Toughest decision of my life

Allanmta. Ieave life is to to u

mrpaulthorley wrote:

Allanmta. Ieave life is to to u

True, but no naughty complaining if he has a boring one.

the simle answer for your  question is " TRY" , you have the right to stay in viet nam within 3-6 months , it is not long time but surely enough for you to discover how the low level country l vietnam  look like. Most of the people in Việt Nam try to struggle daily to survive cuz of low income , except some cases which I should not mention here unless i wanna get trouble .

finally , like some people say nowhere is better than your home , the new things is always better for initial.

khuyencf wrote:

finally , like some people say nowhere is better than your home , the new things is always better for initial.

That depends on the person.

I loved my home area, especially the countryside and amazing views on the 'tops' (Local mountains).
My new home has so much more to offer so I, like so many expats, have no interest in returning 'home' because it WAS my home, but I have a new one now.

Not trying when you have an interest in looking further is the bad idea, not the deciding to go back to your home country if long term doesn't suit you.

You brought up a very good point. Very much appreciated..

Fred wrote:

Not trying when you have an interest in looking further is the bad idea, not the deciding to go back to your home country if long term doesn't suit you.

Yeah. Life offers so many forks in the road. Choosing a partner, a school, new job, buying real estate, big moves. Some of those forks are easier to reverse, and need to be reversed (sooner than later) when new information becomes available. Own your life.

Hi Allan!

I'm sure most of the expat community here in VN can relate to your story.  My advice?  Read Paolo Coehlo's The Alchemist.  It's about realizing your dreams and chasing them.  Single-handedly, it is the reason I chose to leave my career in the States and make my way here.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Khang

I left my great career in the states relocated to vietnam. and love every minute of it!!!!! But my expats friends say because I am still in the "honeymoon" phase....maybe so but I love it

if you can make it past the honeymoon phase it gets even better.

You'll know who your true friends are.

I rant about the deplorable health care in Vietnam but I put in lol because it takes an open mind to enjoy all that Vietnam offers.

I'm entering my 3rd year in Vietnam. I'm not couped up in a house. I spend most days with the french doors wide open and outdoors. People don't need to knock on your door. They just walk right on in. I'm half naked until I sleep. I'm going on my 2nd baby.

I have a daily ritual of waking up at 5am. Buy morning breakfast for my wife and her mom than spend an hour sipping coffee and gossiping until 7am. Rest of day is spent with my wife and daughter at home. I haven't gone on any vacation last 3 years nor do we take leiusrely trips in and around the city.

It might sound boring to most but we love this laid back lifestyle spending quality times with the family and extended family.

thats exactly the way i ive except i am still working..... i dont think there is a honey moon phase for me. because my life got so screwd up in america at one point.....this is just what i needed.... the people who want to talk to me in a few years and still see how i feel  ? I'm too busy living my dream....if I get that sour on it I'll move on to another place..... but loving this one

Khanh44:  You apparently have some outside, perhaps Canadian, source of income.  Some but not all have that.  Cost of living may be low in Vietnam but it is certainly not free.

Do miss some western things though, would like to find a charcoal grill like I love to use i USA... you know grill hamburger steaks, hotdohs and chicken.....miss baked potatoes, sour cream, how bout decent hambeurger buns if I find the other items haha.., worsteshire, and barbeque sause would be nice.....And I miss spagetti and meat balls! haha....cooked home I mean.....but I love viet food but you can't help but to miss things from home...

Xin lỗi.  My definition of all day is all day and you described your routine with no mention of work.   No offense intended.

enetertaining.....lets all meet for a beer?

I'd love to meet expats but where I live (nga 3 Vung Tau where highway 1A and hwy 51 intersect) there isn't any expats.

I've been to Saigon 3 times last week and will be 3 more times this week but only to check in at the hospitals.

come see med-7 garden district garden plaza 1 tan Phong ward or my home= mega village d-9 unit 42 or we can maeet for drinks and cocktails

khanh44 wrote:

Well most don't consider my line of work investing as work lol so it's understandable.

I stay up at night mainly monitoring my investments like last Friday. The Saudis spread some rumours and oil drops over 4% within an hour.

I had several friends who did only that in the bear market of the 90's.  They weren't a full 11 hours opposite like you are but in Hawaii they did get up early for the NY market open.  A lot of them got badly hurt, I think it was '01, when the dot.com bubble burst.  Doing that kind of activity in a sideways market like we have today takes a lot of diligence.

THIGV wrote:

khanh44 wrote:

Well most don't consider my line of work investing as work lol so it's understandable.

I stay up at night mainly monitoring my investments like last Friday. The Saudis spread some rumours and oil drops over 4% within an hour.

I had several friends who did only that in the bear market of the 90's.  They weren't a full 11 hours opposite like you are but in Hawaii they did get up early for the NY market open.  A lot of them got badly hurt, I think it was '01, when the dot.com bubble burst.  Doing that kind of activity in a sideways market like we have today takes a lot of diligence.

I'm not invested in stock companies at the moment. It's been almost 8 years since last recession hit. The longest economy has gone without recession is 10 years. Waiting to pick up the pieces however long it may take.

But even if economy tanks I can still benefit because I'm a big shorter and I do lots of hedging. I invest  or short in just oil, gold and usd at the moment.

khanh44 wrote:

But even if economy tanks I can still benefit because I'm a big shorter and I do lots of hedging. I invest  or short in just oil, gold and usd at the moment.

Wow.  Even riskier than day trading stocks.  To make it worse, aren't these three traded 24 hours somewhere in the world?  People can make or lose big time in minutes, let alone the time it takes to go into downtown HCM and back.  Do you exit all your positions daily?

THIGV wrote:

khanh44 wrote:

But even if economy tanks I can still benefit because I'm a big shorter and I do lots of hedging. I invest  or short in just oil, gold and usd at the moment.

Wow.  Even riskier than day trading stocks.  To make it worse, aren't these three traded 24 hours somewhere in the world?  People can make or lose big time in minutes, let alone the time it takes to go into downtown HCM and back.  Do you exit all your positions daily?

I trade it from my computer at home. It's risky if you leverage. I think some people go as high as 80:1 leverage. I have never used leverage. But if you don't leverage you need a large  enough capital.

Yes it's 24 hours but only my USD investment's are 24 hours. I use ETF's  that mirrors the WTI oil price and gold stocks that give 2X the performance so I can only trade those when the North American market opens.

I've been doing this for years. I get the same response as you earlier on but as the years wore on people have been asking me to invest for them. I simply tell them I'm satisfied with what I make now.

i would be intrested in investing some ( ha ha) I don't have much. but would like to learn from you guys that know

jimcantrell65 wrote:

i would be intrested in investing some ( ha ha) I don't have much. but would like to learn from you guys that know

This type of investment they say 95% lose money. But without a stable job you have to minimize the risk.

Sure you may be the 5% that make it and leverage 80:1 to hit it big early on but most will give it all back in the long term.

They key is patience and discipline.

colinoscapee wrote:

Just imagine lying on your deathbed when you are old and thinking about the life you had and could  have had. That one thing keeps coming up " why didn't I move to Viet Nam". Give it a try mate, just prepare yourself and have some backup plan. It can be difficult at times, in the first six months I was here I thought "what the hell am I doing here".That was mainly due to having set up a three story shop and office, and I was going mad dealing with the locals and my staff. After I sold the business 2 years later, life was so much better.

My number one tip, don't get caught up with the girls, find a nice girl who has a decent job, good family and can converse in English. Too many guys get stung by the pretty little scammers, if she seems too good to be true, you're most probably just a walking ATM?

Or learn how to speak Vietnamese. Being able to speak Vietnamese opens a lot of doors and gives you many more choices.

70 years old wrote:

Or learn how to speak Vietnamese. Being able to speak Vietnamese opens a lot of doors and gives you many more choices.

+1

That's the best advice any expat in any country will ever get.

Apart from attracting really pretty girls who don't speak English, you can enjoy life so much more if you don't have to hunt around to find someone who speaks English so you can find out the price of a packet of crisps.

Packet of 30g Poca plain crisps .....47 cents. 😀😀😀😀

District 1 is good on that sort of stuff. My wife and I have enjoyed  the Mogambo restaurant named after the 1953 Clark Gable Movie for decades. Unfortunately, due to my wive's  frail health "Mogambo restaurant is only a treasured memory. Note, the Australian Beef is cheaper and perhaps better than the American Beef.

Do what u can do and do what u love. Life is your.

take 6 months off from your work. Give it a try. Worse thing is, not trying. Security = no risk = no adventure.
What do you do for a living?
As previous poster did, apply for jobs online. If you don't like job once you're there, don't do it.
GOOOOOO

English teachers here make really good money compared to the living expenses. If you don't need to live in a luxury place I'm pretty sure you can save some money. As for airbnb it's really competitive here - there are lots of rooms but not enough renters.

just follow what really makes you happy and enjoy life....

Allanmta wrote:

Hi, i was living in hcmc for 8 months last year on a leave of absence . I returned home to Toronto,  Canada becuase i had to deal with some personal stuff. Its been 6 months since i left vietnam. I miss asia and love vietnam.  Iam in my late 30s and at a point where i want to leave my job,  my pension and move to asia permanently. I feel that canada provides job security and stability but it is a cold and boring place.  My family and friends s are telling me that iam stupid to leave my great.

I just cant imagine myself working another 17 years to qualify for a full pension. I am adventurous and do not not want to be here any longer. I want to follow my heart and not follow the  north american dream.

My plan is to find a job,  start a small business (airbnb) and make additional interest income from my savings. I am struggling between staying in canada and s working wih a good job with security vs increasing my quality of life if move to vn and settle for lower ay.

Your thoughts on how to make this tough decision. Btw I have read all of your recent threads and viewed the ted videos on decision making.  Pls advise.

Allan

Have u decided? We would love to hear where are u now and what are u doing?

There is not only 1 answer for a question. "It's MY LIFE" - suddenly the lyric of a song come to me