for some provided they are willing
to work in the Phnom Penh’s central
business district (CBD) or anywhere
else within the country.
EXPAT RETIREMENT ATTRACTION
Cambodia has become an open secret
among western retirees, curious
student travellers and backpackers as
an ideal place to spend a season or
two to immerse in the Asian culture.
There are three favoured areas in
Cambodia for expat retirees and
western re-settlers, each attracting a
certain kind of character:
1
PHNOM PENH: The capital Phnom
Penh is ideal for those who wish to
use Cambodia as a base for corporate
work or as a start-up home base for
tech service. The cost of living may be
relatively cheaper than Thailand but
it will still cost investors more to do
business in the capital than anywhere
else in the country – from setting
up shop to settling down in a new
ASEAN home.
Contrary to belief that it has poor
healthcare options or shady safety
and law enforcement situation, the
capital boasts the safest place for an
urban re-settler to live in and does
have good hospitals. Accommodation
in Phnom Penh can vary from about
6,000 baht a month (US$170) to more
than twice that. Phnom Penh has a
riverside market and cultural heritage,
nightlife (restaurants and clubs with
music entertainment) as well as malls
similar to the best of Asia.
Japanese retailer Aeon opened
Cambodia’s first giant shopping mall
in June 2014 and the opening of a
second supermall is in the pipeline.
Costing US$195 million, the 68,000-
sq metre supermall is literally a
giant supermarket with retail shops
clustered around it – in this case,
around 190 brand retailers and food
outlets. The second planned mall city
will be in the Pong Peay City CBD, a
new gentrified area of the capital.
If Japanese retailers are making
a big push into Cambodia to carve
market territories before others do,
they might know of plenty of good
things coming together in the capital
and throughout the Khmer nation.
2
SIEM REAP: Siem Reap is the main
tourist trap and cultural magnet. The
place has posh western restaurants
and
upscale
accommodations
because of the ancient temple
ruins of Angkor Wat which attracts
backpackers and culture vultures
wanting a glimpse into the exotic
history of the Khmer people.
Self-appointed artistes and
curious western students love to
explore this part of Cambodia for
some kind of connection with the
locals. Cambodians are a fierce
yet friendly people with a hope
for the future. Siem Reap is one
place where both leisure travel
and business travel come together,
thus creating opportunities where
people break barriers and work to
keep their hope alive.
3
SIHANOUKVILLE: Sihanoukville is a
coastal community that is another open
secret among western backpackers
looking for gorgeous Asian beachside
to spend lots of downtime – or even to
make a tech start-up work or putting
regional business plans together. It
is the utopian, off-grid, middle-ofnowhere place in Asia where one can
put in part-time work so one can have
more time at the beach.
Ocheteaul
and
Serendipity
are the most popular beaches in
Sihanoukville. Both are still underdeveloped and not as bad a tourist
trap as expensive Thai resorts or
southern beach holiday spots in
the Philippines. Nevertheless, this
coastal paradise still has decent
bars and nightlife to keep partying
visitors happy.
There are some shops near the
area for you to replenish your weekly
grocery or to fulfill other shopping
needs if you are indeed situated
there to ponder your next-big-thing
project while doing all your creative
brainstorming at the beach.
ISSUE 2 : 2016 | ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS
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