Siem reap vs Phnom penh

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GMJS-CEO
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by GMJS-CEO »

Joshcanggu wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 3:45 pm Hey guys! My wife and I will be moving to Cambodia with our newborn in October, we have traveled there on and off for 13 years and have lived in Asia and central America during that time, would like know your thoughts about difference in quality of life, cost of living, and having a really good hospital as we will have a baby. Also anything else you can think of! We work online so either place is ok as far as location. Our budget is around 3000 usd a month. We were there only a few months ago but visiting is not the same as living as you guys know!
Keep in mind that you would want good health insurance that includes medical evacuations. I had that with my employer and once was taken to Thailand for surgeries, the plane charged my insurance $20K and overall was about $100K in medical costs.

Given I had great insurance, I had no issues with having a newborn in Phnom Penh. That includes preschool from 18 months old, I liked Garden Gecko Preschool. I was more concerned with the post-preschool level of education, I felt they did have some viable options but they were quite expensive.

When we had our child we bought a car as well, mostly to have the car seat and safety for our child. Cars are very expensive.

We moved to USA so our kids can go to Kindergarten and beyond here.
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by Joshcanggu »

At the moment we plan to stay only 18 months or so while we are waiting for my wife's Australian visa to (hopefully) get approved.
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by Joshcanggu »

TWY wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 7:39 pm I'd ask what are the other choices? And I'm serious when I say that. You need to clearly thing about the added risk your exposing your child to.

We have had two children born in Cambodia. I would clearly state that if my wife weren't Khmer there is no way I would choose to raise children here as a "choice". As it is we agreed that we'd raise them here for a few years and move to the US prior to beginning school.

When things are good then its fine being here. When your son/daughter gets sick it will be a different story. We use Bangkok hospital in Siem Reap for our vaccinations and I'd agree with the statement that they can handle tropical disease/general infection type of things ok. Anything else forget it (they do have a female OBGYN that is pretty good). Our pediatrician is a joke.

Daily, there are neighbors burning their trash. Every single day. Any type of waste - plastic, containers, everything - toxic or not they haven't a clue. Try to go for a walk - expect that 75% of the time you'll get the smell of smoke somewhere along the way. And the smell of open sewage is a normal everyday thing as I drive to the gym or into town. Driving is treacherous and accidents occur often.

There are a lot of restaurants in town. There is now a large "western" style supermarket on national route 6. Generally it is safe, but there is a certain amount of low-level crime present. They have developed a park like area in town that appears nice when I go by - aside from that not a lot of safe areas to spend time outside (and when I say safe I'm referencing the traffic and small children). This is a tourist town. People come and go.

Near us is a place where several teachers from one of the supposedly better international schools have stayed (we are friends with the owner). They come and go. None have last more than a year. A few have packed up in the middle of the night (without paying the remainder of their bills I might add). None have really impressed me as being "sharp". Mostly either very young or near retirement.

Why accept the pollution, the poor health care, traffic danger, tropical diseases, and substandard education for your child? If you move here I hope it all works out well, but just be aware that sometimes when you play with fire you get burned. And should it be your child you'll never forgive yourself.
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Wife is Russian I'm Australian, we lived in Indonesia for years dont want to go back there, her visa for Australia could take another 2 years.. we have been looking at maybe sri Lanka as you can get 6 month visa extensions and it's super cheap and beautiful but I think Cambodia probly has slightly better healthcare.
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by samrong01 »

Joshcanggu wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 7:01 pm How often are the power outages and for how long on average?
There is something of a history behind power outages in Siem Reap. From 2012 to about 2015 they were pretty rare (my dates are a bit hazy). Power was supplied from Thailand. There was one time when power was out for three days when a drunk truck driver knocked down no less than 6 poles on the main transmission line. Until then it was unusual for hotels to have backup power but after that there was a big move to get generators. Subsequently they switched to get power from Vietnam and cut the price. Power outages then seemed to increase.

Outages can be anything from 30 minutes to 12 hours. Sometimes they occur regularly at fixed times, others are random. The main cause is the huge increase in the number of hotels without sufficient capacity to supply them all. Consequently power outages are more common during peak tourist season. I am not clear if power is still supplied from Vietnam or if they switched back to Thailand.
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by crob »

would pick Siem Reap out of 2, but i'm not a fan of PP...

question though, can your wife get a 836 carer's visa in Australia whilst her working visa is being processed... not sure if applicable if your caring for a child.
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by Kammekor »

TWY wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 7:39 pm
We have had two children born in Cambodia. I would clearly state that if my wife weren't Khmer there is no way I would choose to raise children here as a "choice". As it is we agreed that we'd raise them here for a few years and move to the US prior to beginning school.
Exactly this. My wife is Khmer, and taking her out of the country would be like beheading her, so we're here for the time being. And the being is the time our daughter develops well. Even if that includes teaching my own kid on a daily basis.

If I would have a child with a non Khmer Cambodia would not be on my list.

About healthcare - life expectancy in Sri Lanka is higher than Cambodia (71 vs 65). And health care is just one factor. A crazy amount of people in Cambodia die of causes which would simply be avoidable - by obeying traffic rules for instance.
Last edited by Kammekor on Sun Aug 11, 2019 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

Kammekor wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 9:34 am
TWY wrote: Sat Aug 10, 2019 7:39 pm
Exactly this. My wife is Khmer, and taking her out of the country would be like beheading her
A consideration rarely mentioned.
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by Joshcanggu »

crob wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 5:45 am would pick Siem Reap out of 2, but i'm not a fan of PP...

question though, can your wife get a 836 carer's visa in Australia whilst her working visa is being processed... not sure if applicable if your caring for a child.
My wife and I are awaiting her prospective marriage Visa... it was more expensive than a partner Visa but if I return to aus while awaiting a partner Visa is becomes void for some reason!
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by crob »

Joshcanggu wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 1:03 pm
crob wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2019 5:45 am would pick Siem Reap out of 2, but i'm not a fan of PP...

question though, can your wife get a 836 carer's visa in Australia whilst her working visa is being processed... not sure if applicable if your caring for a child.
My wife and I are awaiting her prospective marriage Visa... it was more expensive than a partner Visa but if I return to aus while awaiting a partner Visa is becomes void for some reason!
what a shot show, fuck i hate peter dutton
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Re: Siem reap vs Phnom penh

Post by Joshcanggu »

Agreed. She was denied a tourist Visa twice before getting her first one. Both times with a lawyer for no apparent reason at all. Just taking our money up until this point it's been close to 20k
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