# Retirees: Are you happy in Pattaya?



## zaphod

I'm thinking of retiring to Pattaya. Are you satisfied with your life there? Is it what you thought it would be? Was the adjustment difficult? Thank you.


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## Wayward Wind

We are now in our fourth year retired in Naklua, just north of Pattaya, and have loved every day of it.

We live in a condo on the shore, have dozens of restaurants, convenience stores, etc. within 500 meters of where we live. Taxis and moto-taxis congregate right across the street from us, so it is easy to get anywhere in Pattaya. Plenty of supermarkets and other shopping venues available. There are areas we avoid - Walking Street and other sois dedicated to go-go bars, etc.

Finally, we are just over an hour from Bangkok when we need to go for business at the embassies (I'm US, and my wife is Australian) or just for a getaway for a few days. We are an hour from Suvarnabhumi airport, and can be in the US or Australia on one day's notice.

We didn't need any adjustment - we have worked in a dozen different countries, and been to Thailand many times for holiday before we retired here.

The visa regime for retirement is incredibly simple - once per year we drop everything at Jomtien Immigration one morning, and pick up our passports with the new extension the next day.

Best advice I could give - take a long holiday here, have a look around, and see if it fits what you want.


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## zaphod

Wayward Wind: Your life sounds wonderful. It's what I was hoping to hear. And the advice about visiting is sensible. Is there any down side that I need to be aware of? Moving abroad is a big step for me: I'm single, and travel by friends or family to Thailand will be infrequent. Also, I worry a bit that I don't know the language, though I am very willing to learn. Thanks again for any help.


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## Wayward Wind

I think you will be surprised at how frequently family and friends come to visit, especially if they are from the northern climates! No better place to escape the snow and ice! We have never seen a temperature here that wasn't between 23 and 33 degrees C, so it is pleasant most of the time. Of course, we live on a high floor right on the shore, so we have constant sea breezes - haven't used AC in over 3 years - other locations away from the shore tend to be much warmers, and with very little air movement.

Downsides? There certainly are places where you don't want to go - i.e. walking on the beach promenade at 2 AM would be asking for trouble - but they are easily avoided. Most western foods are available but cost more (particularly imported wines), as in all of the countries we have lived, but Thai foods are incredibly cheap and delicious. Local wine s*cks, but the beers are fine.

Plenty of things to do. When we want to go out for a day, we head to Koh Larn island, just off the coast, and have a relaxing day at the beach with a nice lunch, or head down to Nong Nooch Botanical Gardens, an easy half hour drive. For a weekend, we go to Bangkok and explore the many sights, shops, restaurants, there. For longer trips, we have visited pretty much every city and island in Thailand, and been to Cambodia and Vietnam many times as well.

Have you researched the process for obtaining a retirement extension of a visa for Thailand? At first, it looks rather complicated but in reality, it is very simple and straightforward.


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## bigt116

"Have you researched the process for obtaining a *retirement extension of a visa* for Thailand? "

Visas are not extended, only your permission to stay is. 

The OP would be best getting a Non-OA in his home country before coming to Thailand, as that will give him nearly 2 years here with just one border hop and the 90 day reports.


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## Wayward Wind

bigt116 said:


> "Have you researched the process for obtaining a *retirement extension of a visa* for Thailand? "
> 
> Visas are not extended, only your permission to stay is.
> 
> The OP would be best getting a Non-OA in his home country before coming to Thailand, as that will give him nearly 2 years here with just one border hop and the 90 day reports.


Nope - the OP appears to be a US citizen currently in Italy, so the very simplest way is to enter on a visa waiver (30 days), apply for a non-O visa at immigration (60 additional days), then apply to extend the time to stay for purposes of retirement, which gives an additional one year. I followed that process, and had my long term extension less than a month after we arrived.

Applying for an OA, even in Italy, will require a medical certificate (no big deal) and a criminal record check from the country of citizenship, here the US, which can be difficult to accomplish from abroad. Neither document would be required under the process I described above.


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## bigt116

Good advice, I failed to notice he was currently in Italy.


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## Asian Spirit

bigt116 said:


> Good advice, I failed to notice he was currently in Italy.


So you know, sometimes posters are not in or living in the country that is posted by them. Take that for what it is worth ..


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## zaphod

First, thank you for all the terrific advice so far. If it makes a difference, I am American, but not in Italy. I'm not sure why my status asserts that I'm abroad. I just looked in the control panel, which forces you to make a decision about where you are retiring to. Italy is just a place filler at this point, as I'm considering a number of places.


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## bigt116

OK, if you are in USA , then the Non-OA route would be your best bet.


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## Bangkok Baz

Life in pattaya is fine, lots of options, at least you have a wide variety of choice


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## Excaljeff

Wayward Wind said:


> I think you will be surprised at how frequently family and friends come to visit, especially if they are from the northern climates! No better place to escape the snow and ice! We have never seen a temperature here that wasn't between 23 and 33 degrees C, so it is pleasant most of the time. Of course, we live on a high floor right on the shore, so we have constant sea breezes - haven't used AC in over 3 years - other locations away from the shore tend to be much warmers, and with very little air movement.
> 
> Downsides? There certainly are places where you don't want to go - i.e. walking on the beach promenade at 2 AM would be asking for trouble - but they are easily avoided. Most western foods are available but cost more (particularly imported wines), as in all of the countries we have lived, but Thai foods are incredibly cheap and delicious. Local wine s*cks, but the beers are fine.
> 
> Plenty of things to do. When we want to go out for a day, we head to Koh Larn island, just off the coast, and have a relaxing day at the beach with a nice lunch, or head down to Nong Nooch Botanical Gardens, an easy half hour drive. For a weekend, we go to Bangkok and explore the many sights, shops, restaurants, there. For longer trips, we have visited pretty much every city and island in Thailand, and been to Cambodia and Vietnam many times as well.
> 
> Have you researched the process for obtaining a retirement extension of a visa for Thailand? At first, it looks rather complicated but in reality, it is very simple and straightforward.


Inspiring to hear your life styling and enjoying your time in Thailand. We are undecided on Phuket or Pattaya, been to both many times , my wife is Thai and daughter Thai, are interested in a good intl high school that isn't so expensive , and me golf . how does where you are in north side of Pattaya compare to more south side?


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