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Top 5 areas to live as a student in Bangkok
As a new student in Bangkok, it can get quite confusing and overwhelming. In the first weeks, you might get confronted with culture shock, and at the same time, you have to create a new base. The most important aspect of the first week of the semester is getting an apartment where you can stay for your time in Thailand. Before coming to Bangkok, you can think about your expectations, lifestyle, and standards of living. The area you choose to live in for one semester depends on your preferences and the kinds of experiences you want to have. Bangkok offers great diversity in activities, markets, temples, and shopping malls. Also, you can decide if you want to live on your own or share an apartment. No matter how or where you live, every place or area has its pros and cons.
There are many interesting areas around Bangkok where you can live cheap as a student. Photo by Ragnar Vorel / CC BY
1. University area
Personally I decided to live close to the university. The area of course depends if you study at Siam University or Kasetsart University.Since I am studying at Siam University, I live in the district Phasi Charoen. Usually, in this area there are lots of offers for accommodations, especially for students.
It is fun to live here, since most students live in this area and you can always meet up with friends. Also, it is a short way to the university, and you get there on time, which otherwise could be a problem because of the traffic.
2. Khao San Road area
Living close to Khao San Road can be a lot of fun. You can go to Khao San Road every night and you will not get bored easily. On Khao San Road you will find many bars, restaurants and small shops. But in this area not everything is about partying and loud music. You can get in touch with international tourists very easily. There is a lot of food variety in this area: you can try crazy food such as crocodile meat or scorpions, but there are also plenty of vegetarian and vegan food options, which are rare to find in Bangkok. There are also lots of temples like the Grand Palace or Wat Pho in the area and the river is close by.
There are plenty of tuk-tuks around the Sukhumvit area. Photo by Florian Wehde / CC BY
3. Sukhumvit area
Sukhumvit is the longest road in Bangkok and is very central. This area is quite busy and full of international restaurants, good quality coffee shops and tourist attractions. Also, you can reach the rest of Bangkok easily because the metro and sky train stations are close by. Sukhumvit is more exclusive to live as a student and accommodations are more expensive than in other areas. If you are willing to spend a little more money, Sukhumvit could be a great fit for you.
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4. Siam area
Siam is in the middle of Bangkok and therefore in the city center. Here you can find some of the biggest and most popular shopping centers of Bangkok such as Siam Paragon, MBK or Siam Discovery Center. When living in Siam, you get around easily because Siam connects both lines of BTS Skytrain. To live in Siam is a lot of fun for shopping lovers, but it can be very touristy at the same time. Finding an accommodation in this area can become pricy in general, but since there are also some universities in the area you can find condos at a fair price.
Yaowarat road is located in the center of Chinatown. It´s a popular street where you can eat delicious and cheap street food Photo by Waranont / CC BY
5. Chinatown area
Living for one semester in Bangkok’s Chinatown can turn out to be an unique experience. The atmosphere of this area is quite different than the rest of Bangkok since it is almost a city on its own in the middle of Bangkok. Recently Chinatown got a metro station, which is convenient in order to get to other parts of Bangkok. The center of Chinatown is Yaowarat Road, where you can find plenty of street food and small shops. Chinatown offers good food, cheap shopping as well as several temples. Even though Chinatown is a tourist attraction and it can be crowded, it can become an experience, which you can brag about.
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This article was written by Siam University student Maike!
