Hi all,
Glad i found this forum. We have an offer to move through hubby's current employer. At first, they said they were going to move us to Bangkok, i did my research and found the perfect school, neighborhood....etc. We get a call yesterday, they are suggesting that it would be better for the company,and possibly us, if they move us to HCMC instead. We are Americans and have three kids, all school age. We have lived as expats and visited many countries before, never to that part of Asia though. Any thoughts? I'd appreciate feed back from people familiar with both countries/cities. Should we insist on Bnagkok? Is Ho Chi Minh similar as far as quality of life (especially schools, housing, medical care, housing)?
We were told we can pick any school and the company will cover the expenses. We would like to keep them in the American System so we would like to enroll them in an American school unless the American schools there are horrible in which case, we would consider something else. Recommendations on best schools is highly appreciated (especially ones teaching American curriculum).
What kind of a house budget are we going to be looking at? Which areas should we consider? We would like a nice 4 bedrooms house/apartment in a decent area (preferably where other American and expat families live). Are there expat compounds there? How's the medical system there, decent doctors/hospitals? How's driving/traffic?
How's the expat community (events, play dates, gatherings....etc)? We have been living in Houston for 3 years and we will be leaving many beloved friends behind, but are very much looking forward to making new friends and be exposed to a new wonderful culture.
Anything we should bring with us we may not be able to find easily there? Company will ship our belonging so if there are things we'd need to buy and ship it won't be an issue.
All your feed back, suggestions and advise are greatly appreciated as i am a bit nervous about all of this, but very excited at the same time.
Thank you