Job Discussion Forums

[mfinna]

Greetings,

I'm contemplating moving to Yangoon to teach, but the price of accommodation (300-500USD) just seems out of whack with my assumptions about the country. Granted the salaries are just about double that of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, paying upwards of 500USD for an apartment in an developing country such as Myanmar just doesn't add up, to me. The Burmese people surely don't pay that much, so my question to any folks on the ground there is: "Is it possible to live at a more Burmese standard of living?" I currently live in a single, 40 square meter room in Laos with a squat toilet, gas can and burner for cooking for $100/month on a salary of about 500-600/month.

EDIT: Removed mention of my experience teaching in developing countries, as I don't want to be thought of as a "know it all," and thus possibly discouraging replies. I'm new to Dave's and don't know all the etiquette, just trying to contribute to the forum.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

[Argofoto]

I wonder the same thing, Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar) also has high rents, but to me 300 to 500 a month doesn't seem too far fetched... then again I don't have personal experience with rents in """developing""" countries

[mfinna]

Argo,

I agree, relative to salaries 300-500USD is not really that bad for rent. But, with neighboring countries, in seemingly similar stages of economic development, one would think cheaper accommodation could be found.

One clue may be, for example in Laos, there is a large NGO presence with NGO workers getting western salaries and staying in similarly priced accommodation(500USD+). I've heard these NGO workers get salaries that can exceed 5,000USD/month, so there is definitely a Laos housing market ready and willing to cater to them. Lots of expensive housing options here in Laos, but also cheaper accommodation to be found too.

I suspect this is what is happening in Myanmar with its recent changes and opening up to the world: NGOs moving in and prices rising.

Would be great to hear from anyone on the ground there.

Good luck in Mongolia

[Argofoto]

Thanks but I am not in Mongolia, I want to go to Burma! Apologies for any confusion.

I have experience in "developing" countries however as a child visiting my parents' country in Eastern Europe, squat toilet and wood burning stove and all... However, to be honest I have no qualms with this.

My primary concern would be disease and medical treatment in Burma...

[mfinna]

Greetings,

In the absence of any replies from anyone in Myanmar, will be traveling there next week to see what the accommodation situation is really like. Will also be interviewing at language centers and business colleges (my preference) to see what kind of remuneration can be expected.

Thanks again to Teachurrr for the list of schools. Perhaps I can add to it.

Long time reader of Dave's but only recently started contributing. Happy to try and answer any questions regarding cheap accommodation, language center work and business colleges while there or upon my return later in December.

Will not be interviewing for jobs at primary, secondary or any kind of international schools, so cannot be of any help there.

-Fin

[Monkey king]

I am in Yangon now and have heard that rent is terrible here.

$500 to $600 per month, even as much as $1000.
So it is important to try to negotiate accommodation into any work contract here.

[bentanddisfunctional]

MonkeyKing
I was under the impression from your other posts that you were already living in Yangon and working for Horizon?

Accomodation really is a quandry for a lot of people in Yangon right now.

'Western style' apartments/condo's with things we would take for granted -like stable/reliable electricity and water,elevator,semi-furnished are going for outrageous sums-anywhere from US$700-$2000/month plus.
There are only a few recognised apartment complexes for foreigners and the landlords haven't been slow to cash in.

However with contacts or a bit of legwork it is still possible to find a modest walk-up apartment in a local neighbourhood for $200-400.
Keep in mind most apartments are unfurnished and landlords will require anything from 6-12 months in advance with a rental hike probable at the end of your lease as well

I agree that you should come to an understanding with your employer about your accomodation allowance or what standard of housing they will place you in on arrival before you take up an offer.

Can save a lot of grief....

[mfinna]

Greetings,

With respect to the original post, have been here about three months and managed to secure, what is to me, reasonably priced accommodation. In the original post it was stated that I was looking to find what typical Myanmar people rent as far as apartments go. They are to be had, but as the previous poster stated, it takes some legwork and local contacts. I had the help of an adult student that found a place for me in his neighborhood.

Previous replies and prices (500USD+) are what I have heard as well, but expect these must be more western style apartments. Did not look at any apartments in this range or above 300USD.

The apartment building:

Did not look extensively, but from the handful that I saw, and looking around at similar looking buildings, it appears to be a standard, Yangon apartment building. They have 6-8 floors without a lift. There are two units per floor with the stairs running up the middle. Each unit has a front and back balcony in addition to four windows on the lengthwise side of each unit. If you go to the Wikipedia page on Myanmar, half-way down the page in the section on Yangon is a small picture of a typical apartment building. If you've visited or live here, you have seen them.

The apartment price:

The price was originally 185USD, but when they ultimately saw that it was a foreigner that would be renting, they upped the price to 210USD. Paid just 6 months upfront, could have paid for a year. Was charged one month's rent by the broker but will not be required to pay any further broker fees should I decided to extend a further 6 months.

The apartment itself:

It is one, long rectangular room, about 20 x 60 feet with both an attached bathroom (squat toilet, no sink or other fixtures) and shower room (shower head, cold water). It is unfurnished. Everything is made of concrete including what would be called kitchen counter-tops. The floor is concrete but 100% covered with a mix of various sized, colored and patterned pieces of linoleum. This seems to be standard flooring. It needs a paint job, but it's not terrible looking, just lived in, I guess.

Location:

It is not downtown but believe it is considered sub-downtown. It is not "off the beaten path," and do not believe the price is an "off the beaten path" price. It is within walking distance (15 mins) of Shwe Dagon Pagoda. It is a densely populated area.

Electricity:

Looking at previous bills from the last renter, monthly charge is between 3 and 5 USD.

The electricity goes out 3-4 times per day, which also affects the water pump for the shower. Don't think this is just my building though as the outages seem to affect surrounding buildings as well.


Drinking water:

Unit already had three empty bottles. Drinking water is supplied by two companies identified by the color of the bottle, white or clear/blue. You can see the delivery folks on the street often. They are the large bottles that you see in front of shops and on the sidewalks for people to drink.

It cost .60 cents to refill one bottle. When they come down the street, just clap your hands to get their attention, and they will come up to your flat and either refill or replace your empty bottles. Pay them on the spot, no paperwork, but my place may have already had the service in place, hence the existing bottles.

Bath and shower water:

Not sure yet what the cost is. Will edit post again when bill arrives. Not expecting it to be much.

Trash disposal:

In this area but possibly not the case in other parts of the city, there are people that come down the street with carts, usually in the morning, to collect trash. Just clap your hands to get their attention, but best to run it down yourself; it's a free service.

Internet:

Many internet shops allow you to piggy-back onto their wi-fi signal if you buy a "booster" (about 40USD at downtown computer shops). They charge about 30USD/month for the service. They bought and installed the booster and configured my computer for me for approximately 6USD.

It's about as fast as you would expect an internet connection would be at a typical internet shop in Yangon, but not Trader's. You can't watch youtube videos and downloading is painfully slow if it works at all, but can check email and even use Skype. Not sure if this is an option everywhere, but would expect where there are internet shops, they offer it.

There are other, licensed options such as Redlink (do a Google search) or using your mobile phone, but I know nothing about them.

Conclusion:

It's possible to find local style accommodation. However did have to pay almost 15% more for the flat rent being a foreigner.

Have put as many accommodation related details here so as to be informative and try to help others.

Not sure what else to write about the flat or the process but happy to try to answer any questions.

For those interested, I was offered a rental for an unfurnished apartment for 300USD, or 500USD fully furnished, apparently with satellite TV, internet, the works (500 not 300). Was not interested in paying that much, so did not pursue it. However, it is quite easy to find. It is a very large, not standard looking, newly built white building with natural wood looking balcony doors and trim. It would be considered by most to be downtown. I'm guessing it is 45th or 46th street and it is (not guessing) between Mahabandoola and Anawratha streets. You really can't miss it. Strangely, considering the rental market here, it appears to be 90% vacant...

Would like to say that I am in *no way affiliated* with the above mentioned rental, have not seen the inside and would repeat that it is quite strange that it is largely vacant. Just trying to be helpful and generate some Dave's ESL karma.