Is $500 a month doable? I have very little savings but a small income coming in each month from the internet.

How much is rice? Eggs? etc at the market? Obviously I will be cooking at home. And what is the cheapest accomodation I can find? I need the internet as it's my income source.

I know it's not much but I'm looking to an alternative to living homeless on the streets here or elsewhere. It's not much better in the usa these days(same as being in prison).

Unhelpful post removed.

I can't give any information but I am wishing you the best this Christmas. Good Luck.

Edited December 25, 201312 yr by Shancloudy

It's like any other country in the world, if you choose to live in the city it will be far more expensive than living in the country.

I have been working in PP for over 2 years now and my estimation is $500 per/mth is doable as long as you stay away from the bars and restaurants.

Somewhere like Sianoukville is much cheaper, on a shoe string you could live for $3-400 per/mth. After a short time you will figure out where the cheap products are sold, especially the local markets. Internet is ok...well good enough for normal everyday use and is widely available.

Anyway good luck, pm me if you need any info.

suggest you remain where u are

Liivng Cambodian stye

Rent $60-100/month

Visa $25

electric $15

internet 20

Cable $10

Food min $8-10/day average ( eating at home 5 days a week, 2 days out) not buying ANY western food for home, no milk, cheese, snacks ( even a coke will run u $.60)

Leaves little to nothing for all ur needs/entertainment and if u get sick or need to travel ur screwed

Edited December 26, 201312 yr by phuketrichard

See also this thread http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691415-what-is-a-realistic-expectation-of-cost-of-living-in-cambodia/

All things taken into account, cost of living in Cambodia is no lower than in Thailand. Yes, you could survive on $500 a month if you settle in a small town...but same is true in Thailand. And the creature comforts in rural areas are better than in Cambodia.

And what on earth will you do if you get seriously ill or have an accident? Cost of medical care is very high in Cambodia and quality very poor.

Your best bet is to settle in upcountry Thailand in a province where the government hospitals are issuing health insurance cards to farangs (some do, some don't).

numbeo.com has a useful price report for most capital cities- while kind of pitched at expat prices you get a bit of an idea

you can also compare cities with each other.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Cambodia&country2=Thailand&city1=Sihanoukville&city2=Pattaya

It's not much better in the usa these days(same as being in prison).

If you are poor then wherever you live is going to be like living in prison

500 US = roughly 16k baht. That should be very comfy for Thailand outside such places like central BKK, Hua Hin, Phuket or walking street Pattaya. Your post suggests that you are a reasonable man so you know the score and wont do stupid things like blasting it all in one night.

Your visa situation will be more delicate in Thailand. You might be obliged to do a kind of combination. Say three months or more in Thailand - depending on the immigration - and then some time in Cambodia. Thus a good sized city close to Cambodia might be good for you or even Pattaya if you live a little towards Naklua. Some areas in BKK might be fine as well and in this case you could use the 48 baht train trips to Aran and safe big on visa runs. You could also get your Visa before going to Poipet at the Embassy. Once you know BKK public transport and a few short cuts it is not an insurmountable obstacle.

A good target for expenses would 400 US = 12 K baht and the balance into an account for a rainy day. If you max your 500 US out then trouble is waiting for you for sure.

12K includes a decent room, good food, adequate clothing, and the occasional beer. You will hear many voices that claim 1000 US is a minimum but then I suspect that these are either people who need to show off, dont have their entertainment needs adjusted or are providers in the entertainment industry that work hard to push prices north.

In the long run you would do well to try to get those 800K baht into a bank account to minimize visa expenses.

Perhaps an indicator about consumer prices: I saw Thai farmers going to the Cambodian border (Sisaket / Surin area) and sell they produce. So the price for agricultural produce in northern Cambodia justifies the cost for transport to the border and further on. In other words, your shopping basket will look much nicer in Thailand.

My own observations in the supermarkets reflect the experiences of other posters. You wont be a regular buyer in such places but you might like your good coffee, some milk etc. This will add up as well.

Edited December 28, 201312 yr by mike2011

just about doable IMO , if you make your money from the i-net why not do some stuff on ebay to help your finances , you only need a digi cam , no need to buy the shirts or dresses or whatever , just check out the cost of the p&p,as long as you can put pics of them on ebay and supply any demand, even if you only make $5 a day it helps and your plan could come true . Good luck

I think you can rent an agriculture based property on the outskirts of Chiangmai for 2000-3000baht per month. Internet connection another 500-600 baht. Let's say 4000baht with electricity and water.

With 200baht per day budget for fresh produce from the local talad or neighborhood market will keep you sufficiently fed.

Get a used pedal bicycle to get you around the market, post office and the surrounding areas.

Stay away from the creature comforts and f&b till you stabilize yourself with more funds.

I lived in the two countries. My feeling is that Cambodia is MORE expensive than THAILAND just because a lot of the things you buy in Cambodia are coming from... Thailand.

If you cannot have the governmental electricity, the KWh can cost 10 times the normal price.

Things seem to be entering a new phase in Phnom Penh on the political front.

Much the same as Thailand I suppose.

I wish you the best with this endeavor. I also would go for Thailand. If you live near the Thai-Burmese border, you can just hop it every 30 days and this will be cheaper than getting a new visa in either country (although some fees apply, Mae Sai is 500 baht + transport). Good luck and send me a PM if I can help with any details.

One poster said that in some northern Thai provinces, they issue health insurance cards for Farangs.. Any idea how to research which ones do? I am also on a pretty tight budget, and due to a couple health issues, health care (especially two prescription medications) is quite expensive for me, out of pocket/

I rent a room in Poipet CAmbodia rental monthly 4,000 Baht but electricity bills 7,000 Baht per month because buying from Thailand.

suggest you remain where u are

Liivng Cambodian stye

Rent $60-100/month

Visa $25

electric $15

internet 20

Cable $10

Food min $8-10/day average ( eating at home 5 days a week, 2 days out) not buying ANY western food for home, no milk, cheese, snacks ( even a coke will run u $.60)

Leaves little to nothing for all ur needs/entertainment and if u get sick or need to travel ur screwed

coke $60 ?? surely not 60 bucks ? i was there on a visa run a few years ago and it was no dearer than thailand

( even a coke will run u $.60)

coke $60 ?? surely not 60 bucks ? i was there on a visa run a few years ago and it was no dearer than thailand

Read what you have highlighted and then give yourself a good slap about the head.

He said $.60 i.e. 60 cents

When I was pending my divorce, and was still paying all the credit, I had only about that much. (For two years). It was hell. I lived inside a bar and slept in the kitchen on a dirty matress. My bicycle was the only transportation and the only thing I could afford was the 15 peso draft beers in the only gogo bar in Subic City (Philippines 1996). I cannot imagine you could have any kind of life at all on that amount, nowadays. You might find somebody in Snookyville to hook you up with room and board if you helped out running the bar. I sure would not count on that.

By the way, house was sold, the divorce worked out in my favor, my retirement kicked in and finally got away from the daily bar runs. I am living a great life now. Took 10 years to get it straightened out. I did it the hard way.

To my personal experience, $500 a month is about twice the minimumest budget for living in uptown Phnompenh, and it is the easiest location for extremely low-budget expat. Living in smaller towns won't be cheaper, and definitely will be more complicated due to far less choice (i tried it). Cooking at home for me runs more expensive vs. eating in a local market where a meal is 3000-5000 riel (there are no meals priced over 5000 riel available), so i just don't see why bother cooking. Half of midsize pineapple is 1000 R, same with many other fruit. Room for rent is upwards of $35-40 (a bit rundown building, no aircon, no hot water, probably no furniture, but you can negotiate at least a bed in most cases). For $60 you can get a brand-new nice room with built-in kitchenette, yet still no air - that comes for upwards of $100. Rooms under $35 tend to have no bathroom inside. Internet is 3.5G and it works very well, a few bucks per month buy you a few Gb. Need more pay more. Clothes are about the same price as in Thailand. The low-end is lower. But clothes in Thailand are much nicer, so I buy all my clothes there.

Being able to speak Khmer will help alot.

I was supposing you wanted to live and eat decently. You can beg on the streets and survive as well, if you are going Minimalistic.

I live in Thailand and live on less than 15, 000 baht a month ( I have no interest in bars, booze and I dont smoke ) In Pattaya the studio apts are from 4, 000 to 6, 000 (with pool 6, 000) and meals cost max 35 - 40 baht I would stay in Thailand because you wont save much by moving to Cambodia!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Take a look at the link relating to minimum salaries in Cambodia. You'll quickly see how much better off you'll be with $500 pm,..... not super rich but definitely comfortably solvent compared to the general population.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Cambodia

As an after-thought, I once heard a millionaire answer the question...... What was the secret to his success?

His answer;

"Aim for the stars and you might hit the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you might not get off the floor !"

His point... be bold, adventurous and confident, have greater expectation and goals. Most definitely don't budget for the cheapest lifestyle....it's no fun counting every penny.

I've gone through a 'shed load' of cash in my attempt to make a niche for myself in Thailand. I'm still insure if it will all come together but I have had a great experience along the way and feel there will be possibilities ahead even if Thailand isn't wear I finally 'lay my hat' .

Best of luck.

I live in Thailand and live on less than 15, 000 baht a month ( I have no interest in bars, booze and I dont smoke ) In Pattaya the studio apts are from 4, 000 to 6, 000 (with pool 6, 000) and meals cost max 35 - 40 baht I would stay in Thailand because you wont save much by moving to Cambodia! Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I agree with all the above. It really isn't necessary to have tens of thousand baht expenses each month, unless you're a 'social drinker', hungry for a different woman each day or generally have always had expensive taste.

To each his own and never mind those who look down upon extreme frugal expat's, they're not necessarily stingy but perhaps enlightened to the simple life that is well within reach of most foreigners irrespective of their income.

The only drawback about phnom penh is it is expensive to rent a room there for a reasonable price, my advice is head for sihanoukville or kep where a friend of mine rents a fine room for 40usd a month which costs 70-100usd in sihanoukville but it could be worth just for the sanity of meeting more westerns and there is more of a choice of food in the market there but dont forget Vietnam, imo it is far cheaper there for food and beer than either cambodia or Thailand.

I feel lucky to have more than that but I always keep my options open. Back to USA and live with relatives and work at mcdonalds etc . Good luck man.

I lived in the two countries. My feeling is that Cambodia is MORE expensive than THAILAND just because a lot of the things you buy in Cambodia are coming from... Thailand.

If you cannot have the governmental electricity, the KWh can cost 10 times the normal price.

HUH?? cheapest electric u wil find in Cambodia is 850 riels/kwh $.21/ most places will charge u 1,000 or $.25/kwh, most i have heard someone paying is 1,500 or $/.37/kwh

Thaiand I pay 3.8 baht/ ( includes tax ) or $.12

I stick by the figures i gave for MINIMAL living with eating food so u dont get sick, Yes u can get meals for 3-4,000 riels and u will get sick within a month an need a dr which means travelling to Thailand

All in all u can live just as cheap in Thailand BUT have the avialbitly to spend more

Cost of living depends on your needs...

Tent , rucksack , cooking utensils, hunting knife , traps fishing rod ..

You can live for next to nothing if you can fish or hunt , even sell if you catch enough lol ..

you can bank save most of your money , if your able to do the hunter gatherer thing ..

more exciting than just buying the things you don't need to buy every day ..

,

One poster said that in some northern Thai provinces, they issue health insurance cards for Farangs.. Any idea how to research which ones do? I am also on a pretty tight budget, and due to a couple health issues, health care (especially two prescription medications) is quite expensive for me, out of pocket/

I live in Chiang Mai and have the health card for a public hospital. I told a friend and they went to apply, with my missus as translator, but the scheme has been stopped and will not be restarted next year. This card was only available for about 2 months. I have no further information so there is no point in asking any questions.

I saw a room advertised today just of Charoenkrung Road, near Saphan Taksin BTS. 3,200 baht per month. Probably very small. But food cheap around there and you could certainly survive on $500.