New members of the Vietnam forum, introduce yourselves here - 2022

Hi there,

My name is Heather. My family and I are moving to Ho Chi Minh in August '22. We are currently in the US; however, we lived in Beijing, China from 2011-2016. My son was born in China. He is 7 YO and is bilingual in Mandarin and English. I will need a nanny when I arrive to most likely get my son to school and to pick him up from school. I am also open to the idea of a live-in nanny if necessary. This being said, I am really hoping for a Chinese nanny. Is this a possibility? Does anyone have any information about whether or not hiring a Chinese nanny in Ho Chi Minh is feasible? If not, does anyone have any information on where to get a good nanny? Lastly, does anyone know of a good Chinese tutor or company that I can reach out to? I know, a TON of questions! Thank you so much!

PS- I know this is more than an introduction so please help me to find the proper forum for my questions! Thank you!

Best,

Heather

hrugile wrote:

PS- I know this is more than an introduction so please help me to find the proper forum for my questions! Thank you!

Just start a new thread by hitting the orange "Post new topic" button on the top of the page.   (I am assuming you are on a computer and not a phone.)   You can post either at the Vietnam level or one step down at the Ho Chi Minh level.   It's probably better to avoid the Saigon level as it is not read by all.  Although a lot of Chinese speakers emigrated after the war there are still quite a few still living in HCMC.  There are also some Singaporeans living in HCMC who speak proper Mandarin as well as their own variant.  You are unlikely to find a nanny from this group but might find a suitable tutor.

Edit after your reply:   You may find that in the group of persons willing to accept employment as Nannies, not all are proper Mandarin speakers.   They may speak Cantonese or a Southeast Asian variant called Hakka.  I am not sure but Hakka may actually be closer to Mandarin than Cantonese is.

Great!  Thank you so much.

stephanmarois wrote:

Hello,
My name is Stephan. I am planning to move to Vietnam in a few years for my « retirement ». Not sure exactly when yet, somewhere between 1-3 years. 
I was born in Canada. My wife is Vietnamese. Her family is there but nobody speaks English (or French) so it's a challenge for me to communicate. I have 4 brothers in law but I an unable to talk to them 😩. I will have to learn sone basic language. Maybe with the help of some Apps? 
In any case, when I move, I will become a non-resident (Expat) and I am trying to figure things out in terms of taxation/financial issues and also in terms of possible health coverage for Expats (private care).  Planning things, seeing what we could and could not afford, etc…
I would love to be able to discuss these issues with someone who has been through it already.
Locally here, people don't seem to know much about this and the laws/rules are sometimes difficult to interpret.
Stephan

Hey Stephan, we all come with lots of questions! The way expat.com works is to post your question in a new thread in the main Vietnam forum, with a specific subject line. There is no one person who will know everything, so that will draw in people who learned tieng viet, working Canadians who pay taxes, those who have health plans, etc.

For example, I would not be much help - I am retired but pay US taxes, self insure for health, and have given up trying to communicate with the inscrutable and mercurial family.   

Hi! I'm Jay and will be moving to Hanoi for work. Born in the UK, living in Brazil, i'm a little preoccupied with the move and what I expect!

Hi
My name is Alvin from USA .I try to move to VN for retirement and hope for the best bucks .

Hi there,

My name is sue from Taiwan.
I'm living and working in ben cat, bing duong.
Looking forward to making friends with girls, so that we can hang out together and have some girl conversation. lol
My native language is mandarin, English is communicable, and I've stayed in Japan for 2 years, so I speak Japanese as well.

Hi,

My name is Rick and I'm from Canada. I look forward to moving to Vietnam in the fall and to meeting some of the expats living there. I'm still doing my research, so I don't have a specific location in mind yet. Also, I'm planning for a semi-retirement, depending on what options will be available to me in terms of some part-time work.

I'll be posting specific questions in the near future. For now, I'm just trying to catch up with the answers posted on the forum in the past. Talk to you soon!

Raven-Floki wrote:

...I'm planning for a semi-retirement, depending on what options will be available to me in terms of some part-time work...

Your best bet might be to get fully certified to teach English, and then obtain employment with a school or language center that will provide you a legal work permit.

Then you can live in Vietnam with a Temporary Residence Card (TRC).

However, the school or language center will need to pay expenses related to bringing you on as a legal employee.

So some of them will essentially ask you to pay those expenses out of your pocket.

Also, if they do decide to legally hire you, it's doubtful they will offer "part time" hours.

In general, foreigners are not eligible to be employed in Vietnam unless they are officially sponsored by an employer to the government AND the position cannot be filled by a Vietnamese citizen.

So only foreign specialists in certain fields are allowed to be legally employed in Vietnam.

Everyone else must remain on tourist visa status and not engage in any employment which is taxable under Vietnam law.

My name is Andre Nguyen and currently reside in CA., USA. I am planning to retire in a few years. I left Vietnam in 1981 as a minor and have not been back in 41 years. I am doing a lot of researches about Vietnam for retirees even though I understand the language and the culture. I want to thank the expat.com community for all the information. I am also looking to contribute to the community whenever possible. Keep the information coming!

Hello Andre, I am an Australian from Manly Beach, Sydney. I've lived and worked in VN for 15 years - I work in property development - living in Hanoi, Saigon, Phnom Penh back to Hanoi and now we have happily settled in Da Nang. I commend Da Nang above all others.
I'm 66 my wife is from Hanoi and we have 2 children 15 and 8yo.

We live at Ocean Villas, a little bit outta town - 10km south of Da Nang and 12km north of Hoi An - what we miss in convenience we make up in quality of life.

I recommend you not buy upon arrival, better to rent for 6 month first and take time to find what suits you.
I'm happy to rave on more if you wish - let me know.
Cheers, Stephen

andrehnguyen wrote:

My name is Andre Nguyen and currently reside in CA., USA. I am planning to retire in a few years. I left Vietnam in 1981 as a minor and have not been back in 41 years. I am doing a lot of researches about Vietnam for retirees even though I understand the language and the culture. I want to thank the expat.com community for all the information. I am also looking to contribute to the community whenever possible. Keep the information coming!

Sounds good. But why wait until you retire to visit your homeland?   
Come this summer and look around.    You can research online all you want, but never get a feel for a place without visiting. With feet on the ground, you will learn a ton, especially which assumptions were wrong  , and will prepare yourself better.

I started visiting several countries 5 years before I quit working (still hate the 'retired' word  ) and it was the "feel" of Vietnam that made me choose here. 

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Raven-Floki wrote:

...I'm planning for a semi-retirement, depending on what options will be available to me in terms of some part-time work...

Your best bet might be to get fully certified to teach English, and then obtain employment with a school or language center that will provide you a legal work permit.

Then you can live in Vietnam with a Temporary Residence Card (TRC).

However, the school or language center will need to pay expenses related to bringing you on as a legal employee.

So some of them will essentially ask you to pay those expenses out of your pocket.

Also, if they do decide to legally hire you, it's doubtful they will offer "part time" hours.

In general, foreigners are not eligible to be employed in Vietnam unless they are officially sponsored by an employer to the government AND the position cannot be filled by a Vietnamese citizen.

So only foreign specialists in certain fields are allowed to be legally employed in Vietnam.

Everyone else must remain on tourist visa status and not engage in any employment which is taxable under Vietnam law.

Thank you for the info and clarification, OceanBeach92107. Much appreciated!

Alternatively, if your definition of semi-retired is 6 months in Vietnam and 6 months in the US, you could do that quite handily using tourist visas.  Simply get the 1 year visa available to Americans.   Prior to COVID, I think it required 90 day border runs but that would only be once if you intend to stay 6 months.

Very good suggestion, THIGV. Thank you.

Actually, that also makes sense from job search point of view. If I can't find anything suitable in 6 months, I could leave and return later to try again. I'm currently working as a consultant, so it's doable. In the mean time, I've got a better understanding of the culture, climate, rental and job market, etc. (and maybe by then I've picked up a little bit of the language too). After my initial stay, I'm guessing that I'll also be better prepared to search and apply for jobs from outside Vietnam knowing that I'm planning to return there soon.

Greetings.  New guy here.  Just joined to obtain information on retiring in Vietnam.  I thank you all for the information you've already provided and look forward to learning more.  If I had a timeline, I'd like to visit around September 2022, or sooner.
Best to all.

adventureologist wrote:

Greetings.  New guy here.  Just joined to obtain information on retiring in Vietnam.  I thank you all for the information you've already provided and look forward to learning more.  If I had a timeline, I'd like to visit around September 2022, or sooner.
Best to all.

Compared with the ease of retirement in Thailand when you were there, you will find it next to impossible to retire in Vietnam without a legal job, a Vietnamese wife or a lot of money to invest in business.
However, we have a number of forum members who have been able to string together many, many tourist visas and essentially remain in Vietnam for as long as a decade or more.
As long as you don't mind exiting the country for border runs and reentering multiple times during the year, that is a possibility.

Thanks for the reply.  Considering those options, I believe I could still make it work.

stephenevans357 wrote:

Hello Andre, I am an Australian from Manly Beach, Sydney. I've lived and worked in VN for 15 years - I work in property development - living in Hanoi, Saigon, Phnom Penh back to Hanoi and now we have happily settled in Da Nang. I commend Da Nang above all others.
I'm 66 my wife is from Hanoi and we have 2 children 15 and 8yo.

We live at Ocean Villas, a little bit outta town - 10km south of Da Nang and 12km north of Hoi An - what we miss in convenience we make up in quality of life.

I recommend you not buy upon arrival, better to rent for 6 month first and take time to find what suits you.
I'm happy to rave on more if you wish - let me know.
Cheers, Stephen

Great recommendations and thank you, Stephen. Da Nang will be one of my destinations. I am collecting all tips and recommendations as I go along.

gobot wrote:

andrehnguyen wrote:

My name is Andre Nguyen and currently reside in CA., USA. I am planning to retire in a few years. I left Vietnam in 1981 as a minor and have not been back in 41 years. I am doing a lot of researches about Vietnam for retirees even though I understand the language and the culture. I want to thank the expat.com community for all the information. I am also looking to contribute to the community whenever possible. Keep the information coming!

Sounds good. But why wait until you retire to visit your homeland?   
Come this summer and look around.    You can research online all you want, but never get a feel for a place without visiting. With feet on the ground, you will learn a ton, especially which assumptions were wrong  , and will prepare yourself better.

I started visiting several countries 5 years before I quit working (still hate the 'retired' word  ) and it was the "feel" of Vietnam that made me choose here. 

I always wanted to visit but 41 years went by just like that. Anyway, my first “feet on the ground “ trip will probably in the near future when Covid settles down in VN. Thanks again for your advice. Cheers

andrehnguyen wrote:

gobot wrote:

andrehnguyen wrote:

My name is Andre Nguyen and currently reside in CA., USA. I am planning to retire in a few years. I left Vietnam in 1981 as a minor and have not been back in 41 years. I am doing a lot of researches about Vietnam for retirees even though I understand the language and the culture. I want to thank the expat.com community for all the information. I am also looking to contribute to the community whenever possible. Keep the information coming!

Sounds good. But why wait until you retire to visit your homeland?   
Come this summer and look around.    You can research online all you want, but never get a feel for a place without visiting. With feet on the ground, you will learn a ton, especially which assumptions were wrong  , and will prepare yourself better.

I started visiting several countries 5 years before I quit working (still hate the 'retired' word  ) and it was the "feel" of Vietnam that made me choose here. 

I always wanted to visit but 41 years went by just like that. Anyway, my first “feet on the ground “ trip will probably in the near future when Covid settles down in VN. Thanks again for your advice. Cheers

Yes, good idea. Went to Hue with my Saigonese wife couple weeks ago, she had never traveled much, and it really perked up her interest in Vietnam history, in her country. Still difficult to get her interested in visiting the north, although we did go to Ha Long in 2020 and she liked that too!  Stay in touch.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

adventureologist wrote:

Greetings.  New guy here.  Just joined to obtain information on retiring in Vietnam.  I thank you all for the information you've already provided and look forward to learning more.  If I had a timeline, I'd like to visit around September 2022, or sooner.
Best to all.

Compared with the ease of retirement in Thailand when you were there, you will find it next to impossible to retire in Vietnam without a legal job, a Vietnamese wife or a lot of money to invest in business.
However, we have a number of forum members who have been able to string together many, many tourist visas and essentially remain in Vietnam for as long as a decade or more.
As long as you don't mind exiting the country for border runs and reentering multiple times during the year, that is a possibility.

Agree OB, in Thailand for 1K you can get 1 year visa no headaches till next year, I wish they had the same in VN... Only problem is THai becoming expencive, greedy and bitchy

AUStan wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

adventureologist wrote:

Greetings.  New guy here.  Just joined to obtain information on retiring in Vietnam.  I thank you all for the information you've already provided and look forward to learning more.  If I had a timeline, I'd like to visit around September 2022, or sooner.
Best to all.

Compared with the ease of retirement in Thailand when you were there, you will find it next to impossible to retire in Vietnam without a legal job, a Vietnamese wife or a lot of money to invest in business.
However, we have a number of forum members who have been able to string together many, many tourist visas and essentially remain in Vietnam for as long as a decade or more.
As long as you don't mind exiting the country for border runs and reentering multiple times during the year, that is a possibility.

Agree OB, in Thailand for 1K you can get 1 year visa no headaches till next year, I wish they had the same in VN... Only problem is THai becoming expencive, greedy and bitchy

PS Border runs is a madness, not a happy life

gobot wrote:

andrehnguyen wrote:

gobot wrote:

Sounds good. But why wait until you retire to visit your homeland?   
Come this summer and look around.    You can research online all you want, but never get a feel for a place without visiting. With feet on the ground, you will learn a ton, especially which assumptions were wrong  , and will prepare yourself better.

I started visiting several countries 5 years before I quit working (still hate the 'retired' word  ) and it was the "feel" of Vietnam that made me choose here. 

I always wanted to visit but 41 years went by just like that. Anyway, my first “feet on the ground “ trip will probably in the near future when Covid settles down in VN. Thanks again for your advice. Cheers

Yes, good idea. Went to Hue with my Saigonese wife couple weeks ago, she had never traveled much, and it really perked up her interest in Vietnam history, in her country. Still difficult to get her interested in visiting the north, although we did go to Ha Long in 2020 and she liked that too!  Stay in touch.

When I was living in Vũng Tàu, I took my housekeeper along on a road trip from Huế back to Vũng Tàu (as my valet).

She was definitely impressed by many things in the city, especially the museum of antiquities.

But her favorite experience by far was to enjoy delicious Bún Bò Huế in Huế...

Hi, everyone

We are a family with two kids, living in France and will move to HoiAn in May 2022.

We d love to meet other families to make friends. Please let me know if you are in Danang or HoiAn.

Thank you!

Tam

@Julien Good day. My name is Bala, I am from India and I work and live in Ho Chi Minh City. I was active in this forum until 2015 during my previous stay in Vietnam. I hope to be an active part and contributor in this group once again. Thanks all

Hi Everyone. My name is Gary and I currently live in Seattle.  I am planning to marry my gf in Vietnam soon. We will live here for a few years, maybe more but eventually we both want to return to Vietnam to live permanently.

We are both ... - @Guannan Sun

We are both ... - @Guannan Sun

 I though I got the new quote function down until I saw that it cut the sentence that I wanted in half.

 - @THIGV

HI all!

My wife and I will be moving to Hanoi in July - she will be teaching at an international school and I will...be figuring out what to do next.

I'd appreciate any help with ideas for work (besides teaching English lol), advice for getting acclimated quickly, and how to best learn Vietnamese culture and the language.

We've got our living situation sorted for the most part - the school has an agent that will help us.

Figuring out transportation, grocery shopping, and those items are of great importance. Nutrition is especially huge - my wife is vegetarian, gluten free, and allergic to eggs, so any advice on learning what she can/can't eat would be very helpful.

All that to say - we're excited to move to Vietnam and are ready for complete culture shock and stress AND fun.

- @zroush17

Am a professional teacher living in Ghanaian. I  would like to move to Vietnam. I hold a Diploma in Education and a degree in BSC.ENVIRONMENTAL.

Looking for job as an English / science teacher.

- @kagyei206

HI all!

My wife and I will be moving to Hanoi in July - she will be teaching at an international school and I will...be figuring out what to do next.

I'd appreciate any help with ideas for work (besides teaching English lol), advice for getting acclimated quickly, and how to best learn Vietnamese culture and the language.

We've got our living situation sorted for the most part - the school has an agent that will help us.

Figuring out transportation, grocery shopping, and those items are of great importance. Nutrition is especially huge - my wife is vegetarian, gluten free, and allergic to eggs, so any advice on learning what she can/can't eat would be very helpful.

All that to say - we're excited to move to Vietnam and are ready for complete culture shock and stress AND fun.

- @zroush17