Laos or Cambodia - where would you relocate to?

[CaptainJack]

9 hours ago, DonDoRondo said:

Aren't you the guy that had a thread recently where you said you went from Thailand to 

Columbia - got robbed - and claimed to be in Mexico City a day or two later?  Then went

back to the USA.  Now you're in Laos?  In envy your travel budget and wish I had your

energy.  Best regards.

Most be someone similar to me. I am the guy that decided my expatriate experience in Thailand was not for me, I did go to Mexico and hung out with a friend in Mexico City for three weeks.  I did write about considering Columbia,  but decided against that and game back to the USA to reestablish in March.  I did travel to Laos last year.  

 

A lot of my time in SE Asia is due to volunteer work. I run a very tight travel budget.   

 

Not the same guy, but sounds like he is rich!

[Goinghomesoon]

On ‎6‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 4:11 AM, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Myanmar has been my favorite place to live for the last 4-6 years.  I only returned to Thailand because their internet international gateway is a bottleneck and teaching online is difficult without a fast international internet connection.

 

But having returned to Thailand late last year, I find that the 'sanook' seems to have disappeared, at least IMHO.

 

I've met a lot of people like that.  I genuinely love many of the people I met there. They have a second-to-none motivation to improve further education, do well for themselves and their families. On the other hand their unwillingness to improvise, suggest/make productivity improvements, inability to multi-task and their sheer resistance to change drove me spare in the office environment.   (Yes, I know a lot of this is to blame on the lack of high level good governance, poor standard of education under the old regime etc.)  If I had less work pressures I probably would have enjoyed the country a lot more.  

 

Good luck in LP.  Will be good to see what you think of it as an alternative to our side of the river.

[Number 6]

I'd lived in Phnom Penh for three years 93-96. Good times and nothing like what is seen on my last visit perhaps ten years ago.

 

I don't think I'd like either long term. Due to lack of economy of any scale everything locally produced is more expensive. 

 

Not recommending Indonesia unless you can deal with rural areas like Papua Berat. Seafood and snorkeling amazeballs.

 

Philippines is one big rubbish tip. Poverty and desperation. It's what Thai autocrats are striving to duplicate here.

 

Vietnam...maybe. people are cool, aloof. I could live there but never trust them much. Communist government. At least they  hate the Chinese

 

Myanmar well you know that story.

 

Question is do you need to work?

 

Palau

Seychelles

So Pacific

Canary islands

Belize

Ecuador

Panama

Argentina

Croatia

Czech republic

Baltic States

Georgia

Spain

 

[simon43]

Question is do you need to work?

 

Yes, I need to work.  But my employment (teaching online) can be done from anywhere with a half-decent internet connection.  It is beneficial to be close to the time-zone of my students (China and Myanmar).

 

 

[drbeach]

On 5/31/2019 at 5:10 PM, Brunolem said:

I fully agree... you have more than enough to stay comfortably in Thailand, first one extra year on your Elite visa, then with your monthly pension. 

 

Both Laos and Cambodia would be a severe downgrading compared with Thailand. 

 

If you are ready to live in Laos, then by all means go live in Isaan. 

 

These are basically the same people and customs, yet on this side of the border they enjoy all the perks of a more advanced and wealthier country. 

 

Laotians and expats over there use every occasion to cross the border and come shopping in Thailand, because Laos has nothing, not even shops worth to talk about. 

 

As for Cambodia, the country attracts all kinds of dubious characters in search of a safe haven to escape... whatever they need to escape. 

 

The country is among the poorest in the world, with beggars galore, something unknown in Thailand. 

  

Anyway, if you really wish to leave Thailand, and considering your income, you would probably better off in the Philippines or Vietnam, as suggested by other posters, or even in Malaysia...  

Fantastic post, absolutely agree with you.

 

I too have spent a lot of time in Laos and Cambodia though haven't lived in either country. I have lived in Vietnam though, which is still a step-down from Thailand but catching up fast. And of course far more desirable than either Laos or Cambodia.

 

Can confirm that living in Cambodia is a joke. Although Siem Reap is nice and a fantastic place to visit, not sure as a place to live. Perhaps if you can find the right villa, 10km outside of town but to get there you have to drive along a dodgy unlit dirt road and make sure your house is surrounded by a 2m high wall and has a 24h security guard on-site you can live a good lifestyle, but that won't be cheap. Otherwise the long-term accommodation options are small, too traditional and uncomfortable. Restaurants are good, as is the nightlife but the latter can get old quickly, unless you enjoy that sort of thing. The Bangkok hospital operated hospital is Ok for minor problems but will charge you as a foreigner much more than locals. It also probably can't handle anything more complicated.

 

Sihanoukville is basically off-limits to non-Chinese now. I mean, who would want to live there? It's dirty and chaotic. The beach is horrible. Even visiting the place has become a no-go. Previously there were all sorts of shady westerners and Russians there, now it's all sorts of shady Chinese. Criminality has gone through the roof (it was already bad enough in the past) and unless you don't mind being stared at by the Chinese residents (something I find absolutely intimidating and uncomfortable) not to mention not a way I'd choose to live, then you better steer elsewhere. Also, no chance of finding employment. No business opportunities unless they involve Chinese or you can speak that language. In fact, I've heard many casinos and some other types of businesses don't even allow you in if you're not Chinese! Talk about discrimination. I take it as a sign that that dump is basically owned by China now and they don't want us. Fair enough. It's such an ugly dump and given that most of the locals have already left, there's little reason for anyone to visit there. Even upper class Chinese don't.

 

Phnom Penh - too dirty, crowded and chaotic. Garbage strewn everywhere. A nice enough place to visit (I enjoy going there every now and again, though Siem Reap is more pleasant) but living there, with beggars, terrible traffic and even worse corruption than in Thailand definitely not a place any respectable person would choose to live in.

 

Laos is somewhat more organized and perhaps a little more desirable as a place to reside than Cambodia. However, it's a one party Communist state and much of the country, especially in the north, is little more than a Chinese colony too (though without the casinos, except in the Golden Triangle, home to a place called "Kings Roman" a front for money laundering). Like Cambodia, healthcare sucks. Although there are a few nice restaurants (mainly in Savannakhet, Vientiane and Luang Prabang) you can find similar good restaurants in Thailand too, depending on where you choose to live. Lao people are nice, but very shy. Difficult to make local friends there. The men are similar to Thai men, so not that cool. A little easier to make friends in Cambodia.

 

Better to consider the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia or Vietnam though.

[olfu]

Cambodia or Laos?

answer--Florida!

[LiMax]

Consumer prices including rent in Cambodia is almost 20% lower than in Laos. If a had to pick one it would be Cambodia.

[CHiangMaiMuu]

I am in Chiang Mai now. Last time I came in I got only a 30-day exempt, not a visa, extended it once already. So I got to leave LOS the last week of August. 

I lived in Thailand for for around 5 years altogether 2009 - 2014, on Tourist visas. 

My question is is it feasible to go to Luang Prabang and come back to Thailand and get a new 30-exempt stamp? 

BTW I got a new U.S. p.p. in Saigon earlier this year and it only shows my used Vietnam visa and the 30-day exempt. here with one extension. Previous visas and 30-day exemptions to Thailand not shown on the new p.p.

Also, apart from the 30-day exemption, if I apply for a regular T.V., I guess that has to be at the Thai Embassy in Vientiane. It has been awhile since I have gone through this - was intending to retire in Thailand years ago and then went back to the U.S.A. and then came back on impulse to Thailand. So I am not sure of current requirements. What would be accepted as Proof of Income at the Embassy in Vientiane?

Thanks for any advice.

Also, BTW, I would be looking at an long-stay ED visa to stay in Thailand but I relative in Canada is inviting me to live there in her farm - so I am only thinking about staying on here for a short time until that possibility is formally decided upon.