House Hunters International: Vietnam!

House hunting in Vietnam, or any foreign country, can be a daunting experience.  Unfortunately, the experience did not start well.  We were taken to some shady apartments by another rental agent.  Luckily, we were able to find a different agent named My (pronounced "me"), who helped us find an awesome apartment.  My was very organized in booking times to view 12 apartments.  She helped negotiate the rent, sent workers to the unit to repair some things, helped us go to the bank to get the deposits, called to set up our internet and cable TV, and offered to show us how to pay our bills. 

The best rental agent, My!

If you've ever seen the TV show "House Hunters International," then you will understand what the process was like.  Viewing so many apartments was a bit overwhelming.  I kept a list of each apartment, its pros and cons, and took photos of each one.  After a while, some of the apartments started looking the same, so taking notes and photos was a great way to remember each specific place.  Once a place was chosen, My helped to negotiate the rent price with the landlord, and gave us a bilingual contract.  Each unit in Sky Garden is owned by a different landlord, who is responsible for the upkeep and decoration of the unit.  I thought the

apartment had a lot of character... and I'm glad to call it my home for now!

As you can see, the apartment has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an office, living room, kitchen, entrance hallway, and small balcony where the washing machine is.  There is a nice view out the living room window of Sky Garden 1 and 2.  The "bamboo garden" next to the front window (not real bamboo!) is an interesting touch!  Unfortunately, none of the plants in the apartment were real.  You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

 
With the apartment search out of the way, now it's time to focus on work!  Orientation began this week... more to come about the school in the next blog post!  :)