Is Siem Reap a good choice for an expat in 2023?

 Is Siem Reap a good choice for an expat in 2023?

I have been here six months in Siem Reap for six months now and have decided Siem Reap is a good choice for expating, retiring ect in 2023.

I arrived in Thailand six months ago and after visiting Thailand decided to check out Siem Reap Cambodia. I have heard its less developed and dangerous, which is not the case or at least in my experience Siem Reap Cambodia seems safe to me and extremely safe compared to most places in Latin America.

I haven't experienced and violent crime or petty theft at all in my time here in Siem Reap or Phnom Penn.

They use dollars here so its nice withdrawing US Dollars for a small fee of 4 bucks, and most ATMs let you withdraw up to 1,000 per time if you want.

For the expat or retiree or anyone looking to spend a lot of time in Cambodia, they have the retiree visa which all you do to qualify if prove your 55 and above and sign a document promising not to work here and that's it you are in.

If your not 55 and above you can apply for the E visa which lets you live and work here, I applied for the 1 year visa through an agency for 500 bucks and can renew in one year, and with the visa you can easily open a bank account and have a US Dollar account to send money if you so desire to get a portion of your wealth offshore, ABA Bank is the easiest just show up with a passport and a local phone number and maybe your rental contract. There are numerous banks to choose from if you can get it Philipps Bank the Singapore bank can give you access to shares in Singapore.

Depending on your needs theres a lot of banks to choose from just make sure you use one of the high street banks if you are going to deposit a lot of money here.

As far as renting here theres a lot of choices for all budgets, in low season you can rent as low as 60 bucks a month, for something nicer 250 and above will do the trick and all you need is the deposit and first months rent and maybe a contract all places are different.

You can rent motor bike and bicycle's  easily and cheaply.

Getting around in Siem reap is cheap and easy, just use PassApp or walk, most PassApp trips cost me .75 or a buck. 

It doesn't cost much to fly here or take a bus to the Capital. 20 bucks or less for a bus to the Capital, 60 or less to fly. Theres a nice airport here in Siem Reap where you can fly to Bangkok or Phnom Penn cheaply 60 to 80 bucks sometimes less if you buy in advance.

Food at stalls is 1.25 to 3.00 bucks, 5 bucks and up at restaurants. You can also cook here a gas canister is 5 bucks and last me about three months. Eating out is so cheap that's what I do most of the time.

Beer at the bars is .50 to .75 for draft beer, or a buck for bottled beer they have craft beer fo 4 bucks and up. These are July 2023 prices. Theres all kinds of places the eat here but most places that are nice will not be more than 20 bucks a plate at the nicer ones 7.50 for the stuff I get or if I get local food 5 or less unless it s  a stall the 2 to 3 bucks.

Its nice here peaceful safe not much crime the only thing I have experienced is getting short changed, it takes a while to get used to the use of Riles and dollars.