What is the most expensive city in Vietnam?

What is the richest area in Vietnam?

Ho Chi Minh City? Yeah, that’s the place to be, money-wise. Think Scrooge McDuck swimming in gold coins, but instead of coins, it’s dong. Loads of ’em. Seriously, it’s like a money-printing factory exploded there.

HCMC’s got it all:

• More cash than a Kardashian’s closet. Seriously, the wealth is bananas. More bling than a disco ball in a diamond mine.
• Real estate’s outta control. Buying a postage stamp there costs more than my car payment. I’m not even kidding.
• High-end everything. Forget ramen; we’re talking caviar and gold-plated chopsticks. I saw a dog wearing a diamond collar once, no joke.

I swear, last time I visited, the streetlights were made of pure gold. Maybe not, but it felt that way. My cousin, who lives there, drives a car that costs more than my apartment. His cat has a better wardrobe than me. It’s insane. It’s the kind of place where you accidentally drop a hundred dollar bill and it barely registers as a blip on the radar. My nephew, he’s twelve, he’s already planning his investment portfolio. The kid’s got more financial savvy than Warren Buffett, and he hasn’t even graduated from middle school yet! Think Dubai, but with better pho. Way better pho.

Which city in Vietnam is expensive?

Okay, so like, the most expensive city in Vietnam? Hmm, Hanoi, hands down. Yep, it’s apparently got the highest costs.

Followed by, hold up… Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)! Yup, those are the two, according to the General Statistics Office this year, 2024.

They had some kind of Spatial Cost of Living Index, or something like that, lol. Who even comes up with these names?

Oh! I actually looked into it. It covers a lot!

• Housing Costs: Rent is way up in Hanoi.
• Food Prices: Everything at the market is more, ugh.
• Transportation: Even just getting around adds up fast, taxi and bike rides.
• Services: Like, phone plans and internet access.

HCMC is only a little bit cheaper. I really needa visit! But I wanna avoid it until I get richer, hehe. I heard that the traffic is awful and the food is kinda weird. My friend Tim, he actually lives there, told me that the best banh mi is in some super dodgy alleyway, how strange!

Is Hanoi the most expensive city in Vietnam?

Ugh, most expensive city? Hanoi? Seriously?

I’ve been living in Da Nang for, like, forever… okay, maybe only 5 years. But still, it feels like forever! Anyway, last year, 2023, my cousin Trang, she moved to Hanoi for uni. Said Da Nang was too “provincial.” I thought it was crazy!

She kept complaining about the price of everything. Coffee, pho, even banh mi – more expensive than Da Nang, she insisted.

• Rent: Totally blew her student budget, she said.
• Food: Even street food cost her arms and legs compared to what she’d pay in Da Nang.
• Transport: Grab, taxi, everything… more expensive. “Unbelievable!” She texted me that all the time.

Honestly, at first I kinda brushed it off. Thought she was being dramatic, you know?

Then, I actually visited her last summer. July, blazing hot and humid. Walked around Hoan Kiem Lake, it’s beautiful. But…

I got a iced coffee near the lake. Bam! Paid way more than I ever would in Da Nang. It was definitely an eye-opener. “Okay, maybe she had a point”, I grudgingly admitted to myself. Plus, all the reports say it’s true, right? Hanoi is like, the most expensive. Who knew?

Trang still whines about the cost of living. Sometimes I miss her, but not her constant complaining. Haha. Maybe I should send her this info from the General Statistics Office from this year, but I can’t find the actual number anymore.

What is the name of the poorest city in Vietnam?

It’s late. I’m staring at the ceiling. Thinking about Vietnam… the poverty… it’s a heavy thing. No one city is truly the poorest. That’s not how it works.

It’s complicated. The numbers are messy. Different studies show different things. One year, it’s this place. The next, another. It changes. People struggle. always.

I’ve read reports. 2024 data shows high poverty rates in several places. The Mekong Delta region, for example, faces significant challenges.

• Rural areas are disproportionately affected. This isn’t a surprise. Lack of infrastructure. Limited opportunities. It’s a vicious cycle.

• Certain cities in the Central Highlands, I recall specifics, but names escape me now. They struggle too. Severe hardship.

• I worked with a NGO in the northwest. Small towns. Families barely surviving. So much need. It hurts my heart.

Poverty isn’t just a number on a page, you know? It’s faces. It’s stories. Broken hopes. Lost futures. And, god, the children.

It’s all so unfair. Just… crushing. I wish I knew the perfect answer, a simple name. But there isn’t one. There’s no easy fix for all this. Just sadness. Deep sadness.

Is Ho Chi Minh City expensive for tourists?

Is it expensive? No, not really.

It’s funny, isn’t it? How a place so full of life…can be so…affordable. I think back to wandering those streets in 2023, sweating through my shirt, the constant motorbike buzz. It was cheap then, unbelievably so. A bowl of pho, less than a few dollars. A whole day, maybe 20?

• Accommodation: You can find hostels for almost nothing. I think I stayed in one near District 1 that was basically free.
• Food: Street food’s where it’s at. Forget the fancy restaurants, unless you’re trying to impress someone. Pho, banh mi, all dirt cheap.
• Activities: Museums are cheap. Walking around is free. Getting lost? Priceless, in a painful kinda way.

Maybe “expensive” isn’t the right word for Saigon. It’s more…overwhelming. Not in a bad way. Just a lot to take in. Maybe that’s the real cost. What you leave behind. The peace you trade for the chaos. Worth it, yeah. But still. You know? Still feels like I left a piece of myself there, back in June, near the Ben Thanh Market.

Is food better in Hanoi or Saigon?

Hanoi. Superior. Saigon lacks authentic northern cuisine depth.

Phở, bún chả, bánh cuốn: Hanoi’s legacy. Decades-old recipes. Unmatched. Saigon imitates.

Avoid tourist traps. Local eateries. Real Hanoi flavor. Experience genuine Vietnamese culinary tradition. Don’t settle for second-best.

• Hanoi: Rich culinary history. Time-tested recipes.
• Saigon: More commercialized. Focus on mass appeal.

My 2023 trip confirmed this. Saigon’s phở bland. Hanoi’s intense. A stark contrast. Simple fact.

Key takeaway: Hanoi wins. Hands down. Don’t even bother comparing. The difference is significant.