Retire to Cambodia - honest opinions welcome

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TWY
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Re: Retire to Cambodia - honest opinions welcome

Post by TWY »

A bit late, but my one cents worth.

In terms of whether or not you'll be happy retiring in another country. I think you have to look at your current life and decide what makes you happy. Do you have hobbies? Are there organizations your a member of? How do you spend your free time and how enjoyable is it? How involved are you in your community. It may be hard to replicate that in Cambodia.

The biggest challenge is that your going from a 1st world country to a 2nd world country. Many of the things you enjoy doing may not be available here - or may be very difficult to access or very expensive. I think that the people that do the best here in Cambodia have a reason to be here (and I don't consider "its cheap" to be one of the better reasons to live in Cambodia). Yes, you can find a flat for $200 and spend $14 on electricity if you only run a fan and a small fridge. But so what?

In terms of where to consider living in Cambodia, PP is the capital and certainly has the most choices in terms of activity and "Western" options. PP also has the best health care available - though I'd caution that "best" is only in consideration to what is available elsewhere in Cambodia. Siem Reap has a definite tourist flavor with lots of hotels, tours, restaurants, etc. Both places have a wide range of housing options.

If Thailand really changes their law and allows multiple land crossings a year, Pailin might be an option if you like smaller communities. There would be far fewer Western options in Pailin. But Thailand is literally 15-20 minutes away. Battambang is also a decent small city and it has a limited amount of Western options.

Beyond the monthly/yearly costs, also consider if you have the resources to 1. Make trips "back home". Not to be morbid but are you going to be attending funerals? Births of grandchildren? Reunions? It may sound good to pack up and "leave it all behind" but in a year or two these types of things may require you to travel/spend. 2. You need to have some money set aside for health care. In addition to paying for insurance that will transport you to Thailand in case of an emergency you should have money set aside to pay for whatever is needed. 3. Vacations - Yes the first year or two there are some nice things to visit/see in Cambodia.... but then you may find yourself wanting to visit Singapore or Bangkok or Greece or USA, etc. 4. Do you really like driving a car, if so realize that cars - even beat up used ones you'd laugh at - are expensive in Cambodia.

Basically, I'd recommend that you have a certain amount of savings that you can tap if/when needed. Its fine to say I have $XX/month and only plan on spending $XY a month so everything is fine. Thats until something comes along and you need $ZZ.

Visit. If you really like it and can envision yourself living full time then come again and consider making the move. That advice would apply for anywhere in the world you'd consider relocating to.
shnoukieBRO
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Cambodia

Re: Retire to Cambodia - honest opinions welcome

Post by shnoukieBRO »

Probably best to travel around before deciding to settle anywhere.
In any case I would not place much cash in local banks or even buy property anywhere.

Rent and see how things go, places can change fast.
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