Job Discussion Forums

[Green Acres]

It is odd that Vietnam is expensive, nowadays. It wasn't so a few years back and before. Inflation is double-digits for the 2nd year, and the recent gas price surge also pushed prices upward. The poverty line is shifting, again, and there are now many buildings absent businesses. Real estate and locked in rates perpetuate higher consumer prices and inflation.

Vietnam is the host to real estate that is the most expensive in the world per m2. I'm amazed by this fact. I'm also amazed at lots that 8 years ago cost between 10-20,000 dollars that are selling for $850,000.

I believe a critical mass has been reached, and it is apparent that businesses that invested in Vietnam the last few years are struggling. How this will affect the next few years of economic activity is still uncertain, though it must be said, things are not as they once were.

I remember having my rent increase by 25% because of the rising cost of oil. Then when the oil prices dropped significantly, did my rent also return to previous rates? Excluding the price of automobiles and trucks, which have fallen over the past 5 years, I know of no other commodity or service that has decreased in price. Basically, prices will not fall because the myth of value must be maintained. I suppose this is the nature of inflation.

In terms of housing tax, a landlord must have a special license to rent a dwelling to a foreigner. The landlord pays about 22% tax (as opposed to around 5-10% if renting to a Vietnamese national). The tax is added to the rental cost of a dwelling (even if the dwelling is illegally rented to a foreigner -- and hence the tax is not paid). Sometimes this dual pricing is seen as discriminatory, though it is regulatory. If you wonder whether or not your dwelling is legally rented, then check for the presence of 2 fire extinguishers which must be inside the dwelling to comply with current regulations. Most foreigners pay a tax that has no representation. I have only lived in one dwelling that complied with regulations, though have always paid the "tax."

[hydrogonian]

Is making sweeping generalizations about Viets, racist? Yes. But I think those type of generalizations usually come from multiple real world negative experiences, and therefore it is an easier way for the poster to state their bad experience with Viet people than saying "I had a bad experience with viet x, viet y, and viet z." Or "I had a bad experience with the majority of viets that I encountered." I have yet to meet the person who frames their repeated negative experiences with foreigners in this more accurate way. A few very bad experiences, and the generalizations flow freely from that point on. Is it right? No. But it is the rule.

Therefore, is calling someone out on it being too sensitive? Yes.

You must not be American, and have to listen to every other foreigner on the planet generalize about us, in both the professional and off the clock environments. Many of the Brits that I have met tend to have an especially big chip on their shoulder, for what reason I do not know. Although, it is by no means just Brits. And I have met some truly fantastic individuals from the UK, so no generalization implied. I usually hold my tongue, because I could care less, but also because it makes the offender seem that much more unsocialized, which is highlighted even more by their original pretense of americans being uncultured/etc... Most people wouldnt engage in criticizing an entire race/nationality in public, especially with members of that nationality/race in earshot. Americans hear it constantly.

Also, have you met most native asians?(Im aware of the irony of this generalization). With individual exceptions understood, there tends to be a culture of racism that is just not seen in the west, on the whole. Especially against other asians. So, your defense of viets from "sweeping racist generalizations", while understood, is a bit misguided. Most people understand that individual exceptions apply, and unless they would defend you against the same, which they wouldnt, why would you? Anyway, not to dissuade you from the good fight, but try not to disrail threads because of it.

[Galileo]

Making negative generalizations about a group of people based on your own limited experience may be racist. However, I don't think it is as nearly as racist as the kind of discrimination that foreigners sometimes become a target of here.

[inky]

This thread was derailed by the person who made the racist comments. And if you think that comments like that should be allowed to stand without comment, then you're just as bad as the person making the comments. I get tired of these embittered ex-pats who decide to blame their own unhappy circumstances on "the Vietnamese." This is a forum for, among other things, people considering teaching in Vietnam. How do overly-generalized comments help people in that decision-making process, unless they are countered by different opinions/experiences? Fair and balanced, as they say.