Job Discussion Forums

[Tue]

[ChuckECheese]

Anyone (namely foreigners) who say that living and working in Vietnam is better compared to their home country is not sane and consider them having serious drinking problem or serious problem(s) back home and no where else to go. I could say this because I've been here in this backward country living and working for over two years. So I've done, seen, hear, and felt that in Vietnam.

Majority of foreigners coming to Vietnam to teach normally last average of six months. The reasons?

1. Government RED tapes (All stupid document requirement making hard for both school and teachers to keep up).
2. Foreigners find out that the vast majority of local people are genuinely dishonest. They are only interested in money and what they can cheat out of you.
3. In general, food $ucks. I don't care what other people say in this forum, you just cannot compare the food here from back home (in the USA). I'm craving for a large Big Mac and Double Cheese Whopper, but no such a thing in Vietnam. Why? Probably because those two franchises are smart enough to figure out what Vietnam is.
4. The schools that we work for are in a state of indecision and confusion. In every schools' administration, people don't know how to make a logical decisions. Talking to them logically with some common sense normally confuse them and you end up just fraustrating yourself more.

There are more reasons but I'll just stop to that. However, there are some reasons why foreigner stay more than a year. Here it is.

1. Things and food (though it $ucks) and drinks in general are very cheap. The living expense in Vietnam including quarters, food/drinks, and entertainment would average around 7-10 million (about $500).

2. You can save money if you're not an alcoholic like many old timers here in Vietnam. People normally don't come to Vietnam as a heavy drinkers, but as time passes with all the fraustration of living and working here, they slowly drink themselves to death. I've seen my colleagues who drink in between classes and even drunk while teaching, and some cases stoned. While I've been here I've been frugal and kept myself sane and saved considerable amount of money.

3. Vietnamese women are beautiful and MOD EDIT. I guess this is one of the biggest reason why old timers stay despite all the fraustrations. But one must be careful with women too. There are more bad ones than good ones like anywhere else. The bad women can drive you insane and dry your bank book to the bottom and some cases even more. I've seen some foreigners who I personally knew commit suicide because they hit rock bottom because of their women. Normally, death of foreigners are not publically talked about nor published in any Vietnames media. Their policy is shhhh........ keep it quiet so that they won't know and more foreigner will come and stay.

I've had enough of this country and am also leaving to return to Korea to accept a new job in September. All in all, it has been a good experience. I don't regret the time I spent here in Vietnam. I've gained and expanded my horizon and truely value human relationship that I have exchanged with both locals and foreigners here. I wish all the old timers lots of luck.

I'm thankful that I'm leaving this country not broke and actually leaving with pocket full of money while leaving a small dent in Vietnames economy.

That's all there is to say about this forum subject........
Foregive me for any typos, if any........

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

I agree with some of your points Chuck, but unfortunately you assume that your negative views apply to all expats. They don't.

[Snaff]

[gulam2]

I have not been to Korea but when I compare Vietnam to Thailand or China - after two working terms in Vietnam - I think China and Thailand are much better.
China is tough you get cheated a lot (they are 110 % dishonest) but they are not as tough as the Vietnamese. Living in Hanoi or HCMC is a constant battle of people trying to rip you off. Also few will bargain.
I even once tried to buy some water in a supermarket in vietnam where the price was on the bottle - the lady at the till tried to charge me a lot more - I had to leave the water.
Vietnam is expensive I found apartments in Hanoi at least 3 X more expensive than BANGKOK.!!!
The extra money you get in Vietnam does not add up - you have to spend it.
It is also a lot more difficult to relax in Vietnam than in Thailand or China.
Sat. TV is a plus in Vietnam as opposed to China (wake -up China!)
The "red-tape* in Vietnam is worse than in China or even Thailand.
But the most suprising thing I found about Vietnam was how unfriendly they are - certainly worse than Cambodia, Thailand, China.

[ChuckECheese]

Mr Wind-up, I've decided to respond to your aggressive response to my personal experience and view of working and living in Vietnam. I admit that my previous post does not apply to all old timers, but most of them.

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

Chuck, I'm perfectly happy to discuss the pros/cons of living & working in Vietnam with you. But if you're going to make ill-informed, offensive, personal comments about me, my family & my friends, as well as making bizarre allegations on other threads about me being a member of the Vietnamese secret police, then I'm not prepared to continue the dialogue.

If you can't handle people with different opinions and experiences to yours, maybe you should avoid internet forums like this one.

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

Suggestion: Stick to the topic and stay away from personal attacks and confrontational postings.

If not, you will be taking a vacation from this board, temporary or permanent, as appropriate.