What are the Best Neighborhoods in Phnom Penh for Expats?

What is the best neighborhood for an expat to live in Phnom Penh, Cambodia? Naturally, if you're a foreigner who has never been to Cambodia, or perhaps you only visited Phnom Penh for a bit, but you're still moving to Phnom Penh, you probably have no idea where to start. Finding a place to live in Phnom Penh is no small task!
Well, start with this video! Here I will explore the most popular neighborhoods for expats to live in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, including Riverside, also known as Daun Penh, BKK1 / BKK 1, BKK2 / BKK 2, and BKK3 / BKK 3, and Russian Market, also known as Tuol Tompoung. For each area, I will give you a short tour, including apartment / flat prices, cost of living, restaurants, and just a basic overview of what it's like to live there. In Phnom Penh, apartment / flat prices run from $300-1000 or even more, depending on which neighborhood your apartment / flat is in. So watch this video and see what the best places to live in Phnom Penh, Cambodia!
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Riverside
04:43 BKK1 / BKK 1
07:22 BKK2 & BKK3
09:00 Russian Market / Tuol Tompoung

[@fearlesswatcher9322]

Hey man, thanks for another great video. Very useful for people who may be coming to Phnom Penh soon 💪🌞

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

I hope it was helpful!

[@MyLifeThai371]

You did an excellent job on the video! My buddy and his girlfriend taught English in Phnom Penh for one entire school year and they lived in BKK1. They said they really regretted living there and wished that they would have signed a lease in Russian Market instead, because that is where they spent most of their free time instead.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

We moved back to Russian Market! It's a great neighborhood!

[@KhmerMinnesnowta]

We used to stay around the Russian Market and it is a great area for the price. I grew up around this area way back in the 60s before the war erupted so I know this place so well. Can't wait to come back this coming October to visit my sister there. Thanks for sharing and happy travels from Minnesota!

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Thank you!

[@onevision8097]

Great information. BKK1 seems to be the best.

[@o_orangs12]

Thanks you, helps a lot❤

[@flyer2757]

thank you. helps a lot

[@Paul-yk7ds]

Super helpful video, thank you

[@tiffpeaches]

nice guide man, balanced, informative. really helpful. I'm considering a move to PPH so this is really useful

[@fazbell]

Very good video. Thanks for your research.

[@markbigelow2608]

It almost always is a hot day in Cambodia. Good video. Thanks!

[@dkkrecords]

real sharp n' informative.

[@khaledb6580]

Great overview, exactly what i needed, thanks

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Glad that helped!

[@TheDrewjirby]

Dude, your video is awesome. Very informative. I’ve been living between the US and Thailand for the past 15 years. Planning on going to Phnom Penh soon. Thanks for the info

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jeff6431]

great video! moving to Phnom Penh soon, ideally by the end of the month. channels like yours go a long way encouraging me to take this step. thank you!!

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

No worries, you'll love it.

[@dannyho6786]

thanx !

[@tubewatcher3100]

Hey thanks for the video. The walking video showing the differences in vibe between BKK 1,2&3 and TTP is very helpful. That's the information I don't get from looking at apartment listings on real estate websites. Having been the occasional tourist, I'm only familiar with the Riverside but am now exploring options for longer term stay. Great channel.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GypsyVictorious]

I stayed in the BKK 2/3 aka the Tuol Sleng area and rented a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment for $250 a month. I miss it so much. Best neighborhood imo.

[@KB3TLE]

Older senior expats on tight budgets might be better off in Siem Reap for 'lower cost' rentals. Frugal studios but with AC and some comfort with good food options ? -- Perhaps not as congested either ? English is common there as well I hear. --?--

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Sure, Siem Reap would be a great place to retire.

[@mantarayal]

Great content mate. Thank you. Good to catch up on the renting scene and neighbourhoods. God that is a ridiculous word to spell. And I was an English teacher.......

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Take out the "u" and it'll be a little easier to spell. ;)

[@kimnavy5453]

Welcome to Cambodia sir.

[@ffball99]

Your welcome❤

[@Mr.K.82]

nice video

[@SoutaSoura]

I love you man❤

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

I love me too!

[@joehernandez7587]

Hey Eric. My family & I will be going to Phnom Penh next week. I would like to get some more advice, or maybe be able to meet up with you. Appreciate the Contant it’s helped us a lot.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

I'm out of town for the next couple of weeks!

[@netherrast9257]

Nice video, I hope u get back to val again :)

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Hope so!

[@hatchet5440]

Hi, we will be moving to Phnom Penh near the end of the year. And both my husband and I will be teaching English. Our plan is to rent for around $250 per month because we don’t plan on coming over with a huge budget and want to live comfortable but not middle class as you put it. We have always lived on a small budget and we have been working to save to move over. We even raised 4 children in a double decker bus, so minimal is not a problem. Would you mind doing a KZbin on a lower budget whilst still clean and tidy living. Or guide us to areas that we can search when we arrive. As we plan to go 10 days earlier so we can search and have a bit of a holiday.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Such a video is on the list!

[@CarterOnConflict]

You did a really good job with this and the maps were very helpful. Commend yourself, I’m impressed. I’ve lived in Thailand for ten years and prior to Covid anyway, in PP during the dry season electricity was allegedly hard to generate and I remember rolling blackouts during the day. Different parts of the city would experience 4-5 hours of no electricity per day. I was there so I experienced it. I saw your answer to one commenter that blackouts were not that common in at least the Bkk1 area, but I’m wondering if in general PP still does rolling blackouts at any time?

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

No, those days are past.

[@CarterOnConflict]

@@SecondLifeTravels1 good to hear. Thank you.

[@owlscoffeecats]

Where do you recommend someone starts for finding rentals? Didn't know what is recommended for expats to get set up. Thank you for your amazing videos, very helpful.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Hi, check out here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3Xcf3yXrKacpNEsi=jwqflAycizrih3Cv

[@childrensorg856]

Its BKK 1 for me. Im renting a one bedroom apartment for $200/month.

[@nickvegas2459]

You really need to name the suburb and mention if it is actually a 1 bedroom apartment (as Thais call a studio 1 bedroom) as I pay $230 for a condo in "Bangkok" for a studio/1 bed. A real 1 bedroom apartment/condo in Bangkok is about $400.

[@childrensorg856]

@@nickvegas2459 BKK1 District is in Phnom Penh. This video is nothing to do with Bangkok, Thailand.

[@nickvegas2459]

@@childrensorg856 you started the Bangkok trend Forrest

[@childrensorg856]

@@nickvegas2459 can you not read and know what video you're on????? Eyeroll.

[@nickvegas2459]

@@childrensorg856 sigh...bye

[@charlesmassaquoi6717]

I like the Russia Market area 👍🏽

[@benjamingensch5507]

Great info man! Thxs for that. One question: How is it with power outrages and wifi in these "better" areas. I work online and its hard to find good reliable info on that.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

I can only speak for Russian Market and BKK1, as those are the only places on this list I've lived. Power outages are not super common.

[@benjamingensch5507]

@@SecondLifeTravels1 Thxs for the answer 🙏

[@healingnarcissism_]

are you guys still there? are you loving it? super helpful.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Yes we are

[@miskaryzu2875]

Cleanest area is Borey peng huoth / Boeung snor and more quiet then the city

[@RaportzAkcji]

I agree

[@Char12403]

Best place for families and or quiet life for sure.

[@NITNITKH670]

Hello brother ❤❤❤❤

[@deejay5088]

Do a video why you decided to live in Cambodia?

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Not much to say there. I got hired to work here!

[@WanderingWolf365]

Thank you, very informative. Are there any good areas for $50-$100 per month budget? - WW

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

I have not heard of anything like that in Phnom Penh. Maybe if you stay with a Khmer family?

[@frankkluz9787]

Saw several of those in Siem Reap - much less $. ( 50-100 )

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

@@frankkluz9787 Oh yeah, Siem Reap is MUCH cheaper.

[@kingquinn3897]

Stay where you are!

[@frankkluz9787]

How about a nice but thrifty frugal studio with ac & western standards but less expensive ? Do they exist furnished ? Maybe near 300 sf or so & easy to keep cool ?

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Oh yes, there are many of those!

[@kingquinn3897]

No. Sorry. Too bad!

[@NITNITKH670]

Well canto canbodia

[@dovygoodguy1296]

How would you compare the Russian Market or BKK1 with the expat neighborhoods in Siem Reap like Svay Dankum?

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

I don't know Siem Reap that well.

[@dovygoodguy1296]

@@SecondLifeTravels1 Maybe you could do a comparison video eventually. Your style of description is very good. If you were in your sixties and retired from the US or Canada looking for a calm, clean, safe and QUIET area in Phnom Penh would you feel the most comfortable in the Russian Market area ? I e appealing thing about Siem Reap is that they aren't allowed to have highrise buildings. I love that idea. It's the same in Cuenca Ecuador. I just don't know if I could get used to the hot and humid climate in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Cuenca has the opposite problem of altitude. Alas .....

[@EcleticMusicFilm]

what's the best way to find a apartment there. I will be arriving there around December 5th, 2023.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

You want Nam at IPS. Tell him that Erik sent you.

[@gary8173]

Comments on Tonle Bassac????? I will be in PP in June for any extended stay.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

It's not an area with a lot of expats.

[@gary8173]

@@SecondLifeTravels1 That's fine with me, Ha! The apartments seem very modern for around $900 USD per month. Really enjoyed your video.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

​@@gary8173You may not find so many Cambodians there either. Tons of Chinese.

[@Cambodiasl2fu]

❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🇰🇭💕💕💕💕

[@zacharythompson2342]

I wonder why Siem Reap is so much cheaper when i almost think it should be more expensive given the amount of tourists going there...?

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

The capital is almost always the most expensive place everywhere.

[@zacharythompson2342]

@@SecondLifeTravels1 yeah that's true.

[@louml6233]

Why Cambodians named their market Russian market? There is nothing Russian about.

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

The Cambodians named it Tuol Toumpung Market. The foreigners called it Russian Market because before Pol Pot, tons of Russians lived there. A few still do

[@kingquinn3897]

Apparently Russia colonised Cambodia before the French so they kept the name.

[@louml6233]

I heard a lot of Russians live there

[@SecondLifeTravels1]

Just a few these days.

[@kingquinn3897]

Well...they don't call it the Rusky Market for nothing.