living in HCMC

[jonbalion]

hello this is my first post. i am currently living in Hua Hin in Thailand but due to the uncertainty in Thailand i am becoming uncomfortable about staying here. So therefore i am seeking advice about monetary issues for living in Vietnam. My primary concern is accomodation, at present i have a condo in Hua Hin , approx 84 m 2, it comprises of a living / sleeping area, kichen , bathroom and balcony for which i pay 6,000 bht (£150) per month. What would i be expected to pay in HCMC ?. For the rest i have no issues (food entertainment etc). For the last 10 years HH has been a great place to live but now that the army has taken over it is steadily going down hill. I look forward to any imput given

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

I don't know if you can read this Housing HCMC FB page without being a member. But it is full of listings. I happen to be a member because I was looking to live there early this year. Decided against it. Reason: Saigon apartments are on the same expense level as Bangkok, only Saigon does not have a metro transit system -- although a Skytrain/subway system its slowly being built. 

 

You have a very large apartment in HH. Something like that is bound to be 10 million to 15 million dong/month (22,300 dong/$1). Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/330339417123482/

[tutsiwarrior]

HCMC is very expensive and if you don't have an employer to pay fer yer housing expect anything that is suitable (like in District 1) to be prohibitive...10 years ago I had a 2 bed serviced apartment in a very nice part of District 1 and I didn't even wanna know what it cost...

 

but, the possibilities are always worth investigating in the outlying districts...always look to see what facilities are available because getting around town can be difficult without a car and a driver (also usually provided by an employer)...taxis are usually plentiful and cheap in the center of town...if ye can find a location near a market you can do OK...I was fortunate as there was a Co-op supermarket nearby, with good produce and nice fresh bread from the in house bakery and a nice charcuterie selection...those little things that can increase yer quality of life significantly...

[jonbalion]

thanks for the replies, both helpful. i will not be working as i am self sufficent. i am not looking for a top class apartement just something that i can call home, as for getting around, motorbike, i think if i can handle BKK and PARIS i can handle anything

[bartender100]

Forgive me for being obvious! why don't you fly there and have a look for a couple of weeks?

 

BKK to Saigon about 70 Euro return, and by the way, Vietnam is a milatary controlled county also

[mikebike]

2 hours ago, jonbalion said:

...as for getting around, motorbike, i think if i can handle BKK and PARIS i can handle anything

Obviously you have not spent much, if any, time in HCMC... HCMC traffic makes BKK and Paris traffic look like a walk in the park.

[tutsiwarrior]

5 hours ago, jonbalion said:

thanks for the replies, both helpful. i will not be working as i am self sufficent. i am not looking for a top class apartement just something that i can call home, as for getting around, motorbike, i think if i can handle BKK and PARIS i can handle anything

 

NO! do not presume that if you can handle a motorbike in BKK that you can handle anything...HCMC is inna different league...rivers of motorbikes inna ceaseless tide coursing down the streets...pedestrians havta 'wade' across and not make any sudden moves lest they are reduced to a grease spot on the road...

 

ye gotta see it to believe it...I still really like the place, regardless...

[PattayaParent]

Have a look at websites for apartments in District 2, Thao Dien, there's a lot of foreign schools there and a lot of foreigners live in the area including teachers so I think rents should be reasonable although the places are very new. Unlikely you'll get something as cheap as HH though.

 

Don't really know the other areas of HCMC but more local districts will be cheaper.

 

There's plenty of taxis around in all areas and also a local bus system, it's like being in Bangkok in terms of ease to get around. Don't worry about motocy riding as all traffic goes fairly slowly, is orderly, and gives way, unlike in Thailand where you're always at risk.

 

Other than accommodation everything else is cheaper than Thailand, Dong 100,000 ($3) per month for unlimited mobile data on your 'phone sim, local food and beer, cinema, satellite tv for the EPL..

 

Do some online research then as someone suggested go and spend a couple of weeks looking around, you don't need a visa for a 15 day visit.

[Mekong Thunder]

From what I know the food is on a par with Thailand,the internet also and apartments and houses can be rented all over the city no problem,probably not as cheap as Hua Hin but that's a provincial city anyway!
The visas I'm not so sure about,I think you have to keep extending them from inside the country and I believe that you have to pay 40% on any income earned inside the country and they are very strict about that?

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah...expect to pay a hefty income tax for income made within VN...I anticipated this in 2010 when I went to Hanoi and had it written into my contract of employment that the agreed monthly figure was a net amount to be paid into my bank account and that the employer would be responsible for any tax liability...my colleagues were not so fortunate and dismayed to find their salaries reduced by 20 - 30%

 

the local food ain't much...on my street in HCMC there were pho bo places and their stuff was tasty (it's all in the broth)...also ladies with handcarts selling banh mi sandwiches in the morning and I usually got a couple to take to work...but these were the delights of District 1, not sure what to expect elsewhere in town...if ye got cooking facilities and a market nearby you can eat what ye want...I remember avocadoes were dirt cheap and plentiful...nice to mash up on a fresh baguette...women in cone hats with baskets of fresh loaves by the road in the p.m....

 

when ye get out to the provinces the food becomes inedible, order chicken and they smash up a carcass with a cleaver and dump it into hot oil and then serve it...lovely fresh veges but they boil the shit outta everything...at a roadhouse we were faced with plates of tasteless boiled tofu, and spinach and I said to my dining companion: 'wouldn't it be nice if they stir fried these ingredients with some garlic and onions?'...and she looked at me and said: 'clever? are we?' and then I shut up...

 

 

[Mekong Thunder]

On 12/10/2016 at 0:54 AM, tutsiwarrior said:

also ladies with handcarts selling banh mi sandwiches in the morning

My knees actually go weak just thinking about Banh Mi crispy,crunchy baguettes!

[laban]

Just got back from HCMC. Traffic is bad, but no worse than BKK just 100 x more bikes. Food ok, but most importantly people are nice, smiling, helpful and a lot speak English.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[mcfish]

In what Way has the army affected your quality of life in Hua hin ?
The noise in HCMC will drive you insane. A Thousand motor bikes all tooting the horn at the same time and the people selling watches and sunglasses are in league of there own so bad that your forced to sit as far back in the restaurant as possible
Thai style beer bars are few and far between. I could never live there

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[rhodie]

Is there any sort of long term visa to allow long stays?

[CodyB]

Some observations from a limited time in Saigon

 

Rent - will get significantly cheaper the further you get out. You should be able to find a nice apartment for $300 USD or less within 15-20 minutes taxi ride to D1.  I happen to like the outlying districts, they have open foot paths and there are many local cafes built in the same manner you would find in Paris. Dirt cheap.    

 

Traffic - is fine. It might worsen with the introduction of more cars, but for the mean time most locals can only afford bikes. 

 

Nightlife - much more laid back than BKK for example. Bui Vien St is a lot of fun, the clubs are ok. Lots of lowkey places that play good music with a nice ambience.  

 

People - very sharp. The Vietnamese are in a different tier intelligence wise than most other SE Asians and the average person who makes $200USD a month still possesses a 95+ IQ and they are extremely ambitious.  A byproduct of this is there are a few very keen scammers around and they will get you good if you let them.  Petty crime is very common, so don't make a habit of leaving your shit loose.   

 

Girls - Vietnamese girls are hawwwwwwwwt. Going back to the intelligence thing though they have an innate understanding of what their good name is worth and the good ones are not going to go to a nightclub and <deleted> strangers. A relationship here would take a lot of emotional investment.  

 

Food - is GREAT. Banh Mi is excellent. Pha is excellent. Both can be had for less than $0.50c which is a damn bargain if you ask me.   Foreign food is both cheaper and better than in Thailand, beef is not as highly taxed so can get a stake for less than $25USD that rocks your world.  AS much as I love thailand's food, it's monotonous. 

 

I'm considering spending a few months there early 2017

[jumbo]

Going to HCMC for a project on the outskirts, District 7. Any knowledge on hiring a car and driver for at least 5-6 months?

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

On 10/23/2016 at 0:29 PM, jumbo said:

Going to HCMC for a project on the outskirts, District 7. Any knowledge on hiring a car and driver for at least 5-6 months?

 

Don't know if this helps, but a friend had a six-month contract in HCMC and used Uber to get to work every day. Cheaper than flagging a taxi down. 

[siam2007]

On 14/11/2016 at 2:33 PM, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

 

Don't know if this helps, but a friend had a six-month contract in HCMC and used Uber to get to work every day. Cheaper than flagging a taxi down. 

 

and grabCAR is even cheaper than Uber in HCMC

[cnx101]

Vietnam love the place found the people friendly kind and thoughtful example got a motorcycle taxi from Da nang bus station to hotel, first agreed price with driver half way to hotel started raining driver pulled over told me to stand under cover, he went into a shop bought me a plastic coat I offered to pay for it he wouldn't take the money and after arrival at hotel told me to keep the coat, could anyone imagine this in Thailand no way. Everywhere I went found people like this in the gyms etc nice service polite people.

[tutsiwarrior]

8 hours ago, cnx101 said:

Vietnam love the place found the people friendly kind and thoughtful example got a motorcycle taxi from Da nang bus station to hotel, first agreed price with driver half way to hotel started raining driver pulled over told me to stand under cover, he went into a shop bought me a plastic coat I offered to pay for it he wouldn't take the money and after arrival at hotel told me to keep the coat, could anyone imagine this in Thailand no way. Everywhere I went found people like this in the gyms etc nice service polite people.

 

that sounds great but ye gotta watch it...there are rip off artists in VN just like any other place...just be streetwise and use common sense...

 

a popular scam is with the money, insisting that you gave them the wrong amount when you know that it was correct (different bill denominations look alike)...make sure that they acknowlege the amount that you give them before they take it from you for larger purchases, taxi fares, etc...

 

 

[cnx101]

Yes thanks I know that been traveling 40 years just a comparison to this place, find there so much easier would be happy to change to there

[jumbo]

1100 usd per month 26 days, 200 km per day (work office is 50 v.v) fortuner with driver 08.00 to 18.00 overtime  means overtime pay

Seems a good deal to me

[tutsiwarrior]

looks like you left a nought off the monthly salary figure...

[jumbo]

English 4th language here so I am not sure what you mean

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

On 12/1/2016 at 2:54 PM, jumbo said:

English 4th language here so I am not sure what you mean

 

British English uses "nought" for "zero". He's saying you are short a zero. A joke, I think. 

[tutsiwarrior]

I'm from Pasadena, California but I've forgotten the colloquialisms...USD11000/month would be the minimum that I would take for an assignment in HCMC...and as I remember foreigners aren't allowed to drive cars (not that one would want to) as driving licenses aren't available to them...OK for motorbikes...

 

a motorbike in HCMC? madness...but they really exist, falangs on motor bikes and I've seen them...they must be english teachers, young folks...'rock and rollers with one foot in the grave' monolog from Apocalypse now...

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2016 by tutsiwarrior

[sungod]

Hilarious post, definitely no uncertainty in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a one party state headed by the Communist Government and backed by The Peoples Army of Vietnam, guess Hua Hin is becoming too oppressive!!!

[jumbo]

On 12/5/2016 at 2:33 AM, tutsiwarrior said:

I'm from Pasadena, California but I've forgotten the colloquialisms...USD11000/month would be the minimum that I would take for an assignment in HCMC...and as I remember foreigners aren't allowed to drive cars (not that one would want to) as driving licenses aren't available to them...OK for motorbikes...

 

a motorbike in HCMC? madness...but they really exist, falangs on motor bikes and I've seen them...they must be english teachers, young folks...'rock and rollers with one foot in the grave' monolog from Apocalypse now...

 

 

The 1,100 usd is for the driver and the car that I was looking for

 

Edited December 6, 2016 by jumbo

[jumbo]

On 12/5/2016 at 0:27 AM, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

 

British English uses "nought" for "zero". He's saying you are short a zero. A joke, I think. 

 

thanks...

[IMA_FARANG]

I could live and have lived in Ho Chi Minh City.

My problem would be with the banks.

The U.S. government does not like me sending my Social Security pension to HCMC.

It has even been suggested by Social Security officials that i would be "Unpatriotic" to send my money to Vietnam.

I can and do that here in Thailand easily.

Otherwise i might be in Vietnam.

For god's sake, the Vietnam war ended in 1975.

I know, I spent 7 years there from 1966 to 1973

Nearly 2/3 of the people now  living in HCMC were not even born then.

On a plane from HCMC to Bangkok last year I met a Vietnamese man who was studying Mechanical Engineering in the Universuty of Connecticut.

My choice of where to live would be Nha Trang or Vung Tau if I was able to do it.