Hi All, I'd much appreciate a bit of ThaiVisa.com collective wisdom.

Am seeking a pleasant Moo-Ban/housing estate to settle, within Bangkok's suburbs.

Criteria

1. Price: Monthly rental 30,000 baht per month (or less). Or purchase price <7mill
2. Social: Enough pleasant people living nearby, with decent number of farang neighbours. Restaurants, entertainment etc within a tolerable distance. Hopefully decent communal facilities within Moo Ban.
3. Quality: Clean, tidy acommodation. Safe, tidy.

A bit more background (if it helps);

30ish couple living in Thailand for quite some time and BKK for last couple of years.

Condo life (living in a box within our budget) isn't fulfilling, so the idea of a Moo Ban with more space & greenery is appealing. Quite flexible with location, but don't want to be completely isolated away from any social interaction, hence a Moo-Ban with similar folk would be ideal. Don't require a massive house - 2-3 bed and a bit of outdoor space would be ideal.

Land and houses and sansiri are usually nice estates, but you still get barking dogs and the odd music blasting out neighbour if unlucky.

Most moo-bans don't have many foreign residents, especially new ones, where they have been purchased, rather than rented. My village is in the 4-6M range, land & Houses development, 10-15 mins from Central Chaengwattana. I've only seen 2 other farangs in my village, most are Thai. Some speak english. They seem friendly enough, but I'm not a big socialiser and my Thai sucks anyway. More touristy areas would have more foreigners I guess. I guess most regualr villages only have a handful of foreigners, so i hope that's not an important criteria. Plenty of villages in BKK to choose from anyway. Note guarded villages also have fees, depending on the size of the land. We pay about 2K a month.

Thankyou for the replies each. Much appreciated.

• Barking dogs/ocasional blasting music etc - ok, understood.
• Re: maintenance fees, ~2k per month or so is fine. It they keep the housing estate tidy, security guards, remove rubbish etc. it's understandable that there must be a charge. A couple of thousand baht per month is reasonable.
• Social aspect is high priority.

I'm guessing there must be many people in a similar position? Unless you have a lot of cash, apartment/condo-life can become quite stifling?

Surely there must be some farang-friendly moo-bans?

Edited January 16, 201412 yr by Mr B

Most moo-bans don't have many foreign residents, especially new ones, where they have been purchased, rather than rented.

Does that mean that some of Bangok's older, rented housing estates are more popular with foreign residents?

If so, would be great if anyone can point us in the right direction...

[NB - I should add, have lived here for quite some years and am equally eager to socialize with the Thai neighbours/community too. But it is nice to have other farang nearby.]

Edited January 16, 201412 yr by Mr B

Land and house is good start..

Mine is very nice. I reckon you can get one for less than 25k rental and definitely less than 7m to buy. Nice and green, swimming pool, park a market going up right next door and a mini community mall 400 metres to the other side. Estate is 6 years old, we have L&H and Sansiri less than 300 metres away.

Thanks again for the replies.

Kurnell - do you mind if I ask - what project name/area?

Off the top of my head, try these two areas.

Bang Na, and Ramkhamhaeng Rd about soi 166 ish (Property Perfect I think its called).

The first area is popular because of its location for schools, the second also has many farang teachers living up that way, again because of schools.

You make no mention of where you work and travel involved each day, my choice would be somewhere close to where I work.

Off the top of my head, try these two areas.

Bang Na, and Ramkhamhaeng Rd about soi 166 ish (Property Perfect I think its called).

The first area is popular because of its location for schools, the second also has many farang teachers living up that way, again because of schools.

You make no mention of where you work and travel involved each day, my choice would be somewhere close to where I work.

Thanks for the suggestions, will investigate. If you have any specific Moo-Ban suggestions in Bangna that would be super.

Re: location, my work is currently completely flexible.

(I'm approaching the stage where I will need to establish a simple BKK office, but can be anywhere, just a workspace. Hence am keen to find a nice area to settle then setup an office nearby).

Misses is a teacher currently working in a different part of BKK, but is happy to switch schools if we find somewhere nice to live.

^^^^^,

Cant recommend any of them for the simple reason I dont live there.

If I were you my first port of call would be up Suk 103,105 way, plenty of moo baans up that way and access to the BTS.

I would also have a look at DDProperty,its in English and user friendly.

On the first page, Listings for, choose rent, Type, detached house, Province Bkk, District, Bang Na.

There are 7 pages listed of various houses, at varying prices.

I can only point you in the right direction, sorry you will need to do your own legwork.

Lived at Bangna for 5 years pollution from Bagna Trat is terrible and not healthy, 24 lanes of traffic if you count them. Suk 105 is not a bad suggestion, international School there and plenty of life, long soi.

Thanks again for the replies.

Kurnell - do you mind if I ask - what project name/area?

Baan Krong Tong. Entrance to soi is Krungthep Kreetha soi 7 or Ramkamhaeng 60.

Teja Lake View Appartments Sukhumvit Soi 4/ Soi Samahan.

25k a months. Ground Floor, First Floor, Second Floor. 2 bathroom, 2 bedroom, Kitchen, dining and living area in one with a nice big terrace to build up your owen green paradise.

Despite the Nana area is up the road you will not hear it. Soi Samahan is a very nice Soi. People like the Rolex CEO of Thailand (rumor) and the Boss of the Kasikorn Bank are your neigbours.

That is not a joke. The Soi Samahan is a very mixed Soi. With Million Baht Villas and cheap rent house as 25k.

The here describet accomondation is a Town House. You are allowed to use the buildings facilitis such as TukTuk service, Swimming Pool and Gym etc.

http://www.tejalakeview.com/

https://www.google.co.th/maps/preview/place//@13.735529,100.555365,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xf381fcec57a35b96

Edited January 24, 201412 yr by Lammbock

Thanks for the replies and suggestions, I'll be sure to check them out.

If the air quality is bad around Bangna Trad, would it be any better @ Ramkhamhaeng?( Presumably quite similar as it's only an extra few km farther out?)

Teja Lake View Appartments Sukhumvit Soi 4/ Soi Samahan.

25k a months. Ground Floor, First Floor, Second Floor. 2 bathroom, 2 bedroom, Kitchen, dining and living area in one with a nice big terrace to build up your owen green paradise.

Despite the Nana area is up the road you will not hear it. Soi Samahan is a very nice Soi. People like the Rolex CEO of Thailand (rumor) and the Boss of the Kasikorn Bank are your neigbours.

That is not a joke. The Soi Samahan is a very mixed Soi. With Million Baht Villas and cheap rent house as 25k.

The here describet accomondation is a Town House. You are allowed to use the buildings facilitis such as TukTuk service, Swimming Pool and Gym etc.

http://www.tejalakeview.com/

https://www.google.co.th/maps/preview/place//@13.735529,100.555365,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xf381fcec57a35b96

Right. But as a farang, you'll just be thought of as a creeper that not only has to go to the action. He has to live in the middle of it.

Not a wise choice with a wife or even gf you care about. Then there is the fact you have to pass all the losers both coming and going.

Teja Lake View Appartments Sukhumvit Soi 4/ Soi Samahan.

25k a months. Ground Floor, First Floor, Second Floor. 2 bathroom, 2 bedroom, Kitchen, dining and living area in one with a nice big terrace to build up your owen green paradise.

Despite the Nana area is up the road you will not hear it. Soi Samahan is a very nice Soi. People like the Rolex CEO of Thailand (rumor) and the Boss of the Kasikorn Bank are your neigbours.

That is not a joke. The Soi Samahan is a very mixed Soi. With Million Baht Villas and cheap rent house as 25k.

The here describet accomondation is a Town House. You are allowed to use the buildings facilitis such as TukTuk service, Swimming Pool and Gym etc.

http://www.tejalakeview.com/

https://www.google.co.th/maps/preview/place//@13.735529,100.555365,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xf381fcec57a35b96

Right. But as a farang, you'll just be thought of as a creeper that not only has to go to the action. He has to live in the middle of it.

Not a wise choice with a wife or even gf you care about. Then there is the fact you have to pass all the losers both coming and going.

Bangkok is a pretty schizophrenic city with all sorts living cheek by jowl. Used to have friends live in soi samaharn and it is indeed very good despite being a stones throw from the dregs of the dregs. Worth checking out at least.

Again thanks to all the ThaiVisa community for the feedback and suggestions.

I'm not sure an apartment/condo in Nana is quite what we are seeking But perhaps the recommendation helps others discovering this thread.

Adding a slightly different question to those posed initially:

Which Bangkok suburb Moo-Ban estates with detached houses are most suitable/popular with ex-pat foreigners [within a modest price range]?

(Specific Moo-Ban names to check out would be much appreciated)

Edited January 24, 201412 yr by Mr B