Living in Cambodia as an Expat: Visas, Costs and Where People Actually Base Themselves

Cambodia has quietly become one of Southeast Asia's practical long-stay options. It does not dominate retirement headlines the way Thailand does, and it does not market itself as aggressively as some neighbours, but a steady mix of expats, remote workers, teachers, NGO staff, hospitality workers and retirees base themselves here for months or years at a time. The reasons people give are consistent: daily life can be straightforward, English is widely used in the main expat areas alongside Khmer, US dollars circulate alongside riel which simplifies money for many newcomers, and the main bases are small enough to learn quickly. This guide compares the three places people actually base themselves - Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Kampot - and talks honestly about costs and visas in general terms, with a clear warning running through it: verify current prices and current rules before you commit, because both change.

A note on approach before the detail. The best way to choose a base in Cambodia is not from a spreadsheet at home. It is to spend time in each place on a slow first trip - a week in the capital, a week or more in Siem Reap, a few days in Kampot - living as close to an ordinary routine as a short stay allows. Shop the local market, find where you would do laundry, test the walk to the cafes you would actually use, and notice how each place feels on a wet afternoon and on a busy morning. Expat life is mostly ordinary life in a different setting. The town that works for your ordinary days is usually the right one, even if another town photographs better.

Phnom Penh: The Capital Base

Phnom Penh offers the fullest version of expat life in Cambodia. It has the widest choice of accommodation, from serviced apartments aimed at professionals to smaller local apartment buildings; the broadest range of supermarkets, international food, gyms, clinics and services; and the largest expat community, spread across several neighbourhoods with quite different characters. Riverside and the central areas suit people who want to walk to restaurants and the promenade. Other established residential districts offer a quieter, more neighbourhood feel with local markets and cafes, at the cost of longer tuk-tuk rides to the centre.

The capital suits people who work - remotely, in business, in teaching or with organisations based in the city - and anyone who wants services within reach. Healthcare choice is widest here, though for serious or specialist treatment many long-stayers across the region still plan for care in Bangkok or another regional centre; research your own needs and insurance carefully rather than relying on general reassurance. Internet and coworking options are strongest in Phnom Penh, power and infrastructure are at their most reliable by Cambodian standards, and the international airport makes regional travel simplest from here.

The trade-offs are the usual capital ones, amplified by heat and traffic. Phnom Penh is busier, noisier and more expensive than the other bases in this article, particularly for Western-style accommodation and dining. Traffic at peak hours tests patience, pavements are not always walkable, and the city asks more of newcomers in its first weeks. People who love it tend to build a neighbourhood routine - a market, a gym, two or three regular restaurants - and then the size becomes an advantage rather than a daily negotiation. People who leave usually cite traffic and intensity, not any single failing.

Siem Reap: The Small-Town Base with a Global Draw

Siem Reap surprises many long-stayers. They arrive expecting a temple town living entirely off tourism, and find a compact, liveable small city with a strong cafe scene, good everyday restaurants, local markets that serve residents first, and residential streets where a routine forms within days. The expat community here is smaller than the capital's but well established, with a mix of hospitality workers, teachers, remote workers and retirees, and a social life that many describe as easier to enter precisely because the town is small.

Daily logistics are simple. Distances are short, cycling is practical for confident riders on quieter streets, tuk-tuks are plentiful, and the cost of eating out and everyday services is generally lower than in Phnom Penh - expect to verify current prices locally, as rates move with seasons and tourism levels. Accommodation ranges from guesthouses willing to discuss longer stays to apartments and small houses on the edge of town. Long-stayers often recommend arriving on a short booking and house-hunting in person, because listings, availability and the true feel of a street are hard to judge from abroad.

The considerations are scale and services. Specialist shopping, some medical services and administrative errands may mean a trip to Phnom Penh or Bangkok. Work tied to tourism rises and falls with visitor numbers, which residents feel in the town's mood as well as its economy. And while Angkor on your doorstep is a genuine privilege - early-morning temple visits never quite become ordinary - the park is a backdrop to daily life rather than a daily activity for most residents. If your ideal routine is market, coffee, work, river walk, dinner with friends, Siem Reap delivers it with very little friction.

Kampot: The Slow Coastal Base

Kampot attracts a particular kind of long-stayer: people who have done bigger cities, want a river and countryside around them, and are content with a smaller social and services scene in exchange for calm. The town is set on the river with mountains in view, an old-town grid that is easy to walk, and a pace that residents describe as the main amenity. Kep, with its seafront and seafood, is close enough for regular day trips, which gives Kampot-based life a coastal dimension without island logistics.

Everyday life in Kampot centres on the market, a handful of cafes and restaurants run by Cambodians and expats, and outdoor time - cycling, river trips, countryside rides. Rents and daily costs are generally the lowest of the three bases in this guide, in general terms, though anyone planning a move should expect to verify current prices in person: a small town's market moves quickly, and a figure quoted in an older blog post or video may bear little relation to what is available when you arrive. Accommodation for long stays is more likely to be a local apartment or a small house than a serviced building, and finding it is often a matter of asking around once you are there.

The honest cautions are about capacity. Healthcare in Kampot is basic compared with the capital, serious matters mean travel, and anyone with ongoing medical needs should plan that route in advance and take proper advice. Shopping for specific items, bureaucratic errands and international travel all involve more effort. Some people thrive on exactly that simplicity; others feel isolated after a few months. A long trial stay - a month, through varied weather - will tell you more than any comparison article can.

Costs: General Ranges Only, Verify Everything

Cost of living is the question every prospective expat asks first, and it is the one this guide will answer most carefully. Cambodia can be an inexpensive place to live compared with many Western countries and with parts of Thailand, particularly for local food, local transport and rent outside prime serviced buildings. It can also be surprisingly costly if your lifestyle depends on imported goods, Western restaurants, international schooling or private healthcare. Both statements are true, and any single monthly figure presented as the cost of living in Cambodia should be treated with suspicion - it describes one person's choices in one town at one moment.

Think in categories instead. Housing will be your largest cost and varies most: a modest local apartment in Kampot, a mid-range apartment in Siem Reap and a serviced apartment in central Phnom Penh are three different markets. Utilities, especially air conditioning use, add meaningfully in the hot months. Food costs split sharply between local markets and Khmer eateries, where eating well for little is entirely possible, and imported or Western dining, where prices approach or exceed what you would pay in Thailand for the same thing. Transport is inexpensive locally - tuk-tuks, motorbike hire where you are properly licensed and insured, bicycles - while owning and running a vehicle is a larger commitment with paperwork to match.

A sensible planning method is to build your own budget from a trial stay. Keep every receipt for a month living the life you actually intend to live, not a backpacker version of it. Add visa costs, insurance, an annual flight or two, and a contingency for medical or dental needs. Most long-stayers who manage money well in Cambodia share the same habits: they rent after viewing in person, they shop in markets for fresh food, they moderate air conditioning, and they do not let the ease of small daily spending hide the big annual costs - insurance renewals, visa extensions and travel - that arrive all at once.

Visas and Long-Stay Rules: General Guidance Only

Visa arrangements are where general guides most often mislead, because rules, fees, durations and extension practices change, and because individual circumstances - nationality, purpose of stay, work status - matter. This section is deliberately general. Treat it as a map of the questions to ask, not as answers.

In broad terms, Cambodia has historically offered relatively accessible entry for many nationalities, with options to extend a stay and with longer arrangements for people working, running a business or otherwise qualifying under categories that the authorities define and periodically revise. Long-stay options exist - that much is widely understood - but the detail of which category applies to you, how long it lasts, whether it can be renewed, what documents are required and what it costs must be checked against current requirements at the time you plan to move. Official government sources, your nearest Cambodian embassy or consulate, and established in-country visa agents are the appropriate places to confirm. Do not base a house lease, a job decision or a one-way flight on a forum post or an old article.

Working is a separate question from staying. Permission to reside does not automatically mean permission to work, and employers, business registration and work permit requirements have their own rules. Anyone planning to work in Cambodia - including for a Cambodian employer, in hospitality or teaching, or through their own business - should verify the current requirements for their situation before starting. Remote work for an overseas employer sits in a grey area in many countries in the region; take proper advice rather than assuming silence means permission.

Practical habits help whatever the current rules are. Keep your passport valid well beyond any planned stay, keep copies of entry stamps and visa documents separate from the originals, diarise expiry dates with generous margins, and use agents with a physical office and a reputation to protect if you use an agent at all. Rules change, usually with notice, and long-stayers who stay calm about visas are the ones who track their own dates and check requirements early rather than at the last minute.

Healthcare, Banking and Everyday Setup

Healthcare deserves its own research for any move. Phnom Penh has private clinics and hospitals used by the expat community for routine care, Siem Reap has a smaller range, and Kampot is limited for anything beyond basics. Many residents across Southeast Asia carry insurance that includes evacuation to a regional centre for serious treatment, and decide in advance which hospital they would aim for in an emergency. Dental care for routine work is widely used in the main towns and generally considered good value. Bring an adequate supply of any prescription medication, check its legality and availability locally, and register with a clinic after you arrive rather than during a crisis.

Banking has become easier for foreign residents in recent years, with app-based payments widely used in daily life in Cambodia alongside cash. Account opening requirements for foreigners vary by bank and change over time, so check directly with banks after arrival, with your passport and visa documents in hand. Many expats keep a home-country account for income and savings and a local account for daily spending - a structure that also protects you if one card or app fails. Tell your home bank you are relocating, understand transfer fees before you need to move money urgently, and keep the dual-currency reality in mind: prices may be quoted in dollars, change given partly in riel, and over months the small notes add up to a system you will handle without thinking.

Phones and connectivity are straightforward in the towns. Local SIMs and mobile data are widely available and inexpensive, home internet packages in the main bases are adequate for remote work for most people, and coworking spaces in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap offer a backup and a social circuit. Test the connection at your actual accommodation before signing a long lease if your income depends on it - building by building variation matters more than town averages.

Making the Move Work

The expats who settle best in Cambodia tend to do a few things in common. They learn some Khmer - even basic greetings, numbers and market phrases change daily interactions. They build a mixed social life rather than living entirely inside an expat bubble, and they give something back locally, whether through work, volunteering done properly through established organisations, or simply being a reliable regular customer of neighbourhood businesses. They stay legal and current on visas without drama. And they chose their base by living in it, not by reading about it.

Cambodia is not the right move for everyone. The heat, the infrastructure gaps outside the main towns, and the distance from specialist services are real. But for people whose priorities are a manageable pace, a generally lower cost base than home - verified against their own spending, not a headline figure - and a country with deep history and warm everyday interactions, it deserves a serious trial stay. Come slowly, check the rules as they stand when you come, and let the three bases make their own case.

About Jay & Scott

Jay and Scott write from Surin, Thailand, where they make their home, and from Patong, where Scott has run long-stay condo rentals for years. Their guide network, starting at patong-thailand.com, covers everyday life across Thailand - and now its neighbours, written the same way: by staying a while and paying attention. If you are comparing bases across the border, their Patong long-stay guide and video tours show how they think about monthly living costs and routines. Cambodia Life is the newest branch of that same project.