wordchild

just dont request it; i use the airport frequently and usually dont bother with the meet and greet i just walk through fast track myself, never had an issue, never had anyone question, if they did i would just show the visa in my passport.

well a two year closure might be an issue, if and when it happens!

Saphan Taksin, this has been an ongoing saga for several years now. The original plan (from the BMA) was to demolish it and provide a pedestrian walkway to connect to another station further up Sathorn ; but in recent times that seems to have changed to a period of closure (2 years?) to allow for the complete rebuild of the station and the addition of another track to ease the bottleneck caused by the current (single track) design . There has been recent press comment that suggested the closure and start of the rebuild would happen during 2019 but, so far, that has (clearly) not happened. I really have no idea what the current situation is as plans seem to be changing all the time

i missed your post where you said he will be working in Khan Na Yao, which is a fair distance North and West of the airport, so airport link would make no sense. His route to work would likely be Chalong Rat or Highway 9 depending on where exactly his place of work is in that area. I understand why Ekhami/Phra Kanong may be popular with his co-workers as you can access Chalong Rat easily from that location, certainly that time of the morning. Getting home later will be a bit more of a problem. Looks like that maybe is the area you should focus on.

rush hour starts a bit later in Bangkok than most other cities i know. 6-30am is still pretty quiet esp as he would tend to be going against the traffic. His morning commute is unlikely to be much of a problem; the traffic will be more of a problem returning home afternoon or evening. Worth also considering exactly where exactly his office is around the airport as there are 2 possible highways , one that goes North of the airport and another to the South, there are also links that run between the two. they have different traffic patterns, from my experience. If one or the other is more convenient, for his office then that may also be worth considering in terms of where you live. Depending on his office location the airport rail link may also be a good option, esp for his home journey. If i had to commute daily to the airport i would certainly consider that, esp if he has a driver. he can do the morning run by car then home on the train.

I dread to think what a bad days traffic would be like for his commute from The River!

I think you have to consider your husband’s commute first, because from the wrong location, even getting a short distance, in the morning traffic, to get onto the highway can be a bit of a nightmare. Maybe focus on ease of highway access first and foremost and stress that to your agent. From that perspective , mid Sukhumvit is a bit less attractive, and maybe better to consider either Ploenchit area , where you are close to the highway or further out, past Ekhami, also with highway access and which is also cheaper. I use the airport a great deal (almost weekly) and have mostly lived in the Ploenchit area during my time in Bangkok: on a good day, early morning, I can be at the airport in 30/35 minutes from where I live, even a bad day normally under 50 minutes . It would be even quicker from the Phrakanong/Bang Na area.

Empty 90% of the time, depends on kid population in the condo,and school hours etc.

You should easily be able to get a good sized condo within your budget, it’s a renters market at the moment. As a general rule, if you take your months budget, and double it, Knock off 3 zeros, then that would be the kind of sqm condo you could get if a little older and slightly off pitch, eg 100000 would get you a B grade, slightly older 200 Sqm a Little way from the BTS. For better quality and or location add a premium to that. Eg for 100000 budget , I would expect you should get a premium quality and location around 150 plus sqm

Millennium, location is not too bad, certainly will be more convenient than The River, Facilities are good but , my opinion the unit layout not great.

Park Chidlom is really nice, but in my opinion, unit layout poor esp compared to Domus or Athenee

I don’t really know the Thong Lor ones, but the Diplomat and the others on soi 39 are a bit crowded in so I know what you meant in your original post. And anything built in Bangkok in the last 5 years or so will feel cramped compared to the River. There are many that might be worth a look , and I am not a realtor so I have limited knowledge, my comments are only based on my experience and friends. FWIW , I would look at Athenee, Domus (probably best in Bangkok for kids) , Royce, Millenium (not for everyone but good facilities) Park Lane, ficus Lane, and many others. I would focus on slightly older but well maintained with good space.

Have you looked at Athenee residence Ploenchit? Or Domus soi 18, Maybe worth a look if you haven’t

I think you will find it a bit isolated, given what you have said. The river views are stunning , i can understand why you like the condo. I have friends who live there and some who have now moved on, BUT 1) it’s a long way from everywhere it sounds like you want to be, transport links from down there are not great, and then there is the traffic. They also keep saying the BTS station there will close, but I don’t know when that will be. 2) shopping , and I don’t just mean the big department stores (ok iconsiam) I mean even for the basics eg food, is more limited in that area. It’s a bit of a desert outside that condo. 3) social life: I suspect you will find that friends and new acquaintances will tend to prefer to meet a bit more uptown, so you will be spending all your time in taxis. Most long term expats (who want or can afford central Bangkok) tend to gravitate to the Asoke/Thonglor area. There are many different reasons for this, but I guess you will realise this more depending on your lifestyle

i would guess that 18 mil is just the key money a new renter would need to pay to take on the lease for the space, ie the right to pay the rent! for however long , plus fixtures and fittings (maybe)