Life in Vietnam

[BinhJerome 14]

Dau Que,

Yes, Vietnam government is corrupted. I have known that and have come to accept it...you deal with it and make it work for you.

I know as a non Viet Citizen, you can buy land but have to return it in 50 years...I also know most of the laws in Vietnam...both written and unspoken.

Like any other country, you take the good with the bad. It's a hell hole because most people have no oppertunity to grow...that's what communist do to a country.

But have you seen the younger generation of Vietnam lately? They want to change the country. Most have evolve to embrace the western culture and idealism.

For me, walking around a country where people does not look at me DIFFERENTLY makes me feel at home. I grew up with racism and like it or not, it's still around.

The feeling of being free, with no burden, when you set foot in Vietnam is enough for me to bare it's ugly sides.

If you plan well, life is good...plan ill, life is hell...that's everywhere.

When was the last time you were in a rolling black out or your ac broke down in Houston?

When was the last time you were in a Hurricane that took out electricity for weeks and you had to go to work?

Sorry buddy, but you really don't know much. A NON Vietnamese citizen can ONLY buy an apartment, they CANNOT buy land, also you buy a 50 year lease, you do NOT have to give the land back in 50 years, you only have to pay tax and the tax is small, it is nothing like re buying the land. My wife's uncle just had to pay tax on property his grandfather had bought prior to the the war (50 years ago was when it was bought) He has over 1000 square meters, the house right next to him with far less land sold for about 12 billion (close to 600,000 USD) and he only had to pay 10 million to get a fresh 50 year lease of sorts. So please before you start spouting off about knowing the laws both written and unspoken you really must start to try to learn them, if not you are in for a rude awakening. I know personally since I wanted to buy a house and have it in my name, I found 3 different ones I wanted all for about 1.5 billion, I had cash in hand yet it had to be put into my wife's name, so instead of buying a house (because there was NO way it would be in my name) we ended up buying an apartment, so now with our apartment bought and paid for we are looking to buy land to put in my wifes name so we can build our retirement home. And for all of you that might wonder why it was in my name and not my wifes, simple math I DO trust her, and I DO trust her mother and brother, but what if something happens to her and I did decide to get married again, what would they think then? Read up on the laws, and truly know them dont just say you know them because what you have written is totally wrong. Good luck if you are truly wanting to move here, even as Scott said the economy might be rough, but I am still putting away tons of money working over here, living the life I want to live and still saving well over $1400 a month USD, and that is not counting the money we are saving for land, there is no way in America in 2 years I would have a house bought ($73000 paid in full) and the other money that is still in the bank. Life is truly great at least for me and my wife. Maybe you can be as lucky or luckier. Jerome and Binh

[tuandanh 3]

I agree with WeatherEmperor that you should do what makes you feel good. It's your life and you've got to follow your own calling. I spent nearly half of 2010 in Vietnam and it was the most amazing experience I've had. It's not for everyone though. Life here is a lot more comfortable but for me, I'm missing that spark that really makes VN come alive. I don't get that same feeling going to Walgreens :-)

My dream scenario would be to do a half and half thing. Get the best of both worlds. Oh well, to each there own.

[Hot Vit Lon 7]

Do a Google search on "eminent domain". You own property in the US as long as the government doesn't have any interest in taking it away from you. However, if the government decides your property would serve the public good better if it were part of a new shopping center then you're going to lose your home, and there is very little you can do to stop it.

I recently saw the city council in my town clear out an entire neighborhood using eminent domain. They wanted to build an office park, supposedly to attract businesses to the city "for the public good". The investor backed out after they'd already condemned all of the homes, so they sold the property to another investor who just leveled the homes and built new ones that sold for twice as much as the original homes. Some of the original homeowners sued the city trying to get their properties back for the paltry sum the city originally paid them. They lost.

Then why did your wife come to the US? What for? To re-write the existing "eminent domain" laws in the US? I can't wait til she's successful doing that.

Read again what JimVaPhuong said about eminent domain.

You can also do some research into banks foreclosing on houses that they know they don't own. Usually some kind of clerical error gets a house the bank doesn't own in the foreclosure process. The bank reviews the paperwork, discovers they don't actually own the mortgage for the house, but they proceed on foreclosing the house anyway and the government allows this. A license to steal basically.

There is also a tax lien if you don't pay your taxes. This gives the government the right to property you currently own, as well as all property that you acquire after the lien is placed. (There is a statute of limitations on a property lien which spans a 10 year period.)

There is also a judgment lien which can be placed on your property if you don't pay some kinds of debts. Whether your house is forclosed upon depends on the lien holder.

Liens are a bit fairer, but they still give the government or somebody the right to your property if you owe them money.

Please see my above post as my reply to you.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Then why did your wife come to the US? What for? To re-write the existing "eminent domain" laws in the US? I can't wait til she's successful doing that.

Well, it certainly wasn't because she thought the property ownership laws in the US were much more fair than the property ownership laws in Vietnam. In fact, she doesn't know a damn thing about the property ownership laws in the US, and she really doesn't care. She's not a crusader of any sort. She came to the US to marry me and live with me. We both chose the US over Vietnam because I have a successful career here and could provide for both of us comfortably, but we were both willing to stay in Vietnam if that's how it would have worked out at the consulate. We discussed all of the possible options before we started down this road.

That doesn't mean it was a slam dunk decision. She gave up a lot to come here. She had to sell her home because none of her family wanted to leave the village and live in Hue City, and she was afraid the government would seize her house if nobody lived there. She had to sell it well below market value because of the f'ing red book. That was a bitter pill to swallow because she worked her butt off for 10 years to get that house. She also gave up her career as a school teacher, and now she's looking at the daunting task of going back to school for years to get a teaching certificate so she can teach in the US. By the time she does that she'll be in her 50's. In the meantime, she's watching her granddaughter grow up on a webcam, and she's relying on her brother (who isn't the sharpest tool in the shed) to take care of her 70+ year old mother. There were and still are a lot of sacrifices. As unbelievable as this might be to you, many people are actually happy living in Vietnam, and many aren't strongly attracted by the lure of a better standard of living in the US if it means giving up the things in life that make them happy. Maybe you're not old enough to understand this yet.

[utst10 0]

Sorry buddy, but you really don't know much. A NON Vietnamese citizen can ONLY buy an apartment, they CANNOT buy land, also you buy a 50 year lease, you do NOT have to give the land back in 50 years, you only have to pay tax and the tax is small, it is nothing like re buying the land. My wife's uncle just had to pay tax on property his grandfather had bought prior to the the war (50 years ago was when it was bought) He has over 1000 square meters, the house right next to him with far less land sold for about 12 billion (close to 600,000 USD) and he only had to pay 10 million to get a fresh 50 year lease of sorts. So please before you start spouting off about knowing the laws both written and unspoken you really must start to try to learn them, if not you are in for a rude awakening. I know personally since I wanted to buy a house and have it in my name, I found 3 different ones I wanted all for about 1.5 billion, I had cash in hand yet it had to be put into my wife's name, so instead of buying a house (because there was NO way it would be in my name) we ended up buying an apartment, so now with our apartment bought and paid for we are looking to buy land to put in my wifes name so we can build our retirement home. And for all of you that might wonder why it was in my name and not my wifes, simple math I DO trust her, and I DO trust her mother and brother, but what if something happens to her and I did decide to get married again, what would they think then? Read up on the laws, and truly know them dont just say you know them because what you have written is totally wrong. Good luck if you are truly wanting to move here, even as Scott said the economy might be rough, but I am still putting away tons of money working over here, living the life I want to live and still saving well over $1400 a month USD, and that is not counting the money we are saving for land, there is no way in America in 2 years I would have a house bought ($73000 paid in full) and the other money that is still in the bank. Life is truly great at least for me and my wife. Maybe you can be as lucky or luckier. Jerome and Binh

Jerome, you are right. I was just generalizing that Non Vietnamese citizen can't own...I have a partner and we take turn traveling to Vietnam every other month. We deal with the "high official" all the time not to mention the locals. We're in the design/build construction business so I know better. My wife is a business major who have dealt with both the people and the goverment on land. She even know the people who "divide" the lands for selling and can get it cheaper to "retail". As such, I get to see a lot of young and old people from all walks of life in Vietnam. You have probably seen our company name on the construction sites.

Edited September 12, 2011 by utst10

[Hot Vit Lon 7]

Well, it certainly wasn't because she thought the property ownership laws in the US were much more fair than the property ownership laws in Vietnam. In fact, she doesn't know a damn thing about the property ownership laws in the US, and she really doesn't care. She's not a crusader of any sort. She came to the US to marry me and live with me. We both chose the US over Vietnam because I have a successful career here and could provide for both of us comfortably, but we were both willing to stay in Vietnam if that's how it would have worked out at the consulate. We discussed all of the possible options before we started down this road.

That doesn't mean it was a slam dunk decision. She gave up a lot to come here. She had to sell her home because none of her family wanted to leave the village and live in Hue City, and she was afraid the government would seize her house if nobody lived there. She had to sell it well below market value because of the f'ing red book. That was a bitter pill to swallow because she worked her butt off for 10 years to get that house. She also gave up her career as a school teacher, and now she's looking at the daunting task of going back to school for years to get a teaching certificate so she can teach in the US. By the time she does that she'll be in her 50's. In the meantime, she's watching her granddaughter grow up on a webcam, and she's relying on her brother (who isn't the sharpest tool in the shed) to take care of her 70+ year old mother. There were and still are a lot of sacrifices. As unbelievable as this might be to you, many people are actually happy living in Vietnam, and many aren't strongly attracted by the lure of a better standard of living in the US if it means giving up the things in life that make them happy. Maybe you're not old enough to understand this yet.

Can someone please hand me a tissue? I'm crying.....hu ...hu....hu reading the "sacrifice" she gave up for Jim!

Jim, you're right that I'm not that old to "understand" a thing about Vietcong. That's why I take the words from the "older" generations, folks who lived and dealed with Vietcong and know the famous saying (which you said it yourself before on VJ)" Dung nghe nhung gi Cong san noi, ma hay nhin nhung gi Cong san lam" (Don't listen to what commies say, but rather watch what they do)

[Ban Hammer 12,901]

one post removed for baiting, member thread banned.

[VinceN 25]

I always missed out on the good stuff

[ScottThuy 140]

I always missed out on the good stuff

You didnt miss anything really.. just the same stuff from the same individual... it wont be long before you see it again in another topic...

[quann 26]

the first couple times i went back to visit vietnam...i said wow this place is great everything so cheap i can totally see myself buying a little piece of property and at least spending some time here for a month or two every year.

now that i've been back 5 times and wiser to the how vietnam operates, a big HELL NO to all that...especially now that i got my wife and son over. not everybody want to relocate to the USA, but i bet a majority of those would at least want to send their kids over. again great place to visit for a couple weeks but not a place i want to stay. and if you think no problem i'll just move away from the big cities and go to some rural quaint area like you see in the pictures away from big brother's watchful eyes...think again because i had to deal with small-town bureaucry and they can be even more corrupt than HCM/HANOI.

like the million dollar man said tho..."everybody has a price"

[Teacher Mark 53]

You should come here and decide for yourself, as others have stated. I spent the summer in America and couldn't wait to get back.

[phil09 8]

I think that our opinion/advice is colored to a large extent by our past life in VN. I was 16 when the war ended, and lived in Saigon under the then-hard line regime for 6 years. Understandably, I do not have many fond memories of that period and will forever associate life in VN with what I went through 30-some years ago. So for me, living there permanently is out of the question. Folks who did not live through those days (roughly from 1975 to 1990) or who are too young to remember them, probably have a different view of VN. And that's perfectly fine, to each his own.

Edited September 15, 2011 by phil09

[Julian_Hien 0]

Can someone please hand me a tissue? I'm crying.....hu ...hu....hu reading the "sacrifice" she gave up for Jim!

Jim, you're right that I'm not that old to "understand" a thing about Vietcong. That's why I take the words from the "older" generations, folks who lived and dealed with Vietcong and know the famous saying (which you said it yourself before on VJ)" Dung nghe nhung gi Cong san noi, ma hay nhin nhung gi Cong san lam" (Don't listen to what commies say, but rather watch what they do)

I wonder if you are American? How much do you know about Viet Cong? I believe that you dont dare to say this if you live in Viet Nam

[ScottThuy 140]

I wonder if you are American? How much do you know about Viet Cong? I believe that you dont dare to say this if you live in Viet Nam

He is thread banned.. lets not go down this road again..