What Vietnam Taught Me About Choosing a Location
What Vietnam Taught Me About Choosing a Location
Before I get into this, I want to flag the last point upfront because it is the most important one. Everything before it is just context. The last point is genuinely the whole reason this newsletter exists.
I spent time in Vietnam and came away with more clarity about what I actually need from a location than I had going in. Some of it surprised me. Here is what I learned.
Weather and beaches will not make you happy by themselves
The photos sell you on the climate. And the climate is great. But about three weeks in, the beach becomes background noise. You stop noticing it the same way you stopped noticing whatever was outside your window back home.
A great location needs more than good weather. The weather just needs to stay out of your way.
The time zone difference will matter more than you expect
Twelve hours sounds manageable until you are living it. Client calls at midnight. Catching up with people back home requiring someone to be awake at an inconvenient hour every single time.
It is not a dealbreaker for everyone but it is worth factoring in honestly before you commit to somewhere on the other side of the world.
Popular tourist cities and good cities to live in are not the same thing
This one caught me off guard more than anything else.
Almost every English speaking person I met in Vietnam was passing through within a week or two. Every night out became a search for new people. Same conversations, different faces. That gets old faster than you think.
Long term friendships need people who are actually staying. Tourist cities do not have many of those. It is worth looking specifically at the long term expat and nomad community in a city before you commit to it, not just the overall vibe.
The specific city matters more than the country
Vietnam is not one experience. Nha Trang has a large and established Russian community which is great for a lot of people, but it was not the right fit for me. Da Nang would have been a much better call. I just did not do enough research on the community makeup before I arrived.
Go one level deeper than the country. Look at who actually lives in the specific city you are considering and whether those are your people.
A city that excites you and a city that suits you are two different things
Some places look incredible on paper and just do not click once you are there. The energy is off. The social scene does not fit how you operate. The vibe is either too much or not enough.
Excitement is about the place. Fit is about you and the place together. The only way to know the difference is to pay attention to how you actually feel once you are living there, not just visiting.
The Positives. The Perfect City Exists for Everybody.
The best part about location freedom is optionality. Freedom really just means having options after all. Don’t be afraid to keep looking and do an amount of research that others would call insane. My Airbnb wish list is legally considered evidence of an unwell mind. But that’s literally why this newsletter exists. To put that research out into the world and inspire other people’s search for the perfect city.
There’s a city out with your preferred weather, cost, vibe, walkability, AND social community. You just have to find it… and this newsletter is designed to help you with that.