Where do expats hang out during the day?

I normally don't socialize with expats bc of varying reasons but if you wander into the backpacker ghettos of pham ngu lao, bui vien and thao dien there are countless bars like Broma or Chill Sky Bar etc with plenty of foreigners that are extroverted and who would like to make friends.

There's also Ben Thanh Market and perhaps 23/9 park so maybe also check those places out.

Why don't you trying Internation?

Thanks for the helpful tips

Great question! I want to know too... lol....

Lovingherlife wrote:

Hey I am new and wanting to get social in Ho Chi Minh. I am in District 1.

I am sorry if what I have to say sounds sexist but I think it is realistic.  If that is truly your picture, you should have no trouble meeting male expats.  The problem may be meeting individuals who meet your standards.

THIGV wrote:

Lovingherlife wrote:

Hey I am new and wanting to get social in Ho Chi Minh. I am in District 1.

I am sorry if what I have to say sounds sexist but I think it is realistic.  If that is truly your picture, you should have no trouble meeting male expats.  The problem may be meeting individuals who meet your standards.

My thoughts also.

If the pic is real I feel that making new friends will not be difficult.

colinoscapee wrote:

If the pic is real I feel that making new friends will not be difficult.

Of course Lovingherlife could always be a 300-lb bald guy who is simply trolling us all,      as opposed to someone who appears to have won the genetic lottery.

THIGV wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

If the pic is real I feel that making new friends will not be difficult.

Of course Lovingherlife could always be a 300-lb bald guy who is simply trolling us all,      as opposed to someone who appears to have won the genetic lottery.

Maybe a 300 lb bald guy with tinea and bad breath that likes to smear his body with cottage cheese, and squirm around in squashed tomatoes on black plastic whilst listening to classical music.

colinoscapee wrote:

Maybe a 300 lb bald guy with tinea and bad breath that likes to smear his body with cottage cheese, and squirm around in squashed tomatoes on black plastic whilst listening to classical music.

Only someone who has lived such an experience could imagine it.   

Sorry Lovingherlife.  We are just having a little fun.  I am sure you are a lovely young lady.

Being a woman, I can attest to the magic of photo apps.  In fact, I haven't seen a bad picture of any woman between the age of 15 and 75 on FB and Instagram for a long time now.  Wrinkles, double chin, saggy skin, limpy hair, bags under eyes, short or lack of eyelashes, tired look, bad skin, etc., none of them exists anymore on photos.

PC or not, we all know that life in general is gentler to attractive people, so if the OP looks just like her avatar IRL, I hope she'll receive all the gentle things in her new life here in Vietnam.

colinoscapee wrote:

Maybe a 300 lb bald guy with tinea and bad breath that likes to smear his body with cottage cheese, and squirm around in squashed tomatoes on black plastic whilst listening to classical music.

I've read a good article on how to calm a wild imagination.  Shall I send it to you, Colin?   

Ciambella wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Maybe a 300 lb bald guy with tinea and bad breath that likes to smear his body with cottage cheese, and squirm around in squashed tomatoes on black plastic whilst listening to classical music.

I've read a good article on how to calm a wild imagination.  Shall I send it to you, Colin?   

I'm just remembering my youth.

THIGV wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

If the pic is real I feel that making new friends will not be difficult.

Of course Lovingherlife could always be a 300-lb bald guy who is simply trolling us all,      as opposed to someone who appears to have won the genetic lottery.

...said the biggest troll in this forum.

This thread is a perfect illustration why all newcomers stop participating here after a few days/weeks...except the same 5 folks who make it their life project to ruin every thread with boring in-jokes, baseless conjecture, racist/sexist remarks, and blatant misinformation.

Goulet wrote:

THIGV wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

If the pic is real I feel that making new friends will not be difficult.

Of course Lovingherlife could always be a 300-lb bald guy who is simply trolling us all,      as opposed to someone who appears to have won the genetic lottery.

...said the biggest troll in this forum.

So, with 16 posts you are now the forum expert, pfft.

colinoscapee wrote:

Goulet wrote:

THIGV wrote:

Of course Lovingherlife could always be a 300-lb bald guy who is simply trolling us all,      as opposed to someone who appears to have won the genetic lottery.

...said the biggest troll in this forum.

So, with 16 posts you are now the forum expert, pfft.

I joined last year and stopped participating pretty quickly when I saw how the regulars are always shutting threads down.

Goulet wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Goulet wrote:

...said the biggest troll in this forum.

So, with 16 posts you are now the forum expert, pfft.

I joined last year and stopped participating pretty quickly when I saw how the regulars are always shutting threads down.

So why did you come back if it offends you so much?

The mods are the ones who control the forum, not the regulars.

Goulet wrote:

...said the biggest troll in this forum.

...the same 5 folks who make it their life project to ruin every thread with boring in-jokes, baseless conjecture, racist/sexist remarks, and blatant misinformation.

I've been active on this forum since 2017 and became a member of the volunteer team since the beginning of this year.  Not once in the last 2.5 years that I saw Colin gave out "blatant misinformation".   His strong suit is real estate investment, he's also knowledgeable about different types of visa, and in those threads his help has always been appreciated. 

He has never "start quarrels, sow discord, post inflammatory remarks and digressive" (Collins English Dictionary's definition of troll), or harass other posters (real life definition of troll).

It's misinformed to call him a troll, but to call him "the biggest troll" is, to use your term, "baseless conjecture".

He hasn't ruined any thread (let alone every thread) that I know of.  His humour, together with Bazza's, Yogi's, and Fred's, form the variable wefts that make the fabric of this forum interesting.  Certainly not everyone laughs at the same jokes, the same way not everyone shares the same POV, but as we live in the same society, we simply must accept one another's quirks. 

I agree that many jokes on this forum from male posters (not just the regulars) are sexist, and a few jokes tread the line of racist.  However, this is not a Western country where every word has to be censored in fear of offending the maniac masses.  Rigid PC doesn't have a place here, and I hope it never will (at least not while I'm alive and living here) even though I belong to the gender and age group against which discrimination sometimes happens. 

There's good info to learn in almost every thread, thus knowing what to add, what to take, what to ignore, and what to discard is a good tool to have (please forgive my awkward attempt to paraphrase Kenny Rogers).

Goulet wrote:

This thread is a perfect illustration why all newcomers stop participating here after a few days/weeks..

No, it's not.  ALL newcomers do not "stop participating after a few days/weeks". 

I can create a list of newcomers who stay, newcomers who have become regulars, newcomers who visit frequently without participating, and newcomers who only stop by when they have questions to ask.  It's the same way in most open forums.  People come and go, then come back and leave again -- lather, rinse, repeat. 

Most people, however, do not stop by periodically just to vent their frustration as you do.  Most people have better things to do with their lives.

Goulet wrote:

THIGV wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

If the pic is real I feel that making new friends will not be difficult.

Of course Lovingherlife could always be a 300-lb bald guy who is simply trolling us all,      as opposed to someone who appears to have won the genetic lottery.

...said the biggest troll in this forum.

This thread is a perfect illustration why all newcomers stop participating here after a few days/weeks...except the same 5 folks who make it their life project to ruin every thread with boring in-jokes, baseless conjecture, racist/sexist remarks, and blatant misinformation.

I am afraid that Goulet has identified not Colin but myself as the biggest troll.  Unlike Colin and the others, I am indefensible.  I plead guilty as charged.   

I was clearly referring to THIGV, not Colin. 

See post #15 and get your facts straight.

Just another misrepresentation from one of the "regulars"

Goulet wrote:

I was clearly referring to THIGV, not Colin. 

See post #15 and get your facts straight.

Just another misrepresentation from one of the "regulars"

Thank you for pointing out my error.  Now I can save my comment for the next time someone attacks Colin.

In the meantime, if I take away the sentence about Colin's contribution on real estate and visa, and replace it with THIGV's incredible contributions on the vagaries of English teaching, on marriage to a Vietnamese, on the procedures to help a Vietnamese spouse acquiring US citizenship, and how a Vietnamese woman can be the best life partner, I would've described THIGV to a tee.

In addition, I can also add that THIGV is one of a few TRUE gentlemen of this forum.  Sexist jokes and racist jokes?  Please point them out to me because although I've read almost every comment he posted, I haven't come across an offending joke yet.

His comment about a 300-lb man notwithstanding, I can very easily present a very strong defense for THIGV, stronger than the one I did for Colin. 

But I won't.  Because the thread will be shut down if I allow this nonsense to continue.

Goulet wrote:

I was clearly referring to THIGV, not Colin. 

See post #15 and get your facts straight.

Just another misrepresentation from one of the "regulars"

Was "get your facts straight" addressed at Ms Ciambella as it appeared to be?  Please, you can hammer away all you like at myself, Colinoscapee, Bazza, Yogi and countless others. (Sorry for roping you others in to this mess.)  We can take as good as we give, but please refrain from jumping on Ms. Ciambella.  She is always polite and we often depend on her as the definitive authority on this site for aspects of Viet culture, as well as having expat experience in the US and Europe.  You could do well to listen to her.

Ciambella wrote:

I agree that many jokes on this forum from male posters (not just the regulars) are sexist, .

Don't worry your pretty little head about it <Hides behind sofa>

..

LOL! wow I didn't know this would start off a huge convo. I am not looking for a guy I am looking to make friends with women.   Perhaps I should change my pic if I keep getting guys msg me... lol

It was a funny read ... thanks for the jokes

Lovingherlife wrote:

LOL! wow I didn't know this would start off a huge convo. I am not looking for a guy I am looking to make friends with women.   Perhaps I should change my pic if I keep getting guys msg me... lol

It was a funny read ... thanks for the jokes

Please report any dodgy PMs you get. Sex pests get banned pretty quickly.

Lovingherlife wrote:

I am not looking for a guy I am looking to make friends with women.

We perhaps should have assumed that but you never know.  I doubt that the Pham Ngu Lao and Ben Thanh Market areas are good places to meet female expats.  I never frequented those areas but I expect that you wouldn't find the best male specimens there either.  Could I sincerely suggest that you stick around the forum, despite M. Goulet's complaint and focus on posts by female expats.  Yes there are a few here.  If you read from some who may have similar interests, send them a PM and get together.  If they are in another city, you may even find it a good excuse to get out of town and explore the countryside.  Good luck.

May also be worth you looking on couchsurfing.com and meetup.com as both these sites have social meetings to them. I've not looked on CS but meetup does have events listed in Saigon.

Perhaps I should change my post to... where do the female expats hang out?

That last post said couchsurfing and meetup, I wasn't aware I couldn't post links here. Check those out.

I am looking to make make female friends. Not a bf guys.... So my question is where do the female expats hang out?

RisingStar999 wrote:

That last post said couchsurfing and meetup, I wasn't aware I couldn't post links here. Check those out.

To prevent spammers, new members with very few posts cannot post links.

Lovingherlife wrote:

I am looking to make make female friends. Not a bf guys.... So my question is where do the female expats hang out?

Many women joined dance groups that meet up for practice at local parks all over the country.  I don't know the exact locations in Saigon, but you may want to check out a FB group called Fexpats, created for female expats and locals who live in Saigon.  It's a very active group with information galore.

If you like to walk, jog, or run (non-competitive) while exploring local landmarks and hidden gems with a group then Hash House Harriers is a good choice.  Their contact number in Saigon for English speakers is 0120 550 9583.  They meet at the historic Caravelle Hotel every Sunday around 1:30PM unless there's a last minute change. 

H3 is not for female only, however.  The members are men and women, single and married, families with children, locals and expats.  I once visited a H3 group where the members were mostly locals, and I was with another group where there were 4 or 5 languages spoken at the same time.

Lovingherlife wrote:

I am looking to make make female friends. Not a bf guys.... So my question is where do the female expats hang out?

Try Facebook, there are numerous sites for females to meet up.

Lovingherlife:

"If you like to walk, jog, or run (non-competitive) while exploring local landmarks and hidden gems with a group then [link under review] is a good choice. "

The group I mentioned in the above sentence (link wasn't shown) is Hash House Harriers.  You can find them on the Internet.

Thank you Ciambella,

This is very useful. I will look into it.

Where did GuestPoster713 go?
I thought that user had a valid point, which should be open for discussion.

Zak88 wrote:

Where did GuestPoster713 go?
I thought that user had a valid point, which should be open for discussion.

He voluntarily abandoned ship...

Lovingherlife wrote:

I am looking to make make female friends. Not a bf guys.... So my question is where do the female expats hang out?

Yoga

Classes and events listed in Facebook groups for expats in your fave city