To start a living in Hanoi, Something you should know !

When coming to a foreign country, everything is new and you have to find the way to adapt yourself to new surroundings. I hope with my little knowledge below will be useful things for you.

1. Accommodation
Vietnamese has an idiom “an cư lac nghiệp” that means “to live and work in peace and contentment” . The first thing to start a living in Hanoi is finding a place to live in.

You are a new arrival, you do not know about the transportation in here, you do not have transport. You already had the address where you will work or study, you should find a house/flat/room near it and close to supermarket and restaurants. There are many kind of rooms it depend on you budget. The price is from $150 to more than $2000. You can find a room/flat through housing service or if you have Vietnamese friends, they can help you. I searched on Internet some housing company as below for your reference:
vietlonghousing.com/
hanoistay.com/
thanglonghousing.com/
ezhome24h.com

2. Transportation

Maybe Hanoi’s transportation is a great shock for people who just arrive. The streets always are busy. There are many mean of transports such as motorbikes, cars, bicycles, buses on streets. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of motorbikes on streets. You can choose a form of conveyance which suits you.

Taxis are, perhaps, the most comfortable and least intimidating means of transport. They are typically metered and reliable. Some names of taxi you can trust which are Hanoi taxi (tel: 04.38535353, 04.38262626); price: VND11000/km, HanoiTourisTaxi (tel: 04.38565656) price VND9500/km;  Basao taxi (tel: 04 22202020 - 3557 3904 - 38574 574 ) price: VND8000/km

Motorbike taxis (Vietnamese call “Xe om”- means hugging motorcycles, just the name it’s not real ^^) are the most ubiquitous form of getting around in Hanoi. Using them are cheaper than Taxi. They can be found in any part of the city and will always make their presence known to any one who appears to be on foot in the area. Finding them is not a problem. Always set the terms of the trip before going. You should negotiate the fare beforehand. Normally, my fare reduces by 10-20% but for foreign people it should be 20-40%.

Public transport (bus) is very cheap (about VND3000/ticket) but not good. Buses actually do not run to promise on the time table. You will always have to wait them. Moreover, buses are often full of people. And the link of bus network: hanoibus.com/modules.php?name=Content&opcase=Details&id=299&mcid=136

Bicycle, I love it. This is the cheapest transport. With $30-$50 you can own one. Thong Nhat bicycle is well-known in Vietnam. Their shop is located at No.2 Thai Ha Street. Please note that there are no bike lanes so be careful when you are on roads.

One more thing, you should have a Hanoi map when you are living here. To be quite honest, I often ask for directions to many streets in Hanoi despite I was born and have been living here for a long time and Hanoi is not too large ^^.


I will come back with another subject.