Single life in the most expensive places in Vietnam

For a recent graduate like My Hanh (born in 2001), living in Hanoi – the most expensive city in the country – inevitably brings life pressures.

Having graduated in 2023, Hanh experienced a wave of layoffs at the end of the year and only found a new job at the beginning of this year. Her low income makes it difficult for her to carefully budget her expenses.

With a salary plus commission ranging from 7-10 million VND, Hanh allocates 20% to rent and utilities; 20% to food; and 15% to household purchases. The rest she balances for other needs.

"Having graduated and started working, I can spend more freely than when I had to rely on my family for financial support. But along with that comes pressure, because working requires more expenses. Currently, I still haven't really learned how to balance my spending," Hanh shared with Tri Thuc - Znews .

According to the 2023 Spatial Cost of Living Index (SCOLI) report published by the General Statistics Office, the five localities with the highest prices nationwide last year were Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, and Binh Duong .

Compared to 2022 statistics, Hanoi continues to be the locality with the highest cost of living in the country. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City surpassed Quang Ninh in terms of the high cost of living in 2023.

With the cost of living rising, not only families but also single people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have to be more frugal with their spending and have a sound financial savings plan.

Cost of living alone

With her current salary, My Hanh only has "enough to live on" and hasn't thought about saving yet.

Rising prices for goods, coupled with stagnant or even declining wages in many sectors, are adding to the pressure on young people like Hanh.

"I usually spend a lot of money on food, going out, and shopping. I save a little because my parents regularly send me food from home. If I have to cut back on some expenses, I think I'll reduce the frequency of hanging out with friends."

According to My Hanh, for a young person to live comfortably in Hanoi, the income should be in the range of 10-12 million VND.

My Hanh is facing financial pressure as her income remains low while the cost of living is soaring.

"I'm not sure I'll work in Hanoi long-term. If a good opportunity arises, I'd like to return to my hometown to develop my career. Obviously, salaries might be lower there, but the cost of living is much cheaper. More importantly, I want to be close to my parents and enjoy the peace and quiet of my hometown," Hanh expressed.

Several studies and surveys in various countries show that single life is more expensive than we think. Being single means having only one mouth to feed, needing fewer household necessities, and having enough space in a house or apartment for one person. However, when you add all these things up, the cost of maintaining a single life is not necessarily half the cost of living for a family of two.

Financial planner Liz Koh said: "The main reason living alone is expensive is because there are so many fixed costs associated with living in a home."

If you're paying a mortgage or rent, that cost will remain the same regardless of how many people live in the house. And if you own your own home, there are also property maintenance costs. "Essentially, most housing-related expenses are fixed whether you live alone or not."

Thao Nguyen (29 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) once considered living alone. However, after only a few months of searching, she abandoned the idea. "It was around 2021, after the pandemic, and I wanted a private space within the price range of 3-3.5 million VND/month in areas near the city center. I looked at quite a few rooms and apartments, but ultimately couldn't find anything I liked."

Currently, Thảo shares a 38 m2 space in Thủ Đức City with a roommate. Including rent, utilities, and other miscellaneous expenses, she pays around 2.8-3 million VND per month.

"For a fully equipped, new, clean, and secure room, you would pay more even if it were only half the size of this one," she said.

Living standards in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi

With a salary of 10 million VND per month, Nguyen Phuong (28 years old, Hanoi) spends more than half of it on rent and food. Each month, she spends 2.5 million VND on rent and 3-4 million VND on food, not including numerous other expenses such as gasoline, coffee, bubble tea, cosmetics, laundry, funeral and wedding expenses, etc.

Having lived in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Phuong feels that Hanoi is more expensive, especially in terms of rent and food.

According to the 2023 Spatial Cost of Living Index (SCOLI) report, Ho Chi Minh City ranked second with a SCOLI index of 98.44% of Hanoi's. In the 11 main consumer goods and services groups, the city had three groups with higher average price indices than Hanoi: other goods and services (121%); education (117%); and beverages and tobacco (115%).

Meanwhile, some product categories in Ho Chi Minh City have lower average prices than Hanoi, including clothing, hats and footwear (82%); culture, entertainment and tourism (92%); food and catering services (94%); and household equipment and appliances (95%).

Ho Chi Minh City is the heart of the Southeast economic region, home to training and scientific research facilities, medical centers, and a large pool of skilled human resources. It serves as a major hub for services and trade at the regional and international levels.

"Besides the abundant supply of goods meeting people's consumer needs, the city has promoted the organization of supply and demand connections in retail, and as a result, consumer prices of essential goods tend to be lower than in Hanoi," the General Statistics Office assessed.

Last year, during a difficult economic period, Nguyen Phuong, a sales employee, was also slightly affected. Reduced income forced her to cut back on non-essential expenses such as buying clothes, getting her hair washed less often at the salon, and choosing to wash her clothes at home instead of taking them to the dry cleaner.

However, she still maintains her "personal investments." Phuong regularly spends money on traveling with friends, getting spa treatments, and signing up for boxing classes.

With a modest income, she set aside a small amount to buy insurance and started dabbling in stock market investing.

"I buy insurance for 15 million VND per year. Every few months, I buy stocks, costing around 1.5-5 million VND. I'm just a beginner and not very knowledgeable about the stock market; I'm still learning," she shared.

Although the cost of living in Hanoi is significantly higher than in her hometown of Nghe An, Nguyen Phuong still wants to stay there long-term because she has a stable job, good income, and many opportunities.

Conversely, Thao Nguyen, who works in the economic sector, plans to return to her hometown of Quang Tri when she retires. Quang Tri is currently one of the provinces with the lowest cost of living in the country.

"I don't know how much I need to save or when I'll be able to buy a house in the city. Meanwhile, everything is cheaper in the countryside, life is easier, especially since I'm not young anymore," Thao said.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/cuoc-song-doc-than-o-nhung-noi-co-muc-song-dat-do-nhat-viet-nam.html