Just spent some months in Saigon. This city is changing so fast your head will spin, some parts of HCMC is starting to look like Hong Kong, the amount of towers being built is just insane. I think in 3 or 4 yrs Bkk will have some serious competition in some fronts. I think Bkk will always be city king of tourism in SE Asia but HCMC will take a bite out of everything else.

 

The expat community is remarkably different than Thailand. I see a lot of families and entrepreneurs of all ages and backgrounds, many under 30, I am guessing the digital nomads found a better place. I was seating at a french owned cafe on District 2 and I counted 9 people, 8 were westerners I would say under 30 and all working on the computer. I saw foreigners working at many levels of the work force, not only management, I think here mostly would be reserved for Thais.  As an expat I did feel more welcomed in Ho Chi Min than in Bkk BUT Saigon is still being developed so life in Bkk is more comfortable, at least for the next couple of yrs. There is a lack of world class restaurants, imported foods, good public transportation, entertainment and shopping malls

 

I think the most striking difference is that in Saigon I felt I really could be part of it, maybe because of the easiness of doing business and much fewer restrictions than in Thailand. hey here I could be a tour guide if I wanted too!!!

 

But for the retiree expat and sexpat don't worry my friends. Bangkok and Thailand will always be king.

 

5 hours ago, AlexDorneles said:

There is a lack of world class restaurants, imported foods, good public transportation, entertainment and shopping malls

Then you're going to the wrong parts of HCMC.

13 hours ago, AlexDorneles said:

I think the most striking difference is that in Saigon I felt I really could be part of it, maybe because of the easiness of doing business and much fewer restrictions than in Thailand. hey here I could be a tour guide if I wanted too!!!

Thailand, though has good resources, it is not for foreign consumption.  Saigon is a good place to develop software.  Educational system is turning out well educated, bright kids.  Thailand could loose in a big way to Vietnam in the future. 

How about communicating? I speak enough Thai to get by but I found Vietnamese even more difficult and not many spoke English outside the Hotels and bars. 

I think your assessment is spot on. I've never liked Saigon much but on brief visits more recently the pace of progress is astounding. I'm a big fan of Vietnam for visits but very clear that it's not somewhere I want to live...yet.

11 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Then you're going to the wrong parts of HCMC.

I was at district 2 Thao Dien, yes there is Anan gourmet and a couple of other small stores but they are small. Still no match for the supermarkets at siam paragon or enquartier. There are some foreign owned descent restaurants in thao dien but nothing true high end world class yet. Public transportation also still a few yrs before is ready. They opened the UFC gym which seems to be 100% american owned, looks great by the way.

I actually like staying in Thao Dien, quiet and lots of expat families and a good healthy atmosphere.

If I had a family I would much rather living in D2 than Bkk for sure.

I really think the future looks bright for HCM. The vietnamese are going in the right direction.

 

only real down side about HCMC is that is boring, I see it being a vietnamse version of singapore in 10 yrs.

Just got back from Saigon myself after not having been for about two years. The pace of development is indeed astonishing. It's now liveable from a Western Expat perspective imo but has lost most of its charm.

On 4/7/2017 at 11:10 AM, AlexDorneles said:

I was at district 2 Thao Dien, yes there is Anan gourmet and a couple of other small stores but they are small. Still no match for the supermarkets at siam paragon or enquartier. There are some foreign owned descent restaurants in thao dien but nothing true high end world class yet. Public transportation also still a few yrs before is ready. They opened the UFC gym which seems to be 100% american owned, looks great by the way.

I actually like staying in Thao Dien, quiet and lots of expat families and a good healthy atmosphere.

If I had a family I would much rather living in D2 than Bkk for sure.

I really think the future looks bright for HCM. The vietnamese are going in the right direction.

 

only real down side about HCMC is that is boring, I see it being a vietnamse version of singapore in 10 yrs.

I also stay in Thao Dien where there is a massive Vincom Centre Mall. There is also a large supermarket (Big C?) under Thao Dien Pearl and a huge Metro hypermarket on the other side of the main road.

 

For transport taxis are plentiful and there is a good bus service.

 

Of course in town there are more malls, supermarkets and food choices.

 

See you in Bia Craft one day?

 

On 4/7/2017 at 7:49 AM, yellowboat said:

Educational system is turning out well educated, bright kids

When the influx of Vietnamese "Boat People" hit Boston in the late 1970's, most of the kids spoke little English and were dumped into city schools totally unprepared for them..little in the way of special programs or cultural assistance. 

Within four or five years, these same kids were winning every academic honor and scholarship there was, leapfrogging every other minority group...it was truly astonishing the level of commitment and focus those kids had.

There is no "Mai phen rai" in Vietnam

On 4/7/2017 at 11:10 AM, AlexDorneles said:

I was at district 2 Thao Dien, yes there is Anan gourmet and a couple of other small stores but they are small. Still no match for the supermarkets at siam paragon or enquartier. There are some foreign owned descent restaurants in thao dien but nothing true high end world class yet. Public transportation also still a few yrs before is ready. They opened the UFC gym which seems to be 100% american owned, looks great by the way.

I actually like staying in Thao Dien, quiet and lots of expat families and a good healthy atmosphere.

If I had a family I would much rather living in D2 than Bkk for sure.

I really think the future looks bright for HCM. The vietnamese are going in the right direction.

 

only real down side about HCMC is that is boring, I see it being a vietnamse version of singapore in 10 yrs.

Bangkok is trying the same thing but won't make it anywhere near what Singapore is in any of our life times.