Why live in Pattaya ?

[OZEMADE]

Range of shopping malls, markets, extensive range of Foreign products in a number of supermarkets.

Close proximity to BKK and the airport with choice of travel links. U Tpao airport also serves Samui, Phuket etc.

Baht bus transport for central Pattaya which is cheap and convenient.

Good selection of both rented and for sale accommodation at affordable prices.

Restaurants galore.

Selection od schools.

Selection of hospitols.

Attractions such as water parks.

The list is endless.........Why NOT live in Pattaya?

Completely agree. Of course, Pattaya IS the world's best known adult playground in FEW LIMITED areas of the city. But as you said, it has all above and

- plenty of golf courses all around

- plenty of quiet moo baans all around from Naklua to East Pattaya / darkside to Jomtien and even further

- plenty of nice quiet places (at least during the week) from Bank Saen to Rayong

- plenty of music bars for the evening (even on walking street)

- art places / parks / zoos etc.

and lot more that I enjoy and am looking forward to start to explore even further in few months when I finally arrive for living in Pattaya. So far, I have always found all that I "need" for living, it is just a matter of looking around and NOT only hang around the playground sites...

yep, and let's not forget that Pattaya is on the sea!

This means beaches, boats, fishing and often also a nice breeze that cools Pattaya down by about 3 to 4 degrees compared to Bangkok.

In the night I sometimes plant my mini BBK on Jomtien beach and grill some sausages, chicken wings and steaks to eat with potato salad, cold beers in the ice cooler.

Ease of commute to the airport is a big plus too.

Apart from all the other things mentioned above, it is cheaper to live here compared to Phuket and Hua Hin. It is more central to all other destinations, a bit over an hour to the airport, 30minutes longer to Bangkok and about 5 hrs to the second biggest Island in Thailand Koh Chang and the many that surround it, not to forget the many places on the way to the Island. Plus a lot of our friends from all over the world meet us here when they holiday.

[Naam]

Plus a lot of our friends from all over the world meet us here when they holiday.

[MrWorldwide]

The combination of location and a benign climate are hard to beat, but visitors simply take all that for granted. I know I did for 18 years.

[thaibeachlovers]

Pattaya is huge. The bar area is small. Get out and look around you will find Pattaya is just another Thai city away from the beach.

[Pheat123]

Pattaya is one of the greatest places to live on earth

I have had some of the most fantastic times of my life getting pissed in the bars

And taking a couple hookers back to the condo to continue the fun back at the beach front condo

Do I care what others think?

Do bears crap in the woods?

++ loads of cheap decent restaurants to take my hookers to for a feed before continuing the piss up

Edited April 11, 2015 by Pheat123

[Bellacissa]

I'm an American woman living here with my son while my husband works in another area of the world. We love it here. And no, I don't give a flying flip about what people think of me for living in Pattaya. Why waste my time on judgmental people?

I'm here for the cheap cost of living (compared to the states), the great food and the chance to live the rest of my life in shorts and a tank top. I'm not quite ready to retire to a sleepy village and I like going to have a drink with my Thai friends every now and again. I like having a decent mall nearby for when I want to "go western" and see a movie. I like being able to walk to a restaurant and get whatever I want whenever I want. My son (13 years old) is ecstatic to be able to swim 365 days a year and go collect shells on the beach whenever he likes.

The night life doesn't bother me in the slightest and I love the people watching that sitting in an open air bar gives me.

It does take a certain mentality for a woman to live here basically on her own. Thankfully, I have that mentality in spades.

[Naam]

The combination of location and a benign climate are hard to beat, but visitors simply take all that for granted. I know I did for 18 years.

i beg to differ as far as "benign" climate is concerned. i consider the local climate as nothing but although i lived more than half of my life in tropical countries.

it must be old age. i used to wear long-sleeved shirts and a tie at higher ambient temperatures when living and working in Saudi Arabia. what i am missing are the seasons. of course Pattaya has seasons too. in winter it is hot and in summer it is very hot.

[MrWorldwide]

The combination of location and a benign climate are hard to beat, but visitors simply take all that for granted. I know I did for 18 years.

i beg to differ as far as "benign" climate is concerned. i consider the local climate as nothing but although i lived more than half of my life in tropical countries.

it must be old age. i used to wear long-sleeved shirts and a tie at higher ambient temperatures when living and working in Saudi Arabia. what i am missing are the seasons. of course Pattaya has seasons too. in winter it is hot and in summer it is very hot.

'Benign' isnt the same as 'cool' : when was the last time you had to have your roof replaced after it was torn off by a tropical storm ? Any hail damage to your car ? My mother was staying in a caravan park on the NSW coast in Oz years ago when a 'mini tornado' left he wondering if she would see daylight - IME, not something we have to worry about in Pattaya. Even in sleepy old Brisbane, we had storms and floods and hailstones the size of golf balls in Summer, and it was as humid as anything I've endured here.

Compared to other parts of Thailand, I dont consider Pattaya excessively hot and it beats Penang hands down for an afternoon breeze off the ocean. Mornings - granted - can be unbearable but you have to take that as part of the price of being able to live here in shorts and a t-shirt all year round.

[bartender100]

People that live in the Pattaya area should have no reason to defend themselves against the OP, if he does not like it good for him/her. He has started 15 meaningless threads in 50 posts total

[pegman]

I'm an American woman living here with my son while my husband works in another area of the world. We love it here. And no, I don't give a flying flip about what people think of me for living in Pattaya. Why waste my time on judgmental people?

I'm here for the cheap cost of living (compared to the states), the great food and the chance to live the rest of my life in shorts and a tank top. I'm not quite ready to retire to a sleepy village and I like going to have a drink with my Thai friends every now and again. I like having a decent mall nearby for when I want to "go western" and see a movie. I like being able to walk to a restaurant and get whatever I want whenever I want. My son (13 years old) is ecstatic to be able to swim 365 days a year and go collect shells on the beach whenever he likes.

The night life doesn't bother me in the slightest and I love the people watching that sitting in an open air bar gives me.

It does take a certain mentality for a woman to live here basically on her own. Thankfully, I have that mentality in spades.

Have you given driving a try? Say down Suk last week?

[Bellacissa]

I'm an American woman living here with my son while my husband works in another area of the world. We love it here. And no, I don't give a flying flip about what people think of me for living in Pattaya. Why waste my time on judgmental people?

I'm here for the cheap cost of living (compared to the states), the great food and the chance to live the rest of my life in shorts and a tank top. I'm not quite ready to retire to a sleepy village and I like going to have a drink with my Thai friends every now and again. I like having a decent mall nearby for when I want to "go western" and see a movie. I like being able to walk to a restaurant and get whatever I want whenever I want. My son (13 years old) is ecstatic to be able to swim 365 days a year and go collect shells on the beach whenever he likes.

The night life doesn't bother me in the slightest and I love the people watching that sitting in an open air bar gives me.

It does take a certain mentality for a woman to live here basically on her own. Thankfully, I have that mentality in spades.

Have you given driving a try? Say down Suk last week?

I drive down the Suk nearly every day. But, I'm on a bike, not in a white minivan.

[Oink]

Ditto the above advantages. Also in mid winter we have blue sky and sunshine and about 30oC warmer than where we are from in the UK which is freezing, wet, dark and miserable. So are the people.

[how241]

Range of shopping malls, markets, extensive range of Foreign products in a number of supermarkets.

Close proximity to BKK and the airport with choice of travel links. U Tpao airport also serves Samui, Phuket etc.

Baht bus transport for central Pattaya which is cheap and convenient.

Good selection of both rented and for sale accommodation at affordable prices.

Restaurants galore.

Selection od schools.

Selection of hospitols.

Attractions such as water parks.

The list is endless.........Why NOT live in Pattaya?

+1...Pattaya is a great city to live in.

[nickmanchester2]

I have been here almost 6 years in thailand and lived in bangkok (too busy, crowded, expensive, too much traffic and public transport jammed), hua hin (too small, get boring very quickly), Phuket (great if you have the money), Ban Chang (1 road of bars?! this was a mistake, beach not too bad when it was not covered in oil), Koh Samui (the island gets smaller and smaller on you the longer you live there.

and now pattaya - been here almost a year, but it does not feel like that long as plenty of exploring to do, cheap places to eat, western style supermarkets (i am well stocked up for songkran), cheap beers, western style 1 bedroom (not studio) condo for 9000b and govmnt rate electric, too many options for meeting girls - paid and unpaid, I often arrange for BKK girls to head here for the weekend and enjoy free time during the week.

Pattaya wins overall for me

[MZurf]

I'm an American woman living here with my son while my husband works in another area of the world. We love it here. And no, I don't give a flying flip about what people think of me for living in Pattaya. Why waste my time on judgmental people?

I'm here for the cheap cost of living (compared to the states), the great food and the chance to live the rest of my life in shorts and a tank top. I'm not quite ready to retire to a sleepy village and I like going to have a drink with my Thai friends every now and again. I like having a decent mall nearby for when I want to "go western" and see a movie. I like being able to walk to a restaurant and get whatever I want whenever I want. My son (13 years old) is ecstatic to be able to swim 365 days a year and go collect shells on the beach whenever he likes.

The night life doesn't bother me in the slightest and I love the people watching that sitting in an open air bar gives me.

It does take a certain mentality for a woman to live here basically on her own. Thankfully, I have that mentality in spades.

Too bad you're already married!

[manarak]

People that live in the Pattaya area should have no reason to defend themselves against the OP, if he does not like it good for him/her. He has started 15 meaningless threads in 50 posts total

yes, but the thread is yet another occasion to tell the small-minded about the many good reasons to live in Pattaya

[tuonsai]

People that live in the Pattaya area should have no reason to defend themselves against the OP, if he does not like it good for him/her. He has started 15 meaningless threads in 50 posts total

yes, but the thread is yet another occasion to tell the small-minded about the many good reasons to live in Pattaya

I'm not small minded, besides you guys who live there and the people who go there each year for the beer and hookers, most others have a very negative opinion of Pattaya. I know this is ill informed, and that's why I asked. But you can't deny Pattaya's reputation. For example, I'm an expat in Phnom Penh and there's a huge fear among expats there of people coming over from Pattaya to Cambodia.

I know Pattaya is much more complex than what people make it out to be, that's why I'm interested in it and asked this question. If I was small minded I would've just written it off, like 99% of people do. I appreciate the good side of Pattaya too, and thanks for the responses.

Edited April 11, 2015 by tuonsai

[nickmanchester2]

People that live in the Pattaya area should have no reason to defend themselves against the OP, if he does not like it good for him/her. He has started 15 meaningless threads in 50 posts total

yes, but the thread is yet another occasion to tell the small-minded about the many good reasons to live in Pattaya

I'm not small minded, besides you guys who live there and the people who go there each year for the beer and hookers, most others have a very negative opinion of Pattaya. I know this is ill informed, and that's why I asked. But you can't deny Pattaya's reputation. For example, I'm an expat in Phnom Penh and there's a huge fear among expats there of people coming over from Pattaya to Cambodia.

I know Pattaya is much more complex than what people make it out to be, that's why I'm interested in it and asked this question. If I was small minded I would've just written it off, like 99% of people do. I appreciate the good side of Pattaya too, and thanks for the responses.

I dont want to bash Cambodia, but being under 50 years old, maybe one day i'll have to live there - Pattaya people are not all as you imagine them to be.

[tropo]

Of the many couples we hang out with, few venture into central Pattaya very often. And rarely to walking street. Central Festival, Foodland, Friendship, etc., yes. Beer bars and other places in Central Pattaya...rarely. Especially now with the absolute traffic mess.

LOL. My wife and I seldom venture out of the Central Pattaya area.

It's an extremely convenient place to live and one does not need a car. Shops and supermarkets are open 24/7. It's the most convenient place I've ever lived and would be hard to beat. It is especially great if you're a night-owl.

[MrWorldwide]

People that live in the Pattaya area should have no reason to defend themselves against the OP, if he does not like it good for him/her. He has started 15 meaningless threads in 50 posts total

yes, but the thread is yet another occasion to tell the small-minded about the many good reasons to live in Pattaya

I'm not small minded, besides you guys who live there and the people who go there each year for the beer and hookers, most others have a very negative opinion of Pattaya. I know this is ill informed, and that's why I asked. But you can't deny Pattaya's reputation. For example, I'm an expat in Phnom Penh and there's a huge fear among expats there of people coming over from Pattaya to Cambodia.

I know Pattaya is much more complex than what people make it out to be, that's why I'm interested in it and asked this question. If I was small minded I would've just written it off, like 99% of people do. I appreciate the good side of Pattaya too, and thanks for the responses.

Right, and if I wanted to peddle stereotypes I might post that I heard most of the expats in PP were either heroin addicts, failed entrepreneurs or Svay Pak predators on the run from the law in several countries. Many of those who 'fear' Pattaya refugees seem to have spent plenty of time here indulging in the same vices - what they really fear is that the same malaise will spread to the Khmer population of Pnomh Penh, prices going up while attitudes plummet. If some of the bitching on various forums is accurate, that process may already be underway.

As an illustration, the standard rate for company in 2010 was 30USD and the two contractors I engaged during my time in PP were both very happy with that. The next time I checked it was 45USD and I'm now being told that 'skilled contractors' are charging 60USD, more than many here are prepared to pay a local contractor for an overnight job. As with anything in that industry, you tend to get what you paid for (sometimes not even that), but if the stereotype of a Pattaya refugee is a rabid cheap charlie lured by the promise of 50 cent Happy Hour beers and cheap companionship, perhaps it will be a lot more of the former and considerably less of the latter. I shudder to think what the PP equivalent of Coconut Bar is, but then I shudder when i think of Pattaya's Coconut Bar .....

I dont think the PP 'elite' (the aforementioned stereotypes, anyway) have a great deal to fear from your average old bloke looking for a change of scenery. We're an erudite, well travelled group with a wide variety of interests - dont judge a book by it's cover

[poanoi]

because i can buy anything i fancy in pattaya, it just have everything for sale.

right now i'm dying for caviar, its the one thing i want the most, and, you guessed it,

pattaya got it, while any other shithole in south east asia doesnt.

it also helps that i know pattaya so well so i know where everything is, and its an easy city to navigate through.

another plus is that its located at sea side, so its only a week a year when its too cold

[poanoi]

On 4/11/2015 at 10:18 PM, tuonsai said:

I'm not small minded, besides you guys who live there and the people who go there each year for the beer and hookers, most others have a very negative opinion of Pattaya. I know this is ill informed, and that's why I asked. But you can't deny Pattaya's reputation. For example, I'm an expat in Phnom Penh and there's a huge fear among expats there of people coming over from Pattaya to Cambodia.

I know Pattaya is much more complex than what people make it out to be, that's why I'm interested in it and asked this question. If I was small minded I would've just written it off, like 99% of people do. I appreciate the good side of Pattaya too, and thanks for the responses.

well, i currently live in the god forsaken shithole of cambodia, and i cant wait to get back to civilization / pattaya, and thank goodness its only 1.5 month left until i'm finally 50 and can get the hell outa here.