Anyplace is terrible if you don’t do what it takes to make it better.
Like many third world countries :
Poor infrastructure. Healthcare, public transport and roads are not as advanced and as well maintained compare to countries with much larger budget. Private healthcare cost a lot more , but so with it the quality.
Road condition and traffic is darn terrible. If you see it first hand ever , it likes going into a street brawl. An organized chaos that everything almost seem to crash into one another yet never will. Land traffic in Viet Nam is one of the seven mystery of the “ninja” world.
Education crisis. Most third world’s countries studies & research are not acknowledged even when the research is amongst the leading in the field.
This is also related to an identity crisis. Most students study and spend way more time studying compare to first world countries. That effort show a difference in altitude and in results with most asian originated immigrants top the scoreboard once they have learnt the language. But these recognition go unnoticed. Papers published by these countries still carry question marks from well established universities in first world with a look down altitude. Mind you i’m not talking about faulty papers , but bone fide research with claims and sources to back it up.
Most parents don’t want their to put children in heavily competitive education system of few winners but tons of losers. ( Most asia countries are like that ).
Quite irony in that the education system of many first world countries are the opposite but afterschool is like asian schooltime : few winners , tons of losers.
Viet Nam is a single party totalitarian country. Media , news outlet and many aspects of life is controlled by the party. But the trend nowadays is to loosen central control in favour of economic growth. Most human rights and humanitarian organizations place Viet Nam in the lower end for these things.
I’m not suprised. Then again , if the organization is among the likes of Metoo then no , i won’t even hear what they say. These organizations doesn’t seem to do anything useful except promoting terrorism.
Draft system. Let’s face it , if you are male in this country , chances are high you will have to serve as a conscript for sometimes. If you are a dumb pacifist , this isn’t your place.
Natural disasters. Although there are places in Viet Nam where disasters are few and far between , the country on a whole is stricken with many disasters yearly.
Primarily in the central region and lower north region of Viet Nam. If you dislike the roof flying around , maybe this country is not for you.
Security in general is not a great thing. Although you likely won’t get to die in a shoot out , petty crimes are numerous and crimes involving knifes are not uncommon. Never face a street fight with knives involved , it never end well ; seriously , just run.
Laws is in its infancy. Don’t expect a strong customer protection or in general get any legal proceedings here in a speedy fashion. Laws in Viet Nam is a massive paper wall ready to crush anyone underneath it.
If you are ready to drop reading here once the negatives are finished and you are happy with your mug face that yes Viet Nam is trash , then i have some bad news for you :
Food : Now where do i start. Cheap , fresh nutritious and widely available for a dime a dozen. Viet Nam is a treasure hunt for delicious food. And the best part of it is you don’t need to book a diner in advance to taste what is certain as delicious. Walk around , drop on a plastic stool and start slurping away right on the street. Nothing fancy , but eating in open air is more unique than a closed off diner.
Related to that is cheap cost of life. You can survive here with 300 usd monthly. If you struggle to live in a high cost area , moving to this country may not be so bad after all.
Scenery : It isn’t that hard to find beauty’s nature in Viet Nam. yes , weather is crap sometimes , but the further away you are from cities , the more readily nature will reward you with a mind blowing view.
Tourist site : the whole length of the country is a massive long coast. It isn’t rare to find a beach somewhere and call it a day like any day. Fishery return almost daily with fresh finds to compliment your trip with a tons of seafood on offer.
That , and there is no few ancient buildings for historic minded fellows. Preservation effort for lost arts and buildings are increased over the years to attract more tourists.
The people here is friendly, they treat foreigners in general very warmly and almost never dig up bloody past for some weird pride show. The younger generation are trendy and not afraid to interact with foreigners.
Girls are very beautiful. They are not shy and are plentiful. It’s not hard to meet a wow oh my god girl at night. Wooing a girl , well , atleast you don’t have to deal with crazy femi nazi here.
Education despite its flaws , pump out a lot of skilled workers and in general the workers are fast learners. They are also cheaper to employ compare to say China. A great bargain for capitalism isn’t it ?
Aviation is a hot growing business. Air travel to the country is much easier than the past and thanks to the widespread , no focus investment of the government , Viet Nam have many airports for quick traveling. For far out traveling , there is always a choice to go fast. Last time i heard , there is even a helicopter tour in the North. Quite good for a third world country.
Viet Nam is also handily not a hotspot for political quarrels between colored 5 usd shirts dudes. So high political stability that ensure a up and up. No crazy insurrection and gun firing because a dog peed at the wrong place.
