Anyone living in Bangkok?

[BangkokExpatLife]

My DH has been offered a job in Bangkok and I was hoping for some insight from anyone who has lived there.

(We've been in various places around Asia for 15 years, so I'm not too worried about culture shock!)

The office is near Chong Nonsi station. I've visited a few times and traffic was pretty bad, so realistically what areas would be best to live in with a commute time of 40 mins max.

Our housing allowance would be around 250,000 thb per month. I know Asian cities can be pretty expensive. Ideally we'd like a 4 bed house or apartment.

How hard is it to get an international school place? I like the look of NIST from the reviews / website, would somewhere like that have long waiting lists?

If anyone has recommendations for areas to live / schools (ideally IB), type of accommodation we could expect, that would be great. Thanks!

[BangkokExpatLife]

Hopeful bump!

[leavingAqaba]

Hi, yes it’s true Bangkok is not cheap but that’s a terrific amount for a housing allowance. We live in Sukhumvit in a 3 bed apartment for a fraction of that. For a ‘hood perhaps look at location(s) of schools first? We had no problem with wait lists for primary school places this year.

[SoiPup]

For 250K you can get a really lovely place in a great part of town with 4 beds. We are in a 4 bed off Sukhumvit and near the BTS and we pay half that amount (and that's considered a lot).
Near Chong Nonsi you're best locating yourself near the BTS and then your husband will have an easy commute. Sathon and Silom are also very nice places and if you're close to the expressway are esy to get around.
How old are your children? NIST is popular but we have friends with kids there who aren't so happy and know a few who have moved their kids. We weren't impressed when we visited.
Patana and ISB are considered excellent and the two St Andrews (71 and 107 plus their offshoots) and KIS have a very good reputation

[Amv123]

@SoiPup Would you be able to give me some advice about Zika and pregnancy within Bangkok/Thailand. I am a bit nervous about the risk of Zika, but have also read that there are no confirmed cases. From someone who lives in Bangkok, do you know much about it? I should say that we are considering a move to Bangkok.

[leavingAqaba]

I live in Bangkok, I hear no mention of Zika. I gave birth here 8 years ago, heard no mention then either.

[Amv123]

Hi @leavingAqaba thank you so much for your reply. I have to say that its been a concern for me, but equally I'm not seeing any stats or info about it, so I'm unclear if it an ongoing risk or not in reality. Do you know people who have given birth the last 5 years and been ok?

Also, how do you like life in Bangkok?

[leavingAqaba]

I’m not actively involved the any birthing community here in Bangkok these days but I have been around Doulas, breastfeeding groups etc in the past and know families with children of all ages born in a Bangkok. I have never heard Zika mentioned.
While there are down sides as with anywhere, I like life in Bangkok.

[PurpleFrost]

@Amv123 I've just seen your post. I gave birth in Bangkok last year and nobody even mentioned Zika at any point! I have an American friend married to a Thai and she was extra careful with anti-mozzy spray etc when TTC and pregnant but it just isn't on the radar here. I know that sounds insane as Thailand is definitely a zika-zone. The area of BKK I was living in at the time was apparently particularly bad for it, though I haven't heard of a single family that has been affected and I've been here a few years.

I would say, though, that zika has been around a long time. We just didn't hear about it til it started affecting more western countries. From what I've gathered, it's been in Thailand for donkeys years, but it wasn't on my radar til it hit the US maybe 5 or 6 years ago?

I'm not sure if this is reassuring at all, as I know the advice in the UK for a while was not to travel to places like Thailand if pregnant or TTC, but honestly here it just isn't mentioned.