大咖福利影院

Calvin and Hobbes wrote:

Hi

I am also moving to HCM in the 2nd half of this year. I have a 10 year old son and seriously thinking of Saigon south international school. Seems from the other forums that dsitrict 2 and 7 are best choices for new expat.

Would living in district 2 be too far of a commute for my son to SSI in district 7?

We are still deciding whether a villa or apartment would be better. Is it safe to live in a villa? How's the safety / security in general in district 2 or 7?

We will have a car as part of the expat package.聽 However聽 I am used to conveniently walking or taking the train everywhere (we are now stationed in Singapore).聽 聽Please advise where in district 7 or 2 would be most convenient in terms of access to restaurants , shopping areas etc. ?
Are taxis easily available and safe? Is it easy to get an English speaking driver? How much would the salary be per month?

I will also have my dog with me (a small shi zhu). Pla recommend a good pet store, grooming place, and vet. Would apartment buildings in district 2 and 7 allow pets?


Is it easy to get a daily or live in maid? How much would the salary be per month?


Sorry for the long list of questions. I am excited to be moving to HCM

Thanks : )

Hi. Im from Singapore also think of relocating to HCMC. What profession are you in?

Ioana Lara wrote:

Please recomend where is much better to live, district 2 or distruct 7?
Which school is the leader ?
Are the distances big in the HCMC, for example if my kids will go to SSIS and living in D2 ? Are the children safe to walk to school or they need a bus? How is the traffic there?
What is the most beautifull compound in Saigon?
And the last... The top 3 of onternational schools?

I guess the unstated requirement is that you want to live with Foreigners, too. Bad news - 'middle class' VNese now earn sufficient money to live in pricier digs, too. As for 'security' there is little difference between 'compounds' and other accommodation since most of the guards sleep on the job - or are a source of undesirable activity.
There are distinct differences between Quan 2 and Quan 7, referenced to Quan 1.

Quan 2 is about 15-20 minutes along a new expressway which is fine until you running recovered land until around DIEN BIEN PHU/HIGHWAY 52 (Ha Noi Highway). This is the Foreigner area of Quan 2. The DIEN BIEN PHU/HIGHWAY 52 (Ha Noi Highway) is being expanded to 12 lanes PLUS and most of the Foreigner enclave is on the far side.

Click on then enter AN PHU in the search box. There are a few highrise apartments on the city side of the HIGHWAY 52.

You will need transportation (company or taxi - or your own motorcycle).

Quan 7 is about 15-20 minutes from Quan 1 along urban roads. Snobbish Foreigners like to call everything Phu My Hung. This is one of the earliest Foreigner enclaves. It has much older building stock and most needs refurbishing. Some designs are plain terrible for air circulation. There are townhouses there. Being old the utilities are overloaded/outdated.

Shopping is mainly smaller, specialty stores that charge extra for the name PMH.

In an adjacent Ward (Phuong) (an important word when locating places) there are more modern highrises, a couple of supermarkets.

There are more modern developments in Quan7 and have a mix of highrises, townhouses and what are laughingly called 'villas'. A villa is a stand alone house with a strip of grass around it.

Bisecting Quan 7, and separating PMH from the rest of the area is a 8-lane highway which links the port-lands to the highway network. In runs heavy freight vehicles 24/6 (Sundays there is less).

Up on a street called PHU THUAN (look in DiaDien.com), on the river side of HUYNH TAN PHAT, there are a few nice family-oriented highrises where the traffic is minimum but they are also populated by VNese. Two-bedrooms rent for $500/month; 3-bedrooms for $650-700/month. NOTE: The apartments are furnished. Utilities - water - gas - electricity - cable TV - maintenance fees - are extra.

SCHOOLS are an industry here, rather than 'halls of learning'. You are looking at school fees of up to USD24,000 PLUS EXTRAS. A real racket. Since most of the schools are in strange locations they all run bus services (EXTRA). Few schools are safe enough to walk to.

There are two types of schools: the older, more mature ones with moderate fees; the newer ones - built to meet a past influx of Foreigners in boom times owned by corporations and faced with HUGE overheads and mortgages. And these days companies who have paid for employees off-spring in the past now realise that they, the companies, are the target of the rackets, and are cutting back and even going co-pay. One new school made an investment of USD$42-million - guess whose going to be paying!

You asked for the "top 3 of onternational (sic) schools". You need to detail whether top on fees, top in education as well as the age of your children.

I am lucky, my daughter is a Vietnamese citizen and she gets education for under USD$80/month!

So come back with your other questions when you have studied the maps.