11–20 of 48 posts
This was my favorite thing. Red lights and stop signs in Canada/US are infuriating on my motorcycle after living in Saigon and being able to ride at a constant (albeit slow) pace throughout the whole city.
for those that lived in Southeast Asia, how does Vietnam stack up to other places? Obvious attraction is the cheap cost of living. However, one does wonder if this comes with some sort of catch. Would East Asian countries like China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan be any different or is it worth paying more to live in those countries instead of South East Asia? I guess best thing is to try it out, but would be great if we coul…
If you have some connection to east Asia, maybe you would prefer there, but for a bare bones bootstrap, SE Asia is great
I'm a US citizen who runs a digital agency and lived in Hanoi for a year in 2013-14. When I visited Saigon, I couldn't believe how much of a shit show it was. Whereas Hanoi had the occasional "westerner" who tried his/her hardest to integrate with the Vietnamese culture, Saigon was full of loud, disrespectful foreigners who were just looking to work abroad (illegally) and bum off of the culture and cheap prices. If y…
I'm a US citizen who runs a digital agency and lived in Hanoi for a year in 2013-14. When I visited Saigon, I couldn't believe how much of a shit show it was. Whereas Hanoi had the occasional "westerner" who tried his/her hardest to integrate with the Vietnamese culture, Saigon was full of loud, disrespectful foreigners who were just looking to work abroad (illegally) and bum off of the culture and cheap prices. If y…
It seemed that people who loved Ha Noi did not care for Saigon and visa versa.
You seem to be in the Ha Noi group.
Saigon is a worthy place to visit full of people from different parts of Vietnam and around the world. It is culturally unique.
https://dzone.com/articles/expat-devs
If you have any questions about living in Vietnam and dev culture in Vietnam, drop me a line.
The visa situation kind of sucks because it's a constantly moving target, though to be fair everything here is a moving target law wise. The government here can't make up their mind about anything.
He's right that the basics of living here are cheaper, but some things are ridiculously more expensive. And the longer you live here, the more that becomes apparent. My living expenses are around $3,000 a month, but I also have a baby and a wife. I live in a relatively high rent district (district 7) in a huge apartment.
I would disagree that street food is safe to eat. I've gotten parasites three times so far, food poisoning too many times to count. I can't remember the last time I had a solid bowel movement despite the relatively high fiber diet I have.
I worked out of a cafe for the first year, but couldn't imagine doing it now.
The traffic is amusing the first year or two, then it just becomes a pain in the ass. I don't drive a motorbike anymore because I have a kid.
Vietnamese culture will wear you down though, despite your best intentions to respect it. There are just some aspects that aren't worth respect, just like there are aspects of every other culture not worthy of it. But I think that only happens to people who stay here long term.
I'm living in Saigon and I've been living here as a "digital nomad" for the last five years. The visa situation kind of sucks because it's a constantly moving target, though to be fair everything here is a moving target law wise. The government here can't make up their mind about anything. He's right that the basics of living here are cheaper, but some things are ridiculously more expensive. And the longer you live h…
I'm living in Saigon and I've been living here as a "digital nomad" for the last five years. The visa situation kind of sucks because it's a constantly moving target, though to be fair everything here is a moving target law wise. The government here can't make up their mind about anything. He's right that the basics of living here are cheaper, but some things are ridiculously more expensive. And the longer you live h…
Do you mind elaborate the part of culture that will wear one down?
The concept of face is more harmful than good. People will straight up lie to you here, not because they are acting out of malice, but because they don't want to lose face by appearing stupid or unknowledgeable. It's the thing I hate the most about this place, to be honest. Nobody is direct with you.
Edit: I just want to clarify that I like living here, despite the enormous number of negative things about doing it. I'd much rather live here than Thailand, that's for sure.