When looking for an area to holiday or reside in Thailand, there's a few factors that you need to consider.
For the majority of people, a holiday to Thailand will be taken in one of the many tourist cities or towns both on the mainland or one of the islands, such as Phuket, Patong, Ko Samui, Hua Hin, Pattaya, and of course the huge capital city of Bangkok, to name a few.
When it comes to the beach town of Pattaya, it is one of the favoured cities, especially for expats to reside, due to the fact that it is on the mainland, meaning no connecting flights necessary from Bangkok, and also only a 90 minute drive south from the capital city, with various options from taxis, coaches, buses from the airport, and even a train station.
Pattaya is a city of contrast. The main part of the city is full of bars on the beaches, restaurants, many side streets serving drinks all day and night, the famous Walking Street and red light district, and of course the usual massage shops which are located almost every third shop on any street. However there are also many beautiful temples, great hotels, unlimited water activities, exotic islands off shore, two huge high end shopping malls in Central and Terminal 21, countless street food markets, high end roof top restaurants and cocktail bars with spectacular views, all connected by a BAHT bus transportation route that only costs 10 BAHT for a ride and travels from the northern suburbs of Wongamat, through the centre of Pattaya, to the southern suburbs of Jomtien.
However, when looking for an area to holiday or reside when choosing Pattaya, this is where you need to consider some factors based on your personal preference and purpose for your vacation or relocation.
Using my experience, on my first trip to Pattaya in 2022 (and Thailand in general just after the world starting opening up again), I came for a 2 week break, but wasn't keen to have to connect to another flight which would eat into my holiday time, or stay on an island (in case I got bored). So Pattaya seemed like a suitable destination based on a 2 week stay. I had watched some Youtube videos on Thailand for research, and in all honesty, when it came to Pattaya, most Youtubers revolved around the red light district, retired expats drinking all day and night, and village girls that work in the area, However the beaches seemed lovely and I saw that there were islands that I could visit nearby, and if worse came to worse and it wasn't my kind of area, then I could always go to Bangkok which would only be a 90 minute journey north with plenty to do and see there.
I ensured that each day I had something different to do, and also made the decision before booking my flight that I would stay slightly outside the main city area of Pattaya, only a few minutes south in Pratamnak just before Jomtien, as I wasn't sure the type of crowd in the centre of Pattaya would be my kind of scene.
That decision made me fall in love with the city, as I avoided the daily grind of walking through the red light areas and countless open bars with girls tempting you in, and stayed close enough to Jomtien where I found a more family friendly and long term residents crowd, but with enough nightlife activity to enjoy my evenings, 6km of beach, great restaurants and accommodation options, but also close enough to all the action (and on the BAHT bus route) to be able to visit so many different places and participate in so many activities that it sowed the seed for me to come back a few months later and reside for the long term.
My experience of coming to Pattaya, my age, and reasons for wanting to move away from Sydney (cost of living in Thailand and the ability to work full-time on my social media and Youtube channels ), meant that Jomtien provided the better standard of living long term with all the access to beaches and the hustle and bustle of Pattaya city in small doses. If you are into the party and drinking scene, then the centre of Pattaya would be your thing, but only 5 to 10 minutes down the road I found that Jomtien is the ideal mix of relaxation, entertainment and accessibility to enjoy both a short term or long term stay in Thailand, and is an area that you should at least visit before making up your mind on your preferred areas in Pattaya.
I also have my Youtube film on Jomtien at my Youtube channel "Destination Fitness With Carlos" on this link https://youtu.be/0x63GN44_PQ as well as my Instagram stories @carloselyseeofficial and @carlos.elysee.blog
