Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

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Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by Anchor Moy »

Hi everyone,
Following the thread from the poster who finds living in Vietnam to be difficult, do CEO posters have places to recommend in Vietnam ?
post491001.html#p491001
I don't have much experience here, but I'm interested in what everyone has to recommend (or not) about living certain areas of Vietnam as an expat. There's city life and country life, and from what I heard the lifestyle is different from North to South, so it would be good to hear the opinions of past and present expats in Vietnam.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by hanno »

I have lived in Phan Thiet, Chau Doc, Can Tho, HCMC, Ha Long, Ha Noi, Sa Pa, and visited pretty much all of the country. Given a choice, I would live in Da Nang or Hoi An. Good choice of restaurants, shopping, and an international airport. Great beaches and good birding nearby (important for me). I do like Ha Noi, again for things like restaurants and the availability of I ported goods, but the pollution and the traffic mean that for me, it is only good for a short visit.

I currently live in Sa Pa (second time after 20 years). The town itself is crap, but the surroundings are beautiful. Weather can be really grim though, and the shopping is shite unless you like Chocopies and crisps. Restaurants are dire, too.

Ha Long used to be nice, but has become a polluted shit-hole. One of my favorite places is Chau Doc. Quaint little town with not much to do but, pre Covid, PP was just a few hours away.

Overall, it is a pretty decent country to live in. Food is considerably better than in Cambodia, shopping is generally worse (I miss the likes of Angkor market), beer is better in VN. Corruption is not quite as rife in Vietnam though still omnipresent.

I can not really say that I prefer one country mover the other, both have advantages and disadvantages I guess.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by Anchor Moy »

Thanks Hanno. I had to check the search maps to find Sa Pa. You are so far north that you're almost in China. That must be a whole different world than living in the cities or toward the south on the coast.
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A countrywide map shows the Vietnamese north-south divide. Would you say that it is easier for an expat to live in the north, centre, or south ? Do you have a preference for north or south cultural traditions ?
Image

For expats "trapped" in Vietnam, (reference to an unhappy poster), in these times of travel restrictions between countries, Vietnam seems like a country with loads of variety in climate, customs, food etc. So why not move elsewhere within the country and see what there is on offer ?
It would also be great to hear from people living on the Vietnamese coast. Retirement villages for expats, tourist traps, closed in winter, how do you find life all year round ?
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by Strawberryshake »

I haven’t been yet but Danang is top of my list. Its a cooler temperature with high ranking beaches according to Time magazine. There is lots of moterbikes but surely less pollution then PP.. Danang has big streets big pavements and sits at the ocean.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by hanno »

Anchor Moy wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 9:19 pm Thanks Hanno. I had to check the search maps to find Sa Pa. You are so far north that you're almost in China. That must be a whole different world than living in the cities or toward the south on the coast.

A countrywide map shows the Vietnamese north-south divide. Would you say that it is easier for an expat to live in the north, centre, or south ? Do you have a preference for north or south cultural traditions ?
Well yes, Sa Pa is a little different. It is a town that lives off domestic tourism, with everything that comes with it: kitsch, karaoke, massive crowds. On the upside: no pollution (a serious consideration for anyone that wants to live in Hanoi or, to a lesser extent, HCMC), and plenty of nature, hiking, and cross-country running. I have lived in a few small places in Vietnam without an expatriate population and hobbies are a must; otherwise it is depression and/or the booze and an early death.

The north-south divide is certainly there. Just as in say Germany, southerners are easier to approach, if a little shallow, and northerners are a lot harder to get to know. There is also still a lot of resentment between the two parts though in recent years, a lot of people have moved from one part to another and the division is less pronounced than it used to be.

As mentioned in my earlier post, Da Nag is probably the easiest place to live for foreigners. A big expat community, lots of businesses that cater to foreigners, English is spoken widely, and the weather is pretty decent. It is also one of the better planned cities and thus, traffic is not the mess it is in HCMC or Hanoi.

A final thought: anyone considering living in the boonies had better have. basic command of Vietnamese as English is not spoken much outside the big cities.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

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I intend to spend more time in Vung Tau, 2 hours southeast of Saigon by boat (or life threatening VIP limos piloted by Mad Max wannabes), when the travel restrictions get lifted. I've probably spent close to three years in total there.

It's a peaceful place on weekdays. Some weekends, Saigonese, especially inner city Viets and English teachers, and nearby provincials throng the east-side beaches (Back Beach or Bai Sau) and roads along the shores and all the bahn khot restaurants. It's chaos on Independence Day weekends and Tet (hit or miss sometimes). The Front Beach (south side or Bai Truoc) is the nicest area with pleasant parks with actual benches, unlike Bangkok, tree-lined streets and huge selection of eateries and drinkeries, plus the naughty bits.

Otherwise, there are loads of Viet, western, Thai, Indian and other international restaurants, plus bars and pubs, and some wine bars and craft beer spots. It has the full range of foods and drinks. I have spotted new specialty food and meat services on the expat forums recently. Can't quite figure that out as there are some many Aussies, Kiwis and others who are stuck in their home countries, looking on from afar.

The only thing that is a bit of a turnoff is lack of a good hospital. There's so so PetroSov Hospital and a Raffles. But FV Hospital in District 7 Saigon is about an hour and something away. And Saigon is the answer if you want some city buzz or specialty products, but especially import foods from say, Anam Gourmet Market or a Big C. The latter is soon to be (or already has been) renamed Go! or TOPS. Yes, giant CP All of Thailand bought up the Big C brand in VN is planning to build a Go! hypermarket in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. Don't know where or when yet.

The key downside is the reeling in of tourist visas, as of immigration law amendments effective July 2020. 90-day visas but have to report at 30 and 60 days, then out at 90 days. Ugh!!!!!! Can always go to Phnom Penh, I guess, which is not a bad thing.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by hanno »

Vung Tau has obviously changed. I have only ver been once, my first Christmas in Vietnam in 1995. It was a real shithole back then, filthy, full of Russians (not tourists but back then a lot of Russians were were working in Vietnam). It was my then Boss's idea. When he proposed to also spend New Year there, me and my mates rebelled and headed off to Hcmc for a wild weekend (HCMC was a little seedier back then). Never been back.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by Ong Tay »

I've been a Saigonista for the past 7 years. It's fine as far as big cities go. There are good restaurants serving a wide range of international cuisines (at varying price points and quality), the shopping is getting better year-by-year, and there's decent healthcare services. As Hanno alluded to, there is pollution, which seems to get worse year-by-year, still little in the way of public transit (the first subway may open later this year, something like 8 years behind schedule!) and traffic can be a pain (although nowhere near that of Bangkok, where I lived prior to here).

All that said, I look forward to the day in the next year or so when I can move out of Saigon and head to either the Cental Highlands near Dalat or the beach, perhaps near Quy Nhon.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by ExPenhMan »

Ong Tay wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 3:32 pm I've been a Saigonista for the past 7 years. It's fine as far as big cities go. There are good restaurants serving a wide range of international cuisines (at varying price points and quality), the shopping is getting better year-by-year, and there's decent healthcare services. As Hanno alluded to, there is pollution, which seems to get worse year-by-year, still little in the way of public transit (the first subway may open later this year, something like 8 years behind schedule!) and traffic can be a pain (although nowhere near that of Bangkok, where I lived prior to here).

All that said, I look forward to the day in the next year or so when I can move out of Saigon and head to either the Cental Highlands near Dalat or the beach, perhaps near Quy Nhon.
I've seen some videos on Quy Nhon. Looks nice indeed. Keep in mind the Viets love going to Da Lat on weekends to cool off in the higher altitudes. Traffic and noise is so heavy they've just started knocking down trees and widening in-bound roads to handle the numbers, and the weekend shopping area is just stuffed with visitors, according to news reports and videos.
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Re: Living in Vietnam - Places You Like, or Dislike

Post by Ong Tay »

ExPenhMan wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 4:01 pm
Ong Tay wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 3:32 pm I've been a Saigonista for the past 7 years. It's fine as far as big cities go. There are good restaurants serving a wide range of international cuisines (at varying price points and quality), the shopping is getting better year-by-year, and there's decent healthcare services. As Hanno alluded to, there is pollution, which seems to get worse year-by-year, still little in the way of public transit (the first subway may open later this year, something like 8 years behind schedule!) and traffic can be a pain (although nowhere near that of Bangkok, where I lived prior to here).

All that said, I look forward to the day in the next year or so when I can move out of Saigon and head to either the Cental Highlands near Dalat or the beach, perhaps near Quy Nhon.
I've seen some videos on Quy Nhon. Looks nice indeed. Keep in mind the Viets love going to Da Lat on weekends to cool off in the higher altitudes. Traffic and noise is so heavy they've just started knocking down trees and widening in-bound roads to handle the numbers, and the weekend shopping area is just stuffed with visitors, according to news reports and videos.
Quy Nhon seems to have a lot of potential - good connectivity with the relatively new airport, not yet totally developed, some modern shopping. Curious to see how long it takes to be over-developed!

Indeed, Dalat has become a bit of a nightmare, especially during the holidays. This past Liberation Day/Labour Day long weekend saw people stuck in traffic for 17 hours from SGN - insane! I'm thinking a smaller city nearby, if I decide country life is for me.
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