Job Discussion Forums

[Bold As Love]

I will be moving to hcmc next month, and have never visited the city. I have been looking at some of the realtor web sites for apartments in D7 Phu My Hung. Some buildings that show up with apartments in the 400-500 USD range are Hung Vuong Apartments.

Can anyone on the board provide some first-hand experience about these builidings? I'd appreciate any information on amenities, location, general level of upkeep or decrepitude.

I'll be meeting a realtor to look at some apartments when I come out, but somehow I feel that his and my interests may not be perfectly aligned.

[hot_rock]

Do you really need to pay 400-500 dollars a month? You probably can "afford it" but perhaps a couple of hundred bucks a month extra saved would come in handy for other stuff e.g. travelling.

I say this because I estimate the "going rate" for one person to be between 200-300, and even this is a result of many people basically jumping head first into the first deal offered to them.

I pay $159 a month plus electricity; comes out at about $170 total. Its in a "central" area (District 3, le Van Sy) -albeit not District 1 but who cares - and has a brand new air-con unit, satellite TV and all furnishings. I know a few others with similar deals; the key is to ask Vietnamese people to help you. In my case I asked two girls to "ask around for me", and unlike what you might expect in the West, they actually did, in earnest. Within three days they've both heard of suitible places on the grapevine, under $200 a month.

What you've got to remember about sites like craiglist.org is that (a) there are many 'chancer' landlords whop are putting up vastly inflated prices simply for the hell of it to see if they get a bite, and (b) anyone can view craigslist, which means landlords don't really know who they're offering the room to. If you do it through a local, they can vouch for your character/personality/career prospects etc., which gives the landlord piece of mind and saves you money.

$500 a month is a huge amount for a westerner, let alone a Vietnamese. My VN friends pay around $50 a month. (I know one student who pays $60 for eight months in a student dorm)

[londo]

'Bold As Love' sorry I didn't reply to your PM, I haven't posted enough to qualify yet! Firstly, it depends what you need. Some posters imagine that all teachers are young, without partners/family or are prepared to slum it. I'm 49 and have been teaching for 25 years and I am married with a child and see no reason why I should live without space, security and comfort for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks a month. I lived in D5(Nguyen Trai- very central) and after the first couple of months it can be extremely wearing and D7 was a revelation; wide roads, little traffic, peace and quiet, great bars and restaurants. When I get back from D1, where I work, it is so pleasant to walk with my family and dog without worrying they are going to get mown down. I live in Huong Vuong and though it certainly is getting tired (it was the first complex in PMH) and not as nice as apartment complexes in other great cities of the world, compared to ANYTHING available in central districts it's palatial and ONLY $400 a month, let's be serious, it's true students pay very little for rooms or dorms, is anyone seriously suggesting I or others should do the same - what would be the point? - most of us earn AT LEAST $1500 a month so less than a third of income is still far less than any western country and I, like others, do NOT spend every evening clubbing (frankly I prefer a meal and a DVD these days) so a comfortable home is important. If you want local 'colour' just take the bike and in 5 minutes you can find all the street restaurants, bia hoi and markets you could possibly want - and at better prices than the centre. Huong Vuong has security, nice gardens and my place at least has two floors, cable, AC, nice western kitchen, 2 double bedrooms and at weekends I leave the bike in the garage and walk everywhere - try it and see

[londo]

Oh, forget to add, 'Bold As Love', nearer the time PM me and I'll give you my cell no. and show you around and introduce you to my realtor, a great girl, and she has places from $250. Hopefully I'll have posted enough to reply!

[Bold As Love]

[rpulayya]

Thanks for the advice!

[rpulayya]

Hello everyone! My fianc� and I will be moving to Vietnam in late August. We are currently teaching English in Vietnam. We will be new to the scene of moving to a country without having a job secured before. We are both American citizens who will have one year of teaching experience at middle schools with our TESOL certificate. We would like to live in the Saigon area and we don't know where to start. We have been sending out emails to different schools but never get any replies. Everyone we talk to says that you must be in Vietnam in order to get a teaching job. Any advice, suggestions, comments would be extremely helpful.

How do we deal with the VISA process? Will we have to make visa runs?
How hard is it to find a job?

Is Saigon the best area to teach? Or does it make sense to teach outside of the city

Where can you make the most money?

Are their jobs outside of teaching that foreigners can get? (I have over 3 years of sales experience, worked for HSBC)

What district is the best to live in? We would like to live around some foreigners.What apartments? What are the prices?

How much money do you think on average one can make with our experience per month? (In Korea we make about 1800USD per month)

I would really like to thank everyone in advance for your help. This will be very exciting and we are looking to make some good friends in Vietnam.

Thanks,

Randy Pulayya
[email protected]
www.ourkoreanteapot.com

[CThomas]

[rpulayya]

Sorry CThomas. I have been going through the threads just trying to get some updated advice on our situation. How long have you been in Vietnam? Do you think we would have a problem finding a job early September in Saigon? Are schools always hiring? Thanks.

Randy
www.ourkoreanteapot.com

[CThomas]

There is another recent thread that is discussing exactly this question, man. This thread is talking about specific apartments. This forum can be very useful; just feel it out a little more and stay focused.