Moving to Can Tho

@seamad:

There are no realtors here and finding a place to buy or rent is mostly either word of mouth or postings on telephone poles.  As a rule I'd stay out of the city center, it's noisy and dangerously busy.  Ninh Kiều is more business than residential with impassible sidewalks, lottery ticket sellers, and you take your life in your hands crossing a street.

We bought land in 2006 and had our house built, we live in the Nam Long development in Cái Răng, south CT, a few minutes walk from BigC.  We own it.  It's a pretty quiet neighborhood.  Except for my cockatoos.

A friend of mine has launched a web site for people in your predicament, only a few houses so far but they're developing a network of contacts and can probably help you find something in your range.

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150 square meters, that's small, we have some nhà trợ for rent that would suit you fine, separate units.

edit: managed to misspell both Quân

Hi all,

Please note that we have moved some off topic posts from the thread.
I suggest members should keep themselves from posting if it is for personally attacking others.

Thanks
Armand
Expat.com Team

@Wild_1

I suppose that Ninh Kiều is downtown Can Tho. I remember only two places from Can Tho, MaxiMark and Metro from the times I was forced to take the bus from Chau Doc to Can Tho every 2-3 weeks in order to shop some western food. I suppose that Ninh Kiều is where MaxiMArk is, a little bit too crowdy for my taste.

@ChrisFox
I actually live in a development area outside Chau Doc ( 10°40'52.78"N 105° 9'7.30"E) the name of which I'm not sure of as it differs in the three utility bills I receive. The site is more developed than the Google Earth image suggests.
I, or better my wife own the house that I had build on my specification, it's actually around 400 sqm of which 80 terrace and balconies.
I like it here because my son and his friends can play on the street without (too) much risk of a motorbike hitting them. In the night it's quite and it's 4 KM from Chau Doc center. The huge open and close marked that you can see never really opened.
In The following image are the location I like
A- near to Metro and easy connection to Pacific School
B- near to the school but still at the outskirts of Can Tho
C- should be where you live
E- needs a ferry to get to the school but house prices should be at the lowest here
F- why is this area so underdeveloped?




Any comment or idea on the before mentioned areas would be appreciated. Is there no way to get the link to your friends site?

Pietro

Seamad,

Yes, Ninh Kieu district stretches from that MaxiMart all the way down to the river.  It is the District 1 of Can Tho.

Anyhow, they moved the bus station to near that Metro.  The area around there isn't too bad, especially if you still want to shuttle back to Chau Doc.  I would l look for a house in the Khu Dan Cu 91, the Hong Phat development area (on Nguyen Van Cu noi dai) and Vo Van Kiet Street ( the one leading to the airport, if I were you.

@seamad, I sent the link by private mail.  Yeah we live in the area you indicated.  It's three motorbike minutes from trung tâm Cần Thơ and BigC is in reach on foot if you're feeling adventurous.  South CT is residential but for BigC and there are mid scale to upscale Khu Vục to choose from. 

Quân Ninh Kiều is more of the business area, there  are hotels and residences over stores occupied by the store proprietors, and other than that little more than phòng trợ.  It's also really busy and loud and the sidewalks are so cramped that you have to walk in the street.  I go there to exercise and shop.

1 vote for 91B

Peitro,

The other side of the Can Tho River, commonly known as Som Chai, used to be the hood.  They are trying to do over there what Saigon did with Phu My Hung.  However, they are struggling; Can Tho residents just don't want to go there, and there aren't enough outsiders to populate the area.  Even Big C is struggling with sales.

Personally, I try to stay away from the habit of crossing Vietnamese bridges and taking its ferries.  No.  I would rather pay a little more and put up with more.

If you can afford it, the Con Khuong area is ideal for you.  You should take a look into that a little more.

@Wild_1, ChrisFox, cang_nduc,
Thanks for your appreciated suggestions.

@ChrisFox
Had a look at the site, nice and new houses slightly over my budget 70 to top 100 million dong a year.

@Wild_1
Seems to me that the Con Khuong area is the one I marked as "F" and thought to be cheap, seems not so. I searched the net for Phu My Hung and it seems to be an upper class urban development. If Som Chai is something similar I presume it would be out of my budget if if it's shunned by locals.

In the next 15 days I plan a trip to Can Tho in order to have a look to the area near Metro, 91b, Som Chai, Con Khuong and South CT.
Probably I will drive my own motorbike as I don't know if it's easy to rent one in CT and will stay a couple of days. I know what I want and I'm pretty sure CT has it. Obviously I will not ask for the prices but take pictures of the house (I prefer a house to an apartment) and phone numbers, my wife will call the contacts.

I'm accustomed to pay the whole year beforehand, normally it takes the prices down a little.

Seamad,

Con Khuong is an island dwelling of the Can Tho elites.  It is very close to that Pacific school.  Yes, it is the second most expensive area in Can Tho, next to the Ninh Kieu Boat Dock.

If that area is out of your budget, I highly suggest that you take a good lock at the area around that Pacific school.  Yes, it is a part of the Ninh Kieu District and used to be quite expensive.  However, since the bridge was built and they did away with the ferry, that area has become more affordable.

After that check out the 91B and Hong Phat area.  They are a bit further from your desire school.  However, you are still on this side of the river.  Those areas are much cheaper than in the Ninh Kieu District.

Don't bother with Som Chai, the area just directly across the river from the Ninh Kieu Boat Dock.  Similar to Thu Thiem in Saigon, which was directly across the river from the Bach Dang Boat Dock, Som Chai was the hood.  It is one of the cheaper areas in Can Tho, for good reasons.

Like I had mentioned earlier, the street that leads to the Can Tho Airport, Vo Van Kiet, has some very affordable houses as well.  You guys might want to take a good look there.  It is a little closer to your school than 91B and Hong Phat. 

If you have to cross the river, go to where Chris Fox is, in Nam Can Tho.  Now, that area is newly developed and everything.  But, it is quite a distance from the city center and your school.

Finally, you might want to look into the classify website, canthoinfo.com for leads.  If not, see if your wife can find some friends who work in banking there.  Those guys have very good lead.

Best,
Howie

That airport road is probably a good area, it's not too busy and I see residences.  Down here in the south there are a lot of KDCs, most are cheaper than Nam Long.  It IS possible to meet your range here, an empty house makes no rent and they will haggle.

@W1: from my house Chợ Xuân Khánh is like five minutes.  I go to the gym near there at least four days a week, M-T & Th-F.  We usually have a coconut next door at 2PM if anyone wants to drop by and meet.  I'm the guy with the shaven head and the singlet.

Didn't realize you were out of the country, rehab?  Orthopedic?  I popped a tendon doing curls a few years ago.

ChrisFox,

Yeah, I just had surgery to repair a torn meniscus.  They were talking about an 8-week rehab period.  But, I am not too sure. 

At any rate, I should be back in Can Tho by New Year and Tet, for sure.  Perhaps, I will get to meet you and your pandemonium then?

Wild_1 wrote:

ChrisFox,

Yeah, I just had surgery to repair a torn meniscus.  They were talking about an 8-week rehab period.  But, I am not too sure. 

At any rate, I should be back in Can Tho by New Year and Tet, for sure.  Perhaps, I will get to meet you and your pandemonium then?

You bet.  I sent you my contact info in private mail.  Heal well, man.

  I'll give you a buzz, when I get in.