What is the best thing about living here in Vietnam?

VietNam is a country of opportunity. Apart from the attributes you mentioned, VN, in many ways, represents what Canada was before it joined NAFTA/WTO and 'American' practices vis-a-vis 'social supports'.

Vietnamese are very forgiving in as much as they don't, generally, hold grudges against past colonial powers such as China and France or the USA which caused so much disruption.

Other countries, Greece vis-a-vis Turkey, for example still has very visible and discernible dislikes and prejudices against Turks.

Even better, VN is warmer than Canada, the UK or the States! When you've spent a couple of winters in -40 Celsius your like for the cold might well change.

Every country has street criminals, as does VN, but VN does have have a cure - as in the death penalty for the guy who hacked the woman's arm off when he stole her high-end motorscooter last year. Overall, VN is a safer country than many including the USA and South Africa (check Interpol web site).

The cost of living is not so low these days - just see how many Dong100,000 and 500,000 notes that are in daily use by VNese and Foreigners.

Jaitch wrote:

VietNam is a country of opportunity. Apart from the attributes you mentioned, VN, in many ways, represents what Canada was before it joined NAFTA/WTO and 'American' practices vis-a-vis 'social supports'.

Vietnamese are very forgiving in as much as they don't, generally, hold grudges against past colonial powers such as China and France or the USA which caused so much disruption.

Other countries, Greece vis-a-vis Turkey, for example still has very visible and discernible dislikes and prejudices against Turks.

Even better, VN is warmer than Canada, the UK or the States! When you've spent a couple of winters in -40 Celsius your like for the cold might well change.

Every country has street criminals, as does VN, but VN does have have a cure - as in the death penalty for the guy who hacked the woman's arm off when he stole her high-end motorscooter last year. Overall, VN is a safer country than many including the USA and South Africa (check Interpol web site).

The cost of living is not so low these days - just see how many Dong100,000 and 500,000 notes that are in daily use by VNese and Foreigners.

I agree with almost everything you say, but my experience is that regarding Ba Tau, the Vietnamese are not quite so forgiving and were not even before the recent Chinese incursions into Vietnamese territorial waters.

The best thing about Vietnam is the livelihood (seeing people outside and etc instead of everyone being tucked inside their car). Its a cheaper lifestyle if you want to live comfortable, for example for example living in an apartment complex like Saigon Pearl in LA would cost me easily 2-3x the price, however if you go out and etc, its not any cheaper than in America since you can still rack up a few thousand dollars in bottle service and thats not mentioning all the gold diggers. All the gold diggers seem to go for westerners or viet kieu lol however thats stupid; every time I go to a bar/club, I always see some rich local dude that outspends me.

Ease of getting a cab anywhere and any time is also a bonus factor.

Not sure why you mentioned lovely girls, you can find beautiful girls in just about every countries.

Life is Vietnam is also a lot easier than in the West as well because for the average person they have virtually no debt, so every cent they make.....that disposable income since they have very few bills. You think the cold and snow is fun and etc, sure....wait until you have to wake up 2 hours early to clear out your drive way in the freezing cold so you can get to work.

LaxFogo wrote:

The best thing about Vietnam is the livelihood (seeing people outside and etc instead of everyone being tucked inside their car). Its a cheaper lifestyle if you want to live comfortable, for example for example living in an apartment complex like Saigon Pearl in LA would cost me easily 2-3x the price, however if you go out and etc, its not any cheaper than in America since you can still rack up a few thousand dollars in bottle service and thats not mentioning all the gold diggers. All the gold diggers seem to go for westerners or viet kieu lol however thats stupid; every time I go to a bar/club, I always see some rich local dude that outspends me.

Ease of getting a cab anywhere and any time is also a bonus factor.

Not sure why you mentioned lovely girls, you can find beautiful girls in just about every countries.

Life is Vietnam is also a lot easier than in the West as well because for the average person they have virtually no debt, so every cent they make.....that disposable income since they have very few bills. You think the cold and snow is fun and etc, sure....wait until you have to wake up 2 hours early to clear out your drive way in the freezing cold so you can get to work.

Thanks
About the livelihood, I am too scared of crowded street each time I have to across the street, and frustrated with traffic jam each time driving my motorbike in the rush hour. of course you can find lovely girl in many country, but my friends who has traveled a lot told me that there are many lovely girls in Vietnam than other Asian country...I don't know if it's true.
About the life and cost of living, totally agree with your opinion

Jaitch:  Loved your "Vietnamese are very forgiving in as much as they don't, generally, hold grudges against past colonial powers such as China and France or the USA which caused so much disruption."

Well, let's see: Much of Vietnam's culture is borrowed from the Chinese, so there must have been historical periods when the two nations were closer. And indeed, it was the (Ming refugee) Chinese presence in the Mekong Delta in the late 1600 to 1700s that drew the Vietnamese into the Delta. Cho Lon predates Saigon if we discount the Cambodian village of Prey Nokor. Notwithstanding current issues, it could be argued that without that Chinese presence in Nan Yue, Vietnam as we know it today would never have existed.

As for the French, they did lay the bases for a modern Vietnamese economy and education. And even in politics, Ho Chi Minh's membership in the French Communist Party (in which he was one of the co-founders) predates the establishment of the Vietnamese Communist Party. And French medicine certainly helped improve the lives of the Vietnamese people, ergo those three names on Saigon streets.

Sadly, for the U.S., it's almost impossible to disagree with you. But to critique the French colonial experience, a reading of Pierre Brocheux and Daniel Hemery's "Indochina: An Ambiguous Colonization 1858-1954" might give some valuable insights.

Can you live in US with only $500/month ?
But you can live in VN with only $300/month

You see demonstrations everyday in other countries
But can you see any demonstration in VN ?

You can be afraid of terrorists in other countries
But you can't see any terrorist in VN

You can get something in other countries if you're rich
You can have everything in VN if you're rich

zanchun wrote:

Can you live in US with only $500/month ?
But you can live in VN with only $300/month

You see demonstrations everyday in other countries
But can you see any demonstration in VN ?

You can be afraid of terrorists in other countries
But you can't see any terrorist in VN

You can get something in other countries if you're rich
You can have everything in VN if you're rich

Ummmm.....living off of $300 a month in Vietnam would be too challenging if not down right miserable for me. 

Alot of people in the U.S. get government cheese and its FREE! Just pop out more kids or say you have a disability. 

Yes, VNmese have done demonstrations, especially if they think gov't is trying to take their land! I'v seen it on  YOUTUBE.

The Cong An(s) are terrorists. They terrorize citizens and non citizens on their motorbikes.   

If you are rich in the U.S. you can afford anything. If you are rich in VN, the price of things will be double if not more than in the U.S.!