New Apartment
Posted by Stuart at 09:02 AM on April 01, 2004It's no April Fool's: I am now officially living in my 4th residence in Thailand. My one-year lease near MBK ended yesterday so I took the opportunity to find something cheaper and, hopefully more convenient. Even though I loved the location of my last apartment, I want to save as much money as possible. Who knows, perhaps buying a (relatively inexpensive) condo in Bangkok will be possible for me soon.
What I found was a studio apartment near Thong Lo. It's a few minutes from the Skytrain and about a 20 minute walk from work (as opposed to the 40 minute Skytrain+Walk commute before). But the biggest change is the price: about 7,500 baht (under US$200). It's exactly half of what I was paying for my first real apartment over a year ago.
The other big difference is the noise. I was in the heart of Bangkok before, but now I am on a quiet rarely used soi. Whereas in the last apartment the din of motorcycles racing past 24 hours a day kept me from ever opening the sliding glass door, I actually slept with the windows open last night, only to be awakened this morning by crowing roosters. Ahhh... Thailand!
Congrats on the new apt.
Your rooster story reminds me of being awakened by softly ringing bells one morning in the Austrian Alps. When I looked out the window, I saw goats, all sizes and each with a different bell around the neck, grazing on the lawn.
Hi, I'm a new reader. Congratulations for your new apt. Thonglor's a great place to live. My favorite hunt was Emporium. But I live in Toronto now. Reading blogs about Thailand is one way to cure homesickness. Thanks.
Hi Im looking for a cheaper apartment that can walk to the bts also. Can you tell me the name of your apartment?
Thank you very much for your information
Best Regards
Yoviana
Yoviana, I refrain from posting too many details about where I live on a public website, but finding a cheaper apartment near BTS is not difficult. In general, prices start to go down the farther down the Sukumvit line you go from Siam station.
So, just take BTS to any station (say, past Phrom Phong), walk down to the street level, and look up. You will be able to spot many apartments near each station. The hard part is finding one that has available rooms!
I will tell you, however, that the most dense area of conveniently located cheap apartments I have ever seen is between Ratchatewi and PhayaThai stations -- check out Petchaburi Sois 5 and 7. I've heard that Ari Station has a lot of cheap apartments as well.
Good luck!
- Stuart
Nui, welcome to my site. Feel free to stop in any time :) - Stuart
Wow, 7500 is a great deal. And crowing roosters every morning? What more could you ask for! ;)
Oh, and happy April Fool's Day. =)