Been staying S Patts after many Jomtien trips.  Really eye opening.  Got a great hotel, better than the last Marriott I stayed at, for a song.  Not as close to the beach, but easy enough. 

 I am starting to think this is better long term.  Just seems more sophisticated.. and the girls are younger, too.  Of course, these are unusual times, and it would be much more different with thousands of our favorite tourists, be they Chinese, ME, Indian, American, or whomever.. 

So what was your thought process on choosing one over the other? 

Sheers! 

I've always preferred central Pattaya, I couldn't face living in Jomtien, I bought in Pratumnak which is close enough to central, even walkable to Walking St

 

 

If this was baseball, Pattaya would be the Major Leagues and Jomtien would be Double A, minor league ball.

Especially, when it comes to women.

The only advantage to living in Jomtien is owning a condo close to the beach; but then you have to live with the

ensuing noise day and night from non-stop partiers.

The best yardstick for measuring which is better is this question...

If you lived in Jomtien, how often would you go to Pattaya and if you lived in Pattaya, how often would you go to Jomtien?

 

Some low rents in Jomtien now can get ocean views in nice buildings with large rooms for around 10,000 b.

 

But no malls, one small western market, no western fast food places that I know of (just saying sometimes the need arises),  limited massage and male entertainment venues.  The girls I have seen there are not nearly the same looking quality as Pattaya, the beach there is much smaller and eroded compared now to the improved Pattaya.

 

They do have that big Thai market,  but still a motorbike ride to get to it.

Like someone else mentioned, most I know come over the hill to Pattaya just about everyday.

If one does not mind that and some other inconveniences, Jomtien could be OK. Maybe get a motorbike.

Definitely not for me though central and north Pattaya I prefer. 

 

41 minutes ago, LALes said:

If this was baseball, Pattaya would be the Major Leagues and Jomtien would be Double A, minor league ball.

Especially, when it comes to women.

The only advantage to living in Jomtien is owning a condo close to the beach; but then you have to live with the

ensuing noise day and night from non-stop partiers.

The best yardstick for measuring which is better is this question...

If you lived in Jomtien, how often would you go to Pattaya and if you lived in Pattaya, how often would you go to Jomtien?

 

      Spot on, your question.  My partner and I have lived all over Pattaya--from south Jomtien to Wong Amat.  When we lived in Jomtien we found we were going to Pattaya 3 or 4 times a week--so we decided to move and ended up in north Pattaya.  

17 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I've always preferred central Pattaya, I couldn't face living in Jomtien, I bought in Pratumnak which is close enough to central, even walkable to Walking St

 

 

same me pratumnuk is great far enough so cant be tempted to go out everynight close enough so its not a hassle getting home, lived in central patts for a bit was on the <deleted> constantly

I like the quieter Jomtien as opposed to the all night party that goes on in south Pattaya.  Not that I'm opposed to that but I don't want to live right next to it.  I also like the beach in Jomtien better than Pattaya.  Of course I'm not that keen in going in the water at either beach.  The condo that I own sits off the main road so it is quiet.  A higher floor usually catches a breeze which makes it a bit nicer as well.  It's a quick trip over the hill to Pattaya when I want to go there.  

Does it really matter where you stay ? If you stay in pattaya your 15 min away from jomtien if your in jomtien your 15 min away from pattaya for me it has been the same city all together since i came here 20 years ago . It's different if you compare pattaya to bang saen or sriracha or something like that , but pattaya and jomtien c'mon it's one and the same . 

18 minutes ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

Does it really matter where you stay ? If you stay in pattaya your 15 min away from jomtien if your in jomtien your 15 min away from pattaya for me it has been the same city all together since i came here 20 years ago . It's different if you compare pattaya to bang saen or sriracha or something like that , but pattaya and jomtien c'mon it's one and the same . 

I believe it does..... sometimes it takes more than 15 minutes effort to get between the 2 places, more so since they seem to have dug all the roads up. Jomtiem is like Pattaya a decade or so back, and I too would consider it lacking for resources and nightlife.

2 hours ago, LALes said:

If this was baseball, Pattaya would be the Major Leagues and Jomtien would be Double A, minor league ball.

Especially, when it comes to women.

The only advantage to living in Jomtien is owning a condo close to the beach; but then you have to live with the

ensuing noise day and night from non-stop partiers.

The best yardstick for measuring which is better is this question...

If you lived in Jomtien, how often would you go to Pattaya and if you lived in Pattaya, how often would you go to Jomtien?

 

I live about 250 meters from beach I don’t hear any noise except doI dogs , I rarely hear a motorbike I’m near Jomtien night market So peaceful here and rents are dirt bottom 

I was kind of surprised to see that while the jomtien beaches near TMB are well above average, once you get to the southern end, it reminded me of lots of the Oregon Coast..you can be oceanfront without any beach.  Is there a known dividing line in Jomtien, where the "good beach" area is, or is is constantly changing?

 

That was a good point about having a need to get to one or the other.  I will be here for a week without going to Jomtien, but when I stayed there, almost daily trips, that became a chore on weekends. 

I will add, that a few lady friends didn't hesitate to come see me in Jomtien or even mutter "very far," but that likely has more to do with purple persuasion and the local economy, than me being a hansum man. 

Then again, there's always the dark side...

 

I lived in Naklua during my first rodeo and moved to the dark side for my second. Couldn't imagine living anywhere in Pattaya. Even the nice new condo's are sandwiched between narrow, gridlocked, noisy streets. Now we live in Isaan, Jomtien is where we go to the beach when visiting. If we moved back, the dark side would be the first pick again.

I lived on Wongamat Beach and preferred that area over both.  It's much cleaner than both areas yet a short ride into the action and shopping when that's desired Less than 5 mins on motorbike from Terminal 21 and many of my favorite eateries. I could also walk along the beach to several great restaurants on the beach including my favorite in the entire area, the Surf and Turf.

I've lived long term in both and prefer Jomtien. Better bicycling roads, much quieter, and close enough to Pattaya that, when the mood hits me, I can rent a room near LK Metro or on Walking Street, get my freak on, and coast on back to Jomtien sated.

43 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Then again, there's always the dark side...

 

I lived in Naklua during my first rodeo and moved to the dark side for my second. Couldn't imagine living anywhere in Pattaya. Even the nice new condo's are sandwiched between narrow, gridlocked, noisy streets. Now we live in Isaan, Jomtien is where we go to the beach when visiting. If we moved back, the dark side would be the first pick again.

I wasted 3 years in Korat Never Again , Isaan for me, boring and no English 

I have lived all over the place, and can't say I prefer one over the other. I thought every place had its advantages, far away from all the bad reputation I read before coming there. Wongamat is wonderful, South Pattaya as well, and Jomtien the more quiet area. Loved all of it.

But it all came down to the accommodation of my stay. You are close enough to getting everywhere anyway. But I think getting around by your own motorbike is a must. Just staying around the baht bus route, may be boring after a while.

I prefer Jomtien but a disadvantage I find is that there a number of things that I NEED to go to Pattaya for but I think living in Pattaya the only reason I would NEED to go to Jomtien for is immigration.

I choosed to live in Jomtien and especially during this pandemic times I am happy that I do as it's not as dead as central Pattaya due to the many locals and the beach live is also better as there are more thai families and less hookers on or nearby it. 

The distance from the action can be a positive or a negative, but if you are a resident it's a good thing, because you don't get tempted to go out drinking everyday.

My way of going out is anyway more going to restaurants with a girl than barhopping and Jomtien has a lot of restaurants to choose from.

 

38 minutes ago, kaneko86 said:

My way of going out is anyway more going to restaurants with a girl than barhopping and Jomtien has a lot of restaurants to choose from.

Certainly not more than Pattaya surely!

I bought a condo in Jomtien because a high floor beachfront condo in the centre of 

Jomtien (View Talay 5) was half the price of the equivalent in Pattaya (View Talay 6). No busy road to cross when I want a walk along the beach. Cheap, frequent baht bus outside the condo for when I need to go to Central Festival in Pattaya, and just have to cross the road to the airport bus. The little FoodMart across the road has a surprisingly good range of Western food. No noise from bars or clubs, way quieter than my Australian apartment where I’m now stranded.

I also prefer the narrower beach to the new super wide one in Pattaya, as I don’t want to trek across 50 yards of hot sand from under my shady tree to get to the water, not looking forward to the proposed beach widening at Jomtien.

Don't forget the high season nightmare traffic.  It can take 45 minutes to get into Pattaya on a crowded baht bus which will definitely sour your mood.  If you don't drive, you are screwed. 

 

 Also, in high season, a lot of ladies WILL NOT go to Jomtien.  Too far they say.  Start peeling off a few extra hundreds.

Girls are super HOT, wild, and younger in Pattaya...way better for hot action 24/7 and much better beer selection.

1 hour ago, CygnusX1 said:

I bought a condo in Jomtien because a high floor beachfront condo in the centre of 

Jomtien (View Talay 5) was half the price of the equivalent in Pattaya (View Talay 6). No busy road to cross when I want a walk along the beach. Cheap, frequent baht bus outside the condo for when I need to go to Central Festival in Pattaya, and just have to cross the road to the airport bus. The little FoodMart across the road has a surprisingly good range of Western food. No noise from bars or clubs, way quieter than my Australian apartment where I’m now stranded.

I also prefer the narrower beach to the new super wide one in Pattaya, as I don’t want to trek across 50 yards of hot sand from under my shady tree to get to the water, not looking forward to the proposed beach widening at Jomtien.

View Talay 5 is definitely one of the quieter condos in Jomtien if you want to be closest to the beach.  The Dongtan beach strip is waaaay quieter.  Going from View Talay 7 on down, you have a lot of bar noise to deal with-not to mention screaming motorbikes and boom box cars.   And, the higher your floor, the more noise you get.  Nothing to block it out.

9 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I believe it does..... sometimes it takes more than 15 minutes effort to get between the 2 places, more so since they seem to have dug all the roads up. Jomtiem is like Pattaya a decade or so back, and I too would consider it lacking for resources and nightlife.

A 15 min bike drive is not realy a lack of recources it's just lazyness IMO . 

I enjoy central Pattaya. It is close to most of entertainment venue. Access to all kinds of restaurants, shopping more easy, access to malls and movie halls. One of the most important if you are out on bike and rain start you can be in your hotel in few minutes. Imagine riding to Jomtien from central mall in heavy rain.

9 hours ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

A 15 min bike drive is not realy a lack of recources it's just lazyness IMO . 

That is all very well if just going shopping (for very little) ..... I ride around on a bike a lot myself. But if one is having a few beers, the bike is not an option. It seems a little too far for an uncomfortable WIN ride....  Older people cannot use bikes, plus some simply refuse to.....  and I cannot argue them that decision. I really do not see how taking a songtaew over a motorcycle could be deemed as laziness, nothing to do with it. 

I prefer Jomtien only because the air I breathe is better, and less trafic except weekends and holidays. There’s more space too, at least for the moment. 

41 minutes ago, geisha said:

I prefer Jomtien only because the air I breathe is better, and less trafic except weekends and holidays. There’s more space too, at least for the moment. 

Well at the moment the road in is not easy.... half of Thrappaya is closed off heading down to (and from) the beach and parts of Jomtiem second... you cannot exit nor enter Soi5.  (immigration). I had to turn down soi 7 and back into soi 5 from Beach Rd. 

26 minutes ago, geisha said:

I prefer Jomtien only because the air I breathe is better, and less trafic except weekends and holidays. There’s more space too, at least for the moment. 

I feel the same,but I am coming round to the idea that splitting a holiday up is the way to go.Start in Pattaya and stay till I can't stand the traffic,pollution and noise etc and then move to jomtien.If I was to choose one to live in full time it would be jomtien.

Choose Pratamnack, the best of both worlds