Yes, this is really the view from my new living room! Or it will be my living room by the weekend.
After all the one-room garbage heaps I was shown in various parts of town, it is quite unbelievable that this place will cost the same amount. After all the mental turmoil of not wanting to live out in Phu My Houng, I am now really glad for my decision. After all, I am only a 20 minute bus ride from the real city, and now I can sleep without noise and with security.
That real estate agent I found turned out to be the best deal in town. The others seemed to mean well, but just never followed through or had me taking expensive taxi rides to places that were not even to be considered.
I think I mentioned before how odd it seemed that all the agents were so young. But when I thought about it, I realized that real estate, with the foreign market in mind, is relatively new here. So of course it would be the young who adventured out into it.
My realtor is probably in her early 30’s. (looks younger, but I worked it out according to what she has done in life.) At 19 she left Viet Nam to work the cruise ship circuit. The wages were low, but tips pretty high. Before she turned to real estate three years ago, she had applied to Carnival lines, but after passing all their tests, and waiting six months, she still hadn’t been hired, so found a new career.
Now I have never had the desire to go on a cruise for a myriad of reasons. One of those being that all the ships leaving US ports are registered in foreign countries so that they don’t have to pay the help decent wages, and can work them to death in pretty foul conditions. Turns out it is even worse than I thought. Know what Carnival pays its people? $50 a month.
I need to pack,
Kate
