Cost of living in Vietnam

Living in Vietnam will be based on your expectations of lifestyle and what you are willing to spend. After living in Ho Chi Minh City for six years, I’ve compiled what I think will make up most of your monthly living expenses and I’ve also written some of my opinions you can use as tips for controlling your risk.

Home
Renting a furnished 2 bedroom home in the center of Ho Chi Minh will start from 20,000,000 VND (897 USD/683 GBP) and can go upto to 50,000,000 VND (2,242 USD/1,708 GBP) per month.

The price of the property depends on the quality of the building and furnishing etc.

Apartment
Renting a modern furnished 1 bedroom apartment in District 1 start from 23,000,000 VND (1,031 USD/785 GBP) and can go up to 30,000,000 VND (1,345 USD/1,024 GBP) per month excluding building management fees. Outside District 1, you can pay as little as 9 million VND (403 USD/307 GBP) per month but more on average around 12,000,000 VND (538 USD/409 GBP)per month.

For those really interested in an apartment around the 12 million VND price monthly price tag

An unfurnished 1 bedroom apartment in a modern apartment outside District 1 can be as little as 5,500,000 VND (246 USD/187 GBP).

Building Management fees
Typically for mid-level apartments, fees can be from 250,000 VND (11 USD/8 GBP) to 500,000 VND (22 USD/17 GBP) per month.
High End Apartments are around 750,000 VND (33 USD/25 GBP)and above.

Paying for building fees is kinda normal anywhere in the world and you will be contributing towards the building maintenance and 24/7 security.

Tips for paying stuff relating with your rental and building fees
When paying for your rent, first ensure you have a rental agreement with the broker or property owner – the contract needs to be written in vietnamese to be legally binding and should be in the name of a person with Vietnamese citizenship to ensure legality.

When paying for building management fees, ensure the staff provide you with some form of invoice/receipt and after making payment, ensure they sign and stamp the receipt as paid for. The stamp may not be so necessary in this case, you can just ensure the staff signs the receipt and writes their name in block capitals.

Internet
There are a number of providers for connecting your home or apartment to the Internet. However some buildings force you to use a specific provider, thus you’ll be forced to use them and select from the services they offer. If you are able to choose, I suggest FPT first and Viettel second.

An internet connection with 4 mbps download speed is probably around 240,000 VND (10 USD/8 GBP) per month. The connections speeds have gone up recently, so an entry level connection may be cheaper and faster connections can go upto 900,000 VND (40 USD/30 GBP) per month.

Mobile
Everyone is using smartphones here, so Vietnam is well covered in network connections with 3G and soon to be upgraded to 4G in city centers. There are a number of mobile networks and I recommend using either FPT, Viettel and mobifone.

Sim Cards can cost around 100,000 VND (4.5 USD/3.4 GBP) but are typically sold with credit pre-added to the card and a bonus amount, so you may end up paying for the sim card and the additional credit which may be the equivilant to a few dollars; Go for this option, as it is more value for money. When buying a sim card, you can ask the seller to view their available sim cards and check the mobile numbers on the sim for a nice digit!

I recommend buying your first sim card at Thế Giới Di Động, a reputable high street mobile and electronics chain where most of their staff are able to speak English. They may ask for your ID in some places for warranty but tell them there is no need to give ID and just give out your contact details which will be used for the warranty.

Each network has different rates for domestic and international phone calls. A domestic phone call will be from 2,000 VND (0.08 USD/0.06 GBP) per minute.

Rental Bike
If you have the required documents, renting a bike is fairly easy. Commonly expats will rent a Nouvo 3 and prices should start from 1,000,000 VND (44 USD/34 GBP) per month going up to 1,400,000 VND (62 USD/47 GBP) per month. Obviously the price will vary based on the bike and the mood of whoever is renting the bike to you.

When renting a bike, I recommend to not rent from shops or let’s call them brick and mortar places, I personally do not trust these places as I have heard stories of problems from all over Asia with them.

What you will want to do is rent from an individual who’s been recommended to you from your other expat friends. When renting from an individual, don’t expect to have a contract but have some form of understanding of what will happen if you bike gets trashed or stolen; this can be done in writing or with an email. When making payment for the bike, you should ask for some form of receipt to avoid potential issues.

If the individual you’re renting from asks you for a photocopy of your passport, this is ok, give him or her a photocopy and show them the original. However if they want you to make a sizeable deposit on the motorbike it just isn’t worth it and you are better off buying one. Some of them are perhaps worried you’ll steal it, crash it or get wasted some night and end up losing it. Good motorbike renters will remember to be humane, and I have actually spoken with some who will say “Before I rent a bike to someone, I’ll have a chat with them to know who they are and see if I can trust them” and this is totally ok! Find those people and respect their property.

Fuel/Petrol
Petrol costs between 16,000 VND (0.71 USD/0.54 GBP) to 18,000 VND (0.80 USD/0.61 GBP) per litre depending on the quality (92/95/eco etc) and location of the petrol station (City or located outside the city).

Public Transportation
Bus fares vary from 2,000 VND (0.08 USD/0.06 GBP) to 12,000 VND (0.53 USD/0.40 GBp) per ride.

The MRT in Ho Chi Minh will be coming online in the coming years.

Grab
From motorbike to car taxis, Grab operates all of it’s commonly known services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. I’m recommending using Grab over Uber because the far is fixed based on what is shown on the application as you are booking the ride.

GrabCar with 4 seats costs 24,000 VND (1.07 USD/0.81 GBP) for the first 2km and 11,700 VND (0.52 USD/0.39 GBP) per km afterwards. The GrabCar with 7 seats is 28,000 VND (1.25 USD/0.95 GBP) for the first 2km and 14,000 VND (0.62 USD/0.47 GBP) afterwards.

If you’re ok taking a motorbike ride in Asia, a GrabBike costs 12,000 VND (0.53 USD/0.40 GBP) for the first 2km and 3,800 VND (0.17 USD/0.12 GBP) per km afterwards.

You can find the latest rates for Grab in Vietnam on their website.

Taxi firms
Mai Linh and Vinasun are reputable licensed taxi firms with all it’s taxi’s using meters. Please only use these two taxi brands if not using Grab or Uber and yet you may face some drivers of these firms wanting to drive you without the meter on, so you can just refuse to use them and walk away looking for another taxi.

When using one of these taxi firms, ensure the driver switched on the meter before departments and check the route s/he is taking by using Google Maps on your phone. No taxi driver will take the obvious routes; you might know if the driver takes one route it will be cheaper but there may be just a popular road that the vast majority drivers will take. If the driver is taking you off the beaten path just stay calm and tell the driver to stop the vehicle and pay what’s on the meter before leaving the taxi.

I usually take taxi firms on a late night out and most drivers these days are happy to take you home safely without being a headache but just be prepared to be forced into giving a tip of 3,000 VND (0.13 USD/0.10 GBP) to 15,000 VND (0.67 USD/0.51 GBP)!

Taxis usually cost 14,000 VND (0.62 USD/0.47 GBP) per km for the first few kms and the price reduces afterward to around 10,000 VND (0.44 USD/0.34 GBP) per km. The updated fares are listed on the headrest of the front seats and windows in the taxi.

Coffee Shops
I absolutely recommend trying Vietnam’s unique coffee called Cà phê sữa đá at Highlands Coffee or other well known local coffee shops listed out on Foody. Cà phê sữa đá literally is coffee with ice and condensed milk and will cost you between 30,000 VND to 50,000 VND depending on where you go to try it. I don’t recommend going to local sellers due to concerns of the quality of their drinks and the ice they use as reported by many local news outlets like Thanh Nien News.

Starbucks is in Vietnam so don’t fret, you will be able to have your lattes and frappuccinos but there are other places to try out lattes. I recommend heading to Masstige, Passio and Urban Station. Prices vary between 29,000 VND (1.30 USD/0.99 GBP) to 55,000 VND (2.46 USD/1.87 GBP) depending on the italian coffee or place you go to.

Eating out
Depending on what your after this can be as little at 20,000 VND (1.34 USD/1.02 GBP) or 140,000 VND (6.27 USD/4.78 GBP) per dish.

Prices for a 20,000 VND (1.34 USD/1.02 GBP) meal is usually for strips of pork and rice, typically called Cơm tấm. Cơm tấm is sold by many street sellers at this price and local restaurants may sell this too but at a higher price like 50,000 VND (2.24 USD/1.70 GBP) for example.

When heading to a restaurants that obviously isn’t five stars, prices can be from 80,000 VND (3.35 USD/2.73 GBP) to 140,000 VND (6.27USD/4.78 GBP) per dish. Head over to Foody to find out where to eat at, and make your table reservations on their other platform called Tablenow and look out for the places with discounts

Eating In
Yes this actually means cooking food at your home! To be honest, this is so simple, you can cook for as little or as much as you wish. The big supermarkets sell well sourced products are good prices. So for example instant noodles start from 1,500 VND (0.67 USD/0.51 GBP) per packet (be careful of the high sodium in these things!) and a jar of imported spaghetti sauce will cost 120,000 VND (5.38 USD/4.04 GBP).

I actually go to Co Op Extra at SC VivoCity as it is within 15 minutes of my home when going on my motorbike and their is free parking and the store is modern and well stocked with lots of different food.

Nights Out
Ho Chi Minh City has a great night life with lots of new bars and clubs tailored to a good crowd. I intend on writing about a few good places in Ho Chi Minh and will link to this posts once I’ve written it however I do recommend T&R Tavern as a safe and fun bar to go to after 12am and there is also a pool table there.

Locally made beer on tap starts from 7,000 VND (0.31 USD/0.23 GBP) and is called Bia Tươi, which literally translates to Beer Draught. It’s not the same to European draught beer, so don’t expect it to be. I do like Sebco Beer and definitely recommend Saigon Lager (Saigon Green) and Saigon Export (Saigon Red), both costing around 15,000 VND (0.67 USD /0.51 GBP).

Bottles of beer can start from 15,000 VND (0.67 USD /0.51 GBP) to 50,000 VND (2.24 USD/1.70 GBP). The price obviously depends on the one you order and where your drinking at.

Convenience stores
Well seeing how this is a guide to how much living in Vietnam costs and how much you should be spending, I thought I would discuss about convenience stores that may be of use! These stores are convenient as they will be stocked with products you might need on a daily basis and all prices are competitive and the prices are clearly shown on the shelf.

The ones I recommend is Circle K, Family Mart and VinMart. If you are living in Vietnam, I do recommend going to VinMart and get their loyalty card as you will have 5% points from your 10th purchase onwards.

If you’re looking for locations of some of the chains I mentioned, just go over to Google Maps and enter the name and the location in Vietnam.

Disclaimer
Prices mentioned in this post are estimates as of August 2016.

Opinions expressed in this article should be seen as opinions and not facts, defamatory or neither be seen as slander. Opinions expressed do not represent views any of my family, friends,clients or employers. This article should be taken as advice. You are responsible for what happens to you and what you do.

Updated 5/8/2016 with further details and USD/GBP conversions. All prices mentioned will include tax/vat but going out to five star places you may have a mandatory tip added to your bill.