Move permanently to Vietnam

It is not possible to estimate cab costs if I don't know how far you travel . You can get a good meal for 25,000

I think you should let your son study in the international school. 'Cause it's safer than the public school (for international student). Although it has a (very) high cost , but i its quality is better.
By the way, welcome to Viet Nam and wish you have a good life in here

you're right. so maybe 20km 5days a week i Saigon...400km/month

Thanks...haven't moved yet though😊
I know. but I doubt we can afford that.
I guess there's different qualities on the public Vn schools? Anyone you can recommend?
Or other options? Private teachers?

Is your son will study in a Kindergarten?

Info in a similar current post may be helpful:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=526357

svenne wrote:

We will probably stay in Saigon since it's easier to find work there

Easier than? I haven't heard anyone say it is easy to find work here, except young, white UK/US/CA/AU/NZ English teachers with BA/BS and Celta/Tefl certificates. Hope you have researched that topic, local wages, government regulations for foreigners, work visas, etc.

I think we will take care of him home until it's time for school

thanks. i'll read the similar post.
..
don't know if it's easier or what to compare to. I was thinking the market for international emploiment might be bigger in Saigon than smaller cities.
..
i haven't researched yet. it's no rush to move.
researchin just started.
...
workwise i'm open to teach music if there's a market for that.
I guess the pay can't be high so it's not enough.
also look for companies to get hired at.

I think it would be a lot easier for members to help you if 1/ You decide if you are actually coming 2/ decide where you will live 3/ decide what line of work you will pursue
It's all a bit "pie in the sky " at the moment which makes it a bit difficult,other than to provide you with round about answers

if your wife is vietnamese, shouldn't she have some details to help you?

maybe you should try going to Vietnam first and try to establish something rather than nose dive into it with the whole family.

As Cosmo said, your wife should have a rough idea on the cost of living.

At least your child @ 1 yr old will have time to adjust to a local school environment so the cost of International schools may not come into the budget.   Your looking at approx $1000 a month for some of them.

Maybe a holiday here to assess the situation with work opportunities and living environment would be money well spent.   If you have a good job in Sweden, I wouldn't be cutting ties betting on things working out here without a trial run.

Unless you have a specific skill they're looking for , this ain't the place to be walking the streets knocking on doors looking for work.    You will need fluent oral and written English to have a chance for teaching roles also.
Good luck and keep researching.

Thanks for your responses!!!

When I reply to an earlier post I don't get the text in grey like I see some of you get.
So for now I copy and put " "around the text and answer under.

"I think it would be a lot easier for members to help you if 1/ You decide if you are actually coming 2/ decide where you will live 3/ decide what line of work you will pursue
It's all a bit "pie in the sky " at the moment which makes it a bit difficult,other than to provide you with round about answers"

Yes I suppose so but first we need help to decide those 3 things:)
Let me explain.
1. We are planning to move  before our son start school. When depends on if I know how I can make a living there and how to get that started. So it can be from 1 to 6 years from now. If I can't get a steady job or figure out a way to make a living we will not move of course.
2. We want to live somewhere in Kien Giang, but it's not realistic for me to get a job there with enough pay as I understand. Therefore I suppose Saigon or hopefully Can Tho( Closer to Kien Giang) would be better. Maybe I am wrong.
3.What line of work I should get depends on my skills and what is needed with an enough salary for us.
I have a technical education and right now I work as a technical sales support.
I know enough English to be a teacher, but I would need a TEFL education or similar to more likely get hired.
I can play in live bands or teach an instrument. I have no idea if that can be something to do any business on though.
..
I'm learning from your answers here and reading and of course discuss with my wife how we will do all this. We are going back and forth once a year to visit my wifes family,  and we know the cost of living in her home town.
Things that we don't know, and that seems to be most expensive are healthcare, international school vs public school and renting an apartment. And all of this seems to differ where you live.

..
So if we know the total cost it will be / month we know what salary is needed and so on.
..........
"if your wife is Vietnamese, shouldn't she have some details to help you?

maybe you should try going to Vietnam first and try to establish something rather than nose dive into it with the whole family"
.....
"As Cosmo said, your wife should have a rough idea on the cost of living.

At least your child @ 1 yr old will have time to adjust to a local school environment so the cost of International schools may not come into the budget.   Your looking at approx $1000 a month for some of them.

Maybe a holiday here to assess the situation with work opportunities and living environment would be money well spent.   If you have a good job in Sweden, I wouldn't be cutting ties betting on things working out here without a trial run.

Unless you have a specific skill they're looking for , this ain't the place to be walking the streets knocking on doors looking for work.    You will need fluent oral and written English to have a chance for teaching roles also.
Good luck and keep researching."

Absolutely. She have a rough idea but not in Saigon. We can guess but better to ask you who actually live there now.

Yes. I'm thinking that public school might be fine. I also know they are changing the whole school system in Vietnam soon. They want it to be of higher international standards.

That's my plan if I can get the chance to be there for maybe 2-3 months.
It might be hard without  loosing my current job though. So I'm not counting on that at the moment.

I would of course not jump into anything, I'm too careful for that:)
Especially now with a family.

For sure. That's the main thing I'm trying to figure out.
...
How was it for you?.Why  did you guys decide to move and why Saigon? How did you get a job? What are you working with now?

Thanks!!!

@Svenne , if it's any help , my wife and I rent a very nice , modern 2 bedroom apartment in District 3 , 5 minutes from District 1 . It costs us $400 a month USD . We pay 3000kw for electricity , about 550-600 vnd pm , but we only use a fan , no A/C
We shop at the local Viet market and buy more than enough food for 1 week , usually between 500-700 vnd  per week , but we eat very well , prawns , squid , crab , chicken , beef , pork , fish , fruit and vegetables . (5 kilos of rice , 70,000 lasts 3-4 weeks )
I have 1 private tutor job which I do 1 hour every day , $30 ph . Just this alone, covers our rent and living expenses every month
In addition , I have a job at a language centre , about 25-27 hours a week , circa 40m pm , which we just save for whatever

Thanks Happy!!!
It helps of course.

700VND / Week for food is a very good price.
I think we bought for 2000/week.
Good to know it's possible to cut down that much and still eat nice food.

You earn a good salary for living in Sweden then as well

Did you have any experience teaching prior to working in Vietnam?
How was it in the beginning?
How many hours did you get/month then?

Thanks !!!

That's 700,000 vnd  not 700

Yes I know.
we must of bought the most expencive food:)

edit...
...
we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at home so maybe you ate lunch out when working?
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According to my wife it's very hard to eat for only 700/week 24/7 for 2 even when cooking at home.
...at least last she checked.
not to question you just double check

Two commenters on this site who seem to live in Can Tho are Budman1 and Wild_1 but I am pretty sure neither one is supporting young children.  Budman1 seems to be retired but Wild_1 is a relatively young Viet Kieu who may have found a way to support himself in Can Tho.  However Wild_1 seems to come and go on this site and right now seems to be inactive.  You might look up their profiles and drop them a PM.

Another thing you might do is post on the Can Tho thread.  It does not get a lot of activity which might be indicative of a problem but it's worth a try.

I think if you want to be something other than an English teacher in Vietnam, you need to bring a special skill set.  You haven't been too clear about what your job and skills are so you haven't gotten too much advice in that area.   In any arena other than teaching you compete with Vietnamese nationals who are working for substantially lower wages than you may be willing to endure.   Depending on your skills you may do better free lancing or opening a business rather than looking for employment with a Vietnamese company.

I notice only a very few errors in your posts which could be attributed mostly to fast typing so I assume you are rather fluent in English with some accent.  Can Tho might actually be a better place for you to look for teaching work than HCMC.  If you really decide you are ready to move and teach I would suggest that you take 6 weeks in HCMC and take the CELTA course at either Apollo or ILA.  There doesn't seem to be a CELTA training center in Sweden but you could also take the course in Britain.  You must have a minimum CEFR score of C1 to take the course so it kind of validates your level of fluency.  It also seems to be the most universally recognized certification in Vietnam.  Keep in mind that you also need a Bachelor's degree (any subject) to teach legally in Vietnam.

Cheers Thigv !!!
I will contact them.
Good info all the way.