Living In HCMC on 3K usd/mo

3POSTS

9 years ago

Hi all,
First off, I'm sorry if this seems rude, I know that 3K is a lot of money in Vietnam. I'm not trying to brag or be a jerk. I'm still choosing which country to live in and I'm just looking for information so I can make the best choice for myself.

I'm wondering about what kind of lifestyle 3K usd/month (68M vnd/mo) would get me in HCMC. 3K would be my entire budget for a single person: housing, transportation, entertainment, Vietnamese language lessons etc. I don't usually have expensive tastes , and I'm not looking to spend money just for the sake of spending money, but I do like to go on dates (true romantic here) and I'm interested in the occasional vacation so I can see more of Vietnam and SE Asia. If you could give me an estimation of what to expect from my budget I'd appreciate it.

Thanks everyone! And I've greatly enjoyed reading all the posts on this site, everyone is so helpful in this community

-Takeo

1 member reacted to this post

The Saigon expat guide

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hxuyen08 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

wellcome to HCM city,
3k usd/month, you have a good life at HCm city. Includes: rent house, transportation, entertainment, Vietnamese language. And you can save money more. Of you not go to bar, drink...
You can see sost of living HCM city at here:
https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-livi … -minh-city

hxuyen08 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

Hi Takeo,

You Budget 3k you can use:
- 1800 for housing (Apartment 1-2 Bedrooms including all fee)
- 100$ for transit
- 500$ for food.
- 600$ for lean vietnamsese langue and Entertainment.

hxuyen08 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

On 3k a month you will be living a very comfortable life. My wife and I live on about 1000usd a month.

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khanh44 ViP

1191POSTS

9 years ago

PeterNguyenHCM wrote:
Hi Takeo,

You Budget 3k you can use:
- 1800 for housing (Apartment 1-2 Bedrooms including all fee)
- 100$ for transit
- 500$ for food.
- 600$ for lean vietnamsese langue and Entertainment.

$1800 USD for housing? damn that's twice more than my mortgage in Canada.

Heck with $1800 USD you can build your own 30 sqaure meter house and never have to worry about monthly rent.

2 members reacted to this post

phikachu Serial expat

352POSTS

9 years ago

PeterNguyenHCM wrote:
Hi Takeo,

You Budget 3k you can use:
- 1800 for housing (Apartment 1-2 Bedrooms including all fee)
- 100$ for transit
- 500$ for food.
- 600$ for lean vietnamsese langue and Entertainment.

Only a mug would pay 1800 USD for a 1 bedroom apartment in Saigon. Think about it, 1800*12 / 365 = 59 USD a day. I think you could cut a deal with a 5* hotel in the City Center for that if your stay is long enough.

I think peter is an estate agent messaging you right now about this amazing place he has on the market that's just right for you and your budget.

300 USD onwards is the going rate for a modern condo in Bangkok in an alleyway close to a BTS. They are also incredibly easy to find and transparent. I find looking for places to either rent or buy in Vietnam such a headache in comparison.

Yogi007 Serial expat

948POSTS

9 years ago

USD$1800 a month in shitball Saigon surrounded by a thousand sq kilometres of slums and 2 hours to the nearest shitty beach .

Where do I sign. Can't wait to get there😜

Takeomark Member

3POSTS

9 years ago

Thanks for the replies everyone. Ive been checking out the forums and that 1.8k price does seem ridiculously high (spending money for the sake of spending money).

Hey Yogi007, I've read a few of your posts in other threads and liked what you've said. Did you want to elaborate a little bit on living in Saigon versus other cities/countries? It sounds like you have some opinions on the subject. Where do you live/ how does it compare to HCMC?

anyway, thanks everyone

Takeomark Member

3POSTS

9 years ago

#10

woops, mb

Yogi007 Serial expat

948POSTS

9 years ago

#11

Yogi is feeding himself and consuming alcoholic beverages for New Year's Eve at the moment. Yogi is cutting loose, I'll send you a message tomorrow when I can correlate all my secret information for ya.... that's wat us spies do.
Happy New Years to all

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gobot ViP

1430POSTS

9 years ago

#12

phikachu wrote:
300 USD onwards is the going rate for a modern condo in Bangkok in an alleyway close to a BTS. They are also incredibly easy to find and transparent. I find looking for places to either rent or buy in Vietnam such a headache in comparison.

Possibly misleading data, my experience:
Returned in August from living in a big clean residence hotel (not condo) one-bedroom, no kitchen, in alleyway near Victory Monument BTS. 16,000 baht inclusive ($500). 10-12,000 baht apts are pretty rough. The 2 bedroom condo building nearby was 27,000 baht. Sukhumvit soi condos even more.

Maybe you can find a $300 modern condo at the end-of-the-line BTS Bearing outskirts then have a 45 minute, $10 fare to come into the center - but questionable.

phikachu Serial expat

352POSTS

9 years ago

#13

Sorry, I meant GBP. I am British.

I paid 300 GBP a month which is about 370 USD post brexit exchange rate. This is a rolling monthly contract. Had i have taken a 12 month contract, i could have had it for 300 USD for sure. It was near Thong Lo station and had everything except a pool and came fully furnished with a sony flat screen TV. I stayed there after a couple month in Vietnam and I have to say, it felt like luxury in comparison to some of the places I stayed in Vietnam. It's just so easy to find in Thailand too. The quality, quantity, price and ease of finding them is so good. Just go on rent hub. Can't say the same about Vietnam's market.

phikachu Serial expat

352POSTS

9 years ago

#14

Take a look at Varzzon 36 on rent hub. The place is nice, convenient and very cheap.

gobot ViP

1430POSTS

9 years ago

#15

phikachu wrote:
Take a look at Varzzon 36 on rent hub. The place is nice, convenient and very cheap.

Soi 55 is pretty central, yeah thx P, we'll have to around more next time. Probably returning in July for 8 months.
Oops sorry people, thread can go back to Saigon now...

phikachu Serial expat

352POSTS

9 years ago

#16

The one I've stayed at is in sukhimvit 36 near the Thong Lo BTS. I think they have a place in Soi 55 too.

http://www.renthub.in.th/วา … khumvit-36

HAHutsell New member

9POSTS

9 years ago

#17

I live in a luxury high rise with gates, security and parking, with my GF and her 10 year old daughter and am making it very well on $3170.00/month. We could make some savings, but we are new together so we are kind of living it up.

Last year I lived in Duc Voung II Hotel and ate out every meal including a lot of dates for 5 weeks on $1900 for the entire time.

Da Nang has a rep for a nice living on less than $1200. total, I pay near that for housing and utilities in HCMC.

good luck!

Ngan Khanh Contributor

159POSTS

9 years ago

#18

3,000 USD per month is plenty of money that will give you a comfortable life in Saigon so no worries. A nice 1-bedroom apartment will be around 600 usd and 2-bedromm will be around 1000 to 1200 usd depends. The rest is for food, dating and other small expenses.

I assume you like cities in Asia and going out, there are few good cities worth to consider such as: Saigon (of course 😆), Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore. Those cities are the places that I have been to and actually like. But each has his own preference.

Good luck with the romance and stay sharp always tho!

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anderle Member

11POSTS

9 years ago

#19

3000 usd, never think money and get anything you want, be very generous!

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HAHutsell New member

9POSTS

9 years ago

#20

just being nice will work?

marksayfi New member

5POSTS

9 years ago

#21

Hi Takeo,

3K US gives you a king life style. You can rent a fully furnished apartment/Studio in District 1 (centre of HCMC) with full service (Electricity, Internet, Washing and Ironing your clothes, Cleaning your room, with a little kitchenette so that you can cook, TV with premium channels, etc.) for about USD700/m.
Travelling around Vietnam is cheap. There are many travel agencies all around and you have no problem going where you want to go. Entertainment, however, depends on what you want to do. A coffee costs you about 2-5 USD, depending on where (HIGHLANDS Coffee about 2, but STARBUCKS about 5). Food depends on where you go too. I recommend never eat at street sides, very dirty! But regular restaurants costs you about USD 5-10. Exclusive restaurants are of course over 50 USD. For example a good meal including a couple of beers and side dishes at BBQ Garden will cost you about 15 USD.
Dating depends on what you are looking for. I recommend to go to some dating sites such as vietnamcupid.com or other sites and you can find romance easily and not expensive. But be aware, there are many ladies here who are only after money, not expensive though!
Travelling around Asia is not expensive at all depending on what type of accommodation you want. Of course a 5 star hotel costs you as much as in USA but a 3 star hotel, clean and nice is about USD 20-50 per night.
I have my own house, but have friends here who live and travel very comfortably with about USD 1.5- 2K. I travel by bus and it costs about USD 0.30. If you are in District 1, you can walk everywhere and there are a lot to visit in walking distances. Taxi is very cheap too (for example, from the airport to district 1 it will cost you about USD 10-15), or you can take motorbike taxis around the city for about 3-4 USD.
Hope this gives you a very good indication of what you get.
Vietnam is a very beautiful country with very nice friendly people, I have lived all around the world and for the last 3 years I live in Vietnam on and off and I am very happy about it.
All the best
Mark

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trueak New member

5POSTS

9 years ago

#22

Really, with that income it would be best to look to buy a small house or apartment. Paying someone over a $1000 each month for any long period is making them rich off of your retirement. If you buy you can always rent rooms, etc. when you are not at home or at home. Just provide evidence of steady income. Don't get sucked into supporting someone else life style. Believe me, many people in Vietnam will see you coming. Enjoy your life!

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anna.hnguyen85 Member

16POSTS

9 years ago

#23

If earning 3000$/month excluding income tax, with that income you could live a very comfortable life in Vietnam. Income tax in Vietnam is ridiculously high.

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