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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

by jawngee 11y ago

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 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.

NhanH 11y ago
Do you mind elaborate the part of culture that will wear one down?
- jawngee 11y ago
  The 1980's were pretty bad here with the famine and rice rationing, etc. and I think that's kind of been carried over. So you get a lot of rude, selfish behavior like cutting in line, lack of queueing, general lack of courtesy. 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.
  - ctvo 11y ago
    You just described most of China and developing SE Asia countries. Not respecting lines, general littering, lack of attention to personal space (bumped by everyone, all the time). I'm not sure it's unique to Vietnam.
  - geomark 11y ago
    As a long time resident of Thailand also with a wife and young child I'm curious why you consider Vietnam a better choice. There are some similarities like flip/flopping government policies and the whole face thing. One difference seems to be that Thais are generally very nice and polite on the surface (often while they are ripping you off).
    - jawngee 11y ago
      People leave you alone in Vietnam. The times I've been in Thailand, people were always in my grill. Nobody seems particularly interest in me here, which coming from NYC is a treasured thing. When they are interested in you, it seems genuine, Thailand always feels insincere. I've also never felt unsafe in Vietnam, except for once. I've been in a lot of dicey situations in Bangkok though. I also feel like you are less likely to get ripped off in Vietnam, but that's a way lesser concern.
      - geomark 11y ago
        That's completely opposite of my experience. I guess we have to chalk it up to different people have different experiences. It's also hard to compare experiences as a tourist with those of a long term resident. If I attempt to aggregate various comments and my own experiences I think one of the few major differences is the visa situation. For younger people who aren't employed by a local business or married to a Thai citizen Thailand is a pain for a stay longer than 3 months.
mistermann 11y ago
> I can't remember the last time I had a solid bowel movement despite the relatively high fiber diet I have. That seems backwards to me, did you miswrite that part? Fiber causes loose bowels. > 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. That's interesting, any particular reasons?
jonmy 11y ago
I agree on working out of a cafe. I came to that conclusion and have doubled down on my home and home work situation. That decision has paid dividends. This old picture is a bit crap - and looks barren on the outside because of the ugly construction at the time (we put up trees out on the porch and construction is done) - but I put together this office in the house. Hard to get a feel for the scale of this space, but it's quite nice to work in. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10051350/jon-myers-home-office.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10051350/jon-myers-home-... In fact, if you get tired of working at home, you're welcome to pop over. Cheers.

by jawngee 11y ago

NhanH 11y ago

Do you mind elaborate the part of culture that will wear one down?

jawngee 11y ago
The 1980's were pretty bad here with the famine and rice rationing, etc. and I think that's kind of been carried over. So you get a lot of rude, selfish behavior like cutting in line, lack of queueing, general lack of courtesy. 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.
- ctvo 11y ago
  You just described most of China and developing SE Asia countries. Not respecting lines, general littering, lack of attention to personal space (bumped by everyone, all the time). I'm not sure it's unique to Vietnam.
- geomark 11y ago
  As a long time resident of Thailand also with a wife and young child I'm curious why you consider Vietnam a better choice. There are some similarities like flip/flopping government policies and the whole face thing. One difference seems to be that Thais are generally very nice and polite on the surface (often while they are ripping you off).
  - jawngee 11y ago
    People leave you alone in Vietnam. The times I've been in Thailand, people were always in my grill. Nobody seems particularly interest in me here, which coming from NYC is a treasured thing. When they are interested in you, it seems genuine, Thailand always feels insincere. I've also never felt unsafe in Vietnam, except for once. I've been in a lot of dicey situations in Bangkok though. I also feel like you are less likely to get ripped off in Vietnam, but that's a way lesser concern.
    - geomark 11y ago
      That's completely opposite of my experience. I guess we have to chalk it up to different people have different experiences. It's also hard to compare experiences as a tourist with those of a long term resident. If I attempt to aggregate various comments and my own experiences I think one of the few major differences is the visa situation. For younger people who aren't employed by a local business or married to a Thai citizen Thailand is a pain for a stay longer than 3 months.

mistermann 11y ago

> I can't remember the last time I had a solid bowel movement despite the relatively high fiber diet I have. That seems backwards to me, did you miswrite that part? Fiber causes loose bowels. > 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. That's interesting, any particular reasons?

jonmy 11y ago

I agree on working out of a cafe. I came to that conclusion and have doubled down on my home and home work situation. That decision has paid dividends. This old picture is a bit crap - and looks barren on the outside because of the ugly construction at the time (we put up trees out on the porch and construction is done) - but I put together this office in the house. Hard to get a feel for the scale of this space, but it's quite nice to work in. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10051350/jon-myers-home-office.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10051350/jon-myers-home-... In fact, if you get tired of working at home, you're welcome to pop over. Cheers.