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Retired while living/teaching in Cambodia
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flyingcolours



Joined: 04 Oct 2011
Posts: 73

PostPosted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 12:02 pm    Post subject: Retired while living/teaching in Cambodia Reply with quote

My retirement is very low for Western standards. With just a couple of years of actual ESL experience and earning about 750 American dollars per month retirement would that be "enough" to live and teach there?
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flyingcolours



Joined: 04 Oct 2011
Posts: 73

PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Help Sad
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fladude



Joined: 02 Feb 2009
Posts: 432

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

$750 doesn't really go far in the third world anymore. The US dollar ain't worth what it once was. But of course you are going to work too right?? Or did I get that wrong?
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sigmoid



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, if your rent/utilities/internet is around $250 - 300, that leaves you about $15/day, which is doable if you live pretty frugally.

You should be able to get some teaching work for an extra several hundred dollars per month on average. Some months have a lot of holidays that are usually unpaid and there are also unpaid breaks between terms, so your earnings will definitely rise and fall.

Get a place with a basic kitchen so you have the option of cooking.
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flyingcolours



Joined: 04 Oct 2011
Posts: 73

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks people.

Yes, I definitely want to teach there but not on a full time basis. Part-time would be good but part-time as in closer to full time...3/4 time?

Thanks again.
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sigmoid



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't worry too much about that. Other than the "international" schools, most every place hires on an hourly basis and doesn't have a lot of hours to give.
Usually, the problem for most people is not enough hours.

For example, when I was there I had 6 hrs/week at Phnom Penh Int'l U., 6 hrs/week at U. of Puthisastra and another 6 hours teaching report writing to the staff at an NGO.

So, those might be the kind of places that you apply to, especially if you have little or no interest in teaching kids.

Also, you take care of your own visa via a travel agent, so you're not tied down to just one school.
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The Great Wall of Whiner



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 4946
Location: Blabbing

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

China would be a much better option.
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AGoodStory



Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 738

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Great Wall of Whiner wrote:
China would be a much better option.


How so, TGWW? Are you thinking in terms of the financial realities of the two countries, or culture, living conditions, quality of life issues? Or perhaps some other entirely different consideration?
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Opiate



Joined: 10 Aug 2011
Posts: 630
Location: Qingdao

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AGoodStory wrote:
The Great Wall of Whiner wrote:
China would be a much better option.


How so, TGWW? Are you thinking in terms of the financial realities of the two countries, or culture, living conditions, quality of life issues? Or perhaps some other entirely different consideration?


While I won't pretend to know GWOW's meaning, I can say I agree with his statement. Jobs are far easier to obtain in China though I have no exp. teaching in Cambodia outside of what I read here. You can find a job that will provide accommodation with little effort in China. That will save you a nice chunk of change.

Your retirement alone *can* be enough to live on if you are willing to sacrifice a lot. As a supplement to an actual salary though it's not a bad deal at all. You should easily be able to save all your retirement income at the very least with the pay you'll find at any random Uni.... and they *should* be able to provide you the proper paperwork to remain in country.

You never mentioned your age but it may be a factor. If not now..then perhaps later.
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PattyFlipper



Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 572

PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agree on China perhaps being better for teaching work, however Cambodia is a much more congenial and 'foreigner friendly' place to live. Good Western and international food is easier to find and a lot cheaper than in China, as is alcohol, particularly in the bars. It is also much easier to get around in English in Phnom Penh and the other major Cambodian towns. Getting anything done in China can be an absolute pain if you don't have Chinese language skills. Cambodian immigration formalities are a breeze, too, and because you own your visa, you are not shackled in indentured-serfdom to some abusive and/or exploitative employer (of which China has more than its fair share).

You could just about scrape by on $750 a month in Phnom Penh, but it won't be very comfortable or much fun. If you have a degree, some kind of TEFL certificate and previous experience, you will have no problem picking up a few teaching hours at about $10 an hour (less 10% tax) to supplement your pension. If you don't have the above you may still be able to get some bottom-feeder work, but it will be more difficult to find and will pay less.
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vaughandw



Joined: 22 Nov 2011
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it really that expensive to live in Cambodia? I was under the impression the locals make about 100 USD a month there. If you live in a small apartment with no A/C and no WIFI, cook at home, don't drink alcohol, and don't do touristy stuff, you should be able to get by for only a few hundred a month, right? I hope so, because I'm going there soon and I'm hoping to make what little money I have last.
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PattyFlipper



Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 572

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a local earns is, I suggest, largely irrelevant to the existence of a foreigner and a Westerner. Locals generally do not pay rent, and live with extended family, many of whom contribute to communal living costs and will chip-in in a financial emergency. Poorer locals subsist on rice and noodles and may not be able to afford proper medical care. Locals also do not have to pay visa costs (you will need to budget around $25 per person per month for this) or have holidays or trips home to foreign lands, nor do they require modern innovations like internet access.

How one chooses to live is generally a matter of individual preference. Basic living costs in Cambodia can be reasonable, but Phnom Penh is certainly not the cheapest place in Asia in which to live.
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sigmoid



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276

PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Is it really that expensive to live in Cambodia? I was under the impression the locals make about 100 USD a month there. If you live in a small apartment with no A/C and no WIFI, cook at home, don't drink alcohol, and don't do touristy stuff, you should be able to get by for only a few hundred a month, right?


I'd say the lowest realistic figure is about $500 ($200 for rent + utilities and $10/day for expenses).

I don't see how you could get by much cheaper than that unless you went to live in the country somewhere.
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vaughandw



Joined: 22 Nov 2011
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank sigmoid. That's about what I was figuring. Living in the country sounds good, too. I'm getting pictures in my head of Cambodians wearing John Deere hats and chewing Skoal lol. Daaaaang!
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SahanRiddhi



Joined: 18 Sep 2010
Posts: 267

PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As we age, men are prone to heart attacks. I would not want to have a coronary event while living in Cambodia. There is simply too high a chance you'll fall to the sidewalk, lie there helplessly for a while, and eventually be carted off to a morgue. Frankly, this is a likely outcome in any of the "developing" Asian countries.
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