Thinking of moving family to HCMC - lots of questions !?

Hi,
in fact HCMC is a bit tough for a family with babies in terms of lacking of playdrounds.
The best choice would be District 7 (Phu My Hung area). It is quiet and not so polluted. There are many squares and parks (basketball courts:). I also saw there an international school ̣(looks like Microsoft Co. is their partner). Later I discovered it is a very famous school)

Mainly foreigners accomodated in Districts 1,2,7 (HCMC is devided on 24 Districts in total). 

Rent is always negotiable. Vietnamese usually rise a basic price up to 200-300% to get more from foreigners.

About taxation... Do you want to launch here your own production? What kindof tax are you afraid of?  If you are an employee the company pay tax. If you buy smth many depends on the second partie. As usual Vietnamese do not even provide you check (and work without cash register).

Hj
If you are looking for a house, villa or apartment in HCM City, i would like to recommend you some in Thao Dien ward, District 2 HCMC. There are a lot of foreigners( most of them from Euro or America) living here.This area is closed to District 1, it would take you about 15 minutes to access the centre of City. There is also an International British School here on Nguyen Van Huong Street and American School as well.This area also has many restaurants, supermarkets, schools, park...and security here is also very good.I'm now working for a real estate company, if you are intersted in looking for an apartment or house in HCM City, you could contact me at any time via my phone number,viber,skype: 090.342.08.09 and i'm very glad to support you on this.

Hi A&J

1. Re: expat woman community

Your wife may check the following:

http://www.ilvietnam.comhttp://www.expatwoman.com/vietnam/month … 13116.aspx

Expat.com has monthly meet-up where you wife can make new friends too

2. Taxi fares

Please use Vinasun, Mailinh, Uber where the costs are on metre and controllable. First km is around 0.8$, from the second it will be down to 0.5$, Uber will be around 20% to 30% lower.

Warm regards
Nguyet

Thanks everyone

Really helpful comments.   Does anyone know how long it takes to get from district 7 to district 1 and/or to the British international school in district 2?

Justin - thanks for the offer for help on housing. Quick question how does rent compare for villas between district 2 and 7?

It takes 5 minutes to depart from D7 to D1 even by bus)

AlexDoan wrote:

It takes 5 minutes to depart from D7 to D1 even by bus)

Your joking.

AlandjulesUK wrote:

Thanks everyone

Really helpful comments.   Does anyone know how long it takes to get from district 7 to district 1 and/or to the British international school in district 2?
- thanks for the offer for help on housing. Quick question how does rent compare for villas between district 2 and 7?

Not sure why you are so keen on the British School,you can try Saigon South school in D7. Im a single man but if I were a family man I would live in Phu My Hung before living in D2. More open spaces and places for the kids.

Villas are very expensive a cheap one is about 3k.D7 and D2 expat areas are both very expensive,alas thats why I dont live there.

In comparision between District 2 and 7, The rent in District  2 is a little bit higher than Ditrict 7 but the infrastructure and design is better and more suitable to western style. District 7 is very wide and the distance from there to the centre depends on your location here, therefore it wouldn't take you 5 minutes to access centre.Besides that in the rainy season, this place is slightly flooded (depending on the heavy of rain). If you would like to have more detail, you could inbox or text me your email, i will send you all information about the price, pictures of apartments in HCMC.Thank you.

Be wary of people who are wanting to help with finding a place for you,most of the time its at inflated prices. Get some info from them and then compare on other sites on the internet.

Not at all)
Formally you just need to cross a bridge, because D1 and D7 are neighbours.
If you live in Phu My Hung (South-West of D7) and need to get to Ben Thanh market (well-known sight right in the centre of D1), it takes 10-12 minutes by bike (rare traffics) or 15-17 min by bus.

If you live right at the start of D7 after the Khanh Hoi bridge and was going to the beginning of Nguyen Thai Hoc,maybe a bus with no stops and no traffic could do it,otherwise its not doable. I lived in D4 for 2 years and it takes 5 minutes from there to get just to PNL.

Colinoscapee,
I live in D8 and at least 3 times a week go to Ben Thanh area by bus #34. It goes through all D7))) Also there is 140 bus, which has its way only above the northen part of D7.

Hi, HCM city is a good place for you but you have to think about which district you will live to avoid traffic jam, I think that living in Da Nang is more convernient and peaceful than HCM. good luck!

I live in Phu My Hung now and it takes 30 minutes by motorbike to get to the city center with moderate traffic. By bus at least 45....on a good day. And buses don't run late here

I will pass aling what I was told and found true before I moved to VN. The accomidations you see advertised on the internet have inflated prices. I think you will find it best to try and live near where you work as driving times and tge associated
Frustrations can be huge. Don't believe for a minute that you can drive from D7 to D1 in five minutes. Not unless you were at ajouning borders if the two disticts in some way. Come, you will love it, even w/ all its frustrations. The pollution is stifling though.

Thanks to everyone. Lots of good messages to think about. We will of course visit before we decide but good to get everyone's thoughts

AlandjulesUK wrote:

Thanks to everyone. Lots of good messages to think about. We will of course visit before we decide but good to get everyone's thoughts

"visit before we decide" is the best advice. Keep in mind most people who will give you "advice" have agendas and/or no idea what living environment you're coming from.

AlandjulesUK wrote:

Thanks to everyone. Lots of good messages to think about. We will of course visit before we decide but good to get everyone's thoughts

All you can really do is get feedback,at the end of the day its up to you. Dont forget,Saigon gets very,very hot in summer,the traffic and pollution are bad and its not for everyone. Spend a few weeks there to see how you feel about it.

Vagabondone wrote:

I will pass aling what I was told and found true before I moved to VN. The accomidations you see advertised on the internet have inflated prices. I think you will find it best to try and live near where you work as driving times and tge associated
Frustrations can be huge. Don't believe for a minute that you can drive from D7 to D1 in five minutes. Not unless you were at ajouning borders if the two disticts in some way. Come, you will love it, even w/ all its frustrations. The pollution is stifling though.

This is good advice. Choose where you want to live based on how close to work or school you are. Traffic in Saigon is chaotic especially on a hot, humid day or downpouring rainy day. Any minutes you can shave off in traffic will increase your longevity ten folds.

Hi if you want to had some advice pls contact me. Im the helper here and want to practise speaking English.
Fee: a beer or a coffee

I've visited the British International School (BIS) a couple of times, I think its very well run.

Also, they have activities for the stay at home moms to gather with their toddlers two or three times a week. This would be the opportunity for your wife to meet other expats.

If your kids will attend BIS, then stay in D2 or Binh Thanh, its way too far from D7 I think (maybe 30+ minutes in traffic).

Hi,

I wouldn't suggest you come stay in Vietnam if you have a family. Don't get me wrong it's a great place, but living here with a family is very hard. Good education here is very expensive, some schools charges over 1000usd a month. Another thing here is traffic, if your kids are used to civilized traffic and come here it can be dangerous. There's no second chances here with traffic. On the good side of things accommodation is very cheap you can rent a house I nearby districts for 600usd a month and they are big. Taxes I wouldn't worry to much about them as many foreigners don't pay any their employers pay for them. Health insurance is also cheap. What ever you choose good luck.