Moving to Phnom Penh

In our series of short blogs on moving between different international locations, we highlight cost of living and other major differences likely to be experienced.
Today we look at moving to Phnom Penh in Cambodia from Thimphu in Bhutan. In Thimphu people speak Dzongkha (official). In Phnom Penh people speak Khmer.
Thimphu is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia.

Thimphu became a town in 1961 and grew as the capital of Bhutan. Before 1960, Thimphu was a small settlement but was developed by the King Jigme Dorje Wangchuk to replace the ancient capital of Punakha. Rapid expansion following the pattern of rural exodus has resulted in considerable rebuilding in the city centre and mushrooming suburban development elsewhere. Double-digit economic growth rates in recent years have triggered an economic boom, with new hotels, restaurants, bars, and residential buildings springing up around the city.
Phnom Penh's wealth of historical and cultural sites makes it a very popular tourist destination.

The overall cost of living rank in Thimphu is 300 out of 300 global locations, which makes it the lowest cost of living location. An expatriate moving from Thimphu to Phnom Penh which has an overall cost of living rank of 297, which equates it with low cost of living locations, will experience a change in cost of living of 4.4%.
In terms of the hardship people are likely to experience, assessed in global terms, Phnom Penh is ranked as an extreme hardship location with a hardship index of 40% compared to Thimphu with a hardship index of 40% which is an extreme hardship location.

Source: http://www.xpatulator.com as at July 2011.