Cost of Living Article
Cost of Living Article
Anyone want to share his/her own personal account of the cost of living as an expat in Cambodia?
Everyone has a different lifestyle and the article above albeit informative only shares one personal point of view.
Everyone has a different lifestyle and the article above albeit informative only shares one personal point of view.
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Okay, here's another extract from my 'letter home to mom'
NB. She cooks all our meals - Khmer grub only; I rarely go out for a drink and never seek out the company of friendly girls, thus my overall monthly expenses (inclusive of kept woman) at the moment amounts to under $400.So damned domesticated had I become that I have to start this report with issues I’d have rather died than write about a few months ago. I saw some report about a proposal to charge Brits something like £240 per year for ‘garbage disposal’ (that’s nigh on $500 for you over the pond). Presumably that’s a topic for water-cooler conversation back in my old yard; let me just rub it in by pointing out that I pay $1 (50 pence) per month and the truck comes by every night (about 12 pm) to collect any rubbish. Aren’t I supposed to be living in a decayed, scuzzy third-world hell-hole? While I’m on this rather embarrassing theme, I’ll just add that the monthly water bill is $5 (we apparently have the purest tap water in SE Asia); the only substantial bill is for electricity – many foreigners pay over $100 per month but we don’t use any aircon and are light on gadgets, so even with the missus staying at home all day our monthly bill is under $30 (£15). Our rent is $100 per month, which is less than any other foreigner I know, but we have a spacious and reasonably comfortable place in a good location. Thus rent and utilities set me back a little over 10% of my monthly income.
I came, I argued, I'm out
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The joy of Cambodia is that you can spend as much or as little as you like on your lifestyle.
If you want to cut costs and live simply then it's quite easy to live on $500 a month or less. Of course that means foregoing hedonism and there will be no partying for you or chowing out in foreign restaurants, so you'll be cooking at home or eating Khmer food. You lifestyle need not be spartan but will (by necessity) be clean living on this income.
$1000 a month is more than entirely adequate to eat out most nights, go drinking in Western bars most nights, rent a compfortable modern apartment in a safe area, keep the air con on at night, run a bike, have the occassional weekend at the beach and also enjoy some of the fruitier pleasures of expat life. It's not enough though to be taking regular trips back to Europe or saving money. To do that, you'll need to jump up to the next income bracket.
If you want to cut costs and live simply then it's quite easy to live on $500 a month or less. Of course that means foregoing hedonism and there will be no partying for you or chowing out in foreign restaurants, so you'll be cooking at home or eating Khmer food. You lifestyle need not be spartan but will (by necessity) be clean living on this income.
$1000 a month is more than entirely adequate to eat out most nights, go drinking in Western bars most nights, rent a compfortable modern apartment in a safe area, keep the air con on at night, run a bike, have the occassional weekend at the beach and also enjoy some of the fruitier pleasures of expat life. It's not enough though to be taking regular trips back to Europe or saving money. To do that, you'll need to jump up to the next income bracket.
Twitter: Not my circus, not my monkeys - I sold #K440
Is it common practice for landlords to request, and get, two or three months' deposit? It seems that deposits are quite large in Thailand as well. Are you able to ride out the deposit at the end of the term, or do you have to go through the obstacle course of getting it back. Getting a deposit back sounds to me like an impossibility in Cambodia or Thailand, but I'm just guessing.
Playboy doesn't have much of a food bill either, as he arranges either to be invited by drooling admirers (mostly male I am sorry to report) or for the restaurants to subsidize the booze & nic nacs, lest they get shot down by the self professed most influential PP reviewer of all things culinary.gavinmac wrote:And he doesn't even have an electric bill. His villa is run on a generator powered by two Khmer guys who take turns running in one of those gerbil wheels.
Part of his sales pitch to them: "I have an offer it would be foolish to refuse".
That guy is a smooth, well-oiled machine.
It is, but you can use them as the last months rent. You can also try to use them at the beginning (pay 3 months and pay again in the fourth month), that gives you more flexibility if you want to leave. In case there's a massive building being erected next door all of a sudden. You won't be able to get any cash back. Your landlord simply won't have it, it'll be spent on the sixth motobike for the family.justyn wrote:Is it common practice for landlords to request, and get, two or three months' deposit?
comon practise> yes, at least one month rental. Basically, the idea is that the rental will be used to buy you furniture, tv sets etc.justyn wrote:Is it common practice for landlords to request, and get, two or three months' deposit? It seems that deposits are quite large in Thailand as well. Are you able to ride out the deposit at the end of the term, or do you have to go through the obstacle course of getting it back. Getting a deposit back sounds to me like an impossibility in Cambodia or Thailand, but I'm just guessing.
Getting back deposit back sounds impossible> No, that depends on the owner as well. If you have state clearly on the contract, you dont have to worry.
toby
A different lifestyle - hmmm... OKPRINCE wrote:Anyone want to share his/her own personal account of the cost of living as an expat in Cambodia?
Everyone has a different lifestyle and the article above albeit informative only shares one personal point of view.
With three kids in international school we don't see much change from 15 grand - just in annual school fees.
Now if we were French we could manage it for around 3 grand at the French school - so, my question is: Why the fuck didn't the useless Australian government get off it's collective arse and come over and colonise bloody Indochina?
Then we'd get bloody subsidies instead.
Cost of living? with school aged kids and no subsidies? Bloody high.
justyn - it's becoming common practice, but fight the trend. I've managed never to pay a deposit and I've yet to meet a barang who got their deposit back.
I've paid deposits on 3 places, and gotten them all back despite technically defaulting on one. If you pay 3 months at the beggining, you just put it in the contract that it's subtracted from the last 3 months of your lease, so as long as you stay the full length of time, there's no problem.
One time i pissed off to Kampot 4 months before the end of the contract, and simply explained to my landlady that i'd just broken up with my girl and needed to get out of pp for a bit, and she gave back my deposit aloing with a hot cup of tea and a nice chat.
When choosing a place in Cambodia, I take choosing the landlord as seriously as the property itself. Having a great place but a horrible landlord can make life difficult.
One time i pissed off to Kampot 4 months before the end of the contract, and simply explained to my landlady that i'd just broken up with my girl and needed to get out of pp for a bit, and she gave back my deposit aloing with a hot cup of tea and a nice chat.
When choosing a place in Cambodia, I take choosing the landlord as seriously as the property itself. Having a great place but a horrible landlord can make life difficult.
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