Moving to live in another country can be the hardest decision in our life, specially in Vietnam. There are some kind of questions wondered by almost expats when they come to a strange country:

“How to get along with a brand new environment, new culture, new cuisine,…?”

“What is the cost of living in that country?”

“How to find a stable job for living easily? To be a passionate teacher with high salary or just a normal worker?

And if you have a plan to move to Vietnam, as known as one of the most popular places in Asia for expats to live aboard, this list below can help you in choosing the best places to live in and give you some tips to get along with very different things here.

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, was once “The Pearl of the Far East”, now is the second largest city in Vietnam (the largest is Hanoi). It is the most crowded city in the country with the official population of over 8 million people on the total area of over 2,095 km2. The city now comprises 19 districts and 5 suburban districts.

Ho Chi Minh City is considered to be the most vibrant city in Vietnam. This is a quite opening city of  people who craving for nightlife. By living in Ho Chi Minh City, visiters will never feel bored because of  loads of eventful activities and wonderful historical monuments such as Cu Chi Tunnels, Independence Palace, Saigon Central Post Office, The Municipal Theatre (Saigon Municipal Opera House),…

The cost of living for an expat in Ho Chi Minh City is about USD 750/month (~17.3625.000 VND). The food in Ho Chi Minh City is extremely affordable, diversified and delicious. Because Ho Chi Minh City is the city of migrants so you can easily find all of the food from 3 regions in Vietnam here: Bun Cha, Bun Bo Hue, Pho,…. Besides, you can get a cheap flight from this city to almost anywhere in the world. Buses are also cheap and can get you as far as Cambodia and even Thailand.

Hanoi

Hanoi is the largest city in Vietnam by area, covering an area of 3,328.9 square kilometres. With an estimated population of 7.7 million as of 2018, it is the second largest city in Vietnam by population. Hanoi is located in Red River Delta and borders with Thai Nguyen province, Vinh Phuc province in the North; Ha Nam and Hoa Binh province in the South; Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Hung Yen province in the East; Phu Tho and Hoa Binh province in the West. The city has a cooler weather than Ho Chi Minh City, Danang City,etc. So this is the best place to enjoy holiday vacation with your family.

Hanoi currently has over 4,000 monuments and landscapes, in which over 1000 national monuments and landscapes is ranked (hundreds of monuments and landscapes newly merged from Ha Tay and Me Linh) with hundreds of temples, pagodas, architectural structures and other famous landscapes such as Hoan Kiem Lake, The Presidential Palace, National Museum of Fine Arts, Hoa Lo Prison, Grand Opera House, Temple of Literature, etc.

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The cost of living for an expat in Hanoi City is around USD700/month (~16.248.800 VND). Because Hanoi is one of the most ancient city of Vietnam so the food here is super diversified and cheap. When you have a chance to visit Hanoi, you should try Pho (Noodle Soup), Bun Cha Ca (Grilled & Fried Fish with Rice Noodles), Bun Cha (Grilled Pork & Noodles), Xoi (Sticky Rice), Bun Bo Nam Bo (Beef & Noodles), Bun-Mien Ngan (Rice Noodles with Muscovy Duck), Banh Mi (Baguette Sandwich), Pho Cuon (Rice Noodle Rolls), Pho Chien Phong (Fried Pho Noodles), etc.

The expat community is also friendly, and most of them are spread around Tay Ho or Dong Da District. A plenty of shopping and dining options, parks, nightlife, and easily travelling from one place to another make Hanoi become the nice place for expats to choose to live aboard.

Danang City

Danang is Vietnam’s third largest city, and is located on the Eastern Sea coast, midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and the largest city of Central Vietnam. With an estimated population of 1.2 million as of 2019 on the total area of over 1.285 km². The city of Da Nang is officially subdivided into 8 district-level sub-divisions, including six urban districts (Cam Le, Hai Chau, Lien Chieu, Ngu Hanh Son, Son Tra, and Thanh Khe) and two rural districts (Hoa Vang and Hoang Sa/Paracel Islands). They are further subdivided into 1 commune-level town (or township), 14 communes, and 45 wards.

Everyone calls Da Nang A ‘Worth-Living” City because of these reasons:

• The city of new interesting buildings: It is about Ba Na Hills – the modern tourist resort with balmy climate, about the monumental Dragon Bridge which can blow fire and water, about Sun Wheel – Asia Park where is located nearby Tran Thi Ly Bridge, about a “jetty of love” was also built in the Han River’s bank. The jetty with cute locks on the banister becomes an interesting and romantic place for couples.
• Locates between the hottest axis of the Central area: Hue – Danang – Hoi An.
• Glamor My Khe beach: My Khe beach was praised as one of the most attractive beaches on the planet by the US economic magazine Forbes.
• Free Wifi covers the whole city: Danang offers officially free Wifi coverage throughout the downtown area in order to help residents as well as tourists connect internet stably
• Public toilet is as comfortable as your home’s toilet.
• The food is delicious and cheap: You can buy a delicious bowl of sauce noodles, fragrant baked meat and rice noodles or grilled fish cake noodle with just from 15,000 to 25,000 VND (about $1), a dish of sliced pork rolled with rice paper or crispy pancake with just about $1.5,..
• The cost of living for an expat in Danang City is about USD530/month (~12.302.692 VND), cheaper than living in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi City.

Nha Trang City

Nha Trang is a seaside town, also the capital city of Khanh Hoa Province – on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. Nha Trang is a city of around 535.000 people in 2018 and the total area is over 251 km². Historically, it was at the heart of the Champa Empire and was called Kauthara and The famous Po Nagar Tower was found here.

Nha Trang is well known for its beaches and scuba diving and has developed into a popular destination for international tourists, attracting large numbers of backpackers and expats. There are several resorts—such as Nha Trang Vinpearl Land Resort, Diamond Bay and Ana Mandara Resort—and amusement and water parks, both in the city and on islands off the coast.

Nha Trang Beach is also famous for the diverse culinary characteristics. Nha Trang is home to numerous delicious and unique dished. Cuisine in Nha Trang has long attracted tourists right from rustic dishes such as noodle soup with fish, pancakes to fresh seafood, especially Salanganes’Nest,… There are many attracting places in Nha Trang such as Ponagar Tower, Hon Chong, Hon Do, Dao Yen, Hon Noi, Hon Ngoai, Hon Mieu, Hon Tre, Hon Tam, Hon Mun, Hon Lao, Hon Thi, Lo River, Bai Tien, Ngoc Thao Island, La-San hill, Bao Dai Villa, Long Son Temple, Statues of Buddha, Tri Nguyen Aquarium, Da Hang Pagoda, Monkey Island, etc.

Furthermore, the night in Nha Trang City is extremely wild and fun, some bars and clubs near the beach are open until late to serve the expats, locals and travelers

The cost of living for an expat in Nha Trang City is around USD550/month (~12.766.945 VND)

Join these Facebook groups to get help and support from expats in Vietnam if you have any questions or suggestions.