Rent House In Suburb Or Condo In City?

[ChenMatt]

hi everybody, i am in somewhat of a dilemma and hope for some helpful suggestions/advice please.

I am currently living in a 110sqm 3 bedroom, 2 baths apartment. As I am moving to Bangkok, I am determining where I want to stay.

I know I can rent a nice house (bigger than my current apartment) with a garden in the suburbs at around 15-20K (probably 30-45mins drive to city) versus a 50sqm condo in the city at the same rental price.

My problem is, I am a family of 4, with young children and I work at Ratchadamri. I fear that the condo will be too small for 4 people. I am also expecting family and friends to visit often so will like a place with at least 2 bedrooms. I also intend to have a helper and if possible a pet but I know pets are more for houses only...

My question is, assuming I have a budget of max 35K for rental (including utilities) Should I rent a condo or rent a house at max 20k and commit the other 15K to a car?

For people who have lived in both the inner city and suburb, which do you prefer? Does the tradeoff of living in the suburb (with more commuting) with a car and nice house equate to a higher standard of living versus living in a cramped condo in the inner city (with little travelling)? My Thai friend told me that 3 story houses in his moo baan are going for rent at 10K baht and they are sold in the range of 3Mil baht. Apparently it is near suvarnabhumi airport and 45 mins to his workplace at Saphan Kwai.

My other concerns include finding good bilingual schools in the suburbs and also tutors that will come to my house to tutor my children. I have zero idea of how living in a moo baan in bangkok will be like. Have been to moo baan of other Thai cities and the general impression is that they are in the middle of no where and you definitely need a car to get around.

I am told that commuting by car in Bangkok is terribly slow and I have not drove in bangkok before so anit exactly confident of getting myself around either..

I really hope someone that has been in a similar dilemma can advise. thank you so much.

[Barack]

As a trial, do the commute yourself during rush hour. I am suspect of 45 minutes to Saphan Kwai during the commute hour. Only you can answer the question of what's most important to you; family time vs time commuting.

[Darrel]

I would consider 50sqm to be small for even one person, let alone four persons plus visitors. I live alone in 65sqm and find that just right. YMMV.

[NBD]

I moved from a condo to a 3 bed house at new year, in preparation for a child and much prefer the house. Wish I'd moved here 2 years ago. My own space, easy parking and being somewhat part of a community - live in a quiet little sub soi in upper Sukhumvit, nice Thai neighbours and still near the BTS etc should I need it.

For 20K I'm sure you'll be able to get a decent 3-4 bed place in Lad Prao area or up near Don Muang that won't give you an excessive commute and will be so much better than living in a tiny condo.

Only big consideration is furniture - you get a lot more for your money if you go unfurnished, but furnishing a place is expensive and furnishing it nicely is really expensive. I've probably spent most of 200K over the last few months, and there's still more stuff we need, and a few horrible things that will be going in a skip when funds permit. Like the typical long time condo dwelling bachelor I thought fridge, TV, sofa and bed, good to go for 50K!

My other tip - don't do all your house hunting on websites. The ones that are in English tend to have the most expensive houses, and a fairly limited choice at that. Learn to recognise the Thai symbols that mean For Rent, and have a drive around the areas you would like to live. We found our place this way, 9,000 THB a month for a 3 bed house. It's not perfect, and we've spent some money on things we probably won't take with us, but a similar house a couple of streets away advertised on a website was going for 15,000 - it was actually a bit smaller, and although advertised as part furnished, this basically meant a small, old fridge that you could buy for about 8,000 and an air con unit in one bedroom that would have been more at home in a museum.

[trogers]

"probably 30-45mins drive to city" " "Ratchadamri"

This 30-45 mins is probably the time driving on the expressway. And the likely expressway exit you will be using is the one to Sukhumvit near Pleonchit, or the one near to Makasan. Add another 30-40 mins from the exit to your office.

[teatree]

A house is surely the better option if you have a family. A small condo in the centre is ok if you are singe, but 50sqm is barely big enough for one let alone four.

I would consider a house on the outskirts but would advise against trying to drive downtown everyday. It could take 40 min if traffic conditions are not too bad but will often take much much longer. You would probably need to allow yourself 1.5 - 2 hours to get to work during rush hour (sometimes that will not be enough) and you will drive yourself crazy. I once was stuck at one single traffic light on Petburi road for 1 hour 40 mins. Cars are useful for shopping and going to local areas but a real headache to commute into the city.

Therefore I would suggest a house near somewhere like the Airport Link and commuting via the train. I have a friend who lives near Baan Thap Chang station and the journey to Phaya Thai BTS is 17 mins. There are a number of international schools in that area and being next to the AL would enable tutors to get there easily.

My friend pays around 30k for a 3 bed detached house with garden in a moo baan a few hundred metres away from the station. Very nice quiet place with a pool, perfect for a family.

[ChenMatt]

thank you so much for your replies.

given my situation, i think that i will start researching for a house in a community that is max 10 mins drive to a BTS/MRT. and then take the BTS/MRT to my office. Is this feasible? I am thinking are there actaully people that do this? Where do they then park their cars then?

can someone please recommend any areas I should start looking at. I think that lad prao and ratchada are feasible areas since I have shortlisted bilingual schools there. What about chatuchak and on-nut? any idea about housing communities in my range? I am not sure what can I rent for in the 20K range? I am assuming a unfurnished 3 bed house about 150sqm. All the listings on the internet seems pretty expensive athough I am sure haggling on the rental is possible.

[Darrel]

All the listings on the internet seems pretty expensive athough I am sure haggling on the rental is possible.

I think that 99% of all asking prices are way over the top in Thailand, both for rental and purchase.

[NBD]

thank you so much for your replies.

given my situation, i think that i will start researching for a house in a community that is max 10 mins drive to a BTS/MRT. and then take the BTS/MRT to my office. Is this feasible? I am thinking are there actaully people that do this? Where do they then park their cars then?

can someone please recommend any areas I should start looking at. I think that lad prao and ratchada are feasible areas since I have shortlisted bilingual schools there. What about chatuchak and on-nut? any idea about housing communities in my range? I am not sure what can I rent for in the 20K range? I am assuming a unfurnished 3 bed house about 150sqm. All the listings on the internet seems pretty expensive athough I am sure haggling on the rental is possible.

On Nut to Ratchada is a pig of a commute. You could park up behind the night market at On Nut and then BTS/MRT up to Ratchada but it's a lot of messing about, and going on crowded trains. Alright once in a while but when it's blazing hot, and or raining and you have to do it day in day out, it's miserable. Is there parking at your office? I'd look around places that are 15-20 mins drive to the office in normal times and that will give you easily 45 mins at rush hour.

I know someone who lives in Merit Place www.meritplace.com off lad prao, neat houses with 3-4 beds, not sure what they rent for but should be somewhere around that range.