Why I Moved To Danang: 4 Reasons To Work In Vietnam
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Have you ever heard of the name of Da Nang city in Vietnam?
Da Nang city locates in the middle of Vietnam with beautiful nature & culture.
Before moving to Vietnam, I was working in Tokyo, Japan. The lifestyle in Da Nang and Tokyo are totally different. On today’s post, I will share the reasons why I decided to stay in Da Nang.
Before Moving To Vietnam #
I was working in Tokyo around 3 years as a web/mobile app developer. Every single day, it took me 1.5 hours to commute to my company by metro. My train was always crowded and I was already tired when I arrived at the office. (Remote work was not so popular at that moment, so everyone needs to commute in my company) I started working from 9am and finished working at 11:30pm. It was always past midnight by the time I got home. It was common to do the overtime working at the company. The lifestyle in Tokyo didn’t match with me honestly. I really wanted to live in somewhere more relaxing & slow life.
3 years after I survived at the tech startups, I decided to find a job overseas. Through my job hunting journey, I found the perfect place to live. It was Da Nang, Vietnam.
4 Reasons Why I Work In Vietnam #
1. Working Culture #
Here are the surprising culture shocks when I was working in Vietnam for the first time.
- Finish working without overtime working
- Sleeping on the floor
- Eating snacks during working
No Overtime Working #
Especially, finish working without overtime working was the biggest one to me. Most of the employees close their laptop and go home right after finish their own work. In Vietnam, it’s widely known that family is more important than work. It means that work and private is totally separate.
When I was working in Japan, no one could go home on time. And I thought it was natural to do overtime working as others. So I felt awkword when I could go home without doing overtime working for the first time.
Sleeping On The Floor #
Usually, many people finish their own lunch around 10 min. After that, they switch off the light in the office to take a nap. It seems that sleeping after lunch is one of the important routine for Vietnamese people.
I was working during lunch time when I was working in Japan. So I couldn’t sleep at the beginning. But now I am already get used to sleeping during lunch time.
Eating Snacks During Working #
In Vietnam, we have one of the interesting cultures. It’s called “ăn xế (snack)”. Everyone order some food or tea and gathered within team members around 3pm. That is the Vietnamese way to build the team relationship.
Here is an example of ăn xế I have experienced so far.
- Gà nướng (A whole grilled chicken)
- Gỏi (Vietnamese style salad)
- Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese spring rolls)
2. Surrounded By Beautiful Nature #
Da Nang is located in the central area of Vietnam, facing the beautiful sea on the east side. Especially, My Khe Beach is one of the most popular beach for tourists.
In the best season (From April ~ August), there are lots of people enjoy surfing or chilling out on the beach.
Additionally, Da Nang has beautiful mountains with magnificent view over there. I often drive to Sơn Trà mountain or Hải Vân Pass when I am stressed out.
The best thing about Da Nang is that everything is really close. If you have a motorbike, you can go around a whole city within 30min.
We would be under lots of pressures on IT job. So I guess it’s the reason enough to move to Da Nang.
3. Affordable Cost Of Living #
If you are looking for the place you want to move, cost of living comes to the first place you need to think. And I think Vietnam should be one of the great option to choose.
Compared with Japan, the cost of living in Vietnam is much cheaper than Japan. These are the lists of the things which are cheaper than Japan.
- House Rent Fee
- Mobile Data Fee
- Motorbike/Car Parking Fee
- Restaurant
- Cafe
※For more details about the cost of living, you can check the following post.
Compared with the life in Japan, I can save more by less spending money in Vietnam. So I think it’s a good option to choose Vietnam to move.
4. Healthy Local Food #
If you come to Vietnam and order Vietnamese local food, you must be very surprised by the amount of vegetables along with your food. Eating vegetables is one of the interesting food culture in Vietnam. You will get some free & unlimited refills vegetables if you order food like these.
- Hủ tiếu (Traditional Vietnamese Noodles)
- Bánh Tráng Thịt Heo (Rice Paper Rolls with Pork and Vegetables)
- Phở (Vietnamese Traditional Rice Noodles)
- Bún Chả Cá (Vietnamese Traditional Noodles with fish cake)
If you move to Da Nang, you can keep your shape with the healthy foodstyle in Vietnam.
About me #
For someone who doesn’t know me, here is the summary about me:)
- I started my IT career without any CS background
- I have a couple of years of working experiences as software developer (mainly mobile & web) in Japan
- I got tired of the life in Japan and moved to Vietnam, Da Nang
- I love to create the mobile apps, Youtube videos and share the life in Vietnam
- I hope I can create the space to connect devs all over the world:)
For more details, I am waiting for you on my Youtube channels:)