The New Cheapest Beach City in Vietnam

You ready to hear about the new cheapest beach city in Vietnam? I'm excited. We'll show you where and how in this video. You can get a modern apartment for $300 a month. And local meals starting at around $1.50. And the beach is beautiful and it was cute and walkable. This is Dan of Vagabond Awake. I left the United States 19 years ago and I've been to 78 countries in that time. And my name is Chiang and I'm from Hobo Venture. I've been to 54 countries and I've been traveling with Dan for almost 9 years now. So what was your first impression of this cute new beach city in Vietnam? I would say it's a beautiful but it's very quiet. And when we was there, we see about around 10 aspects. 10 aspects? And the one thing is also is very important is they have a 9,000 Vietnam Dong cheap beer. A local beer. That's like 33 cents for a beer. And that was in a restaurant, right? Yes. So what do you think about the Keko Beach there? I was really surprised by that. I didn't know there were beaches with sand that white in central Vietnam. I'd only seen it before in the south of Vietnam. So it was surprising. While Dan and I discuss this new city, we will share the video we took with our feet on the ground there. We will also show you a line item estimate of the cost of living for low to middle range expats. Did this new city remind you of anywhere? Yeah, actually it did. It reminded me of Da Nang 10 years ago when I first went there. I love the local restaurant there. I can get a $1 meal, a vegan vegetarian meal, and also I can eat a seafood over there with a 9,000 Dong beer. It is very delicious. I can go more cheaper as well. Whatever I can, I can have low price, middle price and high price restaurant. Yeah, that's right. And that restaurant that I think you're talking about, boy, what a great place to people watch. It's right across from the beach. Yes. And on the weekend, even weeknights, people are coming and going and just action going on. It's fun to watch. And in the Founders Park there, the families are all playing together and children are roller skating and all the food carts everywhere. It's really an enjoyable city. It's a beautiful walkway on the beach side. Oh, yeah, yeah. And they have that night market that's great for people watching and trying all the local food. As usual, you know, we walk everywhere day and night without any fear. It feels safe. It's Vietnam, right? For sure. We took the train down from Da Nang. It's about $16 per person and it's about like five hour train. And when we arrived in the city, we just took a Grab taxi to our accommodations. It was about a 30-minute taxi ride and was only 12 bucks, which is really cheap for that. Yeah, it was like going back five years in time on the cost of living. Should we tell them the name of the city and our estimated cost of living? It's Quy Nhien City. It's on the beach in Vietnam. Yeah, it's right between Da Nang and Nha Trang. It's about five hours either way, north to Da Nang or south to Nha Trang. Friend in Vietnam told us about this city and we're here many years already. So we decided to go see for ourselves. Yeah, and it was as nice as they said. The internet is fine there. This is the beach in Vietnam. So the weather goes from warm to hot. Yeah, warm to hot. Summer daytime highs of 94 Fahrenheit, which is around 34 Celsius. But at night, it cools down to around 81 Fahrenheit, which is around 27 Celsius. And in the winters, the highs are around 80 Fahrenheit with 17 Celsius. And then nights cool down to 71 Fahrenheit, which is around 21 Celsius. So when we're there, we live the siesta lifestyle. We're out in the mornings and evenings and in the hot part of the day, we stay tucked in AC. And there's no one on the beach during the hot time of the day. Yeah, that's true all over Vietnam, isn't it? So things to do. There's half a million people living there. So you can go to the beach for the boat tour, fishing, hiking, biking, going to the market, learning how to cook Vietnamese food, meditation and yoga. And of course, there's live music, there's exploring restaurants, there's archaeological exploration, touring Vietnam and Southeast Asia. And also you can do the snorkeling, scuba diving and coffee shop. The best thing in Vietnam is a cafe, coffee shop, martial art and nightlife. We went for the beach tour, the one day beach tour. Oh my God, it is amazing. And the value is unbeatable. Can you imagine we have the lunch over there? Included lunch, I can't believe it. That is not like a pack of the box of lunch. No, no, no. It's full meal, like 10 different kinds of dish. They even make a special five different vegetarian dish for only Dan. Yeah, we were at a table with all the other people on our tour. And the whole table is filled with food. It's very delicious. It's like Thanksgiving dinner or something. And so included that food, it included that incredible beach. Yes. And... Then we visit another like a temple and also... Yeah, those cliffs with the view. Yes, wow. And we skid down sand dunes on like a board or whatever that was. And also that's, you know, because we are only one foreigner in the trip and most of them is Vietnamese tourists. Yeah, yeah. So, and they are very nice. You know, we have those couple sit beside me and the other. They will tell us about this vegetarian for you or not. And also teach us how to eat the food. They are so sweet. Very nice people. That was a nice trip. Are you happy? Yeah, and I'm a coconut addict. Don't tell my parents. In terms of social consideration, English is not as widely spoken in the city as it is in soft landings like Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Da Lat or Hanoi. But you can use a Google Translate to speak about that. Or also use your smile. When you smile to the locals, you'll get everything you want. Exactly. In terms of medical, there are two hospitals which we haven't tried yet. So we can't really speak to that. So maybe some aspect of two will comment about the hospital below this video. Yeah, we're 100% sure the pricing will be right. But do they have English translators is what we're wondering. For the tourist visa, you can apply for a tourist visa online for $25 and you will get 90 days upon arrival and entry. Now for the retirement visa, there is no retirement visa. There are about 100,000 foreigners living in Vietnam year-round. About 20% have marriage, business or work visas. The other 80% just do visa runs every 90 days. That may seem crazy to you. But if you lived in Vietnam, a visa run would be about as hard as flying from Miami to Orlando on a $100 round trip airfare for a long weekend four times per year. These countries are that close. So here's how it usually happens. People tour around Southeast Asia and decide Vietnam's their favorite country. Then they compare all the retirement visa paperwork hassles in other countries and decide they'd rather be in Vietnam on visa runs than filling out a bunch of forms. So after you've completed your exploratory visits to all of the other countries in Southeast Asia, you might decide that you'd rather be in Vietnam than fill out paperwork all the time. For the housing, foreigners cannot own their land in their name in Vietnam. The best they can get is a 50-year lease on a condo. The problem with a lease on a condo is every year it becomes less and less value. Yeah, and towards the end it's valueless because you're going to lose it. And never buy real estate in a foreign country until you've been there for a couple of years. Many people change countries when they retire overseas, and real estate's not as liquid in many countries as it probably is in your home country. How desirable is Kunyan for retirement? After we discuss the retirement desirability here, we will cover line item cost estimates for living here. I would say Kunyan is not a soft landing city. Yes, I agree. It's not a soft landing. If this is your first time living overseas, I would recommend starting somewhere like Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, or Ho Chi Minh. Once you've figured out what Vietnam's all about, and you love it, and you're comfortable with the local lifestyle and foods, and you want to be around mostly Vietnamese people, Kunyan is a perfect fit for you. But if you're into more expat lifestyle or having friends around you from your home country, one of the other soft landing places is going to be a better fit for you. Well said. Well said. The full report for Kunyan is at the first link below this YouTube video. It's including restaurants where we stay, things to do, transportation information, visa information, and all the data we gather with our feet on the ground while we're in Kunyan. Yeah. So here is our line item estimates for cost of living in Kunyan for low to middle range expats. Now, the full report includes how we arrived at each of these numbers. So we'll start with the lower or frugal expats, and then we'll do the middle or more typical cost of living range for expats. So for frugal expat rent, around $300 a month. For the utility, it's about $60. Groceries, $200. Restaurant is about $278. And by the way, this is for the two of us we're estimating. Cell data is $8. And for the laundry, because we will have a washing machine inside the house, and for the detergent, it will be in the grocery bill, so laundry is $0. And for drinking water, it's about $10 to have it delivered per month. For the Wi-Fi inside the house, it's about $15. And transportation, just taking Grab taxis a few times a week, getting groceries home, and that kind of thing, be around $30, but we'd walk mostly. And we wouldn't bother to buy or even rent a scooter because it's so easy to walk everywhere. So the basic cost of living is $901. And this is optional, some of you don't drink, but we estimate around $90 because the beer is so cheap there. So optional total with the alcohol is $991. And entertainment for us would be about $200 a month. So total for all of this is $1,191. And then for the more typical or middle range expats that has a little deeper pockets, rent start around $600. Utility is about $110. Yeah, for a bigger place, you're going to pay more in utilities. Groceries are $350. Restaurant is about $500. Yeah, so newer expats tend to eat in expat grocery restaurants that are serving like steak and pasta and pizza. And that's just more expensive than local foods. That's why it costs so much more. And cell data for, assuming it's two people, it'd be $8 each or $16 for middle range expats. As usual, the laundry is $0. Drinking water is still about $10. Wi-Fi is about $15. And for transportation, they might buy or rent a scooter or a car. And so you'd have gasoline and repairs and maybe some insurance. So $250 a month. So total is $1,851. And then with the optional alcohol, they'd be drinking more craft beers and maybe a wine here and there. So total will be $2,851. And then entertainment is more, maybe $300. So total for everything is $2,331. So we gathered this data with our feet on the ground here in April 2026. So adjust for inflation after that. To understand what it costs you to live here, you must put your feet on the ground, see how you would choose to live, eat, and entertain yourself. And add it all up, it doesn't matter what anyone else spends because we all are very different. Yeah. And never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. We're not guaranteeing these prices. These are just our notes and estimates from the time of our visit in this post. So your costs will likely be drastically different depending upon your lifestyle and the time since this post. So can I ask you a question? Sure. How do you see Quy Nhon, this city? How do I see it? I see it as a great place for someone who really loves Vietnam. They love Vietnamese food and the culture there. And they want to be somewhere where they feel like maybe they're sort of a white elephant, not as many expats around. They feel like they're maybe... They have a more authentic Vietnamese feeling and atmosphere in their city. Exactly. Will you choose Quy Nhon for living or you will choose Da Nang for living? I personally would pick Da Nang. Not because I would want to live necessarily where all the expats are, but I like having that availability to all that foreign food. Once a week or a couple of times a month. In a place like this, you just don't have as many choices. You can't get up in the morning and have Eggs Benedict or something like that. Me too. I also prefer Da Nang over the Quy Nhon, the beach city. Because like you say, we will choose far away from the expat area. So we have a lower rent. But when we're craving about those international foods, we can just go to the beach over there. I can have a steak. I can have a wine. I have a pizza. And I also love Vietnamese food. And in Da Nang, they also have an ability for the very delicious Vietnamese food. Yeah, definitely. So do you know that I have a YouTube channel as well? Yeah. Can you please subscribe to Chung's channel too? Just click this link right here. It's a video on Chung's channel where we share how we met. And while you're over there, subscribe. If you want to know more about the lifestyle and about our lifestyle video, that is what my channel is about. Thanks for watching. Bye-bye.