Hey there.
3 months ago, I made a video about why I chose to live in Vietnam and not China
and the online Vietnamese community seemed to like it.
I'm in the US right now, so I think this is a good time
for me to talk about why I live in Vietnam, not the US
The first reason is... safety.
When I say I come from the US, the reaction of many Vietnamese people is,
"Uh, do you own a gun?"
I don’t own a gun, and I don’t support gun ownership in America.
And, although shootings are not as common as you see in movies,
I still feel really uncomfortable when I'm here
I myself have experienced some shootings already,
Thinking of guns makes me nervous and afraid when I'm out of the house.
During my time in college, some shootings occurred,
and some students were killed.
Things like that greatly affect your life.
In 2012, there was a very serious shooting near my house in a movie theater,
And a lot of people were killed
and over the next 6 years after that, my family did not go to the movie theaters again,
because we were scared and worried.
Every time I go out I have to think a little about what I would do if a shooting occurred.
For example, a few days ago, my family and I went to downtown Denver to have fun
and when I took the subway, I was sitting and thinking,
right now if someone started shooting, where would I hide?
Or in the past when I worked at a sandwich shop,
I would watch customers to see if they were doing anything suspicious or not.
Guns in the US are really a very big problem that greatly affects my life
And it makes me really uncomfortable
I feel this should not be something I have to worry about every time I go out.
In general, I feel much safer in Vietnam.
If I go out for a walk at 12am, then I don't feel very unsafe
At the most I will just see some drunk people
or men who want to offer me “special services”,
My parents have also been to Vietnam, and they also said the same thing.
They told me they could sleep through the whole night cause they weren't worried or stressed.
In my home we even have an alarm
To make a loud noise in case anyone comes in the house at night
We turn it on every night, and if we don't turn it on I feel really unsafe.
But I've never felt like something like this is even necessary in Vietnam
There's been a lot of time I've been out in Vietnam after 12am with friends and I don't feel worried
But in the US I don't think I've ever been out with friends in the city after 7-8pm
Generally speaking, in Vietnam I don't have to constantly worry about my safety, so I feel a lot more relaxed
Transportation
You may find it a bit strange to say that I prefer transportation in Vietnam to the US.
After all, the one question foreigners get asked the most when they first come to Vietnam is,
"how do you feel about the traffic in Vietnam?"
Why is this a reason why I want to live in Vietnam?
For most foreigners, including my parents,
traffic in Vietnam is nuts,
but because I already lived in China, and have a lot of experience traveling in Asia, it’s pretty normal for me.
Actually, I really like transportation in Asia in general, because it is very convenient.
There are many public transportation options such as short and long distance buses, trains, etc,
which aren't popular in the US.
Generally speaking there are many choices, and you can choose depending on your needs and financial ability.
For example, in Hanoi, if I want to go from my home to Noi Bai airport
I can go by motorbike, taxi, Grab, luxury bus, or normal bus.
Every way has advantages and disadvantages, but at least the options exist.
In America, if I want to go from my house to the airport, then I have 3 options.
One, is to drive. If you can afford a car, this is a good option.
But contrary to what you might think, not all Americans are rich enough to buy a car,
and many have to take out loans to buy one.
so they have a lot of financial pressure paying off the loans
Moreover, not everyone likes to drive a car,
and many foreigners, including myself,
find driving a motorbike free-er, more convenient, and a lot cheaper.
The second option, is taking an Uber, but it is very expensive
From my home to the airport it costs 70 dollars - 1.6 million VND.
So it's quite expensive and not very practical.
The last option, is to take a bus or subway
but the big problem is that most Americans live far away from a bus stop or subway station.
Except for cities like New York or Chicago
Most Americans live in the suburbs, and not downtown
My house is 12 kilometers from the nearest subway station,
so if you want to take the subway or bus, unless you live downtown, you will have to drive your car first,
and ... in that case, you might as well drive all the way there.
I am very happy in Vietnam that there are many options to choose from,
and the convenience of public transport is a huge reason why I like living in Vietnam more.
Okay, the next reason is.... cost of living.
Ok, I know what you guys are thinking ...
Chris, in the US you spend more money but you also make more money than in Vietnam.
Chris, you are a foreigner so you make more money than Vietnamese people.
Yes, I agree with these two things,
but to really compare the cost of living between the two countries,
I think I have to compare average salary with average cost of living.
For example, if there are 2 people, and person A has to spend 100% of his salary,
and person B only needs to spend 90% of his salary,
who do you think will have less financial pressure?
I tried to compare the US and Vietnam like this
by making a spreadsheet in Excel to compare cost to average salary in both countries
I shared it in a link below.
and according to the estimates I made or numbers I found online
I found that an American living in my state has to spend 80% of their salary every month
while a Vietnamese person living in Hanoi only needs to spend about 70% of their salary every month.
And I think this is one of the reasons
Vietnamese people do not feel pressured like Americans
when going out or spending money beyond these basic expenses.
in the US, I feel very guilty when
I go out to eat a meal out or go out to drink a cup of coffee
Of course not everyone in the US or in Vietnam is like this
and some people will disagree with me
but for me, I've lived in both countries, and I find this to be accurate
living in America is more stressful than in Vietnam
And I tend to find Vietnamese people are generally happier than Americans
and don't have to worry as much as Americans in terms of finances
if you have experience living in both America and Vietnam
or living in Vietnam and some other country, then
please comment below with your experience
As for me, I'll keep enjoying my financial stress-free life in Vietnam
Fake Personality
I think most people who come to America will feel like I do
Americans are kinda fake when they interact with other people
I don't know if this is cause of society, culture, or what
but I feel like Vietnamese people are always nicer and more "real" than Americans
In Vietnam, if someone says to me
It's been a while! let's get a coffee and catch up!
I feel like we'll actually get together
But in America, many people say things like this just to be polite.
If an American said to me
I'd smile and nod
But I'm really thinking
when will that ever happen
I feel like most Americans who come to Vietnam feel the same way I do as well
in a video of Dan Hauer's where he interviewed foreigners about why they chose to live in Hanoi
an American girl said
and my parents commented on the same thing too
I feel like Vietnamese people, and Asians in general, place more importance on relationships
And act more "real" with other people
Interested in foreign languages
It's freaking cold guys, I can't film outside anymore
Okay, so foreign languages
if you've followed me for a while
you probably know I'm someone who loves learning languages
I speak 3 of them, and I'm learning my 4th
In America, learning foreign languages isn't really a big thing, because
everybody speaks English as a native language, and English is the international language
so not a lot of importance is put on learning foreing languages
If you come to America as a foreigner, you'll see that as well.
in the US, if you're a foreigner who speak English really well
Americans see that as normal
but if you don't speak English well, then
some Americans may be annoyed and treat you not so well
but in Vietnam it's totally different
A foreigner like me just has to say 1 sentence like,
"Hi"
And Vietnamese people lose their shit.
I also feel like Vietnamese people are really interested in learning languages
there are some things that show that too, such as "săn tây" (talking to foreigners to practice English)
I haven't been to a country with so many people interested in learning foreign languages like in Vietnam
So I feel like someone like me fits in really well there.
Okii, these are the 5 main reasons I'm living in Vietnam and not America.
Please share you experience below and highlight any differences from mine.
See you in my next video. Bye bye.