Job Discussion Forums

hot_rock · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 107

I have been teaching at VUS (Saigon) for four months, and I think soon I will just about had enough of HCMC. I didn't come to SE Asia to spend every day and night in an urban sprawl; much as I do actually like Saigon, I know I'd be happier in a smaller city, ideally with a beach and at least a hint of nightlife relative to say, Mui Ne.

I feel nha Trang (and Mui ne, Danang etc.) are very under-discussed on this forum, which too often feels just full of the same old Saigon/vietnam-as-a-whole questions.

So what's Nha Trang like to live and work in, anyone done it, or there now? Are/were you aware of people working lots of hours, finding jobs quite easily?

I have a CELTA, degree and, as I say, will have 6 months' VUS experience by then.

I also have a friend there who claims you can "easily find an appartment for under 2 million". That would suggest that the housing market is cheaper than in Saigon, though obviosuly this is only one guy's opinion, and to be fair you can find those prices in saigon if you ask around properly. And, to be honest, here I wouldn't pay it; I'm here to save money (partially) but my current 3-million pad is as low as I would ever go in terms of ammentities. My basic concern is actually that housing might be veryexpensive there, as it is surely a very desirable place to live for Viets and expats.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

jb0072009 · Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 127 Location: Saigon

I lived in Nha Trang for 6 months prior to Saigon. Here are my impresssions. The city is indeed very beautiful, the beach nice, surrounded by mountains, many islands even an amusement park called Vinapearl on one of the islands!. The weather is nice most of the time, the rainy season is from September to December. There is nightlife but it is very limited mostly to restaraunts, cafes, the beach. I think there is one disco in town. There is only 1 supermarket, a Maximart that is constantly running out of things. That might be better now as they have built a newer bigger store. Indeed the rent is very cheap compared to Saigon. I had a 4 bedroom house, about 200 sq meters and paid 3.5 million a month! It was about 4 km from the beach. Do not expect much for 2 million dong. The closer to the beach the more money and unfortunately usually older more run down. There are many rats in Nha Trang, big ones that you see day and night running eveywhere. The only really thing I did not like there were the Viet people. Seems like everyone was a pimp, prostitute , drug dealer or combo. They are very open about it there. You get approached for drugs and sex constantly by: xe om and taxi drivers, hotels, on the beach even by men standing on the streets. I remember riding my motorbike there many times at night and some Viet man on another motorbike would pull up to me and ask if I wanted "bum bum, massage or cocaine"
The job situation there is not good as many others have stated previously. There were only 2 schools there: VATC and some college. Might be more now. Many expats have privates but they get paid little as most Viets make little there (avg about 2000000 VND/month). Also there are a ton of local Viet teachers that "teach" English at low rates like 300000VND/month that most of the locals go to. Most expats I knew there had their own business, not ESL teachers.
The medical care there is very bad, most of the locals when they get sick go to Saigon. There is 1 clinic that is not bad, better than the hospital. You can buy most everything there as you can in Saigon but a much smaller selection. Hope this helps

Mattingly · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 249

Buffalo Boy · Joined: 02 Oct 2009 Posts: 80

I tried teaching in the provinces. It's not worth it.

What you should do is:
Get a steady job at a good school in Saigon. $2500-$3000 per month.

Find a nice apartment in a quiet (er) part of town like Phu My Hung. Make yourself comfortable. Create a refuge.

Save your money for regular trips to Mui Ne/Nha Trang/Dalat/Cambodia/Thailand.

The key to living in Saigon is getting out of Saigon. I wish I'd known that.

jb0072009 · Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 127 Location: Saigon

hot_rock · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 107

Thanks for the responses. based on that, it seems my vision of nha trang (for teaching) was indeed too good to be true.

But i cannot emphasis enough what a joy living out of the city would be. It doesn't sound too hot on the job front but someone else I spoke to said it was good; who knows (as always with such a topic).

I see what you're saying about district 7, I've got mates there and it really is classy. b\But to be honest, its just not for me. Whenever i go there i feel as much affected my the urban "disadvantages" of saigon as I do here in district 3. Unless you work in D7 (incidentally I've met some that do that tell many horror stories, poor relations between Viet and western staff, pay rip-offs, lying), you've got a long, ugly and filthy ride over to town centre. things cost more (obviously rent to a big degree but even groceries), as well. I'd then spend my life in a beautiful appartment but rarely leave it; and when i did, saigon would feel even worse in comparison.

There seemed to be no street food (I will get slated for citing this but I make no apologies), which FOR ME would be a big disadvantage. Sometimes it looks unhygeinic and tastless but I've eaten it every day since coming here (about 150 days), enjoyed almost every meal, saved a shit load of money, and never been ill once. You get served by the owner (or a friend/family member), which means you invariably (when you reflect on it) get very good, friendly and fast service. half the time when I eat in other places we get served by some pathetic little kid (probably mid-20s) who aggravates the life out of every one with a mixture of slowness, poor english, misunderstanding, lying to cover up order mistakes, and all the time sad little attempts to get us to spend more. I know he's only on 80,000 a shift and its not his/her fault, but this is something that would begin to grate after a few weeks.

And in the 24-hour shop in Phu My Hung I want to tear my hair out every time i go in; this doesn't happen in district three; they're a bit slow but they have an ounce of charm and familiarity after a while.

But don't get me wrong, I'm certainly NOT criticising anyone for living there; I'm not in saigon for very long, and its me that's saying i want to leave! And the apartments are beautiful, I love visiting people there in that respect.

So this has turned into what seems like a D7 rant; it isn't. I'm just putting it out there in response to the view that one can "get away from it all" out there, and that it is a real alternative to life in a beach city. But then, in D7 i could maintain a good job at VUS and all things considered probably save about the same amount of money than if I had a worse job in Nha Trang...

Whatever! Thanks a lot for the advice. Interested to see if anyone shares my D7 views; but I must emphasize that I'm not knocking anyone for living there, its a cool place

Buffalo Boy · Joined: 02 Oct 2009 Posts: 80

I've never actually lived in D.7, but if I was going to stay in Vietnam I would definitely try it rather than move to a smaller town. The good schools are all in the main centres. I worked at two schools in the Mekong and visited numerous others and they are much the same. No resources, low pay, low hours, large classes of out of control children and mismanaged by megalomaniac, penny-pinching Vietnamese owners. I could go on. Students who are smart and serious about learning English will come to HCMC for that.

Like JB0072009 I also had a lot of bad experiences with the locals in my town. Don't expect people to be nicer and friendlier just because it's the countryside. I've never had my windows smashed in Saigon or been beseiged in my home by a gang of knife wielding teenagers, but that happened in the provinces. If you like to be followed by people screaming "Hello" at you repeatedly followed by a stream of filthy Vietnamese obsenities it could be for you.

Also, Vietnamese do not respect you for trying to live like one of them -eating street food, living in an all Viet neighbourhood. They despise you for it.

D.7 may not be perfect but I believe that the scenario I outlined above is about as good as it gets in Vietnam.

And yes, I am leaving soon.

London Bridge · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 34

Buffalo Boy · Joined: 02 Oct 2009 Posts: 80

Seeking a better life for my family elsewhere.

jb0072009 · Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 127 Location: Saigon

Buffalo boy,
Did you work in Long Xuyen? My wife is from there so I have been down there too many times unfortunately. You are right about the constant "hello's, how are you, what your name". They do not see many foreigners down there. You are also correct about many being anti-foreigner, particuarlly Americans. Mostly it is the older folks over 50. Many were VC during the American War. How do I know that? My wife told me. I am considering a job down there but they will have to offer some serious coin to put up with the worst health care in Vietnam, mosquitoes all year, big rats everywhere and just plain nasty weather which I doubt they will do

londo · Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Posts: 107 Location: District 7

Hot_rock, what a difference a couple of weeks make, eh?, but to continue the love in, I've lived in D1, D5 and now D7. When you're new to the country D1 is OK, D3 has some wonderful architecture (particularly behind Hai Ba trung, towards the river end) D5 can be real interesting around Cho Lon but if you actually live here and don't need 'adventure' travel then D7 is relaxing, quiet and liveable.

As for expensive, sorry to beat the drum but , yes, there are expensive places, but also dirt cheap even in PMH. Groceries more expensive? - no way. If you know Thailand, you know it is always cheaper than VN, but you spend more in Thailand because there are more temptations (of all sorts), more to do, more fun---same with D7 (except the fun bit, maybe!)

The supermarkets (Coop etc) have the same prices for staples as anywhere else, but we also get salted butter, best back bacon, cheddar cheese, fresh milk, good steaks, baked beans, etc etc etc..so we spend more.

Restaurants more expensive?...no , if you eat Vietnamese, Ph� costs the same here as anywhere, but we've also got, Indian, Thai, Russian, Australian, British, Korean, Japanese, Singaporean, italian, french, etc etc ...and who doesn't hanker after the occasional treat or comfort food?

Bars? beer costs the same here...but we also have Brit, American , Ozzie , Russian, Korean bars with all the goodies and the sounds and voices of home...nice now and again...but costs more.

You want street food, on the bike for 3 (three) minutes towards the top (Port) end of Nguyen Van Linh and you find 2km of local, cheap, fun open air restaurants. Five (5 )minutes in the other direction you find Thi Thap (starting from Lotte) with miles of cheap street food, karaoke, Bia Hoi (or if the fancy takes you - Bia Om)

Long drive in?--if you take the old routes thru D1-port or D1-D4 yes, but anyone who lives here knows you take the road to RMIT, hang a right at 'big man bridge' and you're in D5 (Nancy Bridge) in 8-9 minutes, the reason it takes me half hour to get to the office in D1, is the traffic in D5 and D1 itself and I'd get that wherever I lived

Don't want to sound like a marketing manager for PMH corporation, but there is a lot of BS said about this place, usually by people who don't know..If you are serious about living and working in VN then Hanoi or HCMC is where it's at...and D7 is about as comfortable (if you don't want to burn out) as it gets.

snollygoster · Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 478

Paradise.
BUT- The only real opportunity for teaching in Nha Trang is VATC.
Its a private franchise and the pay rates offered are lower than those usually offered within the VATC system.
Not actually enough to live comfortably.

There IS an alternative- a small school run by a committed VK man. Great intentions, but what he can get in via fees barely covers his own living expenses, so what he can afford to offer other teachers is low accordingly.

Lovely place-pity about the lack of work opportunities.

lucreziaborgia · Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 177

A friend lived in Nha Trang for about a year recently and picked up some private students and part-time work in a school. He made enough to live including paying for a room in a guest house.
Hue is another possibility but it pays badly. You would have to work 30 hours a week to pay for housing, food and travelling around the province.
There were 2 English language schools in Hue when I was there and both paid very well. One is the Singapore International School and the other was Mundo School.
I use the past tense re Mundo School as I don't know if it is still operating in Hue. It had a very rocky start but may have got its act together. Anyone know if Mundo School is around?
Work at the University and other colleges in Hue is badly paid. A couple of years ago they offered around $10 an hour to teach classes over 30 students. The private Vietnamese owned language schools for YLs are numerous but also pay badly and will expect you to manage 'conversation classes' of up to 60 kids.
Hue could be an alternative to Hanoi and HCMC.

lucreziaborgia · Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 177

A friend lived in Nha Trang for about a year recently and picked up some private students and part-time work in a school. He made enough to live including paying for a room in a guest house.
Hue is another possibility but it pays badly. You would have to work 30 hours a week to pay for housing, food and travelling around the province.
There were 2 English language schools in Hue when I was there and both paid very well. One is the Singapore International School and the other was Mundo School.
I use the past tense re Mundo School as I don't know if it is still operating in Hue. It had a very rocky start but may have got its act together. Anyone know if Mundo School is around?
Work at the University and other colleges in Hue is badly paid. A couple of years ago they offered around $10 an hour to teach classes over 30 students. The private Vietnamese owned language schools for YLs are numerous but also pay badly and will expect you to manage 'conversation classes' of up to 60 kids.
Hue could be an alternative to Hanoi and HCMC.

lucreziaborgia · Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 177

A friend lived in Nha Trang for about a year recently and picked up some private students and part-time work in a school. He made enough to live including paying for a room in a guest house.
Hue is another possibility but it pays badly. You would have to work 30 hours a week to pay for housing, food and travelling around the province.
There were 2 English language schools in Hue when I was there and both paid very well. One is the Singapore International School and the other was Mundo School.
I use the past tense re Mundo School as I don't know if it is still operating in Hue. It had a very rocky start but may have got its act together. Anyone know if Mundo School is around?
Work at the University and other colleges in Hue is badly paid. A couple of years ago they offered around $10 an hour to teach classes over 30 students. The private Vietnamese owned language schools for YLs are numerous but also pay badly and will expect you to manage 'conversation classes' of up to 60 kids.
Hue could be an alternative to Hanoi and HCMC.