Bangkok With A Family

[pedro01]

Hi,

I was just after some general advise, and wondered if anyone else had been in the same situation. I've been offered a job in Bangkok that would seem like a great opportunity. I'm a Brit, my wife is American and we currently live just outside New York. We also have a 1 year old son. Some of the worries we have whilst deciding upon the move over there are is the polution in Bangkok as bad as they say, and would it be bad for such a young child? My wife would be giving up her job, are there social groups she could join, gyms, etc, and what do you do to keep your mind active when you aren't working? I've seen houses to rent for about 40,000 Baht/month in compounds with a swimming pool and tennis court. It says that these places are close to subway stations, but are they really far from the middle of Bangkok? And what is the journey to/from work like?

Anyone else made a simular move over with a young family, any regrets, things you'd have done differently, etc?

Cheers

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I will confine my comments to pollution and food as others have already informed you BKK is a shithole. Dividing time 50 - 50 in NY and BKK I am often sick while in Thailand. The first 2 - 3 weeks are OK then it seems I am constantly fighting a chest / respiratory illness. Many of my associates experience the same. We believe the BKK pollution is the cause, but who knows. Antibiotics do not help. A second issue is some stomach problems again starting after 2 - 3 weeks. The food, although tasty, is in many cases semi-sanitary. Like eating chips and munchies Vs real food. By the 2nd month I am cooking all my meals at home. Both of these symptoms completely go away once back in NY for 2 - 3 weeks.

If someone were taking their family to BKK (I would not even consider it) from NY I think a 50% premium would be warranted. If you are going single, that is another matter.

Best of luck.

PS You will never have weather in Thailand like we are enjoying now in NYC

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow - unlucky - I haven't been back home for years & haven't suffered from this respiratory illness you speak of. I work in Silom & live in On-nut.

As for stomach problems - I don't get that either & I eat out all the time. You must just be eating the wrong stuff. How can you compare fresh seafood & vegetables with eating chips & munchies at home.

Agree about the pay rise tho'

[terry74]

I have been in Thailand for 2 years already, in any country there are pros and cons living here

my comments

The location that you could be staying is the Sukumvit area, the area where all the activities are, shopping, schools, thai language schools and book shops that sell english books, the infra structure there is good for shopping and eating

For the 40K baht budget your company is spending, you can get a nice place bungalow , however must search for it.

Internet there is also good, cable internet etc

As for learning the Thai language there are schools there that are cheaper in the Sukumvit area , also there is the Mass Transit located there so transport is not a problem

For people who have children, the international schools here are expensive, something like 200,000 per year

Libraries with english books and in general libraries are not readily available

UBC cable TV with english programmes are available for a price, or else you will not be able to receive only Thai programmes, so make sure there is cable in the place that you rent, and the cable must be english programmes, eg CNN etc

Pollution is bad

nobody jogs in Bangkok as the pollution is bad

normally people join the GYM

Make sure you drink bottled water, do not take water from the tap even for cooking purposes.

For groceries there are many supermarkets Tesco, carrfour etc all very well managed

Generally Bangkok people are friendly and nice, because of the buddist culture, however some view foreigners as ATM machines

Have a good stay in Bangkok

[WhiteShiva]

I have been in Thailand for 2 years already, in any country there are pros and cons living here

my comments

For people who have children, the international schools here are expensive, something like 200,000 per year

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dude, he only has a 1 year old kid!

Pollution is bad

Nobody jogs in Bangkok as the pollution is bad

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Where have you been in the two years you have lived here? Although pollution can be bad, people do jog here. Drop by any major park in the early morning or late afternoon, and you'll see lots of people jogging.

Make sure you drink bottled water, do not take water from the tap even for cooking purposes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Bottled water is cheap and readily available everywhere, but there is no harm in drinking tap water in Bangkok. It doesn't taste very nice, but it's fine for cooking. You should be careful about your health living here, but there is no need to be hysterical!

For groceries there are many supermarkets Tesco, carrfour etc all very well managed

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Or you could do what most people do, shop in the local markets - cheaper, more fun. The supermarkets does have the advantage of aircon, easy parking and a much wider selection, though. Oh yeah - the local markets don't accept plastic!

Generally Bangkok people are friendly and nice, because of the buddist culture, however  some view foreigners as ATM machines

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Generally Thai people are friendly and nice regardless of religion. Stay away from the bars, and you are unlikely to encounter the ATM philosophy.

What I suggest the original poster do is to take the job, stay in a service apartment (e.g. one of the Centrepoint units) for a few months, and then decide if he wants to stay in an apartment in the city or in a house in the outskirts. I would have thought that since none of them are Thai (or speak Thai) that they would be better off in the city (say Sukhumvit) for the first year or two.

Trond

[paulfr]

I have been in Thailand for 2 years already

Pollution is bad    nobody jogs in Bangkok as the pollution is bad

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Two years in Bkk and apparently you have never been to Lumpini Park at 5-7pm.

Hundreds of joggers every night.

[Belfastboy]

i checked out that Nichida Thani place....looks great and the wife being thai knows the area quite well...she reckons far better for expats to live there than sukhumvit especially if u have a family.....

just wondering is there any houses for sale in that estate or just rentals ? and if so how much would a house cost in nichada thani?

anyone else live there?

Shouldn't be a problem - if you sort out the wife & kids.

Check out Nichida Thani in Nonthaburi - it's a huge expat estate, lots of greenery & lots of friends for the wife & child.

For schools - allocate $10-15K per annum per child if you want the best - ISB in Nichida Thani or Bangkok Pattana are the best - don't bother with any others. (Flame away). This will be a fantastic experience for you children.

I have a wife & child here - the best thing about Thailand for me is the weekends - you are in easy access of Rayong, Hua Hin, Koh Chang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai & Hua Hin - to name my favourites. Beats a wet weekend in Blackpool UK any time.

For accomodation - I'd be looking at 80,000 - 100,000 Baht per month for a nice furnished house, US/European style with a garden & pool.

If your company can bear all this - you will have a great time. You will need a car - but mostly for the wife. You can get a driver for 4-5,000 Baht a month if she's nervous about driving.

If your company wants to do it on the cheap - you will be bloody miserable, mostly because your wife will be asking you what the h3ll you moved them for !

Pedro

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[tigah]

i checked out that Nichida Thani place....looks great and the wife being thai knows the area quite well...she reckons far better for expats to live there than sukhumvit especially if u have a family.....

just wondering is there any houses for sale in that estate or just rentals ? and if so how much would a house cost in nichada thani?

anyone else live there?

Hi, sorry for all the questions but I just looked at the website for that Nichida Thani place and it looks really nice. Lots of other families, clean air, swimming pools, sports clubs, etc. Can't see the family minding living there at all!

How would you get to/from work from there? Does the subway or skytrain go out that far, or would you need a car and driver? Buying a car and hiring a driver is a big expense straight away, or do you hire them with a car and how much is that?

Thanks for all the responses.

[alanw]

I agree, lots of good stuff in the post from Moebius.

I'm aware of Bangkok Gardens, a friend lives there and he's also very positive about the accommodation and facilities, local shopping, etc. In fact it's within an acceptable distance from your work location, by taxi, and taxis for expats are not expensive. Or by taxi, then 'Skytrain' then taxi.

I would strongly ensorse the comments in regard to your not working wife. The change from 'working in a known environment' to 'not working, in a new environment, deep cultural change, lack of local language' can be very difficult and deeply emotional.

I know this well from my experiences in a large multinational I previously worked for here in Bangkok. At one stage the company had over 200 expats on site, most with wives. A sizeable number of husbands couldn't begin to focus on their work because of serious culture shock etc problems being experienced by their wives, consuming many hours every day, occasionally needing serious attention for depression.

If I could offer some advice on this point it would be this. Suggest to your wife that she quickly join several groups. But the test would be this - if it turns out to be a group who spend their time together bitching about Thailand and Thais, then quickly move on to explore another group(s).

I strongly agree with the points about exposing yourself, wife and child to another culture - valuable beyond any form of measurement.

This board has a lot of expat members, a few will post rubbish, but 99% of the posters will give you a lot of good advice and details.

Why not develop a list of more specific questions, I'm sure you will get a lot of solid advice.

Good luck.

[samran]

i checked out that Nichida Thani place....looks great and the wife being thai knows the area quite well...she reckons far better for expats to live there than sukhumvit especially if u have a family.....

just wondering is there any houses for sale in that estate or just rentals ? and if so how much would a house cost in nichada thani?

anyone else live there?

Hi, sorry for all the questions but I just looked at the website for that Nichida Thani place and it looks really nice. Lots of other families, clean air, swimming pools, sports clubs, etc. Can't see the family minding living there at all!

How would you get to/from work from there? Does the subway or skytrain go out that far, or would you need a car and driver? Buying a car and hiring a driver is a big expense straight away, or do you hire them with a car and how much is that?

Thanks for all the responses.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I used to do training out at Nichada Thanee. Great facilities....very American orientated, so would be great for your family if you aren't really into the whole culture shock thing. Closest thing that you'll get to an American style -desperate housewives - type neighbourhood. The only problem is that you will need 2 cars. One for the breadwinner to get to work, the other so the housebound partner can get out.

It isn't close to the city (it is actually as far north from the city as Don Muang airport). No public transport, few taxis, and you'll find taxi's sometimes reluctant to take you out there if you are in town.

It is pretty accessable to the Chaeng Wattana tollway, which goes out to the North West of the city. But that isn't saying much, it will still be a 45min-1.15hr commute in the morning depending on the gods, 30 mins at best when traffic is quiet.

Good quality of life....suburban I guess.

[Belfastboy]

does anyone else know of any expat village type places....this really attracts me ...even though my is thai ...i feel when i move to bangkok it should make the landing a breeze rather than a storm and the chance to meet family type mates ...rather than the sukhumvit go go bar people...no offence...

anyone know any other such expat village places in bkk?

[Nordlys]

Hi, sorry for all the questions but I just looked at the website for that Nichida Thani place and it looks really nice. Lots of other families, clean air, swimming pools, sports clubs, etc. Can't see the family minding living there at all!

How would you get to/from work from there? Does the subway or skytrain go out that far, or would you need a car and driver? Buying a car and hiring a driver is a big expense straight away, or do you hire them with a car and how much is that?

Thanks for all the responses.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Frankly, I don't see why you should live there if you don't have a kid attending ISB (Int'l School of Bangkok = most prestigeous int'l school in Thailand) which is in the same estate. Nichada Thani sure looks nice but the place looks to me so exclusive high-so farang gated community resembling Shanghai foreign settlements (not that I've seen it ). Not that I don't like it there but there's really not much of anything around + your wife will never have to learn to speak Thai living there and you probably won't find any house for B40,000/m rent.

Anyway it's not even in Bangkok, you can forget about BTS + subway and you definitely will have to have a car/driver nost just for yourself but perhaps for your wife too, unless your wife can find someone in the neighborhood to share her a ride. But I can't imagine anyone living there not owning a car.

From the gate of estate, it should take 15 minutes or more to walk to the major street (Tiwanon Rd.) where you can catch a cruising taxi. For commute, you will definitely take expressway to get to the work. Nichada Thani is at least 20 minutes drive to the nearest ramp of the expressway (2nd stage expressway), that is if there's no traffic jam. And it should take anywhere from 45 min. to 1 hour to get to the work but perhaps much longer in the morning and evening rush hour.

Edited June 1, 2005 by Nordlys

[Belfastboy]

Hi, sorry for all the questions but I just looked at the website for that Nichida Thani place and it looks really nice. Lots of other families, clean air, swimming pools, sports clubs, etc. Can't see the family minding living there at all!

How would you get to/from work from there? Does the subway or skytrain go out that far, or would you need a car and driver? Buying a car and hiring a driver is a big expense straight away, or do you hire them with a car and how much is that?

Thanks for all the responses.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Frankly, I don't see why you should live there if you don't have a kid attending ISB (Int'l School of Bangkok = most prestigeous int'l school in Thailand) which is in the same estate. Nichada Thani sure looks nice but the place looks to me so exclusive high-so farang gated community resembling Shanghai foreign settlements (not that I've seen it ). Not that I don't like it there but there's really not much of anything around + your wife will never have to learn to speak Thai living there and you probably won't find any house for B40,000/m rent.

Anyway it's not even in Bangkok, you can forget about BTS + subway and you definitely will have to have a car/driver nost just for yourself but perhaps for your wife too, unless your wife can find someone in the neighborhood to share her a ride. But I can't imagine anyone living there not owning a car.

From the gate of estate, it should take 15 minutes or more to walk to the major street (Tiwanon Rd.) where you can catch a cruising taxi. For commute, you will definitely take expressway to get to the work. Nichada Thani is at least 20 minutes drive to the nearest ramp of the expressway (2nd stage expressway), that is if there's no traffic jam. And it should take anywhere from 45 min. to 1 hour to get to the work but perhaps much longer in the morning and evening rush hour.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

so where would u suggest living then nordlys?......nana plaza?

[Nordlys]

so where would u suggest living then nordlys?......nana plaza?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well for you I gave suggestions in the other thread.

My condo is very nice too