Moving to HCMC with wife and 2 kids

Hi Goozer, D2 is imo one of the best places to be with kids lots of expat families live there and its a pretty nice neighborhood.
Plenty of open spaces around there and plenty within easy distance.
The alternative to D2 is D7 but it depends a lot on where your working too. I find D7 a bit too far commute for my liking.
Schools are good there are plenty of international ones in D2 and elsewhere, prices are high I believe(I don't have kids here) but I'm sure no worse than elsewhere.

Congestion,traffic etc well its a major city so you get that, but it's not as bad as other places. I can't speak for Japan but it's better than Thailand for example.
I'm sure once you arrive your fears will be alleviated but as always moving to a new country can\is a bit nerve wracking.

Hi goozer,
I think D7 will be as you require. Many foreigners live in D7 so your family can make friends and take a break after a working day. You want a bit quiet. Yes! I think you can try coming to D7 to test!!!!!
Best Regard.
If you need a place, Pls contact me: tran.cam890@gmail.com or 0914670702. For Free!

Hi Goozer,

I would say D7 and D2 are places that you're looking for. D2 is quite new compare to D7 so houses may be more expensive. I'm working as a teaching assistant at an American pre-school in D7 called Kids Club Saigon. You may wanna check out the website for more information: kidsclubsaigon.com

Besides, there are lots of international schools that offer kindergartens like SSIS (one of the tops), AIS, CIS...
And I think you can easily get in touch with other parents once you send your kids to school.

Here is also a google group of people living in Phu My Hung, D7
groups.google.com/group/phumyhungneighbours where you can bring out your questions.

Hope this would help.
Cheers,
Quynh

Hi Groozer,

I am a Vietnamese person and I live in D2 about 4 years. Now I am working for a foreign company in D2 as well. In my area, there is a Snap cafe where a lot of foreigners come everyday. There is a group named An Phu Neighbour ( An Phu is a ward of D2) which was organised by foreigners who live in Viet Nam to help each others. My boss is from England and he lives like forever in Vietnam (16 years). All I want to say is D2 is a good choice because you can have a lot of American neighbours and this area is nearer to the center of HCM city than D7.

[Moderated]

Hi,
We arrived one month ago with a 5 months baby boy.
We live in Binh Thanh, and haven't been to D2 or D7...
I chose a flat near to my work !

You can find some peace in the parks, but you won't see many strollers in the streets ! It's better to move by cab from one place to another with young children...

Cheers

Saigon Pearl in Binh Thanh District is a nice place to live especially if you have a family.

Oh if you don't mind the construction noise, black outs, occassional fire alarm ringing in the middle of the night... it's really a great place! Honest.

Suggestion, if you can, don't comment to any leases or long term rents, until you have lived in HCMC.  Get a furnished apt for 30 days. This gives you and family time to search out the areas people are suggesting here.  Vietnam has everything you might expect and more in living day to day. You have children, schools and others issues and the best bet, is get there and search on your own or with fellow employees you work with.  Food for thought.  I plan to live here in Oct Nov 2011.  http://chuckkuhnvietnam.blogspot.com

D2 and D7 is the best choice for foreigner who come along with children as almost the international school are located there and family wanting quiet environment, fresh air . However, it is quite far from the central.
For more suggestion about accommodation, I think you should visit some real estate website such as meyzer.com.vn.

cheers