Monthly cost of living for two

Elton John uses apparently about 25 000 000 GBP a month, the British queen a bit more and I know people, who are living on 1100 Euro a month in Saigon - and they pay rent. The average VN citizen there does survive there on 180 USD a month.
I consider everything in between as possible. It is the same like everywhere. Biggest costs are education for kids, medical and possible the tea moneys.
Western style restaurants/bars/supermarkets are similar prices, like in the western world and all the brand names, you might used to.
The rest is commonly cheaper.

Here, were I live, the prices are more stiff than in Saigon, but its a quite good living on 400 USD a month possible.

Not much of an answer, honestly!
But thanks for the effort!!!!

You can't blame l3ully for giving you a general answer when you ask a general question. You can live cheaply if you are willing to live local standard.

Here is a link from one who does.
http://tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenew … ap-1.48169


However, few expats are content with living local standards. Costs escalate tremendously when you want higher quality. Want expat insurance coverage: a couple of thousands $/person. International schooling: up to $20 000/kid, car, housing,.. If you want comparable standard, you'd better use those cost of living indices. According to them, HCMC is ranked relatively high (expensive).

It all depends on your lifestyle. If you like to go out to restaurants (western ones) it will be a lot more expensive than if you eat like the locals. Health care costs are very expensive for expats (even if your company will pay for it, there are things you'd had to pay out of your pcket). If you are willing to shop and  eat like the locals (meaning local markets and foods) it will be incredibly cheap compared to going to the markets that the expats frequent.

My husband and I (no kids no pets) are are here on a work assignment and have transportation, housing and health insurance paid by the company, and we still spend quite a bit of money on groceries because we only go to the western stores.

Thank you for your answers. We have lived in Asia for 30 years now, so we are used to local foods and markets. We enjoy western food of course, but it's not a priority. As I said, housing, transportation and health insurance are covered by the company.
See you in HCMC, most probably.

Dear Eleuteria,

I'm Thao from vietnamese Language garden School

The cost for 2 people who live In HCMC i think it's around 1,000 USD/month. It's average cost for you to spend some activities in HCMC

For eating out in local restaurant and sometimes nice romantic one 500 USD
Electricity around 100 USD
Basic shopping around 200 USD
Outdoor activities around 200 USD

If you have any question abt living in HCMC, please dont hestiate to contact me at [email protected]

Best regards,
Thao



Y

Thao Maria Nguyen wrote:

Dear Eleuteria,

I'm Thao from vietnamese Language garden School

The cost for 2 people who live In HCMC i think it's around 1,000 USD/month. It's average cost for you to spend some activities in HCMC

For eating out in local restaurant and sometimes nice romantic one 500 USD
Electricity around 100 USD
Basic shopping around 200 USD
Outdoor activities around 200 USD

If you have any question abt living in HCMC, please dont hestiate to contact me at [email protected]

Best regards,
Thao



Y

Hồ Chí Minh City is the economic center of Vietnam and accounts for a large proportion of the economy of Vietnam. Although the city takes up just 0.6% of the country's land area, it contains 7.5% of the population of Vietnam, 20.2% of its GDP, 27.9% of industrial output and 34.9% of the FDI projects in the country in 2005.[20] In 2005, the city had 4,344,000 laborers, of whom 130,000 are over the labor age norm (in Vietnam, 60 for male and 55 for female workers).[21] In 2009, GDP per capita reached 2,800 US$, compared to the country's average level of $1042 USD in 2009.[22]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_City

How can people spend in average USD 1000 a month on none-essentials, if they earn USD 2800 a year (in average)?

Thao Maria Nguyen wrote:

...
Electricity around 100 USD ...

Ouch - that hurts!

My 2-bedroom condo I use as an office in Q7, TP HCM and we open around 03.00-04.00H and disappear often as late as 21.00H has a monthly electrical bill of USD#15-20 per moth (domestic rates), I complain! Assume average of USD$1/kilowatt hour.

OP:
Look in CRAIGS LIST VIETNAM to get a handle on rental prices in TP HCM.

I have seen decent 3-bedroom HOUSES renting for USD$190 per month is Da Nang.  As others have implied, living in TP HCM costs big time. Expect to pay VND12,000 per cubic metre of tap water, USD$1 for garbage pick-up (nothing if you throw it on the street). Cylinder propane for cooking around USD$15 - usually good for 2-3 months.

Apartment buildings with standby generators also have a fuel surcharge USD$5 every 2-3 months depending outages.

I'm not sure what constitutes a 'Western' supermarket but eating locally made food, as opposed to eating imported Western food slashes costs.

If you want to eat imported lamb or T-bone steaks, you pay. Local milk, per litre costs VND23,000,imported 40-60,000 per litre. Baed beans/can/VND25,000. Assume VND22,000=USD$1.

Vegetables likewise, if you use local ones - might need different handling - much cheaper than Western equivalents. Fruits are plentiful and cheap. Eggs, large, VND23,000 for TEN large (metric counting).

Bread is a bummer. Majority is white; a few bread stores sell what I call 'air' read looks great, but there's hardly any body, none of that European heavier bread. The specialty stores sell the browns and 'odd' wheats like rye, etc. But they are still lightweight.

Donuts here are smaller, too.

Flour is difficult to store. If not cooled apparently all sorts of livestock can breed. And then there is fungus to worry about.

If you are a flour product cook, the Co-op supermarket has flour that works well,at least with a Panasonic bread making machine.
I will send you a link for food costs, it is updated by a professional shopper whose job is to track pricing trends.

so, there is such thing as "domestic" rates for electricity and "expats" rates.. I knew it!

we have a 3 bedroom apartment and it has 5 A/C units. We use 1 of the units every night to sleep and one in the living room for about 6-8 hrs a day. We don't have big appliances, and the one thing that's always plugged is my laptop. Our monthly bill for electricity is always on the high 3 million VND, sometimes as much as 4.2 million VND. We have generators on the building and we have power outages at least twice a month for 8-10 hrs each time, BUT the generator only provides electricity for the fridge.

My husband's assistant is always complaining about our electricity bill saying is way too much,because she uses one A/C unit at home every night and she only pays about 400,000-450,000 VND. The only conclusion my husband and I came to was that there were different rates of electricity....sure enough then.

Good to know.. I guess?

melba525 wrote:

so, there is such thing as "domestic" rates for electricity and "expats" rates.. I knew it!

we have a 3 bedroom apartment and it has 5 A/C units. We use 1 of the units every night to sleep and one in the living room for about 6-8 hrs a day. We don't have big appliances, and the one thing that's always plugged is my laptop. Our monthly bill for electricity is always on the high 3 million VND, sometimes as much as 4.2 million VND. We have generators on the building and we have power outages at least twice a month for 8-10 hrs each time, BUT the generator only provides electricity for the fridge.

My husband's assistant is always complaining about our electricity bill saying is way too much,because she uses one A/C unit at home every night and she only pays about 400,000-450,000 VND. The only conclusion my husband and I came to was that there were different rates of electricity....sure enough then.

Good to know.. I guess?

4.2 million VND? Does the landlord cash this up or the or the power company?

Yes, there are domestic and commercial rates for power. The commercial is a bit higher than the domestic. We are having two Commercial and two domestic meters for 3 building.

Next difference is, on commercial rates - you must be notified in advance of power cuts ( however, staff of power companies seem to follow 99% different rules).

There seems to also a mixed option existing, I can however not confirm.

melba525 wrote:

so, there is such thing as "domestic" rates for electricity and "expats" rates.. I knew it!...

WRONG!

There are domestic rates, i.e. used for domestic purposes in houses/accommodation and there are commercial rates as used by offices, shops and factories.

Air-con's suck electricity, period. If you have a fairly modern machine you will be happy to know it's more efficient than US air-cons built before around 2008.

I never use air-con in TP HCM, only fans. The only times the air-cons run either there or back in DakLak is for 10 minutes each month to keep them lubricated.

Your laptop will consume around 9 units annually.

Depending on which way you face, you might try experimenting with closing the drapes during the day time or using sheers.

4.2 million VND? Does the landlord cash this up or the or the power company?

Yes, there are domestic and commercial rates for power. The commercial is a bit higher than the domestic. We are having two Commercial and two domestic meters for 3 building.

Next difference is, on commercial rates - you must be notified in advance of power cuts ( however, staff of power companies seem to follow 99% different rules).

There seems to also a mixed option existing, I can however not confirm.[/quot

It's a managed building so we pay the management with the bill that we receive on the mail every month.

If your Landlord is billing you for electricity is is ILLEGAL. No one other than EVN can sell you electricity for money. You can have it included in your rent but the rent can't change depending on how much electricity you consume.

Domestic rates, including VAT are:
Band 1 @ 1,366
Band 2 @ 1,506
Band 3 @ 1,907
Band 4 @ 2,064
Band 5 @ 2,208
Band 6 @ 2,266 per kWH  inc VAT.

You can see the invoice for your apartment at the local EVN office although it might not e in your name. An EVN bill is white with blue printing and the billing info is in computer printout.

You say it is 'managed', is it a condo? Whatever it is there is only one exception to EVN only - unregistered condominiums.

IF VAT is listed separately on your bill from management, ask the for their VAT tax number. IF the amount of VAT in any month is over VND100,000 ask them for a VAT receipt (white paper, reddish ink). This is where you find out if they are legitimate.

EVN notice of interruption of power is on their web site.

melba525 wrote:

we have a 3 bedroom apartment and it has 5 A/C units. We use 1 of the units every night to sleep and one in the living room for about 6-8 hrs a day. We don't have big appliances, and the one thing that's always plugged is my laptop. Our monthly bill for electricity is always on the high 3 million VND, sometimes as much as 4.2 million VND.

While it may sound a lot, the bill in my opinion is reasonable.
Assuming that you always have only one AC running (24hr a day), your electricity usage is for AC and the kWh price is 2000 VND/kWh, the AC would consume about 3 000 000 VND /(24hr*30 days*2 000) = 2kW per hour, a power consumption not out of the ordinary for an AC unit.

Mind you, this assumes no power for other appliances. In reality, you have water heater (another power source), big TV screens, cooking,…

Also, to bring the whole thing into perspective, electricity is subsidized by the government (so is gasoline, coal,…) The electricity price would have to rise 60% per kWh, as opposed to the 15% increase per KWh already scheduled to take effect starting March 1, had it not been for the subsidy. Gas price here is cheaper than Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and China leading to out of control smuggling to those countries, even after the latest price increase.

The low electricity has led to a lot of wastage, estimated at 10-20% of total consumption (1,500-2,800 MW) due to inefficient equipment (especially in the industry).

The government wants to bring prices to the market level, but is afraid of its effect on the inflation, the economy and most of important of all, the tolerance of the people already fed up with their situation.

Anatta wrote:

... (so is gasoline, coal,…) The electricity price would have to rise 60% per kWh, as opposed to the 15% increase per KWh already scheduled to take effect starting March 1, had it not been for the subsidy. Gas price here is cheaper than Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and China leading to out of control smuggling to those countries, even after the latest price increase.

The low electricity has led to a lot of wastage, estimated at 10-20% of total consumption (1,500-2,800 MW) due to inefficient equipment (especially in the industry).

The government wants to bring prices to the market level, but is afraid of its effect on the inflation, the economy and most of important of all, the tolerance of the people already fed up with their situation.

Gas/petrol subsidies were eliminated a couple of years ago. I remember it well because on the first evening following the announcement there was a massive reduction in traffic. By the end of the week things were back to normal!

Gas/petrol prices are controlled, and flat across the country which means a litre of gas in Lai Chau is the same as in TP HCM. Gas prices also change more frequently as they are tied to world prices.

The purchase of mini-fluorescent lamps, along with increased sales of LED lights suggests that the VN public is aware of costs. It is further bolstered by the fact that landlords favour the lowest output lamps for hallways and stairways!

Water heaters are often a subject of confusion. Several years ago a new hotel opened up on Ha Bai Trung, around the 71 area!, and I found the water to be far too hot. Ideally, a mixing faucet/tap should have it's handle in mid-position in order to obtain water that is is not too hot for a hand to be held under it.

I found the thermostat setting to be at it's highest and the management subsequently reduced the thermostats and managed big savings.

Some hotels, such as the Huong Sen, city owned, have centrally heated hot water and it is always red hot but as a member of staff remarked, "Who Cares? It is owned by the city."

Industry is sensitive to power costs, I occasionally get involved in control system design and we always get demands for lower power cost.

Companies often have what appear to be dual meters which are actually a single consumption meter and the second one is a Power Factor meter which measures efficiency.

EVN-HCMC does not explain how to keep things efficient such as switching banks of fluorescent lights on in groups rather than all at once. Likewise, different types of motor can counteract inefficiency.

VN has a minimal electrical grid system. There is a 500 kV backbone that runs from Son La in the north to Vung Tau in the south. The north is also buying electricity from China and the international grid from Laos has been completed.

EVN is doing a good job but could do more. Encourage solar water heating and electrical generation. Hotels have well defined peak consumption times, often when the sun is out.

EVERY Planning Approval authority has the power to order solar upgrades, against denial of permit approval, This would quickly introduce a change in consumption.

Still, it is satisfying to look out from a highrise and see all the solar installations, even if many are pointing in the wrong direction!

Jaitch

Just some confusion about terminology:
By gas, I meant gasoline, or petrol, not gas as in cooking gas.

Don't know about cooking gas, but Vietnamese government still subsidizes gasoline price big time.

Anatta wrote:

Jaitch

Just some confusion about terminology:
By gas, I meant gasoline, or petrol, not gas as in cooking gas.

Don't know about cooking gas, but Vietnamese government still subsidizes gasoline price big time.

About that, I am actually very doubtful:

Fuel taxes in Germany are €0.4704 per litre for ultra-low sulphur Diesel and €0.6545 per litre for conventional unleaded petrol, plus Value Added Tax (19%) on the fuel itself and the Fuel Tax. That adds up to prices of €1.42 per litre for ultra-low sulphur Diesel and €1.55 per litre (approximately USD 8.10 per US gallon) for unleaded petrol (November 2011).
source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax#Germany


At the current stage, the fuel prices hitting about Euro 1.70, which reflects a cost on plain gasoline of about Euro 0.28 per liter.
That would be the price for un-taxed petrol, which is at this time at the highest level ever.

Vietnam currently charges well over 23 000 VND - more than ONE USD, per liter - which would cost around less than 50% of the current price. Subsidy?
No, there is still a margin of well over 100% for someone.

Personally, I have a very spitted opinion towards petrol prices. According to the 'average income', there are 15 times to high, slowing down development of industries.

On the other side, the waste done, by a huge mass of motorists, petrol prices should be 30 times higher than now and 29.50 USD of the profit per liter should really go to improvements of public transportation

Here is an ongoing project supported by the EU about decreasing fossil fuel subsidy in Vietnam and their effects on economic development and income distribution

http://killefitconsult.wordpress.com/20 … and-taxes/

I quote the premise of the project:

a)     Most subsidies on fossil fuels and thus electricity and e.g. transport in Viet Nam are indirect and very hard to quantify. Price caps and bail outs of loss making state owned enterprises are among the support measures.

b)     The increased use of fossil fuels has meant increased revenues through taxation and VAT. The Government has used tax waivers on the numerous taxes in the petroleum sector in order to stabilise and limit the increase in prices. Losses in SOEs means no or lower than expected transfers to the state budget from SOEs.

c)     It is very difficult to identify who the target groups and real beneficiaries of the indirect subsidies and support measures are.

d)     But several industries have benefited from low electricity prices and also low prices for coal. Losses in the electricity sector under the current price capping system for electricity and coal cannot be quantified.

e)     The current electricity prices are generally low, which discourages firms from investing in energy saving technologies and efficient use of electricity.

f)      Higher prices for coal in Viet Nam, in-line with global prices and more expensive electricity as a result of removal of indirect subsidies / support measures and increase of tax will make investment in electricity generation more attractive and may help a move away from a reliance on coal for electricity and manufacturing.

my husband has a job opportunity in HCMC,the company provides accommodation,medical care,and the salary monthly is 2000 us dollar,we have one 3 years old boy, anyboy can give me some informations about the living cost could be monthly? we are from france, so the life style probably should be in european,is 2000 us dollar monthly will be easy life? maybe not enough to pay the school tuition of my son, because i heard that the tuition is very high......

dear Helen,

2000US/m is not much for "Europe lifestyle". but simply think below list
- apartment for rent : 600-1.000
- edu cost for kid (international school) 500-1.000
- transportation : 200-300
- food : 500 (maximun for me, cook at home)

Hi I3ully

It's totally misleading information if you utilise wiki to cite reference. They are not peer reviewed.

It is not true! In HCM city if your income is $250 a month It is very hard to survive as middle class with local standard! I say it is hard but possible.

For expat, in short you need to spend at least 600 to maintain your familiarity of standard of living

Yes, Slim ben,

and everyone has different priorities for living. I neither wrote, that that USD 250.00 are sufficient. Where does it stay?

Next time, better read it correct.

I3ully you dont get what i wanna say but that is all right I dont need to go so far since I observe you,quote so much from wikipedia.

I either did not say what you wanna convey

Have a nice day

Slim ben wrote:

I3ully you dont get what i wanna say but that is all right I dont need to go so far since I observe you,quote so much from wikipedia.

I either did not say what you wanna convey

Have a nice day

[Moderated: Inappropriate comment]

So, it's Inappropriate, someone comes along, insults me and threatens?


This is a fucking bullshitter and English teacher, all I have to say. I hope, admins will read

l3ully wrote:

Anatta wrote:

... Don't know about cooking gas, but Vietnamese government still subsidizes gasoline price big time.

About that, I am actually very doubtful:

Gas/petrol prices in VietNam are government regulated and are based on many factors including world oil prices, world gasoline prices, the cost of refining gasoline within VN.

l3ully wrote:

Fuel taxes in Germany are €0.4704 per litre for ultra-low sulphur Diesel and €0.6545 per litre for conventional unleaded petrol, plus Value Added Tax (19%) on the fuel itself and the Fuel Tax. That adds up to prices of €1.42 per litre for ultra-low sulphur Diesel and €1.55 per litre (approximately USD 8.10 per US gallon) for unleaded petrol (November 2011).
source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax#Germany

Prices in Germany have squat to do with oil/fuel prices in VN. It is an artificially controlled price here and the pricing is flat country wide.

l3ully wrote:

Vietnam currently charges well over 23 000 VND - more than ONE USD, per liter - which would cost around less than 50% of the current price. Subsidy?

Your observations have little validity. VN has to buy refined gasoline products on the international market. The single, new, refinery is working 24/7 and has put the smallest dent in importation levels.

VietNam exports oil, it has to, as it cannot process it. And all this has to be done by sea as pipelines in these parts are minimal.

l3ully wrote:

No, there is still a margin of well over 100% for someone.

How do you say "bullsh*t in German?

l3ully wrote:

Personally, I have a very spitted opinion towards petrol prices. According to the 'average income', there are 15 times to high, slowing down development of industries.

On the other side, the waste done, by a huge mass of motorists, petrol prices should be 30 times higher than now and 29.50 USD of the profit per liter should really go to improvements of public transportation

Kuhscheiße! How can something that costs around USD$1 result in a profit of 29.50 USD per litre. Not even in Nha Trang.

Jaitch - I not write, it results in a profit, just compare the price relation of a liter of gasoline in comparison to the countries average income - this no profit calculation. Thank you for understanding

The building manager in the condo building where I rent gets paid VND3,000,000 monthly.

He has to rent a room, pay for meals, gasoline, laundry, haircuts and he says he has little money left over.

USD$150 is ow pay in TP HCM - the minimum wage is USD$50 - lower in Nha Trang. I pay my female workers USD$100 over the table (taxed) another USD$75-100 under the table (untaxed) all the social fees (health, pension). The company hires a dental hygienist from HCM twice a year to work over employees teeth and we pay for heavy duty dental work on a per case basis. We also provide general family health coverage for their families.

Having visited many of my staff's homes I know they are not swilling in money but are surviving with a bit of savings in the bank.

At one time I used to avidly turn in videos of cops on the take. But now that I have been for meals at two CGST peoples homes and one Cong An home, I have changed my opinion. None of the homes exhibited a surplus of income  for discretionary spending. Furniture was worn, TV's not the latest model, kids in good shape (they are limited to only two children) and the food was nothing exceptional.

The civil service, or rather the government, is the largest employer and they have always lagged behind the general population in income. Many are the occasions when general population pay raises were ordered by the government, except for their own people.

In reality, bribes are make up money for poor government pay levels.

The Ho Chi Minh Peoples Committee subsidised  basic / essential food prices during 2011 and when they ended boy, even my expenses jumped.

The VN government has an extremely good statistics office, you, l3ully, should use it as your source for VN numbers. Quoting EU prices is completely misleading, and pointless.

And, remember, living in a sea port as you do, means some of your prices are skewed, just as they are in HCM. Try living in somewhere like Buon Ma Thuot, Plei Ku or Dien Bien Phu if you want to know what real hardship is. We don't get many breaks.

I assume, the topic, how much Jaitch is paying his female staff, now, I am out of this topic, as it now bears any relevance

l3ully wrote:

Thao Maria Nguyen wrote:

Dear Eleuteria,

I'm Thao from vietnamese Language garden School

The cost for 2 people who live In HCMC i think it's around 1,000 USD/month. It's average cost for you to spend some activities in HCMC

For eating out in local restaurant and sometimes nice romantic one 500 USD
Electricity around 100 USD
Basic shopping around 200 USD
Outdoor activities around 200 USD

If you have any question abt living in HCMC, please dont hestiate to contact me at [email protected]

Best regards,
Thao



Y

Hồ Chí Minh City is the economic center of Vietnam and accounts for a large proportion of the economy of Vietnam. Although the city takes up just 0.6% of the country's land area, it contains 7.5% of the population of Vietnam, 20.2% of its GDP, 27.9% of industrial output and 34.9% of the FDI projects in the country in 2005.[20] In 2005, the city had 4,344,000 laborers, of whom 130,000 are over the labor age norm (in Vietnam, 60 for male and 55 for female workers).[21] In 2009, GDP per capita reached 2,800 US$, compared to the country's average level of $1042 USD in 2009.[22]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_City

How can people spend in average USD 1000 a month on none-essentials, if they earn USD 2800 a year (in average)?

They need not to pay house rent cause of their own houses.  They know to get cheaper choices than expats. People in cities earn much more in rural areas.  I think $700 is ok for a household of 3 persons. An expat has to pay at least $400 on house rent for the same condition

l3ully wrote:

I assume, the topic, how much Jaitch is paying his female staff, now, I am out of this topic, as it now bears any relevance

Who is this guy (jaitch)? A Canadian? who can know many detail things in Vn?
Today i am finding about living cost in some tourism places but i found him in almost topics with unrelevant and negative words

This is my latest contribution to this topic, costs are averaged over 3 months:

Cable TV.                                            165,000
Electricity (2 air cons).                         749,000
Telephone/ Net.                                   348,000
Gas (fair 5 day cooking).                       70,000
Water.                                                  100,000
Management Fee (condo).                  450,000

Excluded:
Groceries(choice varies); restaurant meals, car petrol

Well, my last electricity bill was 242 000. I don't use the air con much, preferring the local way of fans and open windows at night (v. few mosquitoes).

The one in the living area does get used on a flash mode sometimes, but the usage is crippling. A beast. One in the bedroom is much more efficient and is rarely put on.

4 million plus isn't necessary (just choice), and is arguably irresponsible in a country that is top 5 for susceptibility to climate change.

To the original poster, the question is a bit like the length of a piece of string. It can be cheap or expensive ($4 500 pm for a house etc). If you don't want to live in a bubble, or go crazy, things will be pretty cheap.

You won't pay rent and  presumably you will be on a good wage. Should be very easy to live here.

I work with professionals for government and they get $100-160 pm. OFFICIALLY, that is, as the unofficial pay is added on (not always sinister, as such, but bonuses etc), but still pitifully low. People get by on a pittance compared to the West.

I pay $1 or 1.50 (for the posh place) for lunch, say, on a work day with locals. $1.50 to get the hair cut etc.

I did get invited to Au Parc cafe recently. I told local friends that a sandwich was 150 000+ ($7.50) and they couldn't believe it - they pay 7000 - 10 000 for the smaller local version. Some of the range in prices available here.

Dear Thao,
your comments and posts make the people scared more than when they will reach vietnam!!!
I worked and had a business ( restaurant)in vietnam, and the amount you said are completly wrong!!!
electricity can be 100 usd monthly ( for a restaurant) with many equipments... a/c ,many fridge, many light.......home use, standard use, the bill ( NOT overcharged from the landlord, as it's common in VIetnam)can be not more than 500000 vnd, so around 25 usd.
Just a suggestion for all expats, try find out real info from expats ONLY, as vietnamese have totally different view of expense, and the value of the money. Normally one vietnamese smile have for SURE some interest. In vietnam NOTHING for is for FREE.

Check out this website for cost of living numbeo.com

Electricity is a different price in each provence, same as the water.I used to rent a house with another expat in Tan Binh our bill was around 350,000 vnd per month on average. Now living in Vung Tau alone and the bill just for me is 450,000-500,000vnd a month, I dont use A/C. Our water in Tan Binh was 170,000 vnd per month, but here in VT its only 40,000vnd a month.