Has anyone experienced living in one of those grungy looking apartment buildings?

[bendywire]

I lucked out and found a very large (70 s/m) room in a large but somewhat shabby Phra Khanong Apartment bldg 10 years ago and I've been happily living here since...my rent never raised from the original 5,500 Baht/mo. Landlords do not raise rents in these places like they do in the farang ghettos.

The place is decidedly "working class" with many nationalities sharing the space but I've never had a hassel or incident of any kind that made me feel unwelcome.

I feel very at home here. I am greeted by my neighbors as I come and go and am invited to many family events. Good, inexpensive food abounds in the area yet a modern supermarket is just blocks away.

Phra Khanong is going "upscale" quickly. A stylish new food court and entertainment area has opened behind the High rise condo tower just past the BTS. The old "69 Hotel" flophouse was gutted and just opened as "The Beat" Boutique Hotel...very slick.

More and more of the shophouses along Sukhumvit close to the BTS are being demolished...condo towers soon to replace them. Like the rest of Sukhumvit, it will soon be nothing but towers and malls....and something special will be lost.

A serious question please

Do you work in Bangkok

A teacher maybe

Could you afford to buy or rent a bigger, nicer, more modern place

YOU eat thai food, can you afford western food, and how much would you pay for a half decent steak. I have lived in Thailand for many years and have upgraded on numerous occasions, u seem to be happy or skint hahahhaahaha

o

Or maybe he isn't stuck up his own arse. There is a lot to be said for not living next to rxprats like you.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[dotpoom]

When I first came to Thailand (12 yrs. ago) my friend's G/F had a room for me in something similar to what you describe....it was below 2,000Bt a month on Pattaya Klang. They were all Thais in the building and directly across from my room lived a lady boy. I hadn't the faintest idea how anything worked in Thailand, it was also my first time in Asia. Everybody that I came into contact with in that building couldn't do enough to help me. I didn't know anything about two tier pricing and when the lady boy found out what I paid for something he went with me to buy anything of importance I bought to send home as presents. They thought me everything I needed to know about living in Pattaya. I moved up the ladder when i felt I knew enough to "go it alone". I swear....to this day I still think of those happy days in that building with great fondness. I have a condo today (for renting out) in what might be considered an upmarket building and I never met a more "stuck up" bunch or Farangs and Thais in my life.

Where i come from we describe the people I first met here in that building as...."The salt of the earth"

[philliphn]

Plenty of rooms starting from 2000 thb in Bangkok , I know a teacher living in a 2500 room , its clean and building is not so bad.

Did he pay weekly installments for his work permit

You think your funny. But, your not!

[Samuipie]

My husband and I lived in one of those buildings while he was working in Bang Pa In. The space was about 200 sq. ft. but we've been living in Asia for so many years (Like Japan!) we have learned how to make do. The cost of ours was 350 Baht per month and they didn't mind our Soi Dog of 10 years with us.

While I had to give it a good scrubbing, it was not filthy by any means. The other tenants were nearly invisible because they all work and go to school so much they are barely home, however, friendly when greeted. They liked to practice their English and they help me with my Thai etc.

This building was cared for very well. That seems to be the ticket is to assess the funk factor upon inspecting. If the halls are filthy and stinky probably the apartment isn't maintained either. Look for cockroaches and heavy mold. It's good if someone smiles as you pass. Just pick up the vibes. We stayed a year and often think back to how happy we were there. The bus on the main street went straight to downtown.

5000 baht seems really high unless you have a bunch of appliances and stuff.

It worked for us!

[CharlesHH]

I lived in one of those for five months. One room with enclosed bathroom and a tiny balcony. I got an end unit with a window as well as the balcony door for light and cross ventilation. The door was very heavy with two locks, one a deadbolt. The lift worked all the time. Air con was just enuf cooling size. The management would do bug spray upon call. It was a long walk out to a main road, I think soi 76 or 71 off Sukimvit. Bus or taxi to Skytrain, green bus from Hell. I could not get my deposit back. Double bed, wardrobe, water heater on shower. These are items I would look out about in future. So maybe these are just tips. Oh, the balcony was really important for laundry and to keep from feeling totally boxed in.

[kurnell]

There are shabby, cheap places in Thonglor? I can't find one

[dddave]

There are shabby, cheap places in Thonglor? I can't find one

Just a little bit shabby and cheap by Thong Lo standards; B10,000+, 50 meters past the BTS, go out exit 4 and walk against traffic direction. Forget the name of the place but it has signs visible from the BTS platform.

[kurnell]

There are shabby, cheap places in Thonglor? I can't find one

Just a little bit shabby and cheap by Thong Lo standards; B10,000+, 50 meters past the BTS, go out exit 4 and walk against traffic direction. Forget the name of the place but it has signs visible from the BTS platform.

I visited that one before. Even too shabby for me. Know of anything more upmarket in that price range near Prakaonong or On Nut BTS?

[dddave]

I lucked out and found a very large (70 s/m) room in a large but somewhat shabby Phra Khanong Apartment bldg 10 years ago and I've been happily living here since...my rent never raised from the original 5,500 Baht/mo. Landlords do not raise rents in these places like they do in the farang ghettos.

The place is decidedly "working class" with many nationalities sharing the space but I've never had a hassel or incident of any kind that made me feel unwelcome.

I feel very at home here. I am greeted by my neighbors as I come and go and am invited to many family events. Good, inexpensive food abounds in the area yet a modern supermarket is just blocks away.

Phra Khanong is going "upscale" quickly. A stylish new food court and entertainment area has opened behind the High rise condo tower just past the BTS. The old "69 Hotel" flophouse was gutted and just opened as "The Beat" Boutique Hotel...very slick.

More and more of the shophouses along Sukhumvit close to the BTS are being demolished...condo towers soon to replace them. Like the rest of Sukhumvit, it will soon be nothing but towers and malls....and something special will be lost.

A serious question please

Do you work in Bangkok

A teacher maybe

Could you afford to buy or rent a bigger, nicer, more modern place

YOU eat thai food, can you afford western food, and how much would you pay for a half decent steak. I have lived in Thailand for many years and have upgraded on numerous occasions, u seem to be happy or skint hahahhaahaha

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Nope, Happily retired and most content with my situation, thank you

Why on earth would I pay more for "A bigger, nicer, more modern place" when I really like where I am?

I have many friends who live in soulless, sterile, Index furnished, high floor units in "desirable" areas; paying 30,000/mo and up and I wouldn't trade with them even if the rent was the same as mine. In any major western city, my space would be called a "Loft" and claim astronomical rent. I have great views from 2 balconies, cross ventilation, no common walls with other units and decent AC. My needs are well met but I also enjoy the "at home" feeling I have here as opposed to the "in a hotel" feeling of many condos and lower Suk apartments.

You really needn't be concerned with my nourishment; I eat all too well, actually. I do enjoy a nice steak now and then...cooked myself usually as finding a decent steak in even an upscale restaurant is a generally disappointing quest.

"Skint"??? Rather a presumptuous insinuation but since you seem to get your ego massaged by being contemptuously rude I will humor you and confess that unlike you, I do not throw my assets around on ostentatious trivialities and meaningless luxuries.

I don't need to.

I'm happy with who I am; where I am.

How about you?

Are you content? Do your deluxe accommodations make you feel fulfilled? Does looking down on others nicely enhance your feeling of well being and superiority?

I think not.