My new $250 a month Apartment in Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

So I'm here in Saigon for a month and moved in a cool little apartment in the heart of the city center. District one of Ho Chi Minh City is known as Saigon and is surprisingly similar to living in Manhattan only for 1/10th of the cost.  There are tons of cafes, coffee shops, restaurants and everything you could want from a big city.  Best of all, everything is within walking distance or a cheap, easy cab ride away.

You have people selling fresh coconuts on every street corner, fresh fruit smoothies for $1.50 and really good French and Vietnamese food.  Check out a tour of my new apartment:



Monthly Expenses: Rent: $250 US Deposit: $0 Cleaning: Included Laundry: Included Water: Included Wifi: Included Electricity: Billed at the end of the month.

Laundry washed and folded six days a week, for free.

Location:
The best location is anywhere within a mile radius of the Notre Dame Cathedral.  Personally I live a few minutes north of that near the Somerset Chancellor Court Hotel on Thị Minh Khai road.

Room cleaned every single day expect sundays.

Other Priced Options:

A nice thing about Saigon is you can rent for as expensive as you want and there are plenty of options in the $1,000+ range if you're looking to live in a proper serviced hotel.  The place I'm living in is known as a home stay, so even though it feels like separate apartments, as there is only one room on every floor and every room is self contained with it's own bathroom.  

You can also find a broker and rent out a bigger apartment with a kitchen for around $550-$750 per month if you want something mid range.  The lowest prices I've seen for a studio apartment in District 1 is $200 and there are plenty of them.  Just go to the area you want to live, and walk around until you see room for rent signs.  A popular area for budget rooms are around the 17 and 18A streets on Thi Minh Khai Road. 

Why I chose this room:

I'm only in Saigon for a month and don't plan on having anyone over as I'm dating a great girl who is waiting for me back in Chiang Mai, so I just wanted a simple room in a good area.  When I saw the hidden door to the bathroom, I instantly said that I'll take it.

Also it's a really good feeling living simply and watching my bank account grow.  I think it's my new favorite sport...aside from UFC of course.  

Great food Everywhere: The best thing about living in this area is how much amazing Vietnamese food you can walk to.  I have at least one bowl of Pho, the vietnamese beef soup everyday as well as try all sorts of various dishes. I've been asking for a lot of custom options as well and with the help of google translate have been able to keep Paleo and still enjoy a ton of good food.  
See you in Saigon,
Johnny  www.facebook.com/johnnyfdk - keep in touch

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