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  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

english teachers

    A man stands in front of a Cambodian flag waving in a blue sky

    8 Things to Know Before MOVING to Cambodia

    by Nick & Raychel March 10, 2019

    Moving to Cambodia? Want some tips?

    So you’re moving to Cambodia for the first time. Lucky you! We’ve loved living in Cambodia and we know how exciting the move can be. We also understand how stressful it can be at the same time. That’s why we’ve put together a quick guide for you that will *hopefully* make the transition at least a little easier for you.

     


    1. Flights

    Book early and try to find the best deal. We use Skyscanner and bought our one-way tickets for less than $500.00!

    You may have heard that some airlines will not allow you on a flight with a one-way ticket. Make sure you contact the airline to get a concrete answer on this before you go. If you can’t find a definite answer, like us, there are ways of getting around this.

    We always recommend booking on-going travel just in case you have any troubles. We booked a bus ticket to Thailand, scheduled to leave 28 days after we arrived in Cambodia. Since our visa was only valid for 30 days and we didn’t have jobs secured yet, this cleared any troubles that could have occured with the airline and we had an escape plan in case we had troubles finding a job. I believe this only costed us $20 and it was worth every penny. Although we didn’t end up taking that trip to Thailand, just having these tickets took the weight off of our shoulders and hardly made a dent in our wallets.


    2. Visas

    If you’re planning to work in Cambodia, you should get an Ordinary (E-Type) visa upon arrival. Do not confuse this with the E-visa (the tourist visa you can get prior to arrival online). The Ordinary visa will cost you $30.00 USD and you must have the exact cash to purchase it upon arrival.

    With this visa, you will be legally entitled to search for jobs in the country for 30 days. Once you are granted a job, your employer will give you a Work Permit and assist you with switching over your visa. No – you will not need to do a visa run – you will be able to stay in the country while they switch this over for you.


    3. Real estate

    We recommend staying in a hostel/hotel/AirBnB for about a week so you can get to know the areas before renting an apartment.

    Real estate agents are easy to come by, free of charge, and will be able to assist you in finding an apartment to rent. We joined the Facebook group Phnom Penh Housing and made a post stating what we were looking for. Within minutes, our inbox was flooded with messages from local real estate agents who were eager to assist us. We found our apartment in one day and moved in 3 days later.

    You can also use Khmer24 to look at apartment listings and contact agents.


    4. Jobs

    If you are moving to Cambodia to teach English, find our article How to move to Cambodia and teach English.

    We also have multiple Youtube videos on the topic like the one below:


     


    5. Getting around

    No clue where you’re going? No problem. From the airport, you’ll be able to get a tuk tuk to your destination. Read – this is going to be the most expensive tuk tuk you’ll ever have to pay for. Once you’re in town and out of the airport-zone, you should download two apps on your phone: Grab and Passapp.

     

      • Grab: This is pretty much like the Uber for Southeast Asia. Type in your destination and what kind of vehicle you’d like to you’ll receive a set price on what you’ll have to pay.
      • Passapp: Same deal, except for that Passapp is exclusive to Cambodia. At the time of writing this, Passapp is more popular than Grab but can be more expensive as it runs on a meter.

     


    Both applications are GPS tracked and you can pay at the end of your trip.


    6. Where to go

    Confused about where to stay? Find our article Phnom Penh Guide: Where to stay about the different areas you can stay in within Phnom Penh.


    7. Making friends

    There are so many meetups, trivia nights, art shows, film screenings, and other events that expats plan to make Cambodia feel more like home. We recommend joining Facebook groups so that you don’t miss out. We were a part of a group called Expats and locals living in Phnom Penh. If you are moving to Siem Reap or other areas, search as per your location and join a few.

    Drugs are easy to come by in Cambodia, so be cautious and picky about the type of people you surround yourself with so you don’t end up in the wrong scene. Just have your wits about you. Most expats are friendly and looking to make friends just the same as you are.


    8. Learning Khmer

    You do not need to know Khmer to live in Cambodia, but it will certainly make your life easier. A lot of Cambodian people speak English, especially in the city. That said, we learned simple phrases, directional words (for Grab rides) and how to count / bargain in Khmer. We really recommend trying to learn the language during your stay in the Kingdom. You’ll find yourself to have an easier time, being more immersed, and making some friends that you otherwise wouldn’t have.


     

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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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Instagram

  • Working to TRAVEL✈️🚐

If you’ve been following along with our vlogs and stories, it will come as no surprise to you when I say that our days are long right now. When we chose to start travelling, we signed up for a work-save-travel-repeat cycle and have been living in for the past 4.5 years. 

We chose this life.
But we still get tired. 

And between fixing up the van, preparing for our next adventure and working full time in that Southern Ontario heat - it’s a lot. But our minds are set on travel, on exploration, on adventure, culture, and learning. So we adapt to the seasons and understand that this point in the cycle is  just that - a season -  and we are so damn grateful to be doing it together.

📍 Traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas.
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Tags: #notluxe #worktotravel #travelcouple #vanlifecouple #traveldiaries #vanlifediaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vanlifestyle #vanliving
  • **CLOSED** GIVEAWAY!! 🎉

We are giving away a Bluetti EB70 portable power bank. Having a power station on hand is a sweet backup for those who are already set up completely for off-grid living and/or a good start for weekend campers looking to try out van or camper van life. We are stoked to have another way to work outside, charge more appliances and get out adventuring.

The winner will win ONE Bluetti EB70 power bank & charging cables. 

Specs:
• 716Wh capacity and 800W rated wattage
• The ultra-stable LiFePO4 battery chemistry,2500+ life cycles
• 4*110V AC outlets, 2*100W PD ports, 2*5V/3A USB-A ports, 2*regulated 12V/10A DC outputs, 1*12V/10A car port,1*15W wireless charging pad.
(Note: does not come with solar panels)
-

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Like this post 
2. Must be following @nickandraychel & @bluetti_official
3. Tag a friend in the comments below (more tags = more entries)
4. Bonus entry - share this post to story for 5 extra entries! 

Open to USA & Canada residents. Giveaway closes on June 22, 2022. 
Winner will be announced on 06/25/22. 

-

Disclaimer: No purchase necessary. Giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram.

The contest period will run from 06/15 to 06/22 2022.

— 

Tags: #vanlifecouple #vanlifeing #notluxe #vanlifediaries #vanlifegiveaway #campinggiveaway #campervan #vanconversion #camperliving #tinyliving #tinyhomeonwheels #tinyhomes #vanlifenewbie #vanlifers #livinginavan #livingoffgrid #offgridliving #vanlifedreams #travelinspo
  • Slowing down 🚐 

The whole appeal of van life and many alternative living options is the freedom to take a go at your own speed.

But sometimes it feels like you just want to see it all.
And we’ve seen SO much in the past twenty months. 

Especially in the past six.

As Canadian travellers, I find that our slow season is the opposite of others. We escape the cold weather and have been abroad for many Christmases and snowfalls. During those times, we’re cliff jumping, waterfall hopping, cruising, skatepark hunting, friendship building…

Then, when lake season rolls around we’re ready to take on a more conventional work schedule, to save up to do it all again.

But we have to tell ourselves to relax, to enjoy the downtime, to take in the peaceful moments just as much as the epic ones. To soak up the sun, to drink water, to slow down.

It’s a constant learning process.

📍Traditional Hohokam, Patayan, and Yavapai land ⁣

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Tags: #vanlife #vanlifeshot #vanlifemeetup #vanlifemoments #vanlifemovement #vanlifemagazine #vanlifestyle #vanlifeculture #vanlifecouple #vanlifeconversions #campulance #campinggirls #campinglife #rvliving #camperlife
  • But how do you SHOWER? 😅

This photo is from the most ridiculous YouTube thumbnail we’ve had to date. We took so many funny photos this day, we couldn’t NOT share. Or maybe we could. Oh well.

But let’s answer the question while we’re at it.

🚿 We primarily go to Anytime Fitness which is a little pricier than Planet Fitness. In our opinion, however, the equipment is way nicer, there are usually less people, they’re all over Canada & the US, it’s open 24/7, and the showers are private.

🚿 When we’re not near an Anytime Fitness (this has only happened one time when we were in Quartzsite), we find a truck stop shower to go to.

🚿 And that’s about it. We bought a camping shower at the beginning of van living and only used it one miserable time.

Do you think a shower is necessary in a van build?

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Tags: #vanlife #vanlifeshot #vanlifeshower #vanlifecamper #campinglife #campingtrip #vanlifebuild #vanlifediaries #vanlifegirls #vanlifetravel #vanlifetravels #vanlifestyle #vanlifeexplorers #campinggirls #outsideisfree #outsideshoot #vanlifeculture #vanlifecommunity
  • We have been doing so much stealth city camping lately that we felt like we needed a break. When we first moved into our van, we set off to Vancouver Island, where we were constantly surrounded by nature - and even though we had no idea what we were doing, it was just easy to be outside.

As you guys know, we’ve lived all sorts of van life. From brick & mortar jobs, to off-grid living, to city dwelling, to full-time travelling. Lately, we’ve seen A LOT of cities and while we’re grateful to have covered so much ground, we knew we needed nature. 

So we nestled ourselves into Starved Rock State Park and reset.
Full video is on YouTube. Link in bio.

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Tags: #vanlife #vanlifecouple #vanlifediaries #vanlifers #vanliving #ambulanceconversion #vandwelling #vandweller #camperlife #campervan #camperconversion #campingbackpack #campinglife #campingtrip #illinois #starvedrockstatepark
  • “The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have” – Anna Quindlen

I can’t imagine committing to being the person I was 5 years ago for the rest of my life. I can’t imagine committing to one mindset or one way of life. 

It would be impossible to put into words how much we’ve changed through travel and meeting people. And as we start to hype ourselves up for our next big journey, we’re excited to dive head first with an open mind. 

Whether you’re building a van, starting a new job, buying a plane ticket, or even walking out of the house every morning - you have no fucking idea what’s in store.

Travel has a special way of changing you. 
And the best thing you can do is allow it. 

📍 Traditional Kumeyaay land
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