A Breakdown Of The Cost Of Living In Pattaya
When breaking down the cost of living in Pattaya there are so many variables at play that no one can tell you exactly what you are going to spend. All that can be done is to give you a range, and let you figure out where you think you will fall in that range.
The cost of living in Pattaya, like many places, can be done very cheaply if you want, or it can also be quite costly. Some guys will come here and spend $500 a day on vacation, other guys will come here and spend a little bit more then that for a full month.
This is a city where your self control will be questioned at every hour of every day. There are obviously a lot of temptations in this city but this post isn’t about the nightlife.
You can get a cheap apartment, eat cheap food, buy a motorbike and not spend much in gas. None of that will matter to your cost of living if you are making it rain in the nightlife.
On the other hand you could rent a nice apartment, eat quality food, and still have a very low cost of living in Pattaya if you have some self control. For more on how to plan your trip to check the scene out before you relocate click that link.
Renting An Apartment In Pattaya
If you want to rent the nicest place with an ocean view in the best part of town your rent could be over $1,000 a month. Of course you don’t need to do that, but it is possible.
The closer you stay to Walking Street the more expensive it is going to be. Many Pattaya expats will live in Jomtien because it is better value and not all that far from the action.
You can find month to month rentals in Jomtien for $400 a month that are pretty nice. If you want to sign a 6 month lease you can get the similar places for around $300 a month.
Some guys will really try to keep their Pattaya cost of living down and rent rooms on the outskirts of town. You can find rooms for $200 or less that are clean and safe, but then you are going to spend extra time traveling into town any time you head in.
Like with many things in life this comes down to what is more valuable to you, time or money. If you are going to be spending a lot of time on Walking Street then you probably will want to stay reasonably close.
The nice thing about Pattaya is that no matter what decision you make here you are going to be getting some very good value for your money. How does this compare to rent in Bangkok? That link breaks down how to take a cheap trip there as well.
Food Cost Of Living In Pattaya Breakdown
Once again there is quite a bit of variance here, but you are going to be getting very good value either way. There are some fine dining options around that could raise your food costs a lot, but there are also lots of good moderately priced restaurants.
Plus there is the local Thai food that is very cheap. You can get a solid meal for under $2, it won’t be a huge portion but should be enough for a lunch.
There are lots of western restaurants around town with prices ranging from $5-$10. Many of them also serve big portions so you can possibly get two meals from some spots.
If you want to cook on your own the grocery stores are cheap. You could easily eat in Pattaya for under $200 a month if you wanted to, $300 will give you good value, and you will eat very well for anything above that.
Other Cost Of Living Considerations
The next biggest expense when talking about cost of living in Pattaya is probably the immigration costs and visa runs. It costs around $60 a month to extend your visa, and then the visa runs will add additional costs.
You could go the cheapest route and take a bus to the border, but that is a long trip. Or you can take a bus to Bangkok, fly out, and fly back in. That will obviously be a lot more costly.
If you plan in advance and buy your plane tickets early it doesn’t have to cost that much though. Flights to Phnom Penh or Kuala Lumpur on the cheap Asian airlines like AirAsia are really inexpensive. We covered all of the best cities to live cheaply in Southeast Asia at that link.
You probably will want internet, some guys opt for getting a landline put in while others will rely on Thailand’s great mobile data. If you aren’t going to be doing any downloading or streaming then the mobile data will be fine, if you are then you need to get a landline or topping up will become costly.
Transportation is pretty cheap here, you can buy a motorbike for a reasonable cost and a tank of gas will last a really long time. Or just live on a baht bus route so you can get taken into town for 10 baht.
It is reasonable to estimate spending $100 on immigration costs, $30 on internet, $20 on transportation, and another $30-$50 on utilities. Of course this depends on how you want to live, if you are a recluse then your transportation can be nothing.
If you run aircon 24/7 your utilities will be much higher. Either way, still pretty solid value here across the board except the immigration costs are pretty high by Southeast Asian standards.
What Is The Right Cost Of Living Number In Pattaya?
That is totally up to each person. You can live here for $600 a month if you really want to. You will live in an out of the way location, never set foot in a bar, and eat Thai food for every meal.
You could have a good life for $1,000 a month, maybe not the best possible life but certainly better than what you probably are living in the western world. Get a reasonably priced place in Jomtien, find a girlfriend on Thai Friendly and live cheaply.
Or you could spend as much more as you want to improve whatever parts of your life you think need improving. If you want to have a baller apartment then pay for that.
The sky is the limit in a city like this, but the floor isn’t all that bad either. Hope this breakdown of the cost of living in Pattaya was helpful to you.
