In Pattaya there are apartments for as little as 10 dollars a month, yes there really are. Ten dollars a month is as cheap as it gets, you are really talking bottom dweller digs for that much money. I think the old saying goes you get what you pay for applies. But 75 dollar a month apartments in east Pattaya are pretty common and very livable for westerners wanting to live in Pattaya on a strict budget. You can get a 30 to 40 square meter studio apartments that are clean and partially furnished. More than likely it will not have air-conditioning or stuff to cook with. It may or may not have a refrigerator either, many owners will rent you one. For what you pay renting a refrigerator you could buy one in a years time.

You won't find these lesser expensive apartments advertised on the web very much, you just have to look for them street by street. When you see an apartment building you think you may like, then look for a posted phone number and call. Most of the time the person answering will speak little to no English, this is where speaking even a little Thai will go a long way. If you have a friend that speaks Thai it might be a good idea to draft them onto helping you with both communication and negotiation. If you call and you only speak English you may end up with higher prices being quoted than with a person that speaks native Thai. This dual pricing is all too common in Thailand, my best advice is to not put too much thought into it, it is just the way it is. Below are some things you may want to ask.

• What are the electrical rates per unit, while 6 Baht is pretty low 8 baht being more common    but the lower rent places may want as much as 11 or 12 Baht per unit. With some condos you may be able to pay the government rate which is just over 4 Baht per unit.
• What are the water rates, where 25 Baht being on the low side and and 50 Baht being on the high end. Common usage is 3 to 5 units per person, a unit is a cubic meter equal to 265 gallons.
• Is the Internet free or is there a fee, if there is a fee 200 Baht a month seems common but it is up to the owner. With your smart phone you can check signal strength at the room you are looking at to see if it is a good signal at that room. You may also want to ask if you can get your own Internet installed.
• Is cooking with gas allowed, many owners don't allow it.

Apartments in central Pattaya for 2,500 Baht or 75 dollars are rare, but a comparable one may be found for about 4,000 Baht (125 dollars) a month.