January 2018, I officially moved to Bangkok. Most asked questions that I got about that so far is, “So, have you settled down in Bangkok? How do you like living there?”
It is always relative, how you determine that you love a place – or not. And to me – and Dennis, Bangkok is one of the city that we can imagine ourselves to live for a long time.
Below I summed up the reasons why I love living in Bangkok – after a year 🙂
1. You can choose what skill that you want to learn – and develop
I love learning, and I can be interested in random things. Several months living in Bangkok, I tried almost all the interesting dancing workout classes out there – from Bungee workouts to contemporary dancing. Latest one, I enrolled at the leather course.
2. You can choose how you want to commute
BTS, MRT, tuk tuk, motorcycle taxi, water taxi, bus, and regular taxi – you name it. You can choose your most convenient method of travel in Bangkok, depending on your budget and how fast you want. My usual commute (before having our own personal car) was BTS and motorcycle taxi, so convenient!
3. Bangkok is a Megapolitan – yet so rich of cultural heritage
Bangkok is a forest of tall buildings, but you can find many temples in between. You can find the most luxurious bulding, yet in China Town there are heritage building. These blend just awed me.
4. Beaches are just few hours away
Rayong, Chonburi, Pattaya, and Hua Hin was some of the close by destination. Having them within few hours (the closest was 1.5 hours) makes it easy for us to go for a short weekend getaway.
5. It is a multicultural city
Maybe it’s just me, but I never lived in a city that embraced such multicultural society before.
6. Good GOOD food
Bangkok food is THAT good. You can find variety of food from the yummy street food to Michelin star restaurants, and the best thing is they are not only Thai food, but a huge choices of cuisines – you name it, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Chinese, and many more!
7. South East Asian destinations are (mostly) just one hop away
On the map, Bangkok is literally located in the middle of South East Asia, which made more destinations more accessible – such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
8. The people
Thailand is dubbed as Land of Smiles for a reason. Coming from Indonesia, I am used to Indonesian hospitality. However, I found Thai people are very polite and nice, even to strangers.
9. The fruits
One of the perks living in Bangkok, you can find fruit sellers in almost every Soi (road), for 1 portion of cut fruit of your choice as cheap as THB 20 (USD 0.6). Moreover, in summer/hot season, exotic fruits are appearing in fruit aisles in supermarket; e.g. durian, lychee, mango (which is especially very delicious!), mangosteen, you name it. In addition, you can find coconut water on the menu of almost every restaurant.
10. The (co)working culture
One thing that I embraced in daily basis is to work in coworking spaces. To me it was more efficient than working alone at home. Though this might change soon (with the baby coming soon), I think this culture is inspiring, providing more choices and chances for startup founders.
