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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 apart

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 Vietnamese women becoming rather disenchanted of hip cool American backpackers, the latter of which presumably read articles like this and decided to try their luck. The backpacker area of Saigon is considered more like a slum that you try to avoid at night. One other thing that the article dangerously omits is the fact that food hygiene and/or safety testing is still pretty much non-existent even in the richest parts of Vietnam. If you're old, a bad food poisoning could well kill you. And in Vietnam, you'll probably have one per year. That said, food is super tasty and impossibly cheap.

pixelperfect 7y ago
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.
- fxtentacle 7y 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.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
    Price to rent everywhere has been pretty crazy for the last 6 years. So this isn't a Vietnam specific thing.
    - fxtentacle 7y ago
      The thing specific to Vietnam is that purchase prices are very high, while rental prices are comparatively low. I believe it's due to the vicinity to China with rich investors looking for places to deposit their cash.
CapricornNoble 7y ago
>>>Oh and I've also heard a lot of stories about Vietnamese women becoming rather disenchanted of hip cool American backpackers, the latter of which presumably read articles like this and decided to try their luck. The backpacker area of Saigon is considered more like a slum that you try to avoid at night. Hanoi's French Quarter is the same way, and I'm glad the local women are hip to the game. They'll ask you "where are you staying?" If you are anywhere near Hoan Kiem Lake they will assume you are a broke backpacker and ghost you. When I was staying at a serviced apartment at West Lake (a more upscale neighborhood where foreign white-collar expats live) Tinder matches switched to "OK I come to your place tonight." >>>One other thing that the article dangerously omits is the fact that food hygiene and/or safety testing is still pretty much non-existent even in the richest parts of Vietnam. I've also spent about 6 months in Vietnam, cumulatively over 6 six trips. I've gotten brutally sick on 5 of those 6 visits. The lack of sanitation is the #1 reason I don't think I could EVER live there, no matter how much money I had. You can't escape the E.Coli in every ice cube and tap water supply, the open-sewer streets, and the choking air pollution.
- JCharante 7y ago
  I live part time in Tây Hồ (fly back to the States for each semester of school) and I just want to say that I've never gotten sick from the food. I'll eat street food on plastic chairs, restaurants with and without AC, and places that would be expensive even for foreigners. Of course I'll also eat what cô cooks sometimes and it's delicious. I'm not denying that you've gotten sick, but I'm just saying that it's different for everybody. Ice cubes come from vendors and I'd be surprised if they're contaminated (that's like the entire point of buying ice instead of making it from the water supply). The air pollution is something that is being worked on, but honestly it's not really noticable (I buy a new n95 mask every other day, problem solved). Regarding open sewer streets, I mean, some gaps between the sidewalk and the roads are dirty but what place has sewage just flowing by? Seriously name the street and I'll visit it today. Also have you considered staying outside the foreigner bubble? (I bet you're probably in Quảng An). Go see the real Hanoi, outside of menus that are in English and don't even have Vietnamese on them.
  - 7y ago

pixelperfect 7y ago

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.

fxtentacle 7y 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.
- onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
  Price to rent everywhere has been pretty crazy for the last 6 years. So this isn't a Vietnam specific thing.
  - fxtentacle 7y ago
    The thing specific to Vietnam is that purchase prices are very high, while rental prices are comparatively low. I believe it's due to the vicinity to China with rich investors looking for places to deposit their cash.

CapricornNoble 7y ago

>>>Oh and I've also heard a lot of stories about Vietnamese women becoming rather disenchanted of hip cool American backpackers, the latter of which presumably read articles like this and decided to try their luck. The backpacker area of Saigon is considered more like a slum that you try to avoid at night. Hanoi's French Quarter is the same way, and I'm glad the local women are hip to the game. They'll ask you "where are you staying?" If you are anywhere near Hoan Kiem Lake they will assume you are a broke backpacker and ghost you. When I was staying at a serviced apartment at West Lake (a more upscale neighborhood where foreign white-collar expats live) Tinder matches switched to "OK I come to your place tonight." >>>One other thing that the article dangerously omits is the fact that food hygiene and/or safety testing is still pretty much non-existent even in the richest parts of Vietnam. I've also spent about 6 months in Vietnam, cumulatively over 6 six trips. I've gotten brutally sick on 5 of those 6 visits. The lack of sanitation is the #1 reason I don't think I could EVER live there, no matter how much money I had. You can't escape the E.Coli in every ice cube and tap water supply, the open-sewer streets, and the choking air pollution.

JCharante 7y ago
I live part time in Tây Hồ (fly back to the States for each semester of school) and I just want to say that I've never gotten sick from the food. I'll eat street food on plastic chairs, restaurants with and without AC, and places that would be expensive even for foreigners. Of course I'll also eat what cô cooks sometimes and it's delicious. I'm not denying that you've gotten sick, but I'm just saying that it's different for everybody. Ice cubes come from vendors and I'd be surprised if they're contaminated (that's like the entire point of buying ice instead of making it from the water supply). The air pollution is something that is being worked on, but honestly it's not really noticable (I buy a new n95 mask every other day, problem solved). Regarding open sewer streets, I mean, some gaps between the sidewalk and the roads are dirty but what place has sewage just flowing by? Seriously name the street and I'll visit it today. Also have you considered staying outside the foreigner bubble? (I bet you're probably in Quảng An). Go see the real Hanoi, outside of menus that are in English and don't even have Vietnamese on them.
- 7y ago