Pratumnak - The So Called Beverley Hills Of Pattaya

[expatgaz]

This area was once actually quite nice but it now seems to be loaded with all kinds of property ranging from high end to absolute slums.Lovely houses built right next to derelict apartments,the views from the windows of some of these places shocking,sitting in your 25 mil house looking at an overgrown piece of wasteland with a 4 storey derelict building on it ??Vastly inflated prices.Crime is rife,burglary,muggings etc etc.

How can this area pass itself off as the most sought after place to live in pattaya / jomtien.Have a drive around and the place looks absolutely awful.

EPG.

[thaimate]

This area was once actually quite nice but it now seems to be loaded with all kinds of property ranging from high end to absolute slums.Lovely houses built right next to derelict apartments,the views from the windows of some of these places shocking,sitting in your 25 mil house looking at an overgrown piece of wasteland with a 4 storey derelict building on it ??Vastly inflated prices.Crime is rife,burglary,muggings etc etc.

How can this area pass itself off as the most sought after place to live in pattaya / jomtien.Have a drive around and the place looks absolutely awful.

EPG.

when we were renting checked it out and really didnt rate it at all,not a very desirable area.

[LennyW]

Unfortunately now it seems to attract the label of being "the crime capital of Pattaya", i have never seen so much properties with electrified fences around them, i guess if you give off the impression there is something worth stealing inside - the theives will find a way! Shame, used to be a nice area.

[pattaya_girl]

There is a Soi in that area also, with a huge family of Black Pigs running around and a lot of poor Thai people living in wooden shacks - drove down there by accident one day, I was quite scared as a drunken Thai man was in the road clutching a bottle of Thai whiskey, he came very close almost touched my arm as i went past on the bike.

Edited March 14, 2009 by pattaya_girl

[foxxx]

pattaya_girl - your avatar is awesome

[Guderian]

I lived in a condo on a high floor in Star beach in 2005-2006. The view was fantastic, Pratumnak was largely green trees and large areas of leafy bush. Within little over a year, I reckon that about a quarter of what had been trees and bushes had been cleared for building, or else was already being built on. I know there has to be "progress", but still it's a shame all the development has occurred as it was a nice, quiet, relatively safe area at one time. I wouldn't live there now: too much crime, no local shopping facilities (other than the ubiquitous 7-11s and Family Marts), no public transport, and silly prices. Shame.

[pattaya_girl]

pattaya_girl - your avatar is awesome

Thankyou Foxxx

[PattayaParent]

I lived in a condo on a high floor in Star beach in 2005-2006. The view was fantastic, Pratumnak was largely green trees and large areas of leafy bush. Within little over a year, I reckon that about a quarter of what had been trees and bushes had been cleared for building, or else was already being built on. I know there has to be "progress", but still it's a shame all the development has occurred as it was a nice, quiet, relatively safe area at one time. I wouldn't live there now: too much crime, no local shopping facilities (other than the ubiquitous 7-11s and Family Marts), no public transport, and silly prices. Shame.

So no change from when you lived there before really.

[easyride]

There is a Soi in that area also, with a huge family of Black Pigs running around and a lot of poor Thai people living in wooden shacks - drove down there by accident one day, I was quite scared as a drunken Thai man was in the road clutching a bottle of Thai whiskey, he came very close almost touched my arm as i went past on the bike.

Nearly touched your arm? Call in the cavalry! Thais regularly live in wooden houses, regularly have animals in, out and around those houses, and unfortunately (some) pass thier time getting drunk.

Any resemblance to those fat backsides sitting in the hundreds of overpriced bars around Pattaya??

Get off your high horse and travel outside Pattaya and you'll see thousands of villages just as you describe, all filled with the good, bad and ugly of Thai society. But it IS Thai.

[Basset]

This area was once actually quite nice but it now seems to be loaded with all kinds of property ranging from high end to absolute slums.Lovely houses built right next to derelict apartments,the views from the windows of some of these places shocking,sitting in your 25 mil house looking at an overgrown piece of wasteland with a 4 storey derelict building on it ??Vastly inflated prices.Crime is rife,burglary,muggings etc etc.

How can this area pass itself off as the most sought after place to live in pattaya / jomtien.Have a drive around and the place looks absolutely awful.

EPG.

Agree with you EPG, but what I find stupid is alongside your warning are a heap of Google Ads advertising the opposite!!. Dump the Google Ads Admin, you have no control of what comes up, ie a guy or girl gets killed, we say sorry and you will be advertising funeral directors!!!

Just trying to be constuctive

Bert

[NanLaew]

That area never was safe and clean IMHO. It was (at first) way out in the boonies and hence a target for burglars and never lost that caché now it's in the middle of the Pattaya-Jomtien sprawl. A few years back when I was looking for a rental, a couple of realtors touted this area as being the best location in Pattaya. When I mentioned the high incidence of housebreaking they said not true because some royalty has a holiday home in the area and if it wasn't safe, they wouldn't be there. Yeah right.

[nick76]

hi all this is my first post. my friend is selling a condo in pratumnak im interested but reading this has really put me off. starting to sound like the council estate of pattaya. the condo is gonna be lease hold. how does this affect the price? the first lease is 30 years i think. does it just keep rolling another 30 years then another? im abit confused with this lease system in the uk it is 999 year lease. could you come to the point where youve got a year left on the lease and it might not be renewed.

please help

[tropo]

I wouldn't live anywhere else. I've lived in the area for 3 years and still loving it. It's the best location in Pattaya - one side of the hill Jomtien, the other side Pattaya with the best beach in the area down the hill.

I wonder if the people complaining about house breaking leave their windows and doors open wherever they live?

[NanLaew]

^ Good to see someone posting with a positive opinion but housebreaking does not usually involve walking through an open door. For example, my current Pattaya-Naklua home has been 100% kamoy-free for the whole 23 years it has been standing. However, end of January, some idiots jimmied the quadruple-locked front door open so never say never. Soi Potisan used to have the safe-as-houses label but it has also gone to the dogs just as much as Pratumnak Hill.

[chiangmaibruce]

the first lease is 30 years i think. does it just keep rolling another 30 years then another? im abit confused with this lease system in the uk it is 999 year lease. could you come to the point where youve got a year left on the lease and it might not be renewed.

nick

welcome. go to the real estate subforum and search for a thread entitled "30+30 year lease" to get all the info on that issue. you will find that in Thaivisa most questions you can think of have been asked and answered already - so have a play with the search facility and you will be amazed at the info already in here.

30 year lease is the max under current thai law and if they promise anything more then you are banking on trust alone (assuming the person making the commitment is even still alive at the end of the term). In general (and there are a lot of variables) the leasehold will be worth less than freehold.

[PattayaParent]

I wouldn't live anywhere else. I've lived in the area for 3 years and still loving it. It's the best location in Pattaya - one side of the hill Jomtien, the other side Pattaya with the best beach in the area down the hill.

I wonder if the people complaining about house breaking leave their windows and doors open wherever they live?

The thing is that no matter how run down or 'bad' people may perceive the area to be, all other areas are still less desirable to live so it still remains the 'best' area.

[Phatcharanan]

Its a dump.

[pattaya_girl]

There is a Soi in that area also, with a huge family of Black Pigs running around and a lot of poor Thai people living in wooden shacks - drove down there by accident one day, I was quite scared as a drunken Thai man was in the road clutching a bottle of Thai whiskey, he came very close almost touched my arm as i went past on the bike.

Nearly touched your arm? Call in the cavalry! Thais regularly live in wooden houses, regularly have animals in, out and around those houses, and unfortunately (some) pass thier time getting drunk.

Any resemblance to those fat backsides sitting in the hundreds of overpriced bars around Pattaya??

Get off your high horse and travel outside Pattaya and you'll see thousands of villages just as you describe, all filled with the good, bad and ugly of Thai society. But it IS Thai.

Thats wierd, I have travelled to quite a few places in Thailand over the last 8 years and never seen large families of Black pigs running wild, especialy in the Cities.

[tropo]

^ Good to see someone posting with a positive opinion but housebreaking does not usually involve walking through an open door.

My point was that no area is safe from housebreaking and it's a pretty lame way to write off Pratumnak Hill.

[Jingthing]

I got that "this is the best hiso place, royalty lives here" pitch when I was shopping for a condo here. Happily, I didn't fall for it.

[JimsKnight]

I stay in a 'pocket' villa around the corner from Pratumnak and as long as my bikes secured within the 'castle-like' walls I'm happy.

They have a cujo-esque dog on guard duty and if that and the towering walls don't prevent cat burglars then I'm sure the resident guards will, along with me and a few of the others who live there.

So yeah ,I did notice the high security the area has but to be honest, I don't get rattled about this. They often go for the soft-touch / easy access 't really notice any problems here.

[popshirt]

^ Good to see someone posting with a positive opinion but housebreaking does not usually involve walking through an open door.

My point was that no area is safe from housebreaking and it's a pretty lame way to write off Pratumnak Hill.

Yes I agree with that having known from friends of many robberies/burglaries recently. But the most terrifying account I heard occurred on Pratumak and involved a daytime break-in and a knife to the throat while being forced to open a safe. I have concluded, based on around 5 years here, that condo buildings (with security) are much safer than houses. And it doesn't matter where either of them are.

[Guderian]

That area never was safe and clean IMHO. It was (at first) way out in the boonies and hence a target for burglars and never lost that caché now it's in the middle of the Pattaya-Jomtien sprawl. A few years back when I was looking for a rental, a couple of realtors touted this area as being the best location in Pattaya. When I mentioned the high incidence of housebreaking they said not true because some royalty has a holiday home in the area and if it wasn't safe, they wouldn't be there. Yeah right.

One of the Princesses (not sure which one) has a house down on the Jomtien side of the Asia Hotel. If you go down Soi 5 to the entry to teh beach, and then turn north up moo 12 (I think that's what it's called), past the faux-castle hotel, you will eventually reach a manned road block. Her house is beyond that, and yes, it's very, very secure.

[thaiman]

How can this area pass itself off as the most sought after place to live in pattaya / jomtien.Have a drive around and the place looks absolutely awful.

EPG.

Because it's Thailand and Thai marketers can say whatever they want. Those who believe and trust Thai people(especially Thai development firms) are likely to be disapointed. Amazing Thailand! Got anything else you want to whine about?

[thaiman]

There is a Soi in that area also, with a huge family of Black Pigs running around and a lot of poor Thai people living in wooden shacks - drove down there by accident one day, I was quite scared as a drunken Thai man was in the road clutching a bottle of Thai whiskey, he came very close almost touched my arm as i went past on the bike.

Nearly touched your arm? Call in the cavalry!

A drunken Thai in Thailand? No way, I've never seen that before! Yep, call in the calvary!

[moo9]

This area was once actually quite nice but it now seems to be loaded with all kinds of property ranging from high end to absolute slums.Lovely houses built right next to derelict apartments,the views from the windows of some of these places shocking,sitting in your 25 mil house looking at an overgrown piece of wasteland with a 4 storey derelict building on it ??Vastly inflated prices.Crime is rife,burglary,muggings etc etc.

How can this area pass itself off as the most sought after place to live in pattaya / jomtien.Have a drive around and the place looks absolutely awful.

EPG.

The location itself is nice, but....

Broken into our house 2 times in 3 days. We stayed there abt. 2 weeks and decided to move away as quickly as we could. That was 3 yrs ago. I assume the crime situation did not really improve in the meantime.

[pattaya_girl]

There is a Soi in that area also, with a huge family of Black Pigs running around and a lot of poor Thai people living in wooden shacks - drove down there by accident one day, I was quite scared as a drunken Thai man was in the road clutching a bottle of Thai whiskey, he came very close almost touched my arm as i went past on the bike.

Nearly touched your arm? Call in the cavalry!

A drunken Thai in Thailand? No way, I've never seen that before! Yep, call in the calvary!

Calvary ???

[expatgaz]

Thaiman do you have a calvary in the Sportsman or Shenanigans ???

EPG.

[TheWalkingMan]

Beverly Hills? Some of the posts make it sound riff-raff central.

But seriously, some of those places are pretty expensive and I wonder why the residents don't chip-in on some quality, professional security teams. Honestly, if the place is known as a no nonsense, cross the line and you will experience some pain and thrown in jail area, crime would go down.

TheWalkingMan

[barrybike]

Beverly Hills? Some of the posts make it sound riff-raff central.

But seriously, some of those places are pretty expensive and I wonder why the residents don't chip-in on some quality, professional security teams. Honestly, if the place is known as a no nonsense, cross the line and you will experience some pain and thrown in jail area, crime would go down.

TheWalkingMan

sounds like a good idea ...........