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When to Move to Saigon/HCMC

Last activity 25 November 2013 by Khuyen nguyen

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JesD

Hello,

My name is Jes and I am moving to Saigon to study for my MBA at RMIT University. School starts February 17th, 2014, and I am not sure when I should move. I need some time before school starts to get settled in, find an apartment, motorbike, etc. However, I dont know if Tet will be a big interference or not. From experience, does Tet really shutdown the city? Despite it only being from Jan 30th-Feb 4th I read it lasts much longer with all the tack on vacations. Thoughts on when would be a good time to arrive and how long it took you to get your basic life amenities together?

Cheers,

Jes

David

Hi Jes,

Welcome to expat-blog!

I suggest you to read the following articles this might help you find some more information :);

• Discovering Vietnam

• Moving to Vietnam

• Accommodation in Vietnam

• Transports in Vietnam

Regards,

David.

Expat-blog team.

saigonmonkey

Move here in early January and allow yourself about a month to get acclimated, and you'll be fine. As for the shutdown - yes, but only for 4-5 days. This year, that will be around January 31st. So from Jan 30th to Feb 4th or so, HCMC, compared to a normal day any other time of year, will look like a ghost town. A few years back, I got my days wrong regarding the actual holiday, and nearly ran out of food before the stores opened again. It has gotten better since then, and many stores actually remain open now, but you still need to plan ahead.

Kevin Nguyen 12

[moderated: no free ads please]

Tran Hung Dao

Budman1 wrote:

[moderated: no free ads please]


I work for free.  Need to find an apartment?  Here ya go:

http://vietnam.craigslist.org/hhh/

Good luck!

Oooh...here's one close to RMIT for only $250 a month.

http://vietnam.craigslist.org/roo/4127522400.html

Also check Expat-Blog's Housing section.

https://www.expat.com/en/housing/asia/vietnam/saigon/

Christine

Hello everyone > please note that some off topic posts have been removed from this discussion. I would suggest you to report us of any inappropriate / free ads posting on the forum. Thank you.

[sorry for the off topic]

Akovalev

Sup Jes,
Everyone I know that comes here for RMIT tries to find something close which would be in District 7. It's a big dangerous when you come back from downtown D1 at night, but apparently there are more cops around now.

Tet, every companies close down for around a week. Come before tet for sure so you can enjoy your time here and get to know people around town and get cozy! Saigon's expat community is very small and a lot of people end up have tons of mutual friends.

Motorbike, just rent it, can find on pham ngu lao for 800 000 VND, but others are usually 1 mill to 1.2 mill for a decent bike.

So anyways, a week is usually good to get all your sh. together!
Good luck!

Khuyen nguyen

hello
my name is khuyen
i am vietnamese and will share with u what i know about HCMC ,[moderated: why don't you share info here] if u need advice/question about life here.
take care

JesD

Thanks everyone!

Really appreciate you taking the time to help.
I'm sure I'll have a million questions ahead, but this is a great starting point.

Cheers,

Jes

vuandrew8

(Moderated: Post ad in the section motorbikes for sale in Saigon) .district 7 will be nice area for you.and there are so many expatriates there .for any questions. I always willing to help you .

namron

Hi Jes!

Welcome!

It would be best for you to come on the first week of January to settle all your needs and at least, slowly get used to the new environment.

I am not so familiar in Dist. 7 but I have a colleague who also stay in Dist. 7 (Phú Mỹ Hưng). He knows the place well and I could ask him if you have further query.

Sploke77

Life will kind of shutdown from 25 jan onwards till maybe, Feb 9th or so. Flights could be a problem if you do not book real ahead! Food wise, I believe some fast food stores will supply during this period. District 7,will be best for you to get easily to RMIt and many shops cater for expats, but at expat pricing.. Welcome to HCM

Vent

Hello,
How are you? You can admire the Tet holiday in Nguyen Hue street, in Sagon, district 1. I'm Huong, doctor, you can contact me at 09 19 56 12 39, i'm alone in iHo chi minh city for work, so we can meet and explore the city together. Okie?
Nice to hear news from you

Khuyen nguyen

welcome HCM city ,inbox to me if u need any advice

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