Category: Travel

Why you need $3,000 USD per month to live in Vietnam

In this report, I explain why you need $3,000 USD per month to live in Vietnam.

You have all seen it.  One of my guest stars will share information about how they are living on $1000 per month in Vietnam.  Then someone will leave a comment about how you need at least $3000 per month to live in Vietnam.  

Well, I have some bad news for you.  Some of you will need $3000 USD per month to live in Vietnam.  They are not lying to you.  For some of you, that will be true.  Some of you will need even more.  

The difference is all in your thinking.  I am not judging anyone.  I am just saying that how you think determines how much money you need to retire in Vietnam.  There is $1000 per month thinking, $1500 per month thinking, $3000 per month thinking, and $10,000 per month thinking.  

I grew up in a small town.  It was mainly an agricultural area.  We weren’t a rich family.  But my parents had enough money to take all of us to the beach every year for a week or two.  My parents would rent a house a block or two from the beach.

But there were really big houses on the beach facing the water.  One of those houses had a Ferrari and a Rolls-Royce in the garage.  It seemed like there were fifty houses, one after another along the beach, full of a bunch of rich people, all in a row facing the beach.

I only knew one house that nice in my small town.  I remember asking my mom, “Why doesn’t that family in our small town move to this beautiful place and get a house on the beach like these people?”

She said something I’ll never forget. Some people like to be a big fish in a small pond. They stick out in our town, but here they would just be another family. They might just like being surrounded by people who are impressed by their station in life.  

So when people ask me, “Why would someone need 10,000 a month to live somewhere where even the average expats are spending less than 2,000 a month?”  It might just be that they like standing out more in a crowd.

So instead of retiring somewhere like Switzerland or Norway where $10,000 a month is not that big a deal, they retire in Vietnam or Thailand where they have more status.  

So, depending on how you think, you can easily see why that $3000 per month may not even be enough for some people.  So when someone says they can’t live on a thousand or fifteen hundred or twenty five hundred a month, that might be the truth for them.

But talking about the actual minimum costs to live somewhere should at least include some information about the actual minimum costs to live somewhere.  So who would know what the actual minimums are?  Wouldn’t the Vietnamese people know that?  

An example monthly budget for a baseline household of four people (two adults and two children) living exactly at or slightly above the poverty line in Vietnam is roughly $335 to $425 USD.

So I have a question for you.  If there are literally millions of Vietnamese families that somehow live on $500 per month, would it be completely impossible for a single ex-pat to live on $800 to $1000 USD per month?  Probably not completely impossible?  Right?  

So, I assert to you that it is indeed at least possible that a single foreign ex-pat could live on $800 per month if they wanted to.  In fact, I have interviewed ex-pats who say they are living in Vietnam on $1000 per month.  

In case you are curious, I will put a few links below to those interviews.  These are ex-pats that say they are living on less than $1000 per month in Vietnam.  But keep in mind that the majority of retired expats that we meet in Vietnam are living on more like $1200 to $2000 per month.  

Just scroll down on my Vietnam YouTube Playlist to hear some of these expats tell their own story in their own words.  Make sure to adjust for inflation on some of the older videos.

Many of those American ex-pats are relying on Social Security they get from the USA.  The average Social Security check in the USA is $2071 per month.

Ex-pats in Vietnam do not have the same cost of living.  And that makes sense.  When we think about our family and friends back home, aren’t they all living on a huge variance in monthly budgets?  So why wouldn’t that also be true in other parts of the world, like Vietnam?  

So the purpose of this video is to help you determine whether or not you are one of those people who really need at least $3000 per month.  I have no problem with people who have more money per month to live on.  In fact, the more you spend in Vietnam, the more you are helping the local economy.  So good on you.  

So, why am I bothering to debunk the myth that $3000 is the minimum possible you need to live in Vietnam?  Because there are millions of people around the world who are trying to retire on less than $3000 per month.  Will they read that $3000 a month is an actual minimum in Vietnam and then give up on their dreams to live overseas?  I hope not.  

Because not everyone needs $3000 per month.  Plus, I assert that many of you will have a better life in Vietnam with less than $3000 per month than you would have in your home country.  Some of you will not.  But why give up on the possibility of a better life before you even complete your analysis? 

I have been living outside the USA for over 19 years now.  And I know how ex-pats think about life.  But I will generalize the thinking to Vietnam for now.  There is $1000 per month thinking, $1500 per month thinking, and $3000 per month thinking.  

How you think will determine how much money you need to live in Vietnam.  In order to demonstrate how thinking helps you determine your cost of living, I will give you examples of $1500 thinking, $2000 thinking, and $3000 thinking, so you will know how much money your kind of thinking will cost you in Vietnam.

As you read the following ways of thinking about your (1) home, (2) transportation, (3) restaurants, and (4) entertainment, ask yourself … do I have $1500 thinking, $2000 thinking, or $3000 thinking?   Some of you are wondering what $1000 a month thinking is like in Vietnam.  I’ll share that at the end.  

Your Home

$3000 Month Thinking: I would need western-style amenities like modern tile floors and countertops with fully screened windows in a secure and safe area of the city.  I need a gated community with 24-hour security and a guard at the entrance, with similar homes and other expats (or wealthy locals) in the community.  I need at least three bedrooms and two baths, with a fully equipped kitchen, a large living area, and laundry.  I prefer a secure and shaded place to park my car (or truck) at night.  

$2000 Month Thinking:  We will be fine with a modern two-bedroom apartment or condo with one bathroom.  We would also like it to be clean and bright with a western style and feel to it even if not everything is perfectly updated.  We will want to have at least some other expats near us so we have someone to talk to about where to get things in the neighborhood.  

$1500 Month Thinking: We will be fine with a one-bedroom apartment with one bathroom.  It should be clean and bright inside, but not everything needs to be updated.  It should be in a part of town with nice neighbors, and that feels safe to us.

My Transportation

$3000 Month Thinking: My family needs at least one newer reliable car or truck for daily life plus a scooter for zipping around.  

$2000 Month Thinking:  We will be fine with a clean 3-5-year-old scooter with a couple of helmets.  We will ride that thing everywhere and be careful.  When we are out drinking, we will take a Grab taxi home.

$1500 Month Thinking: We walk or ride bikes mostly as a form of exercise.  We typically take a bus or Grab Taxi if something is more than 1-2 kilometers away.  We rent a scooter once a month or so when we want to go on weekend trips to explore multiple places.

My Groceries

$3000 Month Thinking: We buy our groceries in modern air-conditioned one-stop grocery stores with tiled floors and shopping carts.  It should have fully stocked shelves full of both local and imported goods from around the world.  We are mostly interested in finding brands from home rather than trying to figure out what locals eat or how to cook the local-style foods at home.  We just feel uncomfortable in the open-air public markets where the food is out in the open and where all the locals shop.  We don’t know how to bargain.

$2000 Month Thinking:  We are comfortable shopping in the open-air public markets where the locals shop.  We try to buy most of our food there whenever we can find it.  But we seem to stop by the expat-style supermarkets at least a few times per month to buy things we love that we just can’t seem to find in the public markets.  Some foreign foods we like just don’t seem to show up in the public market.  

$1500 Month Thinking: We shop in the open-air public markets and try to stay away from the expat grocery store whenever possible.  The fruits and vegetables seem fresher, and the prices are lower in the public market.  Plus, we like saying hello to the people we have gotten to know in the individually owned food stalls in the public market.  We feel like we are supporting local businesses when we buy from them.

Restaurants

$3000 Month Thinking:  Sure, we cook one or two meals at home per week.  But mostly we prefer going out to eat or having food delivered to us at home from our favorite restaurants in town.  When we go out to eat, we eat mostly in restaurants where all the other expats hang out.  That is where the food is mostly like home.  Plus, they have imported Whiskey and meats, cheeses and wines.  Plus, the place is really clean, air-conditioned, and the chefs are often from countries where they know how to cook the foods we love.  We stay away from the local style restaurants because we just don’t know what to eat when we go there.  

$2000 Month Thinking: We cook mostly at home.  But we go out to eat three or four times per week.  Maybe twice per week we eat in expat-style restaurants, but mostly we eat in mom-and-pop-style restaurants run by families that know how to make great local food.  But we stay away from the restaurants in the outdoor public market.  

$1500 Month Thinking: We eat at home a few times per week.    Mostly we eat in the mom-and-pop-style restaurants run by families that know how to make great local food. Maybe once every week we eat in the expat-style restaurants.  We also sample the food carts in the night markets when we see one that the locals are all lined up to try.  

Entertainment

$3000 Month Thinking: My ex-pat friends and I like to do fun stuff at least a few times per week.  We like to meet at ex-pat bars where many of the local women show up to look for older ex-pats like us.  We almost always go to one of the bars that stocks imported whisky and scotch.  A whisky that would cost you $10 or $12 dollars at home, you can get for $5 or $6 here.  We often drink the night away listening to great music from home we can’t seem to find anywhere else in town.  We usually end up eating some western-style bar food before we head home.  Once in a while, one of us will buy a round of drinks for our ex-pat friends or a table of beautiful local women.  It is not unusual for us to meet up at each other’s houses for an after-party.  Once in a while, one of us will hook up with a new woman, whether professional or amateur.

$2000 Month Thinking:  The alcohol prices in Vietnam seem rather high for imported liquor.  So if we go out to a bar, restaurant, karaoke venue, live music venue, or other venues that serve alcohol, we generally order local beers, which range from about $1 to $2 USD in local bars and restaurants.  We often have a beer or two at home before we head out since local beer is only about $0.70 at home.  The coffee shops are a great place to meet beautiful locals in Vietnam.

$1500 Month Thinking:  We love to walk in the early evenings.  Every town seems to have the perfect place to people watch.  Vietnamese are very friendly people.  They seem generally interested in foreigners they see in their town.  Often just a smile will get people talking, but you will need Google Translate because many don’t speak much English. Locals beers are rather cheap ($1.00) in these sorts of venues.  We also like to invite friends over for dinner and a few drinks to talk the night away.  

I am not judging anyone.  But what you may notice about how people living on more money think in Vietnam … they are spending most of their energy, time, and money trying to recreate their old life in a new country.  They want their Western food, alcohol, and sports bars.  There is nothing wrong with that if that is their thing.  

But the truth is.  You will almost never be able to recreate your old life in a new country.  Things are just not ever exactly like they are at home.  So, psychologically, you are telling yourself, every day, that where you are now is not as good as where you were before.  Which isn’t even true.  If it were true, you would just go home, wouldn’t you?  

So what is $1000 thinking like in Vietnam?  You have to work harder to get your rents below $500, which is necessary.  So it means going a little further outside the expat areas.  It means eating at home mostly or in local style restaurants, but only once or twice a month in expat restaurants.  It means more walking, riding bikes, and less alcohol.  

What is the Real Secret to Enjoying Your New Life in a New Country

I have a few reports that you should read if you are really trying to embrace and enjoy a new culture overseas.  I will include links to those reports on a webpage.  The link to that webpage will be the first link in the notes below this video.   Those reports are here:

But the main idea is to live like a Roman when you are in Rome.  Don’t try to recreate your old life when you land in a new country. Instead, become a student of the new world instead of a teacher of your old world.  

Think of yourself as a culture explorer.  It doesn’t mean that you won’t still love some things more about your old world.  It just means you will learn and try new things along the way before you try to get the world around you to conform to your old expectations.  

Thanks for reviewing my report on why you need $3,000 USD per month to live in Vietnam.  

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This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the YouTube channel for VagabondBuddha.com. Thank you for stopping by. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?