My Vietnam Anniversary: One Year in Ho Chi Minh City

I’ve officially lived in Ho Chi Minh City for a full year. Man, how time flies. I actually moved to HCMC (aka Saigon) on Christmas Day last year. I remember the moment so clearly it’s hard to believe it was over a year ago.

Aaron and I had just hopped off a red-eye from Beijing, where we’d lived for two years. Exhausted and bleary-eyed we lugged our 10 suitcases – which contained all of our worldly possessions – through Vietnamese immigration and walked out into that sticky Saigon air. I remember beelining it to an outdoor café, ordering iced Vietnamese coffee and talking excitedly about our new expat adventure as we watched the sun come up.

In some ways, that day feels like a lifetime ago and in others, it feels like it was just yesterday.

So one year later, how am I finding life in Ho Chi Minh City? Here are a few thoughts, observations and anecdotes about my time in Vietnam so far.

I like living here way more than I thought I would

I didn’t really know what to expect when I moved to HCMC. Sure, I’d been to Vietnam a handful of times before I moved here, but the majority of that time was spent in the beachside city of Nha Trang. Before landing in HCMC on December 25, 2017,  I’d only spent four fleeting days here back in 2006. And to be honest, my memory of those days is spotty. It was a long time ago and this city has changed dramatically since them.

While I was excited to live in Vietnam, I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of moving to another huge city in Asia. What can I say; I’m not a city girl. I came in with low expectations but honestly, this city is a pretty great one to live in! The food is amazing, it’s ridiculously affordable and there’s no end of things to eat, drink and do.

Ho Chi Minh City is a great place for vegetarians

Thanks to the country’s large Buddhist population, Vietnam is a treat for vegetarians. But HCMC is one of the most veg-friendly cities I’ve been too — at least when it comes to local food.

In Vietnam the word “chay” means vegetarian and there are a ton of chay restaurants around town. Seriously, there are at least eight within a three block radius of my apartment, that I know of. I’ve done a lot of eating since moving to this city and had more noodle soups and banh mi sandwiches than I can count. If you’re a vegetarian (or vegan) who’s living in or planning to visit this city, I wrote a complete vegetarian guide to HCMC here.

Ho Chi Minh City is freaking loud

Seriously there are studies on how the ultra-high decibel levels are impacting the population’s hearing. It seems like there is always someone nearby who’s banging on metal or hammering a wall or honking a horn.

I relish my peace and quiet (again, not a city girl) so the constant noise is something that still irks me even though I’ve spent five years living and traveling in Asian cities.

Ho Chi Minh City is polluted

As I write this the pollution is so bad I can see it in the air. Days like this aren’t all that common but they do happen and when they do I can feel it in my nose and lungs. Coming from Beijing, a notoriously polluted city, I’ve become somewhat of a pollution expert. It’s to the point that I can go outside on my balcony and pinpoint the AQI (Air Quality Index) level with disturbing accuracy.

I knew the pollution would be an issue when I moved here but I didn’t expect it to get quite as bad as it does. That being said it doesn’t get nearly as bad as Beijing and it should definitely not deter anyone from living or traveling here!

Things do seem to get better depending on the season. I feel like during the rainy season (spring and summer) the rain and wind help to wash the pollution away. But right now, when it’s dry and stagnant the dust from the ubiquitous construction sites and the particles from the city’s 7 million motorbikes just kind of hang in the air. It’s gross and it’s really, really sad.

There are so many places to visit around HCMC

Being based in Ho Chi Minh City is a traveler’s dream. There are so many amazing domestic destinations that are just a stone’s throw away. The magical Con Dao Islands and Phu Quoc Island are both an inexpensive one-hour flight away.

I visited both in the past year and while I’m partial to Con Dao, I loved my time in both destinations. I still have a lot of traveling to do in Vietnam but another great thing about living in HCMC is that the Mekong Delta and Vung Tau Beach are both super close. The point is that if I’m ever sick of city life it’s easy to escape for a few days.

The language is so hard

I’ve never attempted to learn a language anywhere I’ve lived and I swore this time would be different. I took Vietnamese lessons once a week when I first moved here. I learned how to say the alphabet (kinda), greet people, order food, count to 100…and that’s pretty much it. Just kidding, I’m sure I learned more than that. But it was a slow and painful process and I honestly came to dread Vietnamese lessons.

I quit about five months in. And no, I don’t feel particularly proud of that. It’s just so hard and I can’t imagine ever getting to the point of having an actual conversation in Vietnamese. Seriously, these tones! I should start taking lessons again though.

Crossing the street still scares me

HCMC is kind of infamous when it comes to its traffic and the whole crossing-the-street thing. Don’t believe me? Just watch this video. The traffic here is intense and there’s honestly not much rhyme or reason when it comes to driving. People just kind of weave around each other and somehow it just works.

When you want to cross the road no one’s going to stop for you. You just have to walk into oncoming traffic and trust that people will go around you. (The motorbikes will. But please don’t walk in front of a car or bus. They will run right over you.)

One year later and I still don’t feel settled

My living situation is a bit odd. We subleased our apartment in District 1 for three months back in February 2018. Our plan was to live downtown for a few months and then move to the suburbs where Aaron’s university is located. But we couldn’t quite tear ourselves away from life in our downtown apartment, despite never really moving into our place.

Our apartment is nautically themed. Oh, aside from the second bedroom which has more of an intergalactic vibe. None of this is by choice. Had I planned on staying in our apartment for a full year I would have taken down all of the photos of clownfish and dolphins and boats. I would have gotten rid of the blue-hued vases with fake flowers that sit on the shelf in our living room. I would have bought non-aquatic-themed decorations and furnishings to make the apartment more comfortable and homey. But I didn’t.

We just kind of kept extending our lease month by month. One year later and I’m still staring at that same damn clownfish photo as I work, wondering why I never bothered to take it down. (In all honesty, I was afraid of offending our very nice landlord who loves these decorations.)

Our lease is up at the end of the month and we found a pretty incredible apartment in the suburbs. I’m sad to leave downtown, and all the vegetarian restaurants I frequent, but moving to District 7 will have its perks and our new apartment is pretty fantastic!

Making friends is still a challenge

Am I the only expat who suffers from this? I’m definitely a social person but I have zero idea of how to go about randomly meeting people. I’m just not all that good at putting myself out there. I suppose the whole working from home thing doesn’t help with this.

I’ve developed a food delivery addiction

I get food delivered way too often. You have to understand that I spent two years living in the suburbs of Beijing. There was no way to get any food delivered out there unless I were to have been fluent in Chinese. (If my Vietnamese abilities are any indication, I definitely was not.) We cooked every meal in China and went out for pizza or dumplings once a week.

So when we learned how easy it was to get burritos or hummus or palak paneer delivered right to our door here in Saigon we were a little too excited. I’m trying to work on this and cook more, mainly because the amount of plastic and waste food delivery in HCMC generates is disturbing. Oh and I’m feeling increasingly out of shape and unhealthy these days.

I miss having a place to exercise

Speaking of health, I miss having a place to walk or jog outside. I’ve never been a gym person. I prefer to exercise outside but that’s really hard where I live. I usually like to take a walk at the end of my workday, not only to exercise but to make sure I get out and about each day.

But that also coincides with rush hour, meaning there’s typically a lot of pollution from motorbikes. Walking is also challenging because there are motorbikes driving on the streets and sidewalks and, like I said before, crossing the street is always a challenge.

I love watching soccer games

Perhaps my favorite thing about living in HCMC is watching the city root for its national soccer team. Vietnam hasn’t exactly been competitive in the sport but this year they have kind of a dream team. Win or lose the city goes crazy whenever they make it far in any competition and they’ve made it far in three since I’ve lived here.

Literally, everyone busts out their Vietnamese flags and vuvuzelas and red headbands. The entire city erupts in unison when the team scores and emits shrill screams of fear when the other teams threaten to score. And win or lose they all “storm” the streets and honk their horns, in complete mania. It’s the best thing to experience!

A year in travel

This year, I’ve gone to Chiang Mai, Thailand; Lombok, Indonesia; San Diego, California; Hong Kong and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Poor me!

While I’ve relished being able to visit and revisit different places, I haven’t given myself enough time to explore Vietnam. I’ve done very little traveling in-country since I moved here. I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot more traveling in Vietnam this year. I’m also hoping to get some visits from family members in 2019 (I’m talking to you mom!).

Sure, the past year has been full of ups and downs but overall I’m pretty happy living in Ho Chi Minh City. I am excited to change things up a little bit and move to a new apartment. Sometimes a little change is a good thing. Overall, I’m excited to see what year number two brings.

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