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.

How much is the clinic in Siem Ream Cambodia?

I just got back from the clinic, its on Charles De Gualle St. Mondul 1village, Svay Dankum Commune, Siem Reap City, Cambodia 

I woke up and didnt feel well, so wanted a check up on my blood pressure and sense its been a little high wanted to get it checked out.

Some of the clinics here over charge or their English isnt very good but this clinic is very modern the Doctor who treated me had excellent English and she and her team treated me well and respectful and didnt leave me feeling taken advantage of. 

Sometimes when your in a foreign country its hard to know who to trust to get good medical care but in this clinic, i got a blood test for 8,75, and the doctors fee was 20,and the medicine was 2 bucks and a service fee of 5 bucks for a total of 35,75.

The whole expierence too maybe an hour, i went in described my problem and was given a blood test and they took my blood pressure and then i lied down in a bed and waited for the result. 

The doctor was kind and nice and gave me the results of the blood test and sent me on my way.

Getting acupuncture in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

 Getting acupuncture in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Where I got acupuncture is Siem Reap Cambodia?

This is where I went The place is called AN XIN TANG, I am on my second treatment and feal great. 

I went their for high blood pressure and other things and it was my first time to try Chinese medicine, acupuncture. 

It was a fun affordable experience, it costs ten dollars per session and lasts about forty five minute's. You lie on your front side for about twenty minutes while she puts in the pins then your backside for maybe another twenty minutes. 

Sense it was my first time I didn't know what to expect but after the second session I seem yo have felt a shifting of "energy" I am not sure what happened but I feel a lot better and recommend acupuncture if you happen to be in Siem Reap, Cambodia and the sessions are only ten dollars per time.

Tomorrow I will do my third session and if all goes well will try some more. 

If you like and enjoy a new experience and want to try Chinese medicine and have never tried acupuncture and want to see how it goes 30 dollars for three sessions is pretty affordable in July 2023.

Give it a try.

https://web.facebook.com/people/An-Xin-Tang-Traditional-Chinese-medical-therapy-%E5%AE%89%E5%BF%83%E5%A0%82/100054395266179/?_rdc=1&_rdr

Where to go in a world gone mad?

 

Where to go in a world gone mad?

I have been traveling in Cambodia in the last few months and have found it to be affordable and safe and a pleasant place to stay if you don't like living in the States any more.

I ended up in Siem Reap Cambodia and found it walkable, safe and clean and very nice people. I have found an abundant selection of cheap apartments starting at 60 to 250 USD a month, and you only need one month deposit and the first months rent and maybe a lease.

My utilities are about 60 bucks a month and the internet that's included in the rent is pretty reliable and fast.

If you need a job for income there's an abundant amount of jobs teaching English without a degree and a few jobs being a bar tender if you enjoy that. If you work online the internet here is pretty fast and about 20 bucks a month or less.

Eating out doesn't cost much maybe 3.50 and up for western food and 2.00 to 3.00 bucks or less for local food. Everyone's cost of living will be less but I can live here on 800 dollars a month or less.

My rents 250.00 and I spend a few hundred on food sometimes more if I eat out, but if you buy western food or buy western imported beer and food then it will cost you more. I spend 1 dollar to 2 bucks for coffee depending where I go. 

I spend 20 bucks a month to rent a bicycle a moto will be 60 to 90 a month.

I live close to Thailand and its a days trip to get to Bangkok, or a one hour plane trip, a plane ticket is about 60 bucks sometimes less. I can fly right out of Siem Reap into Thailand and then transfer to Manila or Japan or wherever I want to visit.

If your looking for an affordable destination to maybe escape the rat race Cambodia might be for you, I forgot to mention a one year visa was under 600 for the full year and takes about a week to get. I also forgot to mention once you get the visa you can easily open a bank account and use the local hospitals for a little lower fees than if your just a tourist.

Why you need gold

 

Gold has traded up to and exceeded 2000 an ounce.

I believe why you will need gold is not because it will continue rising to 2400 an ounce and higher but because its one of the few assets thats not a liability of the banks or the government.

As we curreen down the path of bankrupcy and currency debasement it will be important to have assets that are not only private but beyond the scope of governments to sieze and inflate away to pay for promises that can never be repaid.

As the debts pile up more governments will need to debase currencies and or tax other assets to buy them time before they default on there promises to pay promised benefits.

Gold held in your own posesion or offshore will help carry yoyrself to the otherside but that assumes there is no collapse in society which isnt garrenteed.

Every passing day people demand government fix things by stealing from one group of people to give to another. This is happening all over the world and there are few places to escape to except maybe the Pasific Islas or South America.

Gold may help you rebuild or readjust if you decide to escape the Western World and start over somewhere else.

I think its best to buy now and beat the last minute rush, it maybe to late if you wait and prices maybe much higher.

Now that Western Countries are on the lookout for one ounce coins I suggest 1/4 ounce coins like British Sovereigns or coins like Swiss Helvitias.

How to open a bank account in Cambodia

How to open a bank account at ABA Bank in Cambodia

You will need three things to open a bank account in Cambodia. This imformation is as of May 2023.

First you will need a long term visa, not a tourist visa, although under some cercumstances ABA Bank will open an account with a tourist visa.

So as you enter the country make sure you get a business visa. When you get that exstend this visa for six months to one year. They will stamp a one year visa in your passport which you will show the bank. 

The next thing you will need is a local phone number, a sim card will do the trick, they cost one dollar and up.

The third thing they will ask for is a lease agreement fow when you rent an apartment. Its posible to rent with one month but I usually get a three month agreement.

It will take about an hour or less for the bank to process your account.

After that I suggest using their APP for banking because it will make it much easier to pay people without using cash and it will ease transfering money from your bank account back home.

WHY WOULD YOU WANT A BANK ACCOUNT OFFSHORE?

Well its nice to have a local account thats outside of your home government they cant easily sieze. Its also cheaper to use apps to send money from your home country than useing bank wires or ATM cards.

Its also nice having money outside your ceeditors reach if you ever have the need for that.

Here in Cambodia banking is done in US Dollars which makes banking in a hard currency nice.

To close off, banking at ABA Bank is one of the easier banks to set up an account and get a debit card and a US Dollar account.

What's Cambodia like in 2023?

What's Cambodia like in 2023?

What's it like living in Cambodia? In the last few months I have lived in Cambodia, Siem Reap to be exact and really enjoy the cost of living the ease of getting a long term visa and the selection of affordable apartments.

When I first arrived in Siem Reap Cambodia, I got a long term visa called the business visa not the tourist visa, I ended up getting the 1 year visa for around 500 USD and now can live here at least one year before it needs to be renewed.

I ended up getting an apartment for 250 USD per month. There are many apartments starting at 60 dollars USD and up all the way to several thousand dollars a month. I like that at least as of now May 30, 2023 there still is a lot of selection for apartments in the 150 to 250 and all you need is one months rent and a deposit.

Its pretty easy to find an apartment get a three month ;ease or less or longer if you want, I just do three months and then look for new places to get an idea of which neighborhood I like. When I first arrived in Siem Reap I got an apartment and a pretty big one sort of in the country side but the internet wasn't to good, and the internet providers told where I lived there wasn't really any other choices so I moved into town and got something better with better internet connections.

I need a pretty good connection to work online so just had to suck it up and move. 

If you need to work teaching English at one of the local schools its not to hard even if you don't have a college degree, so for some people it might be an advantage if you want to leave the States and start over in another country. Now with all the online jobs you don't really need a local job but if for whatever reason you desire local employment its here. Usually wages are a bit low compared to what they were before Covid, now they are around 800 to 900 for 20 hours of work.

I can live on less than a 1000 a month but everyone's different so can say what different people might need. I don't hang out in bars so don't really spend a lot so if you are looking for a low cost place to live and an easy visa Cambodia might be for you. Most of the western restaurants start at 5 bucks and up for food and the local places can be under two bucks and up for a dish of food, beer at the local stores .50 cents and up.

Another nice thing is there are are a lot of expats here so you have a lot of potential opportunities to network with foreigners if you want.

The culture is pretty mellow much like Thailand or the Philippines, and people for the most part can communicate in English so you will not have a hard time adjusting to living here like maybe Latin America. I find the cost of living a little higher than say Mexico or Guatemala.

The weather is pretty hot compared to the Altiplano of Mexico or Guatemala and it takes some getting used too, its even hotter than the Philippines but the split level air con they have has helped me take the heat.

If you live in Siam Reap your about 6 hours from Bangkok so its easy to fly out of Bangkok to go anywhere in Asia pretty cheap but they do have an airport here if you don't like taking the bus.

So all in all if you want to get out of the States for awhile Cambodia can be a nice and affordable place to live make some money and save to get ahead while you live a less stress fee life.

 

How to keep your cash safe when traveling

Most people just use ATM cards and credit cards when traveling, mostly because of convience. 

The problem with ATM cards and credit cards is they can be cloned and then used for fraud and it can take days to weeks to get it all worked out. So cash can come in handy.

You can carry your cash safely in a money pouch like the one in the photo above. 

I have been carrying my money and valuebles like that in a money pouch with the loop hooked through my belt for years and having it under my pants.

I have never lost anything or been robbed and lost anything carrying my cash ATM cards and credit cards tucked away like this.

You can buy these types of pouches like this in your travel in Mexico or wherever you buy your favorite leather goods from like Amazon.

Markets crash again 09/23/2022

 Markets crash again 09/23/2022

Today id Friday the 23 of September, and the month of September is living up to its name of the time of year when markets crash. Today oil shares like CNQ (Canadian Natural Resources ) and SU (Suncor) were down 7 to 8%. 

Gold shares down 4 to 5% for example NEW (Newmont) and GOLD (Barrick Gold). BTI (British American Tabaco) was down 4% I could go on but income share to the natural resources were down a lot today as well as all week. 

The only saving grace was TLT and the ten year governments bonds finally are up at least so far as I write this, the markets haven't closed yet. It may be that long Government bonds are finally set to rally only time will tell. If they don't long bonds for the year are down 25% or so and the S/P 500 are both down about the same amount and there has been nowhere to hide without some losses, even gold is down about 6% for the year not to bad.

The place to be has been either shorting stock frauds or the indices in general or long the dollar against the Euro, Yen or GBP, Sterling has been hit hard despite the Government lowering tax and offering more subsidies to consumers. 

What am I doing?

I am adding to my oil share positions but expecting more drawdowns, same with Copper and Nichol plays. I keep adding to TLT despite getting crushed 12% so far and same with 10 Year treasuries.

I am adding more Gold royalties plays like Sand, WPM, and some large cap gold miners, NEW, GOLD, and PAAS.

I like BTI, and EPD, and a few other income shares. 

I think I am still early and have more cash to deploy is shares go down more which I would guess they will. I also will add a few shorts if the markets rally.

Good Luck

 

How bad will the bear market get in the stock market.

Today 09/16/2022 it looks lime the bear market in stocks is on in earnest but todays fall in share prices hasn't really gotten as bad as I suspect it will get. So far with all the events in Europe, war, inflation, supply disruption hasn't gotten as bad as I would have guessed.

In the United States inflation is running less hot as it is in emerging markets and Europe. I expect inflation in some prices will remain elevated for more time to come and many commodities will continue to fall possibly even oil. My expectation is oil will continue to fall as well as copper and other base metals but a lot will depend on how Europe develops over the next few months.

Already aluminum factors and other end producers of commodities have shut down in Europe because of high natural gas prices, many factories in Germany continue to slow down or shut production down which could cause more shortages and elevated costs for products.

So even id commodity prices come down I don't think the Fed will stop raising interest rates especially if housing rentals and apartment rentals remain high and food prices remain high.

So I continue to believe share prices around the world will fall. So far hiding out in bond ETFs or bonds in general has resulted in 20 to 25% declines, and that has been different this time around. I think this bear market in stock and bond prices maybe like the seventies or even the forties where share prices and bond prices remain low and go lower. Even buying gold hasn't protected you much as you would have thought with inflation at 8 to 9%. 

How to protect your wealth in these uncertain times.

I think this time around buying the dip like many investors have done the last forty years will not be as effective as before, even buying the dip on bond prices has really worked as well as it has in the past and now we may expect bond yields to go to 4 to 5% on government bonds.

We may have a decade where share prices go down or nowhere. 

What I will do is go back to a value strategy that hasn't worked as well as a growth strategy has worked these last few decades. What that means generally is I will buy stocks or shares that pay a dividend and have a low P.E. ratio. In other words what people think of as income shares or value shares. Companies that have dependable income stream with a little growth and not very volatile.

I plan to be in Gold shares and oil shares for the next decade, most of these oil shares I believe will go down in the next year or so will wait to buy them. Same with gold shares, I will buy the large cap ones and the royalty gold shares and not the junior shares.

I will be involved in the uranium markets as of now with the idea as they rally I will sell some and transition into the oil and gold shares again the large caps to small cap's especially the ones with assets IN Canada and North America and some exposure to Africa.

I will also buy what some people consider income stocks, like BTI or British American Tobacco. Or some large cap shares in Brazil like Vale or the oil company their, I maybe a little early to will have small position sizes. Same with shares in South Africa, like the platinum shares all with high yields. 

With the economy slowing down I expect the shares could go down but with a war in Russia they may stay higher priced than I expect. 

I will also dollar cost average in EM shares as the dollar rallies and and those markets get cheaper. I will also have a small position in Utility shares and bond ETFs just for diversification in case inflation really comes down. If that's the case I will sell the bonds for EM shares and some Copper plays and Nichol shares, but again I expect some commodities to continue going down so will accumulate slowly.

The main thing is I will buy conservative income stocks and continue working and dollar cost averaging into these things intel all these things get worked out in the market place and of course the same with a small gold bullion position.

I still believe the government will continue with bad economic policy's so will also live overseas for awhile and start more online business to just in case the E.U. and USA continue running the economy into the ground which is what I expect over the next few years to decade.

Good Luck.

 Cool things you can buy in the Mennonites bakery in Xela, Guatemala

I just came back from the Mennonites bakery in Xela, Guatemala, and picked up some kombucha and my other favorite products like cookies and other breads.

They generally speaking have fresh eggs and vegetable's like broccoli, kale and a few other ones. I really like the kale and broccoli, and usually get it when I can. 

They also have cheese when its being made and fresh homemade yogurt and all the berry yogurt's too. If you like Mennonite yogurt and the homemade kind Id check it out when your in Xela, Guatemala. They have homemade granola which I get too. Most of the things there are fairly affordable like all the doughnuts ect and homemade breads, donut holes, cinnamon roles and all the comfort foods of the United States you may miss.

The kombucha was only 12Qs which is about 1.6 for the big bottles, and so I will try it out latter tonight.

The Mennonites I think have been in Xela, Guatemala for 12 years or so. They have farms outside of town and two bakeries in Xela, the one is in zone 3 close to the new mall. Its open Tuesday and Friday, the other location is 5 days a week I think, I have never been their so am not sure its location.

As far as I understand the Mennonites are from the States and have been flooding in from the States for the last few years buying up land and starting new business in Xela, Guatemala. They seem to be escaping from to much regulation and tax and seem to enjoy the freedom and liberties of doing business down here in Guatemala which attracts more Mennonite immigrants.

I really like how they have come down here and filled the market demand for their products and services which are many. If you stop in town talk to them they can point you in the right direction as far as where to get the best agricultural land and things like that. They speam Spanish, English and that Germanic language too.

Why I like Paraguay when SHTF.

One of the biggest reasons I like Paraguay as a bugout location is its an agricultural country or at least some of it is. Of course there are big cities and bright lights, bars and night clubs ect but you can still live a quiet life out in the country and land is still cheap although with all the foreigners flooding into the country that's changing. 

Another thing its the fourth safest country in South America according to the crime statistics. Although I wouldn't put a lot of stock in crime statistics it does seem safer than Colombia right now with all their sopamine deaths of foreigners and shootings and assaults of foreigners but that could be because foreigner's behavior and other things seem to set them out to be targeted. 

You can still buy small farms in Paraguay for under 20K USD not including any built structures or anything like that just raw land and its pretty good agricultural if you want to have a garden. In the Chaco of course its not good for growing only cattle.

Its easy to get residency if you have no criminal record, you only need the fees a lawyer will charge or fixer, or do it yourself and 5K usd bank deposit you get back after a month or two and you are welcome to spend the money or take it out of the bank.

It goes without saying in Paraguay the cost of living is low compared to the United States and Europe and the first world in general.

Its not as cheap as Guatemala where I live now but not bad for what you get, and now with a strong dollar things are cheap. The Paraguay Gurani is at 7K to one USD and in the past it was 4200 or so. So things are affordable now. 

With a local ID you can travel to the surrounding countries without a passport. A few countries in that agreement would include, Brazil, Uruguay ect and more.

The other thing I like is banking their. You can bank in total privacy if you so desire, if its a S.A account much like Guatemala. USD dollar accounts are easy to set up in your name as are local currency accounts with much higher interest rates. Also tax is very low.

Because there isn't much of a welfare state their, taxes are low. Taxes on foreign based income is 0% on local income it starts at 5%or 8% up to 12% I think. Because most expats get their income offshore or outside the country its 0% for us.

One of the benefits of living in Paraguay is the highest rates of immigrants here. It has more foreign immigrants in the country than locals, or so I read. Because of that there are many Germans Mennonites Asians and Europeans in general. North Americans are in smaller numbers but they are catching on to the place and setting up residencies their and business. 

There is still corruption and crime here but it seems lower than Guatemala. It feels more like "Europe" than Central America, although there are quite a few Germans here and other immigrants in Guatemala.

I like Paraguay and Guatemala because of its German cultural history it might turn others off but both are nice places to live work and play and have all the modern connivences and both are pretty agricultural depending on your needs.

All in all I believe more Europeans will bug out here as the SHTF and things become more ugly in Europe and as things become more unpleasant in North America.

 I keep banging the table on how to stay sane and happy during these unprecedented times.

I keep writing how you can survive and prosper during these unprecedented times and want to keep suggesting if you want to prosper and not lose all your money you will need to take some of your cash offline and convert it to gold coins.

I still think readers need to know how Bitcoin works and how to buy it without using and online exchange or at least to buy some on an exchange and then send it to your hard wallet.

There may come a time when you will not be allowed to wire money offshore to and account and or buy gold coins much less take them out of the country.

If you can and are able form a corporate account offshore and fund it for your new life abroad. If you can do that at least fund an offshore account in your own name although most offshore banks don't welcome North Americans to bank with them anymore.

One way around that is to get a foreign residency and then open a regular deposit account and then open a separate USD account with it. At least you will have funds to start a new life in a new place with more liberty.

Another thing you can do is start a small online business consulting on your favorite hobby or online skill and teach it to someone else and starting building up an income like that, and save it and then use it if you ever have to bug out of North America. I have already left for reasons like loss of liberty and more business opportunities and better dating opportunities. So far I enjoy it out here.

The feeling of independence from the State is exhilarating. When you can carve out your own life on your own terms its very gratifying and makes for a more sane life. Not to mention a tax free life and more income and higher standard of living.

Moy own favorite place to live work and play are Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

All low cost places to live and start a online business and have an interesting dating life and breath free and not worry about the country going insane like many countries in the West.

Leave a comment if you feel the same.