Question about cost of living in Vietnam post-COVID

Yours statement is not correct. Vietnam does not only have 30 days e visa. There are still business visas, investment visas & work visas with follow on TRC providing you have the correct paperwork & finance to get them.
-@goodolboy

I have lived in Vietnam since 2008 & been retired here permanently since 2015 & managed fine up to now without a retirement visa.
-@goodolboy

For some unknown reason, you keep forgetting to mention spousal visas...


-@OceanBeach92107

@Thomas Hamilton,
Welcome to Expats, there is one glitch in your plan, Vietnam does not have retirement visas.
At the moment we only have 30 day e-visa, then exit country and return on a new e-visa.
Which area were you eating Pho?
-@AndyHCMC

Yours statement is not correct. Vietnam does not only have 30 days e visa. There are still business visas, investment visas & work visas with follow on TRC providing you have the correct paperwork & finance to get them.
-@goodolboy
He stated he came for a holiday and thinking of retirement, since there are no retirement visas ands in the past there were heaps of options, to get here to start his retirement his options now are?
Highly unlikely he is going to find a wife there and bring her.
Investment and biz can be done but harder and harder as we see since covid. provide a link where he can do it in this current climate from his home location.
While there is a heap of options, once here, he mentioned nothing about him doing the Paperwork in his question which leaves 30 day e-visa to get here.
Which as stated in other posts "but the ONLY option for Vietnam tourists is the 30 day eVisa, and NO extension or renewal is allowed"
In the past he could have done 3, 12 month tourist, biz etc which many including yourself have done every 3 months, they have gone for now, so what options are open to him currently on the visa websites?
Just because you did it 14 years ago does not mean it is easily or readily available for some, work visa is out if he is retiring.
For the other options maybe a link to where he can get the other visas from his location would be a help.
-@AndyHCMC

well me not being a Vietnam Expert I will leave it to the experts like you to trawl the internet for links. As for now I am still quite happily retired here & will go with the flow & if in the distant future that means a flight to BKK every month or a bike run to Moc Bai so be it & everyone including an expert like you should know that in Vietnam everything is possible.

Yours statement is not correct. Vietnam does not only have 30 days e visa. There are still business visas, investment visas & work visas with follow on TRC providing you have the correct paperwork & finance to get them.
-@goodolboy

I have lived in Vietnam since 2008 & been retired here permanently since 2015 & managed fine up to now without a retirement visa.
-@goodolboy

For some unknown reason, you keep forgetting to mention spousal visas...


-@OceanBeach92107

I told you before, every time you mention the spousal visa I need to hit the hard drink!!

"I am still quite happily retired here & will go with the flow & if in the distant future that means a flight to BKK every month or a bike run to Moc Bai so be it..."
-@goodolboy

Good, practical statement, practiced by many expats for years.

But besides that, I would think that having a business visa, investment visa or a work visa (if they are issued legitimately) wouldn't leave much time for one to enjoy one's retirement anyway, for obvious reasons.

In fact, having either of those visas doesn't sound like retirement at all, but that's just me.

Observations in the last month:

coconut oil up more than 1O%

olive oil up more than 5%

roasted cashews up 5O% (those may have been mislabeled all along :p)

My landlord after 2 years today came at me this week with a 30% rent increase out of the blue. Pretty unexpected although i do get the apartment for a fairly good price. I didn't get any covid reduction though and have been a great tenant, swings and roundabouts but a lot of greed out there right now.

So i'm thinking of moving (potentially to another city) but i'm pretty surprised at how high rental prices generally are right now across the board, especially as supposedly there's not so many foreigners here anymore.

My landlord after 2 years today came at me this week with a 30% rent increase out of the blue. Pretty unexpected although i do get the apartment for a fairly good price. I didn't get any covid reduction though and have been a great tenant, swings and roundabouts but a lot of greed out there right now.
So i'm thinking of moving (potentially to another city) but i'm pretty surprised at how high rental prices generally are right now across the board, especially as supposedly there's not so many foreigners here anymore.
-@departed00

If you are still considering Đà Nẵng (or Hội An?) maybe just thank your landlord for the helpful shove out the door? 😉

My wife and I just finished our house hunting in the area and found a really nice 2-bedroom house on Cẩm Thanh Island, Hội An for ₫8,000,000 VNĐ (through an agent) - our back yard is a rice field, streets and paths through the field are well maintained, there aren't any touristy businesses nearby and my LAN/WiFi has been great since I contracted for my own line instead of sharing spotty service with my landlord.

High end apartments in Đà Nẵng are overpricing themselves (IMO) but economy and midrange places are still available at pre-COVID rates, if you are willing to do most of your own legwork and avoid an agent.

(I ride my scooter, my wife rides a bicycle and we go for a stroll along the river/canal. Looking back across the rice field, this is our view of our house in the distance at sundown...)

@OceanBeach92107 That looks great! I've certainly been 'Mr Indecisive' this year and thought for too long about moving, i think with the current looming price increase it's the kick i need for sure!

I've been looking at Da nang prices which seem to vary wildly-say 12-15tr for a 2 bed apartment (way too much imo) to 5-6tr for a nice looking studio.

I have a friend from the UK who's just based himself there. He works in oil & gas so is offshore for 25 days, then back in DN for the next month or so. He secured an apartment online before even coming to DN for $800! To him it's a good deal but, after having a chat with me he now realises he's paying way too much. I jokingly scolded him for helping to skew the market there...

@OceanBeach92107 That looks great! I've certainly been 'Mr Indecisive' this year and thought for too long about moving, i think with the current looming price increase it's the kick i need for sure!
I've been looking at Da nang prices which seem to vary wildly-say 12-15tr for a 2 bed apartment (way too much imo) to 5-6tr for a nice looking studio.

I have a friend from the UK who's just based himself there. He works in oil & gas so is offshore for 25 days, then back in DN for the next month or so. He secured an apartment online before even coming to DN for $800! To him it's a good deal but, after having a chat with me he now realises he's paying way too much. I jokingly scolded him for helping to skew the market there...
-@departed00

Exactly.

The face.book groups are full of people attempting to book apartments months ahead of time before ever setting foot in Vietnam.

Indications are that most of these people are coming in on 30 day eVisas.

nothing beats being here with flipflops 👣 on the ground and having basic negotiating skills.

Monsoon season (nowl is probably the best time to come here and get a good deal.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Feel free to send me a PM if you need any further insights when you get here.

Cheers!

O.B.