Hi,
Does anyone have any info on vietnam? Have looked and schools dont seem to get very positive comments, but Im at a starting point in my career and really looking for an opportunity.
How is life in vietnam (Saigon) and what is an average salary like? enough to survive?
Also looking at the seychelles....can anyone give me any info on schools there and life? what about the salary over there?
thanks!
Info about Vietnam and Seychelles?
The problem that both countries have in common is getting your money out. Seychelles have strict controls and you are reduced to shady deals with touriststo change your money for a real currency. In Vietnam you have the additional problem of not getting the money that you have been promised.
Banks in both countries will not change local currency into a strong currency you can transfer out. You are reduced to money changers in both places.
Only 1 or 2 schools in the Seychelles including the one that taught lessons in a parked bus when I was there. Very few good schools in HCMC and many nightmares.
I would still say that living in HCMC is better than the island which can get very small after a few months
Banks in both countries will not change local currency into a strong currency you can transfer out. You are reduced to money changers in both places.
Only 1 or 2 schools in the Seychelles including the one that taught lessons in a parked bus when I was there. Very few good schools in HCMC and many nightmares.
I would still say that living in HCMC is better than the island which can get very small after a few months
These comments about not being able to get money out concerns me. I was told that wiring money out of HCMC to the USA would not be a problem. Of course it will require establishing a bank account in Vietnam, but that is normal and acceptable. The posts here seems to paint a different picture. I am not going to go to money-changers (aw, hells naw.) I hope it is not that bad...
Grumpy,
If your school uses the VN State bank and pays union US dollars, then transfers of money to the US are very easy. You may be able to get your school to open an account for you at this bank or y may be able to. Then transfer your dong to VN Bank and then transfer it out.
I have not had any problems transferring my money to the US but I use the VN bank.
If your school uses the VN State bank and pays union US dollars, then transfers of money to the US are very easy. You may be able to get your school to open an account for you at this bank or y may be able to. Then transfer your dong to VN Bank and then transfer it out.
I have not had any problems transferring my money to the US but I use the VN bank.
Reply
It depends a great deal on the school and how your paid. Whether your school sets up a bank account for you or not isnt really relevant (though most schools will), you an set one up yourself at your bank of choice if your school pays you in cash.
The issue is soft or hard currency. A hard currency is something that USD (US Dollars), Euro's, Pounds (Pounds Sterling), Yen (Japanese), etc. Hard currencies are traded and have their value determined by international banks and financial institutions. Soft currencies arent traded on financial exchanges and have their value pegged to a basket of other (hard currencies) or a single hard currency as determined by a national government.
Dong (the Vietnamese currency) is a soft currency and its not really exchangeable or useable outside of Vietnam. You cant do a wire transfer in Dong, without going through intermediary banks (in China mostly) and changeing your dong into something else, or you get a very LOW rate of exchange. Basically you have to spend Dong, or use gray market exchangers to change it into a hard currency.
Many Vietnamese schools pay a portion of your salary in USD (or in the case of British schools £'s). The larger the percentage of your salary paid in USD the better and the more you can transfer out of country.
The real issue is that Vietnamese schools change their policies early in the school term (also called lying) about what percentage in USD and Dong they pay.
The issue is soft or hard currency. A hard currency is something that USD (US Dollars), Euro's, Pounds (Pounds Sterling), Yen (Japanese), etc. Hard currencies are traded and have their value determined by international banks and financial institutions. Soft currencies arent traded on financial exchanges and have their value pegged to a basket of other (hard currencies) or a single hard currency as determined by a national government.
Dong (the Vietnamese currency) is a soft currency and its not really exchangeable or useable outside of Vietnam. You cant do a wire transfer in Dong, without going through intermediary banks (in China mostly) and changeing your dong into something else, or you get a very LOW rate of exchange. Basically you have to spend Dong, or use gray market exchangers to change it into a hard currency.
Many Vietnamese schools pay a portion of your salary in USD (or in the case of British schools £'s). The larger the percentage of your salary paid in USD the better and the more you can transfer out of country.
The real issue is that Vietnamese schools change their policies early in the school term (also called lying) about what percentage in USD and Dong they pay.