Moving to Vietnam For A Few Years - Would Like Some Guidance

I do not remember who said.."Never test the depth of the water with both feets". Why do all this complex operation for starting from the scratch in relatively unknown country, different culture to you? If you like sense of adventure why not start small, rent the flat and start your researches, buy cheap scooter, it will serve you better in big cities than big flashy car. Even if you manage to temporarily import your vehicle to VN I will not recommend you to drive immediately in say Saigon, better to have chauffer, or hire Grab without danger at hitting some kid on scooter and have nervous breakdown and legal headache ? Even driving scooter for me was scary in Saigon, thats why I started to ride it in Vung Tau. Vietnamese are very polite in traffic despite all thesw chaotic pictures, but still it is different perspective from driving the scooter to driving the car in VN. Just my thinking, I could be totally wrong, maybe you are just born under enterprising star.

FW850,

Have you been back to Vietnam? Also just curious what your age is. I just visited Vietnam in late Dec-Jan. I am thinking of moving there to live in a few years. Currently reside in Califorina.

I don't think it is possible to import cars to Vietnam. Also you may not want to drive there because of the insane traffic.  Likw narcrepellant2525 said.  Start slow since this is a whole different country.  Move there first and live for a few months before even deciding on anything. 

SVHO.

@Svho I have stayed there for a few months at a time so I'm familiar to a degree. I'm relatively young, mid 30's.

The immediate plan would be to land ourselves there and rent for a year or two while figuring things out before actually purchasing anything.

@narcrepellant2525 I hesitate to get a scooter because I have a daughter and need a method of transportation for the family. I'm leaning towards an SUV of some type.

To your point about starting from scratch in another country, while the fear is always there, it's also the excitement in the unknown that draws me to it. I've always been a bit riskier than most and usually like putting myself in more dire situations because it's always forced me to adapt and grow faster as a result.

Hi Everyone!
Thank you all for any insight you can provide!
-@FW850

Slow down and first take care of the most basic issue: Visas and initial temporary housing.

Since your wife is a dual citizen born in Vietnam, it sounds as if you'll be able to enter with her passport and 5-year Visa Exemption Certificates (VECs) good for 6 months at a time for the family.

Once you are here in the country and you have a plan for employment and residence, you can then apply for the 3-year Temporary Resident Card.

With your financial means, your wisest course of action would be to spend a good part of your first 6 months here avoiding immediately settling down and instead doing some exploring and traveling to get the lay of the land.

I know you really want to come up with a well thought out plan, but trust us, you will probably have your best success if you are flexible enough to come here and have face-to-face meetings in various areas and experience different geographic locations in order to find the sweet spot for you and your family.

Since your wife was born in Hanoi, the assumption is that she might have family in that area, and that would be as good a reason as any to make that your first stop. 

Some of our members are more experienced in the field of real estate purchase and some of your questions about employment, so hopefully they will chime in.

Your big advantage is your wife's citizenship, so you won't be under pressure to commit to anything right away.

If you were to come here with the sense that you really must find something immediately, Vietnamese sellers and potential employers will smell that on you and your ability to negotiate something reasonable will be nil.

Even when it comes to temporary housing, avoid committing yourself to anything long-term via long distance.

Maybe plan to live in a comfortable hotel for the first week or so and then get a monthly rental somewhere after personally viewing it first and let that be the hub for your initial explorations.

You'll avoid getting scammed with unfulfilled promises that way.

Good luck!

O.B.

@narcrepellant2525 I hesitate to get a scooter because I have a daughter and need a method of transportation for the family. I'm leaning towards an SUV of some type.
To your point about starting from scratch in another country, while the fear is always there, it's also the excitement in the unknown that draws me to it. I've always been a bit riskier than most and usually like putting myself in more dire situations because it's always forced me to adapt and grow faster as a result.
-@FW850

It's easier to fell in USA and recover. Your big advantage is your wife, as Ocean wrote, you are not pressured into anything. Come here for 6 months without urgently committing to anything, to test the  waters, meet other fellow businessmen  from the West, hear their experiences, decide what to do. 

@OceanBeach92107 Best advise to anyone moving to VN.

Everybody has given excellent advice!

Sài Gòn is unquestionably a motor bike city with SUV's navigating around them; except on sidewalks.  I would suggest that you come to HCMC for 6 months and hire a driver.  Narrow it down to a couple of districts and wards you like, because they are indeed all different.  Then, my strongest recommendation is to walk around the neighborhoods.  This is the best way to learn about the city and the ability to interact with people. e.g. watching everybody pee alongside the roads or in the canal.

Also, I don't know about everybody else, but I have experienced many street vendors trying to charge me the "foreigner" price.  However, once they know you are local, the price drops 20 vnd to 30 vnd.  Or, when available I bring my wife. 

Gotta love Việt Nam

In my opinion some parts of D7 are best in the  Saigon, anybody has another suggestion?

In my opinion some parts of D7 are best in the Saigon, anybody has another suggestion?
-@narcrepellant2525

I quite like Hoc Mon. I like to keep away from expat areas and also like a bit of open space and greenery.

In my opinion some parts of D7 are best in the Saigon, anybody has another suggestion?
-@narcrepellant2525

I spent a month living in D7.

I enjoyed walking around the relatively peaceful and usually shady neighborhood where I lived nearby this location:

Google Maps link

Streets are narrow in comparison with French boulevards, with lots of trees and multiple story buildings on either side of the street providing opportunities to escape the direct heat of the sun when it's not directly overhead.

A nice local market area was a couple minutes away by foot, and Lotte Mart, Go! store and the Crescent Mall within easy reach.

Plenty of quick marts (Circle K, etc) plus inexpensive coffee shops & Vietnamese food restaurants (mostly because there wasn't a lot of English signage or menus or English-speaking staff).

A great laundry shop charged ₫15k per kg and did an awesome job ironing my shirts.

Not a lot of ATMs, but there was an Agribank with one about 1 minute away from me by foot.

Grab Cars responded quickly, and there was always someone willing to take me into D1.

Not always as easy to get a ride back at night, with prices pretty much doubled then in the Grab app.

As I recall, I sometimes got a ride into D1 for about ₫90,000 VNĐ but had to pay up to ₫200,000 to get home late at night (it's it's hard to remember for sure because these days my memory and my imagination like to switch places with each other, ad lib).

A decent independent hotel was ₫400,000 a night, ₫6 million a month (it looks as if that place is out of business now).

If I had to live somewhere in HCMC, I could be content there I guess.

Real estate sales with no VIetnamese and only English is going to be a non-starter.  Since you need to be a Vietnamese citizen to buy real estate, other than some new construction that has some apartments set aside for foreigners, there won't be many opportunities.  Also how would you handle contracts that are in Vietnamese?  Finally, commissions for sales are only 1% in Vietnam, unlike 3% in the US so it's not that profitable.  Adding to that, most real estate companies have shed 30-50% of their staff lately due to the market downturn or have gone out of business completely, it is extremely unlikely that you would find a job in that arena.

No, you can't import a car, temporarily or permanently.  Yes, it is technically possible but once you pay the taxes and fees you will end up with the same cost into it that you would had you bought here.  They closed the import loophole years ago because people were doing it and then selling for a profit.

@FW850 I STRONGLY advise you to reconsider, for many many reasons. For starters, the job. As others said you will never find a job like that. Heck, even as an english teacher you would struggle nowadays to get a decent contract in vietnam (and you have no certifications nor experience to teach anything). Trust me, that alone will make your regret your choice and pack away. Then the life. Do you need a plumber or an electrician to fix anything? good luck on that. That appointment for monday at 2 p.m. will result on him ghosting you or you (your wife) will hassle him with 10 calls and it ends on friday at 4p.m. , as poorly done as possible plus the "foreigner price", (because you're a foreigner, show your face and this will be the result, your wife yelling in vietnamese doesn't matter). Do you need a repair for an appliance under warranty and the service center is in an other city (lets say you live in hcm and the repair center is in hanoi) or it's something not fixable at home ? hahahaha. yeah, nope. You're lucky if it even returns (and obiouvsly it's not fixed or broken again in 10 days). You'll soon realize whenever something needs a fix in your house you better buy it new. From a cable to a big appliance, get ready for thousands running quickly buying all new. I have a plethora of horror stories from friends foreigners living (and running away) in vietnam it woud make your hair white. Are you involved in an incident? get ready to see your bank account shrink of thousands paying back the family. Are you the victim and want a payback? hahahah, nope.  Buy a house? yeah, don't. For many many reasons, legally and pratically (you will get the worst possible scam and regret that house to the point of burn it ). The "my wife speaks the language, don't worry" - card doesn't work.  You are coming here with western expectations of a normal functioning western society, sorry man but in vietnam things " works differently" and adapt requires a "mental flexibility" you may lack imho. 3-5 years later maybe you may "get in the loop" but well, statistically it's more probable you'll run back to usa as fast as possible. I could continue for hours but as soon as you drill in your head the concept of "you have no rights here" the better (and hopefully for you) the shorter your holiday will be. Great place for holidays but living? hard pass, there is better. By no means, make your own experience , many live here from years (if you dig you will discover how and why hehe). Just.... take it slow. 

@Filot

Well said.  I am thinking of just living there for 5-6 months, then jump to another country as a semi retired lifestyle.  That idea alone already stresses me out (i basically can eat anything, sleep anywhere).  Its gutsy for the original poster to think that far.

I was thinking out loud, lets say at night my little guy (private area) starts to swollen to a point that I could not take the pain.  In the USA, I could call 911 and in seconds get a ride to the emergency.  I don't think that can be said about Vietnam.  We saw an accident between two bikes and both parties laid on the street.  Nobody wanted to help.  Took many minutes to finally have the authority come.

@Svho yeah. It's very easy to get fooled in vietnam. Everything cheap, slow , easy, nice people, great food. Until you settle and regret it. Daily life is not something a tourist passing by will ever see or experience. Follow my suggestions, Svho, be light and ready to go. If possible try to get a discounted monthly deal at a guesthouse for those 6 months (you will never experience any maintenance issue) , don't rent any motorbyke but use Grab, enjoy your life to the fullest and enjoy such a rich of culture awesome country. Then.. move out haha. You'll thank me and bless me every day

Everybody has given excellent advice!
Sài Gòn is unquestionably a motor bike city with SUV's navigating around them; except on sidewalks. I would suggest that you come to HCMC for 6 months and hire a driver. Narrow it down to a couple of districts and wards you like, because they are indeed all different. Then, my strongest recommendation is to walk around the neighborhoods. This is the best way to learn about the city and the ability to interact with people. e.g. watching everybody pee alongside the roads or in the canal.

Also, I don't know about everybody else, but I have experienced many street vendors trying to charge me the "foreigner" price. However, once they know you are local, the price drops 20 vnd to 30 vnd. Or, when available I bring my wife.

Gotta love Việt Nam
-@markbruns

Sidewalks in SG are also motorbike territory especially during rush hours ha ha

@FW850 I STRONGLY advise you to reconsider, for many many reasons. For starters, the job. As others said you will never find a job like that. Heck, even as an english teacher you would struggle nowadays to get a decent contract in vietnam (and you have no certifications nor experience to teach anything). Trust me, that alone will make your regret your choice and pack away. Then the life. Do you need a plumber or an electrician to fix anything? good luck on that. That appointment for monday at 2 p.m. will result on him ghosting you or you (your wife) will hassle him with 10 calls and it ends on friday at 4p.m. , as poorly done as possible plus the "foreigner price", (because you're a foreigner, show your face and this will be the result, your wife yelling in vietnamese doesn't matter). Do you need a repair for an appliance under warranty and the service center is in an other city (lets say you live in hcm and the repair center is in hanoi) or it's something not fixable at home ? hahahaha. yeah, nope. You're lucky if it even returns (and obiouvsly it's not fixed or broken again in 10 days). You'll soon realize whenever something needs a fix in your house you better buy it new. From a cable to a big appliance, get ready for thousands running quickly buying all new. I have a plethora of horror stories from friends foreigners living (and running away) in vietnam it woud make your hair white. Are you involved in an incident? get ready to see your bank account shrink of thousands paying back the family. Are you the victim and want a payback? hahahah, nope. Buy a house? yeah, don't. For many many reasons, legally and pratically (you will get the worst possible scam and regret that house to the point of burn it ). The "my wife speaks the language, don't worry" - card doesn't work. You are coming here with western expectations of a normal functioning western society, sorry man but in vietnam things " works differently" and adapt requires a "mental flexibility" you may lack imho. 3-5 years later maybe you may "get in the loop" but well, statistically it's more probable you'll run back to usa as fast as possible. I could continue for hours but as soon as you drill in your head the concept of "you have no rights here" the better (and hopefully for you) the shorter your holiday will be. Great place for holidays but living? hard pass, there is better. By no means, make your own experience , many live here from years (if you dig you will discover how and why hehe). Just.... take it slow.
-@Filot

You see here the real estate is probably tough peanut for local or Westerner as SteinNebraska described, services are shitty as you wrote-  how about making reliable company which do services 24/7 (plumbers, electricians)? Probably locals are tired of them too, or maybe Westerner is 25th priority in their jobs?

@narcrepellant2525 Feel free to try, i'll watch If you ever had a chat with a worker or the company owner you would know why such a company doesn't exists in vietnam and probably never will A hint: you can pay that worker double  the market price (and close in 2 months), and the result wouldn't change.

Service price is low, company tax is high, professionalism is next to zero, you are lucky if that worker even shows up at the company 3 times in a row.

To even start such a company you need a big startup fund and legal and fiscal praticality a foreigner will never be able to handle. You will pay 100 to gain 9 if lucky, at least if you want to do everything regular and legal , with commercial and legal and fiscal assistance. You may know now why so many service centers suddendly disappear. Are you familiar with the term "cannot be saved"?

Man I failed 2x in some businesses I do not want have Vietnamese failure experience ha ha, but my hats off for dudes who succeed here. Total respect!

@narcrepellant2525 Hehe i bet

Remember the saying,

Plan to fail

or

Fail to plan!

No man here are people capable to look you shamelessly into your eyes and lie to you, like no no its not 101 thousands VND it's 110000! Even if you see numbers on machine. Never saw that in my life. It's my eye opener. If these shady types can shamelessly lie for small amount like 10.000 vnd, how about real money?

Remember the saying,
Plan to fail
or
Fail to plan!
-@Hooked

I thought it was,

IF you

Fail to plan

then you

Plan to fail

?

Remember the saying,
Plan to fail
or
Fail to plan!
-@Hooked

I thought it was,
IF you
Fail to plan
then you
Plan to fail
?
-@OceanBeach92107

Benjamin Franklin's quotes: “By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail”. It is also similar to what Winston Churchill said: “He who fails to plan is planning to fail”.

I've heard it said as

People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan.

Remember the saying,
Plan to fail
or
Fail to plan!
-@Hooked

I thought it was,
IF you
Fail to plan
then you
Plan to fail
?
-@OceanBeach92107

I've heard it said as
People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan.
-@AndyHCMC

Yeah, me too.

I'm guessing that's what Hooked was going for 😎👍

Had a friend with a Vietnamese wife who tried to do business in Vietnam some years ago and he lost all his money.  You need a trusted partner who is business savvy and preferably is a close relative in your wife's family.  Almost impossible to go it alone there.

Look for someone doing business there to get advice.  Might want to contact one of the lawyers listed on the US embassy website and also someone in the appropriate section of the US embassy there.

How about look before you leap

@FW850 Welcome! Moving to Vietnam is an

exciting adventure. First, you should decide where you want to land. Vietnam has many cities to choose from—each with its own unique culture and opportunities. Next, you should research the job market and consider potential business opportunities. You should also consider the cost of living, visa requirements, and other logistics to make sure everything is in order. Finally, you'll want to make sure you have a good support system in place, such as family or friends, to make the transition as smooth as possible. We wish you the best of luck on your new journey!

@OceanBeach92107

Planning is everything, the plan is nothing.

But always remember...

if Plan "A" fails, you still have 25 letters left.

@OceanBeach92107
Planning is everything, the plan is nothing.
-@devarj57

There's definitely a "colonel" of truth in that... (see what I did there? 😉😁)

@FW850

Just a few of the issues you raise, though much has already been said.

1. No English, Saigon is probably better.

5. Law stipulates you need to pay tariff of 100% of the cars value (Vietnam pricer) to import it. So, unless it's the car with a tremendous nostalgic value for you, not worth bringing it.

And real estate? Oh my. Would have been an idea 2y ago. But not even then. The market is swamped with Vietnamese agents though demand is decreasing due to increasing interest rates.

I think you would have a higher chance of success "investing" your money in buying lottery tickets. I hope you get what I mean. No,serious....if you find buyers in the USA for Vietnam products, you may have a chance in exports. For example seafood

Good luck.

@OceanBeach92107

great advice

@FW850 I have been here for about 15 years and am happy to have a chat with you. You can email me on ***

Cheers

Stephen

I suggest small steps no rush your going to live here.

$500K is not alot of money if you want to have a good life here

Vietnamese very astute business people they see & opportunity where your flashing your money around they will eat you up spit you out especially when you don't know the playing field.

@FW850 First, please let us know what happens. I don't mean to be too harsh but you sound really naive. My advice is that you use Booking dot com and on there you can rent an apartment temporarily. Stay for at least one month. Observe carefully. Decide if you really think that you want to live here in every way. I think the chances that you will want to drive here will disappear in about 48 hours. But you need to try it. Buy All of the stuff as normal at the grocery store. Well paid Vietnamese managers make less than a manager at McDonald's.

Good Luck

@Mark Waldron

Vietnam is a raw capitalistic state where only money counts.

Keep that in mind and that you have to do a visa run every month if you cannot fork up some 120K USD>

@OceanBeach92107

Very good advice. I have been here on and off since 2015 and takek it easy. First now, I have committed to a long term rental for a house for my VN wife and I.

Vietnamese very astute business people they see & opportunity where your flashing your money around they will eat you up spit you out especially when you don't know the playing field.
-@Mark Waldron

Especially (friends tell me, in tales of woe)  when it comes to things that westerners take for granted, such as full disclosure.