DA NANG Vietnam: Paradise or Overrated? Our Honest Pros & Cons After 6 Weeks

DA NANG Vietnam: Paradise or Overrated? Our Honest Pros & Cons After 6 Weeks

If they stop for you, you made something wrong. But I can see that for many people is inconvenient. Yeah, it was everywhere. It was everywhere. Everything was wet. You can get over here without a prescription and it’s piling up. And that’s that’s the truth. Yeah. We here since uh how many weeks? 6 weeks. About 6 weeks. Six weeks in Daang. I feel like we lived a whole year in six weeks. It’s amazing. Yeah, that’s right. I can’t believe the amount of friends we’ve made and the local places we’ve seen. We haven’t done any touristy things yet. No. Right. Yeah. All right. So, I know this is uh a little surprise, but I uh prepared a couple of questions. Okay. And the overall topic is um what are we thinking about living in the NS in 6 weeks? Pros and cons. And um yeah, I’ll just uh read the questions. So we can both kind of like share our thoughts, right? Okay. So, what surprised us most about living in Daang so far? What’s the biggest surprise for you? Do you want to go first? Um, the biggest surprise for me is that now that I found out that this in this city there is 1.25 million people living, it doesn’t feel like it. It feels small, which is nice, right? Oh my gosh. That was my answer to Yes. Yeah. So, it it gives you everything uh all the positive things about a big city, but not the negative things. It’s not It’s not super loud. No, it’s not It doesn’t uh smell weird like exhaust or something like that. Um that was different in Hanoi. It was a little uh this the exhaust smells were on another level. Mhm. But yeah, that’s that’s my answer. Yeah, Hanoi for me was a little much. I’m more of a relaxed, chill vibe and it was a little too much and the exhaust got to me. Zang, my only concern was that it was too big. No thank you. Oh, no thank you. No thank you. My only concern was that it’s a little too big of a city for me. I wanted to retire originally in a little hut on the beach and I never considered a place like Daen and I’m so pleasantly surprised. Everybody is so warm. It It feels very cozy here. It does not feel overwhelming. I get a little claustrophobic. I get a lot clustered as you know. That’s right. I don’t like crowds and I I feel very free here and it just doesn’t feel overwhelming to me at all. All right, next question. Sure. Did Daang feel different from what we expected before arriving? Yes. I didn’t realize how warm everybody would be. I experienced that kind of warmth in Thailand years ago, but I wasn’t really sure how it would be here in such a big city. But we have had such intimate connections with locals already and I feel like family to some of them and they kind of regard us as as family. I just love it here. Yeah. For me it was, you know, we we watched a lot of YouTube videos before Mhm. we actually traveled here for over a year. We watched videos. My expectation was met, but is it is that how you say it? Was met has been met. Um, but it’s even better. Like everything is even one level up. What’s one moment that made us think, wow, we could actually possibly live here. I just instantly felt at home. I can’t even describe it. I just felt feel like I need to be here. It’s I didn’t know for sure while watching the YouTube videos, but I can tell you firsthand, it is so much better in person than it is on YouTube. For me, it’s not one big moment. It’s many little moments. It’s every time we meet or interact with locals because they are always helpful, always kind like I didn’t see any grumpy face experts. Yeah. But not the locals. And um yeah, and that’s that’s amazing. So it’s these little things and that’s exactly what makes you feel home. So yeah, let’s talk about money. So, what are the biggest money savers in Dana? Housing. Housing. I think for most people wherever they live, especially in the US, they’re really struggling with housing costs and that could be up to half of your paycheck. So, it makes a huge difference. We all need housing. So, we we can skimp on food, we can skimp on other things, but we need affordable housing. Yeah. Then I want to add food um food in general like um it’s so affordable to eat for uh I don’t want to say cheap. I don’t like the word cheap because the quality of the food is high, right? And it’s healthy. Well, it depends on what your choices are. But if you look um if you eat local food, local restaurants, um it’s so freaking cheap. It’s a dollar or two for a dish and a water is like 30 cents, right? Yeah, it’s crazy. So if you don’t choose western food or even that, it’s relatively cheap obviously. But yeah, that’s a big money saver. Yeah. On the other hand, is there anything unexpectedly expensive here? Honestly, I haven’t come across anything uh I have an idea. unreasonable. Yeah, Western food compared to Vietnamese food is a little bit pricier, but I think still a little cheaper than the US. But certain things that you may have in the US, such as snacks, a bag of potato chips, the imported items, cheese, good point, Jim. Grapes were pretty expensive. Butter pretty expensive. So those kind of things, yes. But it’s great because they’re so pricey. I don’t eat them. Yeah. Butter, yes. But chips, no. And the I can add uh to that the western food. So the western food restaurants you can get um great food for really for a minimal cost as well, right? Um really very fair prices, but then there’s some restaurants who are a ripoff. So you have to choose wisely. Yeah. Which everyday things are surprisingly convenient or inconvenient? Everyday things. So, there’s a tiny little market within walking distance every what 100 ft. There’s alsoarmacies every 100 ft. A lot of places are open 24 hours. You don’t need a prescription for most medications. So you just walk in a pharmacy and ask for whatever you can get here without a prescription. Not that we’re using V, but we don’t need it. Too much info. Whatever. Um, everything is just 5 minutes away. Even if you order food by Grab, I swear it it shows up within 5 minutes. It’s absolutely crazy how efficient and close everything is. I’m used to driving everywhere in the US. So much time driving, getting in the car, going to get groceries. Pretty much everything is within walking distance. Maybe a short grab ride to the hospital, but that costs about or the doctor that costs about $1.50, $2. And everything is really quick. Yeah. Yeah. Let me think about if I can figure out an inconvenient everyday thing. The only inconvenient thing I can think of and we knew that this is the situation here and we are part of the issue I guess is um that the city is growing very fast and there’s lots of construction sites. So you have the noises of that. That’s the only inconvenient. I don’t care. It’s okay. Um, but I can see that for many people is inconvenient. Yeah, especially when the construction site is next to the hotel or next to the apartment they’re renting. So, but we got these little ear thingies and we sleep well. I don’t even need to use those. Um, I’ve been sleeping pretty good here. All right, let’s talk about safety. How safe do we feel walking around day or night? I feel ridiculously safe. I would have no problem at 2 in the morning going to the ATM by myself. And that’s that’s the truth. Yeah, that’s great. Yeah. And that’s that breaks it down recently. Yeah. Um for me, it’s, you know, less of an important thing. As a male, obviously it’s a little bit safer in general, but as a woman, I can I can see that you feel way safer here than than in the US, for example. Yeah. Awesome. How do we feel about traffic crossing streets, scooters? What about that? Okay, so I’m still trying to maneuver that one. I’m nervous crossing. There really isn’t too many lights or crosswalks. So, you just have to act like there cars don’t exist and just walk out and hope that you’re okay. Just walk the line. And it’s amazing. There is kind of a rhythm here where it it’s just Oh, thank you. Come on. Oh, thank you. Crossing the road is interesting. You just kind of have to go for it. It took It’s still It took me a little bit, but I’m still working on my nerves with that one. You just have to start walking and the cars kind of stop for you. They don’t stop actually. But so they what you do is you go with the flow. It’s like Frogger. It is like Frogger. And if you constantly move, they move around you. So they don’t stop. You don’t want them to make if they stop for you, you made something wrong. So, they just go around you while you’re moving. And you improved a lot. I can tell you were so scared at the beginning and now you’re like a almost like a pro. Walking out into oncoming traffic and just hoping to God they go around you is very intimidating for me, but it seems to be working and I’m getting more comfortable every day. Is it easy or stressful to navigate the city? As a foreigner, I found it to be so easy. I just go to Google Maps and pinpoint where something is and if it’s too far for walking, I just get a grab and they’re literally there in 5 minutes. And it’s it’s been easy for me. Very easy. Yeah, I agree. And um if we want to walk somewhere and we have a a goal Mhm. where we’re going to go location we meanwhile after 6 weeks at least this area around here I know okay it’s like there around there so we don’t even need maps anymore that’s pretty cool yeah and the the uh the way the city is structured like built it’s like a what is it called like New York what is it called um it’s kind of square in Manhattan well Yeah. A lot a lot of it like square. So it’s it’s always just left, right, straight. That’s it. Yeah. Yeah. For me, after 6 weeks, I can get around pretty good and I’m really surprised by that. Yeah. Yeah. How have the locals treated us so far? So kind. They ask you to sit down with them and they’re interested in where you’re from and how long you’re staying here. And it’s so genuine and they ask if they can help you with anything. I I just feel really welcomed. Yeah. Awesome. I need to add something because I had on one of my videos on YouTube, I had a comment from a person. I don’t I don’t recall if it was a local or a foreigner. It doesn’t matter because it was dumb. Um and the person said, “Oh, they’re only nice to you because you have money.” And I strongly disagree. Um, we are in Southeast Asia since two months. We only had positive moments with locals and the most near and emotional moments have been actually in Hoyan. Well, we were trapped because of the flooding for almost a week, right? And we were so close in contact with locals and they never, why would they? They never asked for anything. They only offered. They only they were only giving the whole time. And I had one very um close moment with a person who told me about an issue in her family and and she told the whole story and money would have been needed to resolve or at least move on a little bit. And I felt like I wanted to ask if she needs help and I only asked do you need help in ask do you need money because I didn’t want to be um impolite or hurt her and she so I asked for if she needs help and she said no right that’s it and that was a special moment but anyways they’re always super kind they’re always super kind doesn’t matter what kind of person it is so I totally disagree with that. I’m still learning the money system here, what the money looks like and how to pay for things and sometimes I’m trying to pay for something and I have no idea. I get flustered and the cashier I’ll take out the money and they will just grab the amount that’s needed and give me back change. or if I overpay something, they stop me and and give back and they’re like, “No, no, no, no, no.” So, uh, no, I totally disagree with that. That that is so wrong. I got there was no ripoff so far. No. And uh I got ripped off in Germany a lot. So, I mean, what are you talking about, right? Yeah. What small cultural moments made us smile? I really think the Vietnamese have a really good sense of humor. There’s a lot of laughter. I’ve never seen anybody grumpy. Any thoughts on showers here and bum guns? Oh god. Well, that was a little learning curve. As you know, you were a natural with it. But wait, what? Showering? I did that in the US before. No, the bum gun situation. I had a general idea how to use. It’s the sprayer that in case you don’t know, it’s a hose and you what? Your bum obviously, but but your as well. Oh, I don’t Okay, I don’t have So, it’s not just the bum. You use it front and back. And I I just went buck wild with it. I didn’t understand. And so I was spraying from the back and it was flying up from It was everywhere. Yeah, it was everywhere. Everything was wet. Water was everywhere. It was even on the at the roof. Stop it. Stop it. The ceiling. I’m still actually trying to get a good technique down. But you know, we had beday in the US. We we had a bedet in our home and you know, that was nice. The the bum gun’s just a little bit more buck wild. your It’s stronger. It’s most It’s more serious. Yeah. Yeah. I love using toilet paper. So, but I’m doing both now. It’s at least, you know, it saves the planet. Maybe possibly. Um, so yeah, there are a lot of bathrooms here that don’t have toilet paper. It’s bum gun or bust. Yeah, that’s right. It forces you to learn. It forces you to learn or just carry around a roll of toilet paper with you or just, you know, keep it all natural after uh doing some business. All right. What do we think about general cleanliness of the city here in Daang? So, just be honest. That’s okay. Right. So, there are little piles of garbage here and there. Put it in the Oh, there was a rat. You can put it there. There’s no public litter. um spots where you can, you know, when you when you walk around with your can of Diet Coke or or this, you walk around, you take the stroll, and then you’re done with it, and there’s no place to put it. So, I guess unfortunately, a lot of people just leave it somewhere and it’s piling up, but then it uh I don’t know, like twice a week or something like that. Mhm. the public uh garbage collector garbage truck comes and everything is clean again. But I don’t know. Yeah. So I’m I’m always happy when every few days suddenly all the big uh garbage pales are out so we can use them for a few hours. It’s not everywhere, but I have seen some garbage pales here and there, but you can go through a really nice area where there isn’t a problem and then all of a sudden a big pile. So, yeah, hopefully they work that out. Is it easy to get around without speaking Vietnamese? Very easy. Very easy. The locals really try hard to help you as much as they can. If they don’t speak English, they’ll whip out their phone and do a like Google Translate to assist you. My thing is if I know I’m going somewhere and I have a specific question, I type it all out on chat GPT and then I ask it to translate it to Vietnamese for me. That way when I arrive I have it all smart set up for them. Yeah. And there are specific moments you don’t want. So you you want to avoid misunderstandings, right? If you going to a pharmacy and you need something and they misunderstand you, you might get the wrong stuff. So Right. Or when you go to a doctor, right? We went to a hospital a couple of times. Yes. Uh check that video out. It’s coming out soon. And uh Yeah. So that that’s I mean it’s another topic. The hospital they have international clinics inside so they speak English very well usually. But anyways yeah I agree. So and they’re always trying hard to help you which I really appreciate. I’m trying to learn Vietnamese here and there especially when it comes to ordering food. Mhm. But it’s it’s at the beginning it’s difficult to keep that all in your mind. Yeah. So to remember it, but I’m trying. Yeah. They also really appreciate when you try. Even if I say something wrong, they they give a little chuckle and they’re just happy that I did it. And in the beginning, instead of hello, I said thank you. And instead of thank you, I said hello. Yeah. Yeah. Like Yeah. You wanted to You’re leaving and you were like, “Yeah, I’m leaving.” And I’m like, “Hello.” Yeah. As I’m exiting the building, here’s an interesting one. Mhm. Um, what apps are you using to make life easier here in Daang, Vietnam? Really, the only thing that I need is Chat GBT, as I mentioned earlier, and Google Maps. What about Grab? Oh gosh, Grab, that’s the most helpful. I think Grabb is addictive. Uh, why is that? It’s the local cab company. It’s like an Uber. And yeah, we use that quite a bit if we need to go some a specialty place that’s a little outside of walking distance. And it’s a great uh food delivery service as well. Yeah, I I prefer to go out because it’s always, you know, nice to be in contact with locals and just have the atmosphere, right? Being somewhere. I mean, what’s better than having a coconut at the beach, right? You could you could actually let it deliver a grab to your apartment, but what’s the point? Yeah. Well, I think on we’re in rainy season, so when it’s really torrential out or if you’re not feeling well, it’s a really good option. Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Could we imagine living here longterm? Yes. Yes. Without hesitation. That was the answer. Next question. Yes. What would be the main reasons against living here full-time? Is there any in your mind? Um, the only thing is is Vietnam doesn’t have a visa that allows you to stay for more than 90 days. So, every 90 days we have to take a little trip outside of the country. But I do see that as an opportunity to travel to nearby areas such as Thailand, Malaysia, maybe uh Indonesia. So yeah, I mean if if the budget allows that and if not then you just do a bus. I mean it’s it’s a little annoying but you can do the bus visa run, right? It’s uh it’s a lot of hours but it’s like I think 6 hours there and 6 hours back. Oh, that could be. I thought it’s longer. Yeah. And it’s pretty cheap. I think they have sleeper buses, too, so that would help. Yeah. Be prepared for this one. Okay. What are you missing from home? Is there one thing you’re missing except family or people, right? Not much really. If I never go back, I’m okay with that. Yeah. Hello. Awesome. Hi. What do you have? How much are these? 20. 20. I’d like the grapefruit. The um mango is too hard. It’s not the too hard. Uh what else is underneath there? Pineapple. Oh, that’s pineapple. It’s a little hard. Just this one. All right. Thank you very much. Come on. Thank you. Bye-bye. Okay. Bye. Okay. So moments like that I just love. Why? Because fresh fruit, it’s so easy. It’s affordable. Uh so yeah, there’s one advice. Yes. Um they have a good amount of different fruits they are offering. Great. But sometimes um what we learned, at least our experience is that the fruits are not ripe. M. So the mango, for example, is so hard and it doesn’t ripe afterwards. So they we just had it at home and it didn’t you couldn’t eat it basically. Yeah. But it’s you just have to choose the right stuff. And this is 20,000 dong which is um something like 80 cents US dollar cents. So that’s nice. It looks beautiful. You want to try it? No, not right now. But normally I get some fruit as my evening snack. So I try to get something like this every day. ice cream, right? Maybe once in a while. Oh, yeah. See, that’s one thing I miss is um and it’s just a re the reason for that is I didn’t find it so far here, which doesn’t mean it’s not existing here, right? It’s uh good ice cream. You know, they have homemade coconut ice cream. They It’s here. It’s definitely here. We haven’t found it yet. There’s lots of gelatoes. I’ve seen gelatoes, but you’re used to Ben & Jerry’s with lots of I’m not saying that’s the best ice cream. Yeah. Um and a lot Yeah. But Yeah. I don’t know. That’s something I miss. We have yet to find ice cream. Have to find it. Yeah. Yes. So that’s that. Yeah. Yeah. Anything uh anything else more thoughts you want to add after six weeks in Daong? Well, we’re here in rainy season. We have not been here for spring or summer yet, but this this beach is so amazing. And right now, it’s a little wavy out, but it’s still absolutely beautiful. You can get a coconut on the beach. There’s a bar right behind us serving drinks. You can get fruit on the beach. They have massages right behind us. All these tables are set up. I don’t know. There’s just nothing not to like. I’m just so happy here and I feel so blessed. Yeah. I feel peaceful. Mhm. I feel happy to be with you. Thank you. A thank you. No matter where we Yeah. No matter where we are, that’s home for me, right? But if you are at a place which you love and it’s amaz like that’s I mean how can you be happier, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, that’s so sweet. I’m very Thank you. I married a good one. Oh, who is he? Where is he? Stop it. All right. I hope you uh enjoyed the video and had some fun. We had fun and uh we we enjoyed the fresh air here. It’s a really salty nice fresh air. It feels so good. It feels so good. If you like content like this, or maybe you just like us, that’s fine as well. Um, just subscribe and like the video. It’s coming. Oh. Oh god, these little chairs. Oh. Oh, I almost broke it. One of the negatives possibly for Gunnar is he’s so tall and all the chairs are so tiny. So that’s been a little his knees. That’s been a little bit of an adjustment. I got adjusted to it. It’s just sometimes you um my my my feet my lower legs are falling asleep. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, my back can hurt a little bit, but Okay, stop crying. Let’s stop crying. on my back. Yeah. [Music]

We’ve been living in Da Nang, Vietnam for 6 weeks, and in this video we’re sharing our honest pros and cons.
Is Da Nang really paradise… or a little overrated?
Here’s what daily life actually feels like for two expats.

We cover:
✔ Cost of living
✔ Safety
✔ Healthcare
✔ Cleanliness of the city
✔ Traffic & getting around
✔ Food & lifestyle (Helpful Apps)
✔ Bum guns (yes, we talk about it!)
✔ How locals treat foreigners
✔ Our personal experiences living here for 6 weeks
✔ What surprised us (good & bad)
✔ Would we stay long term?

If you’re from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, or anywhere else and thinking about living in Vietnam or retiring in Da Nang, this will give you a clear, real-world idea of what to expect.
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📍 Where we live: Da Nang, Vietnam
🎥 Filmed at: My Khe Beach

💬 Let us know if you want a full video about healthcare, visas, renting, neighborhoods, or monthly budgets in Da Nang.
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👍 Like the video if you found it helpful
💬 Comment below: Do you think Da Nang is paradise or overrated?
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