I'm just wondering if anybody could help me with a package I'm looking at from a school in Ho Chi Minh.
I'm looking at US$30,000-US$35,000 net, with a housing allowance somewhere between US$700-900 per month.
How would I go living on this? I realise that depending on lifestyle you can save different amounts, but what would be my realistic savings potential? I'm not a big drinker, I'm happy to eat from vendors in the street and I'm very happy to eat local food.
Thanks
Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh Vietnam
You should be able to save quite a bit. Maybe even 30-40%, depending on your lifestyle. Viet Nam is pretty cheap. If you eat from street vendors, meals could be $2 or less. Travel around VN isn't too expensive either. We go with Air Asia when we travel, but the tax on plane tickets are often almost the same price of the ticket itself. Last summer, we took a 2 day, 1 night trip to Halong Bay. It included all meals,, travel to and from Halong Bay, we stayed in a 5 star hotel and had a private day long tour on the bay...about $100 each.
Anyway, I think you will be fine on that salary.
Anyway, I think you will be fine on that salary.
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frees1spirit
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:12 pm
This salary is great for HCMC and if you live simply you would be able to save half your salary I think. I save about 40% of mine with no effort to try and save. Also I earn less than you will be earning.
The international schools are not all in the same area. I live 20 minutes drive from my school and I share a cab with some other teachers. A lot of people ride motorbikes, if you do that then you can live wherever you want to.
The apartments where I live range from $500 or so for a one bedroom furnished apartment to around $900 for a 3 bedroom apartment. I pay $800 for a 2 bedroom one. I could have gotten one for $700 but I really like the one I am in. Bills are really cheap. I go to the supermarket and buy loads and spend no more than $50. It is a lot cheaper to use markets though. Helpers are really cheap too.
The international schools are not all in the same area. I live 20 minutes drive from my school and I share a cab with some other teachers. A lot of people ride motorbikes, if you do that then you can live wherever you want to.
The apartments where I live range from $500 or so for a one bedroom furnished apartment to around $900 for a 3 bedroom apartment. I pay $800 for a 2 bedroom one. I could have gotten one for $700 but I really like the one I am in. Bills are really cheap. I go to the supermarket and buy loads and spend no more than $50. It is a lot cheaper to use markets though. Helpers are really cheap too.
Thanks frees1spirit. Great to know that the housing allowance would get me a 2-3 bedroom place. I want that so people can come and stay.
Is it a difficult process finding apartments? The reason I ask is the school puts me up in a hotel for two weeks, but in that time I'm expected to find my own accommodation.
Also, one last thing that concerns me a little. The school says I should get a tourist visa to enter the country, then the HR department gets me a work visa once I'm here. I've read in these forums and the review section that this is perhaps not the best way to go about it. Anybody experienced this with Vietnam?
Is it a difficult process finding apartments? The reason I ask is the school puts me up in a hotel for two weeks, but in that time I'm expected to find my own accommodation.
Also, one last thing that concerns me a little. The school says I should get a tourist visa to enter the country, then the HR department gets me a work visa once I'm here. I've read in these forums and the review section that this is perhaps not the best way to go about it. Anybody experienced this with Vietnam?
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calciodirigore
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:16 pm
- Location: Europe
Congrats on your new appointment in HCMC. This is truly a wonderful city!
Finding a flat: you should be able to find a flat in those first two weeks. Do a couple of google searches so that you have an idea of where you might want to live and what's available for your housing allowance. You can then present this info to the real estate agent your school has chosen to work with. This is what we did and managed to find a very nice flat.
Visa: your school should provide you with a letter of some sort stating that you will be employed by them. You then use this letter to secure a multi-entry visa at the airport. While this first visa is in effect, your school should be sorting out your work visa. This is how three schools (reputable ones) do it in town. You should ask if this is how your paper work will be dealt with, and if it isn't, ask why.
Good luck!
Finding a flat: you should be able to find a flat in those first two weeks. Do a couple of google searches so that you have an idea of where you might want to live and what's available for your housing allowance. You can then present this info to the real estate agent your school has chosen to work with. This is what we did and managed to find a very nice flat.
Visa: your school should provide you with a letter of some sort stating that you will be employed by them. You then use this letter to secure a multi-entry visa at the airport. While this first visa is in effect, your school should be sorting out your work visa. This is how three schools (reputable ones) do it in town. You should ask if this is how your paper work will be dealt with, and if it isn't, ask why.
Good luck!
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frees1spirit
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:12 pm
For my school, they sent us a letter and at the airport we were given a 3 month single entry visa, some people got multiple entry visas. However our work visas were sorted pretty soon after that.
If you had a one year contract you got a multiple entry work visa and if you were here for 2 years then you got a residency card. We came in August and everyone had their visas sorted by October.
If you had a one year contract you got a multiple entry work visa and if you were here for 2 years then you got a residency card. We came in August and everyone had their visas sorted by October.