Shadowing Practice: How to retire in Vietnam? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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What does it really cost to live in Ho Chi Minh City?
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How much money do you actually need to retire in Vietnam?
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And a big question, can you really live a good life on $2 ,000 per month?
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Let's find out!
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In today's video, I'm gonna break down everything, rent, food, transportation, and even healthcare and visa expenses.
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And by the end of the video, I'm gonna show you the total monthly budget to live comfortably here in Ho Chi Minh City.
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Before we start, don't forget to subscribe to my channel
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and turn on the bell so that you won't miss any fun videos about Vietnam.
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Also, if you like the more detailed breakdown like how much for a dozen of eggs
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or how much the local beer costs, don't forget to check out my Ultimate Vietnam Guidebook in the description box below.
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If you watched my previous videos, you know
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that I used to live in a more local area in
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Ho Chi Minh city where my cost of living was significantly lower
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but this time i moved to thao dien where most of the expats live
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so is it actually worth it to spend extra money to live in one of the most expensive
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and one of the most fun neighborhoods in the world i personally think
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so because recently vietnam was named one of the best countries to retire in 2026 by the us news
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and honestly i can see why every day
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when i walk out my apartment i was very excited to
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see something new a new restaurant a new coffee shop
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and a new reason to spend money i was supposed to
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be saving basically taodian has almost everything you need that's why people call it taodian bubble
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because you basically never have to leave i love this neighborhood because it's relatively safe quiet and easy to walk around.
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Plus, most of the people here speak English, so it's an ideal place for foreigners or expats to live here.
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But there are downsides.
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Traffic, construction and flooding during the rainy seasons, especially around June to December.
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So, how much does it really cost to rent a place in Thao Diên?
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Right now, I'm living in a studio with a big kitchen,
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a cozy bedroom and one of my favorite features is the Saigon River sunset view that's actually priceless.
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What I love the most here is the security.
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There's a guard who actually lives here and he always makes sure that the common space is tidy and clean.
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The building also has comprehensive fire prevention and firefighting system which is something I pay close attention to when renting in Vietnam.
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My apartment came fully furnished and the building also has the gym, laundry room, rooftop pool and cleaning service twice a week.
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I didn't know that I needed the cleaning service until I came home after a long day with fresh sheets, an empty trash can and everything is clean.
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Honestly, it's a game changer.
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In the US, you may pay 10 to 20 dollars per hour for a cleaner.
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Here in Vietnam, the cleaning service is included in the rent.
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And if it's not included, it's still very affordable for you to hire someone from BixTasky to help you cook and clean.
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Vietnam really does spoil you.
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My rent is 14 million Vietnam Dong,
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which is roughly about 535 US dollars per month with a flat fee of 20 USD for water
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and 40 to 60 USD per month for electricity depending on how much I use the AC.
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So I'm budgeting around 600 USD for rent and utilities.
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If you want something more high -end, apartments in developments like Mastery Thao Diên,
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The Edge or Thao Diên Green can cost around 1000 to 1800 USD for a 2 -bedroom apartment.
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And a 3 -4 bedroom apartment can range from $3 ,000 to $5 ,000 or more.
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Actually, I'm curious, how much does it cost for a 1 -bedroom apartment in your city?
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Leave it down in the comment below.
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Local tips, if you plan on staying more than 6 months, try negotiating.
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Sometimes, landlord will offer 10 -15 % discount if you stay in Vietnam long term.
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And make sure within 24 hours of moving in, your landlord properly registers your temporary residence.
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Otherwise, if you fail to do so, you might end up paying the fine up to 5 million VN.
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Since my internet is included in the rent, free stuff, so I only pay around 10 US dollars for my streaming services.
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But some movies and shows are not available in Vietnam and my secret trick is to use a VPN.
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So I pay around 3 US dollars per month for my VPN service.
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The VPN that I'm using is Surfshark VPN and I've been using them for years now.
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That's why I'm very excited to partner with them in this video.
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Personally, I use Surfshark not only to access content from different countries,
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but also to help block unwanted ads and protect myself from malicious links.
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When you're living or retiring abroad, online safety is as important as physical safety.
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That's why I use features like antivirus programs,
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alternative IDs, and alert to protect myself from third parties snooping around and collecting my data.
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They also have a feature called Email Scam Checker, which is super helpful for a creator like me because it can identify phishing attempts and email scams.
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If you want to get 4 extra months of using Surfshark, go to surfshark .com and apply my code FU at the checkout.
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And if you don't like it, they offer 30 -day money -back guarantee so there's no risk for you.
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Besides paying for the VPN monthly, I also pay $3 USD per month for YouTube Premium.
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And honestly, I think you should too.
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It's a great way to support your favorite creators without having to sit through ads every 5 seconds.
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Last but not least, for my phone bill, I pay $6 USD per month with 4GB per day.
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And I use Viettel because they have stores everywhere.
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It is super convenient and the connection is very strong and fast.
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Now let's talk about one of my favorite categories, food.
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It's very sweet.
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Well if you want to live comfortably here in Vietnam you might want to eat out quite often.
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A typical local meal such as pho, bánh mì, bún bò huế, cơm tấm can cost around 2 to 5 US dollars per meal.
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I realize that since I'm living here, I often find myself ordering more premium meals like this Bo Ho,
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the stewed beef with hand cut noodles which costs around 10 US dollars including drinks, wet wipes and VAT.
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And if you're an expat, you might feel homesick sometime and you want to seek for international food options, the prices will be double or triple.
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And once you start discovering all the amazing restaurants in Thao Diên.
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Your cheap Vietnam style will be disappeared very quickly.
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So for eating out, I generously budgeted it as $500 per month.
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If you enjoy cooking, you definitely can go grocery shopping.
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But for me, shopping at the premium supermarkets like Annam Gourmet isn't necessary much cheaper than eating out.
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For example, a one -liter carton of milk is about $4.
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A box of cereal is $7.
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A box of 10 eggs is $2 and no Vietnam doesn't sell eggs as a dozen.
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And this Australian broccoli is $3.
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If you want to save money you have other options.
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You can shop at An Phu Market
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which is right across from An Nam Gourmet or go to MN Mega Market which is basically Vietnam's version of Costco.
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Prices can be around 20 to 30 % cheaper than premium supermarkets. For example,
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this broccoli is not from Australia and it costs about 1 .5 US dollars
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and this Rife Huff with the same brand is 6 US dollars.
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Transportation in Taodian is pretty affordable because you can walk to a lot of places and when you don't feel like walking,
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there's Grab, Bee and Seng SM.
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Those are the three most popular healing services in Ho Chi Minh City.
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If you're taking a motorbike, you can often get around for less than $5 USD per day.
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A car will cost more, around $10 USD per day.
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Depending on the distance and the time you book the healing service, during the rush hours, the price will be more expensive.
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But they always give discounts so don't forget to check the discount part.
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If you want to own a motorbike,
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prices can range from $3 million to $50 million V &D which which is roughly about $115 to $2 ,000 USD.
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However, Ho Chi Minh City is planning restrictions on gasoline -powered motorbikes in downtown areas.
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So, if you're planning on buying one, an electric bike may be worth considering.
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Since coming back from the US, I really don't want the hassle of finding the parking, or filling gas, or fixing my bikes or my cars,
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so that's why I don't even drive.
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So for the purpose of this video, I'm just gonna calculate the transportation budget based on the ride hilling.
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For me, it's around 200 USD per month to go around Thaodian.
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And if you choose to walk to improve your health, transportation will be zero.
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Okay, I'm running out of backgrounds in my apartment for this new category.
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Now, let's talk about something much less fun but very important, which is...
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Healthcare.
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You might be wondering what if I get sick or get into an accident in Vietnam.
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I know if you live in the US, you might have to pay a fortune for your healthcare.
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But in Vietnam, without the insurance, the private healthcare is still much more affordable.
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A copay for a general visit in a private hospital or clinic can cost about 30 to 60 US dollars.
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But personally, I highly recommend having international insurance or at least travel insurance.
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For example, I know a lot of expats use safety wing for their hospital stay,
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surgeries, and medication, and they pay around $62 per month depending on your coverage.
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If you plan on staying in Vietnam long term, you can also look into the Vietnamese -based providers such as Bảo Việt,
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Liberty Vietnam, or Pacific Cross Vietnam.
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International options include Signal Global, AllianzCare, GeoBlue, AXA, and William Russell.
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Depending on your age, coverage, pre -existing condition, and the provider,
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you can easily pay around $150 per month for the comprehensive international insurance.
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However, most of the insurance doesn't cover dental care, and dental care is another area where Vietnam is significantly cheaper.
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A basic dental cleaning can cost around 20 to 50 US dollars.
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And more advanced treatments like implants can cost a fraction of what you pay in other countries like Australia or the US.
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As a local, I personally prefer and recommend you to go to private hospitals or clinics.
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Because public hospitals can be cheaper,
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but it's always very crowded with long lines and also it may have some more language barriers for foreigners.
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Some private options that foreigners commonly use such as Vinmec International Hospital, Family Medical Practice and Tam Anh.
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Personally, I go to Care Plus to have my annual checkup because I find their outpatient service high standard,
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convenient and very affordable.
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So yeah, if you plan on retiring in Vietnam, healthcare is one category worth researching carefully.
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Okay, enough about serious stuff.
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Let's talk about the reason most of us work in the first place.
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Having fun!
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And in Vietnam, there are a lot of ways to spend money.
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Coffee, shopping, gyms, spas, restaurants, nightlife.
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Speaking of coffee, a normal cup can cost around 2 to 3 US dollars.
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But if you want specialty coffee made with premium Arabica beans, you can apparently spend up to 30 US dollars per serving.
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If you don't drink coffee, you can drink tea, juice, or smoothie.
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For example, mango smoothie can cost around 45 ,000 VND, which is less than 2 US dollars.
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And you can find a lot of juice shops on Sun Thuy or Quốc Huong Street.
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Living in a new country can also get lonely.
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So that's why I think joining sports clubs
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or classes is a great way to meet new friends and build your own community.
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I pay around 350 ,000 VND, which is 13 US dollars per group session at ACTN.
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Court rental can be around $12 per hour compared to $22 in the US.
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This month, I spent more on the private lessons
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and it can cost from 25 to 50 US dollars per one hour per session.
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So I would budget around $300 per month for entertainment, hobbies and fitness.
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Which is affordable because health is the most important thing in life.
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Okay so for things like haircuts, laundry detergent, manicures, barber services and occasional household help,
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I'm budgeting around 100 US dollars per month.
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And there's a category that exists in every budget.
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Usually this is a category that I don't know where my money went.
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It's like the necessary but also random expenses that you don't even expect to pay.
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For example, air conditioner maintenance, phone accessories, small household decors.
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So I would budget around 80 US dollars per month.
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And you know Vietnam has Shopee and then they ship within 1 to 4 hours.
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So it is so tempting to shop all the time.
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Okay so before we calculate the total cost, I want to address a big question is that how can you really retire in Vietnam?
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Do you want good news or bad news first?
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Let's start with.. bad news.
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Currently, at this moment of me filming this video,
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Vietnam hasn't had the dedicated retirement visa like other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand or Malaysia.
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But there's some several legal ways that foreigners can stay long term here in Vietnam and there are four main ways.
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So one is the tourist e -visa.
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So the Vietnam e -visa can allow you to stay up to 90 days.
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After three months you have to leave the country and reapply
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and it's 25 US dollars for single entry and 50 US dollars for multiple entry.
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And please don't overstay because Vietnamese government is tightening the immigration penalties
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and you might end up paying 1500 US dollars for the penalty.
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And the worst case is that you're gonna be in the blacklist.
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If you are overseas Vietnamese aka Viet Kiều you can apply
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for the five -year visa exemption however you still need to do the border runs every six months
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that means you're gonna go to the neighbor countries such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and in
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that situation you might have to pay extra for travel expenses the third way is the spouse visa Tham Thân
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if you're married to a Vietnamese citizen you can stay up to three years and get your temporary resident card.
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Last but not least the investor visa.
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Depending on the category, the investment requirements can range from around 3 billion VND to 100 billion VND
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or roughly 115 ,000 US dollars to 3 .8 million US dollars.
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Depending on the investment level, you may be able to stay in Vietnam from one to five years.
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Also your spouse and your children under the age of 18 can be your dependent
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and they can stay here in Vietnam with you.
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So you can have your family but at the same time you can secure your passive monthly income as well.
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Also Vietnam is disgusting about the golden visa.
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It's a potential long -term residency option for investors, skilled professionals and other groups.
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But this is an area where the rules can change
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so make sure you check the latest official requirements before you make any retirement plans.
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So how much does it really cost to live comfortably here in Vietnam?
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Let me give you the monthly breakdown.
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So for rent and utility is $600.
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Food and groceries, $500.
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Healthcare and insurance, $200.
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Transportation, $200.
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Travel, $250.
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Visa expenses, $17.
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Personal care and household $100 Entertainment and hobbies $300 Miscellaneous $80
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So the total monthly cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City is $2 ,247
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With a 10 -15 % of unexpected expenses
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and inflation you're looking at roughly $2 ,500 to live comfortably here in Thảo Điên, Ho Chi Minh City.
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But honestly, there's one thing that I didn't put the price on.
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The sense of community you can find here is priceless.
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I've lived in Ho Chi Minh City for 4 years now after moving back from the States, so in the next video,
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I'm gonna talk honestly about the pros and cons of living in Vietnam, The things that I absolutely love and the things that still drive me crazy.
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And if you're thinking about living or retiring here in Vietnam, you definitely don't want to miss that one.
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I hope this video gives you the realistic idea of how
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much it's cost to live comfortably here in Ho Chi Minh City.
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So yeah, $1 ,000 cannot guarantee you a good life in Vietnam anymore.
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Don't forget to subscribe, like, comment, do all the engagement activities so
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that this video will be boosted on the YouTube recommendation so more people can have more helpful information from my YouTube channel.
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And also comment down below how much is the monthly cost of living in your country.
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Thank you so much for watching until the end and I'll see you guys in the next videos.
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Bye bye!
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “How to retire in Vietnam?”. Las palabras que más se repiten: vietnam, dollars, cost, month. Este vídeo tiene 216 frases y 2852 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 19:28. El hablante mantiene un ritmo constante de unas 147 palabras por minuto, cómodo para el shadowing. Solo el 80 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| visa sustantivo | /ˈviːzə/ | visa, visado |
| retire verbo | /ɹəˈtaɪɹ/ | jubilar |
| depend verbo | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | depender/pender (de), ser dependiente (de) |
| comfortably adverbio | /ˈkʌmftɚbli/ | cómodamente |
| foreigner sustantivo | /ˈfɔɹ.ɪ.nɚ/ | extranjero, extranjera |
| dental adjetivo | /ˈdɛn.təl/ | dental |
| smoothie sustantivo | /ˈsmuːði/ | smoothie, cremolada |
| broccoli sustantivo | /ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/ | brécol, bróculi |
| priceless adjetivo | /ˈpɹaɪslɪs/ | inestimable, no tener precio |
| supermarket sustantivo | /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/ | supermercado |
| calculate verbo | /ˈkælkjʊleɪt/ | calcular |
| hobby sustantivo | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | afición, hobby |
| spouse sustantivo | /spaʊ̯s/ | cónyuge, consorte |
| investor sustantivo | /ɪnˈvɛs.tə(ɹ)/ | inversionista, inversor |
| subscribe verbo | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | suscribirse, subscribirse |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| end up verbo | terminar, ir a parar |
| break down verbo | descomponerse, averiarse |
| check out verbo | investigar, chequear |
| find out verbo | averiguar, anoticiarse |
| go around verbo | cundir |
| walk around verbo | deambular |
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa | system which is · Checker, which is · Market which is |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | was named · is included · will be disappeared |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | hasn't had · I've lived |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 50 contracciones y formas reducidas, como don't, I'm, you're. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: conditioner /kənˈdɪʃənə/, furnish /ˈfɝnɪʃ/, outpatient /ˈaʊtˌpeɪʃ(ə)nt/, phishing /ˈfɪʃɪŋ/, exemption /ɪɡˈzɛm(p).ʃən/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/, antivirus /ˈantɪvʌɪrəs/, conditioner /kənˈdɪʃənə/, firefighting /ˈfaɪ.əɹˌfaɪ.tɪŋ/, accessory /əkˈsɛs.(ə.)ɹi/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: smoothie /ˈsmuːði/, spouse /spaʊ̯s/, spoil /spɔɪl/, specialty /ˈspɛʃ.əl.ti/, scam /ˈskæm/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: visa /ˈviːzə/, investor /ɪnˈvɛs.tə(ɹ)/, provider /pɹəˈvaɪ.də(ɹ)/, convenient /kənˈviː.niənt/, antivirus /ˈantɪvʌɪrəs/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: visa /ˈviːzə/, exemption /ɪɡˈzɛm(p).ʃən/, groceries /ˈɡɹoʊ.s(ə.)ɹiz/, residency /ˈɹɛzɪdənsi/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Haz shadowing frase por frase a velocidad normal, repitiendo cada una hasta que tu ritmo coincida con el del hablante.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como visa, retire, depend.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.