If you have ever been on holiday to Pattaya, surely somewhere within a corner of your subconscious you have considered moving to Pattaya to live. It’s a common occurrence for any serial Pattaya visitor, and why not? But as the old saying goes: “If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it!” If you are serious about making the big jump from your home country to Pattaya, here are a few key points that you need to seriously think about and work out how to overcome the issues that may come along with living in Pattaya…

Accommodation

First and foremost you would need to think about where you intend on living in Pattaya and what the budget for your accommodation would be. If you want to live in a convenient location close to all the hustle and bustle of the city of Pattaya (Which can be a good and bad thing), Pattaya, Naklua and Pratumnak would be the most appropriate locations for you. Studio and one bedroom condominiums in those previously mentioned locations can be rented out for around 12,000 THB a month. Alternatively, if you are happy (or prefer) to live further away from the action maybe east pattaya and Jomtien would be a better area, bungalows and villas can be rented out for as little as 10,000 THB a month.

Employment & Finance

It doesn’t really matter where you intend to live in this world because you need cash to survive. If you are moving to Pattaya with a fortune already saved up you can skip this section. Some people who decide to move to Thailand will usually set up some kind of company or business to produce a steady stream of income to allow them to stay here. However, the Most people that come to Thailand that do not have sufficient funding to put into a business will need to seek employment in Thailand and unfortunately there are some limitations to what you can work as, here are some of jobs that foreigners cannot carry out:

• Taxi Drivers
• Handymen
• Construction Work
• Waitering

Some of the most promising industries & job roles for foreigners in Thailand would be such as the IT Industry, Education, Scuba Diving and real estate development.

Sorting out a visa

If you are looking to stay in Thailand for a long period of time you should obtain a visa which would allow you to remain in the country legally and not have to leave every 30 days, There are plenty of visa companies on the internet that can provide you with advice and direction as to what would be the best visa for you.

How much does it cost to live in Pattaya?

Thailand has always been renowned for how cheap it is to live there when compared to the western world but sometimes living in Thailand can be more expensive than living back in your home country, it is all down to budgeting and more importantly where and how you choose to live. Most expatriates usually claim to happily be living on 30,000 THB per month, and is probably very true if you are living alone. If you intend to live in a brand new condominium or villa in Thailand and go out to eat and drink every day, a more realistic budget would be around the 50,000 THB per month mark. However this all boils down to the saying of “how long is a piece of string?” in other words it purely depends on where you intend on living and your spending habits.