irishman

You know, this topic has been beaten to death and the reason is obvious. No 2 people are the same. Soi 7 is happy and getting by on 20k a month but I wouldn't be happy with 5 times that. It's all dependent on your lifestyle and what you are used to. To try and plan is good but really you need to come over and actually try and live here for 6 months or so. Then you will get a real feeling for what is available and what you will have to do without. Everyone has to give up something to live here and for some, living here is just ot comfortable. You need to come, experience it, and decide for yourself. Cheers

I have a problem with collecting stuff. Since I am planning on making Pattaya my permanent residence, I decided that I couldn't do without some of my books. Even after disposing of over 2000 books, I still had 3000 pounds worth which I had shipped from the Port of Oakland, California to Pattaya. The shipping charges were about $4200 including everything from door to door except the Customs charges. The stuff is now waiting for Customs clearence and I have a retirement Visa so we will see how that goes, hopefully fairly soon! Cheers

Short, The cost of living here in Pattaya is less than the States but your criteria are unrealistic. Hell, if I could find something that fit your criteria, I would buy more than 2, I'd buy a bunch and sell them tomorrow for 3 x the purchase price, and have people waiting in line! Cheers

Once you have seen the sights in BKK, there is little to recommend it for daily life. Too smoggy, to much traffic congestion, and too many high prices. I think Pattaya is the only way to go! Cheers

Mo Chit has to be at least 45 minutes closer than Ekamei even if you take a Taxi. If you try to take the Airport bus, it could take up to 2 hours longer to get to Ekamei. BTW, the direct bus to Pattaya was discontinued about 2 years ago. For a while Thai Airways tried a minibus to Pattaya but I believe it has been discontinued also. Cheers

Stevemcm, While it is a waste of miles to use 10,000 miles for the leg from Taipei tp BKK, I only upgrade on the long flight from SFO to Taipei. Costs the same 10,000 miles and you essentially make that back with the flight. So I fly Evergreen Deluxe on the long stretches and just pay for the economy rate. About half the time, I will get a free upgrade on the short legs anyway. Cheers

This could be the first big hotel on Jomtien Beach road and if it is, it caters mainly to bus groups and was not girl friendly as of two years ago. Cheers

Known as an Arab hotel, it doesn't get much traffic from non Arabs. But it has a good location and I have stayed there a couple of times. It's a little worn and a little pricier than the Flippers but if you are getting low on options, I would go for it. Like I said, it has a good location just a block from Walking street and right on the baht bus route. Cheers

You can easily get an extension in Pattaya although the office has now moved to Jomtien Soi 5 almost to the end of the soi on the right. Cheers

Dungheap, I wouldn' want you to get the wrong idea but I paid less than $250000 for my condo AND the remodel. I wasn't saying that you should just go out and throw cash at any salesman that you might run into! Cheers

I can think of lots of reasons to skip the tour and come here on your own. It depends on what kind of person you are though. Practiaclly anything you need to know can be found on this board in the members section and then it's just a matter of personal preferences. If you really don't feel comfortable doing it on your own, you could always try and get a buddy to go with you or hook up with a BM after you get in town. If you stay at the RG, practially everyone there is a BM. Cheers

Buying vs. renting has been a long debate for a lot of folks on this board. Like Owen, I'm not a big believer of paying for something that may or may not be constructed somewhere down the line. The NorthShore is a prime example of that. The folks that bought in the first time around got squat for their bucks. One guy who squatted in his purchased appartment was even thrown out of it by the current management. But the horror stories aside, there are some nice properties to be had if you are patient and have a good Real Estate agent. After looking around off and on for a year, I found a 196 sq m condo with a 180 degree view of Jomtien, Koh Larn, and Pattaya beach. Then I had to pay to get it remodeled. All in all took about 9 months from start to finish but now I have a condo that even Soi 7 admits is the "Nicest that he has seen". That's big phraise coming from Larry. And the bottom line is about 1/10th of what I would have paid in the States. So don't worry to much about whether or not values are going up or down, just realize that you are here to enjoy life and what is costs is only a small part of what it would cost elsewhere. Cheers

Because I like to grow orchids, I have a recording maximum/minimum thermometer on my balcony (in the shade) which measures the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. In June this year the max temperature was 88 and the minumum was 76. So far this month the max is 90 and the min is 75. Not much difference, right? So tell me again what you are worried about? Cheers

The sickest part of this post is that I'm sure that someone, somewhere find the picture attractive. Now that is one sick fucker! Cheers

Much better idea to buy them of the Internet before you come. Better prices and anything available! Cheers

Like the others mentioned, the city has two Expat clubs for English speakers. (and a couple for speakers of other languages also) The one that meets at Henry J Beans Resaurant every Sunday at 9:30 for breakfast is probably my favorite. At least that's where I hooked up with some guys. Henry J Beans is just at the start of Beach road where the road comes down from the dolphin roundabout. As soon as you hit the beach, it's on your left. It's website is: http://www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com The other one meets on Saturdays at 11:00 for lunch at the Grand Sole Hotel which is on Second road between Pattaya central and Soi 6. They are starting to become the favorite because they have a good lunch for 65 baht when you are a member. Their web blog is found at: http://pattayaexpatsclub.blogspot.com/ Cheers

At least this increase wasn't as bad as the last one. About 2 years ago I think it was only 1150 baht. I started staying elsewhere after the last increase. Too many other nice hotels around to pay a fat rate! Cheers

I have always scheduled a trip back to the States sometime between February and April. Do them there. Cheers

I've done a visa run to Malaysia in conjunction with a trip to Phuket and Krabi. The idea is to get to Hat Yai and stay overnight there. Go to the train station and get a ticket for the early train. Seems like it leaves around 7 in the morning and costs about a couple hundred baht. (This is the overnight train from Bangkok so you could do it from BKK also.) You pull into the station on the border and they stamp you out. Then you leave the train and walk over the tracks to the entrance which is on the Malaysian side and walk back through the border crossing for the road which is right next to the rail line. You walk maybe 1/4 mile down to the exit which empties you out onto a street where you catch a bus back to Hat Yai. The buss runs about every 15 minutes and is fairly easy to figure out. When you get back to Hat Yai, just take a trike to the hotel. The whole trip took about 4 hours for the whole deal and Hat Yai is a very interesting place to visit. Some decent nightlife also. There are touts at the RR Station who will try to convince you to do the whole thing by taxi and it appeared to be a faster alternative but I wanted to ride the train and see what it was like. Cheers

Dirtydawg, If you can do better, this is the place to show it! Cheers

If all the girls in Pattaya looked like that, there would be no one else living here! Cheers

After having experienced the joys of all three Pattaya hospitals and keeping in mind that an eye is a very important part to keep, I would go to BKK and have them look at it in one of the big hospitals there. Cheers

Just got my Non-immigrant , multiple entry O visa from Portland consul. I mailed it last thursday and received it this Wednesday. 6 Days and that's with one of the days being a Postal holiday also. Sent via Priority Mail both ways. Cheers

I kind of enjoy the visa run every 3 months. I like to go to PI and spend 10 days to two weeks. A refreshing change of piece! Cheers

Sometimes the kicker is the requirements for getting the O visa to begin with. In the past, I have had no trouble getting an multiple enty O Visa through the Thai Consul in Denver, Colorado. But now they have a new lady and she didn't seem to be as helpful. I tried the Thai Consul on Portland as I am only a short time away from returning to Thailand and she wanted proof that I owned property in Thailand. It may just be because I'm in a hurry now but it seems like the qualifications for getting the O Visa are getting more stringent at least here in the States! Cheers