Realistic Amount of money to relocate to Vietnam

Hi Guys,

I know this is one hard question maybe expats in a similar situation to me can answer help answer the questions, I am really tossing up how much money I should have in savings prior to attempting to relocate to Vietnam I am looking at staying 1-2 years and coming across with $30,000 in savings is that enough, well really end up with $20,000 which you will see below.

My plan is firstly to buy a motorbike to keep and travel 2-3 months in Vietnam from South to North via mountains and then North to South via the coast, I am budgeting $500 - $700 for a reliable motorbike (including getting it looked over serviced etc)  and $50 a day for accommodation, food, petrol so 90 days x $50 =$4500 + $500 = $5200 so remaining  just under $25000.

My plan after that is to stay in Ho Chi Minh as I have a contact there who can get me a job teaching English but the location could be anywhere in Vietnam which I don't mind as I like new destinations but if this doesn't work out for 2-3 months or I wait for a better location then I need to use my savings so stay in Ho Chi Minh so $1500 a month x 3 months = $4500 before I get an income leaves approx $20,000.

I am someone that can sit on the streets of Ho Chi Minh relaxing having 2-3 beers and just talking or taking in the views, I am not big at partying but like exploring / walking and finding new exciting things to do I will be mainly eating local food to save on money.

I guess my question is did expats who come over initially for travel but ended up staying did you have alot in savings? or did you rely on getting a job and if you ran out of money did you just go back to your home country, I want put myself in a position to make relocating to Vietnam as successful as possible without having to worry about running out of money and have to come back to Australia early.

Thanks





Thanks