BigStar

Now here you've made a point. Pattaya is after all a tourist resort. The tourists lend a sense of excitement (not to mention craziness) and create its dynamism. Always change, construction, and renovation. The "normal people" are rather behind the scenes and in the quieter areas, which as a tourist yourself you may not have got to. I rather miss the static, stable sense of older Bangkok neighborhoods, too--but not enough to move there unless I had some compelling reason. Pattaya's advantages far outweigh its negatives. :)

Though you've eaten at a place already, you could eat at it again. Moreover, you can order a few dishes here and there for takeout and eat them later, even within the next couple of days. Yeah, keep 'em in your fridge. And you can order from the several online food services. When I first came to Pattaya, I bought a hot plate and cooked on that for a year or so. I rarely eat out, 'cause as you've noted it tends to be less healthy for you. No, they're good suggestions, and we can thank @newnative for taking time to write up thorough refutations of the common nonsense here. After so many years, I've become too bored to make the effort any longer.

Jameson's Havana Bar, Holiday Inn Elephant Bar, Avani Pattaya Resort

D@mn good, enjoyed every bite. Longhorn Steakhouse Pattaya. Walking by, I had noticed the promotion for B595 or thereabouts. The competition's brutal in that arcade, as Patrick's and Beefeater are right there, too. Now I'm getting hungry!

A solution needn't be universally applicable to be valid. (That excuse is often used here to reject any particular diet.) In fact, I don't really think it will be for the OP. He doesn't do anything he doesn't have to. If he learns that the desired farang ghetto does in fact exist, he won't bother to move there. My point is that the choice exists. A reclusive existence can also be rewarding rather than miserable, depending on what he makes of it. 'Course, now, he needn't be annoyed with Thais, either, though he thinks he does. As Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor, wrote, Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

Yes, there is. Instead of seeking a farang ghetto, seek a good psychiatrist.

This. So you have time to explore and develop the inner space. Reading writing, hobbies . . . .

Pattaya ain't the countryside, no. Wanna be a farmer in Isaan, you got to move to Isaan. Yup. I live a relaxed, peaceful life in Pattaya, as most retirees do, and don't deal with any broken or dumb farangs except on the forum. OK. You probably don't want to hold your 50th B'day party at a bar with a buffet promotion for balloon chasers, unless you're one yourself. What was wrong with the Hilton? We surely have a thread about buffets on the forum somewhere. Died with smiles on their faces during a bonk, hopefully, as approved by our ANF Poster Life Coaches. But farang live a wide variety of lifestyles in Pattaya, so that really excludes everyone. Now I'd feel the same should I happen to notice some farang out in the sticks of Isaan working in a rice field.

OK. Seems to me I had seen a table showing that SSO patients getting, basically, large discounts on medical coverage. A quick search can't locate it, however. I'm happy to stand corrected. Maybe in 2025 I'll get on the waiting list for Phyathai. :)

LOL. Burp!

That you're aware of, having seen little of Pattaya, but in fact there is, living in the upscale condos and the housing estates all around. Business owners, professionals, middle managers, etc. Kids going to private schools and later studying abroad, the whole bit. The dynamic growing economy built on international and domestic tourism and retirees has led to a surprisingly prosperous small city. The argument that the middle class isn't as large as Bangkok's is silly and irrelevant, given the respective sizes of the cities. The worry about "residency" is phony in any case. You don't have a credible argument.

No. Besides, you knew what carbs are, you'd see that it does indeed include carbs.

Can't even post without lying.

It was built on fishing, as my friend Lt. Col. Richard, former bomber pilot stationed at U-Tapao, has affirmed. Used to rent a boat with some guys and head out to Koh Larn. What's unreal is living in the past, with which you seem obsessed. With whose members you're unacquainted. So does Pattaya, actually, as you'd discover outside the only streets you know. On weekends a lot of the Bangkok middle class seems to invade Pattaya as well. Many own condos in Pattaya.

Dinnertime! Going on 75, great numbers, no meds needed.

True. Lot of the usual bashing from the utterly clueless. Sour grapes, mostly, but I can't fully account for the desperation. We've heard all the silly assumptions and generalizations countless times. They're still kinda funny. Yep, it's another great day to be in Pattaya. May I have a couple more decades here. Out of pity, lemme throw out this bone for our detractors to chew: the traffic situation isn't perfect, ha ha. But, man up and work around it. :)

My company's HR office set everything up and gave me the form to give my bank years ago. Automatic deduction like clockwork ever since. When I tried to login to the website, I couldn't. I went by the SSO office and got that sorted and also signed the form for changing my nominated hospital. Some years ago I went by when they had stopped sending out ID cards and the old number didn't work when I tried to use it--for the first time. Fortunately, I'd brought along my pink card, which is exactly what they wanted. They were quite nice and helpful both times. I have a new tool for use in large waiting rooms at government offices, when you're stuck at the back: a small pocket telescope for reading the number boards! LOL.

But the SSO coverage at a private hospital is actually only part coverage, right? At least that was the case when I looked into changing to Phyathai Sriricha. It's a good percentage. There was also a list of about 300 people waiting to get accepted into the quota.

Are these still limited to 5 floors up?

Yes. That was his old way of doing things. Now his topic is the new and easy way from within Windows.

I get a pleased response anywhere in Thailand I speak (basic) Thai, esp in Pattaya where it immediately signals I'm not one of the idiots. In your case, it probably has something to do with poor, annoying pronunciation, not to mention personality. Lot of ignorant farang around priding themselves on their mangled imitation of what they thought they heard bar girls speak.

No.

Best Supermarket may, or may not, have a sufficient supply.

No. But most of our Experts here have only known those who work in the sex industry, have got burned, and are known for their cynicism, misogyny, and sour grapes. So the OP has to consider the source of the advice he's getting.