Laos or Cambodia - where would you relocate to?

[Jingthing]

30 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

So now you’re telling him where he should or should not move to?


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I wonder what kind of brain filters a person would have to have to actually believe that I have done that, but I won't bother, because I don't believe that you believe it. Cheerio. 

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, Benroon said:

With over 200 countries on the planet I always find it odd that when someone wants to leave Thailand its always for Myanmar, Philippines, Cambodia or Vietnam ? I'm assuming then the intention is to go somewhere where you can purchase sex ?

 

If it is go to Estonia - stuck between Eastern Europe and Scandinavia they are AMAZING looking women ! Venezuela best looking women on the planet etc spread your wings a bit.

I agree with your point entirely. Why limit to Asean? Sure lots of expats in Thailand are here for the so called sex, but the OP made it very clear he is past that being a big interest for him. 

[JaiLai]

I wonder what kind of brain filters a person would have to have to actually believe that I have done that, but I won't bother, because I don't believe that you believe it. Cheerio. 

Bi bi


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[Caine]

8 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Laos, 20 years ago the cheapest in the region, is now, especially food, by far the most expensive. If you have lived in Thailand for years and speak some Thai, Laos would be preferable, as everyone understands Thai in Laos. 

PP has turned into a traffic nightmare over the last decade, SR into a tourist circus, Sihanoukville into a Chinese enclave, but towns like Battambang, Pursat and Kampot are still livable. 

Have you considered Vietnam :The cheapest in the region with very welcoming people, especially away from tourist destinations. 

Laos by far the most expensive? What a load of rubbish. 

[JCauto]

Have lived in both places (Phnom Penh and Vientiane primarily, but with lots of travel and work in the provinces) as well as Thailand (Surin and Chiang Mai).

 

Both places have many positive attributes and would be suitable but highly dependent on your own preferences. If you're more of an urban person and want to drink and have fun with the ladies, you're more Phnom Penh-oriented. If you're looking for a quieter urban life and the occasional quiet drink with like-minded laidback souls, then Vientiane is the place for you. If the rural areas are more your cup of tea, then similar comparisons can be made; Laos is always quieter and more laidback. 

Cost-wise Thailand is cheaper than both places (except for Bangkok), but Laos and Cambodia are simpler in terms of sorting administrative requirements. 

[Traubert]

A recurrent theme in a wealth of threads on here is healthcare.

 

Now I understand that it's an American system to buy the insurance and if you dont use it, get your teeth sorted before the end of the year, and if you're British, the NHS will turn you away if you are found to have been outside the UK for six months. Aus/NZ I really dont know.

 

But why does everyone want to live on the hospital steps??

 

You don't think the Thais have picked up on this and you just might be being exploited a little?

[Jingthing]

Nobody wants to live on the hospital steps but if you need a hospital, you want there to be modern care available there and not at a price that will kill you. 

[MsBom]

Simon43, it seems you have many options for the next 2 years, wish you all the best and hope you find happiness wherever you choose to go


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[Longcut]

On 5/30/2019 at 11:31 AM, BritManToo said:

SRRV nearly $2,000, you'd have to be mad.

1500.00 for veterans.

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, Benroon said:

With over 200 countries on the planet I always find it odd that when someone wants to leave Thailand its always for Myanmar, Philippines, Cambodia or Vietnam ? I'm assuming then the intention is to go somewhere where you can purchase sex ?

 

If it is go to Estonia - stuck between Eastern Europe and Scandinavia they are AMAZING looking women ! Venezuela best looking women on the planet etc spread your wings a bit.

Weather ain't great in Estonia.

Venezuela even the locals don't want to live there.

SEA, the countries are close, the women are cheap and the weather is warm.

 

But I agree, it's not the right place for you, I feel you'd be much happier somewhere else.

[BritManToo]

6 hours ago, JCauto said:

Cost-wise Thailand is cheaper than both places (except for Bangkok), but Laos and Cambodia are simpler in terms of sorting administrative requirements. 

Average wages in Vietnam and Cambodia is less than $100/month, Thailand $300/month, how can they be more expensive places to live?

Edited May 31, 2019 by BritManToo

[simon43]

Some posters are questioning my sanity at considering to go and live in another country when I have a monthly income (not pension) of about 100,000 baht.  I currently earn that income from online teaching, and there are many threads discussing whether teaching online from Thailand is legal, illegal or a grey area.  Let's not start another discussion about that in this thread ????

 

Jingthing has hit the nail on the head when he says " We're kept on too short leashes here. There are reasons to reject Thailand even if financially qualified (for now). "

 

It's not only about the money (or lack of it).  It's about the permanency of staying in Thailand, especially as I get older and less willing to jump through smaller and smaller hoops.  I moved to live in Thailand 18 years ago and my right to live here is exactly the same as it was 17 years ago ==> one year at the most, (OK, up to 5 years with my Elite visa).  

 

I previously thought about getting PR, especially as I was able to tick all the boxes, except one, which was working for 3 years with a WP.  The Phuket labour office always refused to issue a WP for my previous employment, either because they wanted a large bribe, or because they wouldn't issue a WP for a registered partnership business - they would only consider limited companies.

 

So I've tried to play by the rules, but the authorities haven't...

 

The only reason why I haven't considered moving to a SA or CA country is because I've never been there! (a poor excuse).  Spanish would be very easy to learn (I speak French and can read Italian and Spanish).  Perhaps I need to open my mind to some other destinations, especially where PR is available.

 

I want a peaceful retirement, without being fcuked around by the authorities moving the visa/$$$ goalposts.  Thailand doesn't fit that criteria.

[lannarebirth]

9 hours ago, JaiLai said:

If it does n't really matter why even bother to post it then? bit of a pintless exercise really.

 

I'm interested in LP and would like to know why it's not modern but you're unwilling to share the info, that's bad form...

 

Why don't you buy a ticket. It's a cheap flight and a charming town. You can see pretty much all there is to see in a day or two.  The best thing about being in Luang Prabang is doing nothing while in a very pleasant environment.

[lannarebirth]

9 hours ago, JaiLai said:

You have plenty to say about Latin America, go there! you really should go there.

 

Health care does not concern me, i'm not old and crusty yet and have good coverage ( BUPA gold ).

 

Thanks for your input.

If you're not yet old and crusty, why then haven't you got anything better to do than be an internet troll?

[Moo 2]

Thailand, up to 2014! After that, freedom has disappeared, the Baht in a disaster, cost of living is going

through the roof, except wages and in term of export, Thailand went from No1 to No3 in a matter

of 4 and a half years.

[KC 71]

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I bought this in LP 15 yrs ago
The guy had to ring his boss to check it was ok to sell it
I think it is a very old artifact,i bought it for protection and good luck [emoji106]


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[Mansell]

I don't know why you didn't includeVietnam in your choices. Cambodia has those awful power outages that last days and usually when it is very hot. If you don't have a generator you are royally screwed. Laos...never been, but sounds very third world, and in this day and age that is not a good thing. Take a look at Vietnam, cheaper than here in many areas, nice people, and lots of coastline to live near if that's your thing. Definitely my second choice. Family ate at Shabbu something last night, two adults and two kids, 1,200 baht....I barely ate anything because I don't like that food, but did it for them as they love it. For that same price we could have eaten in Hoi An at a Mexican and in Hue at an Indian all for the same price......something wrong with this picture.

[ThaiBunny]

If you're in great health and always will be, and will never suffer an accident that will require hospitalisation then it comes down to which one will offer you a long-term visa. AFAIK Cambodia is easy and Laos is almost impossible. On the other hand if you ever require hospitalisation for any reason you're going to end up back in Thailand. Surely those can't be your only two options?

[JaiLai]

If you're not yet old and crusty, why then haven't you got anything better to do than be an internet troll?

How am I a troll, the guy said it’s not modern, I asked why - pls explain


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[thecyclist]

15 hours ago, Caine said:

Laos by far the most expensive? What a load of rubbish. 

Not so, even Thais (those that go back and forth between the two countries on business) complain how outrageously expensive Laos has become :A bowl of noodles 30 to 40 Baht IN LOS will cost you 60 to 80 Baht in Laos. By region I meant Thailand and Indochina, obviously not the whole OF SEA, as Singapore basically has western prices. 

Try Vietnam, where I moved to last year :dirt cheap. 

[BritManToo]

15 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

A bowl of noodles 30 to 40 Baht IN LOS will cost you 60 to 80 Baht in Laos.

I was in Suvannakhet last year, the food market by St. Teresa's were charging 30bht for a bowl of noodles with pork or chicken.

Edited June 1, 2019 by BritManToo

[Guest Jerry787]

Laos if you look for more relaxing and safer environment, considering if you relocate in the capital you got the decent hospital in Udon at 90 min drive.

 

Cambodia, if you prefer a more busy environment, more actions, night life, of course, criminality ratio is higher of Laos.

indeed both are under a great transformation with the en masse arrival of Chinese investors.

[thecyclist]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I was in Suvannakhet last year, the food market by St. Teresa's were charging 30bht for a bowl of noodles with pork or chicken.

Wow, either you found one of the cheapest noodle stalls in the country or prices have plunged in the last 3 years, the last time I was in Laos. 

[Hanuman2547]

For me, it would be Laos.  It's similar to Thailand but still different.  LP is a nice place when I first visited there some 20 years ago.  I do have friends that live in Vientiane.  

[Mike Teavee]

On 5/31/2019 at 7:59 PM, Pravda said:

If I was to move out of Thailand I would probably choose infrastructure, so it would have to be Phils.

 

Makati or BGC. Bigger places also means better chances of making connections. 

BGC/Taguig is expensive for property (The condos I was looking at were on a par with the one I rent in Singapore)

 

Having said that it is a very nice place (an oasis in the desert that is Manila), am considering a transfer there with work, but if i were moving there for retirement, it would be somewhere in Visayas (Davao, Cebu, Bahol etc...) or Palawan (in particular Coron).

 

Back to the OP, I agree with the comments about Siem Reap, lovely place & somewhere I could quite happily lay my head for a few years... 

 

[brianthainess]

On 5/31/2019 at 6:17 PM, simon43 said:

 

True, but I have an immense distaste of IOs and value my privacy HUGELY

Well use an agent.

[ThaiBunny]

On 6/2/2019 at 9:46 AM, Hanuman2547 said:

I do have friends that live in Vientiane.  

On what sort of visa?

[Hanuman2547]

3 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

On what sort of visa?

No idea.  One guy has a Lao wife and a son.  They live in Vientiane but he works in Bangkok.  The others all work in Laos.  

[brokenbone]

laos, boring, overpriced taxi mafia

cambodia, unreliable electric, shitty food.

if you can, kill yourself if these are the alternatives

[bendejo]

The Lao are probably my favorite people in SEA.  Behave decently and they will treat you decently, generally.  I don't detect the level of xenophobia so prevalent in Thailand.  If you don't like eating duck scratch it off your list.

 

Cambodians have this thing that foreigners are to be kept as "pets."  This is in my own head, but the ghost of Pol Pot disturbs me.  The Chinese shopkeepers in Cambodia are some of the nastiest bastards in the region.  It's the only place I've been where bbq dog was openly sold on the streets.  Cambo was known for selling weed openly in the markets -- not any more, and when you do find it the quality is trash.