Americans are retiring to Vietnam • Hacker News Board

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#71

Post by fxtentacle » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 9:59 PM UTC

tempsy wrote: post #54

buboard wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

because men liking women is shameful?

It’s not but the old white man/submissive younger Asian woman dynamic is one of those uncomfortable stereotypes that ring true

I'm not sure it's limited to Asian women.

I believe those old white dudes who can afford it are just trying to avoid dating the stereotypical modern western girls.

Here in Germany, rich guys go for a Czech, Turkish or Italian wife if they hope to have plenty of kids. And it's no secret that British guys will travel all over Europe to try their luck at dating, because apparently most aren't too happy with the supply at home.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#72

Post by fxtentacle » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:01 PM UTC

pixelperfect wrote: post #68

fxtentacle wrote: post #62

That guy must have been incredibly lucky with the timing. When I researched housing prices in the nice areas of Saigon in 2018, 50 square meter 1 bedroom apartments were sold at $300,000+. And "sold" here means you rent it perpetually from the development company to circumvent that 50-year land ownership limit. But that can put you at risk in case said company folds. Oh and I've also heard a lot of stories about Viet…

Is there a big disconnect between buy and rent prices? My brother was living in a nice area for a few hundred dollars per month just a few years ago.

Absolutely. Renting - for example on AirBnB - is quite cheap. I had a nice apartment with balcony for $300 monthly. But the buy prices are hugely inflated at the moment.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#73

Post by bane » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:01 PM UTC

tehlike wrote: post #46

bane wrote: post #29

Something many people (especially Americans) forget to consider when selecting a place to retire is the almost guaranteed need for lots and lots of high quality medical care wherever you end up. I suspect many people here on HN will retire with large enough retirement savings (and other assets) to settle down like kings in many places in the world. But the distribution of high quality care for ahem people of advancin…

I am from Turkey but living in US for 10 years now, and plan to retire in a low-cost area within the US, despite the fact that Turkey would have been much cheaper - but states is home now. I don't think what you say is remotely true, though. Sure if you plan to live in high-cost areas in Europe, healthcare would be expensive, but taking Turkey as an example, the healthcare is very reasonably priced even in top privat…

> I don't think what you say is remotely true

I think you exactly confirmed what I said.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#74

Post by bane » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:02 PM UTC

tempsy wrote: post #60

bane wrote: post #29

Something many people (especially Americans) forget to consider when selecting a place to retire is the almost guaranteed need for lots and lots of high quality medical care wherever you end up. I suspect many people here on HN will retire with large enough retirement savings (and other assets) to settle down like kings in many places in the world. But the distribution of high quality care for ahem people of advancin…

Uh why do you think retirees choosing a place to retire are “forgetting to consider” healthcare costs? If anything that is the #1 thing most people think about.

Many retirees don't consider it deeply at all and end up in places far removed from good long-term health care.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#75

Post by Gibbon1 » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:03 PM UTC

tempsy wrote: post #54

buboard wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

because men liking women is shameful?

It’s not but the old white man/submissive younger Asian woman dynamic is one of those uncomfortable stereotypes that ring true

Except for the submissive part.

Go ahead marry into an Asian family I double dog dare you.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#76

Post by bane » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:03 PM UTC

quaquaqua1 wrote: post #31

bane wrote: post #29

Something many people (especially Americans) forget to consider when selecting a place to retire is the almost guaranteed need for lots and lots of high quality medical care wherever you end up. I suspect many people here on HN will retire with large enough retirement savings (and other assets) to settle down like kings in many places in the world. But the distribution of high quality care for ahem people of advancin…

Based on my medical care in the USA I can assure you Asian doctors are, at the very least , at the same level as US doctors. It sounds like an insult to my ears.

Based on where my wife and I are thinking of retiring (Korea, Japan), I believe I said that they were within the intersection of high quality and reasonable cost. You've understood what I've said in exactly the opposite way.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#77

Post by TechBro8615 » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:04 PM UTC

axaxs wrote: post #26

starpilot wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah that price is similar for places you can find in the rural midwest US.

Yeah, but you can't find an 18 year old woman to marry you as a modern day indentured servant in the midwest. Ninety percent or so of the old white men I encountered in SEA had his arm around some poor childlike girl.

Indeed, this is kind of a gross thing that is definitely happening in not-so-subtle ways. It's also been called "sex tourism."

In fact, it appears the man in the article may fit that profile. I think there's a big difference between "American couples are retiring to Thailand" and "single American men are retiring to Thailand and marrying Thai women."

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#78

Post by bane » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:04 PM UTC

yahwrong wrote: post #48

scumbert wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strange he didn't see the irony of "insult" when referring to Asia as a monolith

I think you guys are missing the joke. The users experience is with the U.S. health system. Because the stereotype and the parent comments have the implication that doctors from Asia are seen as inferior; the joke being that the U.S. sets a fucking low standard for quality of care.

> Because the stereotype and the parent comments have the implication that doctors from Asia are seen as inferior;

That's not at all what I said and is exactly the opposite.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#79

Post by digianarchist » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:07 PM UTC

vntx wrote: post #69

teamwork007 wrote: post #37

One piece of information the article doesn't acknowledge is that property rights in Vietnam aren't the same as they are in the US. So if a foreigner "buys" an apartment in Vietnam, they can only have it for up to 50 years. In other words, it's an asset that is steadily decreasing in value, and not one that the "owner" can necessarily hand down to the next generation at a higher or the same value unless changes are ma…

Right. Vietnam still is a communist country in that respect. The government still owns all the land and is legally leasing it to its citizens and foreigners. In reality, now that Vietnam is increasingly open to the world economy the government has to treat property rights better or else it'll scare foreign investment away. The lack of private property rights and the Vietnam's Communist Party stranglehold on the econo…

Nothing to do with communism. Capitalist Thailand has thirty year limits on property ownership with the exemption of condo buildings that are majority owned by Thai citizens.

Hell even Singapore limits property ownership of foreigners.

Re: Americans are retiring to Vietnam

#80

Post by shantly » Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 10:07 PM UTC

axaxs wrote: post #70

fxtentacle wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While that is a horrible thing to say, I wouldn't disagree. I also saw some rather worrying couples when I was living in Saigon. That said, some Asian women also just look young even at a surprisingly high age. I recently had Germans mistake my Asian mother in law to be my younger sister. But sure, it is a big plus that in Saigon the $2k in retirement money pay not only for one person, but for an entire family. So if…

Absolutely, but I hope my comment was not taken as an endorsement by any means. I don't think most folks know how rampant it is. It was something I had read about and knew existed, but seeing it in person is eye opening. I know it's not my business and I shouldn't care, logically, but it makes me disgusted in some way every time.

That kind of thing's basically the norm among the rich, no matter where they live. Not really surprising that the non-rich do the same thing when they go somewhere that makes them, relative to the locals, rich.