Let me tell you the truth about living in Vietnam
👉The pros about Vietnam (good aspects) I like the landscape of Vietnam, some local food, and it’s somehow easy to connect with the locals (especially in Saigon). I can agree that Viet offers low cost of living if you are willing to lower your standards tremendously and if you enjoy living in low quality housing and eat street food while sitting on baby chairs with the knees up in your face. Viet is not as stressful as the west (west meaning west north Europe, north America). It’s also fairly easy to get your papers done if you open your wallet 💰💵. Getting antibiotics here doesn’t require visits to the doctor and getting medical appointments in private centers is a fast and low cost process. 50-100 USD at Victoria clinic or the medical clinic in Bitexco tower in Saigon gets the job done for you. I like the weather in Saigon and Vungtau where it’s hot and dry and hot and rainy (the latter only a few months per year). The vegetables and fruits are great in south Viet and if you are into a vegetarian lifestyle this is the place to be. Chicken Pho is a real favorite for breakfast and Vietnamese pancakes and seafood is good too. Danang is a sleepy city but cleaner than Saigon and Hanoi. I made good friends in south Viet which is the biggest reason for returning. You will make friends fairly fast if you are a decent person with good manners, fair moral standards and a welcoming, patient and respectful approach. Finding a digital designer for your next book cover, website or social media campaign are good reasons to look into Vietnam due to its low cost supply and growing IT skills.
👉Answering on the idea that “it’s cheap to live” – if you are ok to eat noodles and pork mostly coming with bone and flesh and not that much meat while sitting on baby chairs then it’s cheap to live. Many street food places wash the forks and knifes on the streets in buckets which is not what I want. Decent flats here (Saigon) starts at minimum 600 usd per month. If you live far away from downtown you may find a different price tag but the traffic and pollution are horrible in places like Hanoi and Saigon.
👉Finding jobs – most jobs are for the locals. Most foreigners own businesses here, or are directors in western businesses or teach English. As a foreigner in most east Asian nations you are interesting for your money and passport (primarily). Go on LinkedIn and Vietnamworks to find an opportunity. Forget about pension and social welfare. As long as you can work and pay you are ok, if you get sick or injured forget state backup that can help you pay the bills.
👉Connecting with the locals – easiest done in Saigon. Join business events and high end hotels and restaurants. But remember your white western face often means money and an opportunity to learn in the eye of a local. Some locals want to practice English or find it fancy to have foreign friends. You may share interests which is rare but probably create a better friendship.
👉Getting around – rent a bike or use Grab. Forget about the public transportation you find in Shanghai or Bangkok.
👉Medical service – there are private options that are not expensive. But I can’t say what it will cost if you need an advanced surgery.
👉Road accidents – thousands are getting killed every year in road accidents in Vietnam and too many people drive drunk or on fake licenses.
👉Bad English skills and low confidence – I see a lot of low confidence in commie ccccp nations and people are taught to obey authority. English skills are also very bad among most people I meet. “Hi how are you; where are you from; you very good” is NOT decent English.
👉Inequality at max – millions of people earn less than 200 usd a month and live a miserable life in molded or leaking houses. And street cleaners are still pulling the garbage wagon on foot in Viet.
👉Bribe the cops. I never had an encounter with the cops but I heard stories of the police taking bribes to let you go. And if that is a society and legal system you want to trust and be part of – good luck!
👉Visa hassle – after covid visa got harder and they general offer 30 days tourist visas. Find a local guy and pay 300 usd for 3 months business visa. That’s the way to go after 2020 covid. Where is the visa for digital nomads? Where is the visa to retire?
👉It’s a a country standing still – not much changed here since my first visit in January 2012. Some new buildings and shops yes. But still no metro, and streets are getting dirtier and the air quality is worse than ever before.
Recommendation You may want to live/work in Vietnam if you can work digital/online with wester clients and enjoy a slower pace of life and a vibrant community of young people who want to learn, grow and climb the ladder at a different price (salary) from that of the western world. You may be tired of the corporate world in the west and take a break and teach in Vietnam and do charity. You may be older and want to supplement your retirement by teaching. Your company in the west may want to setup a supply/manufacturing or IT production/service support unit here. But how long are you staying? If you want kids here be ready to pay 30,000 usd per year per kid for international schools. But pollution and dirty streets are getting worse not better and there is still no metro in place.
The information given is from my own experience having lived in Vietnam and travelled to Viet 7 times in 2012-2023. I am objective in my judgment and wanted to give you a fair picture from different angels of life. When the ill-behaved backpackers and creepy bar running westerners coming to Viet and screaming “low cost of living , fantastic food, lovely landscape” they give you only 20% of the coin and not even one side of the coin – a coin that should represent the true and full picture of Viet. Thanks. Disclaimer: life in west is also not perfect. There are many weird things going on in the west politically and in society that sometimes make me want to flee. Good luck!
About me I am an engineer with a British MBA and I’ve mostly worked in project management, sales and consulting since 2005. I grew up in Scandinavia and moved to the UK at an age of 30. I’ve lived in 6 nations and I’ve worked in the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Vietnam, Cyprus and China up to date.I used to teach business and public speaking at the university in Vietnam and China (2017-2020) but I mostly worked in the corporate world in Europe. I ‘ve written 3 books published on Amazon. In Vietnam I lived in Saigon but I also visited Hoi An, Hanoi, Danang and Vungtau multiple times