews 20 minutes drive north

REPS ( very good bilingual school ) in Ban Chang too if that's what you prefer

Tescos and next year Carrefour in Ban Chang

foreigners are well respected here- much more so than in Pattaya where you are just another tourist

pace of life good- not too busy not too slow not too isolated from stuff

quite a few westerners living and working here so if you want it there is a good chance to make some contact

and the type of people living here are mostly working hard and well off- so quite a different atmosphere to Pattaya where the type of foreigner living there is either retired, on holiday or bumming around ( there are many exceptions too but you know what I mean)

rayong town itself is too built up and not that attractive anyway

chantaburi is nice and would be a good choice too but a bit too far for convenience sake- also there are no bilingual / international schools over there

so for convenience sake and keeping in touch with stuff stick to Ban Chang

honestly- i do think it's the best choice for you

Edited February 16, 2010 by tvaddict

[verity]

thank you very much for the advice. we were hearing good things about ban chang, it sounds like a better choice than rayong for us.

i'm sure i will have loads more questions soon....

[NearestTheTee]

Ban Chang is a good place for all the reasons pointed out by tvaddict and in addition there are also some very good golf courses nearby

[NearestTheTee]

Ban Chang-

simple answer really

on the right side of maptaput /rayong to avoid most pollution

closer to motorways, airport and bangkok ( it is useful)

2hrs 15 mins from central bangkok

40 minutes from pattaya- loads of convenience to make life easier

2 international schools in the area- Garden in Ban Chang itself and St Andrews 20 minutes drive north

REPS ( very good bilingual school ) in Ban Chang too if that's what you prefer

tvaddict

Just out of interest, do you have kids studying at REPS? If yes, please PM me as i would like to meet other parents with kids there as mine started REPS recently.

Cheers.

NTT

[robkey69]

Ban Chang/Payoon Beach is a nice quiet safe area.....1K to the ocean....International School and lots of golf courses....I built a house there 3 years ago...and so far so good...Check out Payoongreenvil.com

Good Luck

[verity]

i've been looking on some sites about homes for rent in ban chang, any more sites suggested would be great. do most houses have cable t/v internet connection provided? how much would we be looking to pay for those services per month if they aren't included in the rent? any local company sites i should look at?

our wee one will only be 1 when we move so she won't be going to school just yet (for tvaddict)

v

[tvaddict]

dont waste your time looking online for places to rent-

it's not the way it's done over here

you simply need to drive around and have a look the old fashioned way

there are 2 estate agents that could help save you time with houses for rent on their books

both on the left of The Camel Pub ( on the far left of the girlie strip)

village (moo bahns) that many farangs live on include:

simthavee park, simthavee gardens, payoon green ville, lom talay 1 and 2, ban chang place, one on the right of Payoon green ville ( with temple arch)

one with the blue roofs further up from the strip ( with naruenchala spa/gym), one opposite Garden International School

those are just a few,

there are some more and ofcourse many people just live in houses outside of moo bahns.

the advantage of a moo bahn though is security, community and facilites, usually a pool, a park, club house, etc

rents-

anywhere from 10,000 a month - usually a bit old on an old village - but will suffice, up to 20,000 for new houses on new villages, up to 25,000 for new houses on nice new villages with good facilites and furniture up to 30 if big homes or 40 or even 50,000 for the big homes on the golf course at eastern star

hope that helps

by the way - she may be 1 now but she'll be 3 ( kindergarden age) soon enough - time flies- consider garden inter and rakpasa for good schooling at this age

[tvaddict]

you can check out the tv prices by looking up UBC TrueVisions- they are the national provider for satellite tv wiht different packages - expect to pay 1,500 a month ( gold package)

plus a small charge for initial set up - dish and decoder- can't remember - think it was about 3,000 I paid.

It won't be provided in the house and will be an extra for you to arrange personally 90% of the time

there is also a ban chang cable service available in some (central) areas of ban chang - which is good and only costs about 300- 400 a month if I remember correctly and dynasat too (satellite UBC sneakily beamed in from the phillipines) - you just buy the big dynasat dish and point it at their satellite- - if you're staying longer than a year this works out cheaper- shop is located on the right of the strip opposite Off Shore bar

[HaiSoh]

Hi, I just wanted to say thank you to the thread starter and for all the interesting answers.

My family is also in the process to move either to Ban Chang area or closer to St Andrews International School,

if we decide to enroll our kids there.

My wife somehow prefers St Andrews Intl over Garden International School for the moment, so

any input to convince her from the contrary would be welcome ! Thanks !

[verity]

i'd like to say thank you to all the replies on my initial thread. this advice has been EXTREMELY helpful.

i think the best/first thing we should do is buy a car (so we can go house hunting)

i've been looking in the 'motors' forum. most of the questions/answers are about buying a new car.

is this the best solution?

or should we get something used? we will be staying in thailand for at least 2 years.

we don't want to spend alot of money.

if we didn't have the litlle one i wouldn't be as fussy, but obviously want something safe and reliable.

where should we begin?

verity

[tvaddict]

If you PM me with an email address I'll put you in touch with someone who sells 2nd hand cars here - due to forum rules you can't put names / advertise businesses on here

[tvaddict]

by the way, cars hold their value pretty well in thailand - a new one at 600,000 would lets say lose about 100,000 in the first year and then only about 50,000 per year after that- so after 3 years it's still worth 400,000

it's not like back in the UK where 2nd hand cars are worth a LOT less than new ones- one of the stranger things about thailand

for this reason and reading you poast again I'm guessing you don't want to spend so much so it may be better renting for a few months - at least just to buy some time - budget at 12,000 a month (Q Cars, based in Jomtien) will sort you out- ask at the Camel for more info

[Richb2004v2]

Ban Chang is a good choice. Don't bother renting just buy.

Erm, actually my house on Sinthavee Gardens will be for sale shortly. I highly recommend it .