Russians are Russians, never smile or laugh, just sour faces, they don't bother me, never had any trouble, I mind my business, don't really associate with them.
They tend to hang with their own.
They have gorgeous woman.
Russians are Russians, never smile or laugh, just sour faces, they don't bother me, never had any trouble, I mind my business, don't really associate with them.
They tend to hang with their own.
They have gorgeous woman.
Canman62 wrote:They have gorgeous woman.
Perhaps you have indirectly pointed to the reason that some people have trouble with Russians. They are hitting on those women.
OceanBeach92107 wrote:WillyBaldy wrote:You can't really compare Mui Ne to Nha Trang because Nha Trang has a real touristy infrastructure with concerts, cable cars, and so on. Also, beaches in Mui Ne are so great compared to Nha Trang and Phu Quoc island, for example. I've had bad experiences with Russian tourists in Mui Ne so I kind of blacklisted that place, but I'd go back to Phan Thiet if I had to and it's really a nice train ride from Saigon.
I think Wadey said they are headed to Phan Thiet for a bit.
My middle-aged nephew, a SoCal surfer, also had bad experiences with Russians in Mui Ne.
Could you just sketch out what one or two of these bad experiences entailed? Are we talking about physical violence here? Or just getting cut off on a wave (which some SoCal surfers will fight over or vandalize the offenders cars, etc.) ?
The Russians I've encountered here surely didn't seem threatening in any way to me (yet...)...
THIGV wrote:Canman62 wrote:They have gorgeous woman.
Perhaps you have indirectly pointed to the reason that some people have trouble with Russians. They are hitting on those women.
If you are looking for gorgeous Russian women, Nha Trang is the clear, hands-down favorite...the Russians I saw in my 10 days around Mui Ne were mostly middle-aged families, many with kids...yes, some of the daughters i saw with them were very pretty but (i think it is safe to say) young and protected. In Nha Trang I saw some seriously hot young women (and some cougars too) that looked like they were ready for some fun...and lots of them. I will go back there for sure! :-P I mean some of them stepped right out of Cosmopolitan Magazine or something...so fine...
When I was living in San Francisco I met a lot of Russians and let me say that, in general, the women and men are from different planets entirely (similar to Koreans in that regard) and the women can be very kind, fun, outgoing, open-minded, sensual...and all those good things. The men are another story... (talking generalities!!!...don't shoot me!!!)
Bruce_M wrote:THIGV wrote:Canman62 wrote:They have gorgeous woman.
Perhaps you have indirectly pointed to the reason that some people have trouble with Russians. They are hitting on those women.
If you are looking for gorgeous Russian women, Nha Trang is the clear, hands-down favorite...the Russians I saw in my 10 days around Mui Ne were mostly middle-aged families, many with kids...yes, some of the daughters i saw with them were very pretty but (i think it is safe to say) young and protected. In Nha Trang I saw some seriously hot young women (and some cougars too) that looked like they were ready for some fun...and lots of them. I will go back there for sure! :-P I mean some of them stepped right out of Cosmopolitan Magazine or something...so fine...
When I was living in San Francisco I met a lot of Russians and let me say that, in general, the women and men are from different planets entirely (similar to Koreans in that regard) and the women can be very kind, fun, outgoing, open-minded, sensual...and all those good things. The men are another story... (talking generalities!!!...don't shoot me!!!)
I, for one, am grateful that the men aren't sensual...
Bruce_M wrote:OceanBeach92107 wrote:WillyBaldy wrote:You can't really compare Mui Ne to Nha Trang because Nha Trang has a real touristy infrastructure with concerts, cable cars, and so on. Also, beaches in Mui Ne are so great compared to Nha Trang and Phu Quoc island, for example. I've had bad experiences with Russian tourists in Mui Ne so I kind of blacklisted that place, but I'd go back to Phan Thiet if I had to and it's really a nice train ride from Saigon.
I think Wadey said they are headed to Phan Thiet for a bit.
My middle-aged nephew, a SoCal surfer, also had bad experiences with Russians in Mui Ne.
Could you just sketch out what one or two of these bad experiences entailed? Are we talking about physical violence here? Or just getting cut off on a wave (which some SoCal surfers will fight over or vandalize the offenders cars, etc.) ?
The Russians I've encountered here surely didn't seem threatening in any way to me (yet...)...
It was just a quick comment he made without specifics, also remarking that a lot of the signage is in Cyrillic script.
I think maybe he just felt the Russians had taken over the town.
However, his experience was a number of years back before oil prices went in the tank and the area had many more Russians there working in the petroleum industry.
OceanBeach92107 wrote:Bruce_M wrote:OceanBeach92107 wrote:
I think Wadey said they are headed to Phan Thiet for a bit.
My middle-aged nephew, a SoCal surfer, also had bad experiences with Russians in Mui Ne.
Could you just sketch out what one or two of these bad experiences entailed? Are we talking about physical violence here? Or just getting cut off on a wave (which some SoCal surfers will fight over or vandalize the offenders cars, etc.) ?
The Russians I've encountered here surely didn't seem threatening in any way to me (yet...)...
It was just a quick comment he made without specifics, also remarking that a lot of the signage is in Cyrillic script.
I think maybe he just felt the Russians had taken over the town.
However, his experience was a number of years back before oil prices went in the tank and the area had many more Russians there working in the petroleum industry.
It is easy to see how anyone might feel that Russians had taken over Mui Ne...I felt that too, but I feel that the (Euro/Aussie/etc.) backpacker crowd is making a comeback, and there is definitely a family vibe too, like vacationing families from other Asian countries for example...very low-key and I think if you found the right accommodations staying in Mui Ne for a few months would be quite nice.
Hi Dennis
Was wondering if you ended up in QN as I am also thinking of retiring there.
My meager monthly budget is around 30,000,000, your thoughts ?
Cheers
Ian
Robbo65 wrote:Hi Dennis
Was wondering if you ended up in QN as I am also thinking of retiring there.
My meager monthly budget is around 30,000,000, your thoughts ?
Cheers
Ian
For 30 million you can live extremely well. My wife and I live on about 15 million a month. But, we dont eat at expat joints or drink every night in expat bars. If you are a drinker and only eat at expat joints it will be more than what we spend.
Robbo65 wrote:Hi Dennis
Was wondering if you ended up in QN as I am also thinking of retiring there.
My meager monthly budget is around 30,000,000, your thoughts ?
Thirty million is enough to live well anywhere in VN as long as you're not extravagant as Colin said above.
Aside from personal obligations, my husband and I live on 20M - 23M -- and we don't skim on anything. But same as Colin, we don't do things the expat way except for our monthly date at an expensive restaurant that we really like.
Ciambella wrote:Robbo65 wrote:Hi Dennis
Was wondering if you ended up in QN as I am also thinking of retiring there.
My meager monthly budget is around 30,000,000, your thoughts ?
Thirty million is enough to live well anywhere in VN as long as you're not extravagant as Colin said above.
Aside from personal obligations, my husband and I live on 20M - 23M -- and we don't skim on anything. But same as Colin, we don't do things the expat way except for our monthly date at an expensive restaurant that we really like.
Hi Ciambella, Are you allowed to give the name of the very good restaurant on this forum, or other good places to eat and drink in Vung Tau, we are going there on a small motor bike trip in a couple of Months. We have never been there before.
Keith+Phuong wrote:Hi Ciambella, Are you allowed to give the name of the very good restaurant on this forum, or other good places to eat and drink in Vung Tau, we are going there on a small motor bike trip in a couple of Months. We have never been there before.
We always eat out with the family, meaning always Vietnamese food in mom and pop restaurants, but since I'm partial to good and authentic Italian cuisine, my husband and I go to Luca on Phan Chu Trinh for our dates.
The owner is Italian (now stuck in Italy due to Covid), the manager is Italian, the Vietnamese chef is trained by an Italian chef who came over yearly (not last year due to Covid), the Vietnamese staff pronounce the names of the dishes and the wine correctly, the pesto is decent (not as good as mine), the pasta is almost always al dente, and above all, the service is impeccable. For Italian food, Luca is as good as you can get in Vung Tau.
We don't go out and drink. I bought a bottle of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Linh Phuong Market yesterday, and that'll be more than enough for our special thing next month.
Ciambella wrote:We always eat out with the family, meaning always Vietnamese food in mom and pop restaurants, but since I'm partial to authentic Italian cuisine, my husband and I go to Luca on Phan Chu Trinh for our dates.
The owner is Italian (now stuck in Italy due to Covid), the manager is Italian, the Vietnamese chef is trained by an Italian chef who came over yearly (not last year due to Covid), the Vietnamese staff pronounce the names of the dishes and the wine correctly, the pesto is decent (not as good as mine though), the pasta is almost always al dente, and above all, the service is impeccable. For Italian food, Luca is as good as you can get in Vung Tau.
Actually, I believe that Giovanni, the owner has returned, is/was in quarantine, and is up in Mui Ne taking care of his Good Morning Vietnam (not affiliated with GMV in Vũng Tàu) restaurant there. One of staff mentioned something to that effect a couple of weeks ago, but I may have misunderstood.
johnross23 wrote:Actually, I believe that Giovanni, the owner has returned, is/was in quarantine, and is up in Mui Ne taking care of his Good Morning Vietnam (not affiliated with GMV in Vũng Tàu) restaurant there. One of staff mentioned something to that effect a couple of weeks ago, but I may have misunderstood.
Good news. Thanks, John.
Re: GMV in VT, Giovanni was one of the original 3 partners who owned it (the reason it was set up to be an Italian restaurant). The partnership dissolved and GMV went down hill steadily since. My first and only time eating there was at the old location and it's a dismal experience in both the food and the service.
Ciambella wrote:Re: GMV in VT, Giovanni was one of the original 3 partners who owned it (the reason it was set up to be an Italian restaurant). The partnership dissolved and GMV went down hill steadily since. My first and only time eating there was at the old location and it's a dismal experience in both the food and the service.
Yes, Giovanni told me that he wanted to buy GMV VT to put them back together again (the two surviving GMVs), but the current owner didn't want to sell. So, he opened Luca instead.
Not to attempt to change your opinion but I eat at Good Morning Vietnam as often as I eat at Luca, about weekly.
Yes, in my experience, most of GMV VT's entrees are not done well and the pizza is not very good. However, I do like their lasagna and other pasta dishes as well as the Risotto Marinara, so I stick to those items. Also, their chocolate mousse is my favorite in town.
Anyway, although I could make a lengthy list of minor complaints about Luca, I will certainly second your opinion that it's the best of the Italian restaurants in Vũng Tàu.
Maybe we will run into each other again there in the future.
Charlie will want to try the lasagna and risotto (both are amongst his weaknesses) since you endorse them highly. Maybe we'll give GMV one more try just for those.
Well, I'm not sure that you should risk another dismal experience based on the opinion of a country boy from rural America who's never been to Europe.
Anyway, I just used the word "like", not "highly endorse".
On the other hand, you might have a mildly passable meal there. The new location is cheerier and the current staff makes more of an effort. They also have cushioned seats, which is something that Luca lacks, although they will bring a cushion if you request one.
Ciambella wrote:Keith+Phuong wrote:Hi Ciambella, Are you allowed to give the name of the very good restaurant on this forum, or other good places to eat and drink in Vung Tau, we are going there on a small motor bike trip in a couple of Months. We have never been there before.
We always eat out with the family, meaning always Vietnamese food in mom and pop restaurants, but since I'm partial to good and authentic Italian cuisine, my husband and I go to Luca on Phan Chu Trinh for our dates.
The owner is Italian (now stuck in Italy due to Covid), the manager is Italian, the Vietnamese chef is trained by an Italian chef who came over yearly (not last year due to Covid), the Vietnamese staff pronounce the names of the dishes and the wine correctly, the pesto is decent (not as good as mine), the pasta is almost always al dente, and above all, the service is impeccable. For Italian food, Luca is as good as you can get in Vung Tau.
We don't go out and drink. I bought a bottle of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Linh Phuong Market yesterday, and that'll be more than enough for our special thing next month.
Hi Ciambella: Thanks again for the restaurant details ,will definitely try it when we get down there and i like Italian wine ,Montepulciano i really like, we get it in La Sala here in Nha Trang, i have spent a lot of time in Italy over the years too and know the difference between authentic Italian cuisine and westernized Italian ,my lovely Vietnamese wife also knows the difference.
Hi Colin
Thanks for your info. Wow 15 mill per month thats excellent. I have been living in Hoi An for about 4 years and had to return to Australia briefly, now I am stuck here and cannot return due to Covid.
My plan is to head to QN when borders are open.
Out of interest if you and your wife are living on 15 mill may I ask how much of that is rent ? Some brief research suggests that rents could be around 7-8 per month, would you agree ?
Regards
Ian
Robbo65 wrote:Hi Colin
Thanks for your info. Wow 15 mill per month thats excellent. I have been living in Hoi An for about 4 years and had to return to Australia briefly, now I am stuck here and cannot return due to Covid.
My plan is to head to QN when borders are open.
Out of interest if you and your wife are living on 15 mill may I ask how much of that is rent ? Some brief research suggests that rents could be around 7-8 per month, would you agree ?
Regards
Ian
We live in a large 3 bedroom house and pay 7 million a month. If you are single, there are small apartments here going for 5 million a month. We dont live in the expat area, so everything is a bit cheaper by around 15-20%,
5 mill is amazing. Having lived in VN for a while I am not at all interested in living in an expat area, I used to be a Chef so need somewhere that has reasonable cooking facilities etc, whilst I like to eat out a bit local food is more my thing and dont really crave western style food. May I ask do you work there or retired ?
Robbo65 wrote:Hi Dennis
Was wondering if you ended up in QN as I am also thinking of retiring there.
My meager monthly budget is around 30,000,000, your thoughts ?
Cheers
Ian
Hi Robbo65, I think to live "well" in Vietnam you will need at minimum 30,000,000, I really do not know how any one can live" well"on 15,000,000 ,yes you can live on 15,000,000, but you would have to get an inexpensive apartment in the local part of town , and put up with the locals and their noise, smoke from cooking, incense, burning paper to the gods and genies and burning plastic bottles (Vietnam recycling) and general prying into your lives. You would have to eat and drink at home and have no social life , i would call it more survival . By the way QN is a nice town ,but how its grown in the last twelve Months, i was there about four Months ago and hardly recognized it.
Keith+Phuong wrote:Robbo65 wrote:Hi Dennis
Was wondering if you ended up in QN as I am also thinking of retiring there.
My meager monthly budget is around 30,000,000, your thoughts ?
Cheers
Ian
Hi Robbo65, I think to live "well" in Vietnam you will need at minimum 30,000,000, I really do not know how any one can live" well"on 15,000,000 ,yes you can live on 15,000,000, but you would have to get an inexpensive apartment in the local part of town , and put up with the locals and their noise, smoke from cooking, incense, burning paper to the gods and genies and burning plastic bottles (Vietnam recycling) and general prying into your lives. You would have to eat and drink at home and have no social life , i would call it more survival . By the way QN is a nice town ,but how its grown in the last twelve Months, i was there about four Months ago and hardly recognized it.
It tells me from your reply that you are the type of expat who hangs in expat areas and eats expat food. I came to live in Vietnam to enjoy the experience, not to hang out with other expats.
In relation to not having a social life. Trust me, we do, we just dont go to overpriced expat areas and listen to expats who know squat about where they are living.
Trust me, I have lived here for 13 years and live quite well on 15 mil. Spending 30 mil a month as a single guy is a joke.
30 million dong is a LOT of money in QN, unless you want to eat lobster and shrimp and rare varieties of crab or other shellfish all the time, or drink $7 cocktails at hotel roof bars or backpacker/expat rip-off spots (you know the ones, typically run by greedy Australians) every night, i think you couldn't spend that much if you tried.
Keith+Phuong wrote:I think to live "well" in Vietnam you will need at minimum 30,000,000, I really do not know how any one can live" well"on 15,000,000
The key to living on 15,000,000 is to give everything you make to Phuong and tell her that she can save whatever is left at the end of the month. You didn't really tell us if Phuong is local or Australian-Vietnamese but even if the latter, she can still do it. Also If you don't go right out and blow it all in one night, she may even give you an allowance for an occasional few beers with your buds. Now that does not include a big travel budget, but she can save for that.
Colinoscapee told you that he and his wife live on 15 mil. but he didn't say that was all he made. I am convinced that expats married to local women generally spend less in a month than single men.
THIGV wrote:Keith+Phuong wrote:I think to live "well" in Vietnam you will need at minimum 30,000,000, I really do not know how any one can live" well"on 15,000,000
The key to living on 15,000,000 is to give everything you make to Phuong and tell her that she can save whatever is left at the end of the month. You didn't really tell us if Phuong is local or Australian-Vietnamese but even if the latter, she can still do it. Also If you don't go right out and blow it all in one night, she may even give you an allowance for an occasional few beers with your buds. Now that does not include a big travel budget, but she can save for that.
Colinoscapee told you that he and his wife live on 15 mil. but he didn't say that was all he made. I am convinced that expats married to local women generally spend less in a month than single men.
Sure, a local woman could save you piles of money on food, that's for sure. I shop in traditional markets pretty often, and I know I'm paying probably 40-50% more than locals...but still, food is so cheap here I just can't imagine where people are getting figures of 30 million from...that is pretty astounding to me, and that figure is about 4-5X what a local skilled person makes a month...
colinoscapee wrote:Keith+Phuong wrote:Robbo65 wrote:Hi Dennis
Was wondering if you ended up in QN as I am also thinking of retiring there.
My meager monthly budget is around 30,000,000, your thoughts ?
Cheers
Ian
Hi Robbo65, I think to live "well" in Vietnam you will need at minimum 30,000,000, I really do not know how any one can live" well"on 15,000,000 ,yes you can live on 15,000,000, but you would have to get an inexpensive apartment in the local part of town , and put up with the locals and their noise, smoke from cooking, incense, burning paper to the gods and genies and burning plastic bottles (Vietnam recycling) and general prying into your lives. You would have to eat and drink at home and have no social life , i would call it more survival . By the way QN is a nice town ,but how its grown in the last twelve Months, i was there about four Months ago and hardly recognized it.
It tells me from your reply that you are the type of expat who hangs in expat areas and eats expat food. I came to live in Vietnam to enjoy the experience, not to hang out with other expats.
In relation to not having a social life. Trust me, we do, we just dont go to overpriced expat areas and listen to expats who know squat about where they are living.
Trust me, I have lived here for 13 years and live quite well on 15 mil. Spending 30 mil a month as a single guy is a joke.
It looks like i have upset a lot of people, just to make you really unhappy, I have lived in Vietnam for 13 years with just my local Vietnam wife ,no children. I transfer AUS$2100 ,currently about 35 mil when i change it at a gold shop, every month ,spend about a further 4 mil a Month on credit cards and do not pay rent ,i own a two bedroom apartment on a condo. And I find i often run short near the end of each Month. I have a Vietnamese wife and she is very frugal, she does have a lot of cloths and shoes, but doesn't buy designer cloths or any thing like that. We don't have a car (a waste of time in Vietnam) we have a couple of motor bikes. We don't eat at home, i make breakfast only at home, we don't smoke ,I drink a couple of beers at night and a bottle of wine about every week, I don't mix with Expats, we meet a couple of friends about once a week, We only eat at normal restaurants ,about 550,000 average for two ,not the Sky bar or Sheraton, no lobster or cocktails, but not street food , We normally only eat Pho Bo, Bun Hue or Pho ca for lunch. We travel a lot (or we did until COVID) but that's not included in these amounts. I am not trying to impress any one, that's what we spend every Month and i watch my money ,i have to or it goes over the amounts i have just given. I don't feel we live really well, but we don't want for any thing neither.
My wife's parents have a pension of 6 mil a Month ,they don't pay rent, and they live well by Vietnamese standards, but don't go any where except the market, unless we take them on holidays. So sure you can survive on small money in Vietnam. Its the cheapest place i have come across, I go back to Sydney every year (except this year) and it costs me four times what i spend here.
I live in Vietnam because its easier to travel from here , Sydney is a further 10 hours from any where and my wife is Vietnamese, i don't live here because i can not afford to live in Sydney, in fact we are going back to live in Sydney once COVID is gone. (or a vaccine) . I don't blame any Expat for living over here in Vietnam because it is affordable compared to their own country, I would be the first one here if a didn't have much money. When i am back in Sydney it hurts me to go for an average meal with a couple of drinks and spend AUS$120 and get what i pay 550,000 vnd for here.
Keith+Phuong wrote:colinoscapee wrote:Keith+Phuong wrote:
Hi Robbo65, I think to live "well" in Vietnam you will need at minimum 30,000,000, I really do not know how any one can live" well"on 15,000,000 ,yes you can live on 15,000,000, but you would have to get an inexpensive apartment in the local part of town , and put up with the locals and their noise, smoke from cooking, incense, burning paper to the gods and genies and burning plastic bottles (Vietnam recycling) and general prying into your lives. You would have to eat and drink at home and have no social life , i would call it more survival . By the way QN is a nice town ,but how its grown in the last twelve Months, i was there about four Months ago and hardly recognized it.
It tells me from your reply that you are the type of expat who hangs in expat areas and eats expat food. I came to live in Vietnam to enjoy the experience, not to hang out with other expats.
In relation to not having a social life. Trust me, we do, we just dont go to overpriced expat areas and listen to expats who know squat about where they are living.
Trust me, I have lived here for 13 years and live quite well on 15 mil. Spending 30 mil a month as a single guy is a joke.
It looks like i have upset a lot of people, just to make you really unhappy, I have lived in Vietnam for 13 years with just my local Vietnam wife ,no children. I transfer AUS$2100 ,currently about 35 mil when i change it at a gold shop, every month ,spend about a further 4 mil a Month on credit cards and do not pay rent ,i own a two bedroom apartment on a condo. And I find i often run short near the end of each Month. I have a Vietnamese wife and she is very frugal, she does have a lot of cloths and shoes, but doesn't buy designer cloths or any thing like that. We don't have a car (a waste of time in Vietnam) we have a couple of motor bikes. We don't eat at home, i make breakfast only at home, we don't smoke ,I drink a couple of beers at night and a bottle of wine about every week, I don't mix with Expats, we meet a couple of friends about once a week, We only eat at normal restaurants ,about 550,000 average for two ,not the Sky bar or Sheraton, no lobster or cocktails, but not street food , We normally only eat Pho Bo, Bun Hue or Pho ca for lunch. We travel a lot (or we did until COVID) but that's not included in these amounts. I am not trying to impress any one, that's what we spend every Month and i watch my money ,i have to or it goes over the amounts i have just given. I don't feel we live really well, but we don't want for any thing neither.
My wife's parents have a pension of 6 mil a Month ,they don't pay rent, and they live well by Vietnamese standards, but don't go any where except the market, unless we take them on holidays. So sure you can survive on small money in Vietnam. Its the cheapest place i have come across, I go back to Sydney every year (except this year) and it costs me four times what i spend here.
I live in Vietnam because its easier to travel from here , Sydney is a further 10 hours from any where and my wife is Vietnamese, i don't live here because i can not afford to live in Sydney, in fact we are going back to live in Sydney once COVID is gone. (or a vaccine) . I don't blame any Expat for living over here in Vietnam because it is affordable compared to their own country, I would be the first one here if a didn't have much money. When i am back in Sydney it hurts me to go for an average meal with a couple of drinks and spend AUS$120 and get what i pay 550,000 vnd for here.
So, basically you are spending a million plus vnd a day on food. That is why your cost of living is high. Thats for two people, half it for one person and its much lower. We dont eat out every day, hence why our living costs are way under yours.
Keith+Phuong wrote:...I find i often run short near the end of each Month...
...We don't eat at home, i make breakfast only at home...
...We only eat at normal restaurants ,about 550,000 average for two ,not the Sky bar or Sheraton, no lobster or cocktails, but not street food , We normally only eat Pho Bo, Bun Hue or Pho ca for lunch.
So let's be clear about the math:
Over any 4-year period there is an average of 30.4375 days in a month.
So you are spending ₫16,740,625 VNĐ per month just for dinners.
Based on other comments you've made, I'm guessing you cook breakfast at home because you can't find a local place that makes a good Australian breakfast.
So you are likely preparing some combination of sausages (beef, turkey, chicken or kangaroo), tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, baked beans, bread and coffee or tea.
Maybe your Vietnamese wife eats the same foods for breakfast?
Anyway, let's guess that's about another ₫30,000 spent on breakfast groceries every day (not including the electricity used), so maybe close to another ₫915,000 VNĐ spent on breakfast?
You are probably spending an average of about ₫70,000 VNĐ for lunch, so that's another ₫2,130,625 VNĐ.
So you are likely spending about ₫19,786,250 just for food.
That's not bad or good it simply is what it is for you.
However, you are the one who implies that anyone who isn't living up to that standard is somehow experiencing an inferior lifestyle here in Việt Nam.
Maybe the fact that you made a point of mentioning your wife's clothes and shoes but not her cooking skills explains your lifestyle partly.
I mean, you really can't stand most Vietnamese food she might cook at home, right?
Plus you said YOU cook breakfast, so she's not able or willing to fry an egg and brown some sausage?
Not that she's a bad cook, but she doesn't cook what you want (foreigner food).
As an aside, she's the same person who is little to no help for you when you attempt to get reliable information about a VEC (or was that a TRC...?)
So when you engage in giving advice to other expats, perhaps it would be fair to explain that you are not living anything close to the type of lifestyle that my friend "Colin" is experiencing with his wife?
Keith+Phuong wrote:I transfer AUS$2100 ,currently about 35 mil when i change it at a gold shop, every month ,spend about a further 4 mil a Month on credit cards and do not pay rent.... And I find i often run short near the end of each Month. I have a Vietnamese wife and she is very frugal, she does have a lot of cloths and shoes, but doesn't buy designer cloths or any thing like that. We don't eat at home ... I drink a couple of beers at night and a bottle of wine about every week ... We only eat at normal restaurants ,about 550,000 average for two, We normally only eat Pho Bo, Bun Hue or Pho ca for lunch.... i watch my money ,i have to or it goes over... I don't feel we live really well, but we don't want for any thing neither.
At a glance, I couldn't understand how you spend 40M (without rent) and still have to watch your money. Then I read again and saw that you spend 550k per meal, twice a day, 30 days a month. Am I correct? If that's the case, then your food bill alone is 33M each month, not counting breakfast at home, an extravagant amount for not eating lobster or drinking cocktails.
Most people pay 150k - 200k per meal for two including a beer and a soft drink. Unless you're a very big eater and your idea of "regular restaurants" is different than most people, it's difficult to fathom spending 33M each month on food for two people, not including breakfast, especially when one of the two people is a frugal Vietnamese woman as per your description. We didn't even spend half of that on food while living (and eating out often) in the States.
Our family grocery bill for 4 people here is 6M (our share is 3M). Granted, we eat at home, but we eat very well. My niece-in-law is a great cook and we have choice fresh seafood several times a week (including fresh crabs for afternoon snack), seafood hot pot, mini pancakes (bánh khọt, the signature dish of VT), vermicelli crab soup (miến cua), rolled rice crêpes (bánh cuốn), grilled pork, seafood spring rolls, woven vermicelli with roasted duck, stuffed squid, etc. We eat very little rice.
Our rent is 11M (amongst the highest in VT). Even with the rent, utilities, my husband's daily breakfast with his coffee klatch, daily afternoon swim at a membership-only hotel's pool, my monthly beauty day (facial, hail, nails), my skincare products, our monthly dinner date, a carton of beer and a bottle of wine each month, a bottle of single malt every now and then, plus my clothing and shoes (more than I need), we've never spend 30M in one month (not including our travel expenses of course).
Still, we live very well even by our American standards.
colinoscapee wrote:So, basically you are spending a million plus vnd a day on food. That is why your cost of living is high. Thats for two people, half it for one person and its much lower. We dont eat out every day, hence why our living costs are way under yours.
Even if you eat out every day, would you and your wife pay 1.1M day in and day out? Most people don't even pay half of that when they eat out two meals a day.
Getting back on topic to life in Qui Nhơn, (imagine me of all people saying that ) I see that Eli the Bike Guy has posted a new Qui Nhơn YouTube film as of 18/1/21. Latest by Eli I know some of you have complained that Eli is boring but in the case of Quy Nhon, maybe that's the point. I have to admit that except for a few of his shorter clips, I seldom get to the end of his clips without losing interest. I haven't even tried to watch this one yet as it is over two hours long. Maybe that's because he is walking instead of riding his xe đạp. If you can slog through this, you probably can tolerate the slow pace of life in Qui Nhơn.
OceanBeach92107 wrote:... some combination of sausages (beef, turkey, chicken or kangaroo),....
I had to like this post just for introducing us to the concept of kangaroo sausages for breakfast.
Ciambella wrote:colinoscapee wrote:So, basically you are spending a million plus vnd a day on food. That is why your cost of living is high. Thats for two people, half it for one person and its much lower. We dont eat out every day, hence why our living costs are way under yours.
Even if you eat out every day, would you and your wife pay 1.1M day in and day out? Most people don't even pay half of that when they eat out two meals a day.
Definitley not. We can afford to do that, but for the life of me I can never understand how people can spend 30 million a month on food and some grog.
Anyway, to each their own. We live quite well on our 15 million a month, after household costs we have around 7 million a month for food and eating out, more than enough if you ask me.
THIGV wrote:OceanBeach92107 wrote:... some combination of sausages (beef, turkey, chicken or kangaroo),....
I had to like this post just for introducing us to the concept of kangaroo sausages for breakfast.
They do exist.
I used to eat skippy about 35 years ago, it was fantastic.
colinoscapee wrote:Ciambella wrote:colinoscapee wrote:So, basically you are spending a million plus vnd a day on food. That is why your cost of living is high. Thats for two people, half it for one person and its much lower. We dont eat out every day, hence why our living costs are way under yours.
Even if you eat out every day, would you and your wife pay 1.1M day in and day out? Most people don't even pay half of that when they eat out two meals a day.
Definitley not. We can afford to do that, but for the life of me I can never understand how people can spend 30 million a month on food and some grog.
Anyway, to each their own. We live quite well on our 15 million a month, after household costs we have around 7 million a month for food and eating out, more than enough if you ask me.
Worth noting (IMHO) that you save even more money and engage in a free recreational activity when you ride that bicycle of yours all over BR-VT.
Qui Nhơn is also a great town for doing that.
@Colin: My husband asked me why you asked him whether he took good care of me (you probably don't remember the conversation -- that's when you asked him why he rode so slow and he answered, "I'm old, what do I need to ride fast for?")
colinoscapee wrote:after household costs
Does your wife buy household goods at the many wholesalers in VT? They sell the same merchandises as Lotte does but at much lower price.
Ciambella wrote:
@Colin: My husband asked me why you asked him whether he took good care of me (you probably don't remember the conversation -- that's when you asked him why he rode so slow and he answered, "I'm old, what do I need to ride fast for?")
I think I was being facetious.
Ciambella wrote:colinoscapee wrote:after household costs
Does your wife buy household goods at the many wholesalers in VT? They sell the same merchandises as Lotte does at much lower price.
I was referring to the costs for our house; electricity,water,etc.