Life in Pattaya vs Bangkok

Recently I have had 2 friends that have decided after living in Pattaya that they are moving to Bangkok. Both have given the same reasons. More to do especially during the day. There are more shopping malls and such to visit. More variety.

When comparing the 2 cities before, most of my friends said that Pattaya has a better life. The expat community is friendlier, easier to get around than in Bangkok, etc.

I know of a few that spend most of their time in Pattaya and yet a good part of it going to Bangkok.

Those living in Pattaya or Bangkok have a view to share?

Similar Threads:

• Underside of gay boy life in Pattaya.
• Selling life as gogo boy in Pattaya to a farm boy in Issan
• Book store in Pattaya-Thais for life??
• Bangkok night life
• 'Social Order' Takes the Life Out of Night Life - NY Times

Recently I have had 2 friends that have decided after living in Pattaya that they are moving to Bangkok. Both have given the same reasons. More to do especially during the day. There are more shopping malls and such to visit. More variety.

When comparing the 2 cities before, most of my friends said that Pattaya has a better life. The expat community is friendlier, easier to get around than in Bangkok, etc.

I know of a few that spend most of their time in Pattaya and yet a good part of it going to Bangkok.

Those living in Pattaya or Bangkok have a view to share?

Over the past 4 months six of my friends have sold up their properties in Pattaya and moved back to Bangkok.

Most of the reasons cited are the same as those that you have given. In Bangkok you do not have so clearly defined ex-pat communities and you mix with a much wider range of people with a choice of a much wider range of interests.

Pattaya is geared towards the sex industry and that is about it. Unlike the fairyland that is Pattaya and the scum that the city attracts Bangkok is a much more pleasant place to live and work. Yes Bangkok has it dropouts the same as any big city, but it seems to be a far less violent city and life in Bangkok is good.

If you want the bars/clubs/shows then there is a wide range to choose from although it may take you a lot longer to get to one considering the size of the city and the traffic problems.

When you really must have your fairyland fix then 2 hours by road will get you back to Pattaya but once you have lived in Bangkok you will see Pattaya for what it really is- La La land, which if you disregard the working boys/girls, is inhabited by an aging ( being polite here) farang population living out there final few years whilst kidding themselves they are capturing the hearts of their 'offs'.

The biggest gay difference I can tell is the lack of a non commercial gay scene in Pattaya outside internet contacts.

As a retiree, I think retiring in Bangkok would be an odd choice. A beach resort like Pattaya a much better fit. Its pretty hard being a beach bum in a city like Bangkok.

For a younger working expat, Bangkok would be much better.
I love visiting Bangkok but visiting there makes me appreciate "mellow" Pattaya that much more.
It is so easy to stereotype Pattaya or Pattaya people. The reality is much more diverse.

Also, you can if you like wear shorts everyday and every night in Pattaya.
In Bangkok, you look like a rube if you wear shorts.

I also have friends that are moving from pattaya to bkk and other locations--hua hin, chiang mai, etc, for some of the same reasons mentioned. While Pattaya does have a beach and ocean to look at, for the true beach bum, it can't be that delightful--the water is so polutted that you can't swim in it. Where will all the sewage and waste water go for the new view talays no being built in Jomtien and for the 91 story Ocean Tower building--the waste treatment facilities in pattaya now, when they are up and running, can't even begin to handle the waste/sewage currrently produced--it is pumped, and not that far off the beaches, into the gulf and ocean.

Look at any of the English language newspapers, the Pattaya Mail, the Pattaya Today, etc, filled iwth the crime news of snatch and grabs, car/motorbike thefts, home breakins, etc--not that Bkk and others do not have their share of crime, but for those who have lived in Pattaya for many years know, these problems have greatly increased within Pattaya in the past 3-5 years, and with the unregulated growth going on, it is unlikely that things will get better. The traffic in Pattaya is a mess and getting worse, even in the low season--in Bkk on Sat/Sun--the when you might go out, the traffic is much better, as Pattaya is a "resort town" with visitors coming here on weekends from Bkk and other places, the Sat/Sun traffic is much worse than during the week. And, doesn't it often appear that there may not be a road that isn't under construction in Pattaya--and for all the stories of how a new airport was going to make the travel to Pattaya so convenient that it would be in a stream of new tourists, anyone who has recently come to Pattaya from the new airport realizes that with the motorway construction which just drags on and on and from the looks of it on a recent trip, will not be completed any time soon, the trip to Pattaya actually takes much longer than it used to from the either Bkk or the old airport!

There have been reports, some of you may have read, that surprise, surprise--the pipes which were supposed to be completed to bring more water to Pattaya were not actually completed and their is a scare of more water shortages come this high season--with all the new condo consstruction in the jomtien area where will all the additional needed water and electricity come from?

There have also been many friends comment that while the number of go-go bars has increased the quaility of the boys in the bars has decreased--most bars staffed by an evergrowing population of very fem boys and ladyboys--great if that is the type of lad you like--but bkk has a much wider range of lads and gay activities available. And as someone poinjted out, a much broader range of a gay community and others with whom to associate.

I have some friends who have tried to sell several studio condos they own in older buildings and cannot move them--Thais do not like to buy secondhand condos, and the market is ripe with brand new places--with al the new construction, it is likely that property values for older units will continue to stagnate or drop!

OK, it is a tourist city with water. It suits me fine and thousands of others. There is really no comparison between Pattaya and Bangkok. They are so very different. I still say if you are retiring it is really jolly to be in a vacation resort all the time, and not a congested work-a-day city. Retiring in Bangkok would be like retiring in Chicago. Who cares what condos are selling for? Not everyone wants to buy anything or is silly enough to think about buying real estate in Thailand the same way as in London.

I lived in Bangkok for five years before deciding to move to Pattaya. It was the combination of air pollution, noise and traffic that drove me out. If Bangkok manages to get a handle on even just the pollution, I'd move back in a heartbeat. I lived in two condos and a townhouse in different areas of the city, and even having maid service mopping the floors 3x a week, the bottoms of my feet would be black. (I'm not fond of air conditioning, so the dirty floors are from open windows.) As if that is not disgusting enough I had respiratory problems, too: obviously that black soot was being inhaled, too. When I go to Bangkok for even an overnight visit, I feel it in my respiratory system. So often, too, the skies were not blue. They were cloudless, but the pollution/haze obscured the blue color. I enjoy the blue skies of Jomtien.

For socializing I really have no preference between Bangkok and Pattaya. However, Bangkok has metered taxis, better public transportation, and more variety in shopping. I also prefer the nightlife in Bangkok. If only Pattaya would come up with an equivalent of Balcony/Telephone Pub where one can sit in a non-gogo and non-host venue to watch the world go by and mingle with non-commercial Thai gay men.

Retiring in Bangkok would be like retiring in Chicago...

What about Pattaya? is it Miami?

Retiring in Bangkok would be like retiring in Chicago...

What about Pattaya? is it Miami?

Sort of.

I just spent 3 weeks in Chaing Mai. I would love to retire to this lovely old city. Its not in your Face like Pattaya or Bangkok and the few bars that are there done me fine. I sat down at the Sunday market and had an hour foot massage for bht120 this same massage would cost Bht 220 on Jomtien. So prices are a lot better. I also found it good to get away from the dirty smelly waters they call beaches arround the Pattaya bay area, still cant understand how people can go out swimming in it. Lovely laid back place.

[x in pattaya]

It's interesting how virtually any "either/or" discussion seems to slide into a slinging match.

Obviously both Bangkok and Pattaya have their good points and their draw-backs. Since you can get from one to the other fairly easily, the choice of where to live really means where do you want to spend most of your time while still being able to visit the other.

I enjoy sitting at Jomtien most mornings while I read and people-watch. Most of the year it's fairly peaceful, but during the high season it's pretty hectic. If that sort of thing appeals, there's no easy, cheap alternative available in Bangkok. If that kind of thing would bore you out of your mind, then the malls & parks of Bangkok might better suit. I don't find the water off Jomtien to be all that bad, but if I want to swim I do use the condo pool. I've watched one too many farang walk out waist deep at Jomtien and, after a little apparel adjustment, display that sphincter-releasing smirk on their faces. One old guy didn't even bother going that far and would just stand peeing at the water's edge while women & children were screening sand for clams nearby. Apparently saving the Baht 5 toilet fee is important to some people.

It's been years since I've been in a bar of any kind. Doing the bars and bar-boys night after night would bore me out of my mind, but if you were into all of that I think Bangkok would offer more variety. For sure when it comes to concerts, art exhibits, cultural events, shopping etc. Bangkok is light-years ahead of Pattaya. I do enjoy visiting Bangkok for a few days at a time for those opportunities and just because I enjoy the big-city bustle, but in short-doses.

I also dislike air conditionning. Rarely use it in Pattaya, but because of the heat & pollution in Bangkok, I think you would have to depend on it continuously there. There was a smoky haze over Pattaya a few days ago, but usually the sea breeze makes the air here seem cleaner.

I don't think you can say one is better than the other. It depends on what appeals to you and what aggravates you the most. I think it's fairly easy to spend time in both and even enjoy the different environment in Chiang Mai from time-to-time. There are even some reclusive types who enjoy village life or remote backwaters like Hua Hin. :geek:
As Thais would say, "Up to you."