where to live: Lang Suan vs Sukhumvit

[janesum]

Hi all,

I am relocating to Bangkok in August. My work is in Bangrak, North Sathorn Road. I was thinking of finding a place in Lang Suan. Is that a good choice or is Sukhumvit e.g. Asoke, Ekamai and Phrompong nicer?

Which are the metro stations in Lang Suan: Ramchadamri, Chitlom, Ploenchit? Does anybody has any recommendations for nice condos? A realtor, assigned by the company is already looking for condos for me; however I don't have any idea which apartment complexes are nice & what is a reasonable rent etc. Would be great if somebody can give me some tips.

Thanks! Looking forward to living in Bangkok soon.

Jane

[seafoodet]

Originally Posted by janesum

Hi all,

I am relocating to Bangkok in August. My work is in Bangrak, North Sathorn Road. I was thinking of finding a place in Lang Suan. Is that a good choice or is Sukhumvit e.g. Asoke, Ekamai and Phrompong nicer?

Which are the metro stations in Lang Suan: Ramchadamri, Chitlom, Ploenchit? Does anybody has any recommendations for nice condos? A realtor, assigned by the company is already looking for condos for me; however I don't have any idea which apartment complexes are nice & what is a reasonable rent etc. Would be great if somebody can give me some tips.

Thanks! Looking forward to living in Bangkok soon.

Jane

Hi Jane, how big of cando you want? i live in Bangkok and have friends, landlord, they may have what you need.

Dave

[janesum]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply. I am looking for a 2 bedroom condo 100-150m2, max 10 min from metro station in Lang Suan or Sikhumvit; not sure yet which area is better. My realtor already selected some condos/ apartments for me to look at. Problem is that I don't have any idea whether the prices they quote are reasonable. Do you know any nice condos? If I have some names I can ask them to look for condos there.

Thanks.

Jane

[Newforestcat]

I spent six years in BKK. In those days, I always frequented the areas you like. I only go to BKK less than three times a year now and no longer claim to know Bkk much. Having said that, I don't think, the atmosphere of each location changes much though.

Lang Suan is possibly still the quietest (as BKK can be), certainly nearest to Bangrak as far as the Skytrain is concerned and most up-market by being near BKK 's biggest park and Wireless Rd which I always think one of the best places to walk in BKK. There are great restaurants, too. Only negative point, Chidlom station is connected to Central Department store, not good if you love shopping too much. But IMHO, Chidlom is my most favourite BKK department store. Emporium is great, too. Paragon has the best restaurants and lovely shops, but too crowded on the other floors!

If I am correct, (must be I am a woman), there is an organic weekend market near Lang Suan, too. I think it could be the only one in BKK. Asoke is OK. Promprong is near Japanese and Korean communities and restaurants, some park and the Emporium, lots of chain restaurants in one place at Terminal 21 but very hip and oriental Kawaii young! There are a few roads off Promprong that are really long, narrow and confusing not my cups of tea. If you don't mind motorcycle-taxis (either using or avoiding them), you are OK. Traffic in these little roads are horrid in peak hours, too. But then to most people it is not much different elsewhere, but when the roads are small, I feel the difference!

The earlier-mentioned traffic issue should not but sometimes does bother me, even though I am a Thai. Living in the middle of nowhere for so long in the UK makes me more intolerant to traffic and a few more things that make BKK the way it is.

If you are fussy-ish like me, if possible, don't take out the longest lease initially! I am a funny person ( my hubby says with funny face, too), sorry if I am sounding very miserable in this post.

Also I am not paranoid, but DO NOT choose an old high-riser or a re-furbished one. If budget allows, choose the newest building. If you can work out who built and designed it, even better. Not easy to find out, rental agents and any salesmen can promise you the moon and stars-consumers' protection is more like a Wet Paint sign people tend to ignore.if rental agents say something is perfect, it is possibly just good by Western standard, generally! There are a few new high-risers near and on Wireless Road built by international contractors. There must be some more elsewhere, but these are all I have seen. I think there was one nearly finished opp the UK embassy but it is very scary crossing that side of Wireless Road as it is one-way (only that side) and the last turn off to avoid a tollway or something according to a taxi driver.

Check fire escapes, check fitted fire alarms and get a portable one! Do have your mobile phone with enough battery near you and a torch in your bedside carbinet at all time! Fires are the worst thing in Bkk based on past news. You can think I am paranoid, believe me some Thais have very casual views re the issue, they block fire escapes sometimes! Some buildings in BKK do not have fire escapes!

I only ever rented one apartment in BKK. My advice in this paragraph is based on that and no one else agrees with me. I like BKK the least on the weekends or during rush hours. I would start my search from my office, if I were you. I usually am less than keen on my office even if they paid me ten times more, but being a sardine on the Skytrain for five or ten minutes then walk or run to Bangrak, is not ideal! I used to go to Uni. near Siam Square and lived about a bus stop or two before Hua Lum Pong Railway Station, possibly about the same distance you have from your preferred areas to Bangrak, I walked to uni. or used taxis and very good shortcuts if I was late and usually walked to my dorm. It sucked when it was really hot or rained (Monsoon rain!). Avoiding motorcycle-taxis using pavements to beat the traffic has been a real pain.

Where ever you are in BKK, if you have some money in your pocket, you can always eat and dress well. But to get a good quality of life, live within a walking distance to work, assuming you do at least five days' work. There are some VERY lovely areas in Bangrak that I think better than commuting on Skytrain everyday. Some really lovely buildings. Some have old-world colonial feel. Just walk around the area near your work, or ask your colleagues. Maybe you could come to Bkk a few days earlier, rent a serviced apartment for a week, then decide. We might just be very different in taste

You might be used to London/Amsterdam train/ underground but BKK is more than 33-35 degrees C most days, you only need to walk for five minutes to feel yak. If all sardines on Skaytrain have done the same, imagine the scene!

You might not mind motorcycle-taxis, I used it everyday for three years. One advice, do not wear long skirts. Someone a few years above me at Uni, a very bright, beautiful girl with everything she would ever need died because of her long skirt by falling off the back of her motorcycle-taxi. A friend needed to go to the North Bus terminal,he told his mortorcycle-taxi guy that he was rushing, the guy rode through a tiny gap between two huge buses, no sad ending as the bus drivers heard my friend screaming like a girl. So do not rush any kind of chauffeurs in Thailand except the ones employed by you, your company, or your hotel. Excuse the gory details.

Don't panick though. Bangkok is not much better or worse than, say, London. But london has more and nicer parks and few more nicer shops and cheaper blings! Bkk has loads of great restaurants and bars, way cheaper than London! Thai import tax mostly is higher than European higest rates of income and inheritance taxes though, desinger stuff in Thai duty free shops aren't worth buying when you can get great-quality or bespoke Thai stuff cheaper. If you cannot live without something consider exceeding your luggage allowance if it still works out cheaper that way! Or maybe you can ship your stuff here free from Import tax? In that case you wanna sell something? Lol

[janesum]

Thanks for taking time to write such a long reply with so many useful tips!
I have been looking for an appartment the last 2 days. Not easy to find one which matches my taste. After 2 days I found 2 nice condos.

One condo 3 min from Rajdamri BTS station; Hansar apartments. Very fancy & new apartment but not too big, around 100 sqm. Around there you have Four seasons and Regis hotel. The immediate neigbourhood does not seem very lively. It's only 3-4 stations to my work.

The second condo I liked is Thonglor Heights. It's big & spacious, not as new as Hansar. Problem is it's far from the BTS; the condo is located in the northern part of Thonglor road. I really like the neighbourhood though; lot of bars & restaurants. I think I will feel home in this area.

So now I am doubting which area to choose. I am alone, so it's important that I can do stuff in my neighbourhood. As the traffic in BKK is so bad I guess you will mostly stay in your neighbourhood to eat & go out. I do have a driver, so in principal I can sleep & work in the car. Additionally, I probably travel more than 50% of my time.

Now I am living in Shanghai; my work is in the east & I live in the west. I commute by public transport 1 hour 15 min one way, but it's worth it. In the west are all the nice bars/ restaurants and nice old neighbourhoods.

Anybody else living in Thonglor & working in Sathorn?
Is it very important to live near the BTS?

Thanks.
Jane

[Rightprop]

Originally Posted by janesum

Thanks for taking time to write such a long reply with so many useful tips!
I have been looking for an appartment the last 2 days. Not easy to find one which matches my taste. After 2 days I found 2 nice condos.

One condo 3 min from Rajdamri BTS station; Hansar apartments. Very fancy & new apartment but not too big, around 100 sqm. Around there you have Four seasons and Regis hotel. The immediate neigbourhood does not seem very lively. It's only 3-4 stations to my work.

The second condo I liked is Thonglor Heights. It's big & spacious, not as new as Hansar. Problem is it's far from the BTS; the condo is located in the northern part of Thonglor road. I really like the neighbourhood though; lot of bars & restaurants. I think I will feel home in this area.

So now I am doubting which area to choose. I am alone, so it's important that I can do stuff in my neighbourhood. As the traffic in BKK is so bad I guess you will mostly stay in your neighbourhood to eat & go out. I do have a driver, so in principal I can sleep & work in the car. Additionally, I probably travel more than 50% of my time.

Now I am living in Shanghai; my work is in the east & I live in the west. I commute by public transport 1 hour 15 min one way, but it's worth it. In the west are all the nice bars/ restaurants and nice old neighbourhoods.

Anybody else living in Thonglor & working in Sathorn?
Is it very important to live near the BTS?

Thanks.
Jane

Hi Jane

If you commute to work by car, the only thing you have to worry is traffic. From Thonglor to Sathorn is not too far. You can get from one to another within 20minutes driving in empty road. But with the traffic could make it to 1 hour at least. Thonglor is nice area, so many restaurants and bars but as i said in the beginning "Traffic". Langsuan is one of good choice too. Nice area and not too quiet as Rajdamri and still walking distance to the BTS. There're many good restaurants around there too and also close to Lumpini park. Easy to get to your office too.
Getting on the BTS in rush hour these day is a pain. It's really really really packed, sometimes you have to wait for like 5-10mins during the rush hour.
Hope this might help.

Lapipat P.
Real estate consultant
Right properties

[Newforestcat]

If I have a driver, I will just live where I fancy. Thonglor is lovely. The further from the main roads and BTS lines, the nicer the atmosphere. There are lots of really classy little restaurants around there! As you will be heading to where you need safely (ie your driver won't just take you elsewhere), you can spend your travelling time doing useful things other than looking at the traffic then wishing you were somewhere else.

I cannot see how your quality of life is going to worsen because of your commutes in this occasion. I don't think I need to wish you good luck LOL. Enjoy!

Welcome to Thailand!

[janesum]

Thanks everbody for your replies; very helpful for me.
Thonglor it is!

Enjoy your weekend,
Jane

[sammycandice]

Sukhumvit!
I live in Bangkok and think Sukhumvit is a great place to start in bangkok.

you have everything you need in the Sukhumvit area

[Jerleaw]

Langsuan as well as Ruam rudee will give you a hassle free commute to Silom / sathorn area.
On Sathorn there is The Met, which is a stylish place with even Duplexes for rent.
I have a small unit at Sukhumvit 67(1 Bedroom) but then again everything on the Sukhumvit line will require you to transit at Siam and in the peek hours that is not really a deserted area