Living in Bangkok

[Heatherbell1978]

I did find a thread on this but it's a few years old so thought I'd look for more up to date chat!
I posted a few weeks back about DH being offered an assignment in Bangkok (6-12m) followed by Melbourne (12m +) and its looking likely we'll go.

We won't be leaving until Sep 2017 when DD is 6 months (I'm pregnant) and DS will have just turned 3.

I would love to hear from mums with young kids on how it all works!

We'll be on an expat package so will assume we'll live in an expat area - recommendations would be great for close proximity to skytrain and nursery (ideally walking).
My initial worry is getting DS into a good international nursery - are there wait lists for this? I'd want him to go for around 3 days a week like he does here, is that possible? Is this something I can sort easily when we get there or should I be contacting them before we arrive?

Is there a health visitor equivalent for the wee ones especially for things like vaccinations (DD will probs turn 1 while we're there and need vaccines but she'll have her baby ones before we go).

And how easy is to meet other mums? Are there baby groups I can take DD to? How easy is it to buy what you need for the kids? (I'm a bit of an online shopping and Amazon Prime addict!). What activities do you do?

DH thinks we'll nip down to Samui at weekends etc (we've both done a bit of travelling in Thailand pre-kids) but in reality do people do this?

Any advice would be great!!

Just bumping to see if the are any Bangkok savvy people out there on this forum!

I'm in Bangkok but my kids are a little older. There's a group called Bambi which specialises in parents with young children - I expect they'd be able to help with all your queries in regards to your children better than I can! I'm pretty sure they run groups so you'd be able to meet other mums that way.

With regards to immunizations - I know there are Thai recommended ones but don't actually know what these are - I've just followed the NHS guidelines and booked the kids to have them at the hospital when they were due. The extra ones the kids have had are Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid and Japanese Encephalitis.

Shopping isn't a problem - there are loads of big malls and lots of familar companies are here - my local mall has a Boots, H&M, Zara, Mothercare and Gap as well as a department store (and loads more). I find I can get everything I need for the kids but often choice is a bit more limited (this isn't always a bad thing!) There's a chain of book stores called Asia Books which specialses in English language books which I love!

Honestly I don't find there is as much for us to do as a family as in the UK but I always did enjoy being outside and country walks. It's just too hot to do that much here. We find an hour in the park is often enough and then we need to get inside to cool down.

Weekends away are definitely possible - there are quite a few Thai public holidays so we go away when it's a three day weekend. Popular from Bangkok are Hua Hin (4 hours) and Koh Chang (about 6 hours) - both are very straightforward to drive to. There are also lovely national parks about 4 hours drive north from Bangkok.

Ekkamai / thong lor or around sathorn would be my first choice if you can afford that.
There a number of FB pages you can join too. A great way to find info for new families is to log on the websites of the big schools like the British school, American school, ish, bps, must etc....
All usually have a resource page for families with useful links. The consulates do too.

Hi

We are also moving to Bangkok this summer. I have two children who will be 6 and 4 when we move. We are international teachers and will be moving for my dh to work at a British international school so we hope to live near to it. We currently live in Shanghai so I am fairly used to being overseas and being a bit more selective about what we can get hold of.

I am looking forward to being able to hire a car and get out of the city whenever we want (we spend a fortune travelling around and away from China at the moment!). Also, being able to settle the kids into their new school and get us set up in a nice apartment.

Does anyone have any recommendations when it comes to shipping and how to find an apartment?

We used Seven Seas when coming from the UK but not sure if they ship from China.

Finding an apartment is interesting - agents don't seem to have the same sense of service or knowledge about their properties as other places we've lived. I'd recommend asking at the school if any current staff have recommendations - perhaps there is even a blog/facebook page that is set up to share this type of information?

I will send you a PM (if I can work out how)

Thanks for your reply. I've looked into Seven Seas and it seems quite reasonable.

Did you have any issues with customs? We would be shipping a PlayStation and somehow bringing an iMac and don't particularly want to be hit by huge import taxes.

We were lucky with customs - because Seven Seas organised the door-to-door delivery, we weren't hit with any additional fees. They were recommended to us because the Thai Embassy in London use them, so perhaps that helped?

Do send any shipping at the last minute - you do need to provide your passport and work permit in order to receive the goods. You won't get a work permit for a few months after you arrive - lots of forms to fill out and extra processes to complete for it once you start at your school. If your shipping arrives before you get a work permit, it can be expensive, but your HR/Visa department should be able to advise.