I live in Bangkok AMA

[Eledamorena]

Just that. I've lived here nearly 4 years and have 3 children. Ask away, if you're interested!

@sunnyhan18 I think if you enjoyed Malaysia, Thailand wouldn't be worlds apart. Lots of people do stints in Thailand/Malaysia/Singapore.

In teaching circles there is a regular turnover of staff who just do 2/3 years but so many people stay in Thailand longer than expected. Most of my neighbours have been here 10 years + and have raised their families here. So my circle has grown more than it's shrunk, if that makes sense, as I've met more people while only few have left. I think next year might see a bigger turnover depending on covid. It's getting worse here just as everywhere else seems to be getting better, and many people haven't been to their home countries in a long time.

If you're serious about looking, I recommend your husband getting his CV ready by September as early roles will start being advertised in October. Busiest time is Dec-Feb but there are roles after that, too. TES is the best place to look. And if you want a beach lifestyle don't just focus on BKK - there are a few decent schools along the Eastern seaboard (Pattaya/Rayong) and on Phuket. Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you want any advice if you start applying, e.g. info on specific schools.

@Eledamorena that's so great that your friendship group has gone rather than shrunk, speaks highly of the place. Thank you for the advice and support, I will PM you.

@sometimesonly language institutes would be a much more likely bet but an international school is not an impossibility, depending on your experience. I know a couple of great EAL teachers who don't have PGCEs who work in international schools. Most have dedicated EAL departments/teams and they often have a mix of teachers with traditional teaching backgrounds and others with TEFL backgrounds. Experience with kids would be a must, I imagine. Also, CELTA or Trinity TESOL are the only TEFL qualifications that are truly recognised, as the others vary so much in quality. A DELTA would really set you apart from the rest as not many people have that. I did my CELTA years ago and that was enough for me! But I actually only teach First Language and Literature, the CELTA was more for my own CPD and to keep my skills up when I was on maternity leave.

Oops sorry I meant grown not gone!!

@Eledamorena 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.

Ah I spent a year or so in Bangkok a loooong time ago. Going to grab a coffee (should be a bottle of coke and some fried chicken) and get all nostalgic reading this thread properly. Thanks OP.

Just thought i'd wake this topic up.

Would you recommend moving a 13 year old from England to an international school in BKK.

More a case of whether she would fit in, as from what i'm aware most kids in these schools are Thai/Asian.

Daughter has Thai/ British passports, as she was born there, but moved to England at 6 months and has only ever visited whilst on holiday. Thus culturally she is 100% English.

@Eledamorena

We moved there when DD1 was about that age. The school she went to claimed to have something like 15% British kids bit in reality it was only about 5% that were full British, about 50% were Thai and ther rest were a mixture from around the world. She still says it was the best school she ever went to now! The international schools have a fair amount of turnover as families move so we found so she (and DD2) both found settling in easy.

With regards to fitting with the Thai kids we did find that the international children and the full Thai did naturally separate for friendship groups. The children that were Thai mixed (there were quite a lot) did group with the internationaI children from what i could see. I expect a lot of this was simply down to them sharing a first language.

@Anatomical Thanks for your reply.

Which school was it?

And out of curiosity are you still there?

We've looked at Patana, Bangkok Prep and St Andrews Nord Anglia, and have decided against the last one, as there were less western looking kids and the building wasn't up too much.

A Thai lady i met took her full Thai daughter out of Patana several years ago, as her kid just didn't fit in with the wealthy kids who go there, and put her in Nord Anglia which she said was really good.

Though heard it from a couple of English parents who've worked overseas that their kids loved schools in BKK more than anywhere.

One aspect for moving there is my daughter will go out and about with her friends, whereas in England kids barely go out and socialise anymore, especially since Covid.

It was St Andrews 107 - we're not there anymore but I had no complaints about the school when they attended 😀
I had friends whose children went to Patana and they were happy with it but to me it felt a bit elitist. We liked the fact that 107 had a really vibrant mix and both daughters are still in touch with friends they made there. The schools International days were absolutely brilliant when parents were encouraged to dress in national dress and set up food stalls of national dishes for everyone to try.

Sorry for delay replying, just saw notifications on this thread!

Re schools - there are plenty that have a good mix of foreigners and locals. Many will claim around 50/50 but that typically counts all the mixed Thai/foreign kids as foreign, when most are more culturally Thai (though that is a generalization).

Patana is definitely considered 'top 3' and actively restricts the numbers of Thai students in order to maintain diversity. I live nearby and have many teacher friends there. Yes, it is elite and there is a lot of money there. But the teacher kids get on fine, and they are not wealthy. Be prepared to pay a lot extra for all the amazing ECAs (extra curricular clubs). The school bus is also super expensive. The campus is amazing.

St Andrews Nord Anglia does have a fair mix, as far as I'm aware. Also great SEN provision.

@Anatomical I taught at 107 2018-2021, perhaps we know each other???? I agree International Day was awesome there, my fave day of the year! My kids were very happy there too.

Other schools to consider with a good/reasonable mix of foreigners among the locals include NIST, ISB, Bangkok Prep. Ones to avoid if you don't want your child to be in a tiny minority of foreigners are Shrewsbury, and probably Kings and Wellington (they may become more diverse but they're very new so still growing their student base).

I agree that older kids can and do go out and about safely here. My neighbours with kids from early teens up allow them to take the BTS (skytrain) alone to meet friends at malls for cinema/bowling/ bounce/hanging out etc.

I also agree that there is some natural division socially, with kids of different first languages tending to band together. Having said that, my middle child has a really diverse friendship group with 2 Thais, one Chinese American, one Indonesian American, and one v mixed kid (both parents third culture kids of different backgrounds). It does depend on each class/year group - even in a pretty mixed school, some classes will happen to have more locals and others more foreigners.

If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a PM, happy to help!

Hi!
We are moving to Bangkok June 2025 from London uk. We are Looking at the watthana area (thonglor / Ekkamai) with children aged 4 and 7.
Firstly looking for a good international school close by to Accommodate them both on the same campus - English speaking!
Secondly any recommendations of the best way to find a rental property for 2 years minimum? We want 4/5 bed with garden and pool).
Lastly is there any apps / forums / group chats for expats in this area to socialise and make friends? Or if you see this post and want to connect please message me 🤍

Looking forward to joining the community next year. All advise welcome (even if not directly linked to my questions above)
Thanks x

@Paulacarse I'll send you a PM! I'm actually leaving Thailand this year but happy to share all my knowledge before I go (and distract myself from packing up and selling almost everything we own!!)

Good luck with the move Op. where are you off to? Imagine Thailand will be hard to leave!

Thanks @Arconialiving!
Off to Central America so a big change but really looking forward to it. Insane journey to get there but I will allow my children to eat, sleep, and overuse screens as much as they want on order to get through it 😂

I will seriously miss Thai food and the ease of life and raising children here. It's been a great place to be!

Oh wow! Safe travels & enjoy your next adventure!