Moving to Krabi mid 2020 - International schools?

[martinjakobsen]

Dearly beloved Krabi residents,

 

My wife, our two children and I are moving to Krabi in June/July 2020. We have lived in Thailand for 10 years, and we both speak fluent Thai.

 

We have been to Krabi before, but never really looked into the province with the intention of living there. Our oldest child will need to attend school (Anuban 3, she is 5), but we are not sure what school to choose. I have found three different international schools: Krabi International School, Krabi International Montessori Academy and The British International School of Krabi. We are particularly interested in Krabi International School and would love to hear from anyone on this forum who has had experience with either of the aforementioned.

 

Furthermore, we are looking for a place to stay as well. We are interested in long-term rentals (preferably house with garden, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) - or we might just go ahead and buy a house somewhere a bit outside the touristy areas. I have looked online, and most of the Thai-based real estate listings do not have much to offer. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places?

 

Lastly, can you recommend areas to stay in? Just looking for a couple of wise words and pointers before visiting Krabi in February. If I know a little bit more by then, I believe it will be easier for us to navigate through the options, and at least have a point of entry to enquiries.

 

I appreciate your time - thank you!

 

 

All the best, Martin

 

[KrabiWhite]

Hi there,

 

I would recommend Krabi International School out of the others listed. It is an impressive development, and has education up until the age of 18, which is convenient if you're here for a while. I also hear that it's strict when it comes to hiring and vetting teachers, ensuring they're fully qualified. It has a good reputation and seems to be constantly growing. I guess an added bonus is that it's Western-run and pretty forward-thinking, which can be hard to come by in Thailand. I'm sure they'd welcome any prospective parents looking around so maybe arrange for that when you visit. With regards to the other option, I didn't know the British school was still open - it's hard to find any details about it. 

 

Finding places to stay can be tricky, a lot is still done through word-of-mouth. There are some facebook groups such as Krabi Real Estate that might be a place to start, as well as just looking on Facebook Marketplace. Krabi International School is in Khao Tom/Nong Thale, so anywhere from Krabi Town to Nong Thale would be within a 25 minute commute. Nearby beaches/districts of Klong Muang and Ao Nang might yield some fruit. Failing that, it might be worth asking the school if they know of anywhere to rent.

 

Good luck with your move.

[KrabiWhite]

An example of a Facebook marketplace find:

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1157921001263069/

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/526920171249423/

[martinjakobsen]

On 1/25/2020 at 10:53 AM, KrabiWhite said:

Hi there,

 

I would recommend Krabi International School out of the others listed. It is an impressive development, and has education up until the age of 18, which is convenient if you're here for a while. I also hear that it's strict when it comes to hiring and vetting teachers, ensuring they're fully qualified. It has a good reputation and seems to be constantly growing. I guess an added bonus is that it's Western-run and pretty forward-thinking, which can be hard to come by in Thailand. I'm sure they'd welcome any prospective parents looking around so maybe arrange for that when you visit. With regards to the other option, I didn't know the British school was still open - it's hard to find any details about it. 

 

Finding places to stay can be tricky, a lot is still done through word-of-mouth. There are some facebook groups such as Krabi Real Estate that might be a place to start, as well as just looking on Facebook Marketplace. Krabi International School is in Khao Tom/Nong Thale, so anywhere from Krabi Town to Nong Thale would be within a 25 minute commute. Nearby beaches/districts of Klong Muang and Ao Nang might yield some fruit. Failing that, it might be worth asking the school if they know of anywhere to rent.

 

Good luck with your move.

Thank you very much for your great reply! Almost strated to think the Krabi forum had been abandoned...

 

I have submitted a request to join the Facebook groups and checked your listings.

 

Thanks again! I really, really appreciate it!

[padlin]

Hi Martin, I moved from Chiang Mai to Krabi just over one year ago. I had intended renting for some time to look around to buy but ... on the the second or third day driving around I came across exactly what I wanted where I wanted it and at the right price. I recommend this method of just driving around. Especially now that I have been living here very happily for over a year ... I have got to know the area withing a radius of about 5km from centre of Krabi town and I like it very much. Easy to drive not much traffic but also there are lots and lots of sois it takes some time to find so I would recommend renting for a short while and driving around and just watching for 'for sale' signs. They are not as frequent as in Chiang Mai but it is in my opinion by far the best way to find what you want. I am an elderly batchelor with Thai partner so I don't know about schools. If ther is anything else I can help you with would be glad to so so. Paddy. 

[Trudy]

HI Martin,

 

I am new to the forum and just just wanted to ask how you originally went about moving to Thailand 10 yrs ago and where from? 

My husband and I have always wanted to live in Thailand since first visiting 18 years ago and after returning with our children in Nov last year the fire has been ignited even more! We are aware that obviously holiday life and living there life is different but we are really looking at no longer putting it off ‘until we’ve got more money’ etc and just doing it. My husband would ultimately like to run a bar and spoke in great length to a Thai lady we’re friends with about this but I kinda just wanna sell up and go and sort it from there-  Life’s too short.

We have an 8 year old so would need to go to school too (at some point????) 

Anyway, any advice is very welcomed. 

 

Trudy