Ho Chi Minh City, commonly known as Saigon, is a bustling metropolis in Vietnam and an emerging destination for digital nomads. With its vibrant culture, rich history, and developing infrastructure, it’s no wonder that more and more remote workers are choosing to settle in this exciting city. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of living in Ho Chi Minh as a digital nomad.
Pros:
1. Cost of living: One of the biggest advantages of living in Ho Chi Minh City is the affordability. Compared to other popular digital nomad destinations like Bangkok or Bali, you’ll find that the cost of accommodation, food, and transportation is significantly lower. This enables digital nomads to stretch their budget and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle without breaking the bank.
2. Vibrant expat community: Ho Chi Minh City has a thriving expat community, consisting of both locals and fellow digital nomads. This provides ample opportunities to network, collaborate, and build connections. There are numerous coworking spaces, meetups, and events tailored for remote workers, making it easy to find like-minded individuals and expand your professional circle.
3. Delicious cuisine: Vietnamese cuisine is famous worldwide and Ho Chi Minh City is a food lover’s paradise. From street food stalls to upscale restaurants, you’ll find a wide variety of mouthwatering dishes that will tantalize your taste buds. Pho, banh mi, and fresh spring rolls are just a few of the local favorites that you must try during your stay.
4. Rich cultural experience: Living in Ho Chi Minh City allows you to immerse yourself in the vibrant Vietnamese culture and experience a different way of life. From exploring historic landmarks like the War Remnants Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels to wandering through bustling local markets, every day is an opportunity to discover something new. The city’s fascinating blend of old-world charm and modern development is truly captivating.
Cons:
1. Language barrier: While English is becoming more widely spoken in Ho Chi Minh City, it is still not as prevalent as in other digital nomad hotspots. This can make day-to-day interactions challenging, especially when dealing with local vendors or in more remote areas. It’s advisable to learn some basic Vietnamese phrases to overcome this hurdle and enhance your overall experience.
2. Traffic and pollution: The rapid growth of Ho Chi Minh City has led to increased traffic congestion and air pollution. Motorbikes are the primary mode of transportation and navigating through the chaotic streets can be intimidating for newcomers. Additionally, the city’s air quality may not be the best, which can pose a health challenge, particularly for individuals with respiratory issues.
3. Internet reliability: While Ho Chi Minh City offers decent internet connectivity, it may not be as reliable as in some other digital nomad-friendly destinations. Power outages and occasional slow speeds can be frustrating, especially for those who heavily rely on a stable internet connection for their work. Co-working spaces usually provide better internet connections, but these can come at an additional cost.
4. Visa restrictions: Digital nomads in Ho Chi Minh City often encounter visa challenges. Vietnam has strict regulations regarding long-term stays, and many digital nomads opt for tourist visas, which require regular border crossings for renewal. While there are alternatives like business visas or company sponsorships, they come with additional requirements and paperwork.
In conclusion, living in Ho Chi Minh City as a digital nomad has its own set of pros and cons. The city offers a unique blend of culture, affordability, and a supportive community. However, challenges like the language barrier, traffic, and visa restrictions should be considered. For those seeking an adventure in a vibrant Southeast Asian city, Ho Chi Minh offers an exciting and affordable option for remote work.
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Good luck girl
Good luck with your digital nomad dream
As a Vietnamese, I must admit that Vietnam remains a third world slum country is due to the mindset/culture that can’t stop littering indiscriminately, scam and steal. Sad.
As long as Vietnam is still ruled by the oppressive and exploitive Communist regime, her potential remains greatly diminished. For any 1% that wants to stay, 99% of the population wants to get out, and many have risked their lives doing just that (for example, 39 doomed lives found in UK container truck recently on the news, and that's only what's been reported), unfortunately. Yet another shocking and also recent example is that during the Covid pandemic when almost all countries assisted their citizens with financial aids in one form or another, the corrupt and murderous Vietnamese Commie regime saw it just as another opportunity not to help but to exploit its ruled citizens even more, essentially making money over the corpses of its citizens by presumably killing at least 30-50K of them, due to grossly misdiagnoses and being thrown into barbwired unhygenic living quarters for isolation, so that they had to sleep on concrete floor, even next to filled trashcans, with inadequate toilet, food, water, or medicine, like animals (searching hard enough, one is able to see shocking video clips on Facebook though the regime tried hard to crack down the leaks by Vietnamese citizen journalists), with the fake nostril Covid test kits, mislabeled as approved by World Health Organization (WHO) in Việt Á scandal, colluded by at least 4 different government agencies (Y Tế , Khoa Học, Công Nghệ, Quân y) and the top Politburo members, including Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Phạm Minh Chính, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. Murderous Vietnamese Commie regime even had a thug murdered Christian pastor Giuse Trần Ngọc Thanh, like it has done with many other pastors across the nation. There is a reason why the current Commie Vietnam ranks at the bottom of the world in freedom of speech, (true) freedom of religion, and freedom of the press, barely above Commie China and Commie North Korea. There is no true freedom of religion in Commie Vietnam, as this corrupt Vietnamese Commie regime only authorized the fake organizations headed by Commie monks, many of whom were Commie Party officials, and those religious organizations not approved to be infiltrated by them or headed by their Commie agents are accused of malicious and nonexistent crimes and banned, with innocent religious leaders arrested and jailed, as in the recent case with Thiền Am Bên Bờ Vũ Trụ, a harmless Buddhist meditation monastery, for simply having many followers (hence, more influences that the regime fears it can't control) than the Commie Party's officially approved ones. Similarly, its passport ranks at the bottom, 89th out of 111 countries for a reason, barely above North Korea 104th rank. even below many African nations. For comparison, South Korea is at 2nd rank. That's what Republic of South Vietnam would have likely been ranked among at least the top 10 had it not been invaded and occupied by the North Vietnamese Commie terrorists, aided by Commie Soviet and Commie China. Search "cuop dat dan" (meaning "land-robbing of citizens") to see millions of footages across the country from North to South, spanning for decades, dated back to Ho Chi Minh's bloody land reform 1953-1956 that killed nearly 1 million North Vietnamese in only 4 years, or 250K people brutally slaughtered in torturous painful deaths (like being shot, stabbed, mutilated while being alive, or heads being plowed over by water buffaloes while bodies being buried underground) each year on average to rob their lands and homes. Even today, if the rightful owners refuse to have their homes or lands robbed, the ruthless Vietnamese Commie terrorist regime simply jail or massacre them, have tractors run over their bodies or openly assassinate them in their own homes. When it comes to robbing, these barbarian Vietnamese Commie bandits even prey on each other, just as the recent case with then 84-year-old Mr. Lê Đình Kình, a 55-year-Commie Party veteran from Dong Tam, near Hanoi, that got shot dead at 3am in his own home by the Vietnamese Commie terrorist regime. When his wife Mrs. Dư Thị Thành refused to lie about the incident as ordered, the Vietnamese Commie terrorist police brutally tortured her (see more details from "dandongtam" on Facebook). The corrupt Vietnamese Commie government officials routinely dine on lavish gold-plated Salt Bae steak $100K per meal with blood money not just from taxpayers but also from robbed-lands and robbed homes recently drew international condemnations, while many Vietnamese citizens, including elderlies in their 60's and 70's as well as kids as young as 6's to 16's selling lottery tickets on the streets to survive on $2-3 per day. Even Phạm Nhật Vượng the richest man in Vietnam (via his VinGroup) made the bulk of his wealth mainly by colluding with the barbarian Vietnamese Commie regime in selling their robbed-lands from Vietnamese citizens. Travelers to Vietnam in her current form (not at all like this before the Communists took over) should keep this in mind. Behind the beauty of the land and smiling faces at popular tourist destinations, there are a lot of darkness and tears, bloods, sweats, sorrow, horror, and sufferings all over the country.
LOL. I'm afraid to ride the motor bike.
check out Phu My Hung in D7, its alot quieter roads and more peaceful..
Sadly kids like that expect something. You try to be nice and polite but they will take advantage of your kindness and patience. It sounds bad to say this but in Vietnam everybody is asking for money. Even if u bump into a street vendor that u saw a couple days ago he/she will pretend to start a conversation and then soon he will ask you for money.
If u give money you will never get rid of him and he will ask you again and again and again. That’s the bad side of Vietnam. Everybody wants money from you…
I hope u can continue your life as a d-nomad in Vietnam. I love it there too.
Weren't you worried leaving your passport? I would have walked away and got more money than give up my passport. But I am paranoid about that. And no offence perhaps not have so much money out in front of the guy. I know I do that myself especially as I am trying to get used to different currency.
Usually Korean ladies always standout from the crowd because y'all so gorgeous
However I don't think Vietnam is dangerous for single ladies
You have great choice of cafe shop. As a local those 3 cafes is my top Cafes I often work there too. It’s not too busy , good table for working and coffee is quite good
Good luck!❤
Hey Hi Dana!
Welcome to Vietnam. When you want to explore the southwest in Vietnam, send me a message, I live in Rach Gia City in Kien Giang province, I will introduce you to the cuisine here that you will surely like.
My advice to you: should not wear golden jewelry and bag when you drive or go on the streets. Avoid to go out late after 23:00.
Just hopping by. I don’t know if it is just me, but my passport will stay with me 24/7. I hope you enjoy the food and be safe out there. And if you are lazy like me, you should download grab (food delivery/transportation).
Kids like him are trained pickpockets. If he is there, another man must be watching in the distant. Hope you did not lose anything.
Great Vlog from DANA have a nice journey
Quite brave of you to rent a scooter to ride in Saigon. I've never driven a scooter before, though I think it is simple to operate, but to weave around the crowd can be quite difficult. I was thinking of renting one if I do go to a less crowded city like Mui Ne, NhaTrang, Danang. I've been researching whether to travel to Saigon and live for a few months to see if it suits me as well. My normal fulltime job enables me to work remotely anywhere, and Vietnam time zone seems to work out quite well. Vietnam late evening is morning in the USA. Another bonus is US stock market opens early and it will be evening in VIetnam. I do daytrading as a side job and this daylight timezone is perfect. Looking to make this move early January.
In your situation, what did you end up doing for housing? Are you renting apartment or AirBnB? I read apartment renting requires a duration contract, example 6-12 months? While AirnB, you can do monthly? What about Visa? Did you do the 90 days? I would hate to do the 30 days and be forced to fly out to another country and re-apply every 30 days. I'm eyeing several districts in Saigon but haven't decide which one to narrow. Looks like District 7 is too far out but it has a nice Americanize apartment. It is ideal to stay near city center where everything is within walking distance. I don't mind paying up to $1500-1800 if it is one of those luxury apartment.. Let me know your thoughts.
To fix the black flickering in your video, you can change your shutter speed lower. For example, if your camera shutter speed is 1/60 and you are recording in ASIA where their lights frequency is 50hz, you will get the black flickers in your video. You can change your shutter speed to 1/50 if you are shooting at 60fps.
did you have prior scooter experience? ballsy to rent!
Algo here as well brought me to your channel. Korean American in Seattle considering relocating to SE Asia… Been watching channels like yours…very helpful.
Hi Dana, I'm also a web developer working on becoming a digital nomad, looking forward to see what you do next!
YouTube Algo brought you to my Home Screen and this video is surprisingly interesting! Glad to discover a new YouTuber and happy to support you with a sub. Enjoy the time in Vietnam and keep making those videos!