Bangkok Vs Pattaya

I have never LIVED in Pattaya (and would probably not choose to do so!) I find BKK to be less expensive overall than the time I spend in Pattaya ... probably because I go out to bars etc in Pattaya far more often.

I have lived in Hua Hin, Bangkok, and Phuket. Phuket beats Pattaya hands down on things to do .. places to go ... scenery .. and pollution. (Yet for me Pattaya is still more fun for a night out with farang friends)

I do not, and have never, needed to be in a large ex-pat community. Most of my close friends are Thai here ... and I do have some farang friends as well. It is not too hard to get around in Bangkok and traffic is not that much of an issue IF you get a decent place to stay. Transpo in and around BKK is cheap and easy (not as cheap as a 10 baht ride in a 'baht bus' in Pattaya, but FAR more convenient! After all BKK has 70k taxis that will take you exactly where you are going!

My personal choice would be Bangkok (outside of Suk/Silom/Sathorn) or Phuket (outside of Patong). From Bangkok you can explore far more of Thailand in a few hours .... and there is far far more to do! You can be in Pattaya in a couple of hours ... (or in Phuket or Chiang Mai ... or Kanchanaburi ... or Hua Hin etc etc)

Even out on the edge of Bangkok there are still plenty of white faces to be seen (not like Bangla or Walking street!).

For folks that don't know Bangkok well I would reccomend getting a Nancy Chandler map and seeing just the things she put in there ... and then realising that the map represents only a small fraction of what is available in BKk.

All told .... if you NEED to hear "you handsum man you" on a daily basis ... go for Pattaya (or Patong) If not then go for BKK.