Safe To Live In Thailand?

[bifftastic]

And don't forget the spiders as big as cats, the snakes that eat dogs, the crocodiles that eat the snakes that eat the dogs, and then there's the mosquitos and malaria and dengue fever that makes your head explode and liver flukes and tapeworms and lightning strikes and bar girls and ghosts and spirits and blood-sucking floating heads and retired special ops who can kill you with their thumb, and corrupt police, and honest police who are just having a bad day, and rogue elephants... And did I mention the snakes? And drunk drivers and mind-numbing soap operas, and tsunamis and bird flu and swine flu and Phuket Air, and stampeding Burmese. And then there's red-shirts and yellow-shirts and blue-shirts and black-shirts and no-shirts and multi-coloured shirts and Russians wearing Speedos... And did I mention the snakes? And then there's the earthquakes and flash-floods and slow floods and giant lizards in the parks and tokays that eat children's livers while they sleep (the children sleep that is, not the tokays, that would be silly), and the mudslides and the industrial pollution and the smog and the stubble burning and the motocycles on footways, and everything has rabies, even the goldfish, and the trip hazards and the low headroom hazards, and the missing sewer covers, and the collapsing scaffolding, and the man-eating soi dogs (who have rabies and bad breath) and the child-eating cats (who have rabies and claws), and the strange brown floaty things in the sea, and the under-cooked street food and the over-cooked street food, and the kamikaze-trained tuk-tuk drivers, and the pedestrian crossings, and the typhoons, and did I mention the snakes? And everyone has HIV, including the goldfish. And then there's the embassy staff, any embassy staff, and the tigers and the falling coconuts and the thieving monkeys and cute police (or vice-versa, can't remember) and stonefish and lionfish and sharks and Australians... And don't get me started on the snakes...

So, no snakes then? Sounds perfect

[contemplating]

Where are you from in the SF bay area? Oakland, Richmond?? Im from the north bay, and No one has bars on their windows, and very few even have an alarm system, and No one has has a wall around their house, and if they had a wall, they would not have 220v on top of the wall. That kind of security is only to keep people in, not out. As I said, if you have been in Thailand for a while, you get used to living behind walls, but for a lot of people, its not an easy way to live.

I just gave my opinion, not starting a macho contest.

[pattayarangers]

One thing you will notice about gated "communities" is that each house also carries it's own security systems from bars on the windows to full on alarm systems.

Reason: the weakest link in these places with their supposed 24/7 "security" is just that, the security guards. Anytime there's a burglary in one of these places the smart money is on the involvement of the security guards. Who else knows what house every person lives in and who else knows who is in and who is away?

An individual house with it's own physical security is as good, if not better, than these communities where you can't even rely on the place being kept clean and free from stray dogs.

Don't take any notice of the Pattaya bashers, these people are like those machines on the pier at Brighton where the parrot in the cage squawks as people walk by set of by a PIR detector. They also have a very similar level of intelligence.

Pattaya is what you seek in life, seek the dirt and you shall find the same.

Completely agree...a house, in a village compound or outside is only as good as it's own security. As anyone living here will corroborate, robberies are almost always an inside job (either the guards and their friends or a spurned lover who copied the keys). I live in a no guard village and not a single problem in 4 years.

[pattayarangers]

I live in a no guard village and not a single problem in 4 years.

Totally agree with the above statement. Lived on a village on Soi Kao Noi for over 5 years, no security, about 35 houses , no breaks ins / problems at all.

Now on a ' secure ' village on Siam Country Club Rd, gates, guards, cameras etc....woke up Tuesday morning to find flat screen TV, laptops, dvds , money all gone. They came in through the front door ( broke lock ) and out the same way. Security guard box 100m away. Luckily my family ( have a 7 year old son ) whose bedroom is downstairs where the robbery took place, all safe , we slept right through it.

The way the TV was unplugged , and a few other things, it was obvious they had time on their hands.

Police came , predictably did nothing ( not even the fact that they did it while we slept in the house bothered them ) , the security guard company came did nothing and developer has done nothing.

Forget about security guards here in Pattaya, make your own security is the only way to be protected.

If you want the name of the village PM me........

[GM1955]

More uninformed Farside bashing from someone living in a central Pattaya condo

I was living on the other side of Sukhumvit in early 1991, I moved back into Central for a while, moved back out to the darkside for a couple of years in 3 different places, then lived on 3rd road for many years until earlier this year I bought a Condo in Wong Amat.

Sorry I'm unable to give an informed opinion, I'm sure FarangBuddha has much more experience in Pattaya and can give informed unbiased opinions based on his wealth of experience.

[sarahsbloke]

I hope this isn't out of order but

*removed*

Yes it is safe to live in Thailand (but not if you worry about husband temptation, that happens everywhere) but there are some areas to avoid

If you want to be safe in Thailand, just live somewhere safe, not Pattaya

Edited November 19, 2010 by cdnvic
Yes it was out of order, so I toned it down by removing the excess

[kevkev1888]

I wonder what it is about the Pattaya bashers on this forum that makes them hang around the Pattaya section to constantly slag the place off???

Is the Nakorn Nowhere forum full off people from Pattaya/Bangkok slagging it off?

I don't know as I never go to the Nakorn Nowhere forum as I don't live there and consequently it is of no interest to me.

[GM1955]

I hope this isn't out of order but

You are thinking of living near an area which is effectively the biggest whorehouse in the world, rife with drugs, gambling and every naughty activity imaginable.

Then you worry about it being a safe place to live?

Pattaya and the surrounding area is a cesspit!

Yes it is safe to live in Thailand (but not if you worry about husband temptation, that happens everywhere) but there are some areas to avoid

If you want to be safe in Thailand, just live somewhere safe, not Pattaya

And your experience of Pattaya is ?

The whole area is a cesspit ?

OK, I have just been given the answer to my own question, you have virtually zero experience, or you simply cannot afford to stay here as you've blown all of your money on a house in Issan, have deep regrets and wish you lived in Pattaya instead of an ex rice field surrounded by people who you cannot communicate with, eating food you cannot eat, and you have to travel 500Kms to get some decent imported cheese.

Pattaya gives one a choice, excellent restaurants, great shopping, great bars and entertainment, Cinemas, Bowling, Golf, watersports, Jomtien Beach, Wong Amat Beach, Bang Saray beach, Top class hotels at an affordable rate to Farang run guesthouses if you choose, Pattaya has it all within a 90 minute drive to the Bangkok International airport and one of the most vibrant capital cities in the world, Bangkok.

Don't get me wrong, I also have a house upcountry that I really like, and I'll be up there for Christmas and New year for sure to get some cool weather, its a nice change of pace, and I like it, I like it a lot.

I may be fortunate to have the choice, others may not be so fortunate, hence bitter and twisted.

I know many like that, I'm sure you do too, the man in the mirror maybe ?

Edited November 19, 2010 by GM1955

[cdnvic]

It's fine to dislike Pattaya and express that opinion, but there's a point where it goes too far. Please avoid being obscenely negative. It is home to many people here.

[NALAK]

i to live out in the wilds near maparach res. i love it looked at several gated comunnities would drive me mad, every window you look out of you look straight at another house. gated communities get robbed as much as others. i went to luch at friends last week and he was on about neighbours this ones and idiot this ones an idiot etc. like living on a council estate in England. no way horrible places in my opinion. i have dogs which are a bit of a deterent but can be poisened. i look at is apart from the laptop everything can be replaced easily and its a risk i take but would not change for what the wife calls a pakapong house. (sardine)

situation was far worse in Samui.

Edited November 19, 2010 by NALAK

[craigt3365]

mefinks thou protesteff to mut

Mai khao jai?

i to live out in the wilds near maparach res. i love it looked at several gated comunnities would drive me mad, every window you look out of you look straight at another house. gated communities get robbed as much as others. i went to luch at friends last week and he was on about neighbours this ones and idiot this ones an idiot etc. like living on a council estate in England. no way horrible places in my opinion. i have dogs which are a bit of a deterent but can be poisened. i look at is apart from the laptop everything can be replaced easily and its a risk i take but would not change for what the wife calls a pakapong house. (sardine)

situation was far worse in Samui.

I was at a friends house near the temple on Map. reservoir. No gated community, houses on fairly large lots. A beautiful house, 2 doors down, was completely cleared out. 100%. Drove a truck up, backed it up to the garage, and loaded it up. Nobody stopped them or questioned them. At least in a gated community they can usually only take what can go over the wall!

You have to be careful anywhere you live. But! The same is true pretty much anywhere in the world. My parents had their house broken into 3 times in Las Vegas over a period of 25 years (they left it vacant for a few months while on summer travel). Nice neighborhood, no crime, great neighbors, no bars on windows....so it can happen anywhere....

[timekeeper]

mefinks thou protesteff to mut

Mai khao jai?

i to live out in the wilds near maparach res. i love it looked at several gated comunnities would drive me mad, every window you look out of you look straight at another house. gated communities get robbed as much as others. i went to luch at friends last week and he was on about neighbours this ones and idiot this ones an idiot etc. like living on a council estate in England. no way horrible places in my opinion. i have dogs which are a bit of a deterent but can be poisened. i look at is apart from the laptop everything can be replaced easily and its a risk i take but would not change for what the wife calls a pakapong house. (sardine)

situation was far worse in Samui.

I was at a friends house near the temple on Map. reservoir. No gated community, houses on fairly large lots. A beautiful house, 2 doors down, was completely cleared out. 100%. Drove a truck up, backed it up to the garage, and loaded it up. Nobody stopped them or questioned them. At least in a gated community they can usually only take what can go over the wall!

You have to be careful anywhere you live. But! The same is true pretty much anywhere in the world. My parents had their house broken into 3 times in Las Vegas over a period of 25 years (they left it vacant for a few months while on summer travel). Nice neighborhood, no crime, great neighbors, no bars on windows....so it can happen anywhere....

i would bet the robbery was a Thai family inside job and subsequently an inflated insurance claim

i am tempted to get back into this with you but (scratches chin) .........................no!

i truly have better things to do than discuss the pros and cons of living with the enemy in the confines of a housing estate.

a gated community is such a pretentious description ........

[FarangBuddha]

Never mind

Edited November 20, 2010 by FarangBuddha

[timekeeper]

Never mind

that just about sums up this thread.........

[craigt3365]

Actually, it was a European family...but for sure could have been an inside job.

[Ohio]

:jap: Living in Pattaya / Thailand is like everywhere else , be prudent in your personal security & home as you would anywhere else.

I have just got back to Patts & it is great to catch up with friends & acquaintenances that live here from Oz , UK , USA , Holland & local etc.

Everywhere has pitfalls , but it is your own decision. We retire in June 2012 & Pattaya is in the top 3 of our locations to settle.

Is Thailand dangerous ?? YES if you are idiotic enough to do things here you wouldn't do at home.

[craigt3365]

:jap: Living in Pattaya / Thailand is like everywhere else , be prudent in your personal security & home as you would anywhere else.

I have just got back to Patts & it is great to catch up with friends & acquaintenances that live here from Oz , UK , USA , Holland & local etc.

Everywhere has pitfalls , but it is your own decision. We retire in June 2012 & Pattaya is in the top 3 of our locations to settle.

Is Thailand dangerous ?? YES if you are idiotic enough to do things here you wouldn't do at home.

Just out of curiosity, what are the other 2 locations on your list? We did the same thing last year. Phuket and Hua Hin were our other 2 considerations. But ended up here. And so far, so good.

You've arrived to some great weather!

[coolhandjoe]

I'll use your words and keep it simple.....

Gated community in Pattaya!?!?

I rest my case!

[Danlo]

Compared to London its as safe as houses, many cynics say no, but really with common sense its a great place to be.

I spend a lot of time in Thailand, I have a house and often stay in town when I am on a night out which saves me driving home drunk.

Never had problems in 10 years and 6 yrs living here same.

[mistina]

Thanks to all for your opinions!!! Think we will definatly be going for our own property, the gated community thing really dont float my boat! Each to there own, its what we feel safe with our selfs!

Thanks every one..

[timekeeper]

Thanks to all for your opinions!!! Think we will definatly be going for our own property, the gated community thing really dont float my boat! Each to there own, its what we feel safe with our selfs!

Thanks every one..

good for you mistina

i admire someone who dances to the beat of their own drum

good luck to you wherever you settle

best wishes TK

[Naam]

I wonder what it is about the Pattaya bashers on this forum that makes them hang around the Pattaya section to constantly slag the place off???

Is the Nakorn Nowhere forum full off people from Pattaya/Bangkok slagging it off?

I don't know as I never go to the Nakorn Nowhere forum as I don't live there and consequently it is of no interest to me.

us two could form a club

[sarahsbloke]

I wonder what it is about the Pattaya bashers on this forum that makes them hang around the Pattaya section to constantly slag the place off???

Is the Nakorn Nowhere forum full off people from Pattaya/Bangkok slagging it off?

If you use the 'View New Content' button, the section headings become irrelevant, the topic title was not for Pattaya but for Thailand in general.

Edited November 22, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[Naam]

Thanks to all for your opinions!!! Think we will definatly be going for our own property, the gated community thing really dont float my boat! Each to there own, its what we feel safe with our selfs!

Thanks every one..

the gated community has dozens of advantages and only one drawback. the price of land is a multiple compared to land "outside". the maintenance fees one pays are worth their money, but that's of course my personal opinion.

whatever, i'd like to hear a valid reason why a gated community doesn't "float boats".

[Naam]

i to live out in the wilds near maparach res. i love it looked at several gated comunnities would drive me mad, every window you look out of you look straight at another house. gated communities get robbed as much as others. i went to luch at friends last week and he was on about neighbours this ones and idiot this ones an idiot etc. like living on a council estate in England. no way horrible places in my opinion. i have dogs which are a bit of a deterent but can be poisened. i look at is apart from the laptop everything can be replaced easily and its a risk i take but would not change for what the wife calls a pakapong house. (sardine)

situation was far worse in Samui.

you shouldn't look only at houses in gated communities where financially handycapped social insurance recipients live why not dropping by for a drink in my house located in a gated community where the minimum size of land is one Rai?

[Naam]

I'll use your words and keep it simple.....

Gated community in Pattaya!?!?

I rest my case!

no arguments = no case, just yada... yada...

Edited November 22, 2010 by Naam

[BB1950]

Thanks to all for your opinions!!! Think we will definatly be going for our own property, the gated community thing really dont float my boat! Each to there own, its what we feel safe with our selfs!

Thanks every one..

the gated community has dozens of advantages and only one drawback. the price of land is a multiple compared to land "outside". the maintenance fees one pays are worth their money, but that's of course my personal opinion.

whatever, i'd like to hear a valid reason why a gated community doesn't "float boats".

Here's one... you can't do what ever you want to do, with your own land. I have many more.

IMHO, it's the other way around. A gated community has dozens of drawbacks, but I can't think of one valid advantage for me.

I agree with 'mistina', each to their own thoughts and beliefs. Just as in the other debates like condo/apartment vs house, buying vs renting, country vs city, or undeveloped countries vs developed countries.

I've formed my own opinions, having lived in all these scenarios. Others have formed their own, which may differ from mine. Different strokes for different folks. Do what you feel comfortable and secure with.

If you haven't tried it, then give it a try and see if it suits you. That's the only way you will know for sure. You learn with your experience, as to you likes or dislikes. Not from what someone says

There is no one size fits all.

Edited November 22, 2010 by BB1950

[Naam]

Naam:whatever, i'd like to hear a valid reason why a gated community doesn't "float boats".

BB1950: Here's one... you can't do what ever you want to do, with your own land. I have many more.

i have done anything with "my" land what i wanted. for a few things i asked for permission (which was always granted), for other things i didn't even bother to ask and nobody bothered me.

but i am well aware of the fact that in some communities the board members are a bunch of poor clowns who suddenly indulge in wielding "power" and seem to enjoy it. made that experience in a gated community in Florida. first i was polite and tried to reason, but when things became too bothersome i threatened them with a dozen law suits which would have bankrupted the home owners' association.

personally i appreciate certain restrictions. i don't want to see rusty garden sheds, homes not maintained or painted bright blue, green, yellow or pink, semi disassembled cars in carports which are visible, unkempt front gardens, torn garbage bags instead of bins, neighbours having parties and loud music till 04.00 hrs, and... many more

[BB1950]

personally i appreciate certain restrictions. i don't want to see rusty garden sheds, homes not maintained or painted bright blue, green, yellow or pink, semi disassembled cars in carports which are visible, unkempt front gardens, torn garbage bags instead of bins, neighbours having parties and loud music till 04.00 hrs, and... many more

Exactly my point!

I personally prefer bright yellow houses. My current house is yellow and is very attractive. I know of some Thais who prefer bright blue, green, or pink, which can look nice if done properly. I remember the last gated community I lived in, you could paint your house any color as long as it was white, supplied by a specific manufacturer along with a specific color code!

Also, I had gotten permission from the management to place a miniature lighted statue of liberty at the front door meaning:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

After I went to the expense of installing it, another person in the management (who was German) convinced the others that it had to go. There could not be any nationalities represented in the community, yet another member of the management had an Australian flag at their door. To me, it was representing an idea (all were welcome), not a nationality. Needless to say, the management made it difficult for me and my guests until I had it removed.

Oh yes, the German who complained, had many loud parties with live bands till 4am. Would it do any good to complain? No.

The point is, unless you are part of the 'click', life can be hel_l in a gated community.

I have more...

Edited November 22, 2010 by BB1950

[Naam]

"I personally prefer bright yellow houses. My current house is yellow and is very attractive."