newnative

Dad lived to 95, Mom to 101. Dad was sharps a tack right to the end, Mom had dementia, increasingly bad, the last 15 or so years of her life. I'm shooting for Dad's age--but only if I keep my wits.

Tamp down the drama and faux outrage. Post away. And, I assume I am allowed to do the same--which is all I was doing. I found it interesting that one poster commenting had not been to Pattaya in more than 10 years and the other had a 1-day visit 12 years ago. I did urge both posters to 'continue to comment to their heart's desire'. I look forward to their keen insights on the Pattaya of today.

Well, that's two. And, yes, please both of you stay away. Pattaya is busy enough. And, meanwhile, you can continue to comment on all things Pattaya to your heart's content--with your 'one day/night' visit 12 years ago you are certainly as informed and up-to-date on Pattaya as most of the posters here.

Haven't been there in sometime but when we went the meals were great and the service wonderfully unhurried.

Housing would likely be cheaper. One thing that is topsy-turvy in Thailand compared to America is the prices of condos vs. houses. When I lived in the US, I could never afford a single-family home in the area I was at. Heck, I couldn't even afford a townhouse. I could only afford a 1 bedroom condo. Compare that to Thailand. The last condo my spouse and I owned in Pattaya was a 1 bedroom 79 sqm unit. We sold that several years ago and netted 9MB, which we used to buy our first house. Recently, we finished construction on a 4 bedroom, 5 bath house with pool and 2-car garage near Lake Mabprachan. Total cost, including land, house, 3x9 pool, landscaping, built-ins, loose furniture, appliances, including 2 kitchens, electronics, drapes, and everything else came to 8.4MB. Topsy-turvy.

You see this all the time on the Darkside of Pattaya, too. There is a housing boom and tons of home construction going on all over. Lots of pick-up trucks carrying the workers in the back--sometimes so many that they are standing, with nothing much to hold on to.

Boo hoo

I agree. Dr. Somchai is excellent. I investigated lasik in the US about 15 years ago and was told with my vision I would still need to use glasses either for distance or close-up. Passed on doing it. Came to Thailand in 2010 and spouse and I both had lasik around 2012 with Dr. Somchai. He was able to do my lasik so I had good vision both for distance and close-up. No glasses needed at all. Twelve years later, our vision had deteriorated a bit so we did the Supersight and we're both very happy with the results. Spouse's Supersight was around 250,000 baht and mine was more because I needed a different kind of lens, if I'm remembering correctly.

Spouse and I had Supersight surgery done at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya earlier this year. Very pleased with the result and the whole process, which involved an overnight stay in a private room at the hospital and good follow-up care. My insurance paid for my procedure, which would have cost me 300,000 baht for both eyes.

"We are fully prepared to ensure everyone’s safety during the Christmas and new year celebrations." What about the rest of the year? The only cops I ever see--and spouse and I are out and about a lot--are the 2 cops by Central Festival Mall. Where are all these 420 officers? Not on the streets, that's for sure.

I am in Pattaya. Spouse and I eat out fairly often and we have not noticed any deterioration at the restaurants we go to regularly. Yesterday we had a delicious lunch with four friends at one of our favorite restaurants here on The Darkside. We don't eat at too many chain restaurants but those we do eat at, such as Miyazaki and Fuji, have maintained quality and food portions. Luckily, living in Pattaya there is a wide variety and number of restaurants to choose from. If one goes downhill, we can stop going to it and there are plenty of others to choose from.

I don't think anyone is blaming the victim. Rather, they are questioning his choice, at his advanced age, to be out by himself at midnight in an area apparently without many people around. I would not do that anywhere in the World, and that includes Pattaya and the small city where I lived in the US. Someone will be along, I'm sure, to say that people should be able to walk around alone at midnight and be perfectly safe. Yes, they should. In a perfect World. Which this is not. And, since it's not, a prudent person acts accordingly.

Yes--we've done the new train--which I didn't mind. What I didn't like at Dubai was both a bus and a train.

I agree--you need to allow plenty of time between flights. Spouse and I will try to avoid Dubai airport in the future. Emirates has just gotten too big, we think. On our last flight, even though Emirates is the big cheese at the airport and should get slots close to the terminal, we had to deplane using outside stairs--welcome to the 1960s--and I guess in the middle of nowhere. I say that because we then had to take a very long bus ride--standing the whole time. I thought that would put us at the terminal but, no. We then had to get on a train to get us the rest of the way. Finally at the terminal, it was still a long walk to our gate for the next flight. Every time we use other airports it make us appreciate Suvarnabhumi and how well it works. Our recent trip earlier this month was a breeze going through the security checks and Immigration.

Now, on to Pattaya and let's win there.

Long overdue but will likely remain hugely bloated.

If he starts a Go Fund Me to help with his legal costs that's one I'll support,

Deport him and ban him for 10 years.

If you are living in a country you need to be required to live by the laws of that country. Period. One set of laws for everyone.

Absolutely! Yes, you can rent a place in the middle of nowhere cheaply but then what? How do you take care of everyday, normal necessities? Dental and health check-ups, getting a haircut, Immigration, grocery shopping, banking, etc. Likely, it's going to mean getting in the car and driving a distance to do these things. And, what do you do with yourself all day, stuck out there? If you're on a budget, I think you'd be better off somewhere like Pattaya, where there is a large variety of housing available at all price points, whether renting or buying. If you locate near a baht bus line, you can cheaply handle some of your transportation needs. Although cooking for yourself can save money, sometimes you need a break and the mall food courts, such as the one at T21, offer inexpensive meals, in a lively atmosphere. While you're at the mall you can get some exercise mall walking in the air-conditioning--sort of the reverse of the mall walkers in America who get exercise in the winter by walking the heated malls. Pattaya also offers free entertainment from time to time--from music and other festivals to fireworks and sports events. Even on a 20,000 baht budget, there's likely room to see a movie now and then--and Pattaya has several movie theaters in English. With a large expat community, there's also the opportunity to make some new friends to socialize with.

The World's less refined.

As another poster said, time to find another pool boy. Our pool boy cleans and maintains our salt water pool 3 times a week for 1500 baht a month. When we are away he also waters the garden. Yes, we have a gem.

Worth every penny. The first condo we bought in Bangkok was about 800 meters from the Phetchaburi MRT stop. We thought, '800 meters, well I guess it's not that far. And, the condo does have a shuttle bus to take you to the station.' After riding the subway and walking around all day, yes, it was way too far--and the shuttle bus never seemed to be running when we needed it. Sold that condo and bought another one that's just a 2-minute walk to the same station. Much better!

Did you read the post I responded to? I think if you read all the posts on this thread you will find a number that aren't strictly about living on 20,000 baht a month, including your post about dreams. But, I find nothing at all wrong with that. I like that a thread can often go somewhat off topic--I find it can keep things interesting. I was responding to a post that questioned why anyone not interested in the nightlife would choose to live in Pattaya. That was also off-topic but I felt it deserved a response from someone who actually lives in Pattaya, which I gave.

There are lots of people who live in Pattaya part-time or year-round who 'never get involved with nightlife there'. That includes my spouse and myself, and most of the people we know who also live here. The location is terrific to start--we can be at our center city Bangkok getaway condo in less than 2 hours--with a drive on the Motorway that's much easier and faster than, say Hua Hin. Suvarnabumi is only about 1.5 hours away--very convenient as we like to travel. Spouse and I have been car-shopping and just about every auto brand imaginable is available in Pattaya, including 3 or 4 of the new Chinese brands. We ended up buying an suv from BYD, which has a dealership in town. No need to drive long distances to get to a dealership. Ditto that for a selection of good hospitals, and good dental and eye care. Shopping is excellent, with both Terminal 21 and Central Festival Mall, as well as some other shopping centers. Movies in English at several different movie complexes. Good big box stores, including Index, Home Pro, Boonthavorn, and others. Also good supermarkets with Makro, and several branches of Big C, Lotus, Villa Market, etc. Plus numerous local food markets. Lots of recreation available with golf courses, badminton and tennis courts, public gyms, snorkeling, biking trails, other boating activities, etc. We love to eat out and Pattaya has tons of restaurants--and you don't need to go to the tourist areas to find them. We are on the Darkside and there are lots of good restaurants on this side of Sukhumvit. By far the biggest draw has to be both the variety of neighborhoods to choose from and the equally large variety of housing available, at all price points, whether one chooses to rent or own. There's likely a neighborhood--with a good choice of housing--to fit just about any lifestyle. Whether you want a big pool villa in a quiet area or an oceanfront condo on one of the beaches--or something more modest--you'll be able to find it in Pattaya.