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Hi NickyQL,

Welcome to expat.com!

You might tell us more about you so that members get to know you better and interact with you.

Rick, if I may impose on you, either here or by PM could you tell me why Hue over HCMC?
I'm considering moving to VN, Hue is a very likely place, so your views on both cities would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have only been to Hue once but it was rainy in season when we went and reputedly very hot in mid-summer.  Even the locals said it was too hot then so it must be true.  Despite that it is an attractive city with obvious historical significance.  I have though at times that it should be reestablished as the capital to eliminate the push-pull between Hanoi and Saigon. 

Here is a link to a recent thread in another website that you might find informative:    You can search "Hue" for other discussions there.  What I have read more than once is that Hue has poorly paid University jobs and that some of the commercial schools scam well meaning college students with low paid for the "poor" Vietnamese type charity work.  Things may be getting better though.

There was a school in Hue that was holding a teacher's passport hostage, as well as refusing to pay their salary.  I can't remember the name of the school, but there aren't many to choose from there and many schools will simply change their name if they think their reputation is hurting them, as opposed to changing thier business practices.

Teacher Mark wrote:

There was a school in Hue that was holding a teacher's passport hostage, as well as refusing to pay their salary.

Is that the guy who  had a blog called Andrew's Mad Rant on Wordpress?  When I looked for it today it was banned.  I think the thread you refer to got deleted from Dave's ESL as well.  As shady as some of the Hue schools may be, his story somehow did not add up.  He was traveling with his young teen son who it sounded like may have been grabbed in a custody battle.  He always went on about how unhappy he was that Vietnam hadn't fully embraced Communism.  He should have been in Vietnam when Le Duan was premier and basic foodstuffs were bought with ration cards, but somehow I don't think he would have been happy then either.

Teacher Mark wrote:

There was a school in Hue that was holding a teacher's passport hostage, as well as refusing to pay their salary.  I can't remember the name of the school, but there aren't many to choose from there and many schools will simply change their name if they think their reputation is hurting them, as opposed to changing thier business practices.

They've re-branded as Aames American Academy - Hue.  AAMES American Academy used to be simply AMA until they re-branded...again.  They used to be one of the 2 "Cl;eaverlearns" until the AMA folks cried "Uncle!" and gave the "Cleaverlearn" people sole ownership of the name. AMA has thrived since then; mainly because they started franchising the name, while "Cleaverlearn" has not expanded at all (to my knowledge).

Hi there, my name is Colin. I was interested in this thread. I have a friend who's trying to teach English in Vietnam also, she does have a Bachelor Of Education degree and currently completing a TEFL course. However, she's looking for a job that can pay for her travel fare (airplane ticket) to Vietnam because she doesn't have any money. She does live in South Africa.. thanks if you can help me.

coliewog wrote:

However, she's looking for a job that can pay for her travel fare (airplane ticket) to Vietnam because she doesn't have any money.

People here have repeatedly recommended that prospective teachers have at least a month's living expenses and enough for a plane ticket home before coming to Vietnam.  Even if she has a job lined up, depending when she starts, it could be 6-8 weeks before she is paid.  There is also the matter of deposits and first month''s rent.  My advice is that she should try to save at least $3000 US before making a move.

Dude no agency is gonna pay for your flight in Hue. 100%.