HAGL or Sky Garden or other in Phu My Hung?

PMH (Phu My Hung) is way over-rated and, unless you like living in a Foreigner compound, itis a miserable ghetto. It always reminds me of the movie Stepford Wives. It fees very sterile.

The crime rate is high (VNese going where the pickings are good), there have been robberies (riders pulled from their motorcycles), vehicle theft, handphone snatching, shop lifting, there is an old guy 'flashing' at a bus stop near the FV hospital. Recent reports have dogs being snatched from owners as they exercise them in the park!

Sales brochure SketchUp drawing of Phu My Hung

The stores, thinking you can afford to live in this replica of New York or Chicago, assume you have money to blow and raise their prices accordingly.

PMH is an inconvenient 30-minute ride from Quan 1 through the notorious Quan 4. Even if you work in/near PMH you still need to get to other parts and all roads go through Quan 4.

I actually have a condo in Quan 7 which I use as an office. A 2-bedroom in the building rents for USD$400.month plus utilities (aro $40.month)(bottled gas every 3 months - $15). It has a standby generator underground parking, swimming pool, sun deck, party room and is half the height of the PMH buildings.

When you rent here usually the place is furnished, you will have to deposit 2 months rent equivalent with the landlord AND first months rent.

Typical view in highrises of Phu My Hung -
maximising land use reality

NEVER try getting a place before you arrive, put up in a hotel and scout out the area before you sign.

One good place to get a feel for the TP HCM rental market is CraigsList VietNam. PMH is in Quan / District 7 (Good things happen in PMH, bad things happen in Quan 7!)

In addition to the monthly utility bill some landlords tack on a management fee just to get a little extra. Rental agents get one months rent as commission.

Cable TV (VND55,000/month) and InterNet are monopolies in PMH, and you get to pay a slightly higher rate.

Supermarket prices (Lotte and Giants) are typically priced 10% higher than in other parts of TP HCM. The large supermarkets aren't actually located in PMH but elsewhere in Quan 7.

P.S. You will need wheels if you live in Q7.

Hi lnigalis

Please don't be discouraged by Jaitch's negative post about dist 7. He has his opinions about it and that is fine. That is what this forum is for. However, I think he is a little bit too pessimistic in his views.

Dist 7 is a good place for a foreigner to live. It is what most resembles "home" to us and is comfortable. The air is cleaner, the streets are wider and cleaner. There are good supermarkets with western products. Many restaurants with many styles of food and great coffee shops. You will probably encounter more Koreans than Vietnamese living here as well.

If you are coming to Vietnam for the culture and true feel and experience then Jaitch is right, this might not be the place for you to live. It does have a bit of a fake manufactured city feel as it does not match the typical Vietnamese style. With that said it is NOT any less safe than any other area of Saigon and it does NOT take 30 min to drive to the center. Prices ARE higher in this area compared to normal Vietnamese prices.

As for the two places you mentioned I can not give you any real advice as I have not lived in either of them. I have had some friends live in SkyGarden and they were happy with it.

As Jaitch said, the best thing to do would come here and maybe stay in a hotel first. They are cheap and easy to find. Then you can search for the area and apartment that best fits your style.

Good Luck
Chris

I live in Phu My Hung sky garden for 4 years and doesnt encounter any crime before.

if phu my hung crime level is so bad, then district 1 can be as good as the Ghetto.

there are many families here and generally place is good.

sky garden is good for family people.

kryptonite123 wrote:

... 4 years and doesnt (sic) encounter any crime before.

if phu my hung crime level is so bad, then district 1 can be as good as the Ghetto ...

ne good thing about VietNam is their national statistics bureau (http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?t … temID=3138) if you can count something or measure something, they will collate it.

My company subscribes to many of their reports, mostly produced in Vietnamese, because they illustrate a view of life unfiltered through anyone's lens. What they count is what you get.

Phu My Hung is but one ward of 10 (Bình Thuận, Phú Mỹ, Phú Thuận, Tân Hưng, Tân Kiểng, Tân Phong, Tân Phú, Tân Quy, Tân Thuận Đông, Tân Thuận Tây) with an official body count of 242.284 which is a density of about 6.8/km2 (18/sq mi),

By comparison District 1 has an area of 7.7211 km2 (2.9811 sq mi) with a body count of 204,899 which is equivalent to a Density of 27,000/km2 (69,000/sq mi) way more crowded that Q7.

Foreigners are not counted separately.

However, crimes involving Foreigners are separated out. It should be remembered that Foreigners often report incidents more often than Vietnamese and that Q1 has a high tourist component whereas PMH is mainly residential.

Robbery - Personal - (Q1) 27 (PMH) 4 
Robbery - Vehicle - (Q1) 1 (PMH) 1
Robbery - Animal - (Q1) 0 (PMH) 3
Theft - Break-In - (Q1) 4 (PMH) 2
Theft - Personal - (Q1) 127 (PMH) 18
Theft - Vehicle - (Q1) 5 (PMH) 7
Assault - Common - (Q1) 58 (PMH) 3
Assault - Sexual, Minor - (Q1) 2 (PMH) 3
Assault - Sexual, Major - (Q1) 0 (PMH) 0

Remember this is comparing the whole of Q1 against a the PMH ward over the period 2011 Sep-2011 Dec.

The policing in PMH Corporation is different, they seem to have their own black uniformed types in white pick-ups.

Parts of Q7 are rural, as i farming, then you have a few high density areas such as PMH and Bình Thuận.

Jaitch wrote:

kryptonite123 wrote:

... 4 years and doesnt (sic) encounter any crime before.

if phu my hung crime level is so bad, then district 1 can be as good as the Ghetto ...

ne good thing about VietNam is their national statistics bureau (http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?t … temID=3138) if you can count something or measure something, they will collate it.

My company subscribes to many of their reports, mostly produced in Vietnamese, because they illustrate a view of life unfiltered through anyone's lens. What they count is what you get.

Phu My Hung is but one ward of 10 (Bình Thuận, Phú Mỹ, Phú Thuận, Tân Hưng, Tân Kiểng, Tân Phong, Tân Phú, Tân Quy, Tân Thuận Đông, Tân Thuận Tây) with an official body count of 242.284 which is a density of about 6.8/km2 (18/sq mi),

By comparison District 1 has an area of 7.7211 km2 (2.9811 sq mi) with a body count of 204,899 which is equivalent to a Density of 27,000/km2 (69,000/sq mi) way more crowded that Q7.

Foreigners are not counted separately.

However, crimes involving Foreigners are separated out. It should be remembered that Foreigners often report incidents more often than Vietnamese and that Q1 has a high tourist component whereas PMH is mainly residential.

Robbery - Personal - (Q1) 27 (PMH) 4 
Robbery - Vehicle - (Q1) 1 (PMH) 1
Robbery - Animal - (Q1) 0 (PMH) 3
Theft - Break-In - (Q1) 4 (PMH) 2
Theft - Personal - (Q1) 127 (PMH) 18
Theft - Vehicle - (Q1) 5 (PMH) 7
Assault - Common - (Q1) 58 (PMH) 3
Assault - Sexual, Minor - (Q1) 2 (PMH) 3
Assault - Sexual, Major - (Q1) 0 (PMH) 0

Remember this is comparing the whole of Q1 against a the PMH ward over the period 2011 Sep-2011 Dec.

The policing in PMH Corporation is different, they seem to have their own black uniformed types in white pick-ups.

Parts of Q7 are rural, as i farming, then you have a few high density areas such as PMH and Bình Thuận.

Bollocks!

Good folks, nice folks can survive anywhere....... and enjoy life.

Jaitch struggles....... hence the vivid imagination!

Hi Inigalis,

Petty crimes are rampant anywhere in HCM. I live in D7 and we do get regular cong an reports about crime in D7. The stories that Jai reported are true I've heard many accounts. Not only foreigners fall pray but many more locals as well.

PMH is a magnet for petty crimes because it is a high cost living area and many foreigners living there walk along the streets making themselves easy victims. I guess many foreigners who move here initially come from relatively low crime countries so may not be that vigilent. As you get into the groove of things you'll start to adopt more defensive manners when u are out on the street. Well that's life in vn.

I live in  HAGL and compared to Sky Gardens the living area & rent is a huge diff. HAGL may not be as new & well maintained as Sky Garden but I'm not complaining coz I pay $500 for a 1200sqft 3B/R apt compared to friends of mine who pay between $1100-$1300 for 2B/R apts n Sky Garden which is small in size compared to HAGL.

D7 is huge. Most live out over PMH area but there are plenty of high rise apts scattered all over the district. A good area to live is across the bridge from D4 which is close to Lottemart and five mins to D1. There are many smaller developments around the area. HAGL has 2 developments in this area. Well at least you get 20,000D coffee here compared to 50,000D u pay at PMH.

Get a reliable and responsible agent. Agent commission is paid by the landlord not u. Happy house hunting

Halfway wrote:

Bollocks!

Good folks, nice folks can survive anywhere....... and enjoy life.

Jaitch struggles....... hence the vivid imagination!

I live there, I see it. With my own eyes and confirmed by statistics.

It's not the 'good folks' or 'nice folks' who cause the problem, it's the not-so-nice-folks who visit to share in their lifestyle without paying for it. Ask the Foreigner pulled from his motorcycle, was beaten up, and treated to a (free) 3-day hospital stay. He never did recover his motorcycle.

Check YouTube, there are video's of motorcycles being stolen, right in PMH or perhaps you think they are staged?

How many 'model towns' have a 14-lane highway separating the parts?

Get real.

Strange how people such as Hue1964 or Jayhawk don't dispute many of the reports, only people who haven't a clue.

If you want to hide in an apartment, in a compound environment, then PMH might be for you.

Funny thing is my place in Quan 7 is actually in a Vietnamese area and we don't have these problems! And people look out for each other.

I live in SkyGarden in Phu My Hung and I love it.
It's a great area with tonnes of good restaurants and cafes. There's even a few good bars in the area and more opening.
I've never felt unsafe in the area and petty theft is the same anywhere in HCMC. To be honest the only bag snatchings I've seen have been in D1, never here in PMH.

Jaitch, you have waaaaaaaayyy too much time on your hands!

I feel obliged to post as a response to numerous PMs.

Saigon is not a war zone as depicted by Jaitch.

Please note that this poster will post anything to attract attention. Then please note that he has also posted on a specifically female post regarding tampons.

I ask you.

Use your common sense and seek information from sane sources and good luck.

I've been to many foreign countries and cities in the US.  Anywhere you go, even your home city, there will be crime.  It is up to the individual to be aware of their surroundings and take necessary precautions.  Especially in foreign and unfamiliar areas.

SydneyShane wrote:

I live in SkyGarden in Phu My Hung and I love it.
It's a great area with tonnes of good restaurants and cafes. There's even a few good bars in the area and more opening.
I've never felt unsafe in the area and petty theft is the same anywhere in HCMC. To be honest the only bag snatchings I've seen have been in D1, never here in PMH.

Jaitch, you have waaaaaaaayyy too much time on your hands!

Somehow I knew when I saw a question regarding ANYTHING about Phu My Hung that Jaitch would be the FIRST to reply, and it would be something negative.

I have lived in VN twice, totalling 6 years - 1 year in Q2 An Phu, and now 5 years in PMH.

To save time and typing, I will say that I totally agree with the following posters here:

Jayhawk
Kryptonite
Ralviet
Halfway
Hue1964
Syndeyshane
Perry88
Flip465

Note there is ONE poster missing from my list.

I just thought I would let you all know how this saga turned out.
We arrived 5 days ago and have been staying in Binh Chanh at a lovely hotel and have been loving it here. I wish we could have found an apartment in this area because it feels very comfortable to us. It is very typically Vietnamese but also has the Centre Mall here that has anything (except kitty litter and cat food) that we need.
That said, we couldn't find anything for rent here, so we looked around and I think we are probably going to end up in HAGL 3. Seems good value for the money, good family atmosphere, away from too many bars and such but close enough to PMH that if we need a home 'fix' we can go.
Thank you all for your input. It was really helpful when looking for places. We even looked at a house in D1 that a friend hooked us up with, but it is just too far away from my school. It would take forever to battle traffic to get there.
And to be honest, I was not so hot on D1. We got hassled outside the Hindu temple (and I mean quite intimidated), people constantly warned us to be careful, and there were too many touts in the crowd. I am so glad that we did not go to D1 first. I don't think that is the true nature of most Vietnamese people.
Thanks to all on here, and I hope to actually meet some of you sometime.