Some of my fellow Pattaya residents might be interested

[Guest dale1]

•  
• This article from the Huffington Post is dated 24 July 2017 ... it may well be of interest to some who are wondering about today's Pattaya, what's going on at the beach, and the overall state of the scene.

A Comfortable Retirement in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-c ... 511b02c4db

[steveboy]

It looks very comfortable and clean.

But what if abundant casual gay sex takes priority over clean beach?

[bobsaigon]

A Comfortable Retirement in Phnom Penh?     In brief, one man’s comfort may be another man’s discomfort.  Living abroad comfortably always depends on one’s tolerance levels.  How well does one tolerate the climate, the overcrowding, air and noise pollution, the aesthetic shortcomings, and in Phnom Penh, the attitudes of the 1% whose very large SUV’s demand the respect and subservience of the inhabitants?

 

I made a dozen trips to Phnom Penh over a recent five year period.  Forty-five minutes flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh.  At least an hour in the taxi from the airport to the Rambutan Hotel.    That discomfort was immediately offset by the warm welcome of the hotel staff.    Lovely people in PP and from the gay point of view a compelling reason to live there.

 

Going out means hiring a tuk tuk, safer than the Bangkok tuk tuks because they are forced to drive slowly on roads that are in such poor repair.   In the evenings they are a convenient means of travel.  Daytime travel is a challenge especially when traffic is heavy and your tuk tuk remains immobile in the 90+ degree heat.    Air conditioned taxis are rarely seen.

 

The Japanese-built Aeon mall is impressive, though I found it incongruous that in addition to the shops, restaurants and cinemas, they have, in SE Asia’s poorest country,  an ice skating rink.

 

Undoubtedly, Cambodia is cheaper than Thailand, cheaper than Vietnam.  “Good” jobs pay the ordinary Cambodian $100 USD or less per month.   A decent apartment for a foreigner could be had for under $1,000 per month.    Air conditioning is essential but electricity can be expensive because some of it is supplied by Vietnam.

 

After reading the article, I can only conclude that my tolerance levels are not nearly as high as the writer’s.  I couldn’t bring myself to living in Bangkok again, but Pattaya is certainly more appealing to me than Phnom Penh.

[witty]

Pattaya appears to be more cosmopolitan than Phnom Penh, and the sea is an added bonus for someone who likes swimming.

[Guest]

Visiting Phnom Penh is always good fun, but I'm not entirely sure it would work for retirement.

 

1  Is the gay scene large enough to allow some variety?

 

2  To quote the US embassy website:  "Medical facilities and services in Cambodia do not meet international standards.  Both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have a limited number of internationally-run clinics and hospitals that can provide basic medical care and stabilization. Medical care outside these two cities is almost non-existent".   

[Alexx]

I think Phnom Penh has improved A LOT within the last decade. If things progress at this speed (not a given!) it might really become quite an interesting option for retirement. Cost of living is a tricky subject. Personally, I tend to spend more in Phnom Penh than in Bangkok. But that's mostly because I make different choices there.

[bobsaigon]

Medical issues:  If they can afford it, anyone living in Cambodia heads to Bangkok or Saigon for treatment of serious health problems.

[ChristianPFC]

Phnom Penh should be compared to Bangkok, and Sihanoukvill to Pattaya.

 

From my few trips to Cambodia: food and traffic are awful, boys are cute.

[aussie_]

From my few trips to Cambodia: food and traffic are awful, boys are cute.

I have been to Cambodia four times and agree about the traffic and cute guys. There are now plenty of cute Cambodians in Bangkok and Pattaya. There is no need to live in Cambodia when we have better facilities for foriegners in Thailand and can still enjoy meeting the stunning Cambodian guys here anytime from the apps or bars.

[Boy69]

Cambodia is very poor country,the whole government system is corrupt, law and order is almost non exist it is certainly not suitable to westerners.

[vinapu]

Cambodia is very poor country,the whole government system is corrupt, law and order is almost non exist it is certainly not suitable to westerners.

still plenty of them live and run businesses there.

 

Not that you are wrong but we shouldn't be painting Cambodia as kind of lawless wild west, those days  seem to be gone as country discovers that milking foreigners for providing actual services is more lucrative than robbing them at gun point.

[spoon]

A lot of south east asia countries are moving in the right directions. Singapore and brunei is leading the way but they are small countries, and enforcement is easier. Indonesia, malaysia, thailand are improving a lot more than whst people gave them credit for, though admittedly poverty is still the on going issues and the gap between poor and the rich is growing bigger and bigger. Next we have vietnam and Philippines, while they are improving a lot in their big cities, circumstances are holding the rurals area to improve. Id group cambodia, laos, and myanmar at the bottom of the pack, cambodai and laos, for lack of natural resources as income, on top of their gov problem, and myanmar, which until very recently, have adopted very close communist country, even with natural resources like oil, didnt manage to improve their country as fast as the others.

[Boy69]

still plenty of them live and run businesses there.

 

Not that you are wrong but we shouldn't be painting Cambodia as kind of lawless wild west, those days seem to be gone as country discovers that milking foreigners for providing actual services is more lucrative than robbing them at gun point.

Cambodia is certainly not lawless wild west but is far from beeing

low & order country I have freind who lives there many years told me stories such as police is refusing to investigate crimes without a bribary from the victim ,firemen whom refused to handle the fire at local market in Phnom Penh till they received bribery from the poor vendors act. .

[vinapu]

 lack of natural resources as income, on top of their gov problem, and myanmar, which until very recently, have adopted very close communist country, even with natural resources like oil, didnt manage to improve their country as fast as the others.

natural resources in 21 century don't seem to be such blessing they were at end of 19th. Lots of countries sitting on plenty of that stuff are not exactly paragon of prosperity for many reasons . Good governance is what counts nowadays , not stuff in the ground, enough to mention Japan , Singapore or Taiwan, not exactly mining countries but ones who manage to mine their citizens brains and industriousness  

[spoon]

You are right vinapu, natural resources and even money is worthless if you dont knw how to manage them, however without them, you will need to harness other resources such as brain and workforces. The best ones are those who have both and even better are thos who have both and also stealing them from other countries.

[steveboy]

You are right vinapu, natural resources and even money is worthless if you dont knw how to manage them, however without them, you will need to harness other resources such as brain and workforces. The best ones are those who have both and even better are thos who have both and also stealing them from other countries.

It even appears that the worst combination is an uneducated, primitive population in a land with much natural resources.  This helps a few unscrupulous to exploit the resources and use wealth to perpetuate their power.

[Guest FASAJIP]

So many different and interesting opinions. For me, going often in Cambodia with friends to visit Siem Reap and other sites, this country is much more interesting than Thaïland for civilisations remains. But for all daily life and of course gay life : in spite of dictatorship, dangerous driving etc... Thaïland and Pattaya for ever  !!!