Teaching English At ACE With Accompanying Spouse

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Member since 01 March 2019

JHGahanMember01 March 2019 13:37:06

Greetings expats,

I'm very glad to become part of the community. I'm an English teacher from the United States, and my wife and I currently live and work in Germany. As our contracts here are coming to a close, we've been looking for new opportunities, and I recently interviewed with Australian Centre for Education (ACE) Cambodia. It looks like an interesting place to work, and Cambodia seems like a fascinating country to experience.

I would appreciate anyone's input regarding coming to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap to work for this particular school with an accompanying spouse. I'm not sure how familiar you all are with ACE, but the pay averages around 22-25 US dollars per teaching hour, with a minimum of 22.5 teaching hours per week.

My wife would like to take a break from working for a little while, although she would be open to working again eventually (she has similar qualifications and experience as I do, including an MA in TESOL). Considering the cost of living in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, how would we fare on one full-time income, considering the cost of rent, food, etc.? An overall idea of our potential financial situation would be very helpful.

Also, would you all have any recommendations for potential employers for my spouse? We currently teach at the university level, and she specializes in academic writing.

Finally, we know that Cambodia is a very different country from where we've been living, as well as where we're from. I have some experience in developing countries, and I've visited Vietnam (I'm not sure if that makes a bit of difference). What are some important things to know regarding safety, health, etc.? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for reading my long post. If any clarification is needed, please let me know. Take care.

JHGahan

JoeKhmer Cambodia expert

Member since 13 November 2015

JoeKhmerCambodia expert01 March 2019 14:15:30

2167

A long post with many questions and most of them cannot be answered as it concerns personal evaluation. What one likes someone else dislikes. Some people get around with $1000 a month, so your estimation of earning around $2000 a month would be sufficient to live a good life.

Coming from a first world country going to a third world country is a big step. Realize what you're doing, is it an impulse or a long time dream? If impulse, forget it. If a long time dream, try it.

Health care is by far not the same as in Germany or the US, although there is an excellent hospital in PP, Royal PP hospital, a subsidiary of Dusit Health services in Thailand.

Traffic is a disaster, half the population drives against traffic and ignores traffic signs. Avoid it by using an app like PassApp, getting around very cheaply in motorized 3-wheelers (rickshaws).

Those are the bad parts.

For the rest Cambodia is a gorgeous tropical country, full of natural beauty and reminders of a long gone Khmer empire. The Apsara dance is something to admire, it's beautiful

The people are very friendly and open, they like foreigners coming to their country, they are proud of their country. If you realize that this country is only a free country since 25 years you can only admire the speed of development of this country with a yearly economical increase of 7% since the last 20 years.

It's a lovely country if you realize that you should forget about the nanny state you come from, there is a lot of corruption here but you won't notice much of it.

Hope this helps.

Joe
Cambodia expert
Expat.com team

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