Teaching English / Health Care

Hello, Jettersetter. 

All reputable schools require that you have a Bachelors degree and either a CELTA or TEFL certificate or a Master's degree in Linguistics/Second Language Acquisition, etc. The government requires that you provide your future employer with  the  original[[/b/b] of your university diploma/CELTA/TEFL certificate. You need to submit those documents as well as paperwork from your potential employer, and pay the visa fee in order to get a work visa. I've heard that some employers pay the visa fee. Believe me, many expats who work as teachers have received a surprise visit from between midnight and 3 a.m. or so by several police officers who requested to see their passport and visa.  A person would be expelled from the country very quickly if caught without the visa and the person housing him or her would also be in trouble if they are running a hotel with an illegal in it.

I strongly suggest that you complete your education and get the CELTA or TEFL certificate before coming overseas. The governments of Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Hong Kong, for example, all require that you provide original documents, an official letter with an apostille seal embossed on a letter from your State government & proof of a police background check. In Thailand and Japan, airport authorities now take your picture before allowing you to enter the country...I'm sure you get the point...

I met a man who had taken the CELTA course here in Saigon but didn't have a college degree, hence, he couldn't get a job here and eventually went to China.   If you really like Vietnamese culture & don't speak the language, I would strongly suggest that you  study Vietnamese while you have time as that skill in itself will help you tremendously. In many social circles here, both among the Vietnamese and the expats, education is highly regarded. Things are moving quickly here so if you don't want to be left behind economically and even socially...school is the ticket...

Health care: you can get any surgery done more reasonably in Thailand than in the U.S. and more quickly there than in Canada or Europe especially if you don't want to wait a long time to have your procedure done. Singapore is also reported to have excellent hospitals but is more expensive than Thailand. I'd suggest getting your all of your dental work done at home. You should be sure to have full accident/medical coverage here. If you have special medicine,you'll have to bring it with you. There are plenty of optometrists but I don't know how good they are. There are at least 2 Schools of Traditional Chinese Medicine here in Saigon.

In regards to retirement, at this time, foreigners cannot themselves own a piece of property outright but can hold it with, I believe, a lease of ??? 99 years???  That piece of data you'll have to check for yourself with a real estate agent or attorney. Right now the cost of living is very low but it certainly will increase as will the prices that are presently low. So, you might want to sharpen other skills that you have so that you can have more than one skill to use in your retirement to help you make some extra money. Your housing solution could range from living in a small apartment alone to sharing a house to living in District 2 or 7 in one of the large and expensive villas to living in a hotel in the 'Backpackers' area & eating out on a daily basis...
I hope that info. was helpful to you, Jettersetter. Bye for now...1InternationalGourmet

Thank you, that is excellent information!