Living in Nha Trang as an expat long term. Need info.

Hi all,
This has probably been done to death on this forum, but I really need info on how to live long term in Vietnam, especially in Nha Trang.

I am 67 years old, I'm Dutch and retired now. Have been to Thailand many times and wanted to retire there, but a few things (like the air pollution, the really hot hot season, among other things) ultimately made me decide against that.

So now I'm looking at Nha Trang. I understand it has one of the best climates in Vietnam, it almost never gets really really hot, and the air pollution situation is a lot better than in most of Thailand. So I would like to know from people who live there what the climate and air pollution are really like.

Another - probably more important - question is about visa, staying long term. I understand that there are no long term visas, unless you have quite a bit of money. Which I don't. I get my state pension, plus a private pension on top of that, and that's it. In total I get about 1800 euro (almost 2100 USD) per month. Which should be enough to live on in Nha Trang.

So my question is: how do expats manage to live in Vietnam long term? Do you get a 90-day visa, then leave the country and get a new visa, and do that over and over again? If so, is that not a problem with Immigration? I know in Thailand you can not do that. Not anymore, at least. Would love to hear from you guys how that works.

What's the housing situation like in Nha Trang? I don't need a condo on the beach, not even close to the coast. I do need one bedroom, though. I'd be happy with a 1-bed condo or (small) house somewhere 5 to 15 kilometers from the coast. Any idea how much something like that would set me back, and how easy (or difficult) it is to find a place like that?

I have a drivers license, but I don't have a license to ride a motorbike. That was never a problem in Thailand, though, and I've gotten quite experienced riding around there on one of those small 125 or 150 cc semi automatic or automatic bikes. But I guess it would be better to get my license while I'm there, so my question is how difficult it is to get that in Vietnam.

These are probably the most important things that I need to know, especially about the visa(s). If you can think of anything else that you think is important, I would greatly appreciate any advice or tips that you could give me.

Thanks!

Rudi - @Rudi67jr

Hey Rudi,

I have been to Nha Trang, but don't live there. Because it's on the ocean, the sea breezes keep the air pollution to a minimum.

The visa situation here is as you describe: without a TRC (Temporary Residence Card) you have to go out of the country every 90 days and get a new visa. From Ho Chi Minh City where I live to the Cambodian border and back is a day trip. Visa expediting companies have set it up for me in the past. The cost including transportation from my apartment to the border and back, a Cambodian visa, and a brand-new Vietnam visa ran from the low end to the high end USD $200 - $350. I could have shaved some costs by taking a bus instead of a private car. It is a LOT further to the Cambodian border from Nha Trang than it is from Ho Chi Minh City! Google Maps is saying by car 7:30 hours. So, if you're going to live in Nha Trang, the overland method is that! People with plenty of money fly out to Bangkok, Bali, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, chill for a day or two, and fly back with their new visas.

Vietnam doesn't seem to care how many times you get a 90-day visa. I know people that have been doing it for years -- at least since Covid and even before.

I know of at least two TRC avenues. 1) Work. You get a job and your employer "facilitates" a work-related TRC; 2) Spouse. Foreigner has a Vietnamese wife or husband. This is what I have. It does not allow me to work, and since I'm retired, I'm not interested in that anyway!

Here in HCM City, I know many expats who drive motorbikes "dirty." By that I mean they don't have officially recognized license and registration. The police rarely stop them. Saigon (HCMC) has 10 million people and every one of them has a motorbike. (Slight exaggeration.) The cops have other fish to fry.

I don't drive a motorbike. I ride a bicycle. It is an 8-speed "city bike." (Single chain wheel in the front, 8 gears in the rear "cassette.") I looked for a bike as close in design as I could find to the bicycles that I saw people (tall people!) riding in Amsterdam. I am ecstatic with the performance  of my bike. In heavy traffic I can keep up with the motorbikes. On some streets, I bypass cars stuck in traffic with the motorbikes and I passing them up. If I lived in Nha Trang within 5 km of the beach, I'd ride a bicycle. Better exercise than a motorbike; less cost than a motorbike; and no tailpipe emissions, except for the occasional gas passing.

The challenges for expats are *always* these three: residency (visa and such); banking and money management; and last but definitely not least: medical care. About that last you said nothing. I have a friend who lives in Quy Nhon, 220 km north of Nha Trang. He's about 78 years old and he comes to Saigon for medical care a lot more frequently than he'd like. Why? Because he can't get what he needs/wants in Quy Nhon. Ouch.

My pension/social security/investment income is more than 150% of your stated income. And I am watching my expenses closely because of medical care, which I pay for out of pocket exclusively. It's not nothing!

Studio apartment vs. one-bedroom apartment! On the housing front, here in HCMC, there are *very few* apartments that we'd call (in the United States) a one-bedroom. I've never seen one advertised. What Americans call a studio apartment has the bed, the dining table, the kitchen, all arranged about one room. There are countless studio apartments.

Something with a couch or sofa, a dining table, a kitchenette in one room and a separate bedroom (what *we would call* a one-bedroom) is very rare. I have a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment for which I pay USD $500 a month here in Ho Chi Minh City, arguably the most expensive place to live in Vietnam. And I live right downtown, District 1. Nha Trang will be cheaper.

Good luck! And keep us posted on what you end up doing!

Hi all,
This has probably been done to death on this forum, but I really need info on how to live long term in Vietnam, especially in Nha Trang.

I am 67 years old, I'm Dutch and retired now. Have been to Thailand many times and wanted to retire there, but a few things (like the air pollution, the really hot hot season, among other things) ultimately made me decide against that.

So now I'm looking at Nha Trang. I understand it has one of the best climates in Vietnam, it almost never gets really really hot, and the air pollution situation is a lot better than in most of Thailand. So I would like to know from people who live there what the climate and air pollution are really like.

Another - probably more important - question is about visa, staying long term. I understand that there are no long term visas, unless you have quite a bit of money. Which I don't. I get my state pension, plus a private pension on top of that, and that's it. In total I get about 1800 euro (almost 2100 USD) per month. Which should be enough to live on in Nha Trang.

So my question is: how do expats manage to live in Vietnam long term? Do you get a 90-day visa, then leave the country and get a new visa, and do that over and over again? If so, is that not a problem with Immigration? I know in Thailand you can not do that. Not anymore, at least. Would love to hear from you guys how that works.

What's the housing situation like in Nha Trang? I don't need a condo on the beach, not even close to the coast. I do need one bedroom, though. I'd be happy with a 1-bed condo or (small) house somewhere 5 to 15 kilometers from the coast. Any idea how much something like that would set me back, and how easy (or difficult) it is to find a place like that?

I have a drivers license, but I don't have a license to ride a motorbike. That was never a problem in Thailand, though, and I've gotten quite experienced riding around there on one of those small 125 or 150 cc semi automatic or automatic bikes. But I guess it would be better to get my license while I'm there, so my question is how difficult it is to get that in Vietnam.

These are probably the most important things that I need to know, especially about the visa(s). If you can think of anything else that you think is important, I would greatly appreciate any advice or tips that you could give me.

Thanks!

Rudi - @Rudi67jr

Consider CAMBODIA

https://www.expat.com/en/forum/asia/cambodia/