Living alone in Bangkok

[Harrisfan]

4 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

What is my age ?

77?

[Ralf001]

14 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

77?

555... <deleted> OFF.

 

I will check out soon.... I wont see 50.

[FritsSikkink]

On 3/25/2025 at 5:25 PM, georgegeorgia said:

I know all single male expats go to live in Pattaya 

 

No, they don't

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

No, they don't

Agree, never lived in Patts when single, and actually regret visiting the few times I did, as a bit of wasted time.  Better spent elsewhere.

 

Thought never crossed my mind to live there, especially after visiting.

[Harrisfan]

19 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Agree, never lived in Patts when single, and actually regret visiting the few times I did, as a bit of wasted time.  Better spent elsewhere.

 

Thought never crossed my mind to live there, especially after visiting.

I never think wasted if once. If hate it dont go back. Some places click some don't. There's only a few towns I hated I wouldnt go back.

[balo]

It's very simple, live alone and save money, find someone and be prepared to pay for everything. 

 

 

 

 

[Andrew65]

3 minutes ago, balo said:

It's very simple, live alone and save money, find someone and be prepared to pay for everything. 

 

 

 

 

I lived alone there for 20 years. When I left I took £60k with me.

[newnative]

19 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Agree, never lived in Patts when single, and actually regret visiting the few times I did, as a bit of wasted time.  Better spent elsewhere.

 

Thought never crossed my mind to live there, especially after visiting.

     As i have said a number of times, Pattaya is actually a much better place to live year-round than to visit.   As a visitor, I would probably have your same reaction--especially if one only gets to a small part of greater Pattaya during a visit.

     Living here year-round is when you grow to appreciate all Pattaya has to offer.  Great variety of housing of all types at all price points--probably the best selection, or certainly one of the best, in Thailand.  Important, as housing is usually the biggest monthly expense.   Along with the great housing selection is also a great selection of distinct neighborhoods to live in--from different beach areas, each with their own vibe, to the huge Darkside, with large pool villas available for the price of a 1 bedroom beach condo.

     Great shopping with two major malls and all the big box stores, huge variety or restaurants, great health care choices, a big variety of recreational choices, large expat community, several movie theaters in English,  Bangkok and two major airports less than 2 hours away, large Immigration office easy to get to.   Etc.

    Normal needs are easily met.  Time for a new car?  Pattaya has dealerships of just about every brand available in Thailand--including three or four new Chinese brands and both Korean brands.   So wide selection.  Start with BMW in the south and end with BYD in the north.  Easy and handy--and being one of the laziest people in the World, I like easy and handy.

     Living here going on 15 years, spouse and I find it an easy, safe, comfortable place to live that checks more of our boxes of wants and needs in a place to live than anywhere else we have looked in Thailand.   And, we have looked.  I think many expats are also finding this to be the case.   By the way, we've walked on Walking Street exactly once.  The entertainment areas, a small part of greater Pattaya, are easily avoided but there if you want them.

[KhunLA]

29 minutes ago, newnative said:

     As i have said a number of times, Pattaya is actually a much better place to live year-round than to visit.   As a visitor, I would probably have your same reaction--especially if one only gets to a small part of greater Pattaya during a visit.

     Living here year-round is when you grow to appreciate all Pattaya has to offer.  Great variety of housing of all types at all price points--probably the best selection, or certainly one of the best, in Thailand.  Important, as housing is usually the biggest monthly expense.   Along with the great housing selection is also a great selection of distinct neighborhoods to live in--from different beach areas, each with their own vibe, to the huge Darkside, with large pool villas available for the price of a 1 bedroom beach condo.

     Great shopping with two major malls and all the big box stores, huge variety or restaurants, great health care choices, a big variety of recreational choices, large expat community, several movie theaters in English,  Bangkok and two major airports less than 2 hours away, large Immigration office easy to get to.   Etc.

    Normal needs are easily met.  Time for a new car?  Pattaya has dealerships of just about every brand available in Thailand--including three or four new Chinese brands and both Korean brands.   So wide selection.  Start with BMW in the south and end with BYD in the north.  Easy and handy--and being one of the laziest people in the World, I like easy and handy.

     Living here going on 15 years, spouse and I find it an easy, safe, comfortable place to live that checks more of our boxes of wants and needs in a place to live than anywhere else we have looked in Thailand.   And, we have looked.  I think many expats are also finding this to be the case.   By the way, we've walked on Walking Street exactly once.  The entertainment areas, a small part of greater Pattaya, are easily avoided but there if you want them.

Actually the same reasons we left Udon Thani apply to Patts and then some.   The gridlock is simply too much, especially weekends, along with lack of parking anywhere.  Just the congestion, and impact that has on everyday life.   Simply too many people.

 

We live outside of town,  and 'in town' has less than 26k people, and would bore the hell out of most people after a long weekend.  But we love it.

 

Aside from Patts being a international tourist area, which we definitely wouldn't want to live near.  We get the BKK weekenders that have tired of Hua Hin, but very few in reality.

 

Along with Patts, being still further away from the south, where we prefer to go O&A, during smog season.   Will go north, but only during rainy season.  Does limit things when wanting to get away from the house, which we do often.

 

 

[newnative]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Actually the same reasons we left Udon Thani apply to Patts and then some.   The gridlock is simply too much, especially weekends, along with lack of parking anywhere.  Just the congestion, and impact that has on everyday life.   Simply too many people.

 

We live outside of town,  and 'in town' has less than 26k people, and would bore the hell out of most people after a long weekend.  But we love it.

 

Aside from Patts being a international tourist area, which we definitely wouldn't want to live near.  We get the BKK weekenders that have tired of Hua Hin, but very few in reality.

 

Along with Patts, being still further away from the south, where we prefer to go O&A, during smog season.   Will go north, but only during rainy season.  Does limit things when wanting to get away from the house, which we do often.

 

 

    Traffic definitely is a problem, especially on weekends and long holidays.  We try to avoid going into town on weekends and, since my spouse works from home, we can go in during the week.   We're on the Darkside but can be at T21 or Festival in around 15 minutes or so non-rush hour/weekends so not too bad.  The Darkside, itself, is no longer very dark and has plenty of restaurants and services now so we don't really need to go into Pattaya that much--but we still like to.  

[KhunLA]

19 minutes ago, newnative said:

    Traffic definitely is a problem, especially on weekends and long holidays.  We try to avoid going into town on weekends and, since my spouse works from home, we can go in during the week.   We're on the Darkside but can be at T21 or Festival in around 15 minutes or so non-rush hour/weekends so not too bad.  The Darkside, itself, is no longer very dark and has plenty of restaurants and services now so we don't really need to go into Pattaya that much--but we still like to.  

We sampled a newer place last night locally.   Facing surfside, decent food, park in front, to side, not to block the view.  No congestion, not crowded, and first time in a while down surfside on a Friday night.   Everyone at the other end of the surfside road for the weekend walking street market.

 

No traffic to speak to get there, (8 kms) about 10 mins from house.

 

I would never attempt to drive to a surfside restaurant in a tourist town on the weekend, or during the week, at normal dining hours.

 

[Harrisfan]

On 3/29/2025 at 5:26 PM, KhunLA said:

We sampled a newer place last night locally.   Facing surfside, decent food, park in front, to side, not to block the view.  No congestion, not crowded, and first time in a while down surfside on a Friday night.   Everyone at the other end of the surfside road for the weekend walking street market.

 

No traffic to speak to get there, (8 kms) about 10 mins from house.

 

I would never attempt to drive to a surfside restaurant in a tourist town on the weekend, or during the week, at normal dining hours.

 

Prachuap is cool. More farangs go there now. Still good.

[KhunLA]

26 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Prachuap is cool. More farangs go there now. Still good.

Yea ... a lot more.  I use to be the only farang at Makro, usually, shopping.  Now I'm one of 5-8 farangs 🥵

 

We sat surfside the other night, munching that 2 for 1 pizza the other night, Saturday, and the place was very busy.  Actually limited parking surfside.  First time in a while down on the weekend.

 

Wife decided she wanted to stroll around the weekend market, and I got to 2nd soi away, and stated this is as far as I'm going.  Call me when done and I'll meet up.  Easy 100-150m away, and it was packed ...

 

... never mind, go home 

 

Rest of week, it's still quiet, except for the one seafood place, and strangely the 2 farang managed places next to each, full of .. farangs.   Actally the last place you'd find me eating.  Especially after peeking at their offerings & pricing.

 

That different strokes thing.

[Harrisfan]

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

Yea ... a lot more.  I use to be the only farang at Makro, usually, shopping.  Now I'm one of 5-8 farangs 🥵

 

We sat surfside the other night, munching that 2 for 1 pizza the other night, Saturday, and the place was very busy.  Actually limited parking surfside.  First time in a while down on the weekend.

 

Wife decided she wanted to stroll around the weekend market, and I got to 2nd soi away, and stated this is as far as I'm going.  Call me when done and I'll meet up.  Easy 100-150m away, and it was packed ...

 

... never mind, go home 

 

Rest of week, it's still quiet, except for the one seafood place, and strangely the 2 farang managed places next to each, full of .. farangs.   Actally the last place you'd find me eating.  Especially after peeking at their offerings & pricing.

 

That different strokes thing.

Ban Krut gets lots of farangs too. I was surprised by how many.

[KhunLA]

11 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Ban Krut gets lots of farangs too. I was surprised by how many.

Our favorite Gulf beach.   If they had a Makro there, may have based ourselves there instead of PKK.  Looked at a lot of land down there, but no luck finding any builders.   

 

As soon as they opened a Makro at PKK we moved down and rented for 1-2 yrs before building on the land we bought a couple years earlier there.  They had a Tesco/Lotus, but about as useful as 7-11, or maybe even less so 

 

Having a Global House & HomePro were added pluses also.  All fairly new 8 ish years ago.

[Harrisfan]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Our favorite Gulf beach.   If they had a Makro there, may have based ourselves there instead of PKK.  Looked at a lot of land down there, but no luck finding any builders.   

 

As soon as they opened a Makro at PKK we moved down and rented for 1-2 yrs before building on the land we bought a couple years earlier there.  They had a Tesco/Lotus, but about as useful as 7-11, or maybe even less so 

 

Having a Global House & HomePro were added pluses also.  All fairly new 8 ish years ago.

Have you been to Lang Suan?

[Prubangboy]

I live on soi 33. Tons of meetups, yoga, The Siam Society, walking tours, and on and on. Nothing is more than 10 minutes in a cab away. I am spoiled for choice.

 

I am spoiled for choice -dining options are among the best in the world.

[Harrisfan]

3 minutes ago, Prubangboy said:

I live on soi 33. Tons of meetups, yoga, The Siam Society, walking tours, and on and on. Nothing is more than 10 minutes in a cab away. I am spoiled for choice.

 

I am spoiled for choice -dining options are among the best in the world.

22 and 33 are good sois.

[rough diamond]

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

22 and 33 are good sois.

That travel agency of yours is well informed.  For every area/region/city of Thailand mentioned on AN you apparently have perfect, I assume, first hand information!

 

PS; Which travel site do you get your info from? Just asking for a friend!

 

[Prubangboy]

It's always good to be among the Japs. Wherever there's Nuru Massage, there's some good Izakaya's. Soi 33/1 -5 good moderate priced J-restaurants, including an eel only place.

 

Next lease may be in Thonglor. There's a lower key J-neighborhood a couple of stops down that I''ll look at too.

[simon43]

You really need to have a certain kind of character to happily live alone - in any Thai location or any location in the world.

 

I've lived alone (very happily) for the past 10 years.  I attribute this down to my childhood, where my 2 elder brothers went to the same grammar school, but said school was 'full' when it was my turn.  So I went to a different school and was not so close to my siblings.  While they were playing rugby with their school friends at the weekend, I much preferred to cycle alone into the nearby countryside and 'wonder' at nature, the flowers, trees, butterflies, rabbits, badgers and so on.

 

I think this semi-isolation gave me a stronger character. I think many (most?) adults are unable to remain mentally stable (meaning not stressed etc) without the need of regular, close social interaction.  GG, from your posts, I doubt that you have the sort of personality/character to happily live alone.  (That's not being rude to you BTW)

 

 

[Prubangboy]

Bangkok also has stuff like classical music and museums and stuff. Once you get on all the mailing lists, there's too much stuff to do. I almost went to Symphonic ABBA.

 

The Foreign Press Club has great talks too. I"m going to a talk by journalists about Myanmar tomorrow at the Brit Club. Later on, I'll see some royal court musicians. This really is the New York of SEA.

[Harrisfan]

25 minutes ago, simon43 said:

You really need to have a certain kind of character to happily live alone - in any Thai location or any location in the world.

 

I've lived alone (very happily) for the past 10 years.  I attribute this down to my childhood, where my 2 elder brothers went to the same grammar school, but said school was 'full' when it was my turn.  So I went to a different school and was not so close to my siblings.  While they were playing rugby with their school friends at the weekend, I much preferred to cycle alone into the nearby countryside and 'wonder' at nature, the flowers, trees, butterflies, rabbits, badgers and so on.

 

I think this semi-isolation gave me a stronger character. I think many (most?) adults are unable to remain mentally stable (meaning not stressed etc) without the need of regular, close social interaction.  GG, from your posts, I doubt that you have the sort of personality/character to happily live alone.  (That's not being rude to you BTW)

 

 

I would agree. Some people can't sit still without company. People who read books or enjoy computers are natural loners.

[Harrisfan]

35 minutes ago, rough diamond said:

That travel agency of yours is well informed.  For every area/region/city of Thailand mentioned on AN you apparently have perfect, I assume, first hand information!

 

PS; Which travel site do you get your info from? Just asking for a friend!

 

Stayed in Bangkok about 70 or 80 times.

 

 

[ViajeroLA]

On 3/25/2025 at 5:25 PM, georgegeorgia said:

I know all single male expats go to live in Pattaya 

But can you do it in Bangkok 

Is it more lonely for a single male than Pattaya ?

Who lives here in Bangkok.... alone?

 

I lived in BKK alone and with family, and I must say it's not the worst place for a single male for sure 🤣

 

Pattaya is fine, it's much much cheaper and there's a sea. The only thing that could be a problem for a single male after a while is that dating there is ... 🥶🥶🥶 unlike BKK

[Prubangboy]

I've been here since January.  No need for Tinder with the meetups etc. It's better to run into women a few times than to just meet them cold on coffee dates from internet.

 

No romance yet, but I have a couple of women friends. Build a social network and let it marinate (or not).

 

Thon Lor to Ploen Chit, there's multiple somethings to do every night of the week. I go out about every other night. And I do evening yoga a couple of times.

 

If I were living in the west, I would not have anything like this level of social and educational opportunities. On the cheap, no less.

[Andrew65]

3 hours ago, simon43 said:

You really need to have a certain kind of character to happily live alone - in any Thai location or any location in the world.

 

I've lived alone (very happily) for the past 10 years.  I attribute this down to my childhood, where my 2 elder brothers went to the same grammar school, but said school was 'full' when it was my turn.  So I went to a different school and was not so close to my siblings.  While they were playing rugby with their school friends at the weekend, I much preferred to cycle alone into the nearby countryside and 'wonder' at nature, the flowers, trees, butterflies, rabbits, badgers and so on.

 

I think this semi-isolation gave me a stronger character. I think many (most?) adults are unable to remain mentally stable (meaning not stressed etc) without the need of regular, close social interaction.  GG, from your posts, I doubt that you have the sort of personality/character to happily live alone.  (That's not being rude to you BTW)

 

 

I'm 60 and lived for 20 years in Bangkok. In my whole 60 years I've never lived with anyone with whom I was in a relationship with..