Hi all,
I will be moving to Saigon at the end of June and wanted to know a little bit about how to get around the city,
I will be working in the Binh Tan district but would prefer to live more in the centre of town closer to the expat community.
Is it relatively easy to get around?
What are the best means of transport?
Any info would be much appreciated!
All the best,
Florian
Moving to HCM for 6 months need help! Need help with getting around!
Fcoste
07 June 2013 19:23:18
4
VungTauDon
08 June 2013 19:03:35
684
Why did you start a new thread when the other one already has 14 replies and is sitting directly below this post?
charmavietnam
08 June 2013 21:05:42
2841
VungTauDon wrote:Why did you start a new thread when the other one already has 14 replies and is sitting directly below this post?
Of course to get more attention 
Viana.N
09 June 2013 19:12:39
3
Personally, i'm not saying living in Saigon is easy but in some ways, it's not too hard for you to get used to the lifestyle if you're the person who likes living in Vietnam because Saigon represents quite enough a typical Vietnam.
Plus, you have a job and as long as you can afford your basic needs, then you'll enjoy the life here. Binh Tan district is big, so it depends on where you live that may decide how long it takes you to the center, but I believe it's not too far because this is definitely not a remote area. Even though you're not gonna live in the center of the city and I admit that Binh Tan district is not as good as other districts in general, I don't think that would be a big deal, or at least, not big enough to bother you or isolate you from expat/foreigner community. The point is no matter where you live, you will need to move your ass if you wanna hang out to a cool place. And the best transportation I recommend is: a scooter or a motorbike. Get it, and you'll surely be alive in Saigon lol.
Another thing is, try not to compare Saigon with any other places you've been to before hehe It probably just makes you more frustrated because you'll gotta face off lots of annoying things here that you haven't in other cities.
Anyway, no matter how the city is, I guess being an expat, you know pretty well that living as an expat is to discover new things, to enjoy the pros and adapt to the cons right? 
Good luck. Cheers.
p.s: Live in Roma, act like Romans 
Marc_Susu
10 June 2013 07:12:34
0
Get your ass out of Binh Tan if you can. It's filled with northern Vietnamese people of the worst kind. Certain parts are quite crime ridden. On the other hand, if you enjoy sex, drugs, and dog meat, that's your area. For the inexperience traveler, stay away from Binh Tan, Tan Binh, Districts 4,8,6,9,Thu Duc, and Go Vap. Backpackers are mostly in D1. Phu Nhuan & Binh Thanh & D3 are very good areas. D3 is on the expensive side. Welcome and get your appetites ready.
charmavietnam
10 June 2013 08:06:31
2841
Marc_Susu wrote:Get your ass out of Binh Tan if you can. It's filled with northern Vietnamese people of the worst kind. Certain parts are quite crime ridden. On the other hand, if you enjoy sex, drugs, and dog meat, that's your area. For the inexperience traveler, stay away from Binh Tan, Tan Binh, Districts 4,8,6,9,Thu Duc, and Go Vap. Backpackers are mostly in D1. Phu Nhuan & Binh Thanh & D3 are very good areas. D3 is on the expensive side. Welcome and get your appetites ready.
Fantastic!
Where did you get this 'knowledge'?
All over the world there are goo and bad people. So how can you discriminate? And you think there is no crime or immoral traffic in those districts which you suggested?
Don't make people panic. I am living here since 2008. Almost every district I know. Who told you Northern Vietnamese very bad? Please don't blame and discriminate Vietnamese. We are expats here in their land. Don't forget that. If north people not friendly, there has sufficient reason for that. Not only in Vietnam, north people from other countries also has similar problem because of geographical features. With regard to me, we can stay anywhere in Vietnam if we are good!
Marc_Susu
10 June 2013 11:42:54
0
I've been here since 2007 and is married to a native Vietnamese, and I'm a Vietnamese-American. I know the culture in and out and who to stay away from. I call it as I see it. Certain areas of this country are bad and it's from lack of education and poverty. The current culture that you see in the city is the culture that was brought in from the countryside. People from the north like Hai Phong, Hanoi, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, are well known among Vietnamese for their lack of fear or respect for law and order. Some of the most serious crimes committed in Vietnam have been done by these people. The drug and prostitution trade here is controlled by Hai Phong gangs; as was in the past. I'm not saying crimes don't exist in other places. The US is much much more violent and dangerous than here. A lot of stuff here are minor borderline annoyances such as purse snatching, pick pocketing, stealing, and taxi meter tampering. A lot of times, the expat let their guards down or carelessly forget to lock their doors, and then find out their whole life got cleaned out. This happens in the places where I mentioned MORE OFTEN than the rest of the Districts. Most of the crimes here are Vietnamese on Vietnamese crimes and every once in a while, an expat is involved. Have I been the victim of any of it? No. Do I know of someone? Yes. Some places are worse than others and it's for a reason. There's an area in Tan Binh where 90 percent of the people are from the North. They speak with perfect northern accents but are born here in HCM city and love to eat dogs just like their northern counterparts. The Vietnamese even have a saying, "The southern people can tolerate a northerner but not the other way around". Go shopping in Hanoi if you don't believe me. A southerner will get hacked just as badly as any tourist. Binh Tan, for example is more independent of governing and that means gvt. and criminals sometimes intertwine. When that happens, all rules including law, morality, and safety are compromised. Districts like 1 and 3 where most of the expats reside and touristy areas are more "uniquely" managed. The gvt. is more involved for obvious reasons.
With that said, there are a lot of good people in this country north or south and they absolutely abhor the behaviors of those mentioned. If you can read in Vietnamese, pick up an issue of Cong An (Police) and you'll know what I'm talking about. I like to save people a some hard time for...karma of course 
Btw: many Vietnamese companies here will not hire people from Thanh Hoa because of their reputation. I hope it clears up a little of my "knowledge".
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