thanks Juha, we got a 8k bill for march (3br, 4 ppl, 4 aircon randomly)

stefan and ann havent been here for a good portion of the month though. so 8k seemed fairly steep to us.

I am sure it was already asked, but can't find it so:

Where would you advise to live if I want to be close to/in Bangkok and what would a nice one bedroom appartment cost there? Preferrably good security etc.

What are the monthly living expenses if you like to eat out a lot / fast food

And what are the contracts like, can I just rent something for like 3 months and how much in advance do I have to cancel the contract?

Since you will be traveling during rainy season, at least the touristy places won't be packed. However, Thailand is a VERY densely populated country and on top of that, many tourists come here. There are very few places that aren't crowded with people. I don't know where you're coming from, but standard East Coast country side in places like VA, MD and even New Jersey are *much* less crowded than almost every place in Thailand. I think that says a lot.

I have been through many smaller towns/villages all over Thailand and they are not picturesque in the least. Usually a huge multi lane going through town, very concrete industrial feel. In the country side, garbage everywhere because locals don't use trash cans and garbage/clean up collection is poor.

If you want something out of the way and unspoiled, I would skip Thailand because there are better options. If you decide to go anyway, check out Narathiwat/Pattani coast as well as Trang/Satun coast in the South. Both are pretty nice and you can have the beach to yourself. Also, Mae Hong Son in the NE might be a good option. In these areas, you can actually find local towns and villages that have more local flavor to them particularly once you start taking some dirt roads. The problem you will have is hotels, as not many options in these areas, but maybe you're not picky about this... Good luck.

I'm going to disagree with almost all of this reply. Unfortunately I'm a bit too tired to elaborate.

Check the bill to see how much you pay pr. unit. It is fairly standard for the owner of the house to screw your over and x2 or x3 the official rate (which is 7baht/unit I think?)

Think it's more like 4baht Anders. I was paying 3.6baht/unit in the last house I stayed in but I think the government standard can fluctuate a fair bit. Now I'm paying 8baht/unit at a serviced apartment , kinda sucks.

official rate is under 4 baht a unit

atleast that's what i'm paying here

damn thai people too fast for me

7 baht/unit at Central Hill Place. Last year I stayed in a big condo with 3 other people in BKK and one month the electricity bill was about 20k because people forgot to turn off their AC (sukhumvit soi11).

coconut string internet is being pretty fast this morning

yea condos are a different story, we are talking about private houses

It's 3.5 per unit AFAIK.

This is what I suspected. Just to confirm, when my 90 days is up in early Aug, I can leave the country and come back in for the last few weeks on a visa exempt? Or will I need to go somewhere specific (Vientiane..) and get a new tourist visa?

ขอบคุณมากครับ, owe you a beer.

yes you can come back in august without a visa and get 30 days if you arrive by air or 15 days if you arrive by land