Retirement In Vietnam, good Idea or Bad idea?

[lambchop4life 6]

I've been there several time and despite living in the USA with all my creature comfort and no Mosquito and awesome flush able toilets. I have this feeling inside of me That I want to be back In my "Que Houng"

[bobtrann 0]

I would love to but all my "relatives" would hit me for $$$.

[WeatherEmperor 21]

Im only 28 but I have been thinking about retiring in VN. Retiring in the US is becoming more and more expensive and many of my coworkers from work talk about retiring in foreign countries. One of my Cuban coworkers plans to retire in a couple of years and go back to his home country. I have no idea what VN will be like by the time I retire but I will always keep that option available. Just do whatever you feel will make you the happiest and everything will work out

[dreamwarrior 0]

I would retire here if I was single and had enough money in savings to live off the 14% interest alone.

[VinhBao MyTam 3]

Stay in the city. There are no mosquitos--they spray for them. Of course it comes down to personal choice. However, I think the biggest issue might be that once you've put down roots here, will you have children & grandchildren in the US that you want to leave?

[huongkhin 9]

We'll travel the world.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

It all depends on the money. If you have $5K per month to burn and your log home at the lake is paid off, I think you can stay in the Land of the Brave and Free. But if you only get $1,5K and perhaps have to pay rent from this, moving to a foreign country can be the ticket to happiness. I personally wouldn't choose Vietnam though.

http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/livable-communities/best_places_to_retire_abroad/

[huongkhin 9]

It all depends on the money. If you have $5K per month to burn and your log home at the lake is paid off, I think you can stay in the Land of the Brave and Free. But if you only get $1,5K and perhaps have to pay rent from this, moving to a foreign country can be the ticket to happiness. I personally wouldn't choose Vietnam though.

http://www.aarp.org/..._retire_abroad/

I wouldn't retire in VN either. Crowded, pollution, horrible traffic in the cities, corruption, safety issue, ...

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I've got about a decade before retirement, but my current thinking is about 50% time in US and 50% in Vietnam, probably split into quarterly moves. My wife has lots of family in both the US and Vietnam, and she'll want to spend equal time with both. I like visiting Vietnam, but doubt I could take it for more than 3 months at a time. Truth be told, I don't like Vietnamese food.

To keep costs down, we're planning on ditching the house in the US for an RV, and we'll migrate from one relative's home to another. My sister owns a nice chunk of land in the high desert of California, and my brother owns a nice chunk of lakeside property in Missouri. Both have said they can accommodate an RV. We'll do some traveling around the country, as well. As long as the RV is paid we'll only have to worry about insurance and gas. No more mortgages or property taxes.

One thing to consider if you plan to retire in Vietnam: Social Security won't send your checks there. You might be able to make arrangements to have your checks sent to the US Consulate, but I've heard they don't approve that for a lot of people. You might need to maintain a US address and bank account with direct deposit in order to get your money.

[ScottThuy 140]

I've got about a decade before retirement, but my current thinking is about 50% time in US and 50% in Vietnam, probably split into quarterly moves. My wife has lots of family in both the US and Vietnam, and she'll want to spend equal time with both. I like visiting Vietnam, but doubt I could take it for more than 3 months at a time. Truth be told, I don't like Vietnamese food.

To keep costs down, we're planning on ditching the house in the US for an RV, and we'll migrate from one relative's home to another. My sister owns a nice chunk of land in the high desert of California, and my brother owns a nice chunk of lakeside property in Missouri. Both have said they can accommodate an RV. We'll do some traveling around the country, as well. As long as the RV is paid we'll only have to worry about insurance and gas. No more mortgages or property taxes.

One thing to consider if you plan to retire in Vietnam: Social Security won't send your checks there. You might be able to make arrangements to have your checks sent to the US Consulate, but I've heard they don't approve that for a lot of people. You might need to maintain a US address and bank account with direct deposit in order to get your money.

I am planning the 50/50 6 month or so at a shot deal.. Already have the place there paid for etc.and working on getting a place paid off here that son will stay in alone when we are not here... may end up with a mobile home on the water some where for the time we are here and let him keep the house... only cost around 3k a year to pay lot fees elect. etc...

have planned on the permamnent address deal and direct deposits .. important mail will get fwd'd to brothers house... I take lots of food there for me and bring back lots for her... I want to be able to watch xfinity online there damned filtering...

[quann 26]

caucasian families are more detached so probably a better plan for them...for me it's a terrible idea. the idea of my wife and i being old and by ourselves in vietnam doesn't sound like fun at all. vietnam is fun when you're young and can do things and go to places, it sucks being old with the noise and smog and cramp space. being out in the countryside don't sound ideal either. i wanna be near my relatives and kids and being able to annoy and piss them off, perks of being old and putting up with all their ####### for so many years. the ideal situation would be working in vietnam for the next 10-15 years then move back over here, that would be nice.

my wife might have other ideas tho as she has more roots over there.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

caucasian families are more detached so probably a better plan for them...for me it's a terrible idea. the idea of my wife and i being old and by ourselves in vietnam doesn't sound like fun at all. vietnam is fun when you're young and can do things and go to places, it sucks being old with the noise and smog and cramp space. being out in the countryside don't sound ideal either. i wanna be near my relatives and kids and being able to annoy and piss them off, perks of being old and putting up with all their ####### for so many years. the ideal situation would be working in vietnam for the next 10-15 years then move back over here, that would be nice.

my wife might have other ideas tho as she has more roots over there.

Well, if you're going to live in a tiny concrete hut with a tin roof, and sleep on a plywood box that they think is a bed (for reasons I've never been able to fathom) then I see your point. That is not my idea of a comfortable retirement, even if I was surrounded by my own family members. We're planning on building a home in Hue city. Not too big, but not a concrete box either. Tile floors, comfortable furniture, enough room to have family visit, and DEFINITELY air conditioning. The whole deal will cost less than the RV we'll be living in here in the US.

My wife has a big family, both in Vietnam and in the US. I've lost count of the number of "uncles" I've met at family gatherings, both in Vietnam and here in the US. It seems like every other week we have to go to some affair - a wedding, a baby's 1 month anniversary, a funeral, an anniversary of a funeral, an annual "get the whole dang family together" affair that involves as many as 100 people, or even just a plain old backyard barbecue.

The same thing happened in Vietnam. Every town we visited there were friends and family members to visit. I've got a feeling that we'll never be alone no matter where we go. I feel very comfortable around all of her family members, and I get the impression they feel the same way about me. Whenever my wife talks to her daughter on the phone her granddaughter always wants to talk to "ông nội". My wife's daughter has a picture of me holding her daughter when she was only about 6 months old. That picture is in a frame on the desk, and my wife's granddaughter has seen that picture every day. She remembers "ông nội", but she doesn't remember "bà nội", which really infuriates my wife. She's only three years old, but she's already learned some English. She says "How are you?" and I say "I'm fine", and then she giggles hilariously.

[Hy Vong 9]

Quê hương làm chùm khế ngọt, believe it or not.

Cũng tại vì đất nước Việt Nam phải bị trải qua nhiều cuộc chiến và bị rơi vào cảnh khó khăn nên chúng ta mới phải ra đi dưới nhiều lý do khác nhau nhưng thật lòng mà nói, đã là người sinh ra bên Vietnam và đã có những nét văn hóa nào đó trong mình thì bất cứ nơi nào trên thế giới cũng sẽ như là một nơi tạm dừng chân. Khi đất nước thanh bình và bản thân ta cũng có được một cuộc sống thoải mái về tài chánh nơi xứ lạ và cũng đã trãi qua nhiều năm tháng thử thách thì khi về già, Việt Nam quê hương mình vẫn sẽ mãi là nơi tốt nhất để sinh sống khi về già .

Mua một mãnh đất ở quê, trồng trọt, chăn nuôi, và mở một tiệm tạp hóa cho vợ buôn bán rồi chúng ta hàng ngày sau giờ làm việc, chuyện chò với bạn bè, đi chợ, nghen tiếng gà gáy, tiếng cô bán hàng rao bánh kẹo giửa trưa hè ..

Đó mới là một cuộc sống hạnh phúc nhất trong bản thân tui . Sau khi cưới vợ qua Mỹ, tui sẽ ráng cùng vợ lo làm và dành dụm cho 10-15 năm sau, quay về quê hương sinh sống, nhìn lại kỷ niệm nơi mình lớn lên, coi lại dĩ vãng

[huongkhin 9]

I've been back to VN three times and I don't like it.

People are too pragmatic there now. What wrong with inviting all the relative to a nice restaurant? They don't like that. They want you to go visit their houses one by one and have a talk. If I don't come, they will complaint to my parent here. Then you will hear someone trying to insult you in front of other people to make their sons and daughters who live here in the US better than you. The reality is they are not but who cares? Just to many bad experience.

Even my mom get tired of that. She doesn't want to go back and rather live in a small, laid back country town here.

I told my wife I rather travel to South America or Europe than going back there. At least for a long time. It costs too much and it's not an enjoyable vacation. I may change my mind when I get older.

[quann 26]

jim, that sounds infinitely better than my situation. you guys have family and relatives over there to keep busy, plus hue is a beautiful laid back region (if you can withstand the constant flooding every year). my only family back there now are the uncles from my mom's side, and they're getting up there in age. all my dad's side are over here. in 20-30 years when it's retiring time no one would be left.

my wife has alot of family and relatives up north, but it's a bunk out-in-the-nowhere region. we do have a nice big house with AC that i had put in but i just can't see it, i'm still a city boy. my idea of fun is riding the moped around saigon at night catching the cool breeze with all the lights and trying out a new food place. maybe i'll mellow out as i get older.