Bangkok

Name three things that you wish you had brought and three you wish you had left at home.

Wish I had brought: more cash, educational certificates, some winter clothes

Should not have brought: household appliances, blankets, Kids :)

What advice would you give someone preparing to move to your area about the actual move, choosing a neighborhood and finding a home?

Best advice I can give is to talk to other expats who have lived here. Talk to as many as you can because they all have different opinions, but some things come through the same. Talk to Orientations too because it's their business and they know what they are doing. Traffic and flooding can be a problem and the real estate agents will not tell you coz they just want the commission from the lease contract. Better to talk to people like Orientations.

We first moved in to a serviced apartment that was arranged for us by Orientations, It was much cheaper than a hotel and we could cook our own food if we wanted. This was great for the kids. While we were there, Orientations arranged for us to see some houses and apartments. The expat manager came with us and he told us the places that flooded or got jammed up with traffic. It was pretty good because he has been here for years and knows the city well.

How did you choose your neighborhood and find your home or apartment?

My employer has a contract with a company called Orientations (www.orientations.com) they met with us before we left and told us about Bangkok and then the Bangkok branch manager (an expat) met us in Thailand and showed us around the city. They took us to see houses and apartments and because they are not real estate agents they were able to give unbiased professional advice on where to live.

Are your housing costs higher or lower than they were in your home country? What is the average cost of housing there?

Housing costs are higher here, but we live very close to the city so I guess if we were living that close to the city at home it might be the same. Some apartments charge more than the normal rate for electricity and water and with air conditioning on it can start to get expensive. The Orientations guy told us about that and found us a place that does not charge extra.