New arrival in Saigon

@vernonwjones

Welcome on board Wayne !

Feel free to tell us a bit more about yourself and why you moved to Vietnam ?

Regards

Bhavna

I am retired, live on social security, live alone, all my children are grown and moved away.

I have a pen pal that lives in Saigon and for several years has asked me to visit.  I have back problems

and have made arrangement to go to the traditional medicine hospital for acupuncture treatments.

I plan to do some fact finding into the advantages of living in Vietnam

    I am retired, live on social security, live alone, all my children are grown and moved away.
I have a pen pal that lives in Saigon and for several years has asked me to visit.  I have back problems
and have made arrangement to go to the traditional medicine hospital for acupuncture treatments.
I plan to do some fact finding into the advantages of living in Vietnam
        -@vernonwjones

Hello vernonwjones. Allow me to second Bhavna's welcome to you. Good to have you with us.

Vietnam is an absolutely wonderful country, with friendly folk, fantastic foods, and wonderful scenery ranging from sandy beaches to mountain retreats.

That said, consideration must be given to the current visa restrictions. Vietnam does not have, nor has it ever had, a retirement visa. Many retirees here renew their eVisa every 3 months by doing what is colloquially known as a "border run", requiring one to leave the country and then reentering with a new eVisa for another 3 months. I invite you to read through the posts in the forum related to this. Some people find this to be a daunting task to perform every 90 days.

Once you've familiarized yourself a little more with the visa issue(s), feel free to ask any question which (will surely) arise. Lots of friendly members on the forum ready to answer your questions.

Hope to hear more from you again soon.

@Aidan in HCMCI am aware of the visa situation and see no problem with it as it now stands.  Although , there are rumors of extended visas for retirees sometime in the future.  Current plans are to stay in Saigon for two months to learn the lay of the land and return in a few months.  I will also be looking at Danang as a possibility

    @Aidan in HCMCI am aware of the visa situation and see no problem with it as it now stands. 

Good you are familiar with the visa regulations, and better still that those regulations don't dampen your enthusiasm! It's precisely an attitude like that which is necessary for a successful/happy expatriation to VN.

Although , there are rumors of extended visas for retirees sometime in the future. 

I'd not place much faith in those rumours, wonderful though they may sound. Would you tell us, please, the source where you had heard this?

Current plans are to stay in Saigon for two months to learn the lay of the land and return in a few months.  I will also be looking at Danang as a possibility
   
    -@vernonwjones

Understood. Of all the locations I have lived in or visited in VN, Saigon is by far my favourite! Do you know in which district of Saigon you'll be staying?

I've only visited Da Nang, and that was about 5 years ago. We've many members of the forum who reside in Da Nang who'll be able to answer questions you might have about that city, when the time arrives.

I will be staying in district 3 near Ben Thanh

I will be staying in district 3 near Ben Thanh.  The talk about new visa was posted in a video by Duong Consulting on YouTube.  It was pointed out that it was only mentioned and not official

    I will be staying in district 3 near Ben Thanh.  The talk about new visa was posted in a video by Duong Consulting on YouTube.  It was pointed out that it was only mentioned and not official
        -@vernonwjones

Nice central location. You'll appreciate being close to practically everything.

What are some of the activities during the day that expats do.  How is the fishing and what is required to do some

    What are some of the activities during the day that expats do. 

The question is a little too broad for me to answer with specifics. There are as many things to do in HCMC, as there are types/kinds of expats. Like any of the larger cities of the world, HCMC (at ~10 million people) offers up many attractions which would appeal to everyone from academics (e.g.Book Street), to cads/bounders (e.g. D1's Bui Vien St.).

How is the fishing and what is required to do some        -@vernonwjones

In Saigon? Though I've freshwater fished up north in Thai Nguyen province (excellent, clean), the only fishing I've heard expats speak of in Saigon is catfishing  Members have reported fishing in the Saigon River and in the city's canals with success, I would strongly advise against it. Extremely high pollution levels, both biotic and chemical.

That said, and as you'll be arriving during the height of the rainy season in south Vietnam, you just might be able to fish from the comfort of your own residence.

See here for more pics of typical street scenes in HCMC during July's downpours.

@vernonwjones

Hello Wayne.

In Saigon, there are many the ponds where you can pay for fishing. But I share only 2 Youtube links which they talk in English in videos. The below links will show you how fishing in Saigon looks like. They added the location links/address and price in video's description as well.

https://youtu.be/wyipOCLQi3Q?si=bcC1A_VHlUwST69P

https://youtu.be/FmLFwYJtWMc?si=YP4HBvgSMGLfMAYw

I hope you will have happy time in Vietnam