Cost of Living in 2020 for 2 persons ( Siem Reap or Krong Battambang)

Hello.

Yes you can live from $800 a month, if you keep your groceries at $15 a day (= $450 a month), rent plus utilities at $250.

You would even have $100 for extra things.

I wouldn't call it "living well", but that is personal.

Good luck!

Joe
Cambodia expert
Expat.com team

Hello Joe ,

Thank you for the answer it’s much appreciated

So basically the groceries is the bigger expense like almost the same cost than in North America at 450$ per month for 2 ?

Rent is ultra cheap as well as beer ,phone plans and probably couple of others things ?

Cheers !

JB

Hi folks - Joe is right in terms of costs, but its all relative. If you were living in , say, the UK or Australia your rent for a decent apartment would be around $400 a week, living expenses around $250 a week, and thats a low level life style. So living a quiet life in Siem Reap for $800 a month would seem like paradise in comparison. Enough left over for a few beers in Pub Street now and then, and the occasional cheap bus trip around the country - what more do you need?

Hello !

That’s an awesome way to see it . Have a slower life style and enjoy it more .

Have a great day

JB

hdgh29 wrote:

Hi folks - Joe is right in terms of costs, but its all relative. If you were living in , say, the UK or Australia your rent for a decent apartment would be around $400 a week, living expenses around $250 a week, and thats a low level life style. So living a quiet life in Siem Reap for $800 a month would seem like paradise in comparison. Enough left over for a few beers in Pub Street now and then, and the occasional cheap bus trip around the country - what more do you need?

To answer your last question, one should probably have a well stocked emergency fund, or have another backup plan in place in case things go less than ideal. Obviously this depends on one’s personal situation (age, family, etc)., but anybody can get into serious problems, and usually having cash makes it a lot easier, whatever it is.
Also, there’s the currency exchange rate to consider: if you’re on a tight budget, a weaker $ or £ or € (wherever your money’s coming from) can really hurt you...

True. Anyone living in a foreign country should have at least enough put aside to pay for a flight back to their home country in an emergency.  Medical insurance is very expensive especially for older expats so it is a good idea to have some cash available for a visit to a local hospital for something like dengue fever.  Anything more serious? Just have to accept the risk.

hdgh29 wrote:

True. Anyone living in a foreign country should have at least enough put aside to pay for a flight back to their home country in an emergency.  Medical insurance is very expensive especially for older expats so it is a good idea to have some cash available for a visit to a local hospital for something like dengue fever.  Anything more serious? Just have to accept the risk.

Even if you happen to be citizen of a country that offers free treatment, you still need to be able to get there, and some cash for a flight home might not be enough. You might be unable to board a commercial flight on your own, or the airline refuses to let you board a regular flight, so you need insurance that will organize and pay for emergency medical evacuation - or pay tens of thousands yourself.

Problem is, unless your insurance is paid by an employer, or unless you are young - and since I am retired neither applies - the cost of medical insurance is too prohibitive. I would be paying up to $400 a month for something I would very well never need to use, except for the one occasion when something serious happened. That $400 would have a lot of better uses in terms of quality of life. At my age I accept that I probably have another 10 good years in me, and I accept the risk that the end may come sooner rather than later - but hell, I am still above ground today!

They like a usd no need to worry about exchange rates unless your from Australia where thier dollar fluctuates, but exchange rate is usually 4100 to a dollar , use usd as much as you can it’s easy