Moving a family to Pattaya from Bangkok thoughts?

[DonniePeverley]

Currently in Bangkok, but my partner over the past few months has been offered jobs in Chiang Mai and Pattaya. We went to Chiang Mai, and whilst i enjoyed it, my partner didn't feel it was rite for her. 

 

So she has been offered a job, with increased salary in Pattaya. So obviously, when you think Pattaya you conjure up images of a city that is a full on brothel. And my first instinct was how on earth can i take my family there.  We went there and i had some surprises .... some of the housing stock was pretty good. And the schools we saw for our kids was first class (on the surface at least with first impressions). 

 

Has anyone made the move between Bangkok and Pattaya ? What are your thoughts?

 

My previous few times i went there i have of course done the lads things. But as a family we enjoyed it. Some decent 5 star hotels there too. Pollution was infinintley miles better than Bangkok, especially vehicle smog. There is some shopping around too like Terminal 21. Driving around was pretty decent (even though many people complain, the traffic is nothing like Bangkok). 

 

However, of course you cannot get past the sex industry. We did walk around the beaches, over into Jomtiem. My children were thrown into visuals of many men (mainly Indian) propositioning women openly into giving there group a discounts for sex. It was stark and in your face from what i recall in the past. I had never seen open solicitation without shame like that before. It's going to be hard to remove my children from this crap. 

 

I do love the nightlife, not a heavy drinker, but i can appreciate it in small doses. Walking around beaches seems a nice way to live (even if the beaches aren't the best). 

 

That of course brings me to the point it is very much a tourist ghetto isn't it? The vast majority of tourists seemed Indians, and some downrite awful looking tourists around. Some were the absolute pits of bad behaviour too, violence, etc 

 

With Bangkok, i really do enjoy the visuals of the city at times. The sky scrapers can look thrilling when you have a skytrain crossing them. I love the culture and raw energy of the city (that has finally been allowed to breath after ears of the previous regime banning everything). I can go to different areas away from tourists and get a full on culture Thai experience. I love that. Can you get some culture in Pattaya? Some of the tourists you see in Pattaya are ghastly, and walking around at times honestly feels like the end of the world in a hell hole dump with what you see. 

 

My condo in Bangkok is in the heart, so i can be up around 2am and still walk out my condo and be in a full on city. In Pattaya we would 15-20 minutes away by car to the city and signs of life. 

 

My partners main concerns with a family, is she wants a house. And we have seen some lovely homes in Pattaya. She hates the hussle bussle, pollution, and is getting bored of the city, and condo life. She suggested we not say we live in Pattaya, and will tell people we live in Chon Buri - which made me laugh. But i do worry she will have the same problems settling in Chon Buri as she did in Bangkok. 

 

Anyone made that move, thoughts? Obviously if you are a guy, who loves the sex party life, you are going to have a different perspective to someone who has a family to also look out for.  Sorry for rambling on. 

[newnative]

     I have not moved a family from Bangkok to Pattaya.  For my spouse and myself, it's a bit the reverse--we have lived in Pattaya for 14 years and have a get-away condo in Bangkok.  But, I can try to offer a few pointers.

     We Pattaya residents complain about the traffic but, as you say, it's far better than Bangkok.  You soon learn routes and shortcuts that work and the times to avoid certain roads and areas, including rush hours and holiday weekends.

    I disagree with one of your statements saying, 'It's going to be hard to remove my children from this crap.'  Meaning, Pattaya's, in your words, 'sex industry'.   Actually, once you know Pattaya, it will not be hard at all.  Living our everyday, normal, non-tourist lives, my spouse and I easily avoid it.  In 14 years, we've walked on Walking Street exactly once, and we easily avoid the other adult entertainment areas.

   Greater Pattaya is actually quite large, and growing larger.  There are a number of distinct neighborhoods, with most far away from your 'sex industry'.   It's very easy to live your everyday life in Pattaya and never go near the nightlife areas.  Most of the family entertainments, such as the water parks, are away from it, as well.

     Another correction.  Pattaya doesn't just have a 'pretty good' selection of 'housing stock'; it has a truly excellent selection--probably one of the best anywhere in Thailand, especially when you include one-story single-family housing on nice-sized lots.  You need to get out and do some more exploring--away from the tourist areas--and you'll quickly see what I am talking about.  I think you will be staggered when you see some of the many projects being bulit, and that have been recently built here in the past few years.  With more on the way, again at all price points, which is super important.  You can buy a single-family home for 2MB or 200MB--and everything in-between.  Enormous selection, and ditto for condos.

    In your shoes, with or without a family, I would suggest you concentrate your search on the Darkside--a huge area, now not so dark, with a wide selection of single-family housing, both with stand-alone houses and others in hundreds of housing projects, at all price points.

    We are in a new, large, 4-bedroom/5 bathroom one-story pool villa on a land plot of 120 square wah in a nice housing project of similar homes.  To give you an example of pricing, we built our villa and it cost less, including all furnishings, than the 1 bedroom 1 bath condo we sold in town at Northshore condo.  You can take advantage of the topsy turvy pricing in Thailand--where small condos can cost much more than large single-family houses, usually not the case in most towns in the US.  

    We are in the Lake Mabprachan area--which is very popular and growing even more popular as more housing is being built.  Nice walking/bike riding paved trail around the lake, which is very popular.  We are in a safe and quiet area but we can be on the Motorway in 3 minutes and be on Sukumvit in less than 10 minutes.  Central Festival, Terminal 21, Home Pro, Index, Boonthavorn, Little Walk, Bangkok Pattaya Hosptal, Big C, Lotus's, etc. are all about 15 minutes or less away--and it's an easy drive, especially compared to driving around Bangkok. 

     This easy proximity to businesses and services we use frequently led us to select this area of Pattaya.  If there was a neighborhood I would likely avoid moving to, it would be Jomtien, although we lived there for a number of years in different condo projects, including 3 different View Talays, Axis, and Lumpini Park Beach. 

    We would avoid it now because there are a number of mega condo projects now under construction or in the planning stages and the traffic, already some of the worst in Pattaya, will be impacted even more when these projects open.  If we were to move back across Sukumvit, we would likely choose Wongamat.  We lived there before and preferred it to Jomtien as we liked the vibe and it was easier and faster to get to the places we go to a lot, including T21 and Central Festival.

     Contrary to the myth, Pattaya actually is family-friendly and there are lots of families living in Pattaya.  My housing project, and the two I lived in before this one, is filled with families. Fun fact, which I didn't know until recently--Pattaya has 18 international schools, with another one, Highgate, opening next year.  Many are on the Darkside, including Regents and Rugby.  We drove around Rugby a few weeks ago and were very impressed.  There should be an international school that will meet your family's needs. 

     It goes without saying that Pattaya has tons of restaurants and shopping to fit about every need, plus movie theaters in English, 3 or 4 hospitals, and all the services one uses on a regular basis.  About every car dealer is represented, including at least 4 of the new Chinese ones.  It's all here, in a relatively compact footprint, compared to Bangkok.   Good luck with your move.  

     

[Espanol]

 

When we decided I would retire and we would move to Thailand, the first thing we did was spend several years traveling all over Thailand looking for the best place to live that had everything.

We traveled from north to south: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Pathum Thani, Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao,...

 

In the end, we came to the conclusion that the best place to live in Thailand is... Pattaya.

 

It's a city that has it all:

- By the sea
- Close to Bangkok
- Close to an international airport
- Many restaurants of all kinds
- Very good hospitals
- Good public transportation at affordable prices
- Shopping malls
- Everyone speaks English
- Quality housing at affordable prices
- Safe
- Lots of nightlife
- Inexpensive
- Top-notch activities every weekend (international fireworks competition, jet ski world championship, vegetarian festival, Songkran, Loi Kraton...)

 

It's true that it has an internationally famous red-light district (which also has its charm, like Las Vegas), but it's not even 1% of Pattaya's area, and those who talk so much about it are precisely the hypocrites who never leave it the entire time they're in Pattaya.

 

 

[NICKMONDO1]

my thought:  You are considering moving a family to Pattaya........are you insane?

[Ralf001]

Just now, NICKMONDO1 said:

my thought:  You are considering moving a family to Pattaya........are you insane?

 

Why insane ?

 

Many Families have moved to Pattaya and live here happily.

 

Obviously, they have not moved into a top floor unit above a soi 6 brothel though.

[chakatee]

22 hours ago, newnative said:

     I have not moved a family from Bangkok to Pattaya.  For my spouse and myself, it's a bit the reverse--we have lived in Pattaya for 14 years and have a get-away condo in Bangkok.  But, I can try to offer a few pointers.

     We Pattaya residents complain about the traffic but, as you say, it's far better than Bangkok.  You soon learn routes and shortcuts that work and the times to avoid certain roads and areas, including rush hours and holiday weekends.

    I disagree with one of your statements saying, 'It's going to be hard to remove my children from this crap.'  Meaning, Pattaya's, in your words, 'sex industry'.   Actually, once you know Pattaya, it will not be hard at all.  Living our everyday, normal, non-tourist lives, my spouse and I easily avoid it.  In 14 years, we've walked on Walking Street exactly once, and we easily avoid the other adult entertainment areas.

   Greater Pattaya is actually quite large, and growing larger.  There are a number of distinct neighborhoods, with most far away from your 'sex industry'.   It's very easy to live your everyday life in Pattaya and never go near the nightlife areas.  Most of the family entertainments, such as the water parks, are away from it, as well.

     Another correction.  Pattaya doesn't just have a 'pretty good' selection of 'housing stock'; it has a truly excellent selection--probably one of the best anywhere in Thailand, especially when you include one-story single-family housing on nice-sized lots.  You need to get out and do some more exploring--away from the tourist areas--and you'll quickly see what I am talking about.  I think you will be staggered when you see some of the many projects being bulit, and that have been recently built here in the past few years.  With more on the way, again at all price points, which is super important.  You can buy a single-family home for 2MB or 200MB--and everything in-between.  Enormous selection, and ditto for condos.

    In your shoes, with or without a family, I would suggest you concentrate your search on the Darkside--a huge area, now not so dark, with a wide selection of single-family housing, both with stand-alone houses and others in hundreds of housing projects, at all price points.

    We are in a new, large, 4-bedroom/5 bathroom one-story pool villa on a land plot of 120 square wah in a nice housing project of similar homes.  To give you an example of pricing, we built our villa and it cost less, including all furnishings, than the 1 bedroom 1 bath condo we sold in town at Northshore condo.  You can take advantage of the topsy turvy pricing in Thailand--where small condos can cost much more than large single-family houses, usually not the case in most towns in the US.  

    We are in the Lake Mabprachan area--which is very popular and growing even more popular as more housing is being built.  Nice walking/bike riding paved trail around the lake, which is very popular.  We are in a safe and quiet area but we can be on the Motorway in 3 minutes and be on Sukumvit in less than 10 minutes.  Central Festival, Terminal 21, Home Pro, Index, Boonthavorn, Little Walk, Bangkok Pattaya Hosptal, Big C, Lotus's, etc. are all about 15 minutes or less away--and it's an easy drive, especially compared to driving around Bangkok. 

     This easy proximity to businesses and services we use frequently led us to select this area of Pattaya.  If there was a neighborhood I would likely avoid moving to, it would be Jomtien, although we lived there for a number of years in different condo projects, including 3 different View Talays, Axis, and Lumpini Park Beach. 

    We would avoid it now because there are a number of mega condo projects now under construction or in the planning stages and the traffic, already some of the worst in Pattaya, will be impacted even more when these projects open.  If we were to move back across Sukumvit, we would likely choose Wongamat.  We lived there before and preferred it to Jomtien as we liked the vibe and it was easier and faster to get to the places we go to a lot, including T21 and Central Festival.

     Contrary to the myth, Pattaya actually is family-friendly and there are lots of families living in Pattaya.  My housing project, and the two I lived in before this one, is filled with families. Fun fact, which I didn't know until recently--Pattaya has 18 international schools, with another one, Highgate, opening next year.  Many are on the Darkside, including Regents and Rugby.  We drove around Rugby a few weeks ago and were very impressed.  There should be an international school that will meet your family's needs. 

     It goes without saying that Pattaya has tons of restaurants and shopping to fit about every need, plus movie theaters in English, 3 or 4 hospitals, and all the services one uses on a regular basis.  About every car dealer is represented, including at least 4 of the new Chinese ones.  It's all here, in a relatively compact footprint, compared to Bangkok.   Good luck with your move.  

     

Probably to the dislike of the Pattaya haters / bashers but this post hits the nail 100%

[MalcolmB]

On 6/11/2025 at 1:20 AM, DonniePeverley said:

up images of a city that is a full on brothel.

You will have plenty to do when your wife is at work and the kids are at school

[MalcolmB]

On 6/11/2025 at 1:20 AM, DonniePeverley said:

And the schools we saw for our kids was first class (on the surface at least with first impressions). 

Just wait until you meet all the mothers.

And you will have fun at the kids parties where after a few drinks the mothers think they are back at work again.

[Lucky Bones]

Like a lot of cities in the world, Pattaya is large. Stay away from the central tourist areas and you will be fine.🙃🙃

[brewsterbudgen]

We moved from Bangkok, in the end to Ban Chang but we seriously considered Pattaya.  You don't mention if you have kids, but it has certainly been a hugely positive move getting out of Bangkok both for me and my wife, but also my son.  Ban Chang suits us best, but Pattaya can be a great place for family life.  Good luck!

[norfolkandchance]

Check out Bang Saray. Just down the road.

[potless]

On 6/10/2025 at 7:20 PM, DonniePeverley said:

Currently in Bangkok, but my partner over the past few months has been offered jobs in Chiang Mai and Pattaya. We went to Chiang Mai, and whilst i enjoyed it, my partner didn't feel it was rite for her. 

Rent for a year. See how it pans out.

[thjames007]

On 6/11/2025 at 1:20 AM, DonniePeverley said:

Currently in Bangkok, but my partner over the past few months has been offered jobs in Chiang Mai and Pattaya. We went to Chiang Mai, and whilst i enjoyed it, my partner didn't feel it was rite for her. 

 

So she has been offered a job, with increased salary in Pattaya. So obviously, when you think Pattaya you conjure up images of a city that is a full on brothel. And my first instinct was how on earth can i take my family there.  We went there and i had some surprises .... some of the housing stock was pretty good. And the schools we saw for our kids was first class (on the surface at least with first impressions). 

 

Has anyone made the move between Bangkok and Pattaya ? What are your thoughts?

 

My previous few times i went there i have of course done the lads things. But as a family we enjoyed it. Some decent 5 star hotels there too. Pollution was infinintley miles better than Bangkok, especially vehicle smog. There is some shopping around too like Terminal 21. Driving around was pretty decent (even though many people complain, the traffic is nothing like Bangkok). 

 

However, of course you cannot get past the sex industry. We did walk around the beaches, over into Jomtiem. My children were thrown into visuals of many men (mainly Indian) propositioning women openly into giving there group a discounts for sex. It was stark and in your face from what i recall in the past. I had never seen open solicitation without shame like that before. It's going to be hard to remove my children from this crap. 

 

I do love the nightlife, not a heavy drinker, but i can appreciate it in small doses. Walking around beaches seems a nice way to live (even if the beaches aren't the best). 

 

That of course brings me to the point it is very much a tourist ghetto isn't it? The vast majority of tourists seemed Indians, and some downrite awful looking tourists around. Some were the absolute pits of bad behaviour too, violence, etc 

 

With Bangkok, i really do enjoy the visuals of the city at times. The sky scrapers can look thrilling when you have a skytrain crossing them. I love the culture and raw energy of the city (that has finally been allowed to breath after ears of the previous regime banning everything). I can go to different areas away from tourists and get a full on culture Thai experience. I love that. Can you get some culture in Pattaya? Some of the tourists you see in Pattaya are ghastly, and walking around at times honestly feels like the end of the world in a hell hole dump with what you see. 

 

My condo in Bangkok is in the heart, so i can be up around 2am and still walk out my condo and be in a full on city. In Pattaya we would 15-20 minutes away by car to the city and signs of life. 

 

My partners main concerns with a family, is she wants a house. And we have seen some lovely homes in Pattaya. She hates the hussle bussle, pollution, and is getting bored of the city, and condo life. She suggested we not say we live in Pattaya, and will tell people we live in Chon Buri - which made me laugh. But i do worry she will have the same problems settling in Chon Buri as she did in Bangkok. 

 

Anyone made that move, thoughts? Obviously if you are a guy, who loves the sex party life, you are going to have a different perspective to someone who has a family to also look out for.  Sorry for rambling on. 

Once you find the right location to live you will wonder why you didn't come sooner. 

 

Don't worry about the sex trade or night life in your face. 

I see more "ladies" near my condo in BKK then I do in Pattaya.  You can find a nice quiet location within 10 mins of the main city,  I'm in jomtien and love it, small village setting with a villa, 10 min walk to beach.  Small Restaurants and bars around.  

 

There are many other areas also, you just need to look around and decide what's important for you and family.  I guess if you have kids you will need to think about schools and locations closer to that.

 

Maybe not the same amount of family activities available in Pattaya but you learn to adapt to a quieter lifestyle. And find things to do.   

 

And outside of Central Pattaya the prices are about half what things cost in BKK which is a plus.  Beer 65/75. Lunch 70/100.  Dinner 150.  Rent depends on location.  But it's going to be much cheaper than bkk.

 

 

[simon43]

I have a condo over the hill from Pattaya at Jomtien Beach, very much a family location.

[AFearneyhough]

I’m going to echo the others about Jomtien.  We have lived in Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 11 with our then 13 year old daughter. We saw way more body selling there than we do here.  We are now in Jomtien right outside Sukhumvit.  We absolutely love it here.  We have a pool villa on an Soi where we are the only farang.  Our neighbors are lovely.  We’ve lived here for 3 years.
 

Everything you could want close by. 10 minutes to the beach. 1.5 hours to Bangkok. Lots of international food available. Plenty of family friendly activities.  You don’t have to go down to Central Pattaya unless you want to.  And if you head deeper into the Darkside it’s even quieter.

 

Definitely an upgrade from living in Bangkok. If you or your wife have any questions about living and raising kids in Thailand from a western woman’s perspective, feel free to message me.

[Colki]

Good to read positive news about Pattaya which I thoroughly endorse. Also very close by to areas like Bang Saray for dining and beaches. Beach at navy base is excellent a low cost golf course there as well. Annual LPGA tournament as well as many other festivities to enjoy.

[HappyExpat57]

If I was considering such a move, I'd look into the Lake Mabprachan area, or perhaps Jomtien dark side. Stay away from central Pattaya, not family friendly.

[ignore it]

Pattaya is nice actually, however too many families are moving from Bangkok and spoiling the place.

[Hanuman2547]

As someone else mentioned earlier, take a look at Bang Saray.  Some nice places down that way.  

[NoshowJones]

On 6/11/2025 at 1:20 AM, DonniePeverley said:

Currently in Bangkok, but my partner over the past few months has been offered jobs in Chiang Mai and Pattaya. We went to Chiang Mai, and whilst i enjoyed it, my partner didn't feel it was rite for her. 

 

So she has been offered a job, with increased salary in Pattaya. So obviously, when you think Pattaya you conjure up images of a city that is a full on brothel. And my first instinct was how on earth can i take my family there.  We went there and i had some surprises .... some of the housing stock was pretty good. And the schools we saw for our kids was first class (on the surface at least with first impressions). 

 

Has anyone made the move between Bangkok and Pattaya ? What are your thoughts?

 

My previous few times i went there i have of course done the lads things. But as a family we enjoyed it. Some decent 5 star hotels there too. Pollution was infinintley miles better than Bangkok, especially vehicle smog. There is some shopping around too like Terminal 21. Driving around was pretty decent (even though many people complain, the traffic is nothing like Bangkok). 

 

However, of course you cannot get past the sex industry. We did walk around the beaches, over into Jomtiem. My children were thrown into visuals of many men (mainly Indian) propositioning women openly into giving there group a discounts for sex. It was stark and in your face from what i recall in the past. I had never seen open solicitation without shame like that before. It's going to be hard to remove my children from this crap. 

 

I do love the nightlife, not a heavy drinker, but i can appreciate it in small doses. Walking around beaches seems a nice way to live (even if the beaches aren't the best). 

 

That of course brings me to the point it is very much a tourist ghetto isn't it? The vast majority of tourists seemed Indians, and some downrite awful looking tourists around. Some were the absolute pits of bad behaviour too, violence, etc 

 

With Bangkok, i really do enjoy the visuals of the city at times. The sky scrapers can look thrilling when you have a skytrain crossing them. I love the culture and raw energy of the city (that has finally been allowed to breath after ears of the previous regime banning everything). I can go to different areas away from tourists and get a full on culture Thai experience. I love that. Can you get some culture in Pattaya? Some of the tourists you see in Pattaya are ghastly, and walking around at times honestly feels like the end of the world in a hell hole dump with what you see. 

 

My condo in Bangkok is in the heart, so i can be up around 2am and still walk out my condo and be in a full on city. In Pattaya we would 15-20 minutes away by car to the city and signs of life. 

 

My partners main concerns with a family, is she wants a house. And we have seen some lovely homes in Pattaya. She hates the hussle bussle, pollution, and is getting bored of the city, and condo life. She suggested we not say we live in Pattaya, and will tell people we live in Chon Buri - which made me laugh. But i do worry she will have the same problems settling in Chon Buri as she did in Bangkok. 

 

Anyone made that move, thoughts? Obviously if you are a guy, who loves the sex party life, you are going to have a different perspective to someone who has a family to also look out for.  Sorry for rambling on. 

Do not own a car in Pattaya, unless you enjoy sitting at traffic lights for long spells. On more than one occasion I have sat in a car at traffic lights for at least 7 mins without moving.

One morning around 8am I was in a car being driven with hardly any other traffic on the road, I wondered why, then saw most of the traffic queued up at traffic lights in different directions.

The authorities in Pattaya need to see about readjusting the traffic lights all over the place.

You would be better with a motorbike if most of your traveling is in Pattaya.

[newnative]

3 hours ago, chakatee said:

Probably to the dislike of the Pattaya haters / bashers but this post hits the nail 100%

Thanks!

[newnative]

3 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Why insane ?

 

Many Families have moved to Pattaya and live here happily.

 

Obviously, they have not moved into a top floor unit above a soi 6 brothel though.

And, as Espanol pointed out in his excellent post, these entertainment areas make up a very small percentage of Greater Pattaya.

[HappyExpat57]

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Do not own a car in Pattaya, unless you enjoy sitting at traffic lights for long spells. On more than one occasion I have sat in a car at traffic lights for at least 7 mins without moving.

One morning around 8am I was in a car being driven with hardly any other traffic on the road, I wondered why, then saw most of the traffic queued up at traffic lights in different directions.

The authorities in Pattaya need to see about readjusting the traffic lights all over the place.

You would be better with a motorbike if most of your traveling is in Pattaya.

I don't understand WHY  T F  someone would "thumbs down" this info, it's absolutely correct. Maybe you have a stalker, or some braindead idgit coming down from their meth.

[quake]

Only thing bad about pattaya and jomtien.

Is the traffic. 

When I'm in jomtien. the car is parked up 24/7 and only used for a Big-C or Makro runs, or days out of town.

A motor bike is the only way to get around.

Over the Deskside ( east pattaya)  there is a lot less traffic. 

 

[treetops]

6 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

You don't mention if you have kids . . . . 

 

From the OP:

On 6/10/2025 at 7:20 PM, DonniePeverley said:

And the schools we saw for our kids was first class (on the surface at least with first impressions). 

 

[Suetape]

You could have asked your question in three sentences instead of rambling on and on and on.  Stay in BKK..

[terryofcrete]

14 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Why insane ?

 

Many Families have moved to Pattaya and live here happily.

 

Obviously, they have not moved into a top floor unit above a soi 6 brothel though.

You know too much ! Lol

[Cameroni]

Better learn Russian!