Thailand
Cambodia ranks tops in affordability for expat retirees for fifth year
A healthy group of retirees regularly hold court on St 172. They are among a growing group of western expats who call Phnom Penh home in their golden years.
Cambodia was ranked first in affordability for expat retirees for the fifth consecutive year by International Living magazine.
The magazine’s Annual Global Retirement Index, curated by US expats, has been published for 30 years.
A 74-year-old American expat, who asked to be identified only as Phil told Khmer Times that the visa requirement was a critical factor in his decision to retire in Cambodia.
Cambodia introduced its ER Retirement Visa in 2016. The visa is issued initially for one month but can be extended easily through a broker at a cost of $275 yearly.
Phil, a retired hospital manager, has lived a well-seasoned life. The New Hampshire native arrived in Cambodia in 2019 and has no intention of leaving.
He said that he previously lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but Thailand’s reformed visa laws made it prohibitive for him to stay.
Phil explained that Thailand’s changes to its self-funded pension scheme would have required him to sell his investments abroad. Those provide him a 15 percent return per annum that he can count on.
He spent about five months researching where he wanted to move after Chiangmai and briefly considered Ho Chi Minh City or a return to Manilla.
“The cost of living here is good and your dollar goes further. I checked quite a bit online and interestingly, the website Numbeo says that Phnom Penh is more expensive than Chiang Mai and Ho Chi Minh City, however, I think the quality of life is very desirable in Cambodia,” he added.
While he admired the pace of life and the pleasant attitude of Cambodians, Phil made a point of stressing that Phnom Penh was generally “unkempt”.
Pointing to a pile of rubbish on St 172, he said that such a sight would be completely unacceptable in Thailand.
Prior to moving to Cambodia, Phil spent a considerable amount of time in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Thailand. He added that he had no plans to leave Cambodia, especially since moving at his advanced age was a burden and he enjoyed the proximity to his son in Manilla.
International Living said that the Kingdom is “an enticing proposition for those on limited incomes or pensions seeking an affordable place to relocate overseas and enjoy relative luxury”.
The publication gave Cambodia a score of 74.6 on metrics measuring housing, benefits, visa and residence, fitting in and entertainment, development, climate, healthcare, governance, opportunity and cost of living.
Each category was given a score out of 100 with the intricacies of each category given careful consideration. For instance, the “fitting in” requirement quantified how easy it is to make friends, the amount of outdoor activities available and if you can watch an English film in cinemas.
On average, the Kingdom ranked behind Spain and Vietnam but placed higher than Ireland and Peru.
Vietnam received marks that averaged 75.5, scoring substantially higher in benefits and opportunity. Thailand, however, lagged Cambodia in every category except for climate and housing.
Latin American countries Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico topped the list.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/820556/cambodia-ranks-tops-in-affordability-for-expat-retirees-for-fifth-year/