Reasons for moving to Vietnam

Armand wrote:

Hi all,

Now we are going way off topic aren't we?
Maybe those visa questions deserve a new topic.

Thanks
Armand
Expat.com Team

I've copied and pasted all the VEC relevant details/posts to the current VEC thread. so the visa posts here can be deleted if necessary.

pathixon48 wrote:

And I have heard the VN complaining about how  hard it is to get any service done for such a big gap in the middle of the day..

The Supermarkets here make me laugh, the assistants are asleep between the aisles, you might get lucky and have a security guard help you, but fortunately they always have checkout chicks on duty.  Why they can't alternate their lunchbreaks is beyond me.
   One time I went to this shop, it was about 1.20, a bloke inside saw me, and came out to show me how smart he was, being able to tell the time, he sign languaged me to come back at 1.30, of course he immediately lost a customer, forever.

Adhome01 wrote:

It still amazes me how little they understand customer service or customer loyalty.  They really don't look past what's in front of them. When I first came many years ago I thought it would be different by now.

That's up there with having all the SAME shops in the same area everywhere, they must get really p**** off when a new shop, ( selling the same s***), opens next door to them???? They must make so much money that they can afford to be rude or unhelpful, but you can soon tell if it's a family business, or the worker is on commission. Sometimes it comes down to shopping where the best looking shielas are working, ( and they know it too ).
Back on topic, that is one of the reasons I moved to VN, so I could set up a shop beside another shop selling the same c***, for the same price, of course.

peterpan75 wrote:

mikeymyke wrote:

"$1200 a month...really?! I live on less here in the states. Let's do a generalized quick breakdown...one bedroom apartment: $550(max), food: $200(I'm not even sure this may be high), leisure: $100.  What else am I missing?"

Again your expenses will vary depending on location.  I'll break down what you would pay in HCMC, for example:

Rent for 1 bed apartment: $400
Utilities/TV/Internet: $30
Food: $300 (assuming $3/meal, 3x meal a day)
Gas: $50 (assuming you fill up once a week, 10 L tank)
Entertainment: $200 (you can't honestly tell me you could live on $100/month for entertainment )

Total: $980/month.

It sounds good, but trust me, there will be many unexpected expenses in the future, most people usually over budget.  Come to think of it, I think I spent $1500 because I have some family here in VN and I tend to treat them out a lot.

Thanks for the breakdown mikeymyke! Yeah, I can see where all those numbers come from, not sure if I'll be hitting all those amounts but it's good to know. I'll definitely over budget just to be safe.

PeterPan + MikeyMyke:

I just got back from VN a while ago and your prices are pretty accurate.  I would say at least $1,000/month to be comfortable as long as you are eating at normal restaurants (not just the fancy places in District 1) and not partying everynight.  There are plenty of places to drop $100 for drinks, food, and other vices.  Rent in District 1 will be much higher so if you want cheap rent look in the areas around the tourists traps.

Here's my breakdown of what I spent in VN:
$150/month - rent/electricitywater/internet/parking (far away from District 1)
$250/month - food
$125/month - entertainment
$50/month miscellaneous

$575/month TOTAL

That's it really.  I did go out occasionally, take trips to other cicites, and people there did help me out so I think I was lucky!  It also helps if any locals go with you anywhere because you get the local price -sometimes .

Gas is not really that "cheap" but I think the motorbikes don't really use that much.  A tank cost me less tha $3 (about 60,000 VND) - what kind of motorbike did you drive with 10L??????

Anyways, good luck to you and Tin Tin!

If you two have questions let me know.

Will_I_Am wrote:

peterpan75 wrote:

mikeymyke wrote:

"$1200 a month...really?! I live on less here in the states. Let's do a generalized quick breakdown...one bedroom apartment: $550(max), food: $200(I'm not even sure this may be high), leisure: $100.  What else am I missing?"

Again your expenses will vary depending on location.  I'll break down what you would pay in HCMC, for example:

Rent for 1 bed apartment: $400
Utilities/TV/Internet: $30
Food: $300 (assuming $3/meal, 3x meal a day)
Gas: $50 (assuming you fill up once a week, 10 L tank)
Entertainment: $200 (you can't honestly tell me you could live on $100/month for entertainment )

Total: $980/month.

It sounds good, but trust me, there will be many unexpected expenses in the future, most people usually over budget.  Come to think of it, I think I spent $1500 because I have some family here in VN and I tend to treat them out a lot.

Thanks for the breakdown mikeymyke! Yeah, I can see where all those numbers come from, not sure if I'll be hitting all those amounts but it's good to know. I'll definitely over budget just to be safe.

PeterPan + MikeyMyke:

I just got back from VN a while ago and your prices are pretty accurate.  I would say at least $1,000/month to be comfortable as long as you are eating at normal restaurants (not just the fancy places in District 1) and not partying everynight.  There are plenty of places to drop $100 for drinks, food, and other vices.  Rent in District 1 will be much higher so if you want cheap rent look in the areas around the tourists traps.

Here's my breakdown of what I spent in VN:
$150/month - rent/electricitywater/internet/parking (far away from District 1)
$250/month - food
$125/month - entertainment
$50/month miscellaneous

$575/month TOTAL

That's it really.  I did go out occasionally, take trips to other cicites, and people there did help me out so I think I was lucky!  It also helps if any locals go with you anywhere because you get the local price -sometimes .

Gas is not really that "cheap" but I think the motorbikes don't really use that much.  A tank cost me less tha $3 (about 60,000 VND) - what kind of motorbike did you drive with 10L??????

Anyways, good luck to you and Tin Tin!

If you two have questions let me know.

Thanks Will I Am for the pertinent info.

Curious, what was your living situation like? One bedroom apt or did you rent a room in a house. $150 seems low.

peterpan75 wrote:

Will_I_Am wrote:

peterpan75 wrote:

Thanks for the breakdown mikeymyke! Yeah, I can see where all those numbers come from, not sure if I'll be hitting all those amounts but it's good to know. I'll definitely over budget just to be safe.

PeterPan + MikeyMyke:

I just got back from VN a while ago and your prices are pretty accurate.  I would say at least $1,000/month to be comfortable as long as you are eating at normal restaurants (not just the fancy places in District 1) and not partying everynight.  There are plenty of places to drop $100 for drinks, food, and other vices.  Rent in District 1 will be much higher so if you want cheap rent look in the areas around the tourists traps.

Here's my breakdown of what I spent in VN:
$150/month - rent/electricitywater/internet/parking (far away from District 1)
$250/month - food
$125/month - entertainment
$50/month miscellaneous

$575/month TOTAL

That's it really.  I did go out occasionally, take trips to other cicites, and people there did help me out so I think I was lucky!  It also helps if any locals go with you anywhere because you get the local price -sometimes .

Gas is not really that "cheap" but I think the motorbikes don't really use that much.  A tank cost me less tha $3 (about 60,000 VND) - what kind of motorbike did you drive with 10L??????

Anyways, good luck to you and Tin Tin!

If you two have questions let me know.

Thanks Will I Am for the pertinent info.

Curious, what was your living situation like? One bedroom apt or did you rent a room in a house. $150 seems low.

It was a furnsished "studiio" that was about 25 square meters.  The building was relatively clean and my unit was very clean.  Not fancy but very acceptable living conditions.  And yes $150 is low but it all depends on where you live.  Obviously, if you want to live in the popular areas (especially District 1) you will have to pay much much more.

bluenz wrote:

pathixon48 wrote:

And I have heard the VN complaining about how  hard it is to get any service done for such a big gap in the middle of the day..

The Supermarkets here make me laugh, the assistants are asleep between the aisles, you might get lucky and have a security guard help you, but fortunately they always have checkout chicks on duty.  Why they can't alternate their lunchbreaks is beyond me.
   One time I went to this shop, it was about 1.20, a bloke inside saw me, and came out to show me how smart he was, being able to tell the time, he sign languaged me to come back at 1.30, of course he immediately lost a customer, forever.

At least the traffic is great between 12pm and 1.20pm.

Will_I_Am wrote:

peterpan75 wrote:

Will_I_Am wrote:

PeterPan + MikeyMyke:

I just got back from VN a while ago and your prices are pretty accurate.  I would say at least $1,000/month to be comfortable as long as you are eating at normal restaurants (not just the fancy places in District 1) and not partying everynight.  There are plenty of places to drop $100 for drinks, food, and other vices.  Rent in District 1 will be much higher so if you want cheap rent look in the areas around the tourists traps.

Here's my breakdown of what I spent in VN:
$150/month - rent/electricitywater/internet/parking (far away from District 1)
$250/month - food
$125/month - entertainment
$50/month miscellaneous

$575/month TOTAL

That's it really.  I did go out occasionally, take trips to other cicites, and people there did help me out so I think I was lucky!  It also helps if any locals go with you anywhere because you get the local price -sometimes .

Gas is not really that "cheap" but I think the motorbikes don't really use that much.  A tank cost me less tha $3 (about 60,000 VND) - what kind of motorbike did you drive with 10L??????

Anyways, good luck to you and Tin Tin!

If you two have questions let me know.

Thanks Will I Am for the pertinent info.

Curious, what was your living situation like? One bedroom apt or did you rent a room in a house. $150 seems low.

It was a furnsished "studiio" that was about 25 square meters.  The building was relatively clean and my unit was very clean.  Not fancy but very acceptable living conditions.  And yes $150 is low but it all depends on where you live.  Obviously, if you want to live in the popular areas (especially District 1) you will have to pay much much more.

Good to know, planning on living in Hanoi. Can I ask how you went about finding this apartment?

Will_I_Am wrote:

peterpan75 wrote:

mikeymyke wrote:

"$1200 a month...really?! I live on less here in the states. Let's do a generalized quick breakdown...one bedroom apartment: $550(max), food: $200(I'm not even sure this may be high), leisure: $100.  What else am I missing?"

Again your expenses will vary depending on location.  I'll break down what you would pay in HCMC, for example:

Rent for 1 bed apartment: $400
Utilities/TV/Internet: $30
Food: $300 (assuming $3/meal, 3x meal a day)
Gas: $50 (assuming you fill up once a week, 10 L tank)
Entertainment: $200 (you can't honestly tell me you could live on $100/month for entertainment )

Total: $980/month.

It sounds good, but trust me, there will be many unexpected expenses in the future, most people usually over budget.  Come to think of it, I think I spent $1500 because I have some family here in VN and I tend to treat them out a lot.

Thanks for the breakdown mikeymyke! Yeah, I can see where all those numbers come from, not sure if I'll be hitting all those amounts but it's good to know. I'll definitely over budget just to be safe.

PeterPan + MikeyMyke:

I just got back from VN a while ago and your prices are pretty accurate.  I would say at least $1,000/month to be comfortable as long as you are eating at normal restaurants (not just the fancy places in District 1) and not partying everynight.  There are plenty of places to drop $100 for drinks, food, and other vices.  Rent in District 1 will be much higher so if you want cheap rent look in the areas around the tourists traps.

Here's my breakdown of what I spent in VN:
$150/month - rent/electricitywater/internet/parking (far away from District 1)
$250/month - food
$125/month - entertainment
$50/month miscellaneous

$575/month TOTAL

That's it really.  I did go out occasionally, take trips to other cicites, and people there did help me out so I think I was lucky!  It also helps if any locals go with you anywhere because you get the local price -sometimes .

Gas is not really that "cheap" but I think the motorbikes don't really use that much.  A tank cost me less tha $3 (about 60,000 VND) - what kind of motorbike did you drive with 10L??????

Anyways, good luck to you and Tin Tin!

If you two have questions let me know.

peterpan75 wrote:

So....back onto the main headline. Does anyone else want to share their reasons they have or want to move to Vietnam? And please explain your current situation if you have not moved yet.

Probably not, this subject has been done some many times before , everybody is probably getting sick of it.  ( except  for the posters who like to repeat their same old posts ) , try using the Ex Pat  search at the top of the page, and you will see what I mean..