Aya Shawn
Living in Singapore, professional investorJan 29
Vietnam (Hanoi), China (Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu)
As a foreigner who has lived for a short time in these citys, I can answer this question.
I have lived in these cities for more than 30 days, so I have a certain say.
1. Basic life
The cost of living in Hanoi is lower than Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen in China, and about the same as Chengdu. This seemed a bit incredible to me at first, because Vietnam’s per capita income is much lower than China’s. But the fact is that whether it is rent, catering, purchasing mobile phones, or telecommunications services, prices in Hanoi are not cheap and do not match the level of development of the entire country.
Regarding this issue, some Vietnamese friends also told me that it is because I have adopted a "foreigner" lifestyle. For example, I live in hotels, shop in large shopping malls, and eat in more formal restaurants. It's not really an "ordinary" life.
But I think this explanation is limited in its persuasiveness because I also live the same way in China. For example, the price of a bowl of rice noodles I eat on the streets of Hanoi is almost the same as the price of a bowl of noodles on the streets of Chengdu.
What particularly impressed me was that the taxi price in Hanoi was twice that of Chengdu and 1.5 times that of Beijing and Shanghai.
Compred with China, only some service industries in Hanoi are relatively cheap, such as haircuts and massages.
Therefore, in terms of basic life, the consumption levels of foreigners living in big cities in China are similar to those in big cities in Vietnam. There are no problems with basic living needs.

作为一个在这些城市生活过一段时间的外国人，我可以回答这个问题。
我在这些城市生活了30多天，所以我有一定的发言权。
1、基本生活
河内的生活成本低于中国的北京、上海和深圳，但与成都大致相同。起初我觉得这有点不可思议，因为越南的人均收入比中国低得多。但事实是，无论是租房、餐饮、购买手机，还是电信服务，河内的物价都不便宜，与整个国家的发展水平不匹配。
对于这个问题，一些越南朋友也告诉我，这是因为我采取了“外国人”的生活方式。比如住酒店，在大型商场购物，在比较正规的餐厅吃饭。这并不是真正的“平凡”生活。
但我觉得这个解释的说服力有限，因为我在中国也有同样的生活。比如我在河内街头吃的一碗米粉的价格和在成都街头吃的一碗米粉的价格几乎是一样的。
尤其让我印象深刻的是，河内的出租车价格是成都的2倍，是北京、上海的1.5倍。
与中国相比，河内只有一些服务业相对便宜，比如理发、按摩等。
因此，就基本生活而言，居住在中国大城市的外国人的消费水平与越南大城市相似。基本生活需求没有问题。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


2. Public facilities
In terms of public facilities, Vietnam and China are quite different.
Hanoi's urban development level is similar to that of Southeast Asian countries (except Singapore), while China is at the world's leading level.
Urban transportation: Hanoi mainly relies on taxis, there is only 1 subway, and the public buses are terrible, slow and inefficient. There are some rickshaws that I rarely try.
China relies mostly on subways, every major Chinese city I've lived in has a huge subway system, and taxis are cheaper than in Vietnam. Buses in big cities in China are also very cheap and efficient. China also has a large number of shared bicycles and electric motorcycles, which are very convenient and you can use public transportation to quickly reach your destination.
China is faster and cheaper

2. 公共设施
在公共设施方面，越南和中国有很大不同。
河内的城市发展水平与东南亚国家（新加坡除外）相近，而中国处于世界领先水平。
城市交通：河内主要依靠出租车，只有1条地铁，公共巴士很糟糕，速度慢，效率低。有一些人力车我很少尝试。
中国主要依赖地铁，我住过的每个中国主要城市都有庞大的地铁系统，出租车比越南便宜。中国大城市的公交车也非常便宜且高效。
中国也有大量的共享单车和电动摩托车，非常方便，可以利用公共交通快速到达目的地。
中国更快更便宜

Roads: Vietnam's urban roads are narrow, vehicle driving efficiency is low, and traffic congestion is serious. Roads between cities are in poor condition and there are very few freeways. Driving long distances is not an option
China's road construction level is very high. Expressways can lead to every small city. You can easily drive more than 500 kilometers a day by driving a car. If you are not prone to fatigue, 800 kilometers is also acceptable.
Driving a car in China is easy, but it is not recommended to drive a car in Vietnam for short-term stay

道路：越南城市道路狭窄，车辆行驶效率低，交通拥堵严重。城市之间的道路状况很差，高速公路也很少。长途驾驶不是一种好选择
中国的公路建设水平非常高。高速公路可通往各个小城市。开车一天可以轻松行驶500公里以上。如果你不容易疲劳的话，800公里也是可以接受的。
在中国开车很容易，但如果是短期停留，我不建议在越南开车

Cross-city transportation:
Vietnam is largely dependent on flying, driving a car is not an option and the rail experience is terrible.
Chinese people generally rely on highways and high-speed rail to solve journeys within 300 kilometers.
Most distances of 300-800 kilometers rely on high-speed railways.
Planes are only used for journeys over 800 kilometers, as they are too inefficient.
Although China is larger and cities are further apart, it actually takes less time than Vietnam.

跨城市交通：
越南很大程度上依赖于飞行，开车不是一种好选择，铁路体验也很糟糕。
中国人普遍依靠高速公路和高铁，可以解决全部300公里以内的出行。
300-800公里的距离大部分依赖高铁。
飞机只用于800公里以上的旅程，因为效率太低。
虽然中国面积更大，城市相距更远，但实际上比越南花费的时间要少。

FOOD:
The catering industry in Vietnamese and Chinese cities is very developed, and there are also restaurants that are open for a long time at night. So basic meals are no problem.
The food in Vietnam is generally Southeast Asian style. You can feel the influence of Thailand and Cambodia, and the spices they like to use are relatively similar.
The difference lies in diversity. China's catering industry is the most diverse I have ever seen. In cities like Chengdu or Shenzhen, you can eat completely different foods every day for a month, and there are many choices for each type.
The catering industry in Hanoi is relatively simple. The tastes of Vietnamese restaurants are almost the same, unlike in China where there are so many types. The number of foreign restaurants is much smaller than in China, and there are even fewer choices.

食物：
越南和中国城市的餐饮业都非常发达，也有夜间营业时间较长的餐馆。所以基本的吃饭是没有问题的。
越南的饮食总体上是东南亚风格。你可以感受到泰国和柬埔寨的影响，他们喜欢用的香料也比较相似。
差异在于多样性。中国的餐饮业是我见过的最多元化的。在成都、深圳这样的城市，你可以一个月每天吃完全不同的食物，而且每种食物都有很多选择。
河内的餐饮业比较简单。越南餐馆的口味都差不多，不像中国种类那么多。外国餐馆的数量比中国少得多，选择也更少。

3. Medical treatment:
Hospitals in Vietnam are crowded, and so are those in China. But the efficiency is not bad. Compared with Europe and the United States, the medical efficiency of China and Vietnam is very high.
I had a skin allergy in Vietnam and a respiratory infection in China. I entered the hospital on the same day, completed the examination on the same day, and received treatment and medicine on the same day.
The obvious difference is that Vietnamese doctors basically don’t speak English and they need to use translation software or my friends. Chinese doctors basically all speak English.
In terms of hospital environment, Chinese hospitals are larger, cleaner and more modern, while Vietnamese hospitals are generally older, but have complete basic examination equipment. (I don’t go to many hospitals. I always ask local friends to take me to regular large hospitals)

3、医疗：
越南的医院人满为患，中国的医院也是如此。但效率还不错。与欧美相比，中国和越南的医疗效率非常高。
我在越南患过皮肤过敏，在中国患过呼吸道感染。当天入院，当天完成检查，当天接受治疗、吃药。
明显的区别是，越南医生基本不会说英语，需要使用翻译软件或者依靠我的越南朋友。中国医生基本上都会说英语。
从医院环境来看，中国医院规模更大、更干净、更现代化，而越南医院普遍年龄较大，但基本检查设备齐全。 （我去的医院不多，都是请当地的朋友带我去正规的大医院）

4. Language :
Language is a big issue in Vietnam
English is basically useless here, except for some hotel staff and professional translators, and some college students, almost no one can speak English. What’s embarrassing is that there are more people who can speak Chinese than English. So in Vietnam I always try to speak Chinese first.
In China, young people in big cities basically know some English, but some are more proficient and some have difficulty. But if I speak slower, many people can understand. However, as a Chinese speaker, I speak more Chinese, and I feel that the language environment in China is very good.

4. 语言：
语言在越南是个大问题
英语在这里基本没用，除了一些酒店工作人员和专业翻译，还有一些大学生，几乎没有人会说英语。尴尬的是，在越南会说中文的人比会说英语的人还多。所以在越南我总是先尝试说中文。
在中国，大城市的年轻人基本上都会一点英语，但有的比较熟练，有的则比较困难。但如果我说得慢一点，很多人都能听懂。不过，作为一个说中文的人，我说的中文比较多，我觉得中国的语言环境非常好。