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occidentalist_07 · Joined: 15 Jan 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Taipei Taiwan

Its great to see you like Vietnam and its nice to know you ride your motorbike everywhere. As for your comments about living in backpacker areas you are so wrong as I do not enjoy being around foreigners, usually they are embarrassing.

I have made some really nice Vietnamese friends and surprisingly enough they agree with most of what I have said. I realise HCM has to come of age and if you enjoy living like this go for it !! I would suggest that there are many other places in Asia that offer better lifestyles with advanced technology.

It seems to me that the foreigners I meet that have lived here long tern are escaping from the real world, why is that ? Well I would contend that HCM is not for everyone and life is about choices and these choices are made from the information we can assess.

I am posting these ideas to maybe encourage the many who walk this path to research what goes on here as I have noticed most organizations would prefer not to assist with information flow. The old top down management system is alive and well here so don't ask too many questions then you wont get too many lies.

Mr Wind-up Bird · Joined: 22 Sep 2004 Posts: 196

Most long-term expats I know, myself included, are here not to escape from "the real world", whatever that is, but because of things like the climate, the low cost of living, the low crime rate and the wide choice of food.

There may indeed be better places in Asia to live, but I'm happy here thanks. Though you'll be pleased to hear that HCMC is becoming more westernised ("coming of age" as you put it!) - too much traffic, too many soulless chain coffee shops & lounge bars, a more hectic pace of life, lots of office blocks going up. Another casualty of the war between economic growth and quality of life.

chek · Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 14 Location: HCMC, Vietnam

I would have to say that it is very comfortable and a nice place to live. I really enjoy Vietnam. It has its ups and downs like every country. Once you learn to speak some of the language people treat you with respect and they have great humor. If you can't speak to them how do you know what they think and why would they bother to treat you as anything but a foreigner. Imagine being in the States or Britain and not being able to speak a word of English. How friendly would the people be and would your impression be a lot different if you could speak English, I'm sure it would be. So my advice is to learn the language and try and speak to the locals, everything changes. Also I think patience is everything, it is not a developed country and everything takes longer- which is part of the beauty being here. If you want convienence go back home.

They do use everything as a tiolet, but many don't have homes and pitch hammocks along the streets, where else are they going to go. If that is the biggest complaint than you would hate many countries including India and Indonesia. My only complaints are traffic and pollution, which since I moved out of HCMC and into a smaller town I do not have to deal with- problem solved. I love the food, the students are wonderful and work hard, it is a beautiful country, the weather is fabulous along the coast where I live, I save a lot of money and can travel, I enjoy my coworkers, the quality of living is high, I take road trips on my days off on my motorcycle, and my Teacher Assistants provide me with Vietnamese lessons at 50,000 Dong an hour. What is there to complain about? I think it is good, things are always greener on the other side so they say. Plus, I dig that it is so much less touristy that Thailand where I previously was

As someone said before, It is what you make of it. If you are a miserable person who is never satisfied and expects life to be handed to you, you won't like it. If you are a happy go lucky individual who takes what life gives you and tries to make the best of it, you will love it just like anywhere. I'm just happy to be out of the States and away from Bush's rhetoric.

Mr. Kalgukshi · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:10 am Post subject: Warning

I just deleted two postings for being confrontational and insulting. If this is repeated, this thread disappears and individuals responsible for its disappearance will be taking a vacation from this board, temporary or permanent, as warranted.

For the time being, the thread is locked so that everyone gets a chance to read this message before posting is resumed.

On a final note, it is possible for two or more individuals to have different opinions about a place or any such topic. It doesn't mean any one person's opinion is better or worse than another person's. It only means the opinions are different.

A requirement for posting on this board is respect for another person's opinion even if you don't agree with it.

Disrespect of same and not posting in a civil matter will see you looking for another place to spend your time.

No doubt about it.