VietNam: A popular US retirement destination?

Adhome, cmon was that necessary?

Its safe to say the government has two faces, show me one that doesnt. Since USA was mentioned, the corruption is so bad that even the truth cant be believed anymore.

The difference of east-west is only the matter of degree and blue or white collar crime. US is into giant corruption that comes with central banking and trillion dollar wars, and Asia is into petty blue collar corruption of police and government clerks and building standards and street stuff and payoffs and bribes in neighborhood projects.

But that doesnt mean within those stews that progress isnt still made--it is. Malaysia's massive corruption didnt stop it from building the worlds tallest building or advancing exports or making advances in cancer care. The two faces run in tandom and you guys are arguing crap at cross purposes.

Great summary of what I see as an outsider considering a move to VN.  I'm looking for work as I'm not ready to retire yet.  The pollution is a real concern for me.  Climate I think I can manage.  Honestly, the women make up for a lot of that, but Bangkok is also enticing from that view and the air is cleaner... just my two cents, not meant to offend anyone.

lirelou wrote:

Regarding the North-South War, it helps to remember that the destruction of much of the South's infrastructure was a premeditated tactic of the current government's forces.

The Americans dropped more bombs in what was South VietNam; they also fired more shells (of all sizes) in South VietNam. (Numeric source: Pentagon)

The city of 300.000 you currently live in was once the Rhade tribal capital, and Rhade (Ede) people outnumbered the Kinh. It is now an overwhelmingly Vietnamese city, and not all of that was the result of planning.

After the reunification of north and south VietNam, many Kinh (Vietnamese bloodline) were shipped to the Central Highlands in an attempt to 'dilute' the indigenous tribes. The indigenous tribes, as you likely know, have their own exclusive use lands - conditions in these areas are really terrible.

When I said 'dilute' it wasn't the 'intermarriage' strategy used by the Chinese in Tibet, rather it was equalising the numbers of various groups by movement of people.

Jaitch:  in ref to:  "The Americans dropped more bombs in what was South VietNam; they also fired more shells (of all sizes) in South VietNam."

And the great majority of that was directed against enemy troop concentrations, the HCM trail parts within Vietnam, and in support of Special Forces camps and fire bases in remote areas, In other words, in the overwhelming majority of cases, far from SVN's road, rail, telecoms, electric power, hospitals, clinics, bridges, and maritime infrastructure.

If you wish to discuss this off the thread, please feel free to PM me.

Florida does not compare to Vietnam, like apples and mangoes.

I retired to Vietnam several years ago and live in Nha Trang.  There is not a "retirement" VISA available in Vietnam.  There are many rules and regulations here that can be confusing.  But remember there are many rules and regulations in any country!  But VN is a great place to retire.  Just got to know the ropes.  If you need help or advise please let me know.  Greg

Greg
I am heading to Dalat shortly, will be there for a bit, considering exactly the same thing

Dalat is beautiful.  Relax and have fun.  Just be patient and have a good sense of humor.

Yep, your on to it.

I got married in Dalat a couple of weeks ago. The weather there at the time was almost English weather - cool and raining. The city is unlike most Vietnam cities in that the roads are wide and the buildings well kept. There are gardens and parks everywhere. The central lake is a very pleasant spot to walk around. The central market is just like any Vietnamese market except that there is a lot of fruit and veg which grows in temperate places, such as strawberries, mulberries, lettuce, apples and so on.

Dalat is a lovely place and I wouldn't mind living there when I retire. The only drawback is the 7 - 9 hour bus journey to Saigon, if you need to go there, although the VIP coaches that do the journey are comfortable with aircon. There is an airport near Dalat, but I haven't done the flight yet.

Yes flew in from Danang in July, hung around there for 12 days, flew to HCMC, took 38 minutes.  We will arrive there on the 30th of September, wanted to miss most of the rain.  I and liked it , wife and son came from overseas to hang out in Vietnam for three weeks, was great.

Just my two cents:  while "strategic bombing" has been in place since before WWII, it has never been moral.  when you "aim at the enemy" but you know that you are so inaccurate that you will kill more civilians than combatants and you're OK with that, you have done evil in my book.  We continue to this day with the false promise of "targeted strikes."  They are only lately starting to be where they even have a reasonable chance of actually hitting their intended victims.  Certainly bombs don't in most cases.

Hi eodmatt, i didnt know you JUST got married. Congrats and blessings and good luck from me.

cvco wrote:

Hi eodmatt, i didnt know you JUST got married. Congrats and blessings and good luck from me.

Thanks!

(Sorry there is no wedding cake left).

M   

Hi all,

Could we just go back to the topic please?

Thanks
Armand
Expat.com Team

I married my VN wife five years ago. We live a happy life in Los Angeles. We are traveling to VN at Christmas time to explore the possibility of moving to Viet Nam to PRE retire, that is, live off our savings and investments from the USA until the time I can draw my pensions and SS (about 10 years). I am very open minded to this possibility. We will be looking at the cost of purchasing a home (in my wifes name) somewhere between Da Nang and HCM. I dont know if VN is a "popular" retirement destination, but it sure looks good to me. We could live comfortably on our income and we will be close to family. VN has so many of the boxes checked for a retirement destination. I just hope in the near future VN opens up opportunity's for long term visas. Applying for a new visa or extension or leaving the country every few months could be a huge problem for me, we dont want to live in a big city so the haul to the proper authorities to take care of the paperwork could be the deal breaker.

thanlan7465 wrote:

I married my VN wife five years ago. ... Applying for a new visa or extension or leaving the country every few months could be a huge problem for me, we dont want to live in a big city so the haul to the proper authorities to take care of the paperwork could be the deal breaker.

If your wife has retained her Vietnamese citizenship (or can re-acquire it) you can get multi-year spousal visas to live here.

Jaitch wrote:

thanlan7465 wrote:

I married my VN wife five years ago. ... Applying for a new visa or extension or leaving the country every few months could be a huge problem for me, we dont want to live in a big city so the haul to the proper authorities to take care of the paperwork could be the deal breaker.

If your wife has retained her Vietnamese citizenship (or can re-acquire it) you can get multi-year spousal visas to live here.

Jaitch is that something new or are you talking about a PRC?

thanian don't sweat the visa issue. Apply for a VEC at the Consulate in SF before you make the trip over and you'll be good to go for 5 years. All the provinces  your considering living in have a immigration offices you can extend it at every three months. No need to do a visa run out of country and it's street legal at 220,00VND a pop. No need for an agent.

Budman1 wrote:

Jaitch is that something new or are you talking about a PRC?

Some Vietnamese immigrants ditch their citizenship either deliberately or by using unofficial means to depart.

OP didn't give his wifes VN status.

Jaitch wrote:

Budman1 wrote:

Jaitch is that something new or are you talking about a PRC?

Some Vietnamese immigrants ditch their citizenship either deliberately or by using unofficial means to depart.

OP didn't give his wifes VN status.

My recommendation was made by an assumption that she still held her VN Nationality, and after reading a few of his post I would hardly think that she has did either of the things you suggested. Question still remains. Is what your suggesting a new type of visa or a PRC (Permanent   Residence Card)?

My wife still has her VN passport and citizenship. She has a US green card and will have her US citizenship soon.

The 5 year visa sounds like it would work for me.

This trip to VN will just be to explore some of the towns and villages in south central VN so we can get an Idea of where we want to live.... My wife has traveled the country many times from north to south but she was born and raised in HCM, she is a city girl, she is familiar with the areas outside the cities but never lived there.. Any ideas of some towns/villages to visit would be appreciated

thanlan7465 wrote:

This trip to VN will just be to explore some of the towns and villages in south central VN so we can get an Idea of where we want to live. Any ideas of some towns/villages to visit would be appreciated.

This is very dependent on your lifestyle and how often you need big city facilities.

I chose Buon Ma Thuot as it has good e-communications, fairly decent road communications and lots of fresh air (and coffee, tea, rubber and pepper). The largest city (1,000,000) in the Central Highlands. It's 352 kilometres from HCM. Or an 8 hour bus ride. By air - 1 hour.

KonTum is a sweetheart of a city. Has good communications to Nha Trang. It is much like an Austrian town without the snow - it has low hills on two sides and plains on the other. 5 hours to Nha Trang, a day to HCM.

Nha Trang is a coastal resort town, but has a lot of the bad things of HCM. Plenty of Foreigners if you need the company. Road and rail facilities are OK - about 6 hours from HCM. The nearest airport is Cam Ranh Bay - 1 hour to HCM.

Phan Thiet is smaller than Nha Trang, and the 'resort' part, Mui Ne, is well separated from the town. It has a thriving market (actually day market for retail and the overnight market for wholesale). Road and rail connections - about 6 hours from HCM.

DaLat - the food basket of southern VietNam - inland, and around 4,000 feet elevation - small, busy and touristy. Has good road connections to Nha Trang (~1.25 hour), 6 hours to HCM and an airport way outside the city which is 1 hour by air from HCM.

Can Tho, a slightly smaller version of HCM with many of the same challenges. About 2 hours by road from HCM and 1 hour from by air.

Personally, I also like Ha Tien, a major fishing harbour and fast-ferry links to Phu Quoc Island. About 50,000 people. 8 road hours to HCM; 2 road hours to Rach Gia (Airport - 1 hour to HCM). Bang up against the Cambodian border.

Others will likely have different favourites, which is why you are making your exploratory trip. As I said, your choice is dependent on your needs.

On my coming trip i hope to have some time just to explore, which for me means War sites because i owe that pilgrimage to my friends who didnt make it back.

Along the way I too need to look for places to live that make sense for me, provided there is a visa waiting at the end of the line.....somewhere.....somehow.

cvco wrote:

On my coming trip i hope to have some time just to explore, which for me means War sites because i owe that pilgrimage to my friends who didnt make it back.

Along the way I too need to look for places to live that make sense for me, provided there is a visa waiting at the end of the line.....somewhere.....somehow.

I understand. Good luck with your quest.

Visas can be achieved, although sometimes there is short term inconvenience involved.

Thanks Jaitch, I am familiar with all the cities except Boun Ma Thout, Kon Tum, Ha Tien. I would like to be on the coast. Any input on Ca Na, Phan Rang?

Do you know of any websites that may have some homes for sale in the smaller cities?

Congrats on the wedding edomatt!

thanlan7465 wrote:

Thanks Jaitch, I am familiar with all the cities except Boun Ma Thout, Kon Tum, Ha Tien. I would like to be on the coast. Any input on Ca Na, Phan Rang?

Do you know of any websites that may have some homes for sale in the smaller cities?

Cam Rang Bay, where my wife has a hotel, has all been bought by Viet Kieu, besides the US Navy is trying to rent space for a base (they built it) which will depreciate property values.

Ha Tien is a great little town, on the Bay of Thailand coast. Lots of quiet beaches. Lots of building land. I have a friend who lives in Tri-Ton - river all the way to the sea.

Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm, aka Panduranga, at the base of the escarpment on which Da Lat and the Central Highlands sit. About 180,000-200,000 population. Big industry includes rail & carriage manufacturing. On Highway 1A but most tourists pass on by. Nha Trang - 1 hour road; HCM - 6 hours road, Da Lat 1.25 hours road (make sure your set of wheels has good brakes).

Ca Mau and Rach Gia have beaches but they also have storms (it's where the Bay of Thailand meets the East Sea). About 5 road hours to HCM; 1 hour air from Rach Gia.

To find land you are best to take an Open Tour bus then stop over at places of interest. Then locate Realty Agents. You both can do the physical search but let your wife, alone, approach the Agents - you'll save a lot of money!

Electrical power reliability is pretty good these days in the country; water outside HCM needs at least sand filters, sewers vary from pipes to septic tanks depending on area. Always check on flooding, and don't trust Agents for a true answer! Assume bottled gas (when/if main gas comes just a nozzle change).

Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue are all hit by severe storms 2-3 months each year. (About to start) Hue is crowded at festival time and has frequent flooding - up to 2 metres in downtown. Hoi An is a tourist trap and has a pushy Peoples Committee chairman (User pay to go to Ancient Town). Da Nang has opportunities but all the good beach properties are fast disappearing. The Peoples Committee chairman is facing charges of bribery and corruption which might mean tainted User Certificates and hassles.

I have a "marriage exception" visa.  I have to renew it every 3 months, but is good for 5 years.  The cost of renewal is $10.  My wife just takes to the immigration office and renews it.

Greglb wrote:

I have a "marriage exception" visa.  I have to renew it every 3 months, but is good for 5 years.  The cost of renewal is $10.  My wife just takes to the immigration office and renews it.

Greglb I think you mean it's called a "Certificate of visa exemption" (GIAY MIEN THI THUC) and yes they can be obtained by marriage to a VN national. However that's not there sole purpose or the only way they can be obtained. The cost is 220,000VND and why they stamp in red letters underneath the visa "10 (MUOI)USD" is beyond me. As a note, you can only receive the full 5 years exemption if when you submit for it you have over 5 years of  validity on your passport.

thanlan7465 I wouldn't be to concerned about the visa because of your marriage status. The ball buster is drawing your SS benefits when deciding where to hang your hat. They still have in effect the requirement that you must report in person every month to the Consulate in Saigon or Hanoi in order to continue drawing them., and you have to apply for the exception when you move here. It's been in effect for well over 15 years and I don't see it changing any time soon. I've posted extensively on the subject here, if you have any creative ideas I've addressed them all.

I maintain a USA address and bank account.  My Social Security is never a problem.

Greglb wrote:

I maintain a USA address and bank account.  My Social Security is never a problem.

I know other US retirees hereabouts and they, too, have no problems using a US bank account and 'forgetting' to tell ever nosey Uncle Sam.

Don't register with the US Warden system, either, totally unneeded in VN.

And if you visit the Consulate, just tell them you are 'visiting'.

File your tax from within the USA. Since you will unlikely work in VN, and that your wife's VN status is your 'anchor' here, you won't need to file VN tax papers either.

BUT 'hold' your money overseas and use either SWIFT or ATM's to transfer. Open a US bank account here (NOT with a US bank) in your wife's name and you can transfer straight into the account BUT KEEP ALL THE PAPERWORK FOR PROOF in case you ever want pull out of VN.

Jaitch, in reference to your:  "KonTum is a sweetheart of a city. Has good communications to Nha Trang. It is much like an Austrian town without the snow - it has low hills on two sides and plains on the other. 5 hours to Nha Trang, a day to HCM."

Five hours from Kontum to Nha Trang?  Have there been some new highways opened up or widened? Last trip from Nha Trang to Pleiku took me a hair more than seven hours, leaving NT at 0700 and arriving in Pleiku sometime after 1400. I did notice a new road on that trip that by-passed BMT.

I take it Highway 19 has been upgraded. WHat's the driving time between Qui Nhon an Nha Trang these days? Last time we took QL 1 we kept hitting construction in parts of Binh Dinh province.

lirelou wrote:

Five hours from Kontum to Nha Trang?  Have there been some new highways opened up or widened?

First of all I usually drive my pick-up truck most places except HCM. I also prefer driving at night - most VNese have lights which makes them easier to see. My routing was Plei Ku >AH17> Chu Se >> Buon Ho >QL26> Ea Drang >QL26> Ea Kar >QL26> Ninh Hiep >1A/AH17> Nha Trang. Not very many elephant nests and the roads were in good condition.

For a change I occasionally do Plei Ku >AH17> Chu Se >QL25> Ayun Pa >QL25> Hai Rieng >QL25> No Name >QL26> Ninh Hiep >1A/AH17> Nha Trang.

I take it Highway 19 has been upgraded. What's the driving time between Qui Nhon an Nha Trang these days? Last time we took QL 1 we kept hitting construction in parts of Binh Dinh province.

Haven't been far on #19 for about 18 months, so I'm out of date. I try to avoid 1A/AH1 as there are so many nutters on that road, particularly the Open Tour buses whose 'drivers' are often sleep deprived.

Excellent advise. Many times it is what you don't say that is important.