Moving a family to Pattaya from Bangkok thoughts?

[baansgr]

18 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

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

Full of wannabe ganstas kicked outa Pattaya and more bars than Phuket and Pattaya put together..about 8 7/11s but not even a bank....and that says it all, if a bank won't open there it's a dump..lots of expats doing Bitcoin scams and investment scams, not too mention farangs in real estate with their Issan wife's fronting the business...stay clear or you will lose money 👍 

[jayboy]

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

However, of course you cannot get past the sex industry.

 

In terms of bringing up a young family, you have your own answer already.

 

Although I will not be popular for saying so the expatriate population there with a very few exceptions is very downmarket. 

[quake]

13 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Full of wannabe ganstas kicked outa Pattaya and more bars than Phuket and Pattaya put together..about 8 7/11s but not even a bank....and that says it all, if a bank won't open there it's a dump..lots of expats doing Bitcoin scams and investment scams, not too mention farangs in real estate with their Issan wife's fronting the business...stay clear or you will lose money 👍 

 

How much did you lose.  

[newnative]

49 minutes ago, jayboy said:

 

In terms of bringing up a young family, you have your own answer already.

 

Although I will not be popular for saying so the expatriate population there with a very few exceptions is very downmarket. 

    Absolute rubbish.  You likely have not even encountered the vast majority of the expat population, most of whom are out of sight living in the non-tourist areas, which are both large and many.

[Ralf001]

8 hours ago, Cameroni said:

Better learn Russian!

Why would one need to learn Russian to live in Pattaya ?

 

 

[save the frogs]

On 6/11/2025 at 9:19 PM, NICKMONDO1 said:

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

 

There are almost certainly a certain percentage of married family men living in Pattaya precisely to take advantage of the P4P scene. Although it may work for some, there was a story about a German guy who got kicked out of his home a while back. Made me wonder if his wife found out he was going to bars for action on the side.

 

The temptation would be there ... and the risk of ruining the marriage is probably higher in Pattaya than say Chiang Mai. 

 

If I was a married woman, I would probably try to convince the husband to live somewhere else. 

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

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. 

Pattaya has been my home for me and my family over 20 years, it's got everything. 

I travel internationally every month, it's close to airport, great international schools, shopping, restaurants, beaches the lot. 

 

The worst thing about Pattaya is some of the foreigners. 

 

[jayboy]

24 minutes ago, newnative said:

    Absolute rubbish.  You likely have not even encountered the vast majority of the expat population, most of whom are out of sight living in the non-tourist areas, which are both large and many.

 

If you say so.

[baansgr]

2 hours ago, quake said:

 

How much did you lose.  

Didn't lose a penny but know so many, and one that lost up to 40 million baht, never trust anyone no matter how well you think you know them and that place is full of them 👍 

[LennyW]

On 6/12/2025 at 8:19 AM, NICKMONDO1 said:

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

You clearly have very limited knowledge of Pattaya and it's immediate surrounding area.

[brewsterbudgen]

2 minutes ago, LennyW said:

You clearly have very limited knowledge of Pattaya and it's immediate surrounding area.

Yes, some people seem to think Pattaya is Walking Street and soi 6!

[cranki]

11 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Yes, some people seem to think Pattaya is Walking Street and soi 6!

Oh right, so now it's not? How incredibly believable  🙂

[Cameroni]

3 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Why would one need to learn Russian to live in Pattaya ?

 

 

Because Pattaya will soon be renamed St. Pattayasburg. Even the shop signs are in Cyrillic!

[Ralf001]

14 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Because Pattaya will soon be renamed St. Pattayasburg. Even the shop signs are in Cyrillic!

Why ?

 

I see very few Russians in Pattaya.

 

 

[Cameroni]

34 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

I see very few Russians in Pattaya.

 

You cannot be serious.

 

It's like downtown Saratov down there.

[marin]

19 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

You cannot be serious.

 

It's like downtown Saratov down there.

Perhaps he does not slum it down in the crappy parts of Pattaya as you do. Simple. 

[scorecard]

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. 

 

What family members (gender, ages) do you have?

 

My Thai son (13, 14,15 years old) hated living in Pattaya. Way too many times he was waylayed (groped, tried to pull his shorts down, tried to kiss him) by bar girls, but I did try to ensure he wasn't near the locations where this had happened. On the other hand his international school was excellent.

 

I announced my company had transferred me back to Bangkok. He was overjoyed and started a chart to count down the 40 days to the move back to Bkk. He got packed early, all ready to go. 

 

Yes Pattaya has good housing in moo bahn villages and rent not too bad. Plenty of good supermarket shopping, many with a good variety of international products.

 

Earlier we had lived in Chonburi city for about 2 years, probably the most unfriendly place I have ever lived. Nobody talks, nobody offers help, finding repair help etc., is like banging your head against a brick wall. Help in supermarket etc., NONE, just ignored.

 

Son had a visit one day from the young man living next door, he said "I have to tell you I am installing a sliding gate across the entrance to my carport and it will be across the front of your house when it's open, so I'm telling you you must relocate the slide bar / mechanism for your sliding gate. Son refused and walked away.

 

As a punishment the neighbor parked his pick up right across our gate and refused to answer his door bell. So son had to park around the corner where he wasn't causing and issues with other house owners. 

[DonniePeverley]

On 6/13/2025 at 5:30 AM, Ralf001 said:

Why ?

 

I see very few Russians in Pattaya.

 

 

 

 

I'll be honest i saw loads of Russian shops. Maps in Russian only. We approached a guide and she said she only catered to Russians. Russians signs. Maybe it was just a certain area, and definately not as bad as Phuket. 

[mangkut70]

I only know the tourist and nightlife areas of Pattaya; used to love the place, but I’m not as impressed anymore, especially post-covid. However, I’ve never stayed for long anyway.
That said, I know plenty of expats with families who live there away from the tourist spots, work, teach, run businesses etc. The people I know are very happy with the infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and other amenities. Not difficult to keep the family and kids away from the nightlife. At least they don't see it as a big problem. 
For retirement, I’d personally prefer somewhere in the countryside, but for a business or working life, Pattaya seems to be a serious alternative to Bangkok , more and more a great spot offering many opportunities.