Pros & Cons of Living in Vietnam as an Expat (2025)

If Vietnam is on your wishlist, you should watch this. I’ve lived in its two biggest cities—Hanoi(Hà Nội) and Saigon(Sài Gòn or Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh)—and here’s what I’ve found.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:38 Cons - Hygiene & Pollution
02:37 Cons - Traffic & Public Transportation
03:19 Cons - Food(Variety)
04:24 Cons - Visa
06:33 Pros - Chill Vibe
07:19 Pros - Youthful Energy
09:08 Pros - Cost of Living
10:02 Final Thoughts

[ewi-cbcd]

Great video! It's refreshing to get a honest take on life in Vietnam. Keep up!

[asingdidaihan]

As a Vietnamese who used to live in Seoul for 5 years, as well as experienced most of major cities in East Asia, I totally agree with you and appreciate your effort on a very informative video like this. I believe in the upcoming years, our country will welcome more and more expats, so there are lots of things to improve tho ^^

[zwethandie]

Hi Lucian, it's my first time commenting on your channel, I subscribed a while back when you had like 700 hundred subscribers. Congratulations on your growth!I just wanted to say you had me laughing out loud in this video. In particular minute 2:19 and then discussing traffic and being tether like a chained animal! Apparently, the chill vibes of the Vietnamese people have freed the more conformists' Korean side of you, either way I like it and I and I am super happy for you! Stay blessed

[DyJKevin]

Also thanks for including the subtitles in the video. Nicely done!

[canon-rb]

Great video. Well articulated, great information, and very insightful. Really appreciate the video and photo clips you provide as illustration of your talking points. Thanks for the video.

[TheCheapNomad]

I just spent 3 months in Vietnam. I could only spend 1-2 weeks max in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. I could spend longer in Dalat and Danang. Less traffic, cleaner air, good food, easier to meet other expats (Danang).

[PaulA-xreb]

I agree with your points. I have been in District 9 since June 2024. It’s much better than District 1 as I live in a planned community with free shuttle buses to District 1. I like the wide sidewalks of my neighborhood and lots of greenery. But when I go outside of Vinhomes, it feels more authentic Vietnam. So there are options in HCMC. It depends if you seek them out or want to be in the middle of the crowd.

[yamuiemata]

I would assume you got burned out of the extreme heat in Vietnam hence your newest update is from Seoul.
Great video pointing out most the negatives and positives👌

[hawaiianlife]

I live in a residential neighborhood. I'm the only foreigner. If you want to get by the suspicion of the adults, be friendly and speak English to the children. This will draw smiles from their parents. Ditch the Hawaiian shirts. It only draws stares and unwanted attention. Police have a lot of power here. I teach English to the children of the local police commander. He drops them off at my house. This has gained me elevated status, I can see it in the neighbors eyes and their body language. Don't complain. Don't make comparisons to the USA. Ask yourself..am I an asset to this community or not. Fortunately, I lived in a multicultural society in Hawaii. It's not difficult for me here. I basically won't drink with the locals, I smile and keep my opinions to myself. And I have the respect of the police. Don't underestimate that! People here are a little afraid of them. They will respond to trouble in force.

[ongxa]

An excellent presentation of the pros and cons of living in Saigon.

[FranciscoVietnam]

Bonjour, j’ai 53 ans et je vis au Vietnam depuis 2008 (Can Tho) et je suis prof d’anglais. 😁 Je gagne 2000€/mois (50 millions VND) pour 40h/semaine. Je suis marié avec une viet de mon âge et nous avons 3 enfants.
La vie est cool ici. 😁👍 Le seul problème au début, c’est la première année pour apprendre la langue. 😅 Mais après, ce n’est que du bonheur. 🤗❤️🇻🇳

PS: pour moi, les 3 problèmes majeurs: circulation routière, pollution et bruit. Tout le reste est incroyable, Soleil ☀️ toute l’année, tout le monde sourit et est amical, la nourriture est saine et fraîche, la vie n’est pas chère, la sécurité est omniprésente et on peut circuler la nuit sans problème.
Vive le Vietnam !!! 🥰❤️

[oriqueen]

안녕 루시안! 동영상은 완전 제 스타일이에요. 내가 원하는 방향의 주제들이 많아서 정주행했어요. 자주 업로드 해주세요.
발음도 듣기 편하고 영상이 짧아서 쉽게 클릭하게 되고, 구조적으로 짜임새가 있으며 정보도 가득이네요. 화이팅

[Hazezon]

I am in the process of buying a convince store franchise in Vietnam. Canada sucks currently and will take at least 20 years to repair the damage Trudeau did. (Assuming Carney does not get into office)

[KellyMarie-ys]

Sorry I was off topic I am really enjoying my time here in Vietnam though I do agree with you about the drawbacks. I love the Vietnamese people they are very nice and chill.

[dougm]

Agree about the air pollution and cluttered footpaths. There are numerous food options all over the city. I felt spoiled for choice.

[JayLee-cdok]

Hygiene and pollution, traffic are all problems that you see in most of Southeast Asia if not in all of Asia as you know an experienced traveler in this region. Food is obviously subjective but some might think Vietnamese cuisine has a lot more variety and flavor and the food seen is pretty extensive. Long-term Visa is definitely a problem for expat so hopefully the Vietnamese government will find a better solution. But glad you actually enjoyed your time in Vietnam.

[JJ-siqh]

Some of your filming locations are right by where I live. And yeah, the pollution really gets to me and there doesn't seem to be a real push to solve it.

[wennyhoang]

Actually you can change your location to district 2, 7 HCMC, more expats in these area, the ¹st thing you mentioned will be solved. Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc island would be a great choice as well.

[DyJKevin]

Hello lucian. Thanks for sharing your insights about Vietnam. Would you say that Thailand have the same issues as well? If you have to pick a place to stay for long term would you choose Vietnam or Thailand? And which city would you pick? Love to hear your thoughts.

[SaigonTea]

Let’s meet in Vung Tau and talk about these things