Top Cities to Live in Vietnam (Ranked by 14,500 Expats)

Where is the absolute best place to live in Vietnam? Instead of guessing, I compiled 14,500 expat data points and summarized their responses to break down exactly why each city earned its score and the results surprised me. Here are Vietnam's top 8 cities ranked from worst to best. Number 8, Hanoi. How does a city of nearly 9 million people but force you to buy an industrial air purifier just to survive the winter? Hanoi is Vietnam's thousand-year-old capital and on paper it sounds incredible. You've got French colonial architecture, tree-lined streets and street food culture that is genuinely unmatched anywhere else in the country. But before you book a one-way ticket up north, there is a massive physical trade-off you need to know about. Before we get to that, why do the expats love it so much? The people who fall in love with Hanoi fall in love with its deep, authentic soul. It's known as the cultural city of Vietnam. The street food scene isn't just cheap, it's known worldwide. Plus, unlike the rest of Vietnam where it's just consistent tropical heat, Hanoi actually gives you four distinct seasons. Including a pretty crisp autumn and a cool winter where you can actually pull out jackets and layers. The expat community around West Lake is exceptionally tight-knit, creative and welcoming, making it super easy to meet fellow artists, teachers and digital nomads alike. Beyond the social scene, it acts as the perfect launching pad for epic weekend road trips up north into the breathtaking mountain passes of Ha Giang, the limestone peaks of Ninh Binh or iconic cruises through Ha Long Bay. And while that all sounds great, there are quite a few reasons why expats hate it. The winter air quality is an absolute deal-breaker for a lot of people. Every year between November and February, agricultural burning, coal power plants and millions of motorbikes trap a heavy hazardous smog over the city, routinely pushing the AQI past 200 for weeks at a time. Pair that toxic air with humidity nearing 90% and unheated, uninsulated concrete buildings, and your apartment turns into a freezing damp moldbox that leaves half the expat population dealing with chronic respiratory issues until spring. Navigating the city is also mentally exhausting. The traffic gridlock in the narrow alleyways of the Old Quarter is chaotic. Sidewalk space is non-existent because it's packed with parked motorbikes and local driving habits can feel significantly more aggressive than downtown. All of this combined gives Hanoi a 71% positive sentiment. Number 7. Saigon is Vietnam's absolute economic powerhouse. Saigon is non-stop energy, neon skyscrapers, rooftop cocktail bars and endless commercial hustle. The city genuinely never sleeps. But while it's the highest earning city in Vietnam, it's also where your daily living costs hit their absolute peak, being the most expensive place on this list. But then why do expats love it? If you're coming to Vietnam to work, network, launch a startup or scale a business, Saigon is undisputedly the place to be. The city offers genuine first world conveniences, world-class international hospitals, massive multi-storey western supermarkets stocked with imported goods, high-end gyms, and an electric nightlife scene that easily rivals major global hubs like Bangkok or Singapore. The dining scene is wildly diverse, featuring everything from 5-star Michelin-starred dining to high-end global fusion, alongside a massive high-earning international community where networking events happen every single night of the week. But then why do expats hate it? Urban burnout is a real problem there. You're dealing with non-stop gridlock traffic, aggressive rush hour commutes, and relentless construction noise that echoes off the high-rise towers at all hours. The urban heat island effect makes the city feel intensely hot year-round and its public green spaces or quiet parks are shockingly scarce amongst the main districts. Visually, it's a vast sprawling concrete landscape and the cost of living, especially rental prices for modern apartments in prime expat enclaves like District 2 and 1, has surged significantly, quickly matching mid-tier western cities while delivering heavy noise and air pollution. On the bright side, this city has the easiest land visa run in the whole entire country, with Cambodia only being 70km away. All of this combined gives Ho Chi Minh slash Saigon a positive sentiment score of 74%. Number 6, Hue Hue is a former royal capital along the Perfume River. It's home to over a million people, massive stone citadel walls, royal tombs, and offering some of the lowest living costs in urban Vietnam, assuming you can handle 4 straight months of non-stop winter rain. Expats love it because it's quiet, incredibly majestic, and practically dirt cheap. The cost of living here is a fraction of Saigon or Hanoi, meaning your monthly budget goes twice as far, allowing you to live comfortably on very little money. The city is rich in history, featuring wide green boulevards, slow-paced riverfront walks along the Perfume River, and a calm traditional vibe. Foodies also flock here because Hue's culinary scene is world famous. As the historic seat of the Nguyen dynasty, it developed a royal culinary style featuring complex, spicy, and uniquely crafted dishes such as Bun Bao Hue that you won't taste anywhere else in the country. But then why do expats hate it? It's because of the infamous grey winter that will definitely test your mental health. Because from October throughout January, Hue gets battered by continuous, relentless monsoon downpours, and a damp cold that saturates everything and locks you indoor for weeks on end. Beyond the weather, the city is culturally very conservative and quiet. The nightlife is virtually non-existent, with most places closing down early, leaving night hours with zero options. If you rely on local employment or in-person networking, job opportunities for Western expats outside of a handful of low-paying English teaching roles is almost impossible to find, making it viable mainly for remote workers or self-funded retirees. Hue gets 76% positive sentiment on our list. Now, whether you're traveling to Hue or making a quick visa run from Saigon across the border to Cambodia, the worst way to start your travel day is standing in a long airport line for a physical SIM card that sometimes only works for a few days, or getting hit with a $10 roaming bill from back home because you needed internet to print off your visa and to get around town. That's why I use today's sponsor, Airalo. Airalo is the world's first e-SIM store, giving you instant access to digital SIM cards in over 200 countries and regions, including right here in Vietnam. Instead of swapping tiny plastic cards, an e-SIM lets you download a local data plan directly to your phone through their app before you even leave. The second your plane touches down, you're connected, ready to hail a grab, check maps, or message your family and loved ones that you have arrived safely. It completely takes the stress out of traveling and I highly recommend it. You can scan the QR code on screen or click the top link in the description to download Airalo. I'm sure it will come in handy. Be sure to use code MARCUSA3 at checkout to get $3 off your first e-SIM. That's code MARCUSA3 to stay connected the second you land. Number five, Nha Trang. Which coastal city guarantees over 300 days of annual sunshine while letting you rent a modern high-rise condo right here on the ocean for under $350 a month? Nha Trang sits right on the south-central coast framed by mountains and a massive six-kilometer bay. It offers a proper tropical beach lifestyle, island hopping, diving, fresh seafood, and giving you serious bang for your buck on the coast that is pretty much unrivaled across Vietnam. Expats love it because the affordability for beachfront living here is unbeatable anywhere in Southeast Asia. You can easily rent a modern high-rise ocean view apartment with a balcony overlooking the water for prices that make it feel like an absolute steal. The city boasts over 300 sunny days a year, making an absolute paradise for active outdoor lovers. You've got scuba diving, ocean kayaking, sailing, and scenic mountain rides right in your backyard. Add in ultra-cheap seafood markets, mud baths, and a broad coastal boulevard ideal for morning runs, and the active lifestyle value is sky high. But the expats say the city center can feel overwhelmingly touristy. Sections of the main tourist strip cater heavily to tourist groups and low-budget package tours, giving parts of the city a noisy, hyper-touristy, and transient feel rather than an authentic community vibe. Because so much of the local economy revolves around short-term tourists, building long-term, meaningful expat friendships takes extra work. Furthermore, the ocean water quality right along the central beach can degrade during heavy rainfall runoff, and the main coastal road experiences intense traffic during peak holiday seasons. Western expats also mention that the influx of Russian tourism is putting a strain on the city. All of this combined gives Nha Trang a 78% positive sentiment. Number four, Vung Tau. What if you could escape Saigon's traffic and toxic smog while living on a breezy, clean ocean peninsula just two hours away? This is Vung Tau, a coastal city of just half a million people known for sea breezes, wide promenades, and a much slower pace of life. It's historically an oil and gas hub, but over the years it's turned into a major magnet for long-term retirees. Expats love it because of the air quality and geographical convenience. Thanks to the constant ocean breeze pushing past the peninsula, pollution levels stay remarkably low, giving you clean air every day. And if you ever miss the big city amenities, Saigon is just a two-hour ferry ride away or an express limousine down the way. Traffic inside the city is exceptionally calm and stress-free. The promenade streets are clean and wide, and there is an established long-term retiree community that makes settling into daily social life pretty fast and easy. But then why do expats hate it? The weekend invasion completely shifts the city's dynamic. Because of its proximity to Saigon, tens of thousands of weekend tourists pour into Vung Tau every single Saturday and Sunday, swamping the beaches, clogging the main roads, and jacking up the restaurant wait times. On top of that, the beaches themselves, while great for walking, aren't as clean and turquoise as some of the northern cities in Vietnam. If you require specialized medical care, high-end shopping, international schooling, you'll find yourself making consistent two-hour trips back to Saigon. But despite these issues, this gives Vung Tau an 82% positive sentiment rating. Number three, welcome to Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Town filled with iconic yellow merchant houses, river lanterns, organic cafes, and quiet beaches. It looks like a postcard, but living here year-round comes with a massive catch. Expats love the aesthetic quality of life here. Feels like you're living in a postcard. Hoi An has fostered a massive lifestyle focused expat community centered around holistic wellness, yoga, sustainable living, and the creative arts, making it ideal if you want a tranquil, slow-paced lifestyle away from modern concrete jungles. But then why do the expats hate it? Two major headaches, extreme tourism congestion, and seasonal flooding. The historic ancient town gets so packed with tourist buses, walking tours, and aggressive vendors during peak hours that the local charm can wear pretty thin. But the bigger issue is the monsoon season from October through December. Typhoons hit the central coast causing severe river flooding that regularly submerges ground floors in the central neighborhoods, forcing residents to sandbag their living rooms, move their belongings upstairs, and navigate the neighborhood streets by wooden canoes. But despite this, Hoi An gets an 84% positive sentiment. Number two, Dalat. What if you could move to Southeast Asia and completely delete your air conditioning bill? 15 meters up in the central highlands, Dalat is known as the city of eternal spring, with average temperatures hovering around a cool 65 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. This mountain town offers pine forests, French colonial villas, and a zero tropical heat. But living at this altitude changes things up completely. Expats love the climate because it's an absolute dream for anyone who despises sweating in oppressive tropical heat like all the other places mentioned in this list. You don't need air conditioning at all saving big money on electricity. The surrounding natural landscape features hills, serene lakes, waterfalls, and mountain trails create an outdoor lover's paradise. It is also the coffee capital of Vietnam. This means the city is crammed with incredible speciality cafes, cozy roasteries, and an inspiring quiet atmosphere favored by digital nomads, writers, retirees, and artists alike. Then why do expats hate it? Typically because it can be very cold and isolating. It's nestled high in the highlands, leaving the town requires six hours of winding mountain passes by bus or car to reach major coastal hubs. The mountain weather can also flip very quickly. Raining afternoons are frequent and because the traditional Vietnamese homes are constructed with solid concrete and zero internal heating, prolonged cold rainy spells turn indoor living spaces into a damp, chilly environment where staying warm takes a real effort. Furthermore, the local expat community is relatively small compared to coastal cities nearby. And this gives Da Lat an 87% positive sentiment. And if you're interested in the two cities that did not make this list for the sake of video time, expand the pinned comment below. And now let's get to number one. Number one, Da Nang. Sitting right along the central coast, Da Nang strikes the ultimate balance. It gives you the big city infrastructure, clean air, modern hospitals, and wide highways with a world-class white sand beach sitting just five minutes from downtown. Expats love it because it delivers the highest overall quality of life in the entire country. The city is modern and it has exceptionally clean air, minimal traffic, low crime, and high-end international hospitals. All sitting along miles of pristine white sand beach. The primary expat neighborhood of An Tung is incredibly compact and walkable. Within a five-minute stroll, you can go to co-working spaces, international gyms, craft breweries, Western grocery stores, and the ocean. It effortlessly bridges the gap between urban convenience and a relaxed outdoor beach lifestyle supported by a massive and highly welcome community of digital nomads and long-term expats. If it's so good, then why do some expats hate it? The storm season during late autumn is the main drawback. Between October and December, powerful tropical typhoons and persistent rain monsoons hit the central coast, bringing heavy coastal winds, rough seas, and gray skies that temporarily shut down the beach activities for weeks at a time. Additionally, while it's fantastic for remote workers, freelancers, retirees, and foreigners searching for corporate high-end salaries, the employment market is significantly smaller than places such as Saigon and Tanoi. Expats also mentioned that it is becoming like the new Bali and is bringing an undesirable crowd to Da Nang. With all of the YouTube content on Da Nang, it has become increasingly more expensive as more eyeballs are on this city. But despite that, Da Nang comes number one with a 91% positive sentiment. Let me know down in the comments if you agree with this list and if not, where are the best cities to live in Vietnam? And while you're down there, please hit like on the video. It's free, supports the channel, and thank you for watching.