Housing Challenges and Coping Approaches among International Students in Ratchathewi, Bangkok
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This paper examines the experiences and strategies of international postgraduate students in off-campus housing in Ratchathewi District, Bangkok. Off-campus housing is limited and expensive, and many students live in private rental accommodation in areas adjoining the university. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with twelve international postgraduates and uses thematic analysis to explore housing difficulties, decision-making processes and everyday coping approaches. Results indicate that students face interlinked issues of rental affordability, language barriers, a lack of housing information, spatial trade-offs, and variable housing quality. In response, students draw on peer networks, shared accommodation, budget adjustment, informal translation support, collective cooking, minor room modification and acceptance of compromised living conditions. The paper argues that the response to these challenges is not a fixed strategy but a ` coping approach mediated by Bangkok’s private rental market, students’ financial resources, language ability, peer networks and limited institutional housing support. This study contributes to the literature on student housing and urban studies by illustrating how international students acquire situated housing knowledge as they navigate the off-campus rental markets in a Southeast Asian city. It also underscores the need for universities and housing providers to improve multilingual housing information, rental guidance, and accommodation support for international students.
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