Lee
Working in Hanoi, Vietnam
Monthly Earnings 60,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at a private language centre in Hanoi. My monthly pay after tax is 39 million VND which is about 60,000 Thai baht. This also includes a 6 million VND housing allowance.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
If i tried, I could easily save 15-18 million VND each month however I probably spend too much on Western food and eating out.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I share a two-bedroom apartment with my girlfriend who works at the same centre as me. We pay 12 million per month so roughly 9,000 baht each.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I bought a Yamaha scooter for 12,000 baht last year. Petrol is dirt cheap here. I fill up once a week for 70,000 VND (107 thb)
Utility bills
Water, wifi and cleaning is included in our rent. We only pay for electricity; around 1 million VND per month in the summer, 700K in winter.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
Hanoi has a huge variety of great Western food in which I indulge too often. Local Vietnamese food is very cheap (35-70K VND generally per dish) Supermarket food prices are comparable to Thailand
Nightlife and drinking
Alcohol is pretty cheap, a bottle of Hanoi beer is 20-30 baht. The imported stuff is much more expensive
Books, computers
I rarely spend money on books, apart from an occasional e-book.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Compared to Thailand, my standard of living is WAY better. I earn twice as much as I did in the private school I worked at in Chiang Mai. It means I'm able to travel more often and save a lot more. Also because I work in a private language centre, I only work in the evening and weekend which suits me fine.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Good quality, fresh and cheap Vietnamese food! Also buying meat from the supermarket, especially pork and chicken is very reasonable. The 5,000 VND (8 baht) fresh beer at many bars also deserves a mention.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
You could easily live off 20 million a month but to live comfortably and be able to travel and save, 30 million would be far better.
Phil's analysis and comment
That was fantastic timing Lee. Two Vietnam cost of living surveys on the same day! And although Lee lives and works in the same country as Jamie, it's like they're on a different planet! However Jamie did say in his survey that 55,000 - 60,000 baht would give you a nice lifestyle in Vietnam - and that's exactly what Lee earns. The difference in lifestyles that those salaries afford is there for all of us to see. Thanks a million for your time guys!
Submit your own Cost of Living survey
