Invaluable advice for potential expats!!

I'm thinking about the on line visa. Getting the Visa at the border was a pain when I did that a few years ago.

To answer some of my questions
https://acts.asean.org/publications/afa … -insurance
says that my Vietnamese blue Liability Insurance Card and Insurance should be valid in Cambodia

https://acts.asean.org/traders-guide/do … -operation
While aimed at commercial drivers this list of the required paperwork seems to answer some of my questions

Documents to be available in vehicle for inspection during transit operation

Vehicle Registration Certificate
Vehicle Inspection Certificate
Third Party Liability Insurance Cover for Vehicle
Consignment Note/Waybill
Custom Transit Document for the Goods (Transit Accompanying Documents (TAD)
Carrier's License /Transport Operator's License/ Business Registration Certificate
Any other documents required by your Customs Administration.
ASEAN goods vehicle cross-border permit
If any of these documents are in a language other than English, it has been agreed that a valid translations must be provided on request by enforcement authorities along the designated routes selected.

Please note that there would be single or several enforcement authorities depending on the country of departure, transit and destination. In case of infringement committed, local laws and regulations where the infringement was committed will prevail.

My best current guess is that for the Jeep and I to live in Cambodia, the solution is for the jeep and I to drive back to Viet Nam every six months for  a vehicle inspection.

from Cape Town.  Been living in Swellendam for 4 years now.

I'm here in PP for 2 weeks exactly now...Just wanted to add to previous posts about every single place we could try to live having its own challenges and the best things to pack in your luggage are positivity, respect and a flexible attitude. I think if you can't carry those with you its hard to last anywhere long term. And yes despite my very short 2 weeks here, I have lived in the US, Italy, Canada and Iceland and just most recently a one year stint in London. Every place I have lived I've seen prostitution and experienced power cuts. I'm nervous for when things will be challenging here of course and there is an awful lot I dont have sorted out yet. I got offered a job and moved in 3 weeks...with 2 young girls! But forums like this will help me learn, and I can't imagine the purpose of a forum where people are only sharing information privately.  Good evening :-)

Hi Cindy, im torontonian,  and heading to siem reap for dec, and then march, 2017-18...any heads up on apartments , studio flats etc...im looking online...loads of hotels...looking to rent bikes for 1-2 months...cheers,
Whatsapp # ****

Thank you for info , my apologies

Hi landen , great info will contact Helens home ! Really looking forward to spending time inSR cheers M

Cindy, I'd certainly like to find out about your views and experiences.

I lived in HuaHin, Thailand in the 2003-2004 (about 20 months). It's not the LOS, that's for sure.

I'm wondering about Cambodia ..

Would love to hear from you.

Thanks in advance,
Suzanne

PS I had my email address included in this, then I questioned if this is a public or private message.

Being a newbie isn't so great. I would wish to delete my post, but the time has run out for that.
I have read more since I posted and would now choose to refrain from negativity.

There are infinite more lessons to learn.

I love SR and have a family there who has stayed in contact with me. I am looking forward to my return there early November. I'm also compiling a list of other interesting towns and small cities to explore. <3 Cambodia.

I have 5 months to play with, so will do a bit of travel, but Cambodia is my focus this year.

Cindy,
   Your a straightshooter. Wish I knew you. We'd certainly hit it off. Headed to PP next month and gathered as much. But to hear it is pretty cool. Tony  lol

Hi AndreaJonas

Thanks for your priceless info on Cam. I'm from Cape Town and am seriously thinking about a year in Sehanoukville or Koh Rong Samloem. Any advice that you could share will be absolutely magic. Especially on accommodation and living expenses: Is it much more expensive there than in Cape Town? I will not be working over there and the $'s scare me a bit. I will arrive with 2 very precious Oriental Cats and would like to live in a small apartment overlooking the ocean. Any comments will be hugely appreciated, thanks

Hi folks, I'm thinking of a six months in Cambodia, six months back home in Australia on an annual basis.  No sweat Cindy, just not for everybody.  I hope I don't look ridiculous with my 35 year old fiance. I'm 60, it has crossed my mind. But, I love her and I feel I have to play this out whatever the outcome. I will be living in Kampong Cham province, seemingly a remote place. Is there anything I should be aware of living in such a place?
PS - not concerned with discomfort.

Hi, Where in Cambodia would you think of living. I am thinking os Siem Reap.

Take care

Hello Zfagerst.

Kampong cham is as well a province as a city, the city being the capital.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that Cham people are a muslim minority, they are found everywhere in SE Asia, with Vietnam being the old centre of the kingdom of Cham. 88% of the population of Kampong cham is Cham.

As for living in a remote area, it has its restrictions. I lived in a remote village in the rain forest of the Koh kong province and the most challenging feature was the fact that there was no electricity during the day from 9 - 5 and the night from 11 - 5. No electricity means people have no aircon, no fridges and freezers, the fans they have don't work in the day, no wifi, so daily life becomes a hardship.

Further the remote villages may not have a post office, bank, atm, supermarket. In my case I went every 6-8 weeks to Sihanoukville for a week, to get money, coffee, cheese, and to enjoy the modern comfort of aircon, cold drinks, wifi all day and night and more of that. I was happy with that as it made me move to Sihanoukville two years ago and I love it.

From Kampong cham city it i a 2.5 hour drive and also a 2.5 hour trip per boat to Phnom Penh, so a day out in the big city is possible.

Find out what a certain village offers and not offers and realize what it means for your daily life.

As for your fiancee being 25 years younger, don't worry, shouldn't be a problem, loads of foreigners have younger wives or girlfriends.

Good luck.

Joe
Cambodia expat-advisor
Expat.com team

i am interested in the comments where people do ALL the research first.....does this not spoil some of the element of surprise??????i have travelled and lived in many countries without doing this and never been dissipated ......generally its a lot of fun.....my next move is from mexio to siem reap very very soon so excited......i do have one quotes siem reap is not a cheap as i thought it would be...is it possible to live reasonably well on $1200.00 a month.....thanks jeannie b

jeannieb wrote:

i am interested in the comments where people do ALL the research first.....does this not spoil some of the element of surprise??????i have travelled and lived in many countries without doing this and never been dissipated ......generally its a lot of fun.....my next move is from mexio to siem reap very very soon so excited......i do have one quotes siem reap is not a cheap as i thought it would be...is it possible to live reasonably well on $1200.00 a month.....thanks jeannie b

Hello Jeannieb.

There is a difference in approach from people that emigrate to Cambodia to stay there, and your many adventures. Don't know how long you stay in each country but the expats over here mostly have stayed in two countries: their own country and Cambodia.

So it is a good idea to get prepared. I have said it a few times, people get prepared. Those that do not prepare find themselves in a situation with too many surprises and some of them are bad surprises.

You cannot get in a plane and say hello here I am, I stay here for the rest of my life. You can but it is a roller-coaster ride then.

Most of the expats that move to Cambodia are retired and as such they feel better when things have been prepared. I don't speak for myself, as I came from neighbouring Thailand where I lived 8 years, to Cambodia first on a photo shoot holiday (nature photography) and fell in love with the country and people. Then stayed 9 months in the only rainforest left in SE Asia, in a remote village which brought me back to the basics of life, to then finally move to Sihanoukville where I stay now for 2 years.

To get to your final question, yes it's very well possible to live here from $1200, even in the capital Phnom Penh. Life is cheap here, but not everything, so always good to manage ones finances.

Hope your stay will be a good one.

Cheers

Joe
Cambodia expat-advisor
Expat.com team

Hello, Fred! A bit belated follow up to your 2016 post. If you don't mind, can you roughly tell me the language I need to use when renting an apartment? E.g.,

- "Does the bathroom have a header tank?" (What am I visually looking for to verify that?)
- "Is there a built-in power generator?" (Are they normally for each apartment or for an entire building? Would it be visible for me to be certain of that? Assuming they run on gasoline, do I maintain that or the landlord?)
- "Is the internet on cable or with signal boosters?" (I don't know what a signal booster is actually. Do I have to get TV cable in order to get internet cable?)

I could probably overlook the bathroom tank and slow internet, but I've learned the value of a generator in many countries -- including the U.S. One time we had a mini neighbourhood tornado and I had the only generator around. I had over 100 heavy extension cords snaking out every window and door to help my neighbours for two weeks until power was restored in First World, USA.

Any other advice on renting an apartment? A reliable agent who you'd recommend? Neighborhoods to be avoided?

Advice appreciated from one and all. Thank you!

Hi Andrea,
I know this is an old post, however just wanted to check if you are still in Asia, if so, how is it working for you? Am also from SA and planning to retire there.

Many thanks in advance
Dick

Hi DickJP,

I saw this post and thought I would add my experiences of being an expat overseas. I lived in BKK for several until I got tired of the traffic, pollution and immigration issues. When I first lived in Thailand the baht was over 36 and now is a little of 30. I have friends still living in Thailand and there are more and more issues people must deal with (visas, 90 reporting etc). Traffic in BKK can be very chaotic but the expansion of the BTS does mitigate the issue.
I moved to Siem Reap over a year ago because of the pollution and declining Baht and do not regret the move at all. I have made friends with expats who have lived here over a decade and have stated that SR is growing and many many things have improved over the years.
The pros:
You can find rentals for all budgets. When I was looking for a place, I found listings anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand.
The Khmer people are some of the warmest, friendliest people I have meet in SE Asia.
My food budget is cheaper in SR. The new market on National 6 is a godsend and they are constantly expanding their products.
If you like dining out, there are numerous restaurants with excellent menus. You can find many cuisines here; Italian, French & Indian just to name a few.
The cost for cell service and net speed are very cheap. 
The cost of help is ridiculous cheap. The average worker only makes 150-200 per month.
Getting transportation in SR is very easy. The PassApp makes getting a tuk tuk a breeze.
Alcohol is very cheap. You can find nice French or Italian wines and a multitude of spirits.

The cons:
SR will not be for everyone and is not perfect. We have power outages on average once a week - unscheduled. They usually last about 20-30, so IMHO a generator is a must.
There are no malls (no shopping centers like BKK, Hong Kong). This is not a huge deal but for some it can a be a deal breaker. Shopping for your needs can take much longer, even grocery shopping. Sometimes you need to go to several stores to get all of your needed items.
The roads can range from well paved to packed dirt with huge pot holes.
The medical services in SR are average. I can not comment on PP but I end up staying at the Angkor hospital for two weeks. Basic needs and minor issues and are fine, but for anything major I recommend going to BKK.

No place is going to be perfect, but if you are okay with a more laid back lifestyle then SR might be for you. It does not have the mega malls, hustle & bustle of a metropolis but it does a a charm of its own. I hope this helps.

Just an addition to this:

"The medical services in SR are average. I can not comment on PP but I end up staying at the Angkor hospital for two weeks. Basic needs and minor issues and are fine, but for anything major I recommend going to BKK."

This is where PP kicks in, apart from having several malls, no unscheduled power outages and more.
Royal PP Hospital is a Thai hospital of the Bangkok Dusit Medical group.
It is a state of the art hospital, all staff speaks English, doctors are mainly Thai and their equipment is very modern and up-to-date.

It seems that a lot of people don't know about this hospital as I see many recommendations to go to Bangkok in case of a more severe problem. Not necessary, just go to PP.

Cheers.

Joe

I can't say enough about royal hospital, I've been in cambodia gosh 4-5 years , it's as good as bummrungrad, I believe they are sister hospitals bummrungrad is always rated top ten international hospitals, USA hospitals are included in this group Royal is the best, you will pay more but if it's major no more flights to  Bangkok

Many thanks to you redsoxgrl and to you Joe.
You have shared some good advice and insights, which make my future decisions a lot easier and more informed
Thank you
Regards,
Dick