i understand what your saying about the thread offering advice to prospective travelers so i will offer my objective 2 cents on this topic but before i do i just have to say......in the end Bkk FtW imO
i also have to take a moment to lol at "most sun-cooked part of the issan" as thats just **** funny....
far as pattaya goes,
i feel like both sides of the coin are right far as it being cool, yet Grimy at the same time.
i wouldn't really recommend living there though as i feel that if someone were staying there they would lose perception of reality and kind of just go nuts pissing on a bunch of issan girls but thats aside from the point.
While there is predominantly a bunch of "pro" girls, same as in phuket, ill add that the times i've been to pattaya on holiday from bkk i have met decent non pro chicks that work at A.central world, B.there on holiday herself, C. a student at thai disco Noir (have in pattaya same as bkk) way way far away from the falang tourist area. So there is "non pro" women and nightlife but you have to dig a little.
One major benefit is everyone speaks english, i think pokerspiv has the right idea far as Jomtien being a decent place as its not dirty like pattaya and well obv not as nice as phuket, but does have a beach, it is clean, kind of quiet and a short 10 minute trip to pattaya if you want to have some crazy times.
there is also some stuff to see and do out there...a big golden buddha on top of big hill, if you want to ride a motorbike without surely dying like in bkk well you can rent 200 baht a day, also have speedboats, wave runners, bungy jumping, crocodile farm, elephants, unicorns, midgets and more girls from issan living there than probably issan itself.
just to cover both ends most of pattaya does have the dirty, old man falang smell to it. i sometimes read the
http://www.pattayadailynews.com simply for entertainment purposes to laugh at how crazy and illogical human beings can actually be. than again i do the same thing with the bangkokpost so whatever.
and for the record im pretty maow right now. kaaaaaaaaap