Potential move to Cambodia

You love Siem Reap, but Siem Reap is very crowded. Siem Reap is very good for business related to tourism, like travel agency or tour guide. I think most of people who come to work in Cambodia and they not live in Siem Reap. And i think Phnom Penh is best for you as blogger, cause you easy get good apartment for less then 400$ per month with your own kitchen and internet access. There are many non-profit organization and head quarter of good company that you might be able to apply for the job. Or you can consider to apply for English teacher?

Sam-Steve wrote:

Hi everyone,

We are looking to move to Cambodia in 2015. Probably around March - give or take. We're not sure what part of Cambodia we we will move to. We love Siem Reap but we are looking for opportunities so the destination is still undecided.
So we have a few questions. If it is possible to get paid work this would be fantastic - are there many opportunities for paid employment in Cambodia? If so are they mostly skilled positions?
If we don't get paid work we are both happy to volunteer. Is this something we are better off organising before we arrive or will volunteer opportunities arise when we arrive?
Accommodation - I have seen a few ads requesting accommodation for US$200 to $300 a month. Is this a reasonable or average price we should consider? We could stay at hostels but ideally for a long-term stay we'd like our own place with kitchen facilities.
Internet. I do a lot of freelance work as well as blog and will need internet access. How reliable is the internet in Cambodia, how fast is it and what kind of price will I be looking at for internet access?

Thank you in advance for any information you can offer.

Hi and welcome to the forum 
What sort of work are you looking for. I suggest that you go online and see what is around. Try NGO's or UN. 

Teaching seems to be the job most take on but you will need a qualification for that. 

For cost of living try www.numbeo.com

Thanks for the replies. We're not specifically looking for work but I read that there is plenty of work especially once you get to Cambodia so was wondering about the opportunities. Not teaching though. I am a journalist and photographer and I will have some freelance work from home.
We were just trying to get a feel for where best to be based.

Sam-Steve wrote:

Thanks for the replies. We're not specifically looking for work but I read that there is plenty of work especially once you get to Cambodia so was wondering about the opportunities. Not teaching though. I am a journalist and photographer and I will have some freelance work from home.
We were just trying to get a feel for where best to be based.

Phnom Penh or Siem Reap still the best choice for you.

Thanks.
Can you tell me what the internet access is like?

Sam-Steve wrote:

Thanks.
Can you tell me what the internet access is like?

It like turtle hehe
Actually it depend on your package price. Cheap it like 10$ to 20$ per month you can get 1 to 3MBPS speed.
20$ to 40$ per month you can get up to 5MBPS.
100$ per month u can get around 1GBPS.
So it depend on your choice.

Thanks! Best to be prepared.

Internet situation - Broadband with ISP up over 95 percent of the time - in fact electrical outages way more often. Just did a test at 6:15 PM here and the results DNS Ho Chi Min: ping 29ms download speed 2.89 Mbps upload speed 0.29 Mbps -  DNS in Phnom Penh was nearly identical in up and down speed but ping was slower (293ms). Hope this helps
JEFF

My thought - Living now in Siem Reap: Attempting to become a big city with the last population estimate (June 2014) near 230,000.  You can find most every thing, item or whatever (though limited selection) here. Nice place if you also want a quick escape to the countryside while still having most all amenities you may need. Rent here is fairly inexpensive - I have a three story 4 bedroom 5 bathroom (plus a rooftop area) all for $300/mo.. It is a twenty minute walk to the center of the city (Pub Street lol). If you want more variety for entertainment, shopping, and a longer escape time from the city - choose Phnom Penh. Housing price there will be up but foods and goods will be more plentiful and cost slightly less due to competition. I believe your transportation costs will also be higher in PP than SR. Something else you may want to consider is whether you want quicker access to the ocean. PP is much closer than SR for that, and if Bangkok shopping is high on your list then SR is the answer.

Thanks Jeff,
That is all very helpful. I will have to do some research to understand all the tech terms re internet speeds.
Is it reliable enough for skyping? And to update blog posts?
And is it expensive? The prices mentioned previously are on par with Australia or more expensive. I would like to know how much money we need to be budgeting for in advance.
Can you offer any insight into volunteering options? Do I need to organise this in advance? Or is it easy to find something once we arrive?
And your accommodation sounds amazing. I don't think we need anything that elaborate. Probably a two bedroom place would be ample (we are anticipating visitors).
Again, is this something we can find once arriving or should we organise it in advance. We are still some months off leaving Australia but I am trying to plan ahead because we have so much to do.

Thanks again!
Sam

Sam - If you are nearly an techno idiot such as I - the internet is adequate, not the best but it works fairly well here.  As for you living arrangements I would go to a guest house here for as long as you want to look for a place. There are numerous GH's decent, clean and with services that are very reasonable in price - anywhere from $10 to $30 a day. Volunteering is easy - many local and international groups and organizations around. To give you an idea there is a group on facebook here for NGO's that many expats who are active belong to. Recommend you join the group and it will give you a feel of what the needs and opportunities are here in Siem Reap area. The group is called "NGO's and Volunteers working in Siem Reap, Cambodia".  If you have any other questions that I have any knowledge  on or of, I'll be happy to help. Have a good one - JEFF