Single life in the most expensive places in Vietnam

For a fresh graduate like My Hanh (born in 2001), living in Hanoi - the most expensive city in the country - inevitably brings life pressure.

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 made her have a headache calculating her expenses.

With a salary plus commission of 7-10 million VND, Hanh spends 20% on housing and electricity; 20% on food; 15% on household items. She balances the rest for other needs.

“After graduating and working, I can spend more freely than when I had to rely on my family for support. But 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 .

The 2023 Spatial Cost of Living Index (SCOLI) report released by the General Statistics Office shows that the five localities with the highest prices in the country 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 living standards in the country. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City has surpassed Quang Ninh in terms of expensive living costs in 2023.

In the context of increasing living costs, not only families, but also single people in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have to spend more carefully and have a reasonable financial accumulation plan.

Cost of living alone

With her current salary, My Hanh only has enough to spend and has not thought about saving.

The rising prices of goods while salaries do not increase, or even decrease in many industries, puts even more pressure on young people like Hanh.

“I usually spend a lot of money on eating out, going out and shopping. I save a little money because my parents often send me food from the countryside. If I have to cut down on one thing to save money, I think it will be to reduce the frequency of gathering with friends.”

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

My Hanh is under financial pressure because her income is not high while the cost of living is skyrocketing.

“I am not sure if I will work long term in Hanoi. If there is a good opportunity, I want to return to my hometown to develop. Obviously, the salary in my hometown may be lower, but the cost of living is also much cheaper. The most important thing is that I want to be close to my parents and enjoy the peace in my hometown,” Hanh expressed.

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

“The main reason why living alone is expensive is because there are a lot of fixed costs associated with living in a home,” says financial planner Liz Koh.

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

Thao Nguyen (29 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) once intended to live alone. However, after only a few months of looking for a house, she gave up this idea. "It was around 2021 after the pandemic, I wanted to have my own space in the price range of 3-3.5 million VND/month in areas near the city center. I went to see many rooms and apartments but in the end still could not find a satisfactory place."

Currently, Thao shares a space of about 38 square meters in Thu Duc City with a roommate. Including rent, electricity, water and a few other miscellaneous expenses, she is paying about 2.8-3 million VND per month.

"For a fully furnished, new, clean and secure room, you'd pay more even if it was half the size," she said.

Standard of living in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi

With a salary of 10 million VND/month, Nguyen Phuong (28 years old, Hanoi) spends more than half of it on housing and food. Every month, she spends 2.5 million VND on rent and 3-4 million VND on food, not to mention a series of other expenses such as gas, coffee, milk tea, cosmetics, laundry, funerals, etc.

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

According to the 2023 spatial cost of living index (SCOLI) report, Ho Chi Minh City ranked 2nd with a SCOLI index equal to 98.44% of Hanoi. In 11 main consumer goods and services groups, this locality has 3 groups with an average price index higher than Hanoi, such as other goods and services (121%); education (117%); beverages and tobacco (115%).

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

Ho Chi Minh City is the nucleus of the Southeast economic region, where training facilities, scientific research, medical centers, abundant skilled human resources, and a regional and international service and trade hub are concentrated.

"In addition to the abundant supply of goods to meet people's consumption needs, the city has promoted the organization of connecting supply and demand for retail goods, accordingly, consumer prices of essential goods tend to be lower than in Hanoi," the General Statistics Office assessed.

Last year, when the economy was in trouble, Nguyen Phuong, who works as a saleswoman, was also slightly affected. The decrease in income forced her to cut down on non-essential needs such as shopping for clothes, reducing the number of hair salons, and choosing to do her own laundry at home instead of taking it to a dry cleaner.

However, she still maintains her “personal investments”. Phuong still regularly spends money on traveling with friends, taking care of her skin at the spa, and signing up for boxing classes.

Her income is not too high, so she spends a small amount to buy insurance and practice investing in stocks.

“I buy insurance for 15 million VND/year. Every few months, I buy stocks once, at a cost of about 1.5-5 million VND. I am just an amateur and not very knowledgeable about the stock market, I am just learning,” she shared.

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

On the contrary, Thao Nguyen, who works in the economic sector, plans to return to her hometown in Quang Tri when she reaches retirement age. Quang Tri is currently one of the localities with the cheapest cost of living in the country.

"I don't know how much I have to save and when I can buy a house in the city. Meanwhile, back in the countryside, everything is cheaper, life is easier, especially when I'm not young anymore," Thao said.

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