Life in Laos

Just the usual questions, how life is in laos and difficult is to get permanent residency, is it easy to rent or by house, how about education?

Tamag

Life is Laos is okay. Easy to rent a place. Education is good and cheap. I send my 3 kids to an international school which costs me $13,000 total for all of them for one year.

For cost of living www.numbeo.com Cost of living is rising each year, rents can be from $500 / month to $3000 / month

Getting permanent residency is very very difficult. You have to live in Laos for 11 months a year for 5 years. Or you can deposit $500,000 in a bank account there , open a business and then you will get residency.

So you must have plenty of money to get by on to do this.
There is next no work for expats in Laos. I work overseas and come home to Laos for my leave breaks.

Even though I have a Lao wife I still have to come and go from Laos on a tourist visa costing $30 and only good for single entry. You cannot open a bank account without either a work permit or a business visa.

Hello Tamag - you must be wary of other people's replies - there is in fact work here for expats - It just depends on the skills you are selling. I am an English teacher and there is lots of work - if you wish to open a business there are opportunities here too.

Also you can get an agency to help with one year visas so things are always not the same for everyone.

My advice is to pack up your kids and life and go travelling - Find a place you like and see how you will live there - there are always openings - if you are a native speaker of English you can sell those skills - if you have other skills then you do what anyone does and network.

The cost for education can also be way less than $13,000 like $1,000 per head - or less if you send them to a Lao school.

I have been here 3 years now and really like it but it is not for everyone -

good luck

Hi Tamag!

A new thread has been created from your post on the Laos forum as you were off topic on the previous one.

Regards
Armand

I live here and I agree with Stumpy's post, not Peterjohns.

tha's great, thanx so much it was really helpfull
Sound's a bit too difficult to me, I mean it will be hard whatever the country we choose to live out of Europe. But I am a musician (not really the rich type)and my idea is to have my own music school and having a space to organise other events related to music and dance therapy, and mostly make my living out of it, and my my partner she is a fashion designer and off course she would like to work in this field. I am just guessing that I would probably not really find costumers for my African percussion workshops and latin music and jazz in Laos. Coz that's what I do here in London for living, and it's fine but I am just not happy with the fact my children are growing up in this kind of society!
but I will still research for my ideal place

bless

Tama