What is life like for a Vietnam expat?

Expats who answered InterNations' 2025 survey ranked Vietnam 5th of 46 destinations overall [1].

They rank it 1st for personal finance [2] and 3rd for housing [4]. They rank it near the bottom for admin topics [4] and the environment [5].

Measure Vietnam's rank of 46 What it covers
Overall ranking 5th [1] All the destinations in the 2025 survey.
Personal finance 1st [2] Cost of living, financial satisfaction, whether income is enough.
Housing 3rd [4] How affordable homes are and how easy they are to find.
Local friendliness 10th [3] How friendly locals are, in general and toward foreigners.
Finding friends 10th [3] Social life, support network, making local friends.
Working abroad 11th [6] Career prospects, pay and job security, work culture, work and leisure.
Ease of settling in 12th [3] Local friendliness, finding friends, and culture and welcome together.
Culture and welcome 15th [3] Feeling welcome and at home, getting used to local culture.
Safety and security 20th [5] Personal safety, political stability, freedom to speak openly.
Healthcare 22nd [5] Cost, availability and quality of medical care.
Language 34th [4] How easy it is to learn Vietnamese and to live without it.
Quality of life 34th [5] Leisure, travel and transit, healthcare, safety and environment.
Digital life 42nd [4] Online services, home internet, paying without cash.
Admin topics 44th [4] Local bureaucracy, opening a bank account, getting a visa.
Environment and climate 45th [5] Air quality, urban and natural environment, climate.

Source: InterNations, Expat Insider 2025 pages published 2025-09-01, checked 2026-09-21 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].

We are based in Ho Chi Minh City. What the survey leaves out: we found no official count of foreign residents, so the sections below give the nearest counts. In our cost table, 1,000 US dollars a month covers one person but not a family of four [25].

InterNations ranks only countries with at least 50 respondents [3]. Its 2026 edition ranks the 31 destinations that met that rule, and Vietnam is not one of them [7].

The ranks come from people who chose to answer an online survey. We do not know how many of Vietnam's respondents there were beyond the minimum of 50 [3]. The 2025 ranks are the latest that include Vietnam.

How much do Vietnam's rankings vary by category?

Vietnam's best and worst marks in the 2025 survey sit far apart. Personal finance ranks 1st of 46. Environment and climate ranks 45th, a 44 place gap, the widest between any two categories in the table above [2] [5].

Working abroad splits into four parts. Salary and job security and work culture and satisfaction both rank 10th of 46. Career prospects and work and leisure both rank 13th of 46, three places behind the other two [6].

Quality of life spreads wider. Safety and security ranks 20th of 46. Environment and climate ranks 45th, 25 places behind safety and security, under one overall mark of 34th [5].

Is Vietnam friendly to expats?

Expats rate the locals well and the paperwork badly. Vietnam ranked 10th of 46 for local friendliness and 10th for finding friends, but 44th for admin topics [3] [4].

Many respondents have stayed for years. Of Vietnam's respondents, 54% had lived there five or more years, and 30% wanted to stay forever [2]. InterNations says satisfaction with money, where Vietnam ranked 4th of 46, may help keep them there [2].

Friendly locals do not remove the risk of theft. The UK government says violent crime against foreigners is rare but bag-snatching by thieves on motorcycles is common [8]. Canada's advice, updated 2026-09-09, tells travelers to exercise a high degree of caution because of a high rate of petty crime [9].

In the expat survey, safety and security ranked 20th of 46 [5]. Neither advisory ranks cities, so neither tells you which district is safest.

How many expats live in Vietnam?

We looked through government sources in Vietnamese and English for numbers on expatriation. Vietnam publishes no count of foreign residents that we could find, so we cannot give you an exact number. The closest official number is 161,992 foreign workers at the end of 2024, from about 110 countries [10].

Of these, 12,797 were exempt from needing a work permit [10].

Chinese nationals were 30.9% of those workers, South Koreans 18.3% and Japanese 9.5%, which adds up to 58.7% [10]. The count leaves out people who do not work, such as retirees, students and family members.

What is counted Figure Period Published by
Foreign workers 161,992 [10] End of 2024 Vietnam Government Portal.
Workers exempt from work permits 12,797 [10] End of 2024 Vietnam Government Portal.
International visitors Nearly 21.2 million [11] 2025 National Statistics Office.
Foreign entries, preliminary 19,976,331 [12] 15 December 2024 to 14 December 2025 Ministry of Public Security.
Expats, listed in one guide 100,000 [13] Guide updated 15 October 2025 Expat.com, no source shown.

Source: Vietnam Government Portal, National Statistics Office, Ministry of Public Security and Expat.com, checked 2026-09-21 [10] [11] [12] [13].

Visitor and entry figures count trips, not residents. The two official series cover different periods, so do not add them together [11] [12].

Where do expats meet people in Vietnam?

Here are six public places where expats meet people, and the table shows what each says about itself. They cover only a slice of the expat communities in Vietnam.

Place What it is What it says about itself
InterNations, all of Vietnam Members' network with events and groups 41,658 members, 9 monthly events, 15 interest groups [14].
InterNations, Ho Chi Minh City City page of the same network 27,322 members, 5 monthly events, 7 groups [15].
InterNations, Hanoi City page of the same network 14,336 members, 4 monthly events, 8 groups [16].
Expat.com Vietnam forum Public question and answer board A public forum with an active Vietnam board [17].
EuroCham Vietnam Business association 1,400+ members, operating since 1998 [18].
Saigon Children's Charity Charity for disadvantaged children that takes volunteers Founded 1992, offers one-time and long-term volunteering [19].

Source: each organization's own website, read 2026-09-21 [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19].

Expat.com runs one of the Vietnam expat forums that anyone can read, and it was active on 2026-09-21 [17]. A member count tallies accounts, not active people. The four events listed on InterNations' Hanoi page list 6, 13, 8 and 11 attendees [16].

InterNations' Vietnam total of 41,658 members equals its Ho Chi Minh City count plus its Hanoi count [14] [15] [16]. InterNations also runs the Expat Insider survey and says more than 12,000 expats worldwide answer it each year [15].

For a longer guide to meeting people, read our guide to Vietnam's expat community.

Do you need to speak Vietnamese to live in Vietnam?

Expats find language harder in Vietnam than in most countries. Vietnam ranked 34th of 46 for language, which covers how easy it is to learn Vietnamese and to live without it [4]. Admin topics, which cover bureaucracy, bank accounts and visas, ranked 44th [4].

The UK government says all foreigners must register where they live with the local police within 24 hours of arrival [20]. It tells people in a private home to use a translator if needed [20]. For the language side in more detail, see our guide to language in Vietnam.

How do Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang differ for a newcomer?

This table compares three cities for a new expat to Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang. Each has one recorded catch.

City InterNations members The recorded catch
Ho Chi Minh City 27,322 [15] The city listed 18 roads that flooded in rain and had fixed 5 by January 2025 [21].
Hanoi 14,336 [16] Average PM2.5 was 45.9 micrograms per cubic meter in 2025 [22], against a WHO guideline of 5 [23].
Da Nang No page found 2 to 3 typhoons or tropical depressions hit directly in a typical year, with big storms from September to November [24].

Source: city and national records, IQAir and the WHO, checked 2026-09-21 [15] [16] [21] [22] [23] [24].

Our guide to what an ordinary month in Vietnam looks like sets the three cities side by side. It covers rent rules, transport and daily costs.

What does a month cost a Vietnam expat?

In InterNations' 2025 survey, 89% of Vietnam's respondents were pleased with the cost of living, against 40% worldwide [2]. And 87% said their income was about or more than enough, against 69% [2].

The totals below come from Numbeo, where users submit prices. Each total is rent outside the city center plus a monthly basket without rent.

For one person, rent is a one bedroom. For a family of four, it is three bedrooms. Dollar figures use Vietcombank's rate of 25,820 dong per US dollar on 2026-09-21 [25].

City One person a month Family of four a month
Ho Chi Minh City 20.7 million dong, or 801 US dollars [25] 64.4 million dong, or 2,494 US dollars [25].
Hanoi 19.1 million dong, or 739 US dollars [25] 56.1 million dong, or 2,172 US dollars [25].
Da Nang 20.6 million dong, or 796 US dollars [25] 62.7 million dong, or 2,428 US dollars [25].

Source: Numbeo crowd data, with dollars at the Vietcombank rate [25]. Pages: Ho Chi Minh City (1,118 entries, updated 2026-09-20), Hanoi (869, 2026-09-09) and Da Nang (547, 2026-09-20).

No authority we found publishes official rents in dong for a district or home size, so check rent yourself. Our guide to how leases and deposits work in Vietnam covers what to ask before you pay.

Is $1000 a month enough to live in Vietnam?

For one person, yes. This crowd data puts a typical month at 739 to 801 dollars, so 1,000 leaves 20 to 26 percent unspent [25]. For a family of four, no: 1,000 covers only 40 to 46 percent of the 2,172 to 2,494 dollar month [25].

Is $2000 a month enough to live in Vietnam?

For one person, yes: 2,000 dollars is 2.5 to 2.7 times the 739 to 801 dollar month in this crowd data [25]. For a family of four, no: the 2,172 to 2,494 dollar month is above 2,000 in all three cities [25].

How long will $100,000 last in Vietnam?

At 739 to 801 dollars a month, 100,000 dollars lasts one person about 125 to 135 months, or close to 10 to 11 years [25].

For a family of four at 2,172 to 2,494 dollars a month, the same sum lasts about 40 to 46 months, or roughly 3 to 4 years [25].

What is hard about expat life in Vietnam?

On the roads, 18,371 accidents caused 10,337 deaths in 2025 [11], and the table below sets out the other hard parts.

Hard part The number behind it
Paperwork Admin topics ranked 44th of 46 and digital life 42nd of 46 by expats [4].
Air Hanoi's 2025 PM2.5 average was 45.9 micrograms per cubic meter against a WHO guideline of 5 [22] [23], and expats ranked environment and climate 45th of 46 [5].
Roads 10,337 road deaths from 18,371 accidents in 2025 [11].
Petty crime Canada advises a high degree of caution, updated 2026-09-09 [9], and the UK calls bag-snatching by motorcycle thieves common [8].
Storms and floods 2 to 3 typhoons or depressions a year in Da Nang [24], and 18 rain-flooded roads on the Ho Chi Minh City list [21].
Healthcare Ranked 22nd of 46 by expats [5], and the UK says public hospital standards differ from the UK and the patient pays all hospital expenses [20].

Source: expat survey, national and city records, and two governments' travel advice, checked 2026-09-21 [4] [5] [8] [9] [11] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24].

For weather by region and month, see our climate and seasons guide.

What should you check before you move to Vietnam?

Check two things first:

  1. Attendance. The InterNations page for each city lists recent events with listed attendee counts. Treat them as listed counts, not confirmed turnout [15] [16].
  2. Your arrival dates against Tet. Tet is the Lunar New Year. A proposal published on 2026-09-21 from the Ministry of Home Affairs suggests a 7 day break for state staff from 4 to 10 February 2027, or 10 days. No decision had been made [27].

For the nearest count of foreigners, see the official figures in the section on how many expats live in Vietnam. For how active a group is, see the listed attendance above and our community guide. Visas, work permits and tax sit outside this page, so ask a licensed Vietnamese lawyer.