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Would you ever seriously think about moving to Cambodia or Laos?


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Posted
2 hours ago, adammike said:

It's about running the air-conditioning 24/7.If I was going to move to the tropics it's something I would want to know about.

Really? Move to the tropics to live in a fridge. Seems a strange way of doing things.

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Posted
6 hours ago, vandeventer said:

 The government is not making a lot of money from taxation as most Thais hate paying taxes so that leaves the infrastructure and hospitals in need of help. Everything changes as time moves on and you just have to change with them or no matter where you live you will not be happy.

Did you forget VaT,  import duty  and business tax?

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Posted
Just now, ThailandRyan said:

Cebu is the safest spot in the Phil's very well protected by other islands...lol.  Lived there for a year. Cambodia would be Plan B, but I would have to say No to Laos.  Spent many a time in Vientiane doing Visa runs back in the day when I lived in Udon. 

I havent been to cebu. Must go there when things open. Is it good for a holiday? Beers and girls.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Sujo said:

I havent been to cebu. Must go there when things open. Is it good for a holiday? Beers and girls.

Angeles city for beer and girls.

Barretto, Olongapo for beer, beach and girls.

But in these days of COVID who can tell how much fun anywhere will be?

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Posted
14 minutes ago, Sujo said:

I havent been to cebu. Must go there when things open. Is it good for a holiday? Beers and girls.

It does have an Area for that.  Bars, clubs and Filipina's.  As far as holiday things, plenty of diving and you can swim with the Whale Sharks.  They have some great places to see.

Posted

Well, it seems very few would consider moving to live in Laos.  I'm genuinely interested to know why.  Please tell. 

 

I can only relate to living in Luang Prabang.  I would not want to live in Vientiane - it has changed for the worse since I used to visit a decade or so ago. Other rural locations in the country are indeed, too 'rural' for my liking.  But LP works great for me ????

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Posted
1 hour ago, simon43 said:

Well, it seems very few would consider moving to live in Laos.  I'm genuinely interested to know why.  Please tell. 

 

I can only relate to living in Luang Prabang.  I would not want to live in Vientiane - it has changed for the worse since I used to visit a decade or so ago. Other rural locations in the country are indeed, too 'rural' for my liking.  But LP works great for me ????

I think basically people see it as a bit too rural, a bit boring. Okay if you're into nature, the quiet life, a bit of ganja maybe, touring empty roads in a bicycle, motorcycle etc Not much in the way of nightlife. Okay for an extended stay but not to live. The main thing for me is that the nearest beach is miles away!

 

I actually liked VT the times I spent there. Not been in ten years now but used to have some great nights out there, always ending up at some club or another.

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Posted
19 hours ago, golfpro47 said:

I have lived in Thailand 25 Years and Cambodia was my bolt hole when I needed a change , I visited many many times,usually for 1-2 weeks and always enjoyed my time there,the biggest mistake I made was moving over to Phnom Penh Full  time.Looking  for what I call a decent Condo/Apartment to Rent the ones I viewed were in the 450 600US,I had looked at what Barang were calling good Condos at 300-350US and they were shocking couldn’t believe how some Barang were living. I settled on a playyyce just over 2klms from the City Center,a brand new Building Furnished,they were looking for 650US I offered to pay 550US 6Months in advance and got it for that.

 I didn’t find the food to bad(except the street food)plenty of Euro Restaurants prices decent,but really missed Thai Food.

what surprises me are that most of the comments by people who have lived there  or have visited regularly is they nearly all say cheap beer,cheap and ready available drugs,I often wonder what kind of life they lead when they are the first 2 things they mention.

After about 6Months I was getting bored,relief was my Work as I was Working all around Asia,so at about 9-10 Months I decided I had had enough and moved back to Thailand.

Most of my friends I had there have also departed,some to Thailand,Vietnam and some back to Europe, I am told by people I still know there that they are also considering leaving,they are fed up with the usual things,dirty,attitude,Crime more prevalent and far to many Chinese now with there bad attitude,and of course getting more expensive.

Did I enjoy my long stay there no,did I enjoy my frequent visits prior to moving there most definitely,but my experience living there and the stories I am being told, I am glad I left when I did, I made a big mistake moving there and as such I have never been back.

 

Most guys reach for a beer with one hand and a girl with the other and they can apologise for anything and live in squalor if those needs are met.

 

I see guys living in Pattaya in rooms that girls today would be ashamed to live in. Cheap is good, cheap trumps all other questions.

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Posted (edited)
16 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

You don't use aircon overnight? 

 

Do you sleep in your bathroom? My bathroom doesn't even have a/c.

 

Even if I did sleep in the bathroom, and it did have ac... What sort of temperatures are you sleeping in to turn the toilet seat cold? Maybe you should review your sleeping habits; they sound awfully unhealthy!

Edited by JayClay
Posted
11 hours ago, simon43 said:

Well, it seems very few would consider moving to live in Laos.  I'm genuinely interested to know why.  Please tell. 

 

I can only relate to living in Luang Prabang.  I would not want to live in Vientiane - it has changed for the worse since I used to visit a decade or so ago. Other rural locations in the country are indeed, too 'rural' for my liking.  But LP works great for me ????

As my wife is Lao and we have a house in Ban Saphai (Pakse) I visit frequently, or did before Covid.  But I couldn't live there, for exactly the reason you state - "too rural"!  You seem to be suggesting that Luang Prabang is the only place a westerner should consider in Laos.  Perhaps you're right, but it would still be too rural and undeveloped for me.

Posted
On 3/24/2021 at 7:16 AM, simon43 said:

After returning to Thailand, after working in Myanmar for about 5 years, I found the Thailand that I remembered when I first moved there in 2002, had changed too much for me to consider living there in my retirement.  I therefore relocated to live in Luang Prabang, a town where I briefly worked as the Headmaster of the international school, about 8 years ago.

 

The fact that it is a communist country actually seemed a bonus.  Here is a town where the kids go out and pick up litter from the streets each week, and the local adults do the same.  Unlike Thailand, the various authorities (police, immigration etc) don't have the slightest interest in sticking themselves into my life.  I don't have to do 90-day reports, nor inform anyone of my whereabouts and trips, nor even visit an immigration office to get my annual business visa, work permit and ID card.

 

(I guess things would be different if I were a Hmong activist etc, but without the slightest interest in politics or religion, I enjoy living here).  Sure, Laos is completely under the thumb of China, but again, none of this affects me in a negative way.

 

I'm not a sex monger, but 'compony' is readily available if one is discrete.  Don't sh*t in your own house of course, so use a hotel (I've done this many times).  Secret police?  Look, I have more radio transmitters and strange antennas than Goonhilly Down, but the police and authorities never bother me - well I've never had a visit so far ????

 

The food is excellent, with daily French baguettes, Lao coffee and local dishes.

 

Some people tell me that living in Laos is expensive.  I rent an old Lao house - 3 bedrooms,  just 100 metres from the Mekong river.  It has a beautiful garden and I pay under 11,000 baht a month, plus 100 baht for water and about 3,000 baht for electricity.  I find food cheap!

 

Crime?  Nothing affects me.  No pilfering or anything.  I learnt many years ago that security fences/cameras/dogs etc attract criminals.  All I have are the rusty metal bars on my windows.  Besides, I have little to steal.

 

My local bank account (with a Franco-Belgian bank) gives me 6 - 8% annual interest...

 

I guess the only downside are the lack of decent health/hospital facilities.  It's important to have expat/medivac insurance and to stay healthy!!

 

Forgot to add that my online teaching job needs fast internet.  I have 50 MB/sec fibre connections into my house from both LaoTel and Unitel, plus 4G mobile data as a backup.  I rarely have a connection problem.

 

I would have thought a communist country would have good medical care. Wrong again.

Posted
21 hours ago, worldexpress said:

I really don't want to live under a communist or an oppressive authoritarian government

Better move to the Moon, or Mars

Where on this earth do you not find one of the above, or both at the same time ?

555

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Posted
16 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Thailand is unique in its position. In normal times you can fly an hour or less and be in 5 different countries.

I think that will be "In historical times", I don't think the easy country hopping will ever be allowed to return.

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Posted
3 hours ago, simon43 said:

Most expats here seem to be working for NGOs, such as The World Food Program, or are volunteer teachers and doctors etc.  I see no sex-mongers/alcoholics etc...

Romance tourists really wouldn't be in a country that restricts contact with local women.

Enjoy the 'wokeness' of your fellow expats, it just sounds awful to me.

Posted
21 hours ago, oobar said:

A Thai toilet seat is actually too COLD in the mornings?  Never heard of such a thing until now.

That's his old one.

55E266EA-E0FE-4CD7-8792-8DC14FBD0318_4_5005_c.jpeg

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