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I read every response on my post and it is great to hear everyone's opinion.

Both countries are great, as someone said if you have 800k baht in the bank and is a retiree and does not want to do any entrepreneurial work I truly think Thailand is better than Vietnam.

For business Vietnam has made some very big changes and currently they are more open than Thailand. You can own 100% of the share in your company and don't need to employ any Vietnamese. So for a small business Vietnam is probably the better choice.

Talk about ladies...... the Thai ladies are more interested in foreigners than the Vietnamese counterpart. Vietnamese women are more conservative in my opinion and not so interested in foreigners.

Easier to get a girl in Thailand for sure.

The people of Vietnam seem to be more happy and genuine than the Thais.

Vietnamese men specially like to talk to foreigners on a friends level, they are interested in knowing your background and your culture.

Thai men are absolutely not interested in knowing foreigners or being friends w us.

Bangkok is the safer city. Ho Chi Minh specially has a huge petty theft problem and the honking is just a nuisance to say the least.

Vietnam has been opening itself more and more to foreigners, Thailand has not but they will very soon when they see all the business Vietnam will take away from them. This will put some pressure on Thailand for sure.

The free trade agreement they signed w Europe is a game changer and I have read some articles on Nikkei that Thailand is now worried because it will take serious business from here, the article mentioned specially the auto industry.

Getting married to a Vietnamese lady gives a foreigner more benefits than marring a Thai. One of then is being allowed to purchase a house under your name.

I have been living in Thailand for the past 15 yrs now. The main reasons I am here is because it is cheap, there is world class shopping, hospitals, restaurants, a good variety of imported foods, safety and the people are very nice. The draw back for me now has been the feeling of not being welcome by the government and the way they treat foreigners here (much like a criminal in my opinion). This constant need to report where you are gives me a feeling the government sees me as guilty until proven otherwise.

In regards to Vietnam, I first visited Ho Chi Minh City about 8yrs ago I thought was the most boring city I have ever visited and I never wanted to go back. Hanoi had some character but still a dump in my opinion.

Since then I have visited Hoi An, Dalat and Sapa in the high mountains. I have also returned to Ho Chi Minh this year for a visa run. 

I have to say I am impressed to see how things have changed for the better over in HCMC. The traffic is still a mess and there is no BTS (metro) until 2022. 

I still don't see myself living there just yet but I have to say it is becoming a much more attractive option. The new free trade agreement that was approved with the EU will certainly score a lot of points on my list (cheaper western food, wine and spirits AND CARS). Vietnam doesn't have a retirement visa but has very lose visa policies like unlimited visa runs.

Bangkok and Thailand is still best choice but there is a new horse in the race and it is closing in quick. It would be interesting to see where these 2 cities and countries will look like in 5yrs.

I just got into a heated argument with the agent who rented the condo to me. She says owner will just provide the documents and I have to do it myself. I told her this is something the owner is suppose to do, not me. I told her I will not do it and I will just tell that to immigration and the owner will have to pay a fine. <deleted> is this they just throw me all this work for something they have the obligation to do. Just want to collect the rent money from the foreigner and be sabai sabai.

I am not doing his work. I am tired of taking s^%T from them and be just cool about it. 

I lived in Ho Chi Minh for about a year.

Banking sucks in Vietnam, if u dont have a work permit you can open a bank account.in some banks but you can only make deposits if they come from overseas. U can do the in-out Visa runs without any problem. On the Visa side of things extremely easy to get tourist visas as much as you want.

If you marry a Vietnamese women they let you buy a home or land UNLIKE HERE.

Much easier to open a business and you can own it all. Also no BS of having to hire 3 useless Thais to get a work permit.

I have no doubt Vietnam will be a better country than Thailand in 10 yrs.

Only down side is the fun, entertainment options are lacking, I thought HCM was boring as hell.

Upside: much more welcoming to foreigners than Thailand

Pathetic thai immigration. I don't know anyone who would come here to work illegally for a miserable salary. Oh yes many fangs would love to take the jobs from Thais. 

I have been here for roughly 6 yrs. Moved to HoChi Minh one yr. I hated and moved back.

I tried also living in Spain after, took me 2 months to see I made a mistake leaving Thailand.

I am back here again and now have no plans to leave. 

Of course we all have different lifestyles but taking the cost benefit into account Thailand is still best.

If money was not an issue would I be here? Maybe not, at least not full time for sure.