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Security Guard
Interview Excerpt The interviewee is a security guard of an apartment building in Sky 2. He talks most notably about the security problem of motorbike stealing, the diversity of society in the apartment building, interaction between residents and with the security guards and their income levels. According to him, Phu My Hung is a nice place to live though it is expensive. Only high-income Vietnamese people and foreigners can afford to live there. The foreigners are generally very kind towards him and other security guards often giving them food and treats.
Resident
Interview Excerpt The interviewees are two British International School classmates that discuss living in Phú Mỹ Hưng. They say it’s a casual, clean and a family-oriented place and that it’s the most “văn minh” district in the city. They make some interesting points about the social dynamics of Phú Mỹ Hưng such as the lack of interaction between the neighbors. They also make an important distinction between the “old rich” and the “new rich” in that the “old rich” don’t show off while the “new rich” tend to be more flashy to prove their status.
Receptionist
Interview ExcerptThe interviewee is a 23-year-old receptionist who talks about the Vietnamese Learning Studies class which primarily teaches Vietnamese to foreigners (mostly Japanese, Korean, and some Việt Kiều). She wants to open an “English-speaking” coffee shop where young people can come hang out and exchange conversations in English; however, she does not plan on opening it in Phú Mỹ Hưng because it’s too expensive here, and she figures that most here will end up sending their children abroad to study the language. She would like to raise a family in Phú Mỹ Hưng; to her, Phú Mỹ Hưng is peaceful and “thoải mái.” Particularly, the air quality is good here (one does not need to wear a face mask), and she especially likes how there are no bundles of electrical lines hanging above the streets.
- Worker
Interview Excerpt The interviewee works at Phú Mỹ Hưng for an entertainment company. Although he doesn’t interact much with the residents, the few times he has talked to them have been friendly exchanges. He thinks they are easy to approach. He has a positive view on Phú Mỹ Hưng; he would like to live here, stating that folks here probably have more longevity. He doesn’t think any place is perfect; limitations always exist, but Phú Mỹ Hưng compared to the rest of HCMC is quite a good place to live (although he remarks how theft has increased these days). 
Taxi Cab Driver
Interview Excerpt The interviewee is a 34-year-old taxi driver. He is a taxicab driver for the Phillip company, driving for several of its employees, including one foreigner in particular who lives in My Kim, Phú Mỹ Hưng. He makes 3.8millionVND a month, but he will sometimes receive extra from his Phú Mỹ Hưng client. He thinks that the close neighbor relations is a part of Vietnamese tradition, and that this tradition is dwindling in PMH as folks choose a lifestyle more akin to a Western one. Despite this increasing loss, he doesn’t discount the situation’s potential of improving the future of Vietnam’s posterity.- Interpreter
Interview Excerpt The interviewee is a language interpreter (mainly Korean) at Phạm Lữ Gia company. She lives in District 7 near Lotte Mart. Her income is sufficient given that she is still single. She would like to live in Phú Mỹ Hưng – it’s not noisy, clean environment, and relatively safe. She notes the problem of comparing urban denziens with rural folks, stating that people who live in cities are busy and need their personal time after a long day of work. Folks in Phú Mỹ Hưng, for example, work throughout the day, so they value privacy time to rest and recuperate. They are an educated class, in the upper echelon of society; they respect people’s right to privacy just like foreigners. Nevertheless, even though the urban community is not close-knit like in the countryside, Phú Mỹ Hưng folks still maintain relations with other people (at work, at school, with one or two neighbors). - Government Worker
Interview Excerpt
The interviewee leads the Phú Mỹ Hưng development project in the water department. Before, he worked in the police force and for the government. He thinks 1) Phú Mỹ Hưng should expand its boundaries 2) create opportunities for those with lower incomes to buy houses and 3) make stores more accessible to residents by establishing them in every residential section. He hopes that Phú Mỹ Hưng will serve as a bridge between a civilized society and others, so that the latter may follow in its footsteps. - Worker
Interview Excerpt
The interviewee works at the Dầu Khí Sài Gòn Petrolimex company. Aside from her husband and two children, her mother and a female relative (who takes care of the grandmother when the couple is at work and who helps with the housework) also live with her at Mỹ Khang, Phú Mỹ Hưng. She is satisfied with her life in Phú Mỹ Hưng and believes that the cost of living is just right. In fact, she says that she has saved on her monthly bills because since she can open the windows, the family doesn’t have to spend as much on AC or electricity. In general, she believes that Phú Mỹ Hưng is more santitary and less noisy (e.g. no roaming pets or loud arguments from neighbors) than her older living situation near Nguyễn Thị Thập street in District 7. 
Youth
Interview Excerpt The interviewee is 28 years old and is originally from Ha Noi. He studied abroad in Germany and has come back to Vietnam to work in HCMC. He is in the process of opening a recording studio for young talents. He is also a student at RMIT and lives in Phú Mỹ Hưng. His family, however, wants him to focus on his studies and find a more stable career, but he has a passion for music; they are currently financing his education. The interviewee discusses how văn minh đô thị (urban civilization) in Phú Mỹ Hưng is primarily built upon money; it’s not real văn minh, which is based on sincere interactions between Phú Mỹ Hưng. He thinks that interactions in Phú Mỹ Hưng strongly depend on money more than on humanistic tendencies.- Resident
Interview Excerpt The interviewee works for a company involved in event planning. He has lived in Phú Mỹ Hưng since 2007; before he lived in Phú Nhuận with his family. His older siblings live in America and help with the family finances; he says that he couldn’t live in Phú Mỹ Hưng based on his income alone, noting how high the cost of living is here. He thinks that Phú Mỹ Hưng is “buồn” (boring), somewhat “giả giả” (fake) and that he feels restrained in some way here. - Bank Employee
Interview Excerpt The interviewee works for the ANZ bank in Phú Mỹ Hưng. She used to work in District 1 but would go to Phú Mỹ Hưng for fun and desired to live there while she was still in District 1. She thinks that it is good for people to travel and observe the strengths of other countries and compare them to their own country. Better informed, people can point out the shortcomings of their country; Vietnam can thus continue to develop and reach higher standards. She would like to live in Phú Mỹ Hưng, citing examples of what makes it a good place: clean air and trees and green spaces that give shade and cool the environment. She, however, turns sad and says that she has given up on the dream that she will be able to reside here. She thinks that eventually she will return to her hometown in An Giang. - Resident
Interview Excerpt The interviewee is a manager of a branch of the TMCP Á Châu bank. He makes a stable income (35 million VND/mo) and believes the prices in Phú Mỹ Hưng are commensurate with the quality of the services (security, food, etc) here. He has lived in Phú Mỹ Hưng for 3 years at the time the interview was conducted. He says that Phú Mỹ Hưng is văn minh and has many educated people, but one element that is missing is intimate neighbor relations. When asked whether he talks to his neighbors at Hưng Phước, he recollects that he greets them casually but doesn’t actually know their names versus how he knew many in his old hometown when he was active in community meetings.