newnative

The longer you live here, the better it gets. As I said in an earlier post, I actually think it's a better place to live year-round than it is as a tourist destination--although that has been improving a lot with new hotels and attractions. Those posters who say they visited for a couple of days and weren't impressed probably were mostly in the tourist/bar areas and likely missed most of the things that make it a great place to live.

The problem is, as you say, you never venture beyond central Pattaya. So, yes, you are hitting some of the same restaurants--especially if you think 130 baht is expensive and mostly eat at cheaper places. There are loads of restaurants all over that you can try. You can eat at a new restaurant every day if you want. Why not hop a baht bus and try some of the restaurants in Jomtien for a change. Or, try north Pattaya or Naklua. Not far to go.

He got an answer from me.

I can only speak for myself, but I spend my time in Pattaya about the same as I did in the US. When I moved to Thailand I did not become a different person. Many of the things I enjoyed in the US, I also enjoy in Pattaya. That's also true for my spouse. We enjoy movies so we like that Pattaya has a choice of movie theaters that show movies in English. We both also like to travel so it's great that a big airport is nearby. We are just back from a China trip. In America, my spouse and I were involved with fixing up properties and selling them and we have been doing that here, as well. Since 2010, we have done twentysome of them, which keeps us busy. We really like the housing variety Pattaya has, and the different neighborhoods. I love to swim but didn't do it as much as I would have liked in the US, due to the weather. Here, I can swim year-round, in my own pool--which I likely couldn't afford in the US. We love to eat out--both here and in the US--and Pattaya has such a wide variety of restaurants to choose from--actually more than where we lived in the US. We have our favorites but we also like trying new restaurants--and there's always something new. We just found a new seafood restaurant near where we live on the Darkside. We didn't have a huge number of friends in the US, and it's the same here. Instead, we have a nice circle of friends that we socialize with and we value their company. We are fortunate that Pattaya has attracted some very nice expats--and we have met some of them and become friends. One new thing we have done here is snorkeling, which we didn't do in the US. We have done it a number of times--both in boat trips from Sattahip and when we have visited other places around Thailand--most recently on a trip to Koh Lipe. We enjoy shopping and antiquing and discovering interesting shops and Pattaya is big enough to have plenty in the way of shopping choices--everything from large malls to one-of-a-kind stores. Today, we did some shopping at a large OTOP store that had a lot of different Thai crafts and then went to another store we like that specializes in old and antique items from Japan--always an interesting stop for us. Found a really nice wall scroll that we'll use in a future project. So, as you can see, we are living ordinary, normal lives here in Pattaya. Doing ordinary, normal things. If we were living in Chiang Mai or Hua Hin it would not be much different. I think we are not alone in this.

Pattaya is a lot more than the bars and most expats do NOT spend all day and night sitting in a bar. Pattaya is rapidly growing because it checks so many of the boxes that expats, both working and those retired, want in a place to live. These include: good size--not too big or too small, good weather, good services, good health care choices, good recreation, good shopping, movie theaters in English, very good choice of housing both to buy or to rent, a nice selection of distinct neighborhoods to choose from, close proximity to a major city and a major airport, large and diverse expat community, coastal city with beach vibe and water activities, such as snorkeling, scuba, etc. It checks more of the boxes than anywhere else we have visited in Thailand--and obviously does for many others, as well. I actually find it to be a better place to live than a tourist attraction but it does have some nice resorts, such as Centara, Cape Dara, Centre Point Space, and others, as well as Nong Nooch Gardens and some nice water parks, with a new one under construction.

Just get it done already.

Separate bedrooms only when one of us is sick.

How many deaths and horrible injuries do we need before this terrible animal breed is outlawed?

My source is official statistics. As I have said many times, and another has just said on this thread, they report the good and the bad. In 2021, they had to report international tourist arrivals of just 427,869. Can you imagine! Did not even reach a half million! For the whole year! How bad did that make them look? Couldn't they have found a few more here and there--or made them up--to make them look better? Yet, there it is, 427,869, for all to see. In 2014, the international arrivals dropped from the year before. Why? Because the coup happened and it kept international tourists away. Embarrassing for the coup leaders. The figures could have easily been juggled to make the coup leaders look good and gain some favor with them. Did that happen? No. There's the embarrassing drop in numbers, for all to see. You may 'prefer to believe' your eyes and a hotel owner you 'speak with' but it's ludicrous to make your warped pronouncements based on such small and unreliable information. You remind me of the deluded poster who recently posted a thread saying that 95% of the crime in Thailand happens in Pattaya. When I called him on it and asked him to produce statistics, he said he had none, but, instead, it was his feeling that the figure was 95% based on his reading of Asean Now. I'm afraid you're methodology is just as suspect.

https://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourists-nationalities-Thailand.asp A slight correction to my earlier post. UK tourists were up around 5% rather than 6% from 2015 to 2019.

Wow, the ink was hardly dry on my post. For the record: It's the same with western tourist numbers. Some posters are of the belief that western tourist numbers were dropping drastically in the years before covid. Also not true. From 2015 to 2019 the numbers rose for every western country tracked except Australia, which did drop slightly. American visitors were up 34% in that period. UK about 6%. Posters do not want to hear this--they will always maintain the numbers were way down because they talked to so and so and he said his bar was not doing that well. Well, there you go--no need to look any further--they've gotten the scoop from so and so.

Exactly. The counting method hasn't changed so it is quite valid to compare one year to another. It's easy to see, for example, that there was a dip in tourists in 2014, the year of the coup. I've posted this a number of times but it just falls on deaf ears--posters don't want to hear anything that does not fit their narratives and perceptions. It's the same with western tourist numbers. Some posters are of the belief that western tourist numbers were dropping drastically in the years before covid. Also not true. From 2015 to 2019 the numbers rose for every western country tracked except Australia, which did drop slightly. American visitors were up 34% in that period. UK about 6%. Posters do not want to hear this--they will always maintain the numbers were way down because they talked to so and so and he said his bar was not doing that well. Well, there you go--no need to look any further--they've gotten the scoop from so and so.

Yet another example of why I am totally opposed to any organized religion.

Hmm. We're either 'ignorant' or 'rich' according to the OP. Maybe there's a third possibility. We don't sweat the small stuff.

Despite what you read on Asean Now, not everybody is poor--and that includes Russians. The fact that they had the means to get to Thailand likely puts a lot of them in the upper class. Thailand is inexpensive so many can afford to live here for extended periods.

Thai spouse's family lives outside of Bangkok near Impact and we have a getaway condo in center city Bangkok. We visit about once a month and enjoy our visits. When my spouse retires we might end up relocating from Pattaya to be closer to his family. If we did we would probably look for a place in the BKK suburbs.

I disagree. There are probably more women working just at convenience stores--7-11s, Tops, etc.--all over the greater Pattaya area than in the bars. Then add in all the other retail--everything from banks to clothing stores to electronincs/cell phone stores to opticians to pharmacies to shoe shops to--the list is endless. Then add in all the hospital workers and all the workers at health clinics, dentists, etc. Hospitals are big employers of women and we have at least 4. Then add in all the workers at the hotels, restaurants, tourist places, etc. Then add in all the women working in Mom and Pop shops--everything from street food vendors to laundries to barbers and beauty salons, etc. etc. No contest.

Yaa! Good decision. He is clearly not fit to serve as President.

I enjoy it. Gets me in a holiday mood.

Great! Hope it passes!

I was going to suggest the Lake Mabprachan/Pong area, as well. The bike trail around the lake is very nice. Fresh market, post office, gas station, local restaurants, badminton courts, pharmacies, and other services are all nearby. We can jump on the Motorway and be on Sukhumvit in about 15 minutes. For an intown location I would suggest Wong Amat. It's quiet and easy to get to hospitals, malls, T21, grocery stores, restaurants, etc. A number of condo choices in the 10,000 baht or less range.

Thanks for the information. Appreciate it.

Yes, Thailand. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and Bumrungrad in Bangkok.

I'm in the same boat and I'm curious as to whether you have had a CAC (Coronary Artery Calcium) test and, if so, what your score was. Like you, I have been taking a statin for high cholesterol for at least 20 years, which has kept my cholesterol within normal ranges. At my last physical, the doctor gave me a CAC test, which I don't believe I have ever had before, even though I have high cholesterol. My reading on the CAC test was 433, which is considered very high. Zero to 100 is the normal range. I've since had an MRI, which indicated my heart arteries have blockages but are not severe enough to need stents at this point. I had not yet seen this posted article with new research on statins or I would have ran it by my heart doctor when I had the MRI. I find myself questioning the effectiveness of statins since I ended up with blocked arteries anyway after taking statins for at least 20 years. While the statin kept my cholesterol in the normal range, it apparently did little or nothing, in my case, to prevent the buildup of calcium in my arteries. Or, perhaps the buildup could have been worse. Color me confused at this point.

If you re-read the post, nowhere does it state that Yellowstone charges more for foreigners.