Job Discussion Forums

[frogandeagle]

[saigon cowboy]

Yes frog, she's vietnamese. I don't know if this helps or hurts the situation.
With two foreigners living together the police might harass them more than if one of them were vietnamese due to the fact they can extort more money from two foreigners.

Pleading ignorance of the law is an option, but you still might have to pay a fine.

It also depends on your neighborhood. Vuon Chuoi ( banana garden )neighborhood in district 3 is more strict.

Nearby Soviet neighborhood is not as strict, but still try to keep a low profile. No open displays of affection etc.

It's just not socially acceptable to most vietnamese for unmarried people to live together regardless of what the law says.

[Texas_blu]

This is a post I put in the thread "forgandeagle" started

[saigon cowboy]

Phu My Hung is too expensive for english teachers, but it would be an ideal place otherwise.

So, the burden is on those who choose to break the moral standards of vietnam.
Yes you can live together , but be prepared for police scrutiny and possibly moving again and again.

In my opinion it's no advantage if you are both foreigners.

In fact I think the advantage is having a vietnamese girlfriend who is well spoken, respectable, and who can talk on your behalf.

[Texas_blu]

[saigon cowboy]

Well what do you do.....show your marriage license to every nosey neighbor on your street ?

I tell the neighbors nothing and the police the truth.

[mach114]

Actually if you have a proper marriage license, you show it to the police when you register for your new house or give them a photocopy. They will leave you alone guaranteed. They never bothered my wife and I for more than three years while I lived in Vietnam at various locations.

Also, you should consider learning Vietnamese so you can understand what she is talking about and the police for that matter. Your married already, she knows this? So what does she want from you? All questions I hope you have asked yourself. You seem like you are in Vietnam for the long term and trying to make the best of it, so I suggest you invest sometime in the language and be independent from your girlfriend. Besides, if you can talk to the neighbors they are more likely to be accepting of you and you might actually make some good friends. Just some healthy advice from a concerned Dave's blogger.

[sigmoid]

Anyone who doubts how prudish the Vietnamese can be, read this:

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/SE+Asia/Story/STIStory_392961.html

Cover underwear mannequins

HANOI - SHOP mannequins displaying underwear will have to take cover under a regulation passed by authorities in Vietnam's commercial capital.

The models must no longer be visible from shop fronts under the rule controlling various forms of advertising in southern Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City newspaper said on its website.

'Putting the mannequin somewhere that people in the streets cannot see it is OK,' the report quoted local official Le Quang Vinh as saying.

'No one wears underwear in public places, and it runs counter to Vietnamese traditional custom.'

Underwear mannequins are widespread at shops in Ho Chi Minh City and elsewhere in Vietnam. -- AFP

[saigon cowboy]

Dang.... no more cruising around and looking at shop window underwear mannequins.

[mach114]

[Cat Attack]

I've lived with my boyfriend in Hanoi (4 months) and Da Nang (5 months) and we've had no issues. Especially being in Danang, we are the only foreigners in teh street, everyone knows we are not married.
Had no problems at all.

[Texas_blu]

Overlapping laws and situations that aren't clearly defined are fairly normal here in VN. Here's an article in the Thanh Nien Newspaper that writes about this. Although it's primarily about business, this is also true about civil laws.
here's the link...

http://www.thanhniennews.com/commentaries/?catid=11&newsid=50420