If you’re not quite ready to sign a lease or don’t want to live alone, a shared apartment is the way to go.

If you’re not quite ready to sign a lease or don’t want to live alone, a shared apartment is the way to go. It’s quite easy to find already established shared apartments to join, or to set up a new one up on your own (although that will necessitate getting a lease).

Apartment shares in Phnom Penh run from $70 to $250 for a bedroom in a shared flat (or even more if you’re looking for a luxury apartment). The cheaper ones are usually located outside the center of town in Khmer-style apartments, where residents may have to forego such Western amenities as ovens and kitchen counter space. The more expensive ones are in BKK1 and offer all of the amenities, often including swimming pools and gyms. In Siem Reap, the prices are lower, and in smaller cities even less than that.

In a shared apartment situation, generally either long- or short-term stays are acceptable. One housemate is usually the leaseholder, and all housemates split the shared bills, such as utilities and internet. Because of the high cost of electricity and Cambodia’s heat, it’s good to discuss how the electricity bills will be split–if one housemate works at home or likes to use a lot of air-conditioning, it can make bills substantially higher. Most houseshare situations also hire a cleaner two or three times a week, the cost of which is also shared.

To find apartment shares in Phnom Penh, check out Cambodia Parent’s Network and several Facebook expat groups. To find apartment shares in Siem Reap, try the Siem Reap Expats Facebook Group. To find apartment shares in Kampot and Kep, visit the Kampot and Kep Noticeboard on Facebook. To find apartment shares in Sihanoukville, check out the Sihanoukville Expats Facebook group or the Sihanoukville Online Forums. (See our Web resources section for more information and links to all of the best expat groups in Cambodia.)

This is an excerpt from Move to Cambodia: A guide to living and working in the Kingdom of Wonder. To learn more about 100+ topics that pertain to Cambodia expats, please consider buying the book.