Good area to live near Bang Khen

[Jamie442]

Hey guys,

I'm moving to Bangkok in January and I still have to figure out where to live.
I was hoping someone here could help me out with what district I should look to get an apartment in, my girlfriend lives in Bang Khen so I'd prefer to live somewhat close to there. Then again I don't want to live too isolated from the centre/nightlife area's, but not in a tourist area either, I prefer to live between the locals. She suggested chatuchak but also said it's hard to reach with transportation, I couldn't find much info about the area other than a lot about the market, so a friend of me directed me to this forum.

Advice would be greatly appreciated!

(Would it by the way be best to contact a local real estate agent to find a place to rent, or are there any good websites to help me out there?)

[dddave]

I suggest you stay in local hotels a few months before committing to a particular area. Hotel rooms are available in most neighborhoods and that will give you time to find a place that feels right to you.

Hold off on using an agent. They can be very frustrating to work with as many put their agenda over yours. Once you settle on an area you like, then you can start looking. There are many local websites like "9apartments.com but if you look closely, many of their listings are very outdated.

You don't say what your budget for an apartment will be so hard to suggest options. Don't forget monthly rent is only part of the story. Many apartment's mark electric rates way up which can get very expensive if you use AC a lot. Some also charge high rates for water. Most renters will ask first & last months rent as well as one month security up front.

[Jamie442]

Heya thanks for the advice,

Altho hotel rooms would be doable for a little while I would rather have my own place. Are there many options for short term let in bangkok (read 1 month) or would that push the prices wayy up? Would be preferable for me since I then could experience what I like. Also a stable internet connection is quite important for me given my job which is generally not too great in hotels.

In terms of budget, I'm hoping to settle for under 25k bath/month.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Jamie442

[dddave]

25,000 Baht/Mo will get you a decent One Bedroom in a newer building with up to date services in outlying areas of the city such as you are mentioning. Normally one month apartment rentals are difficult to find but that is opening up more with Air BNB becoming more popular. You might check it out. There are a number of serviced apartments in Bangkok that will rent monthly but I don't know about Bang Khen.

[beano2274]

how about Ngamwongwan

http://www.thaihometown.com/condo/339007

[onetime]

http://www.tee-pak.com/en/

[Deserted]

There's not much in the north of the city, Bang Khen is pretty dull. You could live in Jatujak, that's not too far and has a bit more to offer.

[beano2274]

There's not much in the north of the city, Bang Khen is pretty dull. You could live in Jatujak, that's not too far and has a bit more to offer.

Obviously not been to Bang Khen then! Some great restaurants, and shopping areas, also Cinemas, also lots of transportation around to get into Bangkok Central areas, near the express way to go out of Bangkok to places like Ayuthaya and Isaan.

[Deserted]

I moved there in 2000 and spent many years there. Beyond the Ratchayothin junction there's little to see and do and owing to congestion its actually a poor choice of location if you want to escape the city, particularly at weekends.

[beano2274]

I moved there in 2000 and spent many years there. Beyond the Ratchayothin junction there's little to see and do and owing to congestion its actually a poor choice of location if you want to escape the city, particularly at weekends.

The Mall Ngamwongwan, Major Tiwanon, Central Rattanatibeth, the Restaurants on Tiwanon.

Cinemas in the Mall and Major also in Central, bowling alleys as well, good restaurants in all

of them, all easy to get to from anywhere in Bangkhen.

Buses to anywhere downtown, Minivans to MBK or Siam Centre and Mochit.

Kasetsart Uni, DPU Uni. KMUTNB, Rajamangala if you are a teacher, plus other schools around the area.

Expressway directly out to Ayuthaya or further afield like Isaan.

If you live on the right side of the Khlong then easy to get to Chaeng Wattana for immigration purposes.

if the wrong side of the Khlong then you come under Nonthaburi, that is a bastard of a journey.

[Deserted]

None of the shopping centers you've mentioned are in Bang Khen as you originally claimed and none are easy to get to during early evenings, some are over 10kms from Bang Khen itself and suffer from horrendous traffic disruption due to the construction for the new sky train. Buses do not go everywhere downtown and are actually quite limited as all buses which go to the north of the city are as they mostly follow the same major roads into the city.

There are institutes there as you mention such as Kasetsart but they are hardly a reason to relocate there. My point is that like Saphan Mai it is a rather dull area of town. You ought to know that the Expressway heading north is now a problem owing to the expansion at Don Muang. I have spent nearly 20 years travelling from the north of the city into the centre and know how congested the traffic is in the north now. You seemed to have conveniently overlooked just how bad it has become. My point stands that it is a poor choice of location, nothing you have said suggests otherwise and I doubt whether you can actually define where it is since most of the places you've mentioned lie outside the district.

Several bridges around Kasetsart are about to be demolished due to the extention to the BTS which is why those of us who travel into the city on a daily basis know that the north of the city is suffering from major disruptions. It is not a great part of the city to relocate to, and Bang Khen itself has little to offer.

Would you like to state which klong you are referring to regarding being on the right or wrong side? Bear in mind that the municipality of Nonthaburi is divided by Kor-Pra-Pa, which again does not pass through Bang Khen. Is that what you are referring to?

Edited December 12, 2015 by Deserted

[beano2274]

the sub district of Nonthaburi Bangkhen is what I was on about, as that is what I believed the OP to be on about and not Bangkok Bangkhen.

You are correct with your bit about Bangkok Bangkhen, but I was correct about the location of the shopping centres as they

are all close to or inside of Nonthaburi Bangkhen.

Khlong Pra Pa splits Bangkok Bangkhen and Nonthaburi Bangkhen.

Edited December 12, 2015 by beano2274

[Deserted]

the sub district of Nonthaburi Bangkhen is what I was on about, as that is what I believed the OP to be on about and not Bangkok Bangkhen.

You are correct with your bit about Bangkok Bangkhen, but I was correct about the location of the shopping centres as they

are all close to or inside of Nonthaburi Bangkhen.

Khlong Pra Pa splits Bangkok Bangkhen and Nonthaburi Bangkhen.

Your previous posts contradict what you say, and anyone who thinks Bangkok and the outskirts of the city are easily accessible from either of locations stated has no idea of what they are talking about.

Completely ridiculous thread...

[beano2274]

the sub district of Nonthaburi Bangkhen is what I was on about, as that is what I believed the OP to be on about and not Bangkok Bangkhen.

You are correct with your bit about Bangkok Bangkhen, but I was correct about the location of the shopping centres as they

are all close to or inside of Nonthaburi Bangkhen.

Khlong Pra Pa splits Bangkok Bangkhen and Nonthaburi Bangkhen.

Your previous posts contradict what you say, and anyone who thinks Bangkok and the outskirts of the city are easily accessible from either of locations stated has no idea of what they are talking about.

Completely ridiculous thread...

Nonthaburi Bangkhen has the new MRT line, also buses reguarly go from Pantip Plaza 2 into Bangkok, or from the Mall via the Expressway to Victory Monument, also minivans from Ngamwongwan 23 to MBK and Siam Centre.

How have I contradicted anything? When was the last time you were in Nonthaburi Bangkhen? I lived in and still have a Residence in Bangkhen, the Nonthaburi side.

Edited December 12, 2015 by beano2274

[Jamie442]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice, sounds like my girlfriend lives in the worst part of bangkok?

Will for now follow dddave's advice and get a hotel in chatuchak for the first couple of weeks, will go and see by myself where I want to live from there on.

Will also take a look at Ngamwongwan and tee-pak.com

[gkroo]

Hi Jamie, I have lived in the Ngamwongwan area for the past 13 years & find it a great place to reside with several Malls within 10 mins,numerous super markets & only about 40 mins on the Tollway into BKK Sukhumvit area,on a good traffic day !!!

[dddave]

suggest you go to "Booking.com" and search Bangkok, Chatuchak. A lot of hotel and GH listings in the under B2000 range.

[Jamie442]

Thanks for the response gkroo, will definitely look into ngamwongwan more as it seems more attractive than bang khen/chatuchak.

Dddave I assume you mean 20000, that's the monthly price of the hotel that I've booked for now at least.

[beano2274]

The link I supplied

http://www.thaihomet...om/condo/339007

Is actually my condos, it is two made into one, with living room, kitchen and washing machine room in one, and bedroom and toilet/shower on the other side. Songtao stops right outside the building so travel to the main road is okay or even a short walk, parking can be arranged if you have a vehicle, like gkroo and I have previously stated lots of shopping Malls around, and good transport routes into Bangkok City Centre or even Mochit/Chatuchak, also buses go to Bangkok Bangkhen.

[smokie36]

25k a month would get you a decent one bed place in a condo near Phra Ram 9 for example and less than 10 mins from Asoke.

Why you would spend that money to live on the outskirts of town is bewildering unless it was for schools or easy access to work.

As to buses taking over an hour etc....for me forget it.

[Jamie442]

The link I supplied

http://www.thaihomet...om/condo/339007

Is actually my condos, it is two made into one, with living room, kitchen and washing machine room in one, and bedroom and toilet/shower on the other side. Songtao stops right outside the building so travel to the main road is okay or even a short walk, parking can be arranged if you have a vehicle, like gkroo and I have previously stated lots of shopping Malls around, and good transport routes into Bangkok City Centre or even Mochit/Chatuchak, also buses go to Bangkok Bangkhen.

Pm'd you !

My gf works near there and I work online, so I'm fine with living in the outskirts, however yea from what I've heard I should easily be able to find a nice place for under 15k.