Living in Pattaya

On this page I shall try to describe living in Pattaya as best and as honestly as I can. I wont be using any romantic terms describing the sunsets or even the friendliness of the locals or any other "BS".... So why would anyone want to live in what is often termed as a "sleaze pit" or the largest whorehouse in the world!

living-in-pattaya

There are approximately 40,000 expats living in Pattaya and the reasons are numerous, but to put it simply everything a foreigner could need is easily available while living in Pattaya as opposed to living in Thailand somewhere off the beaten track where communication is a problem, not to mention isolation.

There are also many other advantages such as being only a little over an hours drive from Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Pattaya also has many establishments well used to catering to foreigners, these include golf courses, business services, condominium complexes, water sports, restaurants and not forgetting the Beer bars of course. The average expat will never be short of something to do or somewhere to go.

Other advantages to living in Pattaya

To be honest the big draw to living here is the absolute abundance of night life the relaxed atmosphere and the availability of women, not forgetting this place is also Gay friendly. Pattaya attracts mostly middle aged men and unfortunately the foreign community often get labelled as sex-pats. Which on the whole is wrong as it is easy to be living in Pattaya and avoid all the sleaze. When I lived in Pattaya it was on the outskirts of town miles from the nearest go go bars. I lived a normal life and had a great time at the weekends :)

Cost of living in Pattaya

Pattaya is not the cheapest place to live here in Thailand neither is it the most expensive. If you do want luxury Pattaya that is easily catered for. (its a subject I'll be writing about soon) Although its not the cheapest place I would certainly say its about the best value for money place. If you want to "survive" you can live here comfortably on about 15,000bt ($500) but don't be expecting to go out too much. If you have 50,000bt per month ($1600) you will live here very well. At the end of the day its down to lifestyle and that's entirely your choice.

Pattaya girls

I have met and made friends with many guys who have come to be living in Pattaya many of which have had to return home after a year or two. As they have simply ran out of funds. The reason being they are just unable to get out of what I call "on holiday syndrome". If you are serious about living here then you must forget about being on holiday. You can still have a great time and live here, but if you spend like your on holiday your holiday shall soon be over. Most of the guys problems arise due to the bar girls.. And I have to admit they can become very addictive, all I will say is it can be an expensive hobby, great for the ego, but not the bank account. After having said that if your budget runs to it then its happy days.

Pattaya Accommodation and Pattaya apartments

Firstly the least expensive accommodation for living in Pattaya is definitely renting a room. These can be rented on a monthly basis for as little as 5,000bt a month and less on the east side of Pattaya. If you have a good look round you can find some really good places to live. If you would prefer somewhere a bit more spacious there are many Pattaya condos available ranging in the 10,000bt to 15,000bt price range. If you're a single guy living in a room or small condo then budget for 1,000bt to cover your electricity and water. But do bear in mind if you have the A/C on 24/7 expect a bill of around 5,000bt! You will also discover many places charge varying figures for utilities. Thats because the utility company charge the proprietor one fixed figure per unit and the proprietor charges you a higher figure...Profit opportunity!

Food

Great value and a great choice, everything from Thai street food of which there is lots of variety. If you become accustomed to Thai food as I have you can get a perfectly good meal for as little as 30bt ($1) its also delicious. Western style food is widely available in Pattaya. Once you have found your way around you can get a western meal for about 100bt. As you would expect there are many, many up market restaraunts where you can spend a small fortune if you wish.

There are also many large supermarkets, the usual suspects such as Tesco-lotus, Carrefour, Big C, and others such as Tops, Best and many others all of which sell many imported items. Not forgetting the 7/11 convenience stores which seem to be on every corner.

Here's the cost of a few everyday items to give you an idea of the cost of living in Pattaya. So lets say you need a haircut, 60bt on average and up to 150bt + should you like an up market trim! A small bottle of "palatable" Thai whiskey is around 80bt to 120bt, Bottled beer can vary between 35bt and 65bt for a large bottle in the supermarkets. OK beer in the bars normally range between 60bt and 80bt and even 90bt ++ in the posh joints. However if you know where to go there are many bars selling bottled beer fro 40bt, one area I shall reccommend for this is Pattaya new plaza, between 2nd road and Soi Buakhou. This is probably the best value for money area in Pattaya with about 40 or 50 bars to choose from. You wont be dissapointed. A ticket for the movies 100bt to 140bt, a bottle of milk 35bt, bottled water 10bt, you can buy a cup of coffee from the 7/11 store for 12bt or about 10bt off a street vendor, but trust me here go the 7/11 unless you speak Thai or like your coffee very very sweet! Personally I like my coffee shops and besides Starbucks where you shall pay 40bt to 80bt+ there are dozens around Pattaya charging between 30bt and 60bt for a real cup of coffee, and finally a can of coke 15bt.

Finally I would just like to say there is a lot more to living in Pattaya than you might think, such as visa's which can be a very complicated affair, work permits if you plan on doing any kind of work, again an absolute potential nightmare. If you have only been to Pattaya the one time and decided you would like to live here (and many guy's do) I would strongly recommend to go home first, come back for a longer period, go home come back for an even longer period, and on each trip try to educate yourself on the way Pattaya operates. If you do it this way you will be living in Pattaya far happier.

Thanks for looking and the best of luck.