Pattaya's Old Reputation Is 20 Years Out of Date

When I arrived in Pattaya, I was 23. There weren't many other 23-year-olds around.

The town was mostly Western men, and most of them were retirees. Women were thin on the ground, and families with young children were rare. That was Pattaya twenty-odd years ago, and for a lot of people back home, it's still the Pattaya they picture.

It isn't the Pattaya I live in.

Why the old image hangs on

When I'm back in the UK and tell people I live in Pattaya, I still get the knowing look. In the West, the old reputation lingers.

In my experience, that's mostly because people haven't been here for a very long time. Their picture of Pattaya was formed years ago and hasn't been updated since. A bit of grey-sky envy probably doesn't hurt either.

Talk to people from elsewhere and it's a different story. Many families from Russia have only been coming over the last twenty years or so. Mention Pattaya's old reputation to them and they'd have no idea what you were talking about. The same goes for anyone who's visited for the first time in the last ten years.

That, to me, is the heart of it. People who came twenty years ago often still see Pattaya the same way. People who have come since mostly don't, because what they find is a different city.

Who lives here now

The biggest change is simply who you see. Walk along the beach road or into a shopping centre today and you'll see young couples, families, kids in school uniforms and plenty of Western women, travelling on their own or with friends.

That didn't happen by accident. People come because of what the city now offers, and twenty years ago, a lot of it simply didn't exist. Schools are the clearest example.

Schools changed everything for families

When I first came, there was really one international school, Regents, and much of it was made up of families working in the oil and gas industry outside Pattaya.

Today there are at least six international schools. That matters enormously. Families can move here and still give their children a high standard of education, one that translates back home if they ever decide to leave.

And once families arrive, a city has to grow around them. Pattaya has.

A city that grew up

Twenty years ago, shopping meant Mike's, which was less a shopping centre and more an air-conditioned market. Now we have Central and Terminal 21, along with everything that comes with them.

The everyday things have improved too. The beaches are cleaner, the roads are better, and there are pavements in places where you can now walk with a pushchair, something you simply couldn't do before. There are far more restaurants, the food is much better, and the hotels have improved at every level.

All of that comes at a price, and prices have gone up a lot. That's the side effect of a city growing up, and on balance it's a trade most residents are happy with.

One thing that hasn't changed much is safety, and that's a good thing. Pattaya was safe then and it's safe now. The city is much bigger, but there are also more police, more CCTV and more people around.

The nightlife hasn't gone. It's moved

Which brings me to the question people always ask. I won't pretend Pattaya's nightlife has disappeared. It hasn't. What has changed is where it is.

Ten or twenty years ago, it was all over town. Drive around and you'd see it everywhere. Today it's concentrated in dedicated areas, mainly Walking Street, Soi Buakhao and a small part of Jomtien.

That's no different from many major cities. Amsterdam, New York and parts of Japan all have their entertainment districts, and Pattaya now works the same way. You can drive around most of the city and never really know there's a big nightlife scene here at all.

What life here actually looks like

For most of us who live here, Pattaya is about something else entirely. My own weekends are about as ordinary as they come. On Saturday morning I take my kids to football, and in the afternoon I'll catch up with friends or do a bit of work. On Sunday, my partner and I go trekking, head to the beach or go for a long walk.

That's Pattaya for a lot of people now: family, the outdoors and a good quality of life.

Is Pattaya worth visiting now?

So if you haven't been to Pattaya in ten years or more, come back and take a look.

I live here, and some months even I struggle to keep up. New condos go up all the time, new hotels open, and new restaurants appear. For anyone who hasn't been in a decade, the transformation is massive.

The Pattaya of twenty years ago isn't coming back. Having watched the city grow up, I can't say I miss it.

If you're thinking about making Pattaya home, East Coast Real Estate can help you find the right place.

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