Job Discussion Forums

[suoose]

Ok, currently I live and work in South Korea and honestly can't wait to leave. One of the few positives is the money (when I actually get paid that is), but too many negatives outbalance this in my opinion. I am experiencing all the bad-things the disgruntled write about. Never thought this would happen to me, however I am experiencing them first-hand. I will be leaving Korea here in a couple of months to work in Vietnam. I visited Vietnam before choosing Korea (purely for financial reasons) now I think I made a huge mistake considering I prefered to work in Vietnam. Anyways I have a friend who has been working in Vietnam now and has convinced me to give it a try. However he works in Danang which is quite different from Hanoi, or Saigon. He rents a huge house, its cheap and gets away with bringing over guests and girls whenever he wants to without much trouble. I consider Danang a bit small and more on the boring side and prefer to be located in Hanoi or Saigon. So the main question here is can you find a place to live in either of these cities where you can bring over your girlfriend or guests without a whole lot of hassle? I've heard mixed stories about this and would like some clarification. I don't want to be stuck having to figure our ways around the system over there if there's an easier way to living a somewhat normal existance over there. I have visited all three cities and I think I will probably give Saigon a try. Fill me in guys, thanks!

[nkminh]

Nothing will stop you from bringing your girlfriends over, overnight to your rented house or appartment, unless you are only part-renting a room in the the house. It's a big NO in Vietnamese culture to let couple have sex in their house, as they believe that would bring bad luck to their family. For more dos & don'ts, have a look at www.lonelyroos.com
Good luck

[Rogue Trader]

Depends on a lot of things, you just gotta know the ropes.

The government and the cops generally know everything about you without overtly intruding on your life. Don't piss them off and you'll be fine.

Keep on good terms with your neighbours. I really can't stress this. My roommates and myself are in great with our neighbours and we get away with murder (we literally could, should the fancy take us). I know others who've slighted someone in their street and received passive aggressive hassles from the cops ever since.

As for the having girls over thing, it gets blown out of proportion because it's taken quite seriously around PNL (the backpacker zone) where there is a lot of prostitution going on in hostels. The law, by the letter, is against unmarried couples sharing a room overnight. It is only practically enforced against foreign/vietnamese couplings.

If you rent your own house there is absolutely nothing that can be done against you, as a late night visit by the police will find little more than a female friend innocently sleeping on the couch, right? If you live in a hostel it's a different matter.

Hope this helps.

RT.

[arodeorowdy]

I am glad to see this as I thought VN's police where really into all foreigners lives. It's one reason I haven't treked over to VN. as I'm a single guy and don't want to be celebate because of some countries rules.
So as one posted here, "it's been blown out of proportion", right? Cool
rodeorowdy

[AsiaTraveller]

And if you're ever 'lonely' enough to use the lonelyroos.com Web site to find the little Vietnamese lady of your dreams, you can offer your English-language skills to help them correct the many errors on their pages.