Pattaya v Hua Hin

[MickA]

You should have a look in the Soi 94 area in fact if you stay at the La Or resort the owner is my former landlord and may have what you need.I was gobsmacked when I booked in there as my sister was staying there on holiday to see him by the gate. A really nice old Thai gentleman his son runs the La Or

[Rimmer]

A racist vulgar troll post has been removed

[kiniyow]

HH crappy Sunrised and horse Poop on the beach along with giant Rocks to beat you up.....Patt has beautiful sunsets, cleaner Beaches and tons of Girls

[Hal65]

Pattaya is one of the most interesting cities in the world with possibly the best entertainment options in all of Thailand. Just my opinion, I'd never give it up for a place like Hua Hin

[KC 71]

I bet pattaya wos fantastic back in thee day ie vietnam era-gi-r and r

[Ireland32]

I think Cha-Am , better, I would pick Patt's

[DipStick]

We stayed in Pattaya for a month at Fairtex Sports Complex and loved it. The cinemas in Pattaya show more first run movies in English at varying times. We saw crowds of expats at differing showtimes. The HuaHin Cineplex appears to take the opposite approach with limited showings at limited times.

Hua Hin and its surrounding areas are really excellent with several little beach towns nearby. If you decide to relocate, welcome!

Perhaps it's an age gap. But you selected a redidence on what was showing in a local cinema ..? Goose for the gander etc. I can see no reason to chose Pattaya over Hua Hin / Cha Am, however everyone has different tastes ....

[Alex2015]

I would like to thank every one for their honest opinions. I have been in Hua Hin for 4 days, my 4th trip here and have decided I don't want to live here.

I am now looking at renting a 2 Bedroom fully Furnished House in a Community Village with a Pool, I currently live in a Condo but being stuck on a Balcony 24/7 doesn't appeal to me, Central Pattaya or near Big C Pattaya Tai or Pattaya Klang.

I have looked at the various agents but would prefer avoiding them as you can probably get a better deal privately ?

[tropo]

I would like to thank every one for their honest opinions. I have been in Hua Hin for 4 days, my 4th trip here and have decided I don't want to live here.

I am now looking at renting a 2 Bedroom fully Furnished House in a Community Village with a Pool, I currently live in a Condo but being stuck on a Balcony 24/7 doesn't appeal to me, Central Pattaya or near Big C Pattaya Tai or Pattaya Klang.

I have looked at the various agents but would prefer avoiding them as you can probably get a better deal privately ?

Having been there 4 times you must be quite familiar with Hua Hin. What were the major reasons that made you change your mind?

[craigt3365]

While it's getting better in Hua Hin, shopping options seem better in Pattaya. e.g. For western groceries Pattaya has Foodland, Villa, Friendship, basement of Central (Tops?), new place in Harbor Mall on Pattaya Klang, and FoodMart. HH has two Villas. Pattaya has Central Department store, wherea HH has no place for branded western goods like cosmetics, perfumes, clothing, kitchenware, etc.

And, as mentioned above, Bangkok and its airports are more convenient to Pattaya. HH does have air con train service to Hualampong and Bell Travel deluxe buses to Suvarnabhumi.

That said, I chose Hua Hin over Pattaya/Jomtien after ten years in Jomtien. I moved back to Jomtien a couple years ago since I couldn't sell my condo. However, last December I locked up my empty condo and abandoned it to return to Hua Hin. I just like it better overall here. No baht bus or taxi mafia, easier to get around without a car/bike (I live in central HH where everything is walkable), nicer beaches, and overall cleaner and quieter.

Oh, and Songkran water play in Hua Hin only lasts one afternoon/evening not all bloody week long like in Pattaya.

I found the tuk tuk mafia to be a pain in the A**! They wanted 200B to go from the Marriott to downtown. A few Kilos? Ridiculous. We decided to walk with them yelling stupid comments at us.

HH is a great city. But like here, traffic is insane on weekends. And the surrounding beaches are not as good.

OP: where do you live now? Maybe move out of town a bit. I live south and love it. A short walk to an OK beach with great seafood restaurants. Beautiful sunsets. And an easy drive into downtown Pattaya when you need to visit. Shopping is way better here. Much closer to the airport. Easy to get to Bangkok. And seems more things going on. Concerts, shows, etc.

With that being said, Pattaya is getting less and less desirable as the years pass....but HH wouldn't be an option for us.

[craigt3365]

Thanks for all the comments, I have been looking at houses in HH and Pattaya, I currently live in a Condo and I don't want to spend the rest of my life sitting on a balcony. Both places have the same issues, location of a decent house, I am looking for a 2 Bedroom House with a garden/patio area. My preferred location in both places would be in the center of town, after contacting many agents there doesn't appear to be anything suitable/decent.

I am leaning towards Pattaya, think HH is too small, I don't drive and reluctant to use Scooter Taxis, I like to walk. There are an abundance of suitable properties in East Pattaya/Dark Side but is there transport, Baht Buses and if so how regular are they and what time do they stop running on an evening ? I believe there are a few Bars in the area if I fancy a beer.

We did this comparison 6 years ago. We found prices to be cheaper here for houses, and a much larger selection. Transport is indeed a huge issue. Though the baht bus is OK in central Pattaya, nothing like that exists for those of us who live a bit out of town. Especially later in the night.

Great time to buy right now if you have a long term horizon.

[tropo]

Thanks for all the comments, I have been looking at houses in HH and Pattaya, I currently live in a Condo and I don't want to spend the rest of my life sitting on a balcony. Both places have the same issues, location of a decent house, I am looking for a 2 Bedroom House with a garden/patio area. My preferred location in both places would be in the center of town, after contacting many agents there doesn't appear to be anything suitable/decent.

I am leaning towards Pattaya, think HH is too small, I don't drive and reluctant to use Scooter Taxis, I like to walk. There are an abundance of suitable properties in East Pattaya/Dark Side but is there transport, Baht Buses and if so how regular are they and what time do they stop running on an evening ? I believe there are a few Bars in the area if I fancy a beer.

We did this comparison 6 years ago. We found prices to be cheaper here for houses, and a much larger selection. Transport is indeed a huge issue. Though the baht bus is OK in central Pattaya, nothing like that exists for those of us who live a bit out of town. Especially later in the night.

Great time to buy right now if you have a long term horizon.

I don't know about that. Under the military government (hammer) and the way Thais are treating us in general, this is probably the worst time to make long term decisions about buying here. I know people who own quite a bit of property who can't wait to sell up and leave... and prepared to lose money. They're just not enjoying it here like they used to.

Why are you so upbeat? What gives you hope? Maybe you can share it.

Edited May 3, 2016 by tropo

[craigt3365]

Thanks for all the comments, I have been looking at houses in HH and Pattaya, I currently live in a Condo and I don't want to spend the rest of my life sitting on a balcony. Both places have the same issues, location of a decent house, I am looking for a 2 Bedroom House with a garden/patio area. My preferred location in both places would be in the center of town, after contacting many agents there doesn't appear to be anything suitable/decent.

I am leaning towards Pattaya, think HH is too small, I don't drive and reluctant to use Scooter Taxis, I like to walk. There are an abundance of suitable properties in East Pattaya/Dark Side but is there transport, Baht Buses and if so how regular are they and what time do they stop running on an evening ? I believe there are a few Bars in the area if I fancy a beer.

We did this comparison 6 years ago. We found prices to be cheaper here for houses, and a much larger selection. Transport is indeed a huge issue. Though the baht bus is OK in central Pattaya, nothing like that exists for those of us who live a bit out of town. Especially later in the night.

Great time to buy right now if you have a long term horizon.

I don't know about that. Under the military government (hammer) and the way Thais are treating us in general, this is probably the worst time to make long term decisions about buying here. I know people who own quite a bit of property who can't wait to sell up and leave... and prepared to lose money. They're just not enjoying it here like they used to.

Why are you so upbeat? What gives you hope? Maybe you can share it.

Excellent question. I also know many who are leaving, or have already left. But if you ignore the news, enjoy the beaches and eat at the nearby seafood restaurants. Is life really that bad? Again, don't read the news. IMHO, that makes a huge difference. Remember the riots in Bangkok? Nary an effect on our lives here. Zip.

Some of us have long term connections with Thailand. Like a Thai partner and family. Hard to up roots and leave. And I believe, in the long term, things will get back to normal. Not that normal was very good!!! 55555

Also, what are the alternatives? We've had this discussion in many threads over the years. No place nearby that's comparable to Thailand. Sadly. Just back from Cambodia. NO WAY. Not an option.

I'm not upbeat, just resigned to what's happening. Knowing there's nothing I can do about it. And in the end, doesn't really change my daily life. Except the inability right now to sell my property! 5555

[KittenKong]

Excellent question. I also know many who are leaving, or have already left. But if you ignore the news, enjoy the beaches and eat at the nearby seafood restaurants. Is life really that bad? Again, don't read the news. IMHO, that makes a huge difference. Remember the riots in Bangkok? Nary an effect on our lives here. Zip.

I see two sides to that approach:

[Alex2015]

I have just returned from Hua Hin, the journey took 6 hours. The direct Bells Coach isn't direct anymore it goes via the airport adding an extra hour to the journey.

My decision is to live in Pattaya,

1) My lady has family who live in Sri Racha, when I go to the UK it's convenient for her to go there or the family visit her here.

2) Transport, I would definelty need some form of transport if I lived in Hua Hin.

3) Shops, very limited in Hua Hin especially Supermarkets, only 1 small Shopping Mall.

4)My, lady said the clothes were a lot more expensive but the food was a similar price to here in Pattaya.

5) The airport is just up the road.

All I need to do is find a house in Pattaya now !

[craigt3365]

Well, you did your research and made your decision! Great! I would not avoid using real estate agents here. They can find good deals and can help you narrow down what you are looking for. When I first moved here, an agent helped me find a place that fit our needs. I would have never found it on my own. And the price was great. He knew about an upcoming discount. Locked it in for me!

As anywhere in the world, some are good, some aren't. Might open a new topic on this if you are interested.

[dsfbrit]

I have just returned from Hua Hin, the journey took 6 hours. The direct Bells Coach isn't direct anymore it goes via the airport adding an extra hour to the journey.

A bit of a shocker as I was going to travel to Hua Hin from Pattaya next week. I went to Bell Travel at the North Pattaya bus depot to book this trip. They sent me over the road to the Roong Rueng booking office where I was told to book my ticket.

The guy there told me it took 5 hours.

As I could drive down there if I wanted, I thought I would think about it before I booked a ticket.

Then I read this. I think this is the same service and it now goes via the airport then?

Can anyone please confirm this is still the case?

Just to add my thoughts to this thread.

I considered moving down to Hua Hin some years ago. I was 55 then and thought it might be nice to move to somewhere smaller and less hectic than Pattaya.

I thought the beach was cleaner and much less packed, even though parts of it had been taken over by donkeys and jellyfish. The tourists were more 'upmarket' and the whole feel of the place more laid back than Pattaya.

Very pleasant place to visit with the family.

There were also about 20-30 girly bars for the sexpats. There may have been more than that, but that is all I walked past on the main central drag and I saw only a few more scattered about on the back roads.

As pleasant as it is, the main city area is so small that after just a week, I think I had walked past the same shops, bars etc... dozens of times. Sure I do a lot of walking, but it became a bit like Groundhog Day in just a week.

So as pleasant as it is compared to Pattaya, it is just too small for me to live in long term.

Good for a visit though and I hope to be there next week.

Edited June 2, 2016 by dsfbrit

[Alex2015]

I have just returned from Hua Hin, the journey took 6 hours. The direct Bells Coach isn't direct anymore it goes via the airport adding an extra hour to the journey.

A bit of a shocker as I was going to travel to Hua Hin from Pattaya next week. I went to Bell Travel at the North Pattaya bus depot to book this trip. They sent me over the road to the Roong Rueng booking office where I was told to book my ticket.

The guy there told me it took 5 hours.

As I could drive down there if I wanted, I thought I would think about it before I booked a ticket.

Then I read this. I think this is the same service and it now goes via the airport then?

Can anyone please confirm this is still the case?

Just to add my thoughts to this thread.

I considered moving down to Hua Hin some years ago. I was 55 then and thought it might be nice to move to somewhere smaller and less hectic than Pattaya.

I thought the beach was cleaner and much less packed, even though parts of it had been taken over by donkeys and jellyfish. The tourists were more 'upmarket' and the whole feel of the place more laid back than Pattaya.

Very pleasant place to visit with the family.

There were also about 20-30 girly bars for the sexpats. There may have been more than that, but that is all I walked past on the main central drag and I saw only a few more scattered about on the back roads.

As pleasant as it is, the main city area is so small that after just a week, I think I had walked past the same shops, bars etc... dozens of times. Sure I do a lot of walking, but it became a bit like Groundhog Day in just a week.

So as pleasant as it is compared to Pattaya, it is just too small for me to live in long term.

Good for a visit though and I hope to be there next week.

Takes around 6 hours, stops at airport, drops pasenengers and picks up, 24 Seater bus which wasn't full, mostly expats, they have reduced the fare but added a booking charge which makes it more expensive than before. I can't see who is going to pay 1000 baht for the Ferry when/if it starts also if they can't fill a 24 Seater Bus how are they going to fill a Ferry doing 16 trips a day ?

My opinion of Hua is the same as yours, like you thought about moving there but too small, some decent properties but out of town and no transport, I don't drive and have no intention of, also found it a bit more expensive.

[mcfish]

The big question is have the Chinese hit HH yet ?

[Alex2015]

The big question is have the Chinese hit HH yet ?

Can't remember seeing any.

[mcfish]

The big question is have the Chinese hit HH yet ?

Can't remember seeing any.

Then its a winner

[dsfbrit]

Takes around 6 hours, stops at airport, drops pasenengers and picks up,

Thanks for the confirmation Alex2015. So allowing for the time to get to the bus station and to the hotel the other end, I would be looking at around 7-8 hours door to door.

Does not sound a lot of fun!

I can drive it in under 3.5 hours as I live towards Laem Chabang.

I thought it would be nice to travel by coach for a change, more relaxing.

Not so sure now!