22 hours ago, Hummin said:

Any activity that gets you out to meet other people, and not necessarily a bar and alcohol involved.

I hear the best opportunity to meet people is to own a lady beer bar in Pattaya and don't drink and practice celibacy.

Just talk to people in your bar, laugh and back your truck up to the loading dock behind Bangkok Bank every day to deposit all the money. 💰

Edited August 1Aug 1 by SiSePuede419
Lady Beer must taste good

29 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

I'm totally right

See here

Man is a 2

Women is an 8

Is that you at the forefront?

20 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

I hear the best opportunity to meet people is to own a lady beer bar in Pattaya and don't drink and practice celibacy.

Just talk to people in your bar, laugh and back your truck up to the loading dock behind Bangkok Bank every day to deposit all the money. 💰

Have you ever tried to be sober in a bar, and repeated it?

18 minutes ago, IsmeUno said:

Is that you at the forefront?

Comedian Dave Hughes

52 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

I'm totally right

See here

Man is a 2

Women is an 8

For me, not at all. She's a 6.5 and he's the same, though his glasses might be hiding something.

3 minutes ago, Grecian said:

For me, not at all. She's a 6.5 and he's the same, though his glasses might be hiding something.

Bad teeth, bad hair. He also talks through his nose.

Edited August 1Aug 1 by Rockyroad

1 hour ago, Wingate said:

I live in Bangkok, not Pattaya, but I see the same sort of people in BKK that gravitate to Pattaya for retirement. I can walk my area and see the same guys in the same seats in the same al fresco bars every day, sometimes even early morning when I'm heading to the gym. If that is 'living the dream', good for them. I doubt it is, however.

If the goal is a laid back lifestyle in a new culture, with weather that is a break from bitter winters, with a chance to play a favorite sport outdoors the year round, Pattaya might do just fine. Sadly, I get the impression---perhaps wrongly---that too many guys have a delusional fantasy about what retirement in Pattaya will be like. They seem to think they will somehow turn into babe magnets just by virtue of passing through 6-12 time zones. When they first see it fails, they seem to think, "Maybe if I got some bad boy tattoos......."

Old, chubby and on a limited pension does not a babe magnet make. Sure, such a guy might be able to purchase fake affection, like the AN member previously of Cambodia who boasts continuously of that practice, but I doubt that will be satisfying over the long term. Also, since a good many of the men who retire to Pattaya hold similar delusions, "friends" one meets in Pattaya are unlikely to make for stimulating conversation. Guys who came both well prepared and with realistic expectations are more likely to find kindred spirits and build a strong social network.

Gyms in Bangkok are a great place to meet people. Regulars eventually recognize each other and begin to converse. Friendships form. Women even approach guys who don't look as if they're on the hunt (even if they are). I don't know, but I get the impression this is not true in Pattaya. In Bangkok, there are still plenty of folks holding down jobs, both foreigners and Thai women not in the field of P4P. One can meet them at gyms.

Maybe a good rule of thumb, factoring in the changes Thailand has seen in the last 20-30 years, is to imagine how one could live at home if his pension was twice as large. That is maybe how far that non-doubled pension could go in Pattaya. $100K a year does not a kingly lifestyle make anymore, not even in Thailand. Second, if one was not successful with women up until the point of retirement back home, best not to fool oneself and think that same appearance, charm and character will work any better in Pattaya. If a guy couldn't score back home, he'll only score in Pattaya with women paid to pretend they are enjoying themselves. Of course, such guys' choice could be the post-menopausal, mother of three by 3 different men former bargirl now working in a beer bar looking to score a trick for 500 baht. If that is good enough, Pattaya might fit just right.

Dreams might die hard, but die they do when smacked upside the head by reality. There's a reason one of the more famous "clubs" in Pattaya is the Flying Club. Know beforehand, so that one never joins that infamous club.

It's interesting that I found myself agreeing with everything you said and then read "$100K a year does not a kingly lifestyle make anymore, not even in Thailand" and proverbially spat out my iced cappuccino.

Lets say there's been 100 monarchs in the UK. I would rather live in Thailand on US25k a year than be any of them except the last two or three. 🤣

8 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Bad teeth, bad hair. He also talks through his nose.

Yep, with these pics I see your point.

1 hour ago, Rockyroad said:

I'm totally right

See here

Man is a 2

Women is an 8

She's a 5 at best, and if she's fat a 3 or 4.

7 minutes ago, Grecian said:

It's interesting that I found myself agreeing with everything you said and then read "$100K a year does not a kingly lifestyle make anymore, not even in Thailand" and proverbially spat out my iced cappuccino.

Lets say there's been 100 monarchs in the UK. I would rather live in Thailand on US25k a year than be any of them except the last two or three. 🤣

I wouldn't mind being Andy, but I'd have handled it differently.

Just now, BritManToo said:

She's a 5 at best, and if she's fat a 3 or 4.

You just hate white women. No way is she a 5. She is better than 80% of women her age.

1 minute ago, Rockyroad said:

You just hate white women. No way is she a 5. She is better than 80% of women her age.

Your standards are low!

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Your standards are low!

You are kidding. In a Thai night market most women are ugly and or fat. Maybe you don't get out much anymore. In the west most women her age are more fat and more ugly.

20 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Bad teeth, bad hair. He also talks through his nose.

At least he has teeth and hair. I imagine a lot who post on here have neither......555

As soon as I saw the picture, I said maybe a 6 for her, 4 for him, which doesn't mean anything as he's a comedian and anyone who's in the limelight will always have good looking women following them.

31 minutes ago, Grecian said:

For me, not at all. She's a 6.5 and he's the same, though his glasses might be hiding something.

Both men

9 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

You are kidding. In a Thai night market most women are ugly and or fat. Maybe you don't get out much anymore.

Again a wrong answer from a tourist. Get to a local wet market early in the morning. Great deals on food and the view is nice as well.

1 hour ago, Freebird13 said:

There's actually a lot of people around who think Pattaya is great, but they are seeing it from other angles.

I think the mistake I made was believing it was right for me, when it was other people talking/vlogging/youtube who I did not have much in common with. I should have limited opinions to those I had much in common with, same age bracket and from the same areas I was living in or grew up in. If I flew people I know from Santa Cruz in here right now I doubt they would want to stay long term, though they would have a good time for a week or so. The values and interactions are just not here that we appreciate and they can't be changed easily.

The other part of it is just my fault and wishful thinking. I took a chance and figured that any place would be the same or better then where I was and I could live that way for far cheaper. Maybe a lesson there that the "grass is not always greener" on the other side. Another lesson may be that there is no such thing as getting an equivalent for a cheaper price, there's always a trade off when you are not paying as much unless you get lucky. Fortunately, I'm still relatively young, healthy and mobile so it's not road kill, just a bump on the road.

"We shall not cease from exploration.

And the end of all our exploring.

Will be to arrive where we started.

And know the place for the first time."

"Little Gidding", T S Eliot.

11 minutes ago, marin said:

Get to a local wet market early in the morning.

Wet market, where you anyway? Kad (กาด) spoken in the north kam mueang language, and talatsot (ตลาดสด) Thai language, means fresh market. Haven’t heard “kad nam” “talat nam” or “wet market” as you call it, anywhere around here.

31 minutes ago, marin said:

Again a wrong answer from a tourist. Get to a local wet market early in the morning. Great deals on food and the view is nice as well.

1st one nice face, 2nd one ugly face bigger boobs probably fake.

7 minutes ago, novacova said:

Wet market, where you anyway? Kad (กาด) spoken in the north kam mueang language, and talatsot (ตลาดสด) Thai language, means fresh market. Haven’t heard “kad nam” “talat nam” or “wet market” as you call it, anywhere around here.

7 minutes ago, novacova said:

Wet market, where you anyway? Kad (กาด) spoken in the north kam mueang language, and talatsot (ตลาดสด) Thai language, means fresh market. Haven’t heard “kad nam” “talat nam” or “wet market” as you call it, anywhere around here.

Northern part of Bangkok. I have used the term over 40 years, picked it up as I enjoyed visiting them when first coming as a tourist. I was always up early. Its what my English speaking taxi driver used back then,

From AI:

What is a wet market in Thailand?

A wet market (also called a public market or a traditional market) is a marketplace selling fresh foods, such as meat, fish, and produce, and other consumption-oriented perishable goods in a non-supermarket setting, as distinguished from "dry markets" that sell durable goods, such as fabrics, kitchenwares and ...

34 minutes ago, marin said:

Again a wrong answer from a tourist. Get to a local wet market early in the morning. Great deals on food and the view is nice as well.

Those photos are not yours. It has Speed Foods imprinted on the second one. You are such a fake.

Post your own photos next time.

7 minutes ago, marin said:

Northern part of Bangkok. I have used the term over 40 years, picked it up as I enjoyed visiting them when first coming as a tourist. I was always up early. Its what my English speaking taxi driver used back then,

From AI:

What is a wet market in Thailand?

A wet market (also called a public market or a traditional market) is a marketplace selling fresh foods, such as meat, fish, and produce, and other consumption-oriented perishable goods in a non-supermarket setting, as distinguished from "dry markets" that sell durable goods, such as fabrics, kitchenwares and ...

Wet markets stink when they have seafood. I prefer cooked food markets.

14 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Wet markets stink when they have seafood. I prefer cooked food markets.

Different strokes for different folks. Being married having had kids in the house and liking to cook makes the wet/fresh market so much better. Dont have to worry about the quality of the cooked food.

The smell the heat and the noise are all part of the experience. Not for you cool.

I go to buy food, not as a budget tourist looking for a cheap meal. My goal is good shopping of fresh goods not to take photos of the sellers.

Quite different living here and shopping and being a tourist heading back to a guest house room.

Edited August 1Aug 1 by marin

8 hours ago, Rockyroad said:

who would want to date a washed up 60yo white woman?

Old men without low morals and easy access to prostitues?

8 minutes ago, marin said:

Different strokes for different folks. Being married having had kids in the house and liking to cook makes the wet/fresh market so much better. Dont have to worry about the quality of the cooked food.

The smell the heat and the noise are all part of the experience. Not for you cool.

I go to buy food, not as a budget tourist looking for a cheap meal. My goal is good shopping of fresh goods not to take photos of the sellers.

Quite different living here and shopping and being a tourist heading back to a guest house room.

Weekly visit by myself and with my girlfriend when I'm with her. Went today before going to Lotus to get bananas, cabbage, carrots, and onions.

12 minutes ago, marin said:

go to buy food, not as a budget tourist looking for a cheap meal. My goal is good shopping of fresh goods not to take photos of the sellers.

You go to smelly markets to buy cheap veges. Budget farang living in Nonthaburi.

4 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Weekly visit by myself and with my girlfriend when I'm with her. Went today before going to Lotus to get bananas, cabbage, carrots, and onions.

Hope you are using the "we share together program", 60% off.

1 minute ago, Rockyroad said:

You go to smelly markets to buy cheap veges. Budget farang living in Nonthaburi.

Number one I dont live in Nonthaburi. Number two stop trolling all the time tourist. You really are astonishingly lame. Dont pretend to know about a culture when you know zip. Thank you.

1 minute ago, marin said:

Hope you are using the "we share together program", 60% off.

She does the buying when we're together. I wish we had more of these back in Texas, as you get good bargains. We do have farmers markets for fresh produce but not like they have here, where the whole town is involved.