Canadian moving to Vietnam(HCMC) looking to learn Vietnamese

Hi you!
You can refer to university of Social Sciences & Humanities. This is a good place to learn Vietnamese! :-)

Hi,

How much can you manage the renting/month?

Regards

Hello CanadianChris

Welcome to Expat.com

I kindly invite you to browse through the rental proposals in our section Flats for rent in Ho Chi Minh City

Regards
Kenjee
Expat.com Team

Don't do anything before you come except get a visa. There are more hotels than you can possibly believe; many even rent by the hour (chuckle chuckle). Take a couple of weeks looking and talking with expats in District One on De Tham Street and you will start to see you have a lot of choice. Do you want to live and associate with expats or would you rather be immersed in the Vietnamese culture, maybe both? Anyway go back to my first statement. Forget anyone trying to sell you anything on this site or at the airport when you get here.

Hello,

Welcome to Vietnam. I'm ready to help you! I can speak French & English. you can sent me e-mail: [email protected].

HI Chris,
where is your school? i need to know that before suggest you any place. the traffic in HCM quite complicate for foreinger. maybe you can stay in a hotel first and ask your classmate. i think some of them maybe advise you better or you can share department with them.
welcome to Vietnam and if you have any concern don't hesitate let me know.

The other thing you have to be very careful about is people wanting to help you. You'll find you are a walking talking innocent target for some wonderfully concocted schemes to separate you from your money. Trust me, nobody wants to help you. Once you are here you will have a chance to meet some genuine great people. Mai Mai has a great suggestion in talking to your classmates; they are all expats and can guide you through the maze of the social environment here.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities(Vietnamese Language Classes)
www.hcmussh.edu.vn
10-12 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
+84 8 3829 3828

There are some Vietnamese schools you can search on Google for more info. But I think 2 places are good:
- VLS
- University of Humanity and Society science ( they have some Vietnamese courses)
Furthermore, there are many Vietnamese students who want to meet foreigners to exchange English and Vietnamese. They often teach Vietnamese to you readily and free.
There are many rooms or apartments for rent in HCMC. You can stay in Binh Thanh district or District 1 to learn the language. but D1 is expensive .
Hope it's helpful for you

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome!

Unfortunately, I cannot multi-quote on this forum so I will summarize to answer everyone.

I am currently looking to get myself enrolled into a school so I can acquire a student visa to stay in Vietnam for longer.
I have sent several emails to the school about enrollment into the University of Social Sciences & Humanities, however my attempts go unanswered. Selecting my school to learn Vietnamese would then help me figure out which district I should be located in.

The place I am looking to live in would ideally be a condominium because I need a very well equipped fitness facility since I am a very athletic person. Would love to try to find a gym/school which teach muay thai kickboxing so I can continue my training.

I would love the opportunity to meet many of the community members both expats and locals.

"I have sent several emails to the school about enrollment into the University of Social Sciences & Humanities, however my attempts go unanswered. Selecting my school to learn Vietnamese would then help me figure out which district I should be located in."
==> General info: http://www. vns.edu.vn/vns/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=3&Itemid=5&lang=vi
Schedule and fee: http://www. vns.edu.vn/vns/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=52&Itemid=72&lang=en
Procedure: http://www. vns.edu.vn/vns/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&view=viewcategory&catid=9&Itemid=8&lang=en
Books: http://www. vns.edu.vn/vns/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=10&lang=en

"The place I am looking to live in would ideally be a condominium because I need a very well equipped fitness facility since I am a very athletic person. Would love to try to find a gym/school which teach muay thai kickboxing so I can continue my training." ==> You can go to California Fitness in D1

I would love the opportunity to meet many of the community members both expats and locals.
==> Expats & Locals: Saigon Hash (travelling)
Saigon expats: saigonexpats.net/
Internations in HCM (parties)
meetup.com/   (Meeting, Business)

I hope it will be helpful for you. 

Welcome!

(Moderated: please post your ad in the Rooms for rent in Ho Chi Minh City section)

Hey Chris,

Canadian here new to HCM as well: sounds like we might be looking for something similar. I need a good gym too and want something pretty nice.

Craigslist seems to have kind of dried up since I was looking in august, it seemed like there were lots of modern apartment shares with westerners listed but not much if at all right now.

Anyways, I'm lost and just exploring looking for housing around here too, possibly we're a bit like minded, maybe it would be cool to meet up.

Feel free to PM me.

Cheers,
-Tim

Welcome, then arrival, just practice with me at leisure if you wish. Keep in your mind my email address: xxx
Cheers.

Hi you,
I'm Vietnamese and I'm living Ho Chi Minh City, therefore I think I can help you.
Let me know name of school that you'll learn.
The cost that you can accepting to rent an apartment is how much?
I not good english, so that I hope we can become friend to exchange language, culture and experience,...
If you want I'll help you easy adapt with new environment in Vietnam.

Welcom to Vietnam . I'd like to be your Vietnam friend . if u need  anything.to help  ,tell me . I'll try my best to help u .

hello,nice to meet u , can u exchange language with me ? im gud at vietnamese and english, im taking a business course in vietnam , that's a linking program between canada and vietnam,maybe I'll study abroad in canada.I'll help u to  adapt in HCM

yeah, dont worry , let's move here, we'll help u

All the people want to help the boy from Canada. "Said the spider to the fly."...........

hello there,

Through your post on Expat.com, I know you are seeking a great place where you can stay for achieving Vietnamese skills, I hope you will enjoy Vietnamese culture, also. I can introduce you a room in a shared house if you prefer? We shared the house together in an expat shared house. We are, Vietnamese girl, a English boy, a French girl, an Austria girl and a Germany boy working and speak English. Hopefully I could help you with your Vietnamese lesson! .

By the way, in my experiment, here is a dependable school to go: vlstudies.com/vn/contact , Otherwise you can spend less budget but not less efficiency, that is learning Vietnamese at University of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2 of the school is the best place I can think of.

My name is Loi, I'm 26, Vietnamese girl, working as an real estate agency here. How about you?

Very nice to meet you! thank you very much for your time reading this!

Good luck to you and have a nice day!

Yours faithfully!

Hey everyone,

Sorry for being so inactive on this forum, I am currently busy with closing off everything here in Canada before I officially make my move to Vietnam. I have my flight scheduled to land in Vietnam on November the 14th. The university of humanities and social studies offers trial classes which start on the 17th and I may possibly try that out. If anyone wants to meet up for coffee and show me around PM me your number and we can meet up.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!
Chris

Hi Canadian Chris,

I think VLS or the Uni of Social Sciences and Humanities are your 2 best bets for learning Vietnamese. Both will provide a much more structured environment for your studies than studying with a private tutor (though if you are very studious that is also an option worth considering). I only have experience at VLS and it was a very positive one. I spoke with someone taking one of the courses at the uni and he said he would recommend it.

The uni is the cheaper option. I don't know how many students are in an average class but they say 5-12. VLS offers one-on-one. One teacher and two students (they would pair you with another beginner if someone wanted to study at the same time as you who is also a beginner) and small group classes of 3-6. I went with the latter option and they held the class even though it was just me and one other student studying so it was a really good bargain because you can get much more individualized attention on your pronunciation (which is VERY challenging) in a very small group class.

If you want to live in/near the city center both the uni and VLS will be close to you. Another option for you may be the Skygarden apartments in District 7. That would be an option if you decided on VLS as their Phu My Hung center is about a block away (plenty of other good housing options along these streets as well). The Skygarden apartments just have a very small gym (also swimming pool and tennis court) but there is a bigger one nearby. It's a mostly Korean/Korean American expat community (with some Vietnamese, westerners and Indians) and is in the Phu My Hung area which is kind of the "suburbia" of HCMC.

The city center will offer more things to do, a wider range of food choices (including much better budget options), better night life, more hustle and bustle, more pollution and crime.

D7 will offer more trees, fresher air, streets you can walk down without getting run over (if Skygrden is in your budget one of the really nice things about it is all the small shops and restaurants along the elevated walkway on it's property which are completely removed from the street so no motorbikes, bicycles etc.) and a pretty nice mall nearby. But you would be kind of away from it all and would have a significant commute when you want to go to the city center.

Good luck!

Skygarden apartments:

I hasten to ad that traffic should probably be a consideration. I don't know how proficient you are with a motorbike but I think even experienced riders would say that the traffic in HCMC provides a significant challenge to those unfamiliar with it and there are very legitimate safety concerns. The Skygarden apartments can be very advantageous to families because there is so much there on the property (space for kids to play etc.very nearby are 3 movie theaters, a nice mall and lots of nice though often pricey eateries and relatively few good budget options other than fast food) but for a single expat who wants to explore the city and enjoy the nightlife...you'd be looking at a significant commute to D1 which would mean a lot more driving or bigger taxi budget. The city center (districts 1 3, 5 and 10) has a ton of gym options and overall you could get more bang for your buck because there will be a lot more options in terms of housing, eateries etc.

Nam_ wrote:

I hasten to ad that traffic should probably be a consideration. I don't know how proficient you are with a motorbike but I think even experienced riders would say that the traffic in HCMC provides a significant challenge to those unfamiliar with it and there are very legitimate safety concerns. The Skygarden apartments can be very advantageous to families because there is so much there on the property (space for kids to play etc.very nearby are 3 movie theaters, a nice mall and lots of nice though often pricey eateries and relatively few good budget options other than fast food) but for a single expat who wants to explore the city and enjoy the nightlife...you'd be looking at a significant commute to D1 which would mean a lot more driving or bigger taxi budget. The city center (districts 1 3, 5 and 10) has a ton of gym options and overall you could get more bang for your buck because there will be a lot more options in terms of housing, eateries etc.

I'm often told the traffic, ( not the amount on the road , but the amount of idiots on the road ), is a lot worse in country towns, waiting at the lights, ( ones that have the countdown ), it's like lining up for the 1/4 mile drag, except VN's, being the cheats that most of them are, are already moving at about the 3 second count.( that's the ones that have actually stopped for the red light ). 90 % of the accidents on the road up here, are from idiots coming out of side streets, or driveways/gates, without looking, or even bigger idiots driving/riding on the wrong side of the road, ( or the right side if you come from UK/Aus/NZ/Singapore, etc.).

Hi everybody,

Please note that some off topic posts have been removed from this discussion.

Thanks

Priscilla 

I do believe wrote:

All the people want to help the boy from Canada. "Said the spider to the fly."...........

What do "I do believe" in man? Good and bad is everywhere. It's seem you have just seen bad things all your life? That would be the reason which will make you blind even the good thing standing front of you, that would be the reason make you have natural reaction of seeing bad things surround you. So, if you consider yourself a good man, believe that there are many others like you and forgive other idiots.

Here's a link to the US State Dept./FSI Vietnamese Familiarization Course, which was produced using the southern dialect. It's fairly extensive and the price is right ($0).

Vietnamese Familiarization Course

Here is a topic from non profit project teaching Vietnamese language for those who wish to learn from beginning.
You just need to register and the fee is FREE. After you learn from them you might hv to see whether you should like for intermediate or advance level from other schools then.
Why not have a try first.
Here is the topic. https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=414903

Hi Chris

I am a professional teacher of English, and I teach Vietnamese to private students, too. My students are expats who stay in district 1, 2 and 7, If you would like to learn Vietnamese with the most convenience (anywhere you want, anytime you want...), just contact me, I am sure you can communicate in Vietnamese efficiently in your daily life after no more than 6 months learning with me (1 year or more if you go to school). Just think about it... 

Cheer
Thanh

(Moderated: please post in the housing section)

I can help you.
I want to learn more English.,too.
Pls contact me follow the email: *****************
I am freedom on Saturday and Sunday.
Hope the support together.
Thanks