Scott
Working in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Monthly Earnings 91,500 baht equivalent
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
Full-time salary (after tax) from a large private school, including housing allowance.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Most months I save about 30,000 baht. This is split evenly between cash savings and investing in an index fund. I try to save a bit of extra cash for travelling during the summer break.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I live in a serviced apartment which costs about 13,500 baht a month. This includes twice weekly cleaning and internet.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have my own bike so it costs me very little to get back and forth to work. Grab bikes are really cheap when going on a night out.
Utility bills
Electricity and water costs about 1,500 - 2,000 baht a month.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
This is probably my biggest expense. There is so much good food in HCMC. I eat out several times a week so this is usually about 15K a month.
Nightlife and drinking
HCMC is a really social city, there is always something going on. This is one of my biggest expenses although I am trying to be more strict with myself in this area. I usually spend about 15K a month.
Books, computers
I have a work laptop so I don't spend anything on computers. I have an audible account so usually access books in this way.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I feel that my salary gives me a decent enough living standard currently and I am able to save a decent amount each month without sacrificing my living standards. I really appreciate living in a city where rent is affordable enough to not have to rely on a partner or roommates.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Eating out here is really reasonable, especially if you are eating at local restaurants.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
You could live on about 40,000 baht a month here but you need to be earning more if you want to save anything and afford to travel.
Phil's analysis and comment
Interestingly we put up a great escape survey just yesterday from a teacher who taught in Thailand for four years but moved to work in Vietnam in 2019. He sounded like he was really enjoying life there and felt Vietnam had many advantages over Thailand. Scott's cost of living survey also paints quite a glowing picture.
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