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.

 

[Mark1969]

On 6/13/2025 at 7:40 AM, save the frogs said:

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. 

It's funny how they always have some uber positive reason for staying in pattaya that has nothing to do with girls or nightlife. Almost like they have rehearsed the answer before. Usually it is some great surrounding area that has pretty much nothing, but just happens to be close to the central area with all the bars.

[chakatee]

On 6/17/2025 at 3:52 PM, Mark1969 said:

it is some great surrounding area that has pretty much nothing, but just happens to be close to

happens to be close to a huge number of great eateries where you can have great dinner for 500-1,000p.p., close to Central, Terminal, Big C Extra, Makro, Lotus's etc., close to great sports facilities, a lake, international schools, close to highway 7, close to the nice beaches in Ban Chang / Sattahip, and yes, for those who like it even close to the bar and nightlife scene.

[newnative]

On 6/17/2025 at 3:52 PM, Mark1969 said:

It's funny how they always have some uber positive reason for staying in pattaya that has nothing to do with girls or nightlife. Almost like they have rehearsed the answer before. Usually it is some great surrounding area that has pretty much nothing, but just happens to be close to the central area with all the bars.

      Over here, guy.   Yep, guilty as charged.  My reasons for living here have absolutely nothing to do with the 'girls or nightlife'.  And, there are others like me.   I live in Pattaya, and chose Pattaya, because I can live here in much the same way as I lived in the USA, doing much the same activities I liked there, but a lot cheaper, with better year-round weather, and in a much nicer living space. 

     In the US, I was living in a 65 sqm 1 bedroom/1 bath condo, now worth about 7.5MB.  For not too much more than that, spouse and I built a beautiful 4 bedroom/5 bath pool villa here.  Really night and day, the difference, right there.  Pattaya has one of the best selections of housing in Thailand, at all price points, both for rent and sale.  

     In the US, I was close to a major city.  Ditto here.  Close to a major international airport for travel anywhere.  Ditto here.  Had movie theaters to go to, as I like the movies.  Ditto here.  Very good shopping in my US town, or nearby.  Ditto here, actually even better.  Fairly good selection of restaurants in my US town.  Again, even better selection here, and much more reasonably priced.   Good general health care, eye care, and dental care in my US town.  Just as good here in Pattaya, much cheaper, and easier to access.  Actually my eye and dental care has been much better here.  

    My US town has a pretty expensive home owners fee--about $900 a year--but it does allow you to swim in the town's pools in the summer months.  No town HOA fee here.   I have my own pool here, open 24 hours a day year-round, and the charge is just 1500 baht a month for 3 times a week pool service.  Bargain!

    My US town was supposedly fairly safe--but there were neighborhoods I would avoid, especially at night.   Of the two towns, I actually feel safer in Pattaya.

    My US town had some biking and walking trails.  When I want to do the same here, I have the paved walking and bike trail around Lake Mabprachan.  There was a golf course in my US town.  Pattaya has a number of them, too, including one that hosts an LPGA event.  Other recreation is fairly similar, although snorkeling around the islands is available here, not in my US town.   And, so on, down the lengthy list.  Pattaya checks the boxes, for me and many others--which is why it is booming.

     To make your comment that 'the surrounding area has pretty much nothing' really shows more than anything that you have no idea what you are talking about, as the above poster, Chakatee, has also pointed out.  I would throw in some envy, as well.  

[Mark1969]

2 hours ago, newnative said:

      Over here, guy.   Yep, guilty as charged.  My reasons for living here have absolutely nothing to do with the 'girls or nightlife'.  And, there are others like me.   I live in Pattaya, and chose Pattaya, because I can live here in much the same way as I lived in the USA, doing much the same activities I liked there, but a lot cheaper, with better year-round weather, and in a much nicer living space. 

     In the US, I was living in a 65 sqm 1 bedroom/1 bath condo, now worth about 7.5MB.  For not too much more than that, spouse and I built a beautiful 4 bedroom/5 bath pool villa here.  Really night and day, the difference, right there.  Pattaya has one of the best selections of housing in Thailand, at all price points, both for rent and sale.  

     In the US, I was close to a major city.  Ditto here.  Close to a major international airport for travel anywhere.  Ditto here.  Had movie theaters to go to, as I like the movies.  Ditto here.  Very good shopping in my US town, or nearby.  Ditto here, actually even better.  Fairly good selection of restaurants in my US town.  Again, even better selection here, and much more reasonably priced.   Good general health care, eye care, and dental care in my US town.  Just as good here in Pattaya, much cheaper, and easier to access.  Actually my eye and dental care has been much better here.  

    My US town has a pretty expensive home owners fee--about $900 a year--but it does allow you to swim in the town's pools in the summer months.  No town HOA fee here.   I have my own pool here, open 24 hours a day year-round, and the charge is just 1500 baht a month for 3 times a week pool service.  Bargain!

    My US town was supposedly fairly safe--but there were neighborhoods I would avoid, especially at night.   Of the two towns, I actually feel safer in Pattaya.

    My US town had some biking and walking trails.  When I want to do the same here, I have the paved walking and bike trail around Lake Mabprachan.  There was a golf course in my US town.  Pattaya has a number of them, too, including one that hosts an LPGA event.  Other recreation is fairly similar, although snorkeling around the islands is available here, not in my US town.   And, so on, down the lengthy list.  Pattaya checks the boxes, for me and many others--which is why it is booming.

     To make your comment that 'the surrounding area has pretty much nothing' really shows more than anything that you have no idea what you are talking about, as the above poster, Chakatee, has also pointed out.  I would throw in some envy, as well.  

You could get that stuff in many other locations though. It's not specific to Pattaya.

 

I don't believe in coincidence. I think the sex capital aspect has something to do with why you chose Pattaya. It feels like you are making up every reason imaginable why it's NOT the nightlife. Even that lake trail, which is mentioned every time...Other places have lake trails. At least it's not temples though. That would sound corny.

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

You could get that stuff in many other locations though. It's not specific to Pattaya.

 

I don't believe in coincidence. I think the sex capital aspect has something to do with why you chose Pattaya. It feels like you are making up every reason imaginable why it's NOT the nightlife. Even that lake trail, which is mentioned every time...Other places have lake trails. At least it's not temples though. That would sound corny.

       Actually, the 'sex capital aspect' was one of the reasons why we hesitated to choose Pattaya in the first place, in December 2009.  We thought we'd steer clear.   Instead, we lived in Rayong for about a year when we first moved to Thailand. 

     You're correct that you can get some of the 'stuff' in other places in Thailand.  Rayong checked some of our wants and needs boxes, but, ultimately, fell short.   Chiang Mai would also check a number of boxes, and we have visited a number of times.  But, we have a box to check marked 'beaches', not mountains, and we wouldn't want the pollution problem certain months of the year.  Plus, far from Bangkok.  Ditto for Phuket checking some of our boxes but spouse and I didn't like it that much when we visited and we want to be closer to Bangkok, where spouse's family lives.

      Speaking of Bangkok, we like it enough to have a getaway condo there but don't see ourselves living there full-time.  Visiting for short periods works better for us--and we like that it's less than a 2-hour drive from Pattaya to center city.

     Housing is one of our biggest boxes to check and I think it would be difficult to find a big, sprawling 4-bedroom house with pool all on one level in Bangkok to match what we have here--and certainly the price would be much more, and the selection much less.  Pattaya checks that box easily, Bangkok doesn't.  The Bangkok relatives, all fairly wealthy, live in 2-story cookie cutter boxes in the suburbs, on tiny land plots with no pool--but lots of traffic congestion worse than Pattaya.  Not for us.

     Not mentioned in my earlier post is we also like the large and diverse expat community that Pattaya has, likely one of the biggest in the country.  An important box to check for us, perhaps not as important to others. 

    And, that's how it is.  When looking for a place to live, everyone will have their list of boxes to be checked off; we have ours.   Likely the lists will have some of the same things, but many others that are different.  Nothing wrong with that.  Whatever floats your boat.  For us, and our list, Pattaya simply checks more of our boxes than any other place in Thailand, even though some of those other places have, as you say, some of the same 'stuff'.  

     

[DonniePeverley]

Hi guys an update ...

 

unfortunately it looks like we may be swayed to stay in Bangkok. 

 

Budget was never an issue, so people who claim they enjoy Pattaya as it's cheaper is it not really a selling point. 

 

Some points ..

 

Just walking around Pattaya though, the people, the culture seems non exisitant. I love walking around Bangkok, Chiang Mai and seeing Thai culture at work away from the tourist zones. I love those walks (except when black smoke hits you in the face from a car exhaust). 

 

There is some grim awful visitors in Pattaya. The real pits. Some ultra lowlifes that seem attracted to that place. I have never seen people like this anywhere. 

 

You cannot ignore the Indian situation. That is horrific. Open soliciation everywhere is nothing like i've seen. My wife came out of Central on beach road to get some juice and was immediately approached by Indian men asking her 'discount baby boom boom'. Where else would something so disgusting happen? So am i to ask my wife and daughter never to walk alone anywhere incase indian men proposition them ?

 

I honestly feel we would be done with it after a year. 

 

The international schools like wonderful, but they are are so massive they remind me of state schools in the UK. I fail to see how the schools can monitor such large volume of children with a personal service. In Bangkok you can get smaller intimiate family schools. 

 

The airport whilst close, is not similar to Bangkok. You have two airports that are 30 minutes away. With Pattaya it's almost 2 hours isn't it? We love our weekend trips away. 

 

However, we still have doubts - namely we really dislike the accomdation in Bangkok. We are done with Condo life, but you are not going to get housing stock like we saw in Pattaya. 

 

Pollution and traffic is another. I simply cannot take the traffic in Bangkok anymore. 

 

Ahhhh ... decisions. 

[Mark1969]

2 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Hi guys an update ...

 

unfortunately it looks like we may be swayed to stay in Bangkok. 

 

Budget was never an issue, so people who claim they enjoy Pattaya as it's cheaper is it not really a selling point. 

 

Some points ..

 

Just walking around Pattaya though, the people, the culture seems non exisitant. I love walking around Bangkok, Chiang Mai and seeing Thai culture at work away from the tourist zones. I love those walks (except when black smoke hits you in the face from a car exhaust). 

 

There is some grim awful visitors in Pattaya. The real pits. Some ultra lowlifes that seem attracted to that place. I have never seen people like this anywhere. 

 

You cannot ignore the Indian situation. That is horrific. Open soliciation everywhere is nothing like i've seen. My wife came out of Central on beach road to get some juice and was immediately approached by Indian men asking her 'discount baby boom boom'. Where else would something so disgusting happen? So am i to ask my wife and daughter never to walk alone anywhere incase indian men proposition them ?

 

I honestly feel we would be done with it after a year. 

 

The international schools like wonderful, but they are are so massive they remind me of state schools in the UK. I fail to see how the schools can monitor such large volume of children with a personal service. In Bangkok you can get smaller intimiate family schools. 

 

The airport whilst close, is not similar to Bangkok. You have two airports that are 30 minutes away. With Pattaya it's almost 2 hours isn't it? We love our weekend trips away. 

 

However, we still have doubts - namely we really dislike the accomdation in Bangkok. We are done with Condo life, but you are not going to get housing stock like we saw in Pattaya. 

 

Pollution and traffic is another. I simply cannot take the traffic in Bangkok anymore. 

 

Ahhhh ... decisions. 

I have another thread going where everyone says the Indian problem is nothing. Thanks for your input. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[DonniePeverley]

13 minutes ago, Mark1969 said:

If you were in India you would not be letting them walk alone at all...Even in public they would be risking a violation. They also do it as a group, so there is no chance of fighting back or getting away.

 

This is not India though. Thai authorities need to clamp down on this <deleted>. Not every women in Pattaya is a prostitute. 

[Mark1969]

2 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

This is not India though. Thai authorities need to clamp down on this <deleted>. Not every women in Pattaya is a prostitute. 

Your problem is probably that you can't afford to live the way you want in a better location. Same problem I'm having. There are houses in Central Bangkok and what you want you just can't afford it.

 

You either compromise on location like I'm having to do (live on the outskirts of a less then desirable area) or you reduce your lifestyle in the more desirable location. The less desirable area invariably has less desirable people in it, but if you are not a very sociable person anyway it can work out Ok.

[geisha]

I stayed in Phuket for   20 years , albeit 5 EU winter months, and 2 years Hua Hin. I much prefer Pattaya, although the beach water is dirty. I swim in the pool. You don’t have the sex workers unless you go looking for it. Don’t take the kids out to certain soi’s , and avoid the center town promenade i. Plenty other places to walk if you wish. Then you have Central Festival , Terminal 21, big supermarkets, good restaurants. Traffic you have anywhere in Thai cities, Phuket is worse, and Hua Hin on a weekend too. Chiang Mai pollution is famous, Hua Hin boring, and Phuket highly overrated and packed to the rafters. A nice house in a quiet area of Pattaya , plenty suggestions above.

Question, where would your wife work, area , can she drive ?