City guide
Teach English in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The biggest ESL market in Vietnam with the strongest demand and the busiest expat scene.
HCMC, still Saigon to nearly everyone who lives there, is Vietnam's commercial capital and its deepest teaching market. Language centres dominate hiring and international schools are growing fast behind them. Most centre work is evenings and weekends, when students are free, so the schedule is split rather than nine to five and the mornings are genuinely yours. Hiring runs all year instead of in one intake, which is the practical difference between Vietnam and the Korea or Japan calendar.
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Neighborhoods
District 1 for the centre, the highest rent and the shortest commute to the big centres. District 3 for a quieter, more local base still close in. District 7 and Phu My Hung for international schools, families and space. Binh Thanh and District 2, now Thu Duc, for the best rent-to-distance trade.
Cost of living
Roughly 8 to 18 million VND a month for a serviced one-bedroom, less outside the central districts. Pay relative to cost is the reason people come here: saving on a centre salary is realistic in a way it is not in Thailand.
Best for
Teachers who want maximum job options and the biggest expat network in Southeast Asia, and who do not mind an evening-weighted timetable.
Vietnam at a glance
Salary: Language centers: 1,400 to 2,200 USD per month. International schools: 2,500 to 4,500 USD. Pay is hourly for most center jobs, in the 18 to 25 USD per hour range. Cost of living is low enough that most teachers save 600 to 1,000 USD per month.
Visa: Work permit and temporary residence card. Requires bachelor's, 120-hour TEFL, criminal record check, and a health check. Native speaker preference but non-native teachers with a bachelor's in English or education are increasingly hired.
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