Job Discussion Forums

[meeshmogee]

Greetings,

I will be taking the CELTA in BKK in November, so am looking for temp housing for approx 7 weeks until I find a job and can move a little closer. The housing suggestions the ECC provided are expensive and the prices listed no longer apply. For example, the response I rec'd from Wendy House last week now lists daily prices as 1k baht day, 25% discount for the month. So for 7 weeks (course is 5 weeks, plus week early and couple days after) the total with the 25% discount is 36,750 baht. This is outrageous. So I was thinking of trying to get an apartment-type room for 4 months. These rooms are much larger, include a place to hang your clothes, and way cheaper (5-7k baht / mo near ecc from what i've seen so far). Has anyone done this? Is this a really bad idea? Even if I only stay 2 months of the 4, and pay for the extra 2 months, it's still cheaper. And if it takes a while to get a job, I still have a cheaper place to look from. What about deposits? Are these refunded quickly and easily? What about hidden fees? Approx how much water and electric cost?

On a side note...what's the job market like in December? Do they still require 12 month contracts, or are is it reasonable to sign a contract till the end of the school year?

That's a lot, so I'll stop for now. Thanks for any advice!

[meeshmogee]

has anyone ever stayed at the Ratchaprarop Tower Mansion?

[Pauleddy]

Wendy House is very central. This is a huge city.

1000b a day minus 25% is 750b. If u get breakfast, wifi and other stuff, that's not dear. Down the road in Suriwong, a busy central area, a "fair" hotel, not a palace, is 1250b (the one I used to use).

When I first came here, I stayed in weekly/monthly rate apartments at Maple House (google it). It was quite nice (pool etc) but was around 18-20k (THEN) for a 1 bed small apt. 2 months would be 40k, and then deposit either 1 or 2 mths. I think that room is 22k now.

It's business. If you are gonna have a 1 or 2 year lease, and furnish the condo yourself---or live 10km outside the centre---of course it'll be cheap. These people know that there is a market for young people doing a 4 week course, and that these people dont wanna start buying furniture and contracting with the wifi company.

keep googling and compare prices. Everyone wants to pay 300b a day, but in central BKK that's a nono. You may find somewhere with a shared toilet, ants and a fan (no air-con...fan rooms are hotter and cheaper) for 300b. I know of one hotel with shared beds used by Thai labourers which is only 99b!! I am sure that there are some sages on here who could do better, but I am trying to keep this in perspective. You haven't got time to look around much. What did the CELTA school say?

750 a day for a room with aircon and wifi which is about 7 minutes walk from Siam Paragon (like being near Times Square or Manhattan) is actually good. I would happily pay that.

eddy

[Paradiselost]

Try Rangnam Apartment on Sriayuttaya Soi 2 (halfway between the main Sriayuttaya Road and Soi Rangnam). It's easily accessible halfway between Victory Monument and Phayathai BTS statins. Less than 15 minutes walk from Big-C and Central World. Lots of buses pass by on nearby Rachaprarop Road. Also near the Pratunam garment district and Bayoke Towers and Regent Indra Hotel. A year or two ago I inquired about rent and they quoted 6,000 Baht/mo. They may have daily and weekly rates too. Very near you will also find Bangkok Apartment, Rachaprarop Tower Mansion (lots of reasonable choices as with Rangnam Apt.), and into the sois are even more lesser known apartments.
There are lots of apartments in the Rachada area too. This is accesible through the MRT various stations along the Rachada area: Hwai Kwang, etc. and the 73 air con bus line and others. Good luck.
http://www.thebestmansion.com/rajaparob/r_eng/monthly_roomrant.php
http://th.pagenation.com/bkk/Rangnam%20Apartment_100.5408_13.7582.map[/url]

[meeshmogee]

wow...thanks! this is great. i will look into those places.

i'm keeping Wendy House as a backup, but for now will keep looking. the size of the rooms (as seen on their website) look a little to small to live for 2 months. especially with needing to stay in to study all the time. it didn't look like there was a desk or space to hang clothes...

i appreciate all the advice, thanks!

one more question...are deposits easily refunded? if i end up staying in a place that requires a deposit, can i expect to get this back when i leave?

[Stephen Jones]

I stayed in a first class one bedroom apartment very near the centre for 13,500 baht a month. IH found it for me but if you want I can try and dig out the address and telephone number and you can contact the landlord direct. Post here or PM me if you're interested.

[meeshmogee]

i'm welcoming any suggestions, so if it's not too much trouble i'd love the name of that place. thanks stephen!