Moving To Vietnam In 2018

If your disability requires you to use a wheelchair, VN is not the place for you.  NO consideration is given to wheelchair access to footpaths, houses,   hotels, restaurants, supermarkets  bused, trains, or to any where else.

You may want to teach in order to keep active but one nice thing about having a pension is that you will not have to put up with crap from employers.  You can walk at any time.

Not in a wheelchair just YET lol. I'm still quite active, but I do draw a monthly payment for hearing loss and a back injury - non-combat-related. Thank you, though! I have buddies who will need to take that into consideration before moving out.

That's a good point! I plan to teach anyway, but it's good to have something to fall back on especially if the working conditions are not suitable. Thank you!

Born in Vietnam? then your 'expat path' is missing a leg.
Also, never heard an American who said 'whilst'!
Vung Tao is a good choice.

Missing a leg? Could you clarify this?

I know a lot of educated Americans who use "whilst"   I have a lot of friends from England as well

Thanks for making me feel welcome to VT.

You haven't mentioned relatives.   Do you have known relatives in Vietnam?  If so you might want to relocate near them, but then again you might want to stay far away.   

I don't know of any relatives personally - but my mother had a sister but were separated during the war. I haven't even begun researching on how to find any cousins I may still have. Been knee-deep in researching about accredited TESOL/CELTA courses.

onceuponastage wrote:

Missing a leg? Could you clarify this?

Expat path is in your account...



You want to show places you lived because, this is expat forum. The more places you show, the cooler and more high status you are! It is kind of like ribbons and bars on a military uniform.


(I am guessing North Korean generals get extra medals to compensate for low pay.)

onceuponastage wrote:

I know a lot of educated Americans who use "whilst"   I have a lot of friends from England as well

Teasing about 'whilst'. Your British buddies probably tricked you into also saying thrice, nought, chuffed and trainers! Whilst is an archaic word that that causes reactions from language fanatics. Some Brits claim Americans aren't allowed to use it. Americans who use it are labeled anglophiles. Americans say Brits use it to sound cultured. I think my Australian relatives would say it is a pommie word. etc etc.
Google "stop saying whilst" for interesting comments!

gobot wrote:

onceuponastage wrote:

Missing a leg? Could you clarify this?

Expat path is in your account...

http://pixen.netlify.com/pix/expat_path.jpg

You want to show places you lived because, this is expat forum. The more places you show, the cooler and more high status you are! It is kind of like ribbons and bars on a military uniform.

http://pixen.netlify.com/pix/nkgenerals.jpg
(I am guessing North Korean generals get extra medals to compensate for low pay.)

onceuponastage wrote:

I know a lot of educated Americans who use "whilst"   I have a lot of friends from England as well

Teasing about 'whilst'. Your British buddies probably tricked you into also saying thrice, nought, chuffed and trainers! Whilst is an archaic word that that causes reactions from language fanatics. Some Brits claim Americans aren't allowed to use it. Americans who use it are labeled anglophiles. Americans say Brits use it to sound cultured. I think my Australian relatives would say it is a pommie word. etc etc.
Google "stop saying whilst" for interesting comments!

Whilst such a display of medals also makes the wearer almost bullet proof.

Got it! Had not a clue about the destination legs, so I'll have to dig out the ol' passport and trace my steps! Needs me some of those medals

I figured I was gettin' a ribbing about "whilst". And yeah, me Brit buddies do think of me as an anglophile - but having some English blood in my veins and studying Shakespeare put the pomp in my prose!

I don't say "trainers" but I do often ask where's the loo, and will flavour my writing with a little colour (to the chagrin of my American English teachers ironically).

Something on a total aside: I've heard that there may still be some stigma around AmerAsians - of which I am one. Have you heard or seen this in your travels? Are we still called "bui doi"?

onceuponastage wrote:

Something on a total aside: I've heard that there may still be some stigma around AmerAsians - of which I am one. Have you heard or seen this in your travels? Are we still called "bui doi"?

Based on the experiences of a son of a friend, you can be the hottest guy in the nightclub.  Of course the lure of the blue passport helps.

onceuponastage wrote:

Got it! Had not a clue about the destination legs, so I'll have to dig out the ol' passport and trace my steps! Needs me some of those medals

I figured I was gettin' a ribbing about "whilst". And yeah, me Brit buddies do think of me as an anglophile - but having some English blood in my veins and studying Shakespeare put the pomp in my prose!

I don't say "trainers" but I do often ask where's the loo, and will flavour my writing with a little colour (to the chagrin of my American English teachers ironically).

Something on a total aside: I've heard that there may still be some stigma around AmerAsians - of which I am one. Have you heard or seen this in your travels? Are we still called "bui doi"?

Nowadays you would be referred by the non-derogatory term of:  Việt Kiều. Which as far as I can make out means a "Vietnamese who travels". Most people who speak Vietnamese understand it to mean "a Vietnamese person living abroad".

onceuponastage wrote:

Got it! Had not a clue about the destination legs, so I'll have to dig out the ol' passport and trace my steps! Needs me some of those medals

I figured I was gettin' a ribbing about "whilst". And yeah, me Brit buddies do think of me as an anglophile - but having some English blood in my veins and studying Shakespeare put the pomp in my prose!

I don't say "trainers" but I do often ask where's the loo, and will flavour my writing with a little colour (to the chagrin of my American English teachers ironically).

Something on a total aside: I've heard that there may still be some stigma around AmerAsians - of which I am one. Have you heard or seen this in your travels? Are we still called "bui doi"?

Instead of "trainers" you could use the word "daps".... 

Americans of any ethnicity are welcome in VN, with enough green bucks, of course.

My daughter is VN-Australian, as are the children of many friends, and they have NO problems on VN. You have no need to worry at all, just come and enjoy yourself

Understood! Thanks

Thanks - that's a relief!

onceuponastage wrote:

I've heard that there may still be some stigma around AmerAsians - of which I am one. Have you heard or seen this in your travels?

In fact there is one place where Western-bred Asians run into some trouble. I can't believe that @Thigv and @EOD and @Ralph, all of them forum regulars, didn't mention it! So I have to be the messenger...

It turns out that some/many english language schools only want to see teachers with a white complexion in their classrooms. They do the bidding of parents who pay the fees. The enlightened parents think only white teachers speak the perfect English that can get their brats into Harvard.

You are intending to teach so you'll want to find someone who knows about the situation to go deeper with this subject.

Us older guys Apologise.   We tend to ignore the obvious...

Follow our lead, and ignore the scary stories; there is plenty
  of work at all levels for willing wordsmiths...

*..and we still shoot messengers...     

I've read this on many forums and it seems to be true with regard to age as well. Sad. I've asked this in e-mail exchanges to 2 schools/language centers (whatever they call themselves) directly and got the obligatory "...we don't discriminate on the basis of race, blah, blah..." But what's my recourse anyway if they do? It's not like I can sue anyone.

Anyway, like all things, it depends on where you go and who you talk to, I suppose.

Thanks mate!

Precisely!   ..if you are a blue-eyed blondie: it's a shoo-in...

For the rest of us uglies..?   You'll be surprised just how well
things will click contingent with (your) capability.

The flood of backpackers actually make it easier for the longer
term stayer, willing-to-worker.   Attitude is everything.

..and word-of-mouth works both ways...     

I've no problem putting up my 15+ years of classroom experience -- working with some of the most difficult inner-city kids and those fleeing war-torn countries like Yemen and Pakistan -- to that of any runway model with little more than a piece of parchment and little-to-no actual knowledge of how to teach.

The passion I have for making a difference -- which I have not only demonstrated but have been rewarded with hugs and tears with the quiet "thank you" that can only come from someone who knows their good fortune to have arrived on our shores and receive an opportunity such as a free education -- is palpable to anyone who meets me and dares ask me how I feel about teaching. If an interviewing supervisor or principal can't fathom that in five minutes after talking to me, I'm not going to continue the conversation. It's just not worth my time.

Ugly though I may be -- actually I'm quite cuddly -- I'll wipe the floor with the lot until I find a place that appreciates hard work, determination, and a willingness to go the extra klick. Don't care how long it takes.

I'm coming home!

P.S. You're quite cuddly yourself

"Ugly though I may be -- actually I'm quite cuddly -- I'll wipe the floor with the lot until I find a place that appreciates hard work, determination, and a willingness to go the extra klick. Don't care how long it takes. "

I'm coming home!

P.S. You're quite cuddly yourself


(Aw, shucks...)          But thanks !   

(I thought it was the wart on the end of my nose that fascinates others)

But nah, empathy works here too.   It's Utopia for me, but worry not, for you'll get truckloads of gratitude; not only from the kids...   

Not all of us worship the $.   It's the satisfaction you get that counts most.

Works for me

Being Viet born, many places will expect to pay you less no matter your experience or credentials.   Several friends who went to Canada as kids and returned to VN have run into that.  For many places it is how you look rather than your skills / experience.   So be prepared for that in your job search.   Don't waste your breath trying to convince any interviewer otherwise. 

Doing the CELTA in VN has its advantages.  You see the type of students you will be teaching.  Doing the CELTA in the US you will practice teaching to a multi-ethnic group living in an English speaking world.   Very different.  If I had it to do again, I would have done the CELTA in VN.  Doing it in VN means taking the class in HCMC.  AFAIK, there isn't a CELTA course in Vung Tau. 

Best of luck!

I’ve heard and read the same regarding how one looks; fortunately I look more Anglo especially when I sprout a beard!

Thank you!

Just spent a month in Vung Tau. It's a good base spot in my opinion. I don't need a base spot yet so I just move around alot when the novelty of one place wears off.

Hi there,
I'm Vietnamese who migrated to the USA wen I was 41. Attending a community college to study from  the beginning levels then transferred  to a four -year University to earn a BA  degree in math. Taught at a high school in Bay Area for 12 years before I got a position at an International school in PMH, HCM city in 2012. My English is not good, and I am an ugly Asian ( I almost 70 years old). Still got  another contract for 2018 - 2019 school year on a six -figure salary before tax.  Here is the point. You need to go mainstream.  There are so many positions at International schools over the world open every year. They look for teachers who had at least 2 years experiences at an eligible high school in USA or UK .. and they treat you like a rock star if you were a really good teacher.

I truly appreciate your input on this. Thank you!

It’s good to hear that experience in the classroom is still valued. I taught as a para-educator at the high school for three years and helped ESL teachers communicate to students from disparate regions of the world -  from Pakistan to Yemen, from the Balkans to Egypt.  When you ask me what were some of my greatest achievements, I’d have to say teaching at that school and seeing those kids onto higher education.

I plan to bring my best when applying at those schools in Vietnam; but I also plan on bringing my passion for teaching. I just hope they’re ready for me!

PS I’m in ugly AmerAsian LOL

I’ve never seen a black English teacher in Vietnam nor have I found one to share their experience in Vietnam with me.
I’m half black half white and here in America people love to guess my race to be Native American, Puerto Rican, Somoan etc.
I’m not ugly but because I don’t fall into what I’ve heard of the Vietnamese standards on beauty are, I’m concerned how big a part this is going to play into me finding work teaching English, specifically in Vietnam.... does anyone here know any brown heavier set women teaching out there?
I’m going to come in July in hopes that schools will be looking for qualified teachers for the approaching school year. I have a thick skin, and although I don’t hear it often, I can take “no.” Either way I’m coming and will give it the old college try.

Based on what you have told us on other threads, you lack a college degree.  Technically this disqualifies you from work but you would not be alone in that respect.  There are others in the same boat.  I generally advise others lacking a degree from moving to Vietnam to teach, but as the following seems to be your attitude,

Nijiah wrote:

I have a thick skin, and although I don’t hear it often, I can take “no.” Either way I’m coming and will give it the old college try.

you may have to accept a fair number of turn downs but I think you will be OK.