7 Steps to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam (for those who want live here for awhile)

Do you want to live in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam? This is a fun city to live in -- if you really like motorbikes...

... a lot. (4 million and counting).

It's easy to live here if you have some teaching credentials and are a native English speaker.  If you meet these criteria and are from the US, read on.  If you're from another English-speaking country, read on, too; just don't try to follow steps 1-7 exactly like this!

I'm going to talk about how to get here and how to thrive here.  How am I qualified to do so?  Because I got here and am thriving.  You'll find more-experienced people who are here or who have been here, and you'll come across A LOT of opinions and advice.  This is mine.  By my nature, and after having been in graduate school for a very long time,  I try to put facts over opinion -- or at least qualify what I'm saying as best I can.

Getting to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Step 1. Education. Finish your degree. You will need credentials to get your Work Permit (WP).  Any BA or BS will do.

If you don't have a CELTA or TEFL and/or teaching experience, you can come here and find work, but it may be difficult to situate yourself easily for a Work Permit (WP).  If you have an English degree (the kind where you read and write about English Literature for a couple of years) or Communications, you may be able to pull this off, but bring authenticated transcripts to prove it's an English or Communications degree. A BEd is guaranteed gold.  An MA is okay; good if it's in Ed or Comm.  I have an English Degree, an MA in Communications and an Advanced Certificate in Education; no CELTA.  I do respect the CELTA program, though.  Good entry-level prep/weeding out tool.

You may want to do a CELTA before coming here, though you can do one here.  More on that in the next series.

You can come here with a degree in Shop and nothing else. You can always get a WP.  It may cost you a good $1,000 or more, but it's possible.  You may also come here and teach with no degree --it's a tougher route and you won't get a WP.

Step 2. Get some experience teaching/traveling. This is not a "beginner-friendly" gig. Although some completely green newbies come here, it's better if you have some traveling experience. And by travel experience I don't mean that three-week graduation trip to Europe -- I mean at least teach in Mexico or whatever for a year. In any case, just understand the basics of living in crazy, developing-world, conditions. Btw, for guys, Southeast Asia beats Mexico. Just saying.

Not Europe

Optional: Get your motorcycle license. It's easier and cheaper to get a motorbike license here if you have a motorcycle license from the States. You may or may not ever need the motorbike license here: I haven't needed to produce mine for a cop yet, but I got one and feel better when I pass by the police because I did.  I'll cover how to do so in the next series.

Step 3.  This step gets it's own page. Get your documents in order and stamped through the US Chain of Authentication. 

Step 4. (may be done parallel to the above). Get your Vietnam visa from the Vietnam Embassy. or from the Consulate in SF. Do not get a 1-month. Get a 3-month. It's easier and cheaper to extend a 3-month here than to change out a 1-month.  The eventual costs outweigh the initial costs.  Call them for the latest prices.  Go ahead and call them -- they don't bite and they do speak English.  It's sometimes difficult to get through, though.  Yes, you can use a visa agency -- there are many online -- but you can get your visa from either place above for much cheaper.

Step 5. Get a one-way ticket to Ho Chi Minh City. If you're thinking "I should get an open-ended round trip, just in case" then do not come here: go back to step 2.  If you're a chicken (like I was) or are just concerned, get some travel insurance. After doing a bunch of research, I recommend Travel Guard. I'd say just get a month's worth so your flight over and first month are covered.

Because you never know.

Step 6. Go to Bui Vien/ Pham Ngu Lao. (Pronounce Ngu like this: say "sing" but don't include the "si" and add an u, as in "blue.") You will pay $10 to take a taxi from the airport. Take Mai Linn Taxi or VinaSun Taxi (the rest may rip you off) and agree up front: $10. Tell them no otherwise. Do not close the door until they agree.  These two companies have good reputations, but you never know about the driver: maybe he just lost a world-cup bet and is a little short on cash. 

Step 7. Get a $15/night hotel. I recommend Hoai Pho. As many before and after me have, I stayed there for months until I got my bearings enough to do step 10.

Practice your Kung-Fu in your Saigon Hotel

Before I even came here, I used Hostelsworld and found a great place (Luan Vu) for my first 10 days, though.  You pay a booking fee, but if you want to know where you're staying and want a reviewed place, it's a great resource.  I put a widget on my page (to your right) for this.  Just type in Ho Chi Minh City and start researching. 

Congratulations, you're here*. If you've followed all the previous steps, you will not need to get a job before coming.  I'll cover that and more in the next series of steps: How to Live in Ho Chi Minh City.

Optional: upon arrival, freak out for 2 weeks. You may at this point drink yourself silly and fall for the bar girls/ho's. Try not to get robbed by a ho. Do not fight anyone. Do not go off on a motorbike in a riotous blaze of glory during this period: if you crash, it's your fault and you will pay.

Knock yourself out at Go2.  Go ahead, get out of your system.

Stay tuned for how to live here once you get here.