Advice needed for salary living in PP

i cannot do your budget.. but off the top of my head..

you would probably want to live in BKK1 -- thats where most of the expats are...but they are also around other parts.

rent for 1 bedroom might run you 250-350 per month... 2 bedroom might be a little more.-- but not much more.
I am unsure about gym... 
there is another site  khmer440.com      they have more detailed info but be prepared for some sarcasm... they are an eclectic bunch..( in a good way)

you can try this site for apartments: sunnyresidentrealty.com
its probably best you stay in a guesthouse for a week or so and look around in person. Do not put any money down on a place you havent seen personally .. another good option is speaking w/ a khmer who can show you around and help u find an apartment..
i have a friend if you need his info... but thats up to you..

if you have more questions, ask away.. ..  i was curious.. which school offered you the position?


good luck

If I'm well you have not been here, it's an offer on line?

I would highly recommend to come over for a holiday first, live the life in PP, see what daily life costs you, explore the accommodation market, get better acquainted with the school that is offering 2 jobs, find out about life here.

On top check out the costs of a return flight to UK, and you can make a detailed financial plan and budget for this adventure.

You didn't write for how long you consider to stay here, but it would influence your budget whether to stay short time or longer time.

Do your homework, every person has his own demands, possibilities, wishes, so no way you can rely on the experience of others.
Example: if you take $400 for accommodation plus motorbike, you got $2000 to live from in expensive PP. Is the salary nett or have taxes to be deducted?
$2000 sounds a lot but you are two people. Of course you can live of that, but to give you one true example: I live in Sihanoukville, am retired, am single with a girlfriend from time to time, and I live from that same money $2000. I don't drink, don't smoke, don't gamble.... Just saying...

Thank you, I appreciate your feedback.
I would be in a 2 year contract, perhaps 3 years.
I would be back in the UK every summer, from May to July so we would be in the apartment 9/10 months of the year.
Flights back to the UK would be about $3700usd for the two of us from what I can see.
I am hesitant to name the school. It is one of the international schools with a good reputation, as far as I know.
I would like to be able to go to Cambodia beforehand but that is not possible for us at the moment.
We would like a western apartment, possibly in the tonle bassac area or bbk1.
We would probably eat more western food. We're not party goers, might go for a drink once a week but otherwise we're very tame.
My partner has not found a job yet, he might do a TEFL but he is not a teacher. We're hoping for administration work but we would need the same holidays as school.
We are not sure how much utlities are in the slightest. $50 a month or $250? (Internet, electricity, water, gas).

Thanks for giving more info.
Do I understand that the SURE part of employment is only you?

Then, until your partner has a job for sure, you should only take your salary as a given fact, as I recall $1200/month, before or after tax.

With an apartment for $250 plus $50 utilities plus a monthly saving of $300 for the annual trip back to UK, you have not more than $600 to live from, or $20 per day.

I'm afraid that is by far not enough.

Wishful thinking that your partner "will get a job" does not help a lot in real-life calculating and budgeting. Be careful with your planning, some people have maneuvered themselves into trouble by thinking too easy. Stick to the facts, calculate and make decisions. My two cents worth.

2500 is more then enough for me...  but i am one person.. even 2 people i say its enough..

if your rent is 250- 350..  then electric...  food is really cheap... would u cook?.. 
Joe is right and i love his response.. " a girlfriend from time to time".. classic!!!!..

Joe is also right that it might be best before making the jump to make a visit .. see if you even like the culture.. the rhythm of life here.. even tho it can take a little while to adjust

Regarding your partner getting a job.. it will be easy ..Esp if he is a native english speaker..  he might not make as much as you  but probably like $10 per hour.  If he is white? sorry to say but he will get a job very quickly.. thats just how it is here...lol

I understand regarding not mentioning the school but was curious.


Good Luck!

@ak299

Try this website for cost of living www.numbeo.com

Thanks!
My partner is white and native English.
My salary alone is $2400. If my partner manages to find a tefl job then his salary will be on top of $2400.

Ok that's good news. Still the "If" would scare me, but maybe you have more courage.

Answer for yourself the question: "What If he doesn't get a job easily?"

As I said before it's a personal thing and risk. I can only advise to calculate and make your budget based on facts, if's.

Good luck!

Thank you. I guess that is a big IF. We'd just need to hope that we can both live off 2400 a month and not find ourselves in a position of being stuck in Cambodia. We would like to have savings before going back the UK permananetly.
Thank you for all your advice 😊

i think you guys will be fine!!!...  if anything you can always work in a bar on street 136.. lol.. just kidding

you gonna be fine...

Hi
Flights from the UK are a lot cheaper if you go to bangkok. Which I am doing, a single for £242 and you can get your own flight for around £60 with air Asia to Pp

$2400 a month (Per person) is quite is sufficiant living in PP. Rent for a decent place is around 500- 1000 a month. Food is cheap and if your relying on tuk tuks for transportation it is quite affordable. I would recommend finding a place near your job possibly walking distance.

Paying your mortgage oversees is another story.

Ah, I will look at travelling to Bagnkok first then!

Well, it's $2400 for two of us to live off of, not 2400 each! So, I guess $1200 each.

I've looked at the map and BKK1 seems closest to the school.

I am a university lecturer here and my salary is near the salary you mentioned for 2 people.  While I'm not starving, of course, it's difficult to save money - and I'm not a party guy.  Also, you mentioned traveling home for Christmas -- Christmas is not a holiday here, so there is no vacation time from schools - your vacation time will likely be during the summer (30 days) is it a "paid" vacation? -- check with your school -- most only offer 10 month contracts - no work in the summer - which means no salary for 2 months.  Read your contract carefully......

Also, your school should be offering you annual round trip airfare - (at least up to a certain amount -- $1000 ????)    What about health insurance?  My advice is to do your homework now before you accept your offer.

Rob,

how can you say your barely scraping by with that salary?  Maybe i am missing something but that is way more then enough..


I must be missing something.. if you say your not a party guy where can your money be going? its super cheap living in PP.   I suppose they have high end housing...

It's not super cheap - apartments in a decent area run between $450 - $650 a month - and the cost of electricity is high - much higher than in the USA -- and food cost at a market like Lucky or Thai Hout - are higher than the USA too.

Sounds like 1 person's wages not 2.  Your expenses to live in Cambodia could run as high as 1000. monthly depending on how you want to live and eat.  Try Thailand the next country east.  They pay 3 times what you can earn here.  I was also  promised while in Canada a nice wage however after 2 months here my wages were cut in half.  What could I do I moved here from Canada.  I have now opened my own school and am doing much better.  Good luck.  Watch out for corruption..  Most teachers here can not earn 100. weekly.  They are mostly high school grads not teachers at all.  Good luck  Neil  Canadian Teacher

Did you say 2 teachers with teaching credentials? sounds like 1 not so well paid teacher in Cambodia.  The problem here is that most teachers are high school grads earning 100. weekly.  Not really good teachers but since 100. 2 times what most workers earn it is a good job.  Good luck.

$2400 might get a bit tight... Are you aware you've got to pay about 20% income tax?

Accommodation: Renting a town house (pteah lveng) costs about $300 per month in Tuolkork or Russian Market area. Avoid overpriced central location, where a one bedroom apartment is more expensive!

Gym/pool: Quite expensive, around $500 per year or $5 single entry in most places.

Travel insurance: You mean health insurance? Healthcare is very affordable here, however, somewhat limited. So you can save some money if you get an insurance with high no-claim bonuses and high deductibles. Then use it only in case of emergency (medevac etc.) - Aetna has some good plans.

Food: very affordable at local markets and restaurants, very expensive at western style supermarkets and restaurants (double European prices for many items). You could find out where your Cambodian colleagues go for lunch, and join them to some local place. The taste might not necessarily what you'd expect though.....

(Public) transport: messy and expensive. As for me, it took me about 2 years before I decided I didn't want to pay $100 for tut tuk rides each month any longer, and dared driving myself...

Home travel: look out for airline specials (especially Qatar, Malaysia, Vietnam, China Southern, China Eastern), and book whenever it's cheap. You can get return flights to Europe for less than $700.

Travel to Vietnam etc.: Can all be done by bus if you're on a low budget. That's more adventurous than flying anyway.

Internet: from around $15, electricity: R920/kwh (better use fan instead of AC...) water and gas very cheap, but if you want to use gas, you need to buy it in gas bottles. There are no gas pipes here.

Thank you. There are two of us moving to PP. I am on £2400 a month. My partner still needs to find a job, hopefully using a basic TEFL. Hopefully he will find one easily so his salary can also be included.
We don't eat out a lot, we prefer home-cooked food. We're not part-goers but we like a drink or two at the weekend. We're more into travelling.
If it is 30 degrees celsius we could use a fan instead of AC. We're currently living in Kuwait and we're used to warmer weather. We're also used to gas bottles and things.
We're not looking to live the 'high life' or save thousands. We're just looking to live comfortably enough to afford food, accommodation, clothes when we need them and to have a rainy-day fund for the mortgage in the UK, just-in-case. My job will be quite demanding and so my evenings and weekends will be taken up with that instead of going out and spending money. We would prefer to have friends around ours and cook or all bring a plate than go to restaurants. We are used to budgeting.
My main concerns are the flights back to UK twice a year for both of us and not having the money available for if the boiler goes or something!

Trust me, don't worry about the flight cost. Last time I purchased return flights Phnom Penh to Frankfurt for 4 persons for a total of $2700.

The trick is, you need to buy that the day it becomes available - not the day you decide the dates, not the day you have the money available. The deal comes out, and you strike!

I guess health insurance is gonna be more costly.