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Families in Vietnam
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Gordon



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:05 pm    Post subject: Families in Vietnam Reply with quote
Is anyone out there teaching in Vietnam with a family? I am seriously looking into moving to Vietnam and would love to hear anyone's experiences who have young kids. What are the schools like or would home schooling be the better option? We were in Vietnam last year on a holiday, so I have a bit of an idea what I might expect, but living and vacationing are vastly different.

Thanks.
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Gordon



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 6:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
No kids, eh?
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ChuckECheese



Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 216
PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Gordon wrote:
No kids, eh?


I don't know of any expat teacher who brought their family and kids to VN.

Unless you were an expat executive whose family is being sponsored by his/her employer in VN, you won't be making enough to support your family.

I guess if you are able to live like Vietnamese, it is possible to lead a family life here.

Just to give you an idea of the school cost, international schools for foreign kids tuition ranges from US$5000-$10,000 per year.
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Gordon



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks, but home schooling is an option and not that expensive and my kids are very young.
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mononoaware



Joined: 13 Mar 2007
Posts: 21
Location: saigon, vietnam
PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes, there are expat families here.

Teachers generally don't make enough to send their kids to the best schools--unless maybe you're seriously budgeting in other areas of your life. I have 3 coworkers (that I know of) raising children here. One sends his kids to a French school, because it's more affordable. One's child isn't in school yet (and I think his wife stays home.) And the other has school-aged children, but I'm honestly not sure where they go to school.

Anyway, yes, it is definitely possible. Maybe try sending an email to Saigon South or British International School to get an idea of school fees. There are many other "international schools" with an English curriculum, but only a few insist on qualified teachers. SS and BIS are two of them, and there's two or three others.
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lizarddoctor



Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 141
Location: HCMC, Vietnam
PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
South Saigon is somewhere under 9,000$ USD per year and International School HCMC is over 12,000$ USD per year for a student's tuition costs. Don't know the BIS (British School) student tuition costs, but from of the families of the VNese students that I know go there... it is probably on par with South Saigon as it is cheaper than ISHCMC in District 2 for sure. One of the main reasons that they chose the school over the other.
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naturegirl321



Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
PostPosted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
mononoaware wrote:
Teachers generally don't make enough to send their kids to the best schools--unless maybe you're seriously budgeting in other areas of your life. I have 3 coworkers (that I know of) raising children here. One sends his kids to a French school, because it's more affordable. One's child isn't in school yet (and I think his wife stays home.) And the other has school-aged children, but I'm honestly not sure where they go to school.
Anyway, yes, it is definitely possible. Maybe try sending an email to Saigon South or British International School to get an idea of school fees. There are many other "international schools" with an English curriculum, but only a few insist on qualified teachers. SS and BIS are two of them, and there's two or three others.


Can foreign children go to local schools?
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Rabbit81



Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 3:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
naturegirl321 wrote:
Can foreign children go to local schools?


The schools are entirely in the Vietnamese language.

I don't think foreigners can attend VN public local schools because they aren't citizens.
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Mr Wind-up Bird



Joined: 22 Sep 2004
Posts: 196
PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Even if your kids could attend a local school, you wouldn't want them to, unless you're happy for your offspring to become mindless worker drones. Vietnamese teaching, whatever the subject, involves simple rote learning, I talk you listen, you talk you're in big trouble Laughing

When I was teaching I used to love seeing the look on new students' faces when I asked them for their opinion on something. "Rabbit in the headlights" doesn't come close!
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