Can You REALLY Live On $1000 A Month In Vietnam? Cost Of Living in Vietnam
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 พ.ค. 2024
- In this video we talk about the cost of living in Vietnam with a detailed breakdown and many examples of prices in different categories. 📕 Teaching English in Vietnam salary & start-up costs guide: ninjateacher.com/free-guide
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:25 Vietnamese food restaurant prices
3:49 Grocery shopping
6:50 Accommodation
12:26 Transportation
15:08 Gyms
15:52 Mobile phone
16:34 What I spent in a week on food
23:06 The “Budget” budget
24:19 International food restaurant prices
24:57 The “Balanced” budget
27:01 The “Baller” budget
29:00 Summary
✈️ Start teaching English in Vietnam: ninjateacher.com
🎓 Vietnam TEFL Program: academy.ninjateacher.com/p/vi...
💻 Online TEFL Course: ninjateacher.com/online-tefl
📕 Teaching English in Vietnam salary & start-up costs guide: ninjateacher.com/free-guide
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Edited by Taylor Olson
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Having been through the Ninja Teacher process and living in Vietnam, I can safely assure you, no matter what you earn you will NEVER go hungry. The variety of tastes and the affordability of the food is exceptional and to this day, there is no other place in the world I return to more often than Vietnam. Thank you, Alex
Glad to hear that! You're most welcome.
As a Vietnamese living in the US, I miss Vietnamese food very much. The Vietnamese food in US is not as delicious as the food in VN. I pay 15$ for a bowl of Pho over here but it tastes nothing compared to a 2$ Pho in VN.😮💨
Phở 0,8$ đô thôi =20k vnd là giá trung bình thường gặp
😱
@@TRAN_HOANG_DUY_TAN_1995phở ở đâu 20k?
@@pl640 chắc mua phở gói ăn liền + nửa lạng thịt bò
@@pl640 à chắc tao nhầm phở giá 2 triệu chứ làm gì có phở 20k đâu nhỉ😏😏😏
I have a friend who live on USA but he lie ti his boss that he live in USA but working from vietnam for 6 months and get big salary from his company live like a king in vietnam 😊
Very easy to live on around 20 million a month here. The only months where I've spent 30 million is the months when I went eating at western places and drinking more than 3 times a week. Home cooking or eating local will save you an absolute fortune over the course of the year.
street food so healthy here with alot of greens and herbes. You can eat 3 times/day outside for 3S/day 5$ with cold drinks. So 3*30=90$/month for food, no need to cook yourself. You can save that cooking time to enjoy another stuffs.
Great video, very informative.
A few additional costs not mentioned here:
1. "Stuff": clothes, shoes, a mobile phone, a laptop, household items, etc.
For me its ~$800 a year on average (~$70 per month).
2. Home country/family visits:
Even if you only go once a year its quite expensive. Roughly $1,000 for me (~$80 per month).
3. Health insurance:
If you're young and healthy, maybe $50 per month, if you're in your seventies it may go up to $500 per month, maybe more.
4. Home internet (fiber/broadband)
5. Toiletries and cleaning products.
In my case I also pay someone to clean my apartment once a week.
6. Cable/Netflix/Disney+/Amazon Video/Spotify etc
7. Vacations:
If you ever go on vacations it will add up. You can stay in Vietnam as it will be cheaper, but many people will also want to visit Thailand, Cambodia (Angkor Wat), Korea, Taiwan, maybe even Japan.
very helpful additional info, thanks
You Forget that even Your List is Your List.. 1. "Stuff" is As Needed!, 2. Not everyone there has any there. 3. Health Insurance, Not everyone Needs it or it's provided to them by the VA and they pay for it. 4. Agree because I Refuse to Own a Cellphone. 5. As Needed. 6. If you have Internet, ALL Movies are FREE! If you know what you are doing and IS Legal... So NOT Needed. 7. You are On Permanent Vacation. Unless like Him, you bring your work with you.. and Why would you do that?
His List is for Living in the City, Live Outside the City and these Costs could be Halved and have a Better Life doing so.. I live in Florida on a Budget of $555 a Month because I OWN My Land, Truck, Motorcycle and MY Bills are MY Bills Not my Neighbors who are paying Well Over that and are also Single like me..
If I live In Town, My Costs Goes Up by a Good $150+ a Month.. No Thank You!
@@ravenlorans Calm down dear....
Hospital costs in Vietnam are cheaper than buying life insurance
Cost of living in HCMC is subjective for locals vs foreigners. You spend more when you make more money.
a) When I was a student, the living cost in Tan Binh, HCMC for everything was around 3.5M VND ~ $150. I rent a new small room (3x3m) with a small mezzanine in Tay Thanh, HCMC for just $50 a month. Shared internet cost me $1-2. I cooked the food myself. No doctor, no medicine, $2-5 on clothes... Sometimes, I could live on $100 a month ($50 renting, $50 on everything else)
b) When I was working as a software dev, I rent a very good apartment with 2 bedrooms (3x3.5 m each), 2 toilets, and 1 big master room in Au co street, Tan Binh for 5,5M VND.
The address was: "QJPV+9V4, Khu Bàu Cát 2 Đường Số 1, Phường 10, Tân Bình, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam"
- We had 3 people shared the apartment. So, it was 5,5M VND ------ $232/3 = $77 (The renting price now is less than 7M VND ~ $295/3 people = $98)
- Food / Eating out: 100k * 30 days = 3M VND --------------------------------------------- = $126.76 (If you can cook then it will be way more cheaper)
- Entertainment: 1M VND ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- = $42.25
- Drinks: 30K * 26 days = 780k VND ------------------------------------------------------------- = $32.96
- Shopping (Sometimes): 500k VND ------------------------------------------------------------ = $21.13
- Gasoline: 300k VND ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = $12.68
- Internet FPT 300k VND (1Gbps/s) ---------------------------------------------- $12.68/3 = $4.3
- See a doctor (Sometimes): 70k ------------------------------------------------------------------ = $2.96
- Medicine (Sometimes): 180k VND ------------------------------------------------------------- = $7.61
So, the living cost of office workers in Saigon is around $328. A junior software developer made from $300 - $900 NET in HCMC. A senior software developer made $800 - $3000. Everything is cheaper if you are a Vietnamese :) It could be more expensive for foreigners because they don't know how to bargain when renting a room
Thank you
Review đỉnh
Plus maybe we foreigners come with money from their country so they don’t have to budget everything, they want a more relaxed lifestyle and they don’t mind paying
Việt Nam mình ham vui ồn ào nên thích thuê ở chung chứ người nước ngoài họ thích riêng tư yên tĩnh nên thuê ở riêng một mình một căn
1000$ ~ 23 mil VND, that's a dream salary for a lot of Vietnamese. Workers take home around 300$ a month is pretty common.
Your are absolutely right.
Indeed. My teaching assistants taught me a lot about living like a local. They showed me where they eat and shop. My costs were decreased significantly. However, at times you do feel really guilty when you earn as much as you do as a teacher. I was clearing around 40 million VND or more most months but I would happily give them a "performance bonus" when I worked with them. Hardest working people I have ever met.
I lost my wallet in the ocean of Vietnam once... I lived for free for one month. I met a wonderful Viet family took me in that didnt have much. They absolutely refused payment when the time came. If my father didnt get sick with cancer I would have never came back.
🥺🥺🥺💚💚💚💚
That must be a once-in-a-lifetime experience❤
Luôn có một gia đình chờ bạn trở về. Khi bạn cảm thấy mệt mỏi hay chán nản, hãy đến Việt Nam. Mảnh đất này không phải mảnh đất cho bạn niềm vui, nhưng nó chắc chắn mang lại hạnh phúc, giá trị tinh thần.
Your most valuable video yet !! This is definitely what I needed before my move there. THANK YOU !! Beautifully produced video, too. Very professional production.
Great Information David
Your travel tips are invaluable for anyone planning their own journey. Thanks for being such a helpful guide!
Wonderful, so informative, lots of research and editing, big thank.
Thanks for this informative video! I just returned to the states after two weeks in Vietnam (and experiencing withdrawals). Loved all of the food & hospitality there!
great video!
That was an AMAZING video! Thank you so much, it was very HELPFUL!🙏❤️🙏
Fantastic video. Greatly appreciated
Amazing video. Very informative.
❤ after 2 years in, I ate western 5X. 5 regret. I don't eat Vietnamese because of budget. I don't need to. I eat it because it's one of the best cuisines on the globe! I've shopped the markets, I've been blessed by my local friends to show me how to cook it. ❤ I'm back in Canada 🇨🇦 now and I'm dying😂 it's a food desert compared to VN❤❤❤
Me too! But I concluded V food is very good! no need to try world food!
Very valuable info to encourage one becoming decisive. Thank You!
Great video! Very informative
Great information. Really appreciate your hard work making these videos. ❤🙏👍
Thank you for your time and posting.
awesome video!!!
that was amazing job bro... i really needed this video, thanks
Do more of these types of these videos, also i like the new editing style
it's super professional
Me and my partner live on around $1500 TOGETHER in Sweden. In Vietnam you should be able to live a good life on $350-$500 per person easily. Your priorities must be really off if living cheap is the goal..
Great information. Thanks.😊
excellent video !
Amazing 👏
Thanks a lot for this wonderful video.
This video was exactly what i was looking for. Thank you!
me too !!
Thank you. Very informative
Ninja Teacher - Thank you for your video - informative.
Thanks for the video I enjoyed it.
Thank you for that good Video.
Thank you Alex. I plan to apply teaching in Vietnam next year.
Seeing that but the truth is not so. The leadership is very bad and dirty, you can prove that the places I go to the cities, the street corners are unhygienic, the food I don't dare to eat because of the food processing toxic chemicals, people who just came to live they don't know but after living there for a long time, now they know..that’s all i can say it is not what i heard.
Excellent video, I am a new subscriber 😊
Good video
Well done smart & intelligent! ❤
Thank you. Very informative indeed. Much, much cheaper than staying with my relatives 🙂.
Nice job
Very informative video! Soon, I will also travel to Vietnam and am already curious about the costs of gyms 🤔:)
Nice video
A good video.Thank Alex😂
Yes you absolutely can! I did. 👍
Thank you so much for a well informative cost of living nowadays in VN.
I'm living in the US currently and very much interested in teaching English in Vietnam, please advised me where to started.
Once again thanks so much and hope to hear from you.
Seriously in-depth professional video - best in class！
Thanks!
Great and informative video Alex. Are there job options in the real estate world there?
Family and I are moving there in a year or so cant wait.
Wuz upp... great video sign me up Scotty
literally said you would compare food in 3 categories and only did one haha was waiting to take notes
Alex, is that veggie buffet in Saigon or Da Nang??? Looks great!!!
Living a simple life that is easy, affordable, and stress-free.👍💖
Some other nice things:
- Many banks have free overdraft protection, and with no minimum balance
- Zero fee money transfer for all banks
- It doesn't cost you to receive messages and phone calls
- Airport luggage carts are free
- All utilities are sold by the government (scarcity exists, but there won't be any price hike)
I am loving your videos so much. They are really helping me make the decision to start teaching and moving over there. I'm from South Africa and this is really the time to make the move. Is there any way I can make contact with you to ask questions.
Helping people start teaching English in Vietnam is what we do. :) You can check out ninjateacher.com to see the options we offer to assist people with getting started and you can get in touch there too.
Great video amigo! How do most people stay legally in the country? Do you have a person to help with long term visas? Or are these apartments all month to month?
$600 total U.S. dollars I think my total cost was for hotels and food everyday . September to October 2023 was for 29 days
Thank you SO SO much for the effort and detail you put into your videos!! Can I ask how good the online shopping is in Vietnam? Like is there a version of takealot?😄 I would hope to buy an Airfryer for example!:)
Yes! There are several options like Lazada and Tiki that offer online shopping with fast delivery times.
@@ninja.teacher ah amazing thank you so much!!
Thanks, Alex. Very informative. What about health insurance and medications expenses?
In some rich international schools as where I worked in SAIGON, they offer you free accommodation and round tickets every year to visit your home country. Every year you have 2 new year holidays, the TET Vietnamese new year in end of January and the Western new year from the end of Dec to January like in US. I recommend you apply to international schools rather than English Centers because they can offer you good paid, paid holidays, and accommodation included.
If you stayed in VN long enough ( over 6 months ) and your age is under 60 ,you can purchase a VNese health insurance package with cheap price ( 100-150usd for in/out -patient per year) or you can choose international health insurance up to 500usd per year. If you don’t care of health insurance , you can visit doctors with 500k per visit ( 22 usd) , for MRI service it costs 3milks ( 130usd) . It is some basic information to you.
Since this $1k is net, the actual salary will have to be higher to include taxes. So if your employer covers health, life, dental, vision insurance and offers a 401k match; you'd have to make 32M or $1,350/mo to be able to match the balanced budget and cover taxes, 5% savings, 5% 401k and a little for charitable giving. This also doesn't include any room for unexpected expenses, shopping of any kind other than food, trips, etc. Realistically this means the minimum is $1500/mo gross if you just want to live and not save or invest for the future. Long term sustainable living then becomes $2k and up...
So short term, yes you can live conservatively on $1k/mo as a single person who doesn't care about travel or long term investment.
health care is cheap, u pay prolly 5 dollars a month. Saving account there is 7 8 %. We dont pay taxes there
Spending $1K/month in a third world slum country is outrageous.
@@nocancelcultureaccepted9316 Lol you must have either really high standards or have never been to HCMC. The quality of life there is substantially higher than in the US in a lot of ways...
@@Eph_2_8-9
Higher than in the US?
Over 80% of Vietnamese would kill to migrate to anywhere else rather than Vietnam. If you happen to be a foreigner who isn’t familiar with the facts of Vietnamese culture and you live in your own bubble, you may think it’s fine. But the Vietnamese know it sucks to live in their own society because of 2 reasons: garbage and stealing.
@@nocancelcultureaccepted9316 I though you don’t have much time for news.
Hi Ninja I heard the food is great and cheap but would you do a research about GMO & how they feed livestock? I watched investigations about seafood at VN they use a lot of chemicals and antibiotics so how the food safety for your health? I’m just a curious George please make another video about food safety if possible thanks
In Vietnam : the high budget would go a a decent /safe areas rental lodging - other than that groceries/local market/street foods are super cheap (the price of McDonald's , Chic fil A , Starbucks ect. would afford you a entire day of food in VN )
Living there for that long, any plans for learning to speak the language. I’ve watch many TH-camrs living there only a couple years and speaking very well, it’s hard at first but you will be amazed how quickly you can learn. Also once you speak the language, you will be surprised how you can blend in with the locals and have a friendly interactions. Cheers
Yes, I’m taking lessons again recently. I’ve been running our TEFL academy so it hasn’t been my top priority but I agree with your points about the benefits so I’m making an effort again.
Can you provide a link for the Vietnamese restaurant at the start of the video please?
Thank you for laying everything out and categorizing Budget vs Baller so we don’t just question other people’s estimate!
Hi Alex, I know you have your own company so talking about another program may be a little ridiculous but I really want to ask you this. I'm coming to Vietnam with Aiesec in two months to Ho chi minh city and I would like to know if the place we rent should be in certain areas for security and rent vise and is it difficult to send money back to our home country? I love your videos thank you in advance 😊
I’d recommend living within 20 minutes from where you work to avoid a long commute and Ho Chi Minh City is safe practically anywhere. You can send money back home if you have a valid word contract to show the bank.
Hello Ninja, what about healthcare coverage insurance? You don’t mention…
Thanks for posting this Alex. Had my call with Jarred and am awaiting my passport appointment before I make a deposit for the in person program! How common are calisthenic parks with pullup bars and dip bars in Hoo Chi Minh City? Do you see quite a few of them?
Nice, see you in Vietnam soon then! Some of the parks here have pull-up bars and dip bars if I remember correctly.
@@ninja.teacher Nice! And yes see you soon sir! Enjoy your day and weekend!
I like your calm and non-American style.
🤣🤣
Hi there, what was the pay like out there? I haven't seen it?
Any rent apps, sites and agents to recommend in Hanoi?
What is the name of the restaurant in your intro?
how do you go about renting without getting scammed? Is there like an apartment locators agency? Just want to have a place within a month, and is it hard to find a vacant apartment?
Have not watched the video yet but when I was with my ex I was not allowed to do any shopping with the family, nor was I allowed to be around them when looking at stuff to buy until after they bought something so they didn't pay foreigner prices which was noticeable at times. If not all the time. lol
Where do you accoun for health insurance?
Good vid... These prices seem similar to Nha Trang. Is this budget for HCMC?
Yes, HCMC.
I see loads of videos about how 'amazing the food is in Vietnam, but are there any adventurous activities to do, or is it just food and bars?
Are there also options to teach French in Vietnam?
How reliable is internet service in vietnam?
Hey Alex, love your videos. I noticed that when I read your teacher salary and start up costs they are showing for 2018. Obviously, as you stated, prices have risen across the globe since then. You mentioned in 2018 that teacher salaries were between $1,400 up to $2,000 a month. Have salaries increased as well? Just curious. I already have my TEFL/TESOL from ITTT last year. In-class 120 hours.
ESL teacher salaries are still the same and in fact getting lower, while the cost of living is going up. The industry is stagnant. Every Joe and and his dog is coming out to teach here.
@@thecheekymonkey8785Thank you for your honesty. Are you still working in Vietnam? What are the real salaries if you are still there in 2023? I look forward to your answer and anyone else who is living there currently. 😊
The hourly rates range between $18-22 in the big cities. Exactly what it was in 2016. Food, gas and rent prices is up with 30-80% from 2016.
However, it's still possible to live comfortably on an ESL teaching salary. You're just going to find it harder to save much, if anything. 5 to 10 years ago, it was possible to live very well and save a good chunk of cash every month. Now the market is somewhat oversaturated, mostly with non-native teachers who are willing to work for much less than native speakers, driving the wages down. It's also much harder to fill your schedule with enough hours to make $2k, so you're more likely to earn $1200-$1600. It's still a decent wage, although unfortunately that's where it's going stay. Very little to no room for career advancement, unless you are qualified to teach in an international school. In conclusion, teaching ESL in Vietnam is a great option if you're a traveller in your early 20's looking for a gap year. If you're older than that and looking to build a career and a place to settle down, Vietnam is a poor choice. With that said, there are plenty of older teachers here who married local women and settled down, but most of them have a business or side hustle to supplement their income. Some have passive income streams from back home, such as rental income.
Of course you can.
I think the common budget is good but in Baguio we have to buy water which costs me 400 a week for a full tank
And we use 5 galls of drinking water every other day
My health insurance is Wrlife that gives me 80k USD hospital cover for 100 bucks a month
My ninja, thank you. I have been thinking about living 5-6 months in VN a year, the rest in europe. I have some saving deposit in vietnamese bank and I can have around 20 mil vnd (800 usd) a month without job. I also have a small appartment near Hanoi (ocean park 1). Acutally I wanted to double that monthly income, but Im too tired of working 24/7. Maybe I can still live the "baller" way in VN . Anyway thanks for the informations, they are very helpful
No tipping required.👍😊
Is there an app to search for apartments?
Hi Alex, thanks for the videos on living in Vietnam. What options/costs are there for accomodating a family of 5 (2 adults 3 children)?
it depends on the city, You can rent a big house for 450 dollars a month. They just no pool and gym, it is a separate house. Food is cheap, shouldnt be a problem
oh if you kids want to go school there, then it depend, some school is basically free, because you only pay 50 dollars a year.
@@SportsEntertainment.12 thanks. I was looking at Ho Chi Minh City.
I imagine you’d want a 3 bedroom apartment or small house. Could be anywhere from 15 - 30 million depending on the area and the building.
@@ninja.teacher thanks for the info Alex. I’m just trying to work out logistics of my wife and I, who both have early childhood education degrees, being able to work and live in Ho Chi Minh City. I visited your Ninja Teacher HQ back in 2019 and was impressed with the set up.
Your friend from the UK is wrong, one Dragon fruit in England costs a little less than £3 in Waitrose supermarket...which is a posh supermarket.
😮really?? Here in Australia you can get Dragon fruit for between $27-$30 EACH🤬🤬 the greed in this country (Australia) is out of control!!
The title of this video is misleading. It should have the words "with foreigner's income". Because the cost of living in Vietnam is definitely not cheap with everyday local people
Thanks for your thoughtful. You know that VNeses don’t eat much Western foods, we like vegetables for our meals, besides we are protected by Government insurance so we are most doing well. If we are sick, we ’d have foods for free in most hospitals , especially in city .They do charity for poor people but foods are quite good.
Mine is half of that as an expat living in VN
Agree with your survey.. I spent about 7,5 mil/month for a studio apartment in D7 (15 minutes from D1), no balcony though. And on average over 9 months i think i spent about 1000usd/month for just about everything. Sure miss being able to get streetfood outside my apartment building for 1 usd..
D7 has street food but it's tightly regulated somehow. The street that ends at Paris Baguette, Ku Pho Huong Phuoc 3, or it might be one street over, has the vendors come at after 5 I think.
@@keilnirby well, in some of the more fancy/western areas it might be like that 😅 but large parts of the district is very classic Vietnamese style.. I had plenty of street vendors and 'mom n pop' shops on my street, but yeah, around FV hospital and crescent mall and the Sky Garden area it was much 'cleaner' and empty in that way 😅
Seeing that but the truth is not so. The leadership is very bad and dirty, you can prove that the places I go to the cities, the street corners are unhygienic, the food I don't dare to eat because of the food processing toxic chemicals, people who just came to live they don't know but after living there for a long time, now they know..that’s all i can say it is not what i heard.
@@leehnguyen7427 sure there are some dirty places, and sure some bad food too... But literally millions of people eat it daily with no issues...
@@NiklasLarssonSeglarfan
if you go to the hospital called market field ‘Chợ Rẩy’ in District 5 to visit the patients, you will understand what I'm saying.
The rental prices you spoke of; is that weekly or monthly? Great vid 👍
Tháng
Monthly!
@@ninja.teacher Wow. That's so cheap! It's on my list 👍😊
I want to know the rent budget for beach towns like Nha Trang or Da Nang. Living in Hanoi or Saigon is not desirable.
Dá Nang is about 25-30% less for housing than Saigon. Food is about the same cost.
❤❤❤
Lived and worked there for 25 years. They are many great things, but the toxicity in food, water and air have driven many conscious expat family away.
Hope the government will start cleaning that up soon to make it one of the most attractive travel destinations in Southeast Asia.
Look at the reports and stats from the WHO on the health conditions of the people in Vietnam.
My heart goes out to them. Too many silent killers.
Air, ground water and noise pollution is just getting worse. The country and its economy is developing at an incredible pace, but at a great cost to the environment. After 7 years I'm leaving as I'm feeling the negative effects on my health. I wouldn't recommend Vietnam to anyone to live long term. It might be cheap to live here, but the negatives far outweigh the positives.
@@thecheekymonkey8785 Where are you moving to? or what alternatives are you considering? Thanks.
@@pathkris2984 I have a shortlist of countries that I'm considering at the moment. Argentina and Romania are high on the list.
@@thecheekymonkey8785 Thank you for the info. Noticed Romania and Bulgaria are joining Schengen in March 2024. That makes it harder to choose these countries in the future I believe.
I have heard many stories about toxic food or how they processed food, cook it....even how they grow veggies (Rau muong for example). Once they had food poison episodes, many people ended up in ER and that is scary.
AAAAAnd but much can I expect to earn, working for a local company but with English as the working language?
IS THERE CHANCE YOU TELL US HOW MUCH IS COKE,PESI AND SO ON AND YESS IRRESPECTIVE OF YOUR TASTE FOR SODA.
When you were giving accomodation costs were the prices you quoted based on weekly or monthly rent? If you said what it was I missed it.
Monthly
Seems bit low for the baller budget. But thanks for the video now I have some measure to compare to
Hello! I heard you mention teaching English. Are people aged out of teaching jobs there? Can someone 55 teach in Vietnam and then retire? I am seeking a wonderful inexpensive country to teach English, and retire.