Same problem here in canada. And it's all by design. They're trying to make you miserable and force you to leave. And they can take over. It's all very logical and transparent when you stop and think about it. And very evil.
Good guy; smart guy. I might add that In my four years plus in Vietnam about a hundred women proposed to me. I sometimes asked, “How can you go into marriage on the basis of so little acquaintance?” They said, “You won’t hit me. You won’t cheat on me, at least not much. And you’ll bring financial security. And we’ll fall in love as we go.” They are a practical people.
I'm genuinely curious what Vietnam cities you have traveled and had this experience? I've traveled and lived in the big cities(HCMC, Hanoi) and a few beach towns(Nha Trang and nearby) and have yet to find a single Viet girl seriously interested in dating a foreigner let alone marry. I am 40 so maybe that's a concern for them..who knows.
I lived in Vietnam for two years. I will say that women have it pretty rough there. Many times I would see a woman with a black eye, I new how she got it. Sad. The reverse of the US where women treat men like shit.
I had a similar hospital experience here in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. I went to the private hospital at 9am with no appointment. Saw a neurosurgeon, got an MRI, and a consultation of the results and was out in time for lunch. The cost without insurance was about $250. I do have catastrophic health insurance.
I went to the ER in Cartagena, Colombia. My gf told them I had no insurance and would be paying cash, I was seen immediately, received a private room and discharged the day. Total cost was $60 USD; I finally understood why expats self insure overseas. I would not recommend it however.
@@jpb4264 an american doctor i know that lived in thailand and traveled extensively to vietnam as well as colombia commented; some sophisticated medical care in vietnam may be less and or lacking or limited to big cities. vietnam dental care is excellent and 1/3 price of thai dental care. advanced medical care more available in thailand as well as colombia. colombia excellent world class private hospitals, world renowned eye surgeons including super experience LASIK surgeons(many G7 eye docs spend time in colombia to learn and their surgical achievements are renowned in the international ophthalmology community). thailand dual pricing for medical care highly unethical. vinmec has reputaion for liking to do expensive procedures that may not be neeed at present time to generate income, and thai private hospits also.
I’ve noticed everyone loves where they are living the most. I’ve heard Vietnam is gorgeous. Along with Bali and the Philippines, Thailand and my sons visited Taiwan and loved it there!! Traveling is the best!!
@@jtns2845 who cares it’s a place to visit - keep negative corrective comments to yourself. Not once is the word country used in my original comment - just places to visit.
@@GLo-ww4hb granted, however many folks have no idea that bali is part of indonesia, and the subject of this video is retirement spots, not slow places to visit. in past 40+ years i have lived in indonesia (at present) and philippines, as well as laos, japan, south korea. visited for weeks at many multiple times thailand, taiwan, vietnam, malaysia, singapore, hongkong, china. visiting and living, either as employed or retired, in these or any spots are two very different beasts. i hope that you have chances to experience them first hand.
Vietnam has always been a favorite of mine, and had friends living on annual business visas for years, until the government cracked down on it just before covid. If you are married to a citizen, no problem, but otherwise you had to do a monthly border bounce. Last July, they went to a 90-day visa, but you don’t have the security of them letting you back in. At least in Thailand, where I am now, you have the advantage of the annual visa, and even options for multi year stays.
Can you tell me more about the annual visa in Thailand? I have never heard of it. There is only a month visa on arrival in Thailand that you can extend for one month more for like $60. Other than that, you can get a student visa for one year.
I was stationed in Da Nang in 1969-70 when I was in the Navy then went back in '70-'71 as a civilian and loved it. Back then there was still a heavy French colonial presence in all the old architecture and living in town as a civilian was so much nicer than being on a military compound.
@@DougPoulton I was stationed there 1970-71 with the Air Force. Retired after 22 yrs. Don't think if you are on Medicare/Tricare plus 100% disability pay from the VA would hold you back from moving out of the US,unless there is a military base such as in Europe
I'm born and raised in the beach areas of San Diego and live in the Sunset Cliffs are. I have been to Da Nang for two months. Its definitely not the San Diego of Asia. I have been all over China and the Philippines and will say it's cleaner than the Philippines and a laid back pace and of course the food is better. The Philippines has some beautiful beaches but the local foods just aren't that appetizing if you eat them for a few months,. The food is definitely better in Vietnam.
I hated the freezing water in San Diego. I guess you could say I'm a warm water sailor. China Beach in Da Nang was fantastic. Subic Bay in the Philippines was also great for scuba diving around Grande Island. Beautiful clean clear warm water. I didn't care much for Olongapo back then it was still like the wild wild west under martial law and we weren't allowed to carry guns off base so I definitely felt safer in Da Nang even during the war. Vietnamese food is 100% better than Filipino.
Hands down food better in Vietnam, but women are better in the Phil's. When I say better I mean much easier to find a younger women. I've seen several expats go to Vietnam and say the fishing just isn't very good. They get a LOT more action in the Phil's. LOL
great video, very genuine and informative. 13 years ago I was in the hospital in downtown Chicago, great teaching hospital. I was admitted because they suspected I might have appendicitis. 6 days later in a private room on a cancer floor after and CAT scan where they thought I might have colon cancer, with no food or water for 6 days just intravenous liquids, then on day 6 a colonoscopy and it turned out I just had an infection that was treated with anti-biotics. The total bill was over $ 60,000.00 bucks. I was on the hook for $ 3,500.00 of that. The US healthcare system is broken. Two weeks later I met with the surgeon and he still wanted to operate on me, yep he was the hammer and I was the nail, My Internist, a remarkable woman I had seen for decades told me do not have surgery, you don't need to.
Your comment perfectly outlines how corrupt and just plain broken the healthcare system is in the U.S. Not to mention that I would never put my life into an American doctor's hands. People make it sound just because you pay the big bucks that you get the best treatment. For this much money I can go buy a hospital in another country and have the entire staff cater to me for a year.
Thank you Dan + Mark for the Danang incites. I love Mark's Belgian Malinois (BM). His big boy looked and acted incredible. What a great companion he has! I'm retired in Oregon for 8 years now, planning on traveling over to VN in a few weeks to explore for myself. My only reservation is: I have a chipped 4 y/o male German Shepherd dog (GSD) service dog. He is my only concern about making this journey. There is no way I can leave him at home while I travel abroad. My GSD boy will mope around, get depressed (so will I) if I'm not with him. I would love to hear ALL about the entire experience Mark had bringing his companion along on his journey. (Transportation, Veterinarian, Entrance Quarantines, shots/immunizations....etc.) Once again, thank you 🙏
This is a good man. He represents us expats perfectly. Makes me happy to be expat in Da Nang He is humble which is what i find this city in particular is perfect for. He is right the locals earn 13,000 an hour. So thats the cheapest coffee. I drove past him and his wonderfuo German Shephard deep in Son Tra quite close to the back part near the entrance to monkey mountain. Its the place i want tobuy land and build a house and live with my Da Nang woman forever. Its not really close at all to the My An or An Thuong area which,for me doesnt feel like im in Vietnam so much but its got the cheapest apartments. 10 000,000 can you get you a 2 bedroom house. Narrow Viet style but its all you need and more. 8 000 000 is enough for a nice studio or one bedroom apartment with a pool The people, food and coffee in Da Nang are the best in my opinion. There are some costs involved. The visa runs can be a cost and need 3 working days to receive. Yes having a girlfriend will bump the food prices to double obviously. You can live on $1000 usd but realistically it might be close to $1600 as you wipp be drinking beers and going to gym etc
You're as full of it as the guy in the video. Viets don't make 13,000/hr. That's BS. Buy land? LOL. There's no land ownership in Vietnam, even for locals. Shows how clueless you are.
If you have been around me long enough, you know Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in the world. But Vietnam has no retirement visa. Yet, every time we visit Vietnam, we meet many older Western people who have been here for years. Many of you asked why I didn’t ask Mark what visa he has. I have never met anyone that is overstaying a visa in Vietnam and Mark is not overstaying. Everyone I meet has permission to be in Vietnam. If you are a rule follower, you should only follow the official rules to stay in a country. That is what I recommend (and that is what Mark has done). But if you ever fall in love with a country and want to stay ... ask a few expats off camera how they stay in a country without overstaying their visa. Many people all over the world find ways to stay in countries they love. But if it doesn’t sound perfectly legit to me, I never promote it on my channel ... for two reasons. One, I don’t want to disrupt the lives of older people who are happily living in a country somewhere by publicly sharing controversial solutions that could get shut down if they became widely known because of me. Two, I don’t want to publicly encourage a large number of people to use the same controversial solutions ... it might embarrass officials and place me on a shit list. Instead, do exploratory visits, ask ex-pats questions off-camera, decide where you want to live and pick the best way for you personally to make that happen. That said ... I will be sharing more details about the various ways people are staying in Vietnam long-term as I learn more off-camera from the expats I meet here. Make sure to jump on my email list if you want to hear more controversial things that I am much more likely to share in an email after I have learned more. Email list: vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/ Thanks for watching this video and commenting, Dan
@@argastarch8360By pulling a scam on the Vietnamese government. Having a fake marriage while you are actually sleeping with as many pay girls as possible. That’s what this guy does. Everyone knows it now.
@@VagabondAwake Thank Dan, I think people have to realize there may be other ways to stay in countries long term. As you say ask other expats in the know. Hell even in America where foreigners are suppose to follow STRICT immigration rules it's a free for ALL. I heard 20 to 30 million are living in the USA technically illegally and no one gives a crap including our government. The KEY is to STAY out of trouble and keep your head down. If you start breaking local laws you will get NOTICED. As they say when in Rome do as the Romans do.
@@VagabondAwakeDan, I really don't get your response. You claim with confidence that these guys are not overstaying their Visa, but at the same time you're refused to even mention the type of Visa they have. If what they're doing is legal and on the up and up, there would be ZERO reason to hide the type of Visa they have like it some big covert ops secret 😂
I was just in Da Nang and Hoi An just south of Da Nang last month. Great food, clean beaches, nice people, but very limited English speakers there. Ho Chi Min is a young vibrant city. Hanoi is cool with the French influence and beautiful countryside up north. Budget is similar to PH and Thailand for expats.
I was blessed to teach 15 years in HCMC. Never wanted to leave. I love the heat. Used to run/lift at noon. Sadly, the traffic pollution led to my having to leave HCMC. My wife, from Can Tho loves it here in the USA. All good. Taking care of my dad right now. He doesn’t want to leave his house. All good. When he passes, we’ll see. So many splendid places to live in Vietnam, and around the world. Hoping America can overcome the parasitic machine bleeding her.
This video was way too short, I could have listened to Mark for an hour or more. Danang and Vietnam are amazing places. I believe I will be headed there soon
Just brush up on your Vietnamese as I have heard many expats on visa run from the Phil's say there is a real language barrier. Far fewer speak English.
I really liked this one. Thanks to both of you. Da Nang is one of my favorite cities I've ever been to. I've been on a treadmill of videos by retirees in the Philippines, but I think I need to rethink Vietnam.
Love Vietnam, but I preferred Danang 10 years ago before every man and his dog had been there. Plus it's full of digital Nomarks now, so artificially inflating prices like Canggu in Bali.
I experienced the same at the Bangkok Hospital in Udon Thani for what they call a wellness check , we call it annual physical with blood work. I was shocked when the nurse told I can do it today, so i did it that very morning ! Price price price is right! For the most the doctors are foreign trained!
Da Nang and Da Lat are my targets. Great interview. Nice to know about age gap relationships there and how approachable people are. Would like to know about how he lives there full time with visa requirements. Also would like to know how to get by with English. Thank you 🙏🏼
When walking round Da Lat, I was enticed to have a beer with the locals... they were the friendliest people I've ever met. PS, they bought me the beer.
I have been leaving in Mindanao, Dipolog for 4 years now including the casual trip to other places like Cagayan, zamboanga City, Pagadian and more and never felt unsafe like in Sydney.
Currently we are in Nha Trang. It's so much more touristy than we thought it would be. But retiring anywhere in Vietnam is a lot more affordable than most other places in the world. Thanks for the video. Take care.
Interesting. During the war, I was stationed in Danang for 6 months, Nha Trang for a month, and Phu Cat for 5 months. Vung Tao was an in-country R&R location for American GI’s.
What is Mark doing for a long term Visa? I opened 2 restaurants one in Nha trang and Saigon they do have inspections to open a business and that was back in 2009 and 2010. I ran a sports bar in DaNang and the Australian owner and his Vietnamese friend that was on the paperwork tried to steal his business and toss him out. She lost by the police and was told to hit the road. I loved Danang the most in Vietnam. After you live there 15 years it becomes not as nice as it was when you started. Same for me now I live in Pattaya and love the people, food where I live. Let’s see in a few years.
I don't personally recommend risking any money starting a business outside your home country. If you do anything, skip the brick-and-mortar businesses where someone can take your shit away and do an online business. Great question @charlesscinta7377, I have a video explaining how I make money that pays for my travels and I have a course that is presently available as a bonus for all of my paid subscribers, whether they are a monthly membership or my Lifetime membership. Here are those two resources if you would like to learn more: How I make travel Money: th-cam.com/video/OX4Oat_4BHA/w-d-xo.html Course teaching how to do it: vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-hobby-income-course/ Thanks, Dan
This is a common theme in SEA. There's a 3-5 year honeymoon period for expats from countries like the USA, UK, Australia and then the novelty starts to wear off as the realisation is that life is quite one dimensional and the things that are missed are the things that are taken for granted.
@@00_UU Thailand and Philippines…however Belitung, Indonesia has popped up as a 4th consideration the past couple of months. Check out SideTripLife vlogger
@@00_UU Philippines and Thailand are the other two. Been to Chiang Mai and mountains of northern Thailand 30 times since 2005 working with a Foundation. Love it there. Belitung, Indonesia popped up within the past two months as a go see but probably only as an excursion trip. Look up vlogger SideTripLife. He’s produced a few vlogs on Belitung. Incredible beaches and water.
Thank you , Both very much.......Great Intel !... Mark reminded me of a CSM ( Command SGT. Major ) advising his men when they get "in country" .....Take Care...
But the million dollar question wasn't asked - how does he stay long term (did he say he lived there a year already) legally? What visa is he using? I LOVE Vietnam. I visited Da Nanag about a year ago. But I had a 30 day tourist visa, which you must apply for in advance. I guess they could issue up to a 6 month tourist visa based on what I read online now. Unlike Philippines, they don't give many long extensions for years. I don't want to do teaching visa and I don't plan to have a Vietnamese spouse. So I'd love to hear what he does to live there a year or many years (cute pup hope he lives long) in Vietnam.
3 month tourist visa is the maximum available. Business Visa (with a substantial investment) or marriage visa are the only long stay option. No retirement visa available.
If you have been around me long enough, you know Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in the world. But Vietnam has no retirement visa. Yet, every time we visit Vietnam, we meet many older Western people who have been here for years. Many of you asked why I didn’t ask Mark what visa he has. I have never met anyone that is overstaying a visa in Vietnam and Mark is not overstaying. Everyone I meet has permission to be in Vietnam. If you are a rule follower, you should only follow the official rules to stay in a country. That is what I recommend (and that is what Mark has done). But if you ever fall in love with a country and want to stay ... ask a few expats off camera how they stay in a country without overstaying their visa. Many people all over the world find ways to stay in countries they love. But if it doesn’t sound perfectly legit to me, I never promote it on my channel ... for two reasons. One, I don’t want to disrupt the lives of older people who are happily living in a country somewhere by publicly sharing controversial solutions that could get shut down if they became widely known because of me. Two, I don’t want to publicly encourage a large number of people to use the same controversial solutions ... it might embarrass officials and place me on a shit list. Instead, do exploratory visits, ask ex-pats questions off-camera, decide where you want to live and pick the best way for you personally to make that happen. That said ... I will be sharing more details about the various ways people are staying in Vietnam long-term as I learn more off-camera from the expats I meet here. Make sure to jump on my email list if you want to hear more controversial things that I am much more likely to share in an email after I have learned more. Email list: vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/ Thanks for watching this video and commenting, Dan
I'm living in both Thailand and Vietnam. As far as women dating us foreigners, it varies drastically from city to city especially with an age gap relationship. Also, there's a language barrier in both countries which can be a challenge.
It’s quite remarkable that VA seems more interested in evaluating age gap relationship potential than asking/commenting on the language barriers for expats in these locales. I would think language/communication would be far more important. Maybe I misjudge this channel’s clientele - queue the girlfriend B roll.
Could I ask you something surfguy? Just your opinion.............no wrong answer. I'm planning on spending 4 months in Southeast Asia. It's my first trip. I want to focus mostly on Thailand and Vietnam with a brief trip to Cambodia for the experience and to say I've been. How would you allocate your time if you were me? Would 3 months Thailand 1 month Vietnam be a lopsided mistake? I'm embarrassed to admit it, but the girls is a big part of it. Recent divorce.
@@vdang2402 i only wrote that cambodia has the easiest retirement visa; i purposely wrote nothing in this separate sentence about cambodia and ladies. thailand and philippines have accessible ladies, but always, as with property there, be careful and rent don’t buy.
Fantastic video, my wife and I are planning doing the same thing and it is amusing when we speak to people here ask all the questions you ask your guests. We spent 2 weeks Danang and hoi an, what Beautiful people and places, your answers were so well delivered and we look forward to also fulfilling our dreams.🎉
I have been seriously considering Guatemala, Thailand, VietNam and Mexico. Done to Guatemala and VietNam. I do speak Spanish and Italian, single retired female. My goal is to decide by June and get out…in the US at the moment, lost my home and tiny bakery to Irma and Maria 2017. The US is so stressful, I can hardly bear it. I am traveling to Nicaragua as a volunteer in about a month, hope to know the answer then!
There are areas in Southern Italy you can buy homes that need repair for cheap, also no tax on income from abroad. Assuming you are a US citizen. Must live in Italy at least 6 months out of the year.
Today I got an appointment to get a possible root canal evaluated...3 month wait. I'm in Phoenix and normally drive to the border, walk to Nogales Mexico for dental care. 1-2 week wait for an appointment for 1/3 the cost and much better equipment and all the specialists on site. So root canal evaluation, root canal and cap made and installed in 6 hours. Here in Phoenix I have to go to a general dentist to get a referral, then 3 month wait for evaluation...don't know how long to wait to get the root canal then back to the original general dentist to get the hole filled that was made drilling thru the existing cap. It's nuts. I'm trying this because my new insurance covers $5000 in dental. Not sure it's worth it.
Went to DaNang for Christmas 2019, before Covid, and could actually SAY, I COULD LIVE THERE.....Great photos of my wife dancing on China Beach there, all the amenities (I love Starbucks) great prices, and friendly sincere people, can't say enough, almost as good as Taiwan, but getting better......Taiwan is by far, the best in ten categories (super-safe crime-free environment, low low taxes, superb affordable health care......)in Eastern Asia.......including Thailand, Japan, Korea, the Phillippines, Indonesia, and Australia.......
Yeah, Da Nang nice city but not my cup of tea. Reminds me of a large USA city (traffic, crowds, noise) and too many foreigners. Been visiting Vietnam for 14 years - my favorite area is near Hue countryside.
Vietnam is often not considered as a retirement destination. We live in the Philippines and have visited there--Da Nang is on the list as well as Hue. Enjoyed Hanoi a good deal.
We have been all over Vietnam. Just go to our TH-cam PLaylist for Vietnam and you can see us on the ground all over Vietnam: www.youtube.com/@VagabondAwake/playlists
These youtubers failed to mention VietNam is a communist country, police can arrest or confiscate your property at will, lot of bribery and corruption officials, as a foreigner, you have no right to own anything in VN including a motorcycle, you can own a house if you married to a local but the house has to register in her name.. normally she will divorce you after the house is in her name, then she will kick you out of her house. VN gov't is baiting foreigners to retire there but things can change very quicky that you have no way of protecting yourself or your property. local merchants are ripping off foreigners because they can, pocketpickers and robbery are frequent occurances... scammers are 24x7.. If the VN communist gov't is treating their own citizens like these below clips, what make you think they will treat the forever enermy (USA) any better? DON'T BE STUPID LISTENING TO THESE PROPAGANDA TH-camRS... An famous Tiktoker got arrested for riding a bike in a deserted street, she got locked up for 7 years: th-cam.com/video/vP_EvaDiEgM/w-d-xo.html An outspoken high level congressman get arrested for raising concerns abolocked him uput the police corruptions, the gov't fabricated charges and repelled his communist party membership then locked him up: th-cam.com/video/l92tG4ROzYo/w-d-xo.html
Great vid, entertaining and packed with information. I've been thinking about retiring in Thailand, where I have been many times. Now I'm thinking, hmm...Vietnam. Thanks for this vid!
Another positive about Vietnam - Taxation. Thailand was but is NOT the place to retire anymore. Great to visit or live and work there, but not for retirees. Starting 1 Jan 2024 Thailand now taxes the income of retired Expats (including Pensions), while all the other countries in SEAsia like Vietnam do not. As it is now, retired Expats have been told to pay income taxes on the money they brought to Thailand from 1 Jan 2024 onwards. Thailand also wants to implement worldwide taxation, so even if you dont remit the money to Thailand, they want to tax it if you live in Thailand 180 days or more. No matter how good their Visas are or the country is - for retired Expats Thailand is not the best option (we are leaving). Vietnam is where a few mates have gone or are planning to go - the opportunity is there for Vietnam to pick up a lot of Expats looking to retire overseas in SEAsia. Thailand clearly does not want us anymore.
Smart Man! Belgium Malinois dogs are the best!! I'm on my third one. Great Interview Dan. One of the reasona I haven't left the US yet is because of my Malinois. Vietnam looks very inviting.
To live in Vietnam is not easy. Securing a long term visa is not easy unless you are; 1. Sponsored by an employer 2. Open a business and invest 3. Marry a local Vietnamese woman 4. Work for a NGO There is no such thing as a retirement visa for expats (for now at least). So which visa types are these people getting for their long term stay?
I’ve lived in the rural south of the U.S. for years on less than $500 per month. Granted I’m a VERY self-sufficient person, willing to live in a nice camper in a remote area, but not fully “off-grid” and less than 20 minutes from civilization.
@@terrydonovan5246 Now if you're feelin' kinda low 'bout the dues you've been paying Future's coming much too slow And you wanna run, but somehow you just keep on stayin' Can't decide on which way to go Yeah, yeah, yeah I understand about indecision But I don't care if I get behind People livin' in competition All I want is to have my peace of mind Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder Hope it doesn't take too long Can't cha see there'll come a day when it won't matter Come a day when you'll be gone Ohh, ohh I understand about indecision But I don't care if I get behind People livin' in competition All I want is to have my peace of mind Take a look ahead Take a look ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Now everybody's got advice, they just keep on givin' Doesn't mean too much to me Lots of people out to make believe they're livin' Can't decide who they should be Oh, oh I understand about indecision But I don't care if I get behind People livin' in competition All I want is to have my peace of mind Take a look ahead Take a look ahead Look ahead
I'm living in Malaybalay Bukidnon Mindanao Island Philippines. It's a mountain location and so enjoyably cool. My rent cost is about $90 a month. TV, hot water shower, safe location. My girlfriend and I walk to downtown nearly every day and enjoy sitting in Dunkin Donuts and watching people and traffic. I don't go to beaches (too hot), or go out for night life. My girl and I just live a happy easy life. My income is $1500/month so I can save money.
Hi @thomasmanning829, Would you like to be a guest start on one of my videos? Here is an example guest star video: th-cam.com/video/ySM_2jAC4v4/w-d-xo.html Your interview could be just your voice or we could do a zoom call showing your face. If you would like to be a guest star and share your story please leave a personal message here: vagabondbuddha.com/contact/ Thank you for your comment. The detail of your comment makes this real for people. If you have a business, service, or TH-cam channel, you could share that on the interview. Best, Dan
My wife is Vietnamese from Saigon and we live here in Houston Texas. Been married 23 years now. We are talking now about retiring in Vietnam... We love this Da Nang Video and now has given us some ideas about buying a condo there. I would love to talk with you sometime about living there. Thanks Chris
Here in the US, once you retire or on disability? You basically stand no chance of living a comfortable life. Sadly, your only option for better life is to leave the country you loved all your life, and to move to different countries. Sad but realities.😢
But after a few years you find that most other countries have something you love more than home and when you go home your love might not be as strong as you thought it would be. Your people you love, the nature you love, but the rest you often find yourself laughing at.
As of 2020, the top 10 most popular countries for US expats were: Mexico, Canada, U.K., Germany, Australia, Israel, South Korea, France, Japan, and Spain. Aside from Mexico, these destinations aren't particularly cheap.
Guys, had to laugh about the "no police presence" in Da Nang! We stayed in the Grand Tourane hotel last year overlooking the beach across the street. I was looking straight down and saw a considerable police presence! Some sort of large scale checkpoint. Everyone was being funneled off to the side of the road. And we watched several people lose their motorbikes! They were loaded onto the back of a large stake body truck. When the truck was filled with bikes, the operation stopped. Terrible! For the folks left standing there with no ride! But that was the only time we saw the police. We have a video of it.
That is what happens in Thailand too. The police will periodically set up road checkpoints to look for violations. Otherwise 98% of the time you never see the police. There is no one hiding around the corner waiting for you to roll through a stop sign (there aren’t many stop 🛑 signs). Nor are they running around slapping parking tickets on your car. And, of course, children are riding motorbikes everywhere.
I am curious; stationed at DaNang from 1970 to 1972, some nasty business. Are former G.I.'s considered "war criminals" etc. I.E is there bad blood towards the former enemy. I did very well after I retired from the military and have always wondered what is left of the former air base. I was born in Detroit, just a dumb kid; joined the USAF to avoid going to Vietnam. Spent 5 years of my twenty years in SEA. I am amazed at how nice DaNang looks as well as Saigon. This war ended 50 years ago and I am so proud to see how well things look over there.
Been in DaNang for 3 days. I will say that the people are TRULY, TRULY beautiful inside and out. I'm having to chill out here after leaving the Philippines Comparing Iloilo to DaNang is like night and day for me. The noise level has dropped tenfold. The driving is noticeably saner. The housing has more space. The food selection is heaps better and tastes is incomparable. Sorry, Filipinos have a lot to learn. It crushes me to say it, because I really wanted to give the Philippines my love. While nature there is amazing, the people have left a bad taste in my mouth. On a side note, I've worked in the medical field alongside many Filipinas. When I asked them if they will go back to the Philippines after they retire, not one mind you, has ever told me yes. They sheepishly tell me they will not, without ever explaining why. Now I know. I also want to note all the TH-camrs that have raved about Iloilo after spending a week there, need to spend 3 months there like I've done. Iloilo is years away from catching up. Poverty is everywhere off the main drag of Megaworld.
I spent two weeks there, scouting the city, just after having been another two in Bangkok, and I liked it better for a nice quiet life. It's a very good place to retire, but the lack of English was very tough to accept for me personally. The people, though, are AMAZING.
Great points. When first left the United States in 2007, I found low English literacy countries quite challenging. Now I feel much differently. I actually love it now. I think I will do a video on that topic. Thanks!
@@JayTse-x7l English is the universal language, they didn't say that eveyone had to speak English for his/her benefit but that it was lacking as compared to other places that's he/she's been. You're conflation is way out of line.
@@molonlabe9602 English is universal language? What corner of the world are you living in? English is ranked only number 3 in popularity after Chinese Mandarin (#1) and Spanish (#2).
Retirement Visa in Thailand seems more accessible than what I have heard available in Vietnam and other neighboring countries, excluding Cambodia from what I have heard. I'm starting year 3 in Thailand and enjoying it very much but open to exploring. Although, Thailand has a strong pull.
@@davidbrown4271 You can get TRT drugs like AndroGel over the counter with no script in Vietnam. Roids are very easy to get in Thailand which is why so many bodybuilders and MMA guys spend time there. It's $100 plane fare from Saigon to Bangkok so you could bring roids back to Nam that way or you could find a friendly doc in Da Nang to order it for you. Mark's an ex-cop. Roids are popular with the law enforcement community.
Excellent interview I also have a dog.I am trying to figure out if it's going to be the coffee region in Colombia or Asia..Traveling with a dog overseas isn't fun while searching for a homebase
Awesome video as usual looking from others perspective. My wife and I are planning to do 12 months Asian travel next year through Thailand, Japan, Vietnam 🇻🇳, Phillipines and Korea to experience different living out of Australia. Thanks for your inside view and experiences.
A lot of Americans/westerners have a dog - I was pleasantly SURPRISED to hear that your guest brought his dog along. Would you please consider interviewing people specifically focused on how they included their pet?
I have interviewed several people that brough along their dogs. Here is my guest star video playlist on TH-cam: th-cam.com/video/6NihPh4OZMU/w-d-xo.html
Just saw this today, March 7!! So tempting to get over to Da Nang this summer!! RE: Dan says, people who don't know about this, "health insurance is stupid"- LOL. So true brother!! This video truly is "good to the last drop" (hey, he loves his coffee- Maxwell house!!) What a delightful person. I will certainly look him up if I get to the beach there.
I think 1 of the biggest issue with foreigners retiring in Vietnam is the Language barrie, with Vietnamese being 1 of the top 3 most difficult languages to learn in the world
I don't speak a word of it. I still love the place. I use Google Translate whenever I run into someone with zero engish. If I settled there I might study the language. You can probably even get a student visa for that.
@@VagabondAwake correct you didn't which honestly suprised me. But Henry another Vlogger said that's the Main reason me left Vietnam & went to the Philippines. Because most locals in his Dating age range spoke 0 English, The only 1's that did were TOO young for him to date or they weren't open to dating someone 30 yrs older than themself
I spent 3 months in early 2020 riding from Hanoi to Saigon, wiggling all over out to Cat Ba / Halong, north to the Van ?? mountains, down the awesome Ho Chi Minh Trail little hiway, out to coast many times at Hoi Ann, Samson, Na Trang, the cool caves around cute Phong Nah, to Phu Quoc Island, ending in Vung Tao where I sold the moto. But I missed Da Nang. How does lovely Na Trang compare to Da Nang? I loved Na Trang where I had a 10th floor beach front hotel with balcony for $11usd! Only things that would bother me are; the locals are nowhere near as friendly fun as Filipinos, the food away from tourist areas I found quite boring compaired to Thai or Malaysian, theres too many Russians, and no way in heck are you gonna get a smokin hot 20 year old girlfriend like is ubiquitous in the Philippines. But its way cheaper than the PH and so nice and clean and developed, unlike the PH.
@@PMLynch You could, but she would be MISERABLE and I can tell you personally it's NO fun being around someone who is MISERABLE. It's like a virus you might catch it yourself. As they say misery loves company, so she will draw you into her misery. Does that sound like FUN to you?
I am curious as to what visa arrangements he has, as Vietnam only offers a 3 month evisa. Prior to covid I lived in various places here in Vietnam, and visa agent did the pickup and delivery of passport, every 3 months. Now we have a 3 month visa that is renewable but require an exit & return. I lived in Vietnam for 7-8 years, left DaNang June 2019 due to covid and returned May 2023. Now in Hoi An. Will await your next blog. Cheers.
If you have been around me long enough, you know Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in the world. But Vietnam has no retirement visa. Yet, every time we visit Vietnam, we meet many older Western people who have been here for years. Many of you asked why I didn’t ask Mark what visa he has. I have never met anyone that is overstaying a visa in Vietnam and Mark is not overstaying. Everyone I meet has permission to be in Vietnam. If you are a rule follower, you should only follow the official rules to stay in a country. That is what I recommend (and that is what Mark has done). But if you ever fall in love with a country and want to stay ... ask a few expats off camera how they stay in a country without overstaying their visa. Many people all over the world find ways to stay in countries they love. But if it doesn’t sound perfectly legit to me, I never promote it on my channel ... for two reasons. One, I don’t want to disrupt the lives of older people who are happily living in a country somewhere by publicly sharing controversial solutions that could get shut down if they became widely known because of me. Two, I don’t want to publicly encourage a large number of people to use the same controversial solutions ... it might embarrass officials and place me on a shit list. Instead, do exploratory visits, ask ex-pats questions off-camera, decide where you want to live and pick the best way for you personally to make that happen. That said ... I will be sharing more details about the various ways people are staying in Vietnam long-term as I learn more off-camera from the expats I meet here. Make sure to jump on my email list if you want to hear more controversial things that I am much more likely to share in an email after I have learned more. Email list: vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/ Thanks for watching this video and commenting, Dan
Read on for my honest opinion. I lived in Vietnam (as a working individual, not retiree) for a couple of years starting 2013. PROS: everything that was said in this video. But don`t forget the following: - Visa: unless you marry a local Vietnamese there aren`t any official long term visas that I know of. I remember one was able to "buy" a 5 years long term visa a few years back. Huge risk if you get caught and also risky when you try to renew - Home ownership: foreigners with valid visas or those married to Vietnamese nationals were allowed to purchase property (with many rules and caps). You may think that you can rent, think twice because a rental agreement or any signed contract has almost no value in VN and they can breach it at any time. Plus prices go up every year - Bureaucracy / paperwork: it is close to impossible to get anything done by yourself and you will need an agent for everything (meaning $$) - Language: English won`t be spoken anymore once you stepped out of the expat beer garden. Vietnamese is not an easy language to learn or master. - Healthcare: private healthcare only. Can be expensive and not always good (plus language barriers) - Costs of living: most people saying it`s CHEAP are coming from the developed countries (US, AUS, UK etc). If you are from lower income countries then Vietnam will be quite expensive. Plus you will pay more for everything just because you are a foreigner - Relationship: I am generalizing here but most retirees I met and saw are either single, divorced or about to get divorced...with exceptions of course. Have this in mind if you are planning to retire in Vietnam with your lifelong partner - Safety: it is indeed very safe as long as you don`t do politics or try to screw some locals up - Banking / money transfer: it is very difficult to bring and take larger amounts of money out of the country. Many regulations on foreign exchange control issued by State Bank of Vietnam - Pollution: probably not on the top of anybody`s mind, but Vietnam is very polluted (Saigon and Hanoi top the list, Danang is slightly better) Let me know if you have any other specific questions.
In relation to banking, yes its a nightmare, sending in is easy getting it out is the hsrd part. You must have a papertrail of what you did with the money whilst residing in VN.
Concerning Da Nang, there is heavy pollution that's not really talked about. I retired from the Haz-Mat business and I'm very aware of the HUGE toxic chemical problem in Da Nang. Back during the war Agent Orange and other Toxic Chemicals were dumped in the soil in LARGE quantities. There was a cleanup costing $600 million dollars, but it only touched the surface of the pollution. You could dig to China and not have an adequate clean up. But for publicity purposes they did what they could even if it was wholly inadequate.
It seems like you can excise all the bureacracy out of your uSA existence moving overseas. The better quality of food in southeast Asia cannot be overemphasized. American food quality is disgusting to me now after just one month over there.
Hi Mark, I’m also from the buffalo area (Go Bills) and I’m also watching channels of many bloggers to get answers. I also thinking like you to start of just doing winters first. But I’m glad to hear that you found a happy place there . Great video
Saying this area is the San Diego of Vietnam but then also saying it’s hotter than La or Florida just does not align. San Diego is mostly 60s and 70s and low to no humidity.
Amazing video, A friend of mine referred me to a financial adviser sometime ago and we got talking about investment and money. I started investing with $120k and in the first 2 months , my portfolio was reading $274,800. Crazy right!, I decided to reinvest my profit and gets more interesting. For over a year we have been working together making consistent profit just bought my second home 2 weeks ago and care for my family.
I’ve been forced to find additional sources of income as I got retrenched. I barely have time to continue trading and watch my investments since I had my second daughter. Do you think I should take a break for a while from the market and focus on other things or return whenever I have free time or is it a continuous process? Thanks.
@@BennettElizabth Quitting may not be the best approach if you ask me. This is where an AI comes into the picture. I barely have time to trade myself as my job swallows up most of my time. *MARGARET MOLLI ALVEY* , a licensed fiduciary whom has made me over 5 figures in profit in less than seven months, handles my investments. I could leave you a lead if you need help...
Da Nang Vietnam Information:
vagabondbuddha.com/retire-in-da-nang-vietnam/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗘-𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞→ 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱
vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲☆★☆
vagabondbuddha.com/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥oad Map to Freedom Overseas (Retire Overseas Course)☆★☆
vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-retire-overseas-course/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 $$$ 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀e
vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-hobby-income-course/
What kinds of risks are you taking if you move overseas?
vagabondbuddha.com/our-liability-disclaimer-the-risk-is-on-you/
His voice is annoying, seems like having a voice diseases. 🙄
Just another sad example of how sideways things have gone in the US. The new American Dream? To leave the country.
And for a developing country to boot!
Same problem here in canada. And it's all by design. They're trying to make you miserable and force you to leave. And they can take over. It's all very logical and transparent when you stop and think about it. And very evil.
“It’s called the American dream because you’ve got to be asleep to believe it.”
- George Carlin
@@malcolmnicoll1165 the new American dream however is on point! Loved George Carlin.
Many people feel the same here in Canada.
Good guy; smart guy. I might add that In my four years plus in Vietnam about a hundred women proposed to me. I sometimes asked, “How can you go into marriage on the basis of so little acquaintance?” They said, “You won’t hit me. You won’t cheat on me, at least not much. And you’ll bring financial security. And we’ll fall in love as we go.” They are a practical people.
I'm genuinely curious what Vietnam cities you have traveled and had this experience? I've traveled and lived in the big cities(HCMC, Hanoi) and a few beach towns(Nha Trang and nearby) and have yet to find a single Viet girl seriously interested in dating a foreigner let alone marry. I am 40 so maybe that's a concern for them..who knows.
Wow! Makes me want to move there!
What a sensible chap.
His lady friend in the 'click-bait' picture is absolutely beautiful!
I lived in Vietnam for two years. I will say that women have it pretty rough there. Many times I would see a woman with a black eye, I new how she got it. Sad. The reverse of the US where women treat men like shit.
@@robertopettyodon't f with Americans women. Get a wife in the Philippines (they speak English) or somewhere in Asia. Thank me later.
Vietnam has risen from ashes of war to become one of the new economic tigers of Asia!
I had a similar hospital experience here in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. I went to the private hospital at 9am with no appointment. Saw a neurosurgeon, got an MRI, and a consultation of the results and was out in time for lunch. The cost without insurance was about $250. I do have catastrophic health insurance.
I went to the ER in Cartagena, Colombia. My gf told them I had no insurance and would be paying cash, I was seen immediately, received a private room and discharged the day. Total cost was $60 USD; I finally understood why expats self insure overseas. I would not recommend it however.
@@jpb4264 an american doctor i know that lived in thailand and traveled extensively to vietnam as well as colombia commented; some sophisticated medical care in vietnam may be less and or lacking or limited to big cities. vietnam dental care is excellent and 1/3 price of thai dental care. advanced medical care more available in thailand as well as colombia. colombia excellent world class private hospitals, world renowned eye surgeons including super experience LASIK surgeons(many G7 eye docs spend time in colombia to learn and their surgical achievements are renowned in the international ophthalmology community). thailand dual pricing for medical care highly unethical. vinmec has reputaion for liking to do expensive procedures that may not be neeed at present time to generate income, and thai private hospits also.
Wow
For MRI its not expensive.
unfortunately, 99% usa/uk are pedos in Thailand/Vietnam
I’ve noticed everyone loves where they are living the most. I’ve heard Vietnam is gorgeous. Along with Bali and the Philippines, Thailand and my sons visited Taiwan and loved it there!! Traveling is the best!!
Everywhere you have mentioned are excellent places to slow travel.
bali isn’t a country.
@@jtns2845 who cares it’s a place to visit - keep negative corrective comments to yourself. Not once is the word country used in my original comment - just places to visit.
@@GLo-ww4hb granted, however many folks have no idea that bali is part of indonesia, and the subject of this video is retirement spots, not slow places to visit. in past 40+ years i have lived in indonesia (at present) and philippines, as well as laos, japan, south korea. visited for weeks at many multiple times thailand, taiwan, vietnam, malaysia, singapore, hongkong, china. visiting and living, either as employed or retired, in these or any spots are two very different beasts. i hope that you have chances to experience them first hand.
@@jtns2845 okie dokie
Vietnam has always been a favorite of mine, and had friends living on annual business visas for years, until the government cracked down on it just before covid. If you are married to a citizen, no problem, but otherwise you had to do a monthly border bounce. Last July, they went to a 90-day visa, but you don’t have the security of them letting you back in. At least in Thailand, where I am now, you have the advantage of the annual visa, and even options for multi year stays.
First time I heard the term border bouncer but that is true. In Hong Kong many people would come visit me a night or two to reset their visas.
@@kippsguitar6539 well I personally like Nha Trang better
@@TH-eb5ro normally called the visa run
Can you tell me more about the annual visa in Thailand? I have never heard of it. There is only a month visa on arrival in Thailand that you can extend for one month more for like $60. Other than that, you can get a student visa for one year.
@@AlexSiman it's a retirement visa basically & it's for over 50's, you need a Thai bank account with a certain amount in it. I think $20k or abouts.
I was stationed in Da Nang in 1969-70 when I was in the Navy then went back in '70-'71 as a civilian and loved it. Back then there was still a heavy French colonial presence in all the old architecture and living in town as a civilian was so much nicer than being on a military compound.
@@DougPoulton I was stationed there 1970-71 with the Air Force. Retired after 22 yrs. Don't think if you are on Medicare/Tricare plus 100% disability pay from the VA would hold you back from moving out of the US,unless there is a military base such as in Europe
I'm born and raised in the beach areas of San Diego and live in the Sunset Cliffs are. I have been to Da Nang for two months. Its definitely not the San Diego of Asia. I have been all over China and the Philippines and will say it's cleaner than the Philippines and a laid back pace and of course the food is better. The Philippines has some beautiful beaches but the local foods just aren't that appetizing if you eat them for a few months,. The food is definitely better in Vietnam.
His views are far off on many things about Vietnam.
Please expand on Da Nang...also coming from NP and SD.
@@Bswixwhat do you mean exactly ?
I hated the freezing water in San Diego. I guess you could say I'm a warm water sailor. China Beach in Da Nang was fantastic. Subic Bay in the Philippines was also great for scuba diving around Grande Island. Beautiful clean clear warm water. I didn't care much for Olongapo back then it was still like the wild wild west under martial law and we weren't allowed to carry guns off base so I definitely felt safer in Da Nang even during the war. Vietnamese food is 100% better than Filipino.
Hands down food better in Vietnam, but women are better in the Phil's. When I say better I mean much easier to find a younger women. I've seen several expats go to Vietnam and say the fishing just isn't very good. They get a LOT more action in the Phil's. LOL
Another great interview with loads of relevant information for travelers to Vietnam! Thanks Dan & Mark.
great video, very genuine and informative. 13 years ago I was in the hospital in downtown Chicago, great teaching hospital. I was admitted because they suspected I might have appendicitis. 6 days later in a private room on a cancer floor after and CAT scan where they thought I might have colon cancer, with no food or water for 6 days just intravenous liquids, then on day 6 a colonoscopy and it turned out I just had an infection that was treated with anti-biotics. The total bill was over $ 60,000.00 bucks. I was on the hook for $ 3,500.00 of that. The US healthcare system is broken. Two weeks later I met with the surgeon and he still wanted to operate on me, yep he was the hammer and I was the nail, My Internist, a remarkable woman I had seen for decades told me do not have surgery, you don't need to.
Your comment perfectly outlines how corrupt and just plain broken the healthcare system is in the U.S. Not to mention that I would never put my life into an American doctor's hands. People make it sound just because you pay the big bucks that you get the best treatment. For this much money I can go buy a hospital in another country and have the entire staff cater to me for a year.
Thank you Dan + Mark for the Danang incites. I love Mark's Belgian Malinois (BM). His big boy looked and acted incredible. What a great companion he has!
I'm retired in Oregon for 8 years now, planning on traveling over to VN in a few weeks to explore for myself. My only reservation is: I have a chipped 4 y/o male German Shepherd dog (GSD) service dog. He is my only concern about making this journey. There is no way I can leave him at home while I travel abroad. My GSD boy will mope around, get depressed (so will I) if I'm not with him.
I would love to hear ALL about the entire experience Mark had bringing his companion along on his journey. (Transportation, Veterinarian, Entrance Quarantines, shots/immunizations....etc.)
Once again, thank you 🙏
Quarantine is a big deal for animals, give it careful thought.
This is a good man.
He represents us expats perfectly. Makes me happy to be expat in Da Nang
He is humble which is what i find this city in particular is perfect for.
He is right the locals earn 13,000 an hour. So thats the cheapest coffee.
I drove past him and his wonderfuo German Shephard deep in Son Tra quite close to the back part near the entrance to monkey mountain. Its the place i want tobuy land and build a house and live with my Da Nang woman forever. Its not really close at all to the My An or An Thuong area which,for me doesnt feel like im in Vietnam so much but its got the cheapest apartments.
10 000,000 can you get you a 2 bedroom house. Narrow Viet style but its all you need and more.
8 000 000 is enough for a nice studio or one bedroom apartment with a pool
The people, food and coffee in Da Nang are the best in my opinion.
There are some costs involved. The visa runs can be a cost and need 3 working days to receive.
Yes having a girlfriend will bump the food prices to double obviously.
You can live on $1000 usd but realistically it might be close to $1600 as you wipp be drinking beers and going to gym etc
I live just fine on that in Oklahoma. If you pay that much in the third world, you're getting RAPED, bro
Great info. Interview him again re business, legal, residence experience
You're as full of it as the guy in the video. Viets don't make 13,000/hr. That's BS. Buy land? LOL. There's no land ownership in Vietnam, even for locals. Shows how clueless you are.
I retired here 25 years ago. Used to live in San Diego. Never had a problem
How? Vietnam has no retirement program.
If you have been around me long enough, you know Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in the world. But Vietnam has no retirement visa.
Yet, every time we visit Vietnam, we meet many older Western people who have been here for years.
Many of you asked why I didn’t ask Mark what visa he has.
I have never met anyone that is overstaying a visa in Vietnam and Mark is not overstaying. Everyone I meet has permission to be in Vietnam.
If you are a rule follower, you should only follow the official rules to stay in a country. That is what I recommend (and that is what Mark has done).
But if you ever fall in love with a country and want to stay ... ask a few expats off camera how they stay in a country without overstaying their visa.
Many people all over the world find ways to stay in countries they love. But if it doesn’t sound perfectly legit to me, I never promote it on my channel
... for two reasons.
One, I don’t want to disrupt the lives of older people who are happily living in a country somewhere by publicly sharing controversial solutions that could get shut down if they became widely known because of me.
Two, I don’t want to publicly encourage a large number of people to use the same controversial solutions ... it might embarrass officials and place me on a shit list.
Instead, do exploratory visits, ask ex-pats questions off-camera, decide where you want to live and pick the best way for you personally to make that happen.
That said ... I will be sharing more details about the various ways people are staying in Vietnam long-term as I learn more off-camera from the expats I meet here. Make sure to jump on my email list if you want to hear more controversial things that I am much more likely to share in an email after I have learned more.
Email list: vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/
Thanks for watching this video and commenting,
Dan
@@argastarch8360By pulling a scam on the Vietnamese government. Having a fake marriage while you are actually sleeping with as many pay girls as possible. That’s what this guy does. Everyone knows it now.
@@VagabondAwake Thank Dan, I think people have to realize there may be other ways to stay in countries long term. As you say ask other expats in the know. Hell even in America where foreigners are suppose to follow STRICT immigration rules it's a free for ALL. I heard 20 to 30 million are living in the USA technically illegally and no one gives a crap including our government. The KEY is to STAY out of trouble and keep your head down. If you start breaking local laws you will get NOTICED. As they say when in Rome do as the Romans do.
@@VagabondAwakeDan, I really don't get your response. You claim with confidence that these guys are not overstaying their Visa, but at the same time you're refused to even mention the type of Visa they have.
If what they're doing is legal and on the up and up, there would be ZERO reason to hide the type of Visa they have like it some big covert ops secret 😂
Da Nang Vietnam Retire Cheap Report
vagabondbuddha.com/downloads/da-nang-vietnam-retire-cheap-report/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗘-𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞→ 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱
vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲☆★☆
vagabondbuddha.com/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥oad Map to Freedom Overseas (Retire Overseas Course)☆★☆
vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-retire-overseas-course/
𝗗𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 $$$ 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀e
vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-hobby-income-course/
What kinds of risks are you taking if you move overseas?
vagabondbuddha.com/our-liability-disclaimer-the-risk-is-on-you/
Love the on the ground interview! Freedom seems to be the key for opportunity and personally in Vietnam. Mark’s a cool cat 👍
I was just in Da Nang and Hoi An just south of Da Nang last month. Great food, clean beaches, nice people, but very limited English speakers there. Ho Chi Min is a young vibrant city. Hanoi is cool with the French influence and beautiful countryside up north. Budget is similar to PH and Thailand for expats.
Good info 👍
Vietnam is cheaper
When I was stationed in Okinawa back in 1982 - we were getting ads and flyers to vacation in Vietnam. That was 40 years ago.
Great interview! He verbalized all my impressions from 2 trips to Hoi An. I love Vietnam!
Great to see your advice being used for success, Dan! Da Nang seems the perfect place.
Amazing life here especially for the money.
@@kippsguitar6539 interesting, what’s your city /town of choice? Cheers
@@kippsguitar6539After 20 years here, I can say you know little about the place. Thanks for not staying. Where is your perfect spot?
Thanks Dan once again for opening up the world for me. I am nine months from retiring and your info has really got me revved up for slow traveling.
Great to hear!
I was blessed to teach 15 years in HCMC. Never wanted to leave. I love the heat. Used to run/lift at noon. Sadly, the traffic pollution led to my having to leave HCMC. My wife, from Can Tho loves it here in the USA. All good. Taking care of my dad right now. He doesn’t want to leave his house. All good. When he passes, we’ll see. So many splendid places to live in Vietnam, and around the world. Hoping America can overcome the parasitic machine bleeding her.
This video was way too short, I could have listened to Mark for an hour or more. Danang and Vietnam are amazing places. I believe I will be headed there soon
Yes, keep him in retainer!
Just brush up on your Vietnamese as I have heard many expats on visa run from the Phil's say there is a real language barrier. Far fewer speak English.
I really liked this one. Thanks to both of you.
Da Nang is one of my favorite cities I've ever been to. I've been on a treadmill of videos by retirees in the Philippines, but I think I need to rethink Vietnam.
Love Vietnam, but I preferred Danang 10 years ago before every man and his dog had been there. Plus it's full of digital Nomarks now, so artificially inflating prices like Canggu in Bali.
I experienced the same at the Bangkok Hospital in Udon Thani for what they call a wellness check , we call it annual physical with blood work. I was shocked when the nurse told I can do it today, so i did it that very morning ! Price price price is right! For the most the doctors are foreign trained!
Da Nang and Da Lat are my targets. Great interview. Nice to know about age gap relationships there and how approachable people are. Would like to know about how he lives there full time with visa requirements. Also would like to know how to get by with English. Thank you 🙏🏼
Glad you enjoyed it. More on that later. Thanks for asking specific questions.
Been to Dalat and stayed at the Edenese Resort in 2018. Beautiful place with a large lake. There were probably only 3 other guests staying there.
When walking round Da Lat, I was enticed to have a beer with the locals... they were the friendliest people I've ever met.
PS, they bought me the beer.
Da Lat is my favorite, because of the cooler temps, and less people! But lack of hospitals make that a no go. Da Nang was enjoyable!
Hello again Mr. Koufax.
I have been leaving in Mindanao, Dipolog for 4 years now including the casual trip to other places like Cagayan, zamboanga City, Pagadian and more and never felt unsafe like in Sydney.
What's Dipolog like?
@@Daniel-pr4uk not really for singles who wants to have fun
Currently we are in Nha Trang. It's so much more touristy than we thought it would be. But retiring anywhere in Vietnam is a lot more affordable than most other places in the world. Thanks for the video. Take care.
Consider Vung Tau. It is busy on the weekends but quiet during weekdays.
We enjoyed Vung Tau also, but would rather live in Nha Trang or Da Nang.
Interesting. During the war, I was stationed in Danang for 6 months, Nha Trang for a month, and Phu Cat for 5 months. Vung Tao was an in-country R&R location for American GI’s.
I am really interested in Vietnam too, love the food, and people seems nice
What is Mark doing for a long term Visa? I opened 2 restaurants one in Nha trang and Saigon they do have inspections to open a business and that was back in 2009 and 2010. I ran a sports bar in DaNang and the Australian owner and his Vietnamese friend that was on the paperwork tried to steal his business and toss him out. She lost by the police and was told to hit the road. I loved Danang the most in Vietnam. After you live there 15 years it becomes not as nice as it was when you started. Same for me now I live in Pattaya and love the people, food where I live. Let’s see in a few years.
I don't personally recommend risking any money starting a business outside your home country. If you do anything, skip the brick-and-mortar businesses where someone can take your shit away and do an online business. Great question @charlesscinta7377, I have a video explaining how I make money that pays for my travels and I have a course that is presently available as a bonus for all of my paid subscribers, whether they are a monthly membership or my Lifetime membership. Here are those two resources if you would like to learn more:
How I make travel Money: th-cam.com/video/OX4Oat_4BHA/w-d-xo.html
Course teaching how to do it: vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-hobby-income-course/
Thanks,
Dan
This is a common theme in SEA. There's a 3-5 year honeymoon period for expats from countries like the USA, UK, Australia and then the novelty starts to wear off as the realisation is that life is quite one dimensional and the things that are missed are the things that are taken for granted.
Yep!!! Vietnam has been on my top 3 places to retire.
Same here. Amazing place.
What are the other two places?
@@00_UU Thailand and Philippines…however Belitung, Indonesia has popped up as a 4th consideration the past couple of months. Check out SideTripLife vlogger
@@00_UU Philippines and Thailand are the other two. Been to Chiang Mai and mountains of northern Thailand 30 times since 2005 working with a Foundation. Love it there. Belitung, Indonesia popped up within the past two months as a go see but probably only as an excursion trip. Look up vlogger SideTripLife. He’s produced a few vlogs on Belitung. Incredible beaches and water.
Amazing the number of Americans who want live in a communist country.
Thank you , Both very much.......Great Intel !... Mark reminded me of a CSM ( Command SGT. Major ) advising his men when they get "in country" .....Take Care...
But the million dollar question wasn't asked - how does he stay long term (did he say he lived there a year already) legally? What visa is he using? I LOVE Vietnam. I visited Da Nanag about a year ago. But I had a 30 day tourist visa, which you must apply for in advance. I guess they could issue up to a 6 month tourist visa based on what I read online now. Unlike Philippines, they don't give many long extensions for years. I don't want to do teaching visa and I don't plan to have a Vietnamese spouse. So I'd love to hear what he does to live there a year or many years (cute pup hope he lives long) in Vietnam.
3 month tourist visa is the maximum available.
Business Visa (with a substantial investment) or marriage visa are the only long stay option.
No retirement visa available.
If you have been around me long enough, you know Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in the world. But Vietnam has no retirement visa.
Yet, every time we visit Vietnam, we meet many older Western people who have been here for years.
Many of you asked why I didn’t ask Mark what visa he has.
I have never met anyone that is overstaying a visa in Vietnam and Mark is not overstaying. Everyone I meet has permission to be in Vietnam.
If you are a rule follower, you should only follow the official rules to stay in a country. That is what I recommend (and that is what Mark has done).
But if you ever fall in love with a country and want to stay ... ask a few expats off camera how they stay in a country without overstaying their visa.
Many people all over the world find ways to stay in countries they love. But if it doesn’t sound perfectly legit to me, I never promote it on my channel
... for two reasons.
One, I don’t want to disrupt the lives of older people who are happily living in a country somewhere by publicly sharing controversial solutions that could get shut down if they became widely known because of me.
Two, I don’t want to publicly encourage a large number of people to use the same controversial solutions ... it might embarrass officials and place me on a shit list.
Instead, do exploratory visits, ask ex-pats questions off-camera, decide where you want to live and pick the best way for you personally to make that happen.
That said ... I will be sharing more details about the various ways people are staying in Vietnam long-term as I learn more off-camera from the expats I meet here. Make sure to jump on my email list if you want to hear more controversial things that I am much more likely to share in an email after I have learned more.
Email list: vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/
Thanks for watching this video and commenting,
Dan
I'm living in both Thailand and Vietnam. As far as women dating us foreigners, it varies drastically from city to city especially with an age gap relationship. Also, there's a language barrier in both countries which can be a challenge.
It’s quite remarkable that VA seems more interested in evaluating age gap relationship potential than asking/commenting on the language barriers for expats in these locales. I would think language/communication would be far more important. Maybe I misjudge this channel’s
clientele - queue the girlfriend B roll.
Could I ask you something surfguy? Just your opinion.............no wrong answer. I'm planning on spending 4 months in Southeast Asia. It's my first trip. I want to focus mostly on Thailand and Vietnam with a brief trip to Cambodia for the experience and to say I've been. How would you allocate your time if you were me? Would 3 months Thailand 1 month Vietnam be a lopsided mistake? I'm embarrassed to admit it, but the girls is a big part of it. Recent divorce.
if ladies are the initial focus, then thailand or the philippines. cambodia has the easiest retirement visa. vietnam is nice.
@@jtns2845 You mean if "visa is the initial focus". Because for ladies, Cambodia is probably bottom of the list in terms of beauty standards.
@@vdang2402 i only wrote that cambodia has the easiest retirement visa; i purposely wrote nothing in this separate sentence about cambodia and ladies. thailand and philippines have accessible ladies, but always, as with property there, be careful and rent don’t buy.
Can Dan & Mark comment on how anyone can “retire” in Vietnam when no retirement visa exists ? Set up a business ? Invest ? If so how much ?
Pay a local to get married
Fantastic video, my wife and I are planning doing the same thing and it is amusing when we speak to people here ask all the questions you ask your guests. We spent 2 weeks Danang and hoi an, what Beautiful people and places, your answers were so well delivered and we look forward to also fulfilling our dreams.🎉
Go for it!
I was in DN for a month in February 2024. A few days before i left, i realized i never once heard a siren. I will retire a move there. I ❤DN
Hey I spent 10 years in Detroit and also raised in buffalo! Don’t blame you for leaving both areas lol.
I have been seriously considering Guatemala, Thailand, VietNam and Mexico. Done to Guatemala and VietNam. I do speak Spanish and Italian, single retired female.
My goal is to decide by June and get out…in the US at the moment, lost my home and tiny bakery to Irma and Maria 2017.
The US is so stressful, I can hardly bear it. I am traveling to Nicaragua as a volunteer in about a month, hope to know the answer then!
Thank for all the info great video!
There are areas in Southern Italy you can buy homes that need repair for cheap, also no tax on income from abroad. Assuming you are a US citizen. Must live in Italy at least 6 months out of the year.
Today I got an appointment to get a possible root canal evaluated...3 month wait. I'm in Phoenix and normally drive to the border, walk to Nogales Mexico for dental care. 1-2 week wait for an appointment for 1/3 the cost and much better equipment and all the specialists on site. So root canal evaluation, root canal and cap made and installed in 6 hours.
Here in Phoenix I have to go to a general dentist to get a referral, then 3 month wait for evaluation...don't know how long to wait to get the root canal then back to the original general dentist to get the hole filled that was made drilling thru the existing cap. It's nuts. I'm trying this because my new insurance covers $5000 in dental. Not sure it's worth it.
In Vietnam you can finish with dentist in 3-4 hours
Went to DaNang for Christmas 2019, before Covid, and could actually SAY, I COULD LIVE THERE.....Great photos of my wife dancing on China Beach there, all the amenities (I love Starbucks) great prices, and friendly sincere people, can't say enough, almost as good as Taiwan, but getting better......Taiwan is by far, the best in ten categories (super-safe crime-free environment, low low taxes, superb affordable health care......)in Eastern Asia.......including Thailand, Japan, Korea, the Phillippines, Indonesia, and Australia.......
Yeah, Da Nang nice city but not my cup of tea. Reminds me of a large USA city (traffic, crowds, noise) and too many foreigners. Been visiting Vietnam for 14 years - my favorite area is near Hue countryside.
Hue is beautiful and one of the biggest cultural meccas in Vietnam.
If you want a slower version of Da Nang, take a trip to Quy Nhon. When you're on the beach, the view feels like Da Nang.
Doesn't hurt to be rich no matter where you are - this video is unrelatable to 99% of humanity.
Enjoy the information from both of you. Thanks for a great interview Dan.👍🙏👌
Vietnam is often not considered as a retirement destination. We live in the Philippines and have visited there--Da Nang is on the list as well as Hue. Enjoyed Hanoi a good deal.
You wouldn't want to live in Hanoi.
@@AgathaLOutahere C'mon! You can't leave a guy hanging like that! WHY?
We have been all over Vietnam. Just go to our TH-cam PLaylist for Vietnam and you can see us on the ground all over Vietnam:
www.youtube.com/@VagabondAwake/playlists
These youtubers failed to mention VietNam is a communist country, police can arrest or confiscate your property at will, lot of bribery and corruption officials, as a foreigner, you have no right to own anything in VN including a motorcycle, you can own a house if you married to a local but the house has to register in her name.. normally she will divorce you after the house is in her name, then she will kick you out of her house.
VN gov't is baiting foreigners to retire there but things can change very quicky that you have no way of protecting yourself or your property. local merchants are ripping off foreigners because they can, pocketpickers and robbery are frequent occurances... scammers are 24x7..
If the VN communist gov't is treating their own citizens like these below clips, what make you think they will treat the forever enermy (USA) any better? DON'T BE STUPID LISTENING TO THESE PROPAGANDA TH-camRS...
An famous Tiktoker got arrested for riding a bike in a deserted street, she got locked up for 7 years: th-cam.com/video/vP_EvaDiEgM/w-d-xo.html
An outspoken high level congressman get arrested for raising concerns abolocked him uput the police corruptions, the gov't fabricated charges and repelled his communist party membership then locked him up: th-cam.com/video/l92tG4ROzYo/w-d-xo.html
Great vid, entertaining and packed with information. I've been thinking about retiring in Thailand, where I have been many times. Now I'm thinking, hmm...Vietnam. Thanks for this vid!
Solid interview. And this guy gives me bruce will vibes. For his age he looks great
Nice, well spoken, soft mannered guy!
Another positive about Vietnam - Taxation. Thailand was but is NOT the place to retire anymore. Great to visit or live and work there, but not for retirees. Starting 1 Jan 2024 Thailand now taxes the income of retired Expats (including Pensions), while all the other countries in SEAsia like Vietnam do not. As it is now, retired Expats have been told to pay income taxes on the money they brought to Thailand from 1 Jan 2024 onwards. Thailand also wants to implement worldwide taxation, so even if you dont remit the money to Thailand, they want to tax it if you live in Thailand 180 days or more. No matter how good their Visas are or the country is - for retired Expats Thailand is not the best option (we are leaving). Vietnam is where a few mates have gone or are planning to go - the opportunity is there for Vietnam to pick up a lot of Expats looking to retire overseas in SEAsia. Thailand clearly does not want us anymore.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Excellent interview Dan!! I didn't want it to end. Mark's experience is intriguing! I plan to go to Vietnam this year and I can't wait! Cheers!
Love Vietnam! So happy to see it getting the respect it deserves.
Great video on affordable retirement spots! Really makes you consider safety too. Super helpful for future planning!
Another great video Dan and thanks to Mark for sharing his experiences!
What a great honest interview,two cool guy’s having a great informative chat.thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
Smart Man! Belgium Malinois dogs are the best!! I'm on my third one. Great Interview Dan. One of the reasona I haven't left the US yet is because of my Malinois. Vietnam looks very inviting.
What do they taste like ?
Great interview Dan ...my new Adventures begin this coming May...retirement in the Philippines 🇵🇭
Good hearing from you, Dan
Planning to move to Da Nang in August, 2024 to retire.
Holy cow! This sounds so much better than everything I've heard about the Philippines.
We just spent a month here. We absolutely loved it!
Phillippines looks like a dump...the ONLY reason why guys go there is the English...
Except visas.
Philippines is very good. Vietnam is even better! But Vietnam just might be the best country in the World!
To live in Vietnam is not easy. Securing a long term visa is not easy unless you are;
1. Sponsored by an employer
2. Open a business and invest
3. Marry a local Vietnamese woman
4. Work for a NGO
There is no such thing as a retirement visa for expats (for now at least). So which visa types are these people getting for their long term stay?
All of the above plus visa runs every 3 months nowdays
I’ve lived in the rural south of the U.S. for years on less than $500 per month.
Granted I’m a VERY self-sufficient person, willing to live in a nice camper in a remote area, but not fully “off-grid” and less than 20 minutes from civilization.
What state do you live with that budget? Thanks
$500 Per month just his imagination
@@terrydonovan5246
Now if you're feelin' kinda low 'bout the dues you've been paying
Future's coming much too slow
And you wanna run, but somehow you just keep on stayin'
Can't decide on which way to go
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind
Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can't cha see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone
Ohh, ohh
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind
Take a look ahead
Take a look ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Now everybody's got advice, they just keep on givin'
Doesn't mean too much to me
Lots of people out to make believe they're livin'
Can't decide who they should be
Oh, oh
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind
Take a look ahead
Take a look ahead
Look ahead
@@iymspartacus7089 just for food
I'm living in Malaybalay Bukidnon Mindanao Island Philippines. It's a mountain location and so enjoyably cool. My rent cost is about $90 a month. TV, hot water shower, safe location. My girlfriend and I walk to downtown nearly every day and enjoy sitting in Dunkin Donuts and watching people and traffic. I don't go to beaches (too hot), or go out for night life. My girl and I just live a happy easy life. My income is $1500/month so I can save money.
Hi @thomasmanning829, Would you like to be a guest start on one of my videos? Here is an example guest star video: th-cam.com/video/ySM_2jAC4v4/w-d-xo.html
Your interview could be just your voice or we could do a zoom call showing your face. If you would like to be a guest star and share your story please leave a personal message here: vagabondbuddha.com/contact/
Thank you for your comment. The detail of your comment makes this real for people. If you have a business, service, or TH-cam channel, you could share that on the interview. Best, Dan
Yes the only problem I can see is boredom, not sure I could handle sitting in a coffee shop all day, every day, I need projects
Great vid! Sounds like a dream location for retirement. Maybe I need to rethink the Philippines.
Sounds fantastic !!! 53 yr old Canadian here .
Love that area of the country. Wide streets and nice people. Definitely one of my top places to retire.
It really is!
My wife is Vietnamese from Saigon and we live here in Houston Texas. Been married 23 years now. We are talking now about retiring in Vietnam... We love this Da Nang Video and now has given us some ideas about buying a condo there. I would love to talk with you sometime about living there. Thanks Chris
Great comment, “Getting off the plane you automatically got health insurance based on the costs” 15:00
Very practical indeed.
Wellcome to Vietnam, I wish you all the best things when you live here.
Here in the US, once you retire or on disability? You basically stand no chance of living a comfortable life. Sadly, your only option for better life is to leave the country you loved all your life, and to move to different countries. Sad but realities.😢
But after a few years you find that most other countries have something you love more than home and when you go home your love might not be as strong as you thought it would be. Your people you love, the nature you love, but the rest you often find yourself laughing at.
As of 2020, the top 10 most popular countries for US expats were: Mexico, Canada, U.K., Germany, Australia, Israel, South Korea, France, Japan, and Spain. Aside from Mexico, these destinations aren't particularly cheap.
Guys, had to laugh about the "no police presence" in Da Nang! We stayed in the Grand Tourane hotel last year overlooking the beach across the street. I was looking straight down and saw a considerable police presence! Some sort of large scale checkpoint. Everyone was being funneled off to the side of the road. And we watched several people lose their motorbikes! They were loaded onto the back of a large stake body truck. When the truck was filled with bikes, the operation stopped. Terrible! For the folks left standing there with no ride! But that was the only time we saw the police. We have a video of it.
Because these People forgot to pay taxes...😉
Lmao 🤣
That is what happens in Thailand too. The police will periodically set up road checkpoints to look for violations. Otherwise 98% of the time you never see the police. There is no one hiding around the corner waiting for you to roll through a stop sign (there aren’t many stop 🛑 signs). Nor are they running around slapping parking tickets on your car. And, of course, children are riding motorbikes everywhere.
There is a new zero-tolerance drinking law, that was probably it.
I haven't seen that yet in Vietnam. I have seen it in Thailand multiple times.
I am curious; stationed at DaNang from 1970 to 1972, some nasty business. Are former G.I.'s considered "war criminals" etc. I.E is there bad blood towards the former enemy. I did very well after I retired from the military and have always wondered what is left of the former air base. I was born in Detroit, just a dumb kid; joined the USAF to avoid going to Vietnam. Spent 5 years of my twenty years in SEA. I am amazed at how nice DaNang looks as well as Saigon. This war ended 50 years ago and I am so proud to see how well things look over there.
The Vietnamese do not hold a grudge. All the Americans I have met living there now have said the same thing to me. They are over the war ... long ago.
Great vid guys, Just booked a trip to Danang for May this year. Can’t wait. Mark, I’ll buy you a beer and diner when we get there if I can find ya. 🇦🇺
Mark’s experiences really align with what I want my future to look like 👍
Thank you both
Philippines is cheap, speak English, the visa is no problem, people are friendly.
Lovely beaches, blue water...the only thing it can be very hot.
Check out Baguio. :-)
Been in DaNang for 3 days. I will say that the people are TRULY, TRULY beautiful inside and out. I'm having to chill out here after leaving the Philippines
Comparing Iloilo to DaNang is like night and day for me. The noise level has dropped tenfold. The driving is noticeably saner. The housing has more space. The food selection is heaps better and tastes is incomparable.
Sorry, Filipinos have a lot to learn. It crushes me to say it, because I really wanted to give the Philippines my love. While nature there is amazing, the people have left a bad taste in my mouth.
On a side note, I've worked in the medical field alongside many Filipinas. When I asked them if they will go back to the Philippines after they retire, not one mind you, has ever told me yes. They sheepishly tell me they will not, without ever explaining why. Now I know. I also want to note all the TH-camrs that have raved about Iloilo after spending a week there, need to spend 3 months there like I've done. Iloilo is years away from catching up. Poverty is everywhere off the main drag of Megaworld.
Glad to hear you have found a spot you love. Thanks for commenting!
Really enjoyed listening to this dude, very honest and intelligent review from someone who is obviously a good bloke 👍
I spent two weeks there, scouting the city, just after having been another two in Bangkok, and I liked it better for a nice quiet life.
It's a very good place to retire, but the lack of English was very tough to accept for me personally.
The people, though, are AMAZING.
Great points. When first left the United States in 2007, I found low English literacy countries quite challenging. Now I feel much differently. I actually love it now. I think I will do a video on that topic. Thanks!
When you go to another country, expect to learn their language. This entitlement is way out of line.
@@JayTse-x7l English is the universal language, they didn't say that eveyone had to speak English for his/her benefit but that it was lacking as compared to other places that's he/she's been. You're conflation is way out of line.
@@molonlabe9602 English is universal language? What corner of the world are you living in? English is ranked only number 3 in popularity after Chinese Mandarin (#1) and Spanish (#2).
@@vdang2402 English is the most common secondary language.
Retirement Visa in Thailand seems more accessible than what I have heard available in Vietnam and other neighboring countries, excluding Cambodia from what I have heard.
I'm starting year 3 in Thailand and enjoying it very much but open to exploring. Although, Thailand has a strong pull.
Mark looks in great shape for his age! 💪💪
Roids ?
@@davidbrown4271 You can get TRT drugs like AndroGel over the counter with no script in Vietnam. Roids are very easy to get in Thailand which is why so many bodybuilders and MMA guys spend time there. It's $100 plane fare from Saigon to Bangkok so you could bring roids back to Nam that way or you could find a friendly doc in Da Nang to order it for you. Mark's an ex-cop. Roids are popular with the law enforcement community.
He looks normal healthy to me.
He's only 28 !
🤣@@2msvalkyrie529
I had a trip to Da Nang planned for March 2020 and covid put a stop to that. I will watch your videos this week and plan my next trip.
Excellent interview I also have a dog.I am trying to figure out if it's going to be the coffee region in Colombia or Asia..Traveling with a dog overseas isn't fun while searching for a homebase
Awesome video as usual looking from others perspective.
My wife and I are planning to do 12 months Asian travel next year through Thailand, Japan, Vietnam 🇻🇳, Phillipines and Korea to experience different living out of Australia.
Thanks for your inside view and experiences.
Great video and great topics. Your guest is a very mature and understanding person.
It's so nice over there so let's move everyone in from the states and turn it into chicago🎉
It will never happen. Most people buy the propaganda that the USA is the best place in the entire world and anyone who leaves is an idiot.
Great video.Im sure it will be very helpful to alot of people.Awesome enjoy your new home which I'm sure you will.
A lot of Americans/westerners have a dog - I was pleasantly SURPRISED to hear that your guest brought his dog along. Would you please consider interviewing people specifically focused on how they included their pet?
I have interviewed several people that brough along their dogs.
Here is my guest star video playlist on TH-cam:
th-cam.com/video/6NihPh4OZMU/w-d-xo.html
Excellent information. Nice interview Dan. Looking forward to more from Vietnam.
Awesome, thank you!
Just saw this today, March 7!! So tempting to get over to Da Nang this summer!! RE: Dan says, people who don't know about this, "health insurance is stupid"- LOL. So true brother!! This video truly is "good to the last drop" (hey, he loves his coffee- Maxwell house!!) What a delightful person. I will certainly look him up if I get to the beach there.
I think 1 of the biggest issue with foreigners retiring in Vietnam is the Language barrie, with Vietnamese being 1 of the top 3 most difficult languages to learn in the world
I don't speak a word of it. I still love the place. I use Google Translate whenever I run into someone with zero engish. If I settled there I might study the language. You can probably even get a student visa for that.
@@VagabondAwake correct you didn't which honestly suprised me. But Henry another Vlogger said that's the Main reason me left Vietnam & went to the Philippines. Because most locals in his Dating age range spoke 0 English, The only 1's that did were TOO young for him to date or they weren't open to dating someone 30 yrs older than themself
Long term visas are problematic to acquire.
I spent 3 months in early 2020 riding from Hanoi to Saigon, wiggling all over out to Cat Ba / Halong, north to the Van ?? mountains, down the awesome Ho Chi Minh Trail little hiway, out to coast many times at Hoi Ann, Samson, Na Trang, the cool caves around cute Phong Nah, to Phu Quoc Island, ending in Vung Tao where I sold the moto. But I missed Da Nang. How does lovely Na Trang compare to Da Nang? I loved Na Trang where I had a 10th floor beach front hotel with balcony for $11usd! Only things that would bother me are; the locals are nowhere near as friendly fun as Filipinos, the food away from tourist areas I found quite boring compaired to Thai or Malaysian, theres too many Russians, and no way in heck are you gonna get a smokin hot 20 year old girlfriend like is ubiquitous in the Philippines. But its way cheaper than the PH and so nice and clean and developed, unlike the PH.
Bring your Filipina to Nam. Would that work ?
@@PMLynch She'd go, but she'd hate it later on and it would destroy the relationship, but maybe by then thats a good thing. depends.
Da Nang and Nha Trang are probably my two favorite cities in Vietnam.
Thanks for sharing, also the comparison to pi.
@@PMLynch You could, but she would be MISERABLE and I can tell you personally it's NO fun being around someone who is MISERABLE. It's like a virus you might catch it yourself. As they say misery loves company, so she will draw you into her misery. Does that sound like FUN to you?
I am curious as to what visa arrangements he has, as Vietnam only offers a 3 month evisa. Prior to covid I lived in various places here in Vietnam, and visa agent did the pickup and delivery of passport, every 3 months. Now we have a 3 month visa that is renewable but require an exit & return. I lived in Vietnam for 7-8 years, left DaNang June 2019 due to covid and returned May 2023. Now in Hoi An. Will await your next blog. Cheers.
If you have been around me long enough, you know Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in the world. But Vietnam has no retirement visa.
Yet, every time we visit Vietnam, we meet many older Western people who have been here for years.
Many of you asked why I didn’t ask Mark what visa he has.
I have never met anyone that is overstaying a visa in Vietnam and Mark is not overstaying. Everyone I meet has permission to be in Vietnam.
If you are a rule follower, you should only follow the official rules to stay in a country. That is what I recommend (and that is what Mark has done).
But if you ever fall in love with a country and want to stay ... ask a few expats off camera how they stay in a country without overstaying their visa.
Many people all over the world find ways to stay in countries they love. But if it doesn’t sound perfectly legit to me, I never promote it on my channel
... for two reasons.
One, I don’t want to disrupt the lives of older people who are happily living in a country somewhere by publicly sharing controversial solutions that could get shut down if they became widely known because of me.
Two, I don’t want to publicly encourage a large number of people to use the same controversial solutions ... it might embarrass officials and place me on a shit list.
Instead, do exploratory visits, ask ex-pats questions off-camera, decide where you want to live and pick the best way for you personally to make that happen.
That said ... I will be sharing more details about the various ways people are staying in Vietnam long-term as I learn more off-camera from the expats I meet here. Make sure to jump on my email list if you want to hear more controversial things that I am much more likely to share in an email after I have learned more.
Email list: vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/
Thanks for watching this video and commenting,
Dan
A great guest with lots of common sense. Thank you.
Read on for my honest opinion. I lived in Vietnam (as a working individual, not retiree) for a couple of years starting 2013.
PROS: everything that was said in this video.
But don`t forget the following:
- Visa: unless you marry a local Vietnamese there aren`t any official long term visas that I know of. I remember one was able to "buy" a 5 years long term visa a few years back. Huge risk if you get caught and also risky when you try to renew
- Home ownership: foreigners with valid visas or those married to Vietnamese nationals were allowed to purchase property (with many rules and caps). You may think that you can rent, think twice because a rental agreement or any signed contract has almost no value in VN and they can breach it at any time. Plus prices go up every year
- Bureaucracy / paperwork: it is close to impossible to get anything done by yourself and you will need an agent for everything (meaning $$)
- Language: English won`t be spoken anymore once you stepped out of the expat beer garden. Vietnamese is not an easy language to learn or master.
- Healthcare: private healthcare only. Can be expensive and not always good (plus language barriers)
- Costs of living: most people saying it`s CHEAP are coming from the developed countries (US, AUS, UK etc). If you are from lower income countries then Vietnam will be quite expensive. Plus you will pay more for everything just because you are a foreigner
- Relationship: I am generalizing here but most retirees I met and saw are either single, divorced or about to get divorced...with exceptions of course. Have this in mind if you are planning to retire in Vietnam with your lifelong partner
- Safety: it is indeed very safe as long as you don`t do politics or try to screw some locals up
- Banking / money transfer: it is very difficult to bring and take larger amounts of money out of the country. Many regulations on foreign exchange control issued by State Bank of Vietnam
- Pollution: probably not on the top of anybody`s mind, but Vietnam is very polluted (Saigon and Hanoi top the list, Danang is slightly better)
Let me know if you have any other specific questions.
Thanks for your thoughts.
In relation to banking, yes its a nightmare, sending in is easy getting it out is the hsrd part. You must have a papertrail of what you did with the money whilst residing in VN.
Concerning Da Nang, there is heavy pollution that's not really talked about. I retired from the Haz-Mat business and I'm very aware of the HUGE toxic chemical problem in Da Nang. Back during the war Agent Orange and other Toxic Chemicals were dumped in the soil in LARGE quantities. There was a cleanup costing $600 million dollars, but it only touched the surface of the pollution. You could dig to China and not have an adequate clean up. But for publicity purposes they did what they could even if it was wholly inadequate.
Looks like vagabond didn’t like your comment
@@koljan3668 Did you see something in Vagabond comment that I didn't? He didn't disapproval of TheBiodynamicDuo points about Vietnam.
It seems like you can excise all the bureacracy out of your uSA existence moving overseas. The better quality of food in southeast Asia cannot be overemphasized. American food quality is disgusting to me now after just one month over there.
Hi Mark,
I’m also from the buffalo area (Go Bills) and I’m also watching channels of many bloggers to get answers. I also thinking like you to start of just doing winters first. But I’m glad to hear that you found a happy place there . Great video
Thanks for sharing
Saying this area is the San Diego of Vietnam but then also saying it’s hotter than La or Florida just does not align. San Diego is mostly 60s and 70s and low to no humidity.
Okay. It is a beautiful city on the beach, but hotter. Great point. :-)
Nice! Moving from Chiang Mai to Da Nang next week!
Have fun!
Great video, I just cannot leave the USA but would love to visit there when I finally retire!
Amazing video, A friend of mine referred me to a financial adviser sometime ago and we got talking about investment and money. I started investing with $120k and in the first 2 months , my portfolio was reading $274,800. Crazy right!, I decided to reinvest my profit and gets more interesting. For over a year we have been working together making consistent profit just bought my second home 2 weeks ago and care for my family.
I’ve been forced to find additional sources of income as I got retrenched. I barely have time to continue trading and watch my investments since I had my second daughter. Do you think I should take a break for a while from the market and focus on other things or return whenever I have free time or is it a continuous process? Thanks.
@@BennettElizabth Quitting may not be the best approach if you ask me. This is where an AI comes into the picture. I barely have time to trade myself as my job swallows up most of my time. *MARGARET MOLLI ALVEY* , a licensed fiduciary whom has made me over 5 figures in profit in less than seven months, handles my investments. I could leave you a lead if you need help...
@@IfranReinfeld Oh please I’d love that. Thanks!
@@BennettElizabth *MARGARET MOLLI ALVEY*
Lookup with her name on the webpage.