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By and large, Vietnamese women are indeed very sweet and make great partners, but certainly not because they are unconcerned with money or are dissimilar to their Western counterparts, or at least the ones you are likely to meet in HCMC/Hanoi.
Now is as good of a time as ever to base up in Vietnam. Location independent entrepreneurs increasingly bored of/restless with BKK and Chiangmai are arriving in hordes. I recommend checking Saigon and Danang. Avoid Hanoi.
Can you elaborate?
Most certainly.
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1. It's interesting that you lump Hanoi and HCMC women together, when many guys have noted large differences between the two.
I lump Saigon and Hanoi girls together for the same reasons that I would throw NYC and LA girls into the same boat (better yet, off the boat).
The relevant comparison for us outsiders is city vs. countryside, not North vs. South. You would apply essentially the same approach and tactics to a Hanoi native as you would to a Saigonese. Upscale and even middle-income Vietnamese city girls have much more in common with one another than with their immediate neighbors in the provinces. Differences tend to be exaggerated both by Hanoians and Saigonese, and this is nothing more than a by-product of the country's political & historical development, not IMO, any fundamental divergence in worldview.
I was very well acquainted with and smashed several Hanoi transplants in Saigon. Compared to native Saigonese, they tended to sweet talk, were considerably bigger drama queens, and would get very aggressive when I didn't pick up a call, cancelled a date, etc. On the positive side, they all seemed to be extremely well-connected, and were either running or consulting for multiple businesses. They are general go-getters compared to the more laid-back (dare I say lazy) Saigonese.
Again, these differences, in my subjective experience, were trivial when I ventured out the Mekong delta, Central coast, and Highlands. The girls there are traditional in every sense of the word, and require a completely different approach.
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2. Saying that Vietnamese women are dissimilar to their Western counterparts....that's a pretty bold statement. When was the last time you had to deal with American women on a regular basis?
Please excuse my convoluted writing style. My claim was not that we should be comparing Vietnamese to Western girls. Vietnam's westernization is not merely a factor, but a possible game-changer with many girls, and we should most definitely be aware of it.
'Nomadicdude' said that Vietnamese girls are generally very sweet, and I fully agree, but for an entirely different set of reasons. In the context of a romantic relationship, a VN woman is very agreeable, caring, and attentive in the presence of her male. This is how she was raised from Day 1, and is not to do with her austerity or any lack of Western influence.
They do have an enormous desire for material wealth and are very much affected by Western trends, but manage to very skillfully contain these drives and project a terribly captivating sweetness.
To answer your other question: I have spent 2 years in utter ecstasy at not having to deal with American whales.
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3. Why avoid Hanoi to base up as opposed to HCMC and Danang?
I've been reading some of your posts and am aware that you enjoyed Hanoi. I did too; with its lakes, parks, and historical sights, I found it to be a very pleasant change from Saigon. For those seeking to establish a commercial presence in Vietnam, Hanoi is almost imperative. Most behind-the-scenes decisions are orchestrated there. No foreign-invested JSC formation or M&A transaction involving a foreign entity goes through without someone's approval in Hanoi. And all it takes is to meet one insider, and you meet people fast. Contrast this with Saigon, a much more fragmented context with a greater number of spheres of influence.
Having said that, Hanoi high society is essentially an old-boys club, very rigid, and especially difficult for the uninitiated. The same can be said for women: if first arriving to Vietnam, a Westerner in Hanoi will face a significantly lower pool of girls whom to date, not to mention the higher bitch shields, compared with Saigon. Further, there is not, to my knowledge, a single (non-pro) bar/club in Hanoi that specifically caters to Westerners and the (non-pro) girls who want to meet them; in Saigon there are at least a dozen. Internet dating is noticeably easier in Saigon. As are logistics and date options.
And please don't get me started on the weather, midnight bar closing times, taxi scams, MSG, real estate prices, and distance from airport to city center. You and I can deal with these things; my bet is that many first-timers would prefer not too when faced with the option to hit Saigon.
Which brings me to Da Nang, which I believe may be THE most overlooked and underappreciated beach city in Southeast Asia. Unlike Saigon and/or Hanoi, Da Nang has beaches, luxury for value, invariably friendly locals, an absence of scammers/crime, and clean air/no traffic. Investment (much from Japan) is pouring in, and I think it is a matter of years before Da Nang grows into a regional hub. It is noticeably calmer than HCM/Hanoi, but I had a great time taking my dates to pristine beaches, 'splurging' on $40 bottles of JW Black, and getting work done in beautifully done coffee shops along the Han River.
Back to our side discussion: My intent was not to read anything into your comments beyond what I saw on the screen. In the digital age, the only thing a global player needs is an airbnb account, dating accounts for pipelining, and basic google skills. These tools are available for our use in almost any city imaginable. A guy can move into a city before even landing there. What more is there to optimize?
I simply wanted to present an alternative view of 'thriving', an ideal condition not tied to a locale or assimilation within it, but one which is almost exclusively dependent on the visitor himself.
Hence my focus on personal development: if you are advanced in the game and already a global boss , why even regard what other men characterize as easy or difficult? When you have the mindset and determination to live well anywhere from Zanesville, OH to Islamabad, every locale is paradise. I personally strive to be that man, rather than the one who gets discouraged by cultural difference or language barriers.
Lima | Kiev | Jakarta
Data Sheets: Da Nang (Vietnam), San Salvador (El Salvador), Arequipa (Peru), Santa Cruz (Bolivia)