The apartment hunt is over, thank Buddha. And I’m excited because I will be living in a part of town I only know a little about, but at least it’s off the Sukhumvit same old, same old.
As a tourist you will spend a lot of time with Sukhumvit at your back because it’s where most of the western oriented services are located and it’s also the east-west spine of the BTS Skytrain -- a huge factor in locating your place to live.
Instead I will be living near the MRT subway, the main north-south transit spine, which is more or less Asok-Ratachadapisek Roads. Ratchada goes on and on northward, but I will be at the lower end, namely Ratchada soi 5. It’s right between the Fortune Town IT mall (love this place) at the Pra Ram 9 MRT station and northward to The Esplanade shopping mall, which is near the next stop, Thailand Cultural Centre.
Many residential projects that would appeal to westerners staying in the capital will be on or near the transit systems. You pay a premium for that of several thousand baht. Go 10 walking minutes down a soi and the rents start to fall. (Don’t believe the ads that say only 5 minutes to BTS. On a motorcycle taxi maybe. Count on 15 minutes on foot if it says 5.) Go way down the longer main roads from a station to the little soi’s and monthly rents plunge to the mid single digits, such as 6000 to 10,000 baht ($200 to $330 Canadian) depending on apartment size. Although, in my experience, you’ll still see rents of 20,000 + for distant 1-bedroom apartments, although they may be a bit bigger.
My new place is about 8-10 minute slow walk to Pra Ram 9 on Ratchada Road. I haven’t checked out time to TCC MRT stop.
It’s a 42 square metre studio, a format I had at one time rejected. But it was so well laid out and was such a good deal with free stuff thrown in -- and I was tired of looking. In my excitement I forgot to take pictures, so words will have to do for now. Pictures of my neighbourhood and apartment now online in separate post
The unit is in a spotless 3-to-4 year old apartment building, not a condo project, owned by an Indian family. The place still looks brand new, it is so well maintained.
The sizeable kitchen is off to the left and out of sight when you enter. Then comes a four-chair dining table in the kitchen area, then sofa behind that on the left viewing a 32-inch LCD TV, and then an office/working area on the right. Past room dividers comes the king-size bed and huge enclosed wall storage area, which I don’t think I will ever be able to fill.
On the back wall is a sizeable bathroom and shower to the left and large sliding glass doors on the right looking westward and southward to the downtown. It’s a sixth floor corner unit. The huge balcony would easily hold a four-chair table, alongside the outside water tap and sink for doing dishes, plus large working counter.
Amazing thing is, that with a one-year contract, 10 megabit Internet service and 30-plus channel satellite TV are free. That’s got to be 2500 baht a month if taken individually -- not to mention the little hassles of signing up, getting things installed and operating and paying the monthly bill at the 7-11. All in, 12,000 baht a month ($400). I hit my budget right on the head.
And the bestest thing: a couple of minutes walk away is a large Thai neighbourhood and all that that means. There are hardware shops, Internet cafes, food vendors everywhere, other neat shops and, well, I shall need to explore soon. And Fortune Town has food courts and fastfood joints, plus all the computer equipment and mobile phone shops, banks, and a huge Tesco Lotus grocery/drygoods store.
Coming next year, across Ratchada from Fortune Town, is the new Central Plaza Rama 9 shopping complex. I do like Central stores.
So a new life begins Nov. 1.
I'm playing hard to get ;-)
Posted by: Siam.Rick | 2010.10.19 at 01:04
No drinks for a week! You're a brave man, Talen. But I guess it's a small price to pay for 24/7 nursing.
"more people in . . . king-size beds": There you have it, the only answer. Sometimes, having a GF makes you forget important stuff, Martyn.
Posted by: Siam.Rick | 2010.10.19 at 01:04
I never thought about the fact the MRT is so much easier to deal with, i.e., no stairs. I kind of prefer the MRT anyway and now I get to use it more often. Checking pre-paid card deals shows 1200 baht a month one for unlimited trips. Looks good to me.
Posted by: Siam.Rick | 2010.10.19 at 00:59
Rick, it's amazing the obstacles we can overcome when smiling all the time.
Potential GF is always a good thing too...hope it goes well.
Posted by: Talen | 2010.10.19 at 00:31
Martyn, I can answer that question easily...a king sized bed fits more people :)
Posted by: Talen | 2010.10.19 at 00:30
Martyn, the air con has been off! And I haven't even had a drink in a week!
I'm starting to wonder if I should hit the local Temple and talk to Buddha.
...and if that wasn't enough I have officially been upgraded to infected sinuses! But as Rick said I am in Pattaya so I can't bitch and the round the clock nursing is quite nice.
Posted by: Talen | 2010.10.19 at 00:28
That's a good location. And, sound s like a very good deal. I've stayed in that neighborhood a few times and like it. There's a lot of good restaurants in the basement level of the Esplanade. In many ways, the MRT is better than the BTS...no transfers, no stairs, cooler.
Posted by: fontok69 | 2010.10.18 at 16:06
Talen turn the air con down a bit, as low as you can. Being an asthmatic I know air con is an absolute bastard when it comes to chest colds.
Hope you're feeling better soon.
Posted by: Martyn | 2010.10.18 at 12:32
Rick it sounds like you've got the deal you were after and a change of scene will be refreshing.
What I can't understand is why a single man in Thailand would want a king-size bed......think of the space it's taking up. You can email me your answer.
Best wishes and good luck.
Posted by: Martyn | 2010.10.18 at 12:30
Will put up some pix later Monday. So yeah, happy happy.
Posted by: Siam.Rick | 2010.10.18 at 05:01
Talen, man, you can't win for losing. From tonsilitis to head and chest cold! But tell me, you are living in Pattaya, after all. So life not exactly sucking!
Pix coming Monday, if I can fit in the time before meeting up with what may very well be a potential GF, Chinese-Thai. Life's not so, er, terrible, is it?
Later dude.
Posted by: Siam.Rick | 2010.10.18 at 05:00
Congrats, you sound like one happy camper...and rightly so by the sounds of it!
Posted by: Jon | 2010.10.17 at 23:00
Sounds like you hit the motherload Rick. Can't beat free internet and cable...I love it. But, where are thew pics man...you have to show us.
I'll be calling you in the next day or so...things got a bit hectic for me this week and of course I am sick again with a damn head and chest cold!
Posted by: Talen | 2010.10.17 at 22:04