Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok; one of the best connecting airport hubs in Asia
Dan from Tropical MBA wrote an interesting post last week comparing the quality of living and working in Bali vs. Thailand. Although it’s a great post and defo worth a read, I personally think comparing Thailand with Bali is an unfair comparison. After all, Bali is just an island whereas Thailand is a whole country.
In Thailand you have a far wider range of settings to chose from than Bali. From small cities to big cities to islands to beaches to rural areas where’s there’s little development. Compare this to Bali where you’ve basically got the choice between living by the beach or up in the rice paddies – you can probably see my point.
So where is the best place to live and work in South East Asia?
For me personally, there isn’t a perfect place. That’s one of the reasons I still do not have a home yet :)
Like every region in the world, everywhere has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Isaan has the fastest internet speeds. Don Den in Laos is the most impressive island I’ve ever visited. Phuket wins for partying and bars. Singapore has the best visa offerings. Without a doubt Bali has the best surf in South East Asia. Bangkok has the best dinning scene. Isaan has the best motorbike culture (Dan, in Bali it’s far to dusty!). Hanoi would win if your looking for charm. Kuala Lumpor has the best connecting airports due to Air Asia HQ being located there. Isaan would win for the best value for money. The list could go on and on.
My advice would not only differ based on your personal interests and personality, my recommendations would also differ based on how many countries you’ve visited in South East Asia and how well you know the area. The more you travel, the easier (or harder) it’ll be to chose a place you’ll want to call home.
In an ideal world, I’d recommend newbies visit as many countries in South East Asia as possible, so you can get a feel of what suites your style best. If you need a base while doing this, I would say Bangkok wins hands down.
The Vertigo Bar in Bangkok; you’ll never get bored of dinning out in Bangkok
Bangkok is unique city in that what you see if not necessarily what you get – especially for newbies. I don’t know any other city that’s like this.
The more you learn your way around Bangkok, start to form a network of friends and pick up a little Thai, you’ll get to see a completely different Bangkok than the first time visitors or tourists get to see. Somehow, Bangkok will turn into one of the world’s easiest cities to live in, from one of the most difficult cities when you first arrive. It takes some patience and a bit of work, but the rewards can be worth it.
The biggest advantage of basing yourself in Bangkok for a while is that Bangkok has one of the best connecting airports in Asia. With the budget airline Air Asia, you can pretty much get around anywhere in South East Asia for under a hundred bucks. And then there’s heaps of cheap accommodation options to chose from, that would allow you to save some extra change in order to travel and explore more of the region.
I dream about a home office just like this one
As for me, I have been looking for a place I can call “home” for a while now. I relish the thought of having a base where I can store my stuff in, a place I can cook my own eggs in the morning and a proper desk with a proper office chair I can use to get work done. As to where this will be, I’m still unsure. To much choice is sometimes a bad thing. However based on my feelings right now, it would be a tough choice between Isaan and Bangkok.
Where do you think the best place to live and work in South East Asia is?
I live in the outskirts of Bangkok, about an hour to get into the city, 30 minutes to the airport. Dunno i could stay right in the center or any other downtown area. I’m happy to have some fresh air and not the traffic mayhem on a daily basis. I feel much less distracted here to get work done. There are not a million things competing for your attention that you need to resist. Rents are pretty cheap out here. You can get a house for the price of a downtown condo easily. Not sure i could live in Isaan, i need the option to get inside the heart of the action, although i don’t do it too often. The area is called ‘Bangna’, it’s that part of the city where they already build the Skytrain extension to, but still far from open. So when they eventually open it one day getting into the city is even easier.
Good tips on the distraction aspect of living in the city of Bangkok!
As for Isaan, what part have you been to Jan?
This subject is so subjective that it can only be answered by the individual, whilst sun and sand may seem fun whilst you are young it has its pitfalls when you want to settle down and support a family, or build a more conventional business base.
Regardless of whatever type of business there is always the need to network to meet existing and potential customers and develop better business relationships, unless your target market is Bali or Thailand then you will need to travel often as Malaysia, Singapore and Korea offer greater networking opertunities. For this Singapore wins hands down, the ease of travel, better transport systems and simplicity of doing busniess more than make up for the lack of “sand and surf”, especially given the number of budget airlines and destinations within a few hours of Singapore.
Indeed, the subject is so subjective – which was my point really – newbies need to go out and find what works for them best.
I also agree Singapore is a world class city for business and would seriously consider living their if/when I have kids. Not sure I could live there now thou.
I’ve just returned to Chiang mai after being on the Philippines for a few months, hopefully will base myself here for four months or so. It is a great place to live, lots of culture, great food, good shops, 3D cinema, cheap accommodation, good internet, university chicks everywhere :-)
The main problem with the place is that from February it becomes very smoggy for a few months due to the farmers burning their land; guess that will be the time to hit the islands!
Chiang Mai is not really for me, but it would defo be worth newbies checking out.
Why don’t you buy a condo in Bangkok? You could resell it if you find better later on. Nope?
I have been living in Bali for the past year and I would say the only problem of living here is the internet speed, especially if you rely on it for business. It is getting better however and it is a good excuse sometimes to just get away from the computer if there is a problem.
I wrote a guide for anyone interested in starting a business in Bali. It’s definitely not easy, but starting a business anywhere in Asia has its challenges.
Bali is only one of 17,000 islands in Indonesia, so there are plenty of other places to explore.
The internet speeds were just a pain for me… especially as I do a lot of FTP stuff. Here’s hoping they improve quickly! :)
Internet Speeds are better nowadays. As me being Indonesian and is living in Indonesia, I myself prefer to stay in Bali. FYI, now I’m living in Jogja and it becomes more and more pain in the ass. I’m moving to Bali myself … :)
Great article Chris: first off, you said Isaan has the fastest internet speeds. Is that a typo?! I agree that Bangkok is kind of the de-facto starting point in SEAsia, although Manila could make sense for the agressive and scaling entrepreneur, it doesn’t make as much sense as Bangkok in terms of lifestyle. Love the Hanoi call on Asian charm. I’d say Saigon is my favorite place so far to eat in SE Asia, it also has a killer cafe/WIFI scene for all those folks who don’t yet have that big home office.
I really resonate with the idea of nothing really has it all, and well, there are just so many damn options that are so cheap and easy to get to and get set up for short or medium term stints. I mean, as guys living and working in SE Asia we probably visit a new country more often than most of my friends living in Brooklyn visit Harlem or Hoboken.
As I continue to move to new countries in SE Asia, I’m finding it more fun to keep going and expanding my network. Looking forward to seeing Isaan soon. How long do you think you’ll be set up there this go-around?
Cracking Post Mate,
The only thing I could add is, where you recommend newbies visit as many countries in South East Asia as possible, is that you must really live and work somewhere for at least a few weeks, or ideally a couple of months to properly evaluate a place.
eg. I’m in the Philipines at the moment and do not rate it. BUT I’ve only been here less than a week so far. So I have not gone deep enough yet to really know how it all works.
I couldn’t choose the best place I’ve lived and worked yet but the worst places for me would be when I’ve lived on or very close to a strip a bars, far to easy to forget work and go out partying instead. I reckon both you and Dan can relate to this one ;-)
Milt… great to meet you man :)! No SEAsian lifestyle design blogger has yet to seriously crack the topics of sex, drugs, and rock and roll… although that’s a big part of whats going on here obviously…. Chris is probably one of the more open guys out there. Very intriguing topics might start writing on them next year.
HI Mit
give us a short rund down on your take on living in the Philippines if you get time
thanks
I’ve been living in Bangkok for just over a year now and I would probably give it my vote for best place to setup a base if you are working for yourself.
I’ve been to Singapore and although I love it it is a bit pricey and perhaps a little sedate.
I love Bali but think it might be too remote and lacking the Western options Bangkok has to live full-time there.
I’ve not been up to Isaan yet but it is on the (long) list of places to visit.
Hi Joe, I have studied in Bangkok in the past and would love to relocate there to start an online business…Can you explain how you can stay there for more than 1-2 month like you? I would love to stay there 1 or 2 years without having to go out of the country too much. I have a EU passport. Thanks!
Isaan has the fastest internet speeds, can you elaborate, where are you talking about??
The speeds in Mukdahan are really good, although I’m not getting the same in Ubon.
Nice blog post, dude!
I’ve been in East Africa for the past few years (haven’t been home to North America yet!), but Asia keeps calling. Hmmmnn…Bangkok eh?
I do miss Chinatown scene of downtown Toronto and its cheap Asian cuisine. Which do you find tastier…Vietnamese or Thai cuisine?
I’m hooked on Vietnamese cooking.
Could anyone tell me how to find a job in here? Any job site where I can find jobs and apply for one
Bangkok looks very similar to Manila, especially the vertigo bar view.
Have you visit Davao City, Philippines?
Bangkok isn’t similar at all to Manila, Jack. I lived in both for a few months on and off. The people, food, transport, all totally different. Of course if you only spend your time in high end areas everything looks similar.
Get out there with and between the locals.