Living In Laos

The educational options for parents of expatriate children living in Lao are severely restricted as the nation is poor, the standards of living are low and the availability of local and international schools is limited; in fact international education in Laos comes primarily in the form of the Vientiane International School.

The Vientiane International School is a private school teaching boys and girls of all nationalities through the medium of English from the ages of three through to eighteen and it provides many options for parents of German, Dutch, Japanese, Nepali and Thai children for example to have extra English as a foreign language lessons as well as extra curricular lessons in their own mother tongue.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is not a destination one associates with high paying expatriate positions – rather jobs in Laos mainly consist of voluntary charity work, low paying aid association postings and the occasional job teaching English as a foreign language or leading tours and treks around the country. 

The majority of those who find jobs in Laos have travelled around neighbouring Thailand, China and Vietnam for example and finally settled in Lao with a desire to truly help the local indigenous people or the beautiful natural environment.  This is an article about jobs in Laos, working in Vientiane and the main charities and aid agencies helping in Lao.

Laos, Lao and Lao PDR are all names commonly used to refer to Lao People’s Democratic Republic which is also known as the poorest country in South East Asia.  Laos borders Burma, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand and is accessible from most of these countries with the easiest way to reach Laos’ capital city of Vientiane by bus from Thailand or by plane from Bangkok. 

Living and working in Laos is not something that many expatriates choose to do because as stated the nation is so poor and underdeveloped, but for those interested in spending a gap year in Laos or volunteering to teach or assist in Lao PDR here’s an introduction to the country.