marylander1940 Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 (edited) Op note: Is he available ? Actually this is a serious subject! Edited March 30 by marylander1940 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshman Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 You have to bear the following in mind, the average income in Vietname is $4,163 a year, therefore everything has to be priced relative to that (for instance a loaf of bread is $1.30. pubic_assistance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubic_assistance Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 We had a Vietnamese houseboy for a few years when the kids were little.. He always commented how shocking American food prices were (and how terrible the food tasted) He was a great cook...so we ate Vietnamese a few days per week. I don't know about living there but I'd love to eat my way through the country. Amazing food culture. (And yes @marylander1940...this guy's kinda fuckable.) thomas and marylander1940 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylander1940 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 1 minute ago, pubic_assistance said: We had a Vietnamese houseboy for a few years when the kids were little.. He always commented how shocking American food prices were (and how terrible the food tasted) He was a great cook...so we ate Vietnamese a few days per week. I don't know about living there but I'd love to eat my way through the country. Amazing food culture. (And yes @marylander1940...this guy's kinda fuckable.) You've read my mind! pubic_assistance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylander1940 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 5 hours ago, Welshman said: You have to bear the following in mind, the average income in Vietname is $4,163 a year, therefore everything has to be priced relative to that (for instance a loaf of bread is $1.30. Without a doubt! Vietnam is also the China of China! + augustus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeepItReal Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 20 hours ago, marylander1940 said: Op note: Is he available ? Actually this is a serious subject! Interesting- thanks for posting it. He left out a number of large expenses like insurance and health care for us old folks. 🫣 Cost of a couple of houseboys (of course!) should also be considered! 😉 Luv2play, pubic_assistance, thomas and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubic_assistance Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 27 minutes ago, KeepItReal said: Cost of a couple of houseboys (of course!) That was the interesting thing about our houseboy. In Vietnam his parents had a staff of FOUR and yet with their money they couldn't afford to house their son while he was in college. The difference in economies is significant. thomas, + Vegas_Millennial and + augustus 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ sniper Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 On 3/31/2024 at 10:06 AM, pubic_assistance said: That was the interesting thing about our houseboy. In Vietnam his parents had a staff of FOUR and yet with their money they couldn't afford to house their son while he was in college. The difference in economies is significant. Yeah saw that a lot at my pricy college that had need-blind admissions and met 100% of need for all students foreign or domestic. Dude who had servants at home in Pakistan and always dressed to the nines got practically a free ride to college because of the exchange rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MscleLovr Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Intriguing topic. Some 15 years ago, I had a long drive in a taxi from the airport in Melbourne, Australia. The middle-aged Australian driver chatted to me about how he lived mainly in Vietnam but ‘commuted’ to Melbourne for work. He said he returned every 4 months to work for 2 months or so. He added that he made enough money in his time in Australia to live very well in Vietnam. thomas and BSR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSR Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) When an aunt & uncle lived in Queens, money was always tight even though they had decent pensions plus rental income. They dreamed of traveling, fine dining, and playing golf in retirement but couldn't afford to do much of anything. After much deliberation (they had lived in the US for 30+ years), they decided to move back to the Philippines. After they sold their house, they had enough to buy a luxury hi-rise condo in a posh Manila neighborhood, with a nice chunk of change left over. They sold the Queens rentals & bought units in Florida to save on taxes. Note that measured by GDP per capita, the Philippines is even poorer than Vietnam ($12,192 Philippines vs. $15,470 Vietnam, $85,373 in US btw). Now I tease my aunt & uncle that they live like the Marcoses: constantly traveling, eating out in Manila's finest restaurants, not lifting a finger (a live-in does all the cooking & cleaning). The only catch is my uncle still doesn't play golf, but only because of the heat & humidity (he's OK with it). They encourage me to do the same, but I'm not sure I could take the adjustment. Since we left the Philippines when I was just 4, I'm basically 100% American, and one big aspect of Filipino culture is so frustrating it makes my head explode. But who knows, my aunt & uncle never saw themselves moving back either. I wonder how long the guy in the video plans to stay in Vietnam. I think it would be great to do for a year or so, especially if you work remotely & make an American salary but pay a Vietnamese cost of living. But after a while, I'd want to either find a new adventure or move back stateside. Edited May 12 by BSR Typo thomas and pubic_assistance 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MscleLovr Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 6 hours ago, BSR said: one big aspect of Filipino culture is so frustrating May I ask what aspect that is? And why do you find it troublesome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSR Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) 3 hours ago, MscleLovr said: May I ask what aspect that is? And why do you find it troublesome? Filipinos suffer from a pathological fear of any and all confrontation, even the mildest and most minor. For example, if you schedule a handyman to make a repair but something comes up such that he can't make it, he will never call or even text you because of this Filipino dread of confrontation. He just won't show up while you're left wondering what happened. He won't respond to any voicemails or texts. If you run into him and try to ask what happened, instead of a quick apology & explanation, he'll flee like you're a serial killer. I wish I were exaggerating, but that's actually how Filipinos are. Bad enough with the handyman, now imagine every single acquaintance, coworker, neighbor, friend, and family member suffering from this same fear of confrontation. Nothing is ever resolved, nothing is ever talked about, everything just gets buried. Or worse, suppressed -- resentment, hurt feelings, anger, all of it. Filipinos think that's normal, but as an American, it makes my head explode. Even my aunt & uncle, who were born & raised in the Philippines, had a tough time re-adjusting. As much as I do sometimes envy my aunt & uncle's "newfound wealth," I know I could never put up with it. Edited May 12 by BSR Wording pubic_assistance, thomas, + Charlie and 1 other 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSR Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) On 3/31/2024 at 6:36 AM, KeepItReal said: Interesting- thanks for posting it. He left out a number of large expenses like insurance and health care for us old folks. 🫣 Cost of a couple of houseboys (of course!) should also be considered! 😉 Getting back to the original post, yes, neglecting to mention insurance & healthcare was a glaring omission, at least for those of us of a certain age. I'm guessing that the obviously fit young man has never needed to see a doctor during his time in Da Nang. Edited May 12 by BSR Wording thomas and + Charlie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handiacefailure Posted Tuesday at 06:21 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 06:21 PM On 5/12/2024 at 2:43 PM, BSR said: Getting back to the original post, yes, neglecting to mention insurance & healthcare was a glaring omission, at least for those of us of a certain age. I'm guessing that the obviously fit young man has never needed to see a doctor during his time in Da Nang. Maybe health care is cheap there, even without insurance. I was in Peru recently and ended up walking up almost blind in my right eye and called my neighbor who is an MD and he said to get my ass on the next flight home and go straight to the ER. He is an ortho surgeon, but said it sounded like a detached retina which surgery in a week was crucial or possible an eye stroke. When I went to the front desk and explained I was flying home that night and the reason, I asked if they would shorten the hotel stay and not penalize me. This was a staurday morning and was flying on a red eye and the front desk clerk said they may be able to get me into an opthomologist but since it was a Saturday and I wasn't a Peru citizen, I'd have to pay out of pocket and it would be crazy expensive. I was flying home anyway but figured what was crazy expensive in Peru might not be that much to a US citizen and I figured maybe they could call my eye doctor. About a half hour later she told me she could only find one opthamologist that could get me in on a Saturday that spoke fluent English and he was 20 miles outside of Lima, so I just told her I would wait to get back home. She said it was probably a good thing, because his rates were crazy expensive and she was embarrased by how much they charge. I asked how much out of courosety and she said $100SOL (about $30 US) and I started to laugh and she thought I was laughing at how expensive it was and I told her in the US you probably wouldn't even find a Opthamologist that is working on weekends, and there is no way you would pay that little even without insurance. I know someone whose brother and sister-in-law were in Lima seven years ago and she was in her second trimester and had to have an emergency appendix removal while they were there. I'm sure the surgery was a little more complicated with her being pregnant and she had to spend four nights in the hospital and it ended up costing them just a little under $1K for the hospital and surgery. If medical expenses are that cheap, I'd be happy paying out of pocket. Really wish I would have kept up with my Spanish when I was younger. The weather in Peru is like San Diego, it's right on the Ocean and you get get a nice apartment for around $500USD + Vegas_Millennial, thomas and BSR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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