New to the board looking for a new start

[kptic]

Robert, I think Vietnam might be a better option for you. For example, I have a friend who manages an English school in Saigon that pays $32 an hour starting out. In Cambodia similar schools pay $10 an hour and probably won't give you many hours. The cost of living is about the same. Vietnam would give you access to the region for history oriented travel, it has very cute girls, the same tropical weather, and cheap booze. Cambodia is a nice place to live too though. We all chose it despite similar advice to try elsewhere. Keep us updated.

[ryoon]

For the OP

Whatever countries you choose in SEA with your present qualification you definition of financial success will be for the short, medium and long term : Do not have any debt.

If you succeed to reach your goal you will have no debts but also most probably not health insurance and no retirement plan, no prospect of evolution here and lower prospect in hour home country than when you left. Returning home would mean a brutal (and most probably permanent ) lowering of your standard of living, so you will not left. SEA is quite a well designed honeypot trap for foreigner.

The best thing that could happen to you here is overindulgence followed by a fast over-burn of you meager resource than back home to start afresh. The worst thing that can happen would be that you find a kind of equilibrium here and were able to sustain your self for many years.


Do not come.

[Cowshed Cowboy]

Hello everyone, I have been reading up and doing some research on the kingdom of wonder and I am pondering relocation from the good ol' USA. I have been reading posts/responses on this forum for awhile now appreciating the great responses from vladmir, general m, sir quality etc. I am curious as to what the hardest things about relocating for a 21 year old male would be? Do I just sell my car, moto, misc possessions and get my plane ticket (of course i have done my research and am fully okay with the lifestyle change) or would it be better to stay in the states for awhile and save up a large sum 10,000usd plus then sell everything? What did all of you do? I am looking to start this new life before 2016, any answers to my inquiries, helpful hints, general knowledge or even helping with arrangements when I arrive will be greatly appreciated

My own choice was Thailand and not Cambodia which I came to on a round the world ticket after escaping the rat race and wanting to see more of the world than just Europe. The difference between us I guess was I waited until I was late 20's and had qualified in my field with 8 years marketable experience as back up until I did my trip. I then landed an overseas job in Indonesia from the UK as the first step to secure my economic future and get me on the overseas work ladder to provide me a sustainable and comfortable route to living there long term. Spending time in other countries lends a bit of perspective as well.

My advice, do a trip to decide whether you really like the place and if you do then seriously reassess how you can economically provide for yourself and possibly others in the future. I don't think Cambodia's the place for that at this stage with your experience to be honest. Good luck, time is most definately to your advantage.

Meant to say $10k probably buys you a 6 month trip if you want to enjoy yourself.

[phuketrichard]

i started off slowly;
first trips to Mexico,
than off to Europe, Central America
than north Africa
middle east, India
fuck i didn't make it to Thailand till i was 32 and Cambodia till i was 38 and that was after 15 /21 years of traveling LOL

Although i far prefer Thailand to Cambodia for living , given ur experience and wanting to work u have zero chance of finding anything here
as teaching English requires degrees as do most countries in the world, its only Cambodia will take someone whose only qualification is they are white an can speak English

Just book a one way flight to Bangkok and than figure out where to go from there

[Jamie_Lambo]

while i think some of these comments are pretty tough, with them telling you not to come and what not, i love this country and encourage everyone that they should come visit, but, upon reflection you are 21, and with little travel experience, it will no doubt be a shock to the system, as richard and a few others have said, plan an extended trip first before taking the big plunge, start off in thailand and use that as a stepping stone or something, plan a 6 month trip so you can really get a feel for the countries, you should never go anywere blind, as with asia its never how you expect
come visit stay here a few months, even get a few contacts or something, speak to a few expats living here and get a good feel, you may decide to stay and not go home, or you may go home at the end of your trip and decide its not for you, but i wouldnt sell up everything yet and go in blind

[AE86]

For what it's worth, when I was slightly younger than you, I dropped out of university and decided I wanted to see the world. I spent nearly 2 years without a job and living up on savings an savings just experiencing life without the constraints of everyday "necessities". I didn't backpack, just a small engined motorcycle and lots of exploring while having a tiny tiny apartment as "home". I went all over the place, talked to different people everyday, sometimes approaching them on the street and asking them if they had time for a coffee, sometimes talking to them at a park bench, sometimes at a petrol station, etc. and put maybe 200,000 km on my bike I want to say, but am not sure. All I know is that I rode every day and saw new things all the time and it was one of the best times in my life.

I returned to the U.S. (although I'm not from there), and continued school for a year when I decided I did not like what everyone said I "should" be, so I founded a mini business and started from the ground up and, well...I'm still learning and still growing. I'm only 29 now myself, but had I not taken the extended vacation, I can honestly say I would not have had nearly as "rich" a life as I have now. I'm very very happy to have been where I have been, and to have done what I've done (meaning meeting thousands of people and experiencing life as a free person).

I wouldn't make any decisions on what you want to do (permanently), I myself am in the midst of relocating again (5th time in my life I'm changing countries), but I do by all means encourage an extended vacation. Best thing that ever happened to me.


P.S. Sell your stuff at home, but leave the cash in a U.S. bank to fall back on. Take only what you budget for, but don't take everything. Reason I say sell out is because I maintained a storage unit for years while I lived in SE Asia and ended up taking several tens of thousands of loss in depreciation on all that stuff. Car, motorcycle, possessions, etc. not to mention the headache of paying for it every month. Not worth it in my opinion.

[Jamie_Lambo]

For what it's worth, when I was slightly younger than you, I dropped out of university and decided I wanted to see the world. I spent nearly 2 years without a job and living up on savings an savings just experiencing life without the constraints of everyday "necessities". I didn't backpack, just a small engined motorcycle and lots of exploring while having a tiny tiny apartment as "home". I went all over the place, talked to different people everyday, sometimes approaching them on the street and asking them if they had time for a coffee, sometimes talking to them at a park bench, sometimes at a petrol station, etc. and put maybe 200,000 km on my bike I want to say, but am not sure. All I know is that I rode every day and saw new things all the time and it was one of the best times in my life.

I returned to the U.S. (although I'm not from there), and continued school for a year when I decided I did not like what everyone said I "should" be, so I founded a mini business and started from the ground up and, well...I'm still learning and still growing. I'm only 29 now myself, but had I not taken the extended vacation, I can honestly say I would not have had nearly as "rich" a life as I have now. I'm very very happy to have been where I have been, and to have done what I've done (meaning meeting thousands of people and experiencing life as a free person).

I wouldn't make any decisions on what you want to do (permanently), I myself am in the midst of relocating again (5th time in my life I'm changing countries), but I do by all means encourage an extended vacation. Best thing that ever happened to me.


P.S. Sell your stuff at home, but leave the cash in a U.S. bank to fall back on. Take only what you budget for, but don't take everything. Reason I say sell out is because I maintained a storage unit for years while I lived in SE Asia and ended up taking several tens of thousands of loss in depreciation on all that stuff. Car, motorcycle, possessions, etc. not to mention the headache of paying for it every month. Not worth it in my opinion.

yeah tbh i sold all my stuff, when i first came here i stayed for 4 months, then went back and just sold everything as i wanted to stay in cambodia, i still dont live here 100% perminantly as i still pop back for a few months a year to work in england as its much better pay (the past 2 times ive had to pop back for my sisters wedding & the to see my brothers new born baby so i kill 2 birds with one stone lol, but when i return in a few months ill be looking at finding a way of funding myself whilst in the kingdom as i dont have any reason to go back for at least a year or 2

[General Mackevili]

Just book a one way flight to Bangkok and than figure out where to go from there

That's exactly what I did, almost 9 years ago now.

Granted, I had about $25,000 in my pocket.

I spent most of it on women and booze; the rest I wasted.

[Jamie_Lambo]

I spent most of it on women and booze; the rest I wasted.

favourite quote of the day hahaha i hear ya brother

[lakesidejunkie]

come to cambodia you can work as bartender or some menial shit .teaching english is for fuking wankers.