A month and a half ago I moved to Pattaya in what some people called a bad decision and it’s still too early to tell now if it was a good move or not. The cost of moving to Pattaya for me were fairly minimal since I was already living in Thailand it only costs me 740 baht for a bus from Chiang Mai to Pattaya.
Pattaya is really just one big party town with music and other live events always going on and the 24/7 Pattaya nightlife make it a place NOT for the cheap charlie or minimum wage retire. Pattaya is a place to have a good time and if you don’t have the money then you’re going to experience a whole different life when you live in Pattaya. For those with a bit of coin Pattaya is an awesome place to live to party and get laid continuously.
Below is a list of different prices in Pattaya. I can’t really make any comparisons to last year as I’ve only just moved here. One thing I will say though is food portions for both Thai and western meals are very large portions so even if you eat cheap Thai food you still get a large enough meal to fill you up.
Feel free to comment on any of the prices below as well as any updates of what you’ve seen prices going up and down, as well please give me an update on your monthly budget for living in Pattaya.
It’s impossible to give an exact number for what you will spend when living or visiting Chiang Mai because everyone has different lifestyles. It all depends on how you live and how you want to spend your money. Some guys like to hit up the bars every day others prefer to stay at home and go out only occasionally, both types of people have different budgets. Take this list as a guide only. Below are approximate numbers to give you an idea of what it will cost you to live in Pattaya. Remember that all prices are in Thai baht.
Here is my monthly budget for Pattaya and what I spent in total in the month of April 2012 – what you can expect to pay in Thai baht. Please see detailed information below.
Monthly Cost of Living in Pattaya Thailand
| Monthly Budget in Thai Baht | ||
| Apartment | 7000฿ | (30sqm apartment near city center room has air-con but no pool or gym located 2min drive from Soi Metro) |
| Utilities | 3500฿ | (Water, Electric, Air-con I run 16hours a day) |
| Food | 7000฿ | Mixture of cheap Thai and expensive pub food |
| Necessities | 1500฿ | Toiletries garbage bags etc… |
| Motor Bike Rental | 2700฿ | I used 400 baht in fuel |
| Cell Phone | 1500฿ | |
| Entertainment | 43,000฿ | (bars, movies, clubbing, beer, girls, Karaoke etc…) |
| Visa | 2000฿ | (Paid Yearly this price is broken down by the month) |
| Health Insurance | 900฿ | (Paid Yearly this price is broken down by the month) |
| Total | 69,100฿ | |
| Total of what you can expect to spend converted into major currencies: | ||
| US$ | $2,248.28 | |
| CAN$ | $2,221.93 | |
| EUR € | €1,696.71 | |
| UK ₤ | ₤1,385.19 | |
| AUS $ | $2,205.49 | |
A note about my expenses, I go out a lot maybe 4-5 times a week and sometimes cheaply maybe 100 baht sometimes nothing at all and sometimes a lot. Entertaining girls going to the local soapy or using the services of a Sideline girl gets expensive. If you don’t go out at all then you can pretty much strike the whole line off your budget. If I just sat at home and did nothing I would have spent only 26,100 baht making it still a cheap place to live.
Apartments in Pattaya
**prices stated are in Thai Baht ฿ **
Variations in cost all depend on the location, size, and quality of the apartment whether it has air-conditioning or not. Apartments on the other side of Sukhimvit road are definitely the cheapest and if you don’t drink alcohol and don’t care about being close to the beach is definately an option, though you can get just as cheap rooms going to North Pattaya and Nah Glua.
Central Pattaya is where the bulk of people reside and the same prices vary I chose my apartment because it’s more of a hotel than an apartment, fully furnished and it’s location on 3rd road is awesome because I have my own transportation and it makes getting to anywhere in Pattaya a breeze they also clean the room for free once a week. Most places ask for a cash deposit even if your renting only for the night. Be aware if you stay in central Pattaya there is noise you can’t escape all night long. I got a month by month rental but cheaper and even better places will ask for a contract.
Pattaya is a tourist destination so prices I’ve quoted are for this time of year which is low season, when high season comes around the complex charges an extra 1000 baht a month rent though utility prices stay the same.
Extras
**prices stated are in Thai Baht**
Internet: Internet speeds in Pattaya are fast compared to rural cities and more than twice as fast as they are in Chiang Mai as well as more reliable. WiFi internet access is in almost all cases free in both hotels and apartments.
Electricity: The going rate from the local co-op is 4.1 baht per 1000watt usage, though apartments and condos usually add a baht or more to the price as a way to generate more income, look carefully when looking for an apartment and ask them how much for 1000watt (call nooay in Thai). Most places are charging 7 baht for electricity in Pattaya, as you can see on the list I use the air-conditioner for up to 18 hours a day when I’m working so my bill is higher, if I just had a fan it would be next to nothing, still it’s only $100 a month far cry from what people pay in Australia.
Phone: Difficult for foreigners to get their own phone line and if your not using DSL then having a cell phone is much easier and cheaper.
New cell phone: 3000 ฿ + You can buy second hand phones for cheap at the local shopping mall
Cell phone monthly payments: Typically calls cost about 1 baht per minute. When getting a cell phone don’t just grab one off the shelf at 7 eleven. Go to the actual cell phone company like DTAC or 12CAll at the mall and ask the best rate for you. Get the wrong pre-paid plan and you could be paying 2 baht a minute!
Food
**prices stated are in Thai Baht ฿ **
Food will probably cost you about 5000฿ a month if you eat local side of the road or cheap Thai restaurant food. Foreign food is expensive and will add up quick.
Living in a cheaper apartment in central Pattaya won’t get you a kitchen so I have and nor should you have any plans of cooking your own meals. This is where your own transport helps you out as there are a lot of cheap but really good places to eat at but taking a motorbike taxi to them won’t make them cheap anymore.
What I like about Pattaya is the meal sizes even on the Thai side are large and filling. I can still get rice and chicken for 30 baht same as everywhere else and it’s great. Food is an expense here so if you’re trying to be conservative then don’t eat at any Farang owned places.
Pattaya is a tourist destination and as such every kind of food you could think of is available here, I do find that the quality and the price of the western food here pretty reasonable.
Entertainment
**prices stated are in Thai Baht ฿ **
Prices are the usual costs. It can be higher or lower, depending on where you go.
Since this past month was really my first whole month in Pattaya I spent more than I thought I would on entertainment, I did go to Hua Hin for 3 days I went to the nightclubs 5 times I went to Go Go bars nearly every night and I bar fined about 6 girls actually doing all that it’s amazing I didn’t spend more money! My entertainment costs even though are over 40 thousand baht is still lower than what other guys here might spend. The next month I don’t expect it to be as High as I’m pretty much done the whole go go scene here.
Movie: 120 ฿ at central airport and 70 ฿ at Central Kad Suan Kaow though they only play English movies at the airport
1 large beer Leo or Chang at 7 eleven: 45 ฿
Entrance to clubs: Free for most places some do charge but not worth it, if they charge you to enter walk away and go somewhere else.
Beer Bar small beers: 60 ฿ – 100 ฿
Go Go small beers: 60 ฿ – 150 ฿
Bottle of beer in bar/club: 140 ฿
Highball or cocktail in bar/club: 160 ฿
Bottle of Johny Red label 700ml at club: 1200 ฿ +
Bottle of Johny Red label 700ml at a go go bar or Coyote club: 1800 ฿ +
Mixers at a club: 70 ฿ + (coke water)
Ice at club: 70 ฿
Karaoke with hostess 3 hours: 1400 ฿ + Hostesses are 200 ฿ each per hour drink from your bottle
Soapy Massage: 1500 ฿ +
Traditional Thai Massage: 200฿ + per hour
Cheap restaurant: 60 ฿ +
Nice restaurant: 380 ฿ +
Transportation
**prices stated are in Thai Baht**
Baht Bus (Blue pickup truck/Song Taow): standard 10 ฿ when not going far or around the
Bus: There’s a bus?
Motorcycle Taxi: These are the guys that sit at the end of sois and in front of the hotels and where a colored vest, are typically drunk on Sang Som and can get you from A to B anywhere you want. Short trip cost you 30 baht up to 80 baht if it’s further away. The prices are usually posted. Don’t get one at the start of walking street or on the corner of a main road as the price is typically then doubled. 30฿ – 80฿
Tuk Tuk: There are no Tuk Tuks in Pattaya, why?
Scooter Rental: You can hire a 120cc Yamaha Automatic for 2500 ฿ a month without a contract, take it for longer and you can negotiate down to 2000 a month. By the day in low season expect to pay 150 baht high season 200 baht a day. This is the best way to get around.
Gas: 40 ฿ per liter
**prices stated are in Thai Baht ฿ **
You can compare these prices against what I was spending in Chiang Mai go check out my Cost of living in Chiang Mai 2012 post.
Price sound right. I love when people say that Pattaya is cheap. Not real cheap but good times when we go there!
If you sit at home and do nothing, yeah it’s a cheap place to live.
So have you made any Russian friends at Pattaya yet? It seems there are more Russians than Thais there 😉
I suppose one does not come to Pattaya for an authentic thai culture though 🙂
been on a few dates with some russians thus far lucky with one but they are a bit standoffish
Your math is a bit fucked. 67600 baht is around 1354 pounds, not 662.
i published the wrong one should be right now thanks for the catch
Hey Chris
67.600 THB are much more than 1045$, right.
Tom
all the figures were wrong, i’ve fixed them up now thanks.
I now call it the rainbow city.
Why is that?
All the different people from around the world that live and vacation in Pttaya.
Hi Chris,
Your break down looks about right – I’ve been in Pattaya for 5 years now, single, no girlfriend, Monday to Friday day job based on the internet.
My “Rule of Thumb” is 10k for the week and 10k for the weekend, which would be about 80k per month. Basically the 10k for the week covers food, rent and utilities, and then 10k on the weekend for partying. I pay 20k per month for a 60sqm 1 bedroom apartment including electricity and internet, but I own a motorbike (purchased for 32k 4 years ago), so I dont rent a bike.
My Visa budget would be a little higher as I get a 1 year, multiple entry business Visa from Australia once per year (flight back required), but it gives me 15 months by doing a border run 4 times.
So if I need to save a little, it just means staying home for a weekend, and saves me 10k (as you said, strike the 43k off your budget).
One question – Karaoke & Hostesses?? I’ve never done it … can you bar fine them? Or get phone numbers? Any good for finding girls?? What is the story?
Cheers
H
Most Karoake and coyote girls are better looking than the girls that work go go’s and beer bars, in fact I know a place in Pattaya which would make your mouth drop, only about 5% of them actually would go home with you, these girls make 1000 baht a night withought having to sleep with anyone, if you get laid by these girls it’s usually because they want to and not because you’re throwing 5000 baht in their face. Eventually i’m going to be organzing karaoke or coyote nights in Pattaya which will give guys a chance to see how I party.
Any time you need a wingman let me know! 😉
hey dude, sorry I never called either I was super busy and wouldn’t have been fun, actually next week i’m doing a new Coyote club getting a bottle and going hard, if your up for it, i’ll give you a call with the details soon.
No probs – let me know when you are back from CM. Will also catch up re the Patts monger meet! Enjoy CM – I’m gearing up for a Friday night in Soi Diamond.
Chris, a good price list, tho I could never get it down to that, I’m more in the 100-120,000 baht range, but then I go out almost every night, and take some babe home with me. I have slowed down some on having to go out and search for my lady of choice for the night,as my phone book is loaded with numbers. So if I want someone who I have had before, there she is, just a call away. Now if I can only remember was her name nam,nana,nan? I don’t want a surprise when I get the wrong girl.
Pattaya, is a pleasure zone, for most who come here. I have had the best times here, and once you just sit back and relax, and enjoy the fun, its all good. One more thing to those who are price conscience, a smile will go a long way with the girls, a few jokes, and they are putty in your hands, and will be easier to get a better take away price, and it does help if you are sexy,hansome man.
Ok thats my take, Pattaya not for the cheap charlie. But we can all say one thing for sure, its a lot less then back home, and much more beautiful.
when you go home I want that phone book! lol
Enjoying your blog, man.
BTW, Aussie dollar calculation is wrong.
is it? the dollar keeps changing man.
Everyone lives differently. The costs you quoted seem spot on.
Get a place high up in a building (8th floor and up) so you can get a breeze and use your AC 3 hrs a day in the winter (if you have a good fan for the evening). I assume the cost included Internet.
If you plan to stay for longer than 6 months, you might just buy a used scooter for 20k and save some cash there.
43k for entertainment! WOW. You must have a lot of fun.
I don’t use my cell phone that much obviously as your bill is 5x that of mine. Maybe I need more friends 😉
I think you can live similarly with being a bit more frugal with utilities, cell and certainly entertainment. $1000-1500 pm (30k to 45k baht pm) is totally doable and living well.
Those figures I would have to agree with also, 70k a month I would work on as min upto 100k to cover for unexpected things that may pop up. It all comes down to how much you go out and what your happy doing. I now some guys who manage well on 50k have a regular girl and don’t or only occasionally butterfly ( not my go ) but they seem happy even.
Not by $1000
thanks dude fixed it.
Are ye all idiots or what, imagine being so insecure that you have to pay a girl for sex. Real men can get a girl without waving money in front of their faces. I have been to Pattaya several times and always got my woman (no money ) Treat them with respect and stop abusing their poverty like all the other fat old men and you guys are young. Shame on you.
It all costs money dude, and believe me if I waved 3000 baht in her face she’d be coming home with me and not you.
Chris, the fact that you boast about having to pay, or being able to pay a prostitute for sex only proves what a prick you really are. Go and find yourself a good councillor to deal with your insecurities and leave those poor unfortunate girls alone.
lol oh come on dude, you obviously don’t know much about Thailand.
There is no such thing as “prostitution” … that’s a label created by religions to demonize normal human behavior between two consenting adults. We all could “have a girl” without paying if we wanted! I earn 50 times more than the girl, the girl has a family (normally including a young child) living on the edge of poverty, poor nutrition and limited education. The average income in Thailand is US$6 per day and in Issan where 90% of Pattaya girls come from it’s US$3 per day. How disrespectful would it be of me to have sex with her without providing some compensation in return. There is no “free lunch” … it’s never a “one sided” transaction. If you think it is, then you are the one being disrespectful and taking advantage of someone less fortunate. Live up to your responsibilities in the world – stop taking and start giving! Take the time to get to know these girls and maybe one day you will understand the nature of the transaction.
Hey Chris, glad you are home. Last friday the cops shot a carjacker in the head out in front of Tesco on Sukhamvit road, about 300M from my condo on soi 50. (on the west side) There is a lot of stuff they won’t publicize as you know. A local Thai man said its dangerous to leave the city limits, people get killed. Between the organized ATM scammers and the Thai gangs, this place ain’t no picknic. If you keep your head, its ok, but if you don’t…. I’m close to getting my wife’s US visa, or I would move. This place is brutal. I miss Chiang Mai. 🙂 At least the rain came.
If people want to stay here, get a place close to Pattaya beach so you don’t have to drive/ride. Too many speed freaks on the road. Its more civilized closer to the beach.