Best cities to live in Laos

Pakse is by far the best city for laid back Lao lifestyle

Choice depends entirely on what you are doing for a living.  However, if retired or of uncertain health, Luang Prabang and the more attractive northern towns pose difficulties if unwell.  Vientiane has the advantage of being within two hours of Udon in Thailand, where good medical facilities exist.  Savannakhet and Pakse also have easy links into Thailand, but good facilities are further away.    While pollution is not a great problem anywhere in Laos, Vientiane is becoming traffic bound and living anywhere but in the centre of the city can involve frustrating queues of cars.  The centre has traffic noise but also some remarkably quiet and pleasant locations off of the four main highways.

I agree the traffic picked up doubled in the last 6 to 8 months. We live in centre of town and it is quiet after 10:00pm.

I agree with post#3

Vientiane is now overcrowded vehicle wise with no thought given to parking at all in the city centre.
Pakse is good, laid back in comparison.

Have come and gone from Laos for over 40 years the changes, to me, are, unfortunately in the negative.

No forward planning, money speaks volumes and gets things done.

Most of the towns further south are less congested but further from what is needed. The road down south is not too bad except for a few nasty surprises (potholes, bad joints between tar and cement of bridges) and the bikes.  Therefore I pity the daily commuters.
My advice is to live close to your job and walk where you want to go. Just be aware of falling buildings... 555  (In Lao 5 is pronounced as Haa, so 555 is hahaha)

I've only lived in Pakse and Vientiane (but about 22 km from the centre) and some villages but I'm not a fan of cities in general. I agree with Robert Cooper's post as he and Stumpy are very well informed and knowledgeable about this great country.

For work in general (especially for foreigners) I think that Vientiane is a very good option as it offers a lot of jobs and the pay might most of the time be higher.

I prefer villages and think that many times they offer a lot in other regards, but not regarding paid work, healthcare, eduction etc.

That's too bad about the doubling of traffic in Vientiane. It's always been a really nice sleepy, laid back town.

Luang Prabang is basically a tourist city. Expensive restaurants and what else? Not much. Do I really want to spend $20 or more on a dish in Luang Prabang at a fancy French restaurant? It just doesn't make sense. But the nature surrounding the city is  is gorgeous.

As far as Pakse, if you like dirty, dusty and not really anything there as far as amenities that Westerners might like, then great I remember being there years ago and wanted to get a cup of coffee. Being near the Bolaven Plateau (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolaven_Plateau) where the coffee industry is I thought might get me something good. Nope!

That probably changed as my parents had good coffee here in Pakse a few times the last week.

Pakse has a huge market and some shops where you can buy many things from other countries (including 'Western countries').

And yes, it is dusty and a lot of dirt in many places, like in many places in Laos unfortunately. Still a long way to go wih this.

Dreamtime.  Laos and even Pakse are changing so fast ~ maybe too fast.  'Coffee shop culture' is now evident everywhere in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, and not just confined to foreigners who can afford the comparatively high prices.  Most customers in any coffee shop are now young Lao who have been through tertiary education and sit with coffee and cakes and iphone.  Perhaps unfortunately some of the coffee shops are very un-Lao and serve Thai coffee or give the bill in Korean.  But that's progress, maybe.  As for Pakse, the change is also evident.  In the 1980s I was the only non-soviet foreigner to go there regularly.  There was no transport of coffee to Vientiane, where anyway there were no shops or restaurants, and I would carry on the plane sacks of unroasted Bolaven coffee ~ given free as there was no market.  I remain surprised that young Lao seem to think little of paying $2 or more for an ice coffee.

I have to agree 100% with the above post from Robert.
I was in Pakse late 1960's off and on until 1975. The change is drastic to me. Used to go to the Chinese theatre in Pakse now and then when they had a movie going.
Ate local cuisine purchased from the market and cooked by the house girl. Beer and other extravagances were flown in from Thailand.

Worked there from 1997 for 2 and a half years on road construction, been coming and going from there every since. When working there we used to go into Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand to shop.
The development after the morning market burnt down was quite a change from sleepy provincial city to a very much westernized establishment.