Relocating with a Child

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May 21, 2012 - 1:38pm
#1
Ryan George (not verified)
Relocating with a Child

I am a resident of lovely Las Vegas, Nevada, but I am interested in relocating. I have a lovely Vietnamese girlfriend that lives in Long Khanh and I would like to be closer to her. I would like to either study abroad or work abroad in Ho Chi Minh City. I am currently a working adult and full time student here trying to earn my degree in anthropology. Also, I am a single father of a three year old child. So, my question is: what should I do? How much money should I have saved before I come? Should I study or take classes from my home university online and work while I am there? Should I bring my son or leave him with his grandparents (which I would rather not do)? Please advise.

Cheers,
Ryan

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May 22, 2012 - 4:55pm
#2
tomo

Hi Ryan,

What do you plan to do with your degree in anthropology. To be frank, having it probably will not make a difference if trying to find a job in Vietnam. But I'm not suggesting you stop before you graduate. If you're working now and saving money while taking classes, I would continue doing that until you are done instead of taking classes online while living in Vietnam. If you require fast and consistent internet speeds for video conferencing to your university or something it could be dicey and it might not be possible to take any exams at any kind of "testing centers" here that your university will accept.

There's no hard number on how much you should save, but it shouldn't be in the single thousands of dollars. You should continue earning money at your current job, be frugal and save as much as possible before moving here.

I also am not going to suggest you abandon your son in order to move to Vietnam. There are plenty of foreigners raising children in Vietnam. You'll want to save even more money though since you'll want to consider options for your son's schooling in the future.

I hope your girlfriend is fairly familiar with Ho Chi Minh City and can negotiate and find housing, etc. for you before you come.

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June 1, 2012 - 6:41am
(Reply to #3) #3
Anonymous

My home university doesn't require any visits to the university. However, it does depend on the professor. Some of them do have you take exams at the university for online classes. If that's the case I will need to know if I can find a suitable proctor while I'm there. I have sent emails to my professors for the fall.

My girlfriend will be moving to Ho Chi Minh in the fall as well and most likely will be living with me. She's familiar with the city, but she's from Long Khanh and probably isn't as familiar as she should be.

Thanks,
Ryan

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May 22, 2012 - 4:46pm
#4
Anonymous

Hi Ryan,
Love to hear that you want to live and work permanently in Vietnam.
However, I wonder if you could get married your girlfriend (it'll be easier for her to get the visa) and bring her to USA, it will be better for your family, I guest.
IF you really want to move on to Vietnam. It's not complicated, i think. Just find some house, apartment or at least, a room for rent in Ho Chi Minh City. Persuade your girlfriend to move on to HCM City and live with you (and your son, if you bring him to VN with you). Finding a job (English teacher or any job that suitable for your major), continue your study online (if your university support online studying).
About the money you should save, i think the price in Vietnam is cheap, about 5 to 7 times less than USA, so your saving for 5month living in USA is enough to live in Vietnam for over a year or more, i belive
Nothing impossible if you really want.
Tell me if you need further infomation.
Quan Phi,
Skype: quan1812
Yahoo: dongquan1812
Mobile: +84 126 468 7799.
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://baongochotel.net

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June 1, 2012 - 6:38am
(Reply to #2) #5
Anonymous

Thank you Quan Phi. I sent you a personal email today asking a few questions.

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