I had the chance to live in Saigon, Vietnam for five months, and what an experience it was! As a solo traveler with no pets, I settled in Thao Dien, District 2, which is a pretty chill spot if you're looking for a mix of expat vibe and local culture.

Accommodation-wise, I stayed in a serviced apartment, which worked out well for my needs. Cost of living here is fantastic, especially for someone earning in a more favorable currency. Meals are cheap (think $2 at an inexpensive restaurant), and even my monthly sim only set me back around $6.

As for internet speed, it ranged between 25 to 100 Mbps, sufficient for my web development work. The city's coffee culture is thriving and there's no shortage of cafes perfect for nomads like myself — plus, the coworking spaces are a boon if you need a more professional setting.

Vietnamese is the language here, but don't worry if you're like me and didn't get much beyond "thank you" and "hi." English and even some French speakers can be found around.

One thing you gotta be prepared for is the heat — it hovered between 30-35°C while I was there. Rain came as part of the deal too, but just short showers in the rainy season. The city's got plenty of shaded spots though, and the air conditioning inside is always a relief.

Public transport is super affordable with Grab, and while there's a new metro line, I mostly stayed cozy with my regular routes. If you're big into beaches, plan for weekend trips to Vung Tau or Mui Ne because Saigon itself is landlocked.

Food here is amazing, and I just couldn't get enough. Pho, Bahn Mi, and the coffee variants like egg coffee were among my faves. The cost of living is unbeatable, and I genuinely felt safe the whole time.

On the downside, occasional lack of manners from the older generation might catch you off guard, but it's rare. Some find the city's peacefulness a bit too routine, and while it suited me, there wasn't much in terms of luxury living or large scale shopping — something to consider if that's your scene.

In summary, Saigon's a gem for nomads, especially if you have a remote job. You'll enjoy a balance of tranquility and discovery, and make incredible memories. But if diverse transport options or instant beach access are your priorities, you might want to look elsewhere.

Overall, if you do decide to make the trip, you're in for a great time with welcoming people and a stress-free lifestyle. Enjoy the incredible Vietnamese hospitality and all the culinary delights waiting around every corner!

Full of scams, surprisingly expensive, too hot and humid, too busy, food is mostly terrible. Definitely NOT recommended for beginners.

Pros: cheap, unique/interesting vibe, decent infrastructure, good food.

Cons: dangerous traffic, intense pollution, hit-or-miss local attitudes, annoying tourist visa process

I really like living here. The only thing to note is that the concept of responsibility for public spaces doesn’t exist. Beautiful cafes will have disgusting sidewalks. Luxury hotels will be next to a road filled with trash or potholes. I leased an apartment in a private neighborhood and everything is clean and pretty (and still relatively cheap).

I noticed most cafes are very work friendly! (eg: fast wifi, abundance of power plugs and nobody will pressure you to keep ordering, altho i'd recommend to support local busineses ;) )

I did not care for this city! Was super polluted, muggy, and not very walkable at all. I also ended up getting food poison before leaving. I will never return here again .

You could do worse, you could do better. Filthy & stressful, you have to Grab everywhere, even a short walk results in dodging aggressive motorbikes. Locals are super unfriendly, way worse than Hanoi, so not sure why everyone raves about how friendly they are in comparison. Poor quality in everything, even the luxury experiences are a total rip-off. Surprisingly underdeveloped too, not even a bar on their observation deck in Bitexco. Internet is really good, but stay as far from D1 as you can - somehow it's filthier than everywhere else & seems like they're trying to turn this area into a red light district, so it's very noisy with a lot of obvious prostitution happening. No matter what you ask for in a cafe or restaurant, you'll get what they feel like serving lol Grab drivers are not helpful or friendly at all, all of them seemed bothered by having to deal with you, but there's no other way to get around. Being here for 2 months cured me of ever wanting to visit SEA ever again, so there's that.

Saigon has things going for it—great food, beautiful French architecture, interesting history, steady development, and nice enough people. But overall, the vibes are mediocre. Again, the locals are nice enough, though, as a Westerner, you're not going to feel as welcomed as you are in surrounding countries (I don't mean to sound entitled, that's an honest assessment). You just sort of exist; people stare at you and will be amused by you, but don't expect the celebrity treatment you get in other countries. Dating is a thing—it's not terrible, but it's probably the least compatible with Western-style dating I've experienced in any Asian country (people take things much slower, even if you're long-term/marriage minded, it's going to frustrate you). Oh, and the pollution is terrible, and doesn't let up like it does in other countries because it's more city-based vs. rural based. I do recommend visiting here for a week or so to see the sights, but no longer—not when you can have a 1000x better time in other nearby countries.

Definitely worth visiting, but just visiting. I don't recommend living here for reasons others have outlined. But again—definitely worth visiting, DO try it for a shorter trip.

Saigon has some nice areas with good apartments and nature e.g. central park, golden river, empire city. Rest of the city more or less sucks, too much traffic, pollution and noise. Overall pretty meh, no real reason to visit or live there.

Stayed here for a month. It reminds me of a less-developed Bangkok. Although there are a lot of high-rise buildings being built at the moment. Very cheap place compared to lots of places in Asia however it's one of the most expensive places in Vietnam. I wouldn't stay here long term, good for a month but was ready to move on.

Pros:

- Cheap city

- Has lots of bars and restaurants

- Has some good day trips and activities

- Safe

- Very cheap Ubers

Cons:

- Can be extremely hot during the day which makes it unbearable to walk around

- Dating as a guy here is not the best, local women think they are queens and have unrealistic expectations, they are a 4 that expects a 9/10 guy to take them seriously. Not all are like this but the girls that have been "westernised"are.

- Food was terrible, I mostly ate international dishes for that reason

- Pollution varies so much, some days it was literally the worst pollution I have witnessed, and other days it was fine

- I had a lot of locals trying to trip me off, sometimes 10x the amount

I liked Ho Chi Minh City a lot. It has all of the convivences one could expect from the city except for an MRT system which as of September 2022, they are in the middle of building one anyway. Things are affordable although I have noticed a tamer street food scene compared to other places in Vietnam like Hanoi. Seems to be making more room for higher end dining but affordability is still easy. HCMC without a doubt has some great nightlife, so party animals are going to be very happy here. I am sure those willing to use grab or even rent a motorbike may find even more affordability outside of District 1.

Been living here for more than 3 years. Overall I do not recommend it. Its not terrible but overall theres better options in asia.

The city is constantly busy, noisy and polluted (air and landscapes). You can hardly go out for breeze of fresh air or to relax and ease your mind. There is not much nature, beach or mountains for you to escape. Traveling is very restriced because people go crazy due to covid. During the lockdown you couldnt even leave your appartment for a walk outside. They trapped everyone inside. It was like a prison! It is very hostile for dogs as most Vietnamese treat animals like trash. The people can be rude and xenophobic. Some people are nice and helpful if you ask them but overall very uneducated, sleezy and close minded. The girls are attractive in looks department but dont make great long term partners as they are too childish, insecure, and stupid. In general the people are funny and sociable but uneducated, immature, poor. It is an interesting place to discover for a few weeks after that you wanna get away

Only thing to add is that in general Saigon has terrible walkability. I love Saigon, lived there for 3 years. But motorbikes are always parked on the sidewalks so you constantly have to step onto the road which is a little hair raising. And if it's not motorbikes then there are restaurant tables scattered across the pavement. Plus the pavement is almost always cracked. I'm a pretty chill person. But going for a random walk in Saigon always leaves me kind of irritated after a while. Of course the parks and pedestrian zones are all fine though.

Great city, but you need to drive everywhere.

Usually goes dead after one month. Polluted streets and antisocial locals. It’s okay for a few weeks, but the fun diminishes quickly and boredom sets in. You are left with high rent and no fun after about a month.

It used to have a lot of character and charm but all the construction is making the city lose its culture.

Apartments and accommodation are ridiculously expensive. 300 to 500 a month for tiny rooms in a shared house.

For single guys go elsewhere. Women here are rude, ultra conservative and have flat personalities with nothing going for them.

Food is okay but plenty of MSG and food safety is atrocious. In addition motorists are aggressive and plenty of accidents take place.

Don't live here imo but come and visit.

Main advantage of Vietnam in general is the ease of getting a visa. That's real nice but there are some big problems here.

The food is terrible. Bland soups with slippery, boring rice noodles topped with weird stuff like pig's feet are not my idea of a good meal. Neither are sandwiches with fatty mystery meats. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia all have way better food. The sushi I've had here was also terrible.

The city itself is pretty ugly. Every building is the same tall, skinny shape. Overall safety is low and you'll probably end up in a traffic accident if you stay here long enough.

It costs more to rent a place and if you're on a low budget you'll likely end up in a home stay or guesthouse when you could have rented an apartment for the same price in another city. Many places have curfews, even as early as 8pm, so make sure to ask your Airbnb about that because they won't bother to mention it in the listing.

Stay in D1/D10/D3/D4/Phu nhuan. Avoid Tan phu, D7, D2, Tan binh, and Go vap.

Avoid the rainy season.

Ho Chi Minh City is clearly the place to be right now. What I like most is the diversity : there are quiet places, busy places, cheap places, fancy places. Above all, the most important thing for a digital nomad is the Internet and it's almost perfect (there are some breakdowns a few seconds here and there) but overall it's pretty fast. You can feel a great vibe, there is just the right balance between chaos and comfort. Highly recommend.

Great city for working that is incredibly cheap and has great cafes to work at. There's plenty of activities and social events so making friends was easy. Sadly food quality and air quality is very poor and there is a lack of nature nearby. I recommend staying here three months to half a year if you want a big city life but longer than that and you will get bored. Also stay out of district one as outside of it everything is cheaper and there's still plenty to do.

"omagad they like totally stole my iphone", "it's like the worst, everybody is like so aggressive" welcome to the Real World, maybe you now learn to appreciate your cosy first world country and stop bitching about your oppression and your rights.

Ho Chi Minh is an awesome upcoming city. It has an original and still traditional look and vibe to it, interesting colors (check out japanese district) not swamped with brand shops (the local coffee shops dominate starbucks in terms of quality and design and some are open 24h !). The nightlife also has plenty of options and be sure to enjoy the view from a the many rooftop bars in the city.

You get to see a city full of energetic, young people growing their country after a devastating war and under an authoritarian regime. You get a choice between older buildings in D1 or totally new apartment buildings in D2 all at great value prices.

There are a lot of people coming here to work remotely and also to start businesses.

Decent sports facilities readily available (check out mach's gym, UFC center). If you don't want to spend money on the gym you can always do a workout on one of the many parks that have bars for chalistenics available.

However, beware the pollution and always wear a mask, especially in D1. This is the biggest con here in my opinion.

worst place I have ever been to. walking is difficult. weather is extremely humid. lack of infrastructure so terrible smells which are hard to cope with. they keep trying to sell you things. lastly, aggressive people all around the place, especially males.

Cheap and friendly city. very spread out with limited public transport but there is an Uber-like app called Grab you can use to get a ride to anywhere in the city cheaply.

my girlfriend's iPhone was stolen from a backpack in Ho Chi Minh City - be careful in this city

Ho Chi Minh City is a big hot spot for digital nomads. Currently experiencing huge growth in the number of co-working spaces available. It has a slower pace of life compared to other cities. Ho Chi Minh City is well known for its coffee culture (many local cafés), traditional architecture, and friendly locals. Prices for food and accommodation are low in comparison to other South East Asian locations. Added bonus: weekend getaways at the beach are just a bus ride away.

Big, dirty, vibrant, and cheap.

Not an easy city compared to somewhere like Bangkok, but it's a good experience. I recommend at least a three-month stay.