1 Year of Bootstrapping in Vietnam

All right, so it's been about a year since I came to Vietnam, and I'm basically going to talk a bit about how I came here and what I've been doing since. Since I'm using voice to text, it could be a little raw, but I'll come back and edit this later.

The Good

Low Cost of Living

I initially came to Vietnam for the first time back in 2017, and after trying to find a couple of places to live, one that stood out was District 7, especially Koreatown. I was looking for a place where it would be easy to walk around with lots of green spaces away from the city centre. in sum, just a quiet and calm environment to focus and get work done.

So that's where I wanted to come back last year. I came back once again, and the first place I found, after about a day of searching, was a small serviced apartment studio right next to the street where I used to live a couple of years ago. The rent was about 8 million VND per month (roughly $313), including laundry and cleaning once a week. What I really liked was that it was on a small street and I could hear the birds sing in the morning.

I stayed there for a couple of months until I moved out and found another building to stay in with my girlfriend. We're paying just a little bit above 10 million VND, including utilities, and we are now in a 50m² apartment with a small cat and a dog.

I would say the neighborhood is great because there are lots of trees and big walkable streets, as well as a park where we sometimes go in the evening to have a walk or even go for runs.

Food

Having grown up in a Korean family, it's also great to live in Koreatown. It's convenient for me personally to shop and be able to eat out at Korean restaurants whenever I feel like it. But there are also plenty of other options like Italian restaurants and Western-style foods.

A typical meal at a Vietnamese outlet might cost between $3–$4, which is around 60,000–100,000 VND. For most other foods (Japanese, Italian, burger shops, etc.), you should expect to pay above the 150,000 VND price point.

For grocery shopping, there are tons of supermarkets around. Some of the places you may want to go are:

• Bach Hoa Xanh – Local supermarket chain, not really high quality but okay for a quick run to grab some vegetables.
• Aeon Citimart – Japanese-owned chain, not that cheap but reliable for finding almost anything.
• WinMart – Local/mid-level option, has got everything you need.
• Annam Gourmet – Expat-focused, Western-style food. Higher price points but great since I can find French or Italian food there.

Most of these supermarkets are easy to find in most districts of Ho Chi Minh City.

Drinks and Social

For drinks and social life, there are now more and more cool places in Saigon. Price points vary, but you should usually expect to pay between 100,000–200,000 VND for a drink or cocktail at most fancy rooftop bars, hotel lobbies, etc.

Transportation

In terms of transportation, I initially didn’t rent a bike. A monthly bike rental may cost between 1–1.5 million VND. For fuel, one full tank costs around 60,000 VND as of 2025.

Otherwise, GrabBike is pretty cheap.

If you want to buy a bike, try looking into Facebook groups.

Making Friends

What I really liked about Saigon was how easy it was to make friends. There's a very active social scene. Tons of entrepreneurs in the food industry, startups, and big companies mingle together — it's usually diverse and vibrant. There are plenty of parties, people invite each other, and it's usually very easy to find things to do if you hang around the right Facebook groups and check Facebook events.

I haven’t done it myself, but I also have friends who usually use language exchange meetups for finding a girlfriend or boyfriend.

• Active social scene, lots of entrepreneurs (food, startups, big companies, etc.)
• Language exchange meetups
• Facebook groups for events

Beautiful Beaches

Vietnam also has a lot of great beaches. You can go to Da Nang, Nha Trang, and in the south you have Mui Ne. I haven’t been yet myself, but I also want to visit Phu Quoc one day. Depending on the season, it's more or less crowded, but for sure you’ll have breathtaking views.

Mountainous Areas

There are also a lot of mountainous regions, and one that stood out for me was Da Lat. In the north, there’s the Sapa region and the Ha Giang area, which I also have yet to explore.

The Bad

Noisy Cafés and Coworking Spaces

Trying to find a place to get work done wasn’t easy. Coffee shops and co-working spaces have been more distracting than productive. Even when a café was empty, they usually blasted loud music, making it hard to get work done.

It feels like co-working culture and deep work culture still haven’t found their place here. Many people go to cafés pretending to work, but they’re actually looking for social interactions. Unlike in Europe, where coffee shops feel like focused workspaces, here it’s more about mingling and people-watching.

So if you find one place where you can focus, stick to it and keep going back.

Air Pollution

Air pollution is pretty terrible at times. I know now that I would never live in Hanoi, but Ho Chi Minh City is a little better. Especially in the area where I live, AQI is around 60 most of the time.

If you want clean air, you’re better off in Da Lat, but even there, people in the countryside often burn trash — sometimes plastic — making the air toxic and polluted too.

Noise Pollution

One thing I really hated is the karaoke culture and noise pollution in general.

If you’re unlucky, you may end up on a street where a small shop owner sets up open-air karaoke with friends. It can be terrible until they finish, though by law they’re supposed to stop by 10 pm.

There’s also constant noise from traffic, so try not to live right next to a main road.

On top of that, construction is everywhere. Out of the blue, people might start building a townhouse right across from your place, and then it’s noise for months (usually about 3 months for a medium-sized townhouse).

Visa Runs

I’ve had to do trips out of the country every 3 months because the Vietnamese visa is only valid for 3 months. It’s usually a bit of a hassle. Most times I went to Cambodia, and once to Thailand. Usually, it’s best to just use a specialized visa agent. Feel free to DM me if you want a list.

Conclusion

Overall, if you choose to live in Ho Chi Minh City, you should be mindful of where you live because it will affect your experience greatly. Your quality of work depends a lot on how much distraction there is around you.

Vietnamese people are generally friendly, but experiences may vary. People here are real hustlers, so not everything is out of kindness or generosity. Some negative aspects include "my way or the highway" attitudes, karaoke culture, and traffic habits that can feel inconsiderate.

I’ll continue to post more updates as I go.