Penang vs Pattaya for retirement?

[jaywalker]

OK, here we go......

I know all about Pattaya. It's a FUN, FUN, FUN place to visit, but after living there a few years, errr.... I was no longer a visitor & getting a bit jaded.

It seemed like every expat I met was either on a tight pension or on a tight budget job they were working (usually illegally), or the owner of some bar that sat & drank beer all day on some noisy soi, or..... I don't know.

I lived in Kuwait for 6 years & everybody I knew there were expats with a 6 figure USD salary (myself included).

Aside from the horrible weather, it was a nice place to live, considering.

While I certainly understand that no place on Earth is like Pattaya, I was considering a move to Penang, maybe in 6 months time or so.

I've been to KL many times but never Penang.

Just curious how others might view Penang in the following regards, as compared to Pattaya.

#1 - Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists).

#2 - Peace & quiet (ie: some clown drives by on a tricycle every day BLARING out in Thai that he's looking for scrap/junk).

#2.1 Peace & quiet (ie neighbor has a yapping poodle & feeds soi dogs right outside her gate & poodle yaps 24/7).

#3 - Soi dogs/stray dogs - Can I count 50 of them within a 5 minute drive of my house?

#4 - Cleanliness of the beaches

#5 - Access to shopping (ie: Tesco/Big C/Makro equivalents).

#6 - Parking (do they try to take up EVERY SQUARE MILLIMETER of parking space)..I mean every time I park somewhere in Pattaya I'm 2 inches away from the car next to me.

Thanks for any input. I know, I know, I need to get myself down there & see, but figured I'd ask here.

BTW..... Girly bars are always an added plus, but not a prerequisite.

Oh YEAH!!!!! What's your take on the expats there? Are they:

A happy lot? Jaded bums? So low on money they only go out once a month? Are 75% of them former Special Forces (full of bull)?

One of the main reasons I ask, is because, it seems EVERYBODY AND THEIR BROTHER seems to have the opinion of other expats in Pattaya that everyone is either right next to broke, or a sucker ready for the taking, making it difficult to find decent friends that aren't terribly suspicious of everything (yet those same folks will happily drink YOUR beer at your house).

Just wondering if Penang is a place with real people & not the broke/BS types?

I specifically ask about Penang, as I prefer to live near the coast & it's close to Thailand (wife is Thai - married 13 years).

Thanks for any insights!

[ExPratt]

If you can ignore the traffic in Penang its a nice place. Georgetown is rammed 6 days a week on Sunday they close parts of it to traffic. Not cheap if you like a tipple

[Jay Sata]

Penang is certainly nicer than Pattaya and Malaysia is a lot easier on expat rights etc.

[HeijoshinCool]

#1 - Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists).

The highways are fantastic. Georgetown is crowded at rush hours, but calm.

#2 - Peace & quiet (ie: some clown drives by on a tricycle every day BLARING out in Thai that he's looking for scrap/junk).

Quiet, but don't stay near a mosque!

#2.1 Peace & quiet (ie neighbor has a yapping poodle & feeds soi dogs right outside her gate & poodle yaps 24/7).

Same

#3 - Soi dogs/stray dogs - Can I count 50 of them within a 5 minute drive of my house?

You do realize this is primarily a Muslim country, right? I saw very few dogs. Heard zero barking.

#4 - Cleanliness of the beaches

Sorry, didn't get there. But everything else looked much cleaner than LOS

#5 - Access to shopping (ie: Tesco/Big C/Makro equivalents).

Fine

#6 - Parking (do they try to take up EVERY SQUARE MILLIMETER of parking space)..I mean every time I park somewhere in Pattaya I'm 2 inches away from the car next to me.

Two things caught my attention once over the border the first time. All the houses had real freakin windows, and cars were parked parallel with the painted lines.

Oh, three: people were genuinely nice … not all, but most.

Wait, four! They were honest, not seeing me as a walking ATM. At a rest stop, I simply raised my eyebrows at the cost of a buffet. But I paid, and the lady smile and gave me back an extra ringit (30 baht) and said, Welcome to Malaysia.

Didn't meet any expats.

Beer is ridiculously priced, but you could make runs to the border, and duty free shop on the Malaysia side one in a while.

[ExPratt]

- Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists).

The highways are fantastic. Georgetown is crowded at rush hours, but calm.

What an uneven 2 lane freeway with a hard shoulder the size of a bike lane ? there death toll annual figures are similar to Thailand I believe

[HeijoshinCool]

- Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists).

The highways are fantastic. Georgetown is crowded at rush hours, but calm.

What an uneven 2 lane freeway with a hard shoulder the size of a bike lane ? there death toll annual figures are similar to Thailand I believe

.

No. I was referring to the toll roads, which are excellent. Smooth, clean, beautifully landscaped, including flower beds and, unlike Thailand, properly engineered runoff. No crazy drivers, emergency phones every few clicks, and very, very nice, spotlessly clean, rest stops every half hour. Even had tiny toilets for tots. Coffee from machines was 30 baht. Rest stop food was excellent. And no males pissing on the side of the road.

As for the two lane roads, over a four day period, I saw nothing reminiscent of Thai driving. Nothing.

[ExPratt]

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- Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists).

The highways are fantastic. Georgetown is crowded at rush hours, but calm.

What an uneven 2 lane freeway with a hard shoulder the size of a bike lane ? there death toll annual figures are similar to Thailand I believe

.

No. I was referring to the toll roads, which are excellent. Smooth, clean, beautifully landscaped, including flower beds and, unlike Thailand, properly engineered runoff. No crazy drivers, emergency phones every few clicks, and very, very nice, spotlessly clean, rest stops every half hour. Even had tiny toilets for tots. Coffee from machines was 30 baht. Rest stop food was excellent. And no males pissing on the side of the road.

As for the two lane roads, over a four day period, I saw nothing reminiscent of Thai driving. Nothing.

You ust have lived in a completely diffident part of Malaysia than me . I lived/worked there for 5 and a half years.I was almost daily up and down between Ipoh and Pedang Basar. Having said that the roads do get better as you go south. There is some stunning scenery I agree, When I left China and went to Malaysia I though it was ok in Comparison. But after a while you realise the roads are dangerous , not as Dangerous as China mind

[casual inquiry]

the motocyclist in thailand are completely sane compared to the allah driven freaks in georgetown. and i am a pedestrian. if i see a moto coming and i stop and watch like a mouse watching a nearby snake without an exit, ready to take quick evasive jump if need be. they are scary. ok not all but a large percentage being driven by male youth pretending they are in major speed moto event. i kid you not.

but this is perhaps mitigated by the total absence of dogs, no soi dogs at all. weather is fine. supermarkets in abundance. try gamma it Taiwanese owned i think and its got so much better stuff than the usual western dominated supermarket chains. mostly cheaper too.

transvestites litter chulia street at night if thats your scene. oh you prefer girls, stay in thailand because this is muslim country. ok there are some girls who will offer you a massage in certain locations when you are walking the street at night, but mostly they arent attractive, are of foreign origin and you may or may not be in for a surprise when the doors are closed and the clothes are on the floor.

penang is ok for a couple to a few months then you will yearn to go back to thailand. somehow penang becomes boring rather quickly but good for a change of pace and cuisine for a while.

oh yeah if you think education is expensive try malaysia! yes they got fridges and escalators but you want them to work as well, how totally outrageous!

Edited November 18, 2014 by casual inquiry

[canman]

I've spent time in Penang twice this year, drove there from Singapore and back both times.

Just curious how others might view Penang in the following regards, as compared to Pattaya.

#1 - Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists).

Traffic on the island is bad with frequent jams but if you avoid the morning and evening rush hours you can get by. Similar traffic to Pattaya 4 years ago. Judging by the amount of condo development I would guess the traffic is going to get worse. It is obvious that they have not planned to widen the major roads.

Motorcycle drivers similar to Thailand, mostly idiots and you really have to watch out for them.

#2 - Peace & quiet (ie: some clown drives by on a tricycle every day BLARING out in Thai that he's looking for scrap/junk).

Depends on where you stay, seemed to be some nice quiet secluded suburbs around. Condo living would seem the best option.

#2.1 Peace & quiet (ie neighbor has a yapping poodle & feeds soi dogs right outside her gate & poodle yaps 24/7).

The Malays seem to be more mindful of others right to peace and quiet except if you are close to a mosque.

#3 - Soi dogs/stray dogs - Can I count 50 of them within a 5 minute drive of my house?

Very few

#4 - Cleanliness of the beaches

The sea is similar to Pattaya. Turbid water but maybe less junk washing up on the beach. Doesn't rate as a beach destination in my books

#5 - Access to shopping (ie: Tesco/Big C/Makro equivalents).

A couple major shopping centers there, I would not consider it an issue

#6 - Parking (do they try to take up EVERY SQUARE MILLIMETER of parking space)..I mean every time I park somewhere in Pattaya I'm 2 inches away from the car next to me.

Never had an issue with parking except in Georgetown weekend afternoons. Still managed to park close to my destination, just had to drive around a bit to find a spot.

Generally I found it expensive, more so then Pattaya was 4 years ago.

Very few bars and alcohol is expensive.

Not a whole lot of recreational options.

[meatboy]

been there about a dozen times very nice place to live[penang] the food was great,but no CIDER back in the 80's so if there's still none i will have to stay put in korat.

so to the op.move out eg.say korat build a nice house with a big garden,a faithful companion [dog] and have your own BAR at home.

and if like me that has been married over 25yrs take her aswell.

[casual inquiry]

transvestites litter chulia street at night if thats your scene. oh you prefer girls, stay in thailand because this is muslim country. ok there are some girls who will offer you a massage in certain locations when you are walking the street at night, but mostly they arent attractive, are of foreign origin and you may or may not be in for a surprise when the doors are closed and the clothes are on the floor.

just an extra note to this, if you were an attractive girl looking to make some money internationally, how far down on your list of potential places would malaysia be? ok so now you have a better understanding of the situation.

[TSF]

No comparison really...warts & all LOS wins hands down. I last went to Penang a few months ago, just for a visit, was pleasant enough but I wouldn't want to live there and was glad to get back to LOS.

Why does it have to be a choice between Penang or Patts?

I've lived in Patts but moved away a while ago, now living at Bangsean. There are nice places to live near Patts that are cheap and coastal but without many of the negative aspects of Patts....Bangsaen, Bang Saray, Sattahip, Sri Racha are all worth a look at.

[Ace of Pop]

The Foods Better. ABC not Squiggly rubbish on signs.They speak English better.Dont piss you about with Visa Regs..

[ExPratt]

I liked living in Penang but was not overly bothered about leaving there. Its a little bit more expat friendly as mentioned above and you dont get hoards of pissed up tourists, though plenty of pissed up expats. People who are not British struggle with my accent (Arthur Mullard)I am usually better off in Pigeon Thai than I am with the Queen Vics English

Edited November 18, 2014 by ExPratt

[liddelljohn]

I like malaysia , but not penang its a dead end and boring ,,, KL is a better option ,

i ahve lived in thailand and SEA almost 15 years now and actually spend more time in Europe and although i have roots here property and family will only stay 4 months a year in future , more summers in Europe and UK , as there is more culture, things to do and its actually now relatively cheap to do so as Asia gets more expensive.

[casual inquiry]

penang again. they are very proud of their water, and good water it is too, cactus and spritzer are indeed very drinkable waters, but because they are so proud of their water it tends to end up in greater quantity than you would expect in other places too. you know like in your curry, your milk, your tea and coffee, your fruit drinks, your chrysanthemum tea, your soy milk, etc.

Edited November 18, 2014 by casual inquiry

[casual inquiry]

penang again

they have this ongoing permanent competition to see who can be the foulest and sickest, so where ever you are day or night you will hear loud throat clearing, the louder the better not always accompanied by spitting. i mean by the sounds of it, these ppl are really sick so one assumes if you stay there too long you too will get this.

Edited November 18, 2014 by casual inquiry

[Braddockrd]

If girly bars are not a prerequisite.... What are you doing in Pattsya? Can't be the beach! 555

[Briggsy]

May I ask the OP about his social life? No man is an island.

[Katipo]

I lived in Penang a couple of years back and still visit 3 or 4 times a year. In answer to your questions...

#1 - Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists). ....Penang does have traffic problems, although not quite as bad as Thailand. Drivers are better, but not so much so.

#2 - Peace & quiet (ie: some clown drives by on a tricycle every day BLARING out in Thai that he's looking for scrap/junk).... Much much quieter. Unless you live near a mosque.

#2.1 Peace & quiet (ie neighbor has a yapping poodle & feeds soi dogs right outside her gate & poodle yaps 24/7). As above

#3 - Soi dogs/stray dogs - Can I count 50 of them within a 5 minute drive of my house? None that I ever saw. Perhaps in some areas? Certainly nothing like Thailand at all. I can go jogging without fear.

#4 - Cleanliness of the beaches Beaches are cleaner, but overall probably on par with Pattaya/Jomtien. Although the latter are certainly longer. Penang has hills and mountains as well to compensate. Lovely botanical gardens.

#5 - Access to shopping (ie: Tesco/Big C/Makro equivalents). Plenty of modern supermarkets and malls. Good selection of imported goods with lower prices than Thailand. Several large malls of a Central Standard (well, almost).... Guerney Plaza, Paragon, and Queensbay for example.

#6 - Parking (do they try to take up EVERY SQUARE MILLIMETER of parking space)..I mean every time I park somewhere in Pattaya I'm 2 inches away from the car next to me. Varies from location to location. Street parking is much better maintained, with wardens like we have in the west. Some malls offer good parking, others do feel a bit cramped.

Overall I fined the quality and efficiency of services offered in Penang to be higher. There is a reasonable bus service covering the island for example.

It does lack in raving nightlife, and alcohol is more expensive. There are some nice bars around if you want to meet with friends, but don't expect Thailand prices.

Finding many pork products (salami, bacon etc) substituted with beef is a minor peeve, although there are plenty of Chinese run places which offer bacon (Marshall's Burgers are great).

Overall I find Penang to a great place to be. It is certainly moving forward very quickly, with new developments and malls popping up. yes it manages to maintain a certain charm which is lacking in Thailand. This I put down to a combination of cleanliness, plenty of trees and green areas, and a generally more peaceful and developed environment.

I would choose Penang over Pattaya any day.

[MrOzark]

I have lived in both places for years. I lived in Pattaya for a few years and in Msia with several week long visits to Penang.

Penang is like living in China. Dominated by the Chinese. So, if you like that culture, you will like it except for that fact that the Muslims in charge of the country make alcohol and a lot of other freedoms kind of expensive.

I recommend living in Thailand in a much better city than Pattaya. There are places all over Thailand you can visit that are better than living anywhere in Msia.

My humble opinion.

[dotpoom]

The last time I was in Penang the food vendors sat you down at a table (only if you bought a drink) that had no sauces, tooth pics or any such thing....completely bare...not even a tissue.....no thanks.....Pattaya for me.

[surfinglife]

If sh&*%g and golf are NOT your main hobbies than Penang is perfect. For golf and sh&*%g enthusiasts there is no place like Pattaya

[Asiantravel]

- Traffic jams & sane-ness of drivers (especially motorcyclists).

The highways are fantastic. Georgetown is crowded at rush hours, but calm.

What an uneven 2 lane freeway with a hard shoulder the size of a bike lane ? there death toll annual figures are similar to Thailand I believe

.

No. I was referring to the toll roads, which are excellent. Smooth, clean, beautifully landscaped, including flower beds and, unlike Thailand, properly engineered runoff. No crazy drivers, emergency phones every few clicks, and very, very nice, spotlessly clean, rest stops every half hour. Even had tiny toilets for tots. Coffee from machines was 30 baht. Rest stop food was excellent. And no males pissing on the side of the road.

As for the two lane roads, over a four day period, I saw nothing reminiscent of Thai driving. Nothing.

" I saw nothing reminiscent of Thai driving. Nothing."

that is probably because they have more stringent student driver standards in Malaysia with proper driving tests.

http://driving-school.com.my/driving-schools/vehicle-driving-tests-in-malaysia/

[MJP]

One post pulled due to bashing.

[Bernard Flint]

Sir

I cannot answer your question, because Your version of Pattaya is nothing like my version. Hope you get correct views of Penang

[notmyself]

I fly to Penang every 90 days for a couple of nights. Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

[MobileContent]

OP should just visit first Penang and not open a threat about Penang if he has never been their. I would visit the place first and make my mind up.

Just fly down and visit Penang. OP might should think about Johor Bahru and visit Singapore if he wants to meet people that are loaded with cash and I don't mean 6 figures but 7 figures but they might see OP as a cheap charly.

As for me, between Pattaya and Penang, I chose Penang any time of the day.

Was in Pattaya 2 weeks ago and got to say what a type of trash from Europe wanders around evening on Jomtien Beach. Thanks good we met some Thai's to have a good time at night and as well a couple of Lesbians from the Netherlands.

[camsouth]

Penang is certainly nicer than Pattaya and Malaysia is a lot easier on expat rights etc.

why not Chiang Mai. or is fun all you want?

Edited November 18, 2014 by camsouth

[spacebass]

I have been to Penang a few times for a couple of days on visa runs, I would say it is the opposite of Pattaya's excitement in boredom, charachterised by the 150 thb for a big bottle of beer already mentioned, there were ladies hanging about on Chulia Street though, surprised me.