Earning a living in Pattaya-Impossible?

The 'high' season in Pattaya, which we're in now, ushers in THOUSANDS of dreamers-farangs of all ages, sizes, and countries.

Many of whom fantasize of leaving their cold, dreary countries and moving to the area.

Quickly reality bursts their bubble, though.

The question becomes: how do they FINANCE their imagined lifestyle?

And unfortunately for too many, they construct ILLUSIONS of starting a business or finding a job. Convincing themselves of its ease--as in their home country.

The reality is the following:

1) Work permits are REQURIED for foreigners to be employed ANYWHERE in Thailand.

--An employer must sponsor and state the UNIQUE skills you posess which NO other Thai citizen posesses. And don't leave that job without another--your permit is EMPLOYER-SPECIFIC.


2) Wage scales are SIGNIFICANTLY lower in Thailand (especially outside of Bangkok) than the West.

--Could you live on 25 or 30,000B per month?! That's probably what you'll earn in Pattaya.

Assuming no other income, this would not be a happy life for most farangs.


3) Starting a business, in particular a bar, is the most POPULAR income idea-and the most DELUSORY!

--Competition among bars (and their owners) is FIERCE in Pattaya.

Their are literally thousands of bars--Walking Street, for example, has 60+ go-go bars alone!

How will they all survive? They won't.

Unless a bar owner has a UNIQUE niche and A LOT of capital to withstand years(!) of potential losses, they'll probably fail.

Conclusion: Don't move to Pattaya unless you have a GUARANTEED income stream to AT LEAST cover food and shelter. Dreaming of earning a living here is just that--dreams.