Retiring to Cambodia
- CaptainCanuck
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
I live very comfortably on $700 US per month
I have a new apt, bed sitting room, small cooking area, toilet with hot shower for $100 month........just down the road are bigger rooms with balcony, air con and a swimming pool for $200......both are quiet neighborhoods.
I eat out western-Khmer 80%-20% and am gaining weight
I don’t drink every day but never have to wonder if I can afford an afternoon beer or an occasional drunk.
I’m in Kampot, beautiful riverside, friendly expat community and the Khmer don’t have barang fatigue yet.
I have a new apt, bed sitting room, small cooking area, toilet with hot shower for $100 month........just down the road are bigger rooms with balcony, air con and a swimming pool for $200......both are quiet neighborhoods.
I eat out western-Khmer 80%-20% and am gaining weight
I don’t drink every day but never have to wonder if I can afford an afternoon beer or an occasional drunk.
I’m in Kampot, beautiful riverside, friendly expat community and the Khmer don’t have barang fatigue yet.
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
I cant stand AA.
- phuketrichard
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
You'll have little problems on $1,200/month as long as you have a couple grand in your savings for ...
To those living on less than $800/month (an living alone) and rent is 25%++. are you really living well, eating well, doing what you want? ? Do yu own a bike/car? Get out of ur area much, (travel outside Cambodia?)
or merely surviving?
as i get older an older, i want more out of whats left than just getting by
still lots of living left in me before i kick up my feet and drink $.50 beers
To those living on less than $800/month (an living alone) and rent is 25%++. are you really living well, eating well, doing what you want? ? Do yu own a bike/car? Get out of ur area much, (travel outside Cambodia?)
or merely surviving?
as i get older an older, i want more out of whats left than just getting by
still lots of living left in me before i kick up my feet and drink $.50 beers
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
Re: Retiring to Cambodia
$1200 is more than enough.
Naturam expelles furca, tamen usque recurret. Horace
Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they arent out to get you. Pynchon
Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they arent out to get you. Pynchon
Re: Retiring to Cambodia
Definitely a crappy airline. Recall Flight 191.
- tightenupvolume1
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
If i was thinking of retiring to another country I would go there first for a short holiday to check it out.
just saying.
just saying.
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
As others have mentioned, $1,200 is plenty. It all depends on your spending, of course, but for me being in Siem Reap...
$250 for second/third floor apartment. This is high ceilings, balcony, good kitchen with double sink and stove, decent sized western bathroom, big bedroom, good sized living room. Pay for your first apartment monthly while you keep an eye out for something better. My first place was $250 and total crap compared to my current place. This place took a month to find.
~$50-75 for electric
~$200 cooking 5 good dinners/week(often-usually western food and with some leftovers) and some coffee and toast or a couple eggs for breakfast. You can bring this down if you want to make cheap food.
Going out to eat/drink budget is up to you. I can go out and spend $10 or $50 and be happy. Just depends on what sort of quality you want and how often. There's a great Italian place near me with $12 entrees, $5 cocktails, and $5 dessert. All are of high quality and delicious. There's another Italian place near me with $5 entrees and cheap wine. It's still totally good and I'm always happy. You can get some Italian for $3-5 in many places, but it's not very good. The same is true of most western food and drinks.
Basically I'd say if you want a decent, but not crazy awesome apartment, make your own decent food, use a/c 3-5 hours per day, but don't run it 24/7, and use your phone for internet, you can live perfectly comfortably for ~$600/month. If you want to go out to eat, etc, your budget goes up, but not nearly as much as it would in the US. Add a couple hundred or more for going out to decent places a couple times per week.
But as others have mentioned, there's no way I'd move here without a long visit first. And if you decide to move to Siem Reap, know that it will definitely cost more the first 2-3 months while you figure out where to get things. You'll start out just going to the most obvious places, which are usually the most expensive, and you'll have to figure out the "skin tax." You'll very often not find prices on things in Cambodia, and at least in Siem Reap, the "white price" can be 2-5 times the real price. You need some new sandals? Well they'll cost you $20. A Cambodian would buy those same sandals for $5. You need a bicycle? $80. A Cambodian would pay $20-35 depending on the bicycle. Etc, etc. It takes a little time to figure out where to buy things.
Figure in another $500-1,000 starting cost for a scooter if you want to be able to get around on your own. But you probably want to walk or use a bike to get the hang of traffic before you get a scooter, unless you're totally comfortable with some crazy traffic situations form living in Vietnam and Thailand.
$250 for second/third floor apartment. This is high ceilings, balcony, good kitchen with double sink and stove, decent sized western bathroom, big bedroom, good sized living room. Pay for your first apartment monthly while you keep an eye out for something better. My first place was $250 and total crap compared to my current place. This place took a month to find.
~$50-75 for electric
~$200 cooking 5 good dinners/week(often-usually western food and with some leftovers) and some coffee and toast or a couple eggs for breakfast. You can bring this down if you want to make cheap food.
Going out to eat/drink budget is up to you. I can go out and spend $10 or $50 and be happy. Just depends on what sort of quality you want and how often. There's a great Italian place near me with $12 entrees, $5 cocktails, and $5 dessert. All are of high quality and delicious. There's another Italian place near me with $5 entrees and cheap wine. It's still totally good and I'm always happy. You can get some Italian for $3-5 in many places, but it's not very good. The same is true of most western food and drinks.
Basically I'd say if you want a decent, but not crazy awesome apartment, make your own decent food, use a/c 3-5 hours per day, but don't run it 24/7, and use your phone for internet, you can live perfectly comfortably for ~$600/month. If you want to go out to eat, etc, your budget goes up, but not nearly as much as it would in the US. Add a couple hundred or more for going out to decent places a couple times per week.
But as others have mentioned, there's no way I'd move here without a long visit first. And if you decide to move to Siem Reap, know that it will definitely cost more the first 2-3 months while you figure out where to get things. You'll start out just going to the most obvious places, which are usually the most expensive, and you'll have to figure out the "skin tax." You'll very often not find prices on things in Cambodia, and at least in Siem Reap, the "white price" can be 2-5 times the real price. You need some new sandals? Well they'll cost you $20. A Cambodian would buy those same sandals for $5. You need a bicycle? $80. A Cambodian would pay $20-35 depending on the bicycle. Etc, etc. It takes a little time to figure out where to buy things.
Figure in another $500-1,000 starting cost for a scooter if you want to be able to get around on your own. But you probably want to walk or use a bike to get the hang of traffic before you get a scooter, unless you're totally comfortable with some crazy traffic situations form living in Vietnam and Thailand.
Do you think the parents of baby boomers whined so much when the boomers started changing society? And yet the whiney ones like to call young people "snowflakes." Hmm...
- Duncan
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
$1,200 is more than enough for the first six months or maybe a year. After that it will not be enough because that lovely little girl that your cock has fallen in love with will need $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
As all above easy to do. your issue will be AA I'm sure, I knew someone whos partner went to the PP one for a meeting and then they all went out and got drunk.... Perhaps see if there are online groups/support you can access from home. As also mentioned here, Kampot and Siem Reap may be best for you but Battambang is also a good choice for quiet and cheap. One thing nobody has mentioned is what about your health and taking care of that? Health insurance is the way to go really but that ain't cheap. Hopefully you are fit and healthy but all it can take is a bad dose of dengue and you've spent your allowance in hospital bills. So as mentioned make sure you have savings for emergencies. Not sure if of interest but this guy has a retirement place in Siem Reap all inclusive with some healthcare post371106.html#p371106
- cptrelentless
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Re: Retiring to Cambodia
Pretty sure god can wag his finger at your drinking anywhere in the world, he's omnipresent.
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