SUMMARY

Content creator BVCCO, after nearly two years in Vietnam, returns to Vancouver, Canada, exposing the city's exorbitant costs, healthcare delays, and rat-race pressures compared to Vietnam's affordability and vibrancy.

STATEMENTS

• Vancouver boasts one of the best public transportation systems, making it normal not to own a car even in your 30s.
• Canadian free healthcare often involves frustrating long waits, such as eight hours in the emergency room for a simple sprained leg diagnosis.
• In Vietnam, routine medical procedures like dental x-rays and treatments can be completed efficiently in just 10 minutes at low cost.
• Returning to Vancouver from Vietnam dramatically improves mental health, largely due to the superior air quality absent in polluted Southeast Asian cities.
• Vancouver's high cost of living includes 12% taxes on meals plus escalating tips of 15-30%, turning a basic outing into an expensive endeavor.
• Suburban homes near Vancouver range from 1.7 to 2 million Canadian dollars, requiring a household income of at least 200,000 CAD for mortgage approval.
• To achieve a middle-class lifestyle in Vancouver—including housing, car, and insurance—a single person needs an annual salary of 80,000 to 100,000 CAD, netting only 60,000-70,000 after taxes.
• Vietnam enables daily affordable dining out without tipping, with meals available three times a day for minimal expense.
• Walkability and the peace of quiet strolls in Canada stand out as underrated benefits after experiencing Vietnam's bustling energy.
• The traditional path of working one job for decades to retire comfortably at 60 is obsolete, accelerated by technology that encourages frequent career shifts.

IDEAS

• Perspective on homeland flaws sharpens dramatically after extended living abroad, revealing overlooked privileges like clean air.
• Minor healthcare in low-income countries like Vietnam can outperform systems in wealthier nations for speed and accessibility.
• Tipping culture in Canada has ballooned from 5-10% to 15-30%, quietly inflating everyday expenses beyond menu prices.
• Skyrocketing housing prices in Vancouver effectively exclude millennials and Gen Z from homeownership, pushing them to condos or suburbs.
• Long-term exposure to air pollution in places like Vietnam underscores its subtle toll on mental well-being until contrasted with pristine environments.
• Selling personal assets, such as a car, can fund life-changing moves abroad, freeing resources for exploration.
• Cultural reconnection for diaspora communities, like Vietnamese overseas, unlocks unique opportunities such as visa exemptions and local citizenship paths.
• High-cost urban life fosters isolation and surface-level interactions, contrasting with potentially deeper bonds in more affordable settings.
• The "Canadian dream" of stability masks a survival-mode grind that leaves little room for savings or personal growth.
• Technology has dismantled rigid career timelines, empowering individuals to reject settling and experiment with nomadic lifestyles.
• Experiencing a new country for three months to a year provides authentic insights, beyond viral creator content that often sells illusions.
• Building a "second home" abroad transforms escape into purposeful creation, rather than mere coping with personal issues.

INSIGHTS

• Affordability abroad liberates individuals from financial survival mode, allowing focus on personal development over perpetual grinding.
• Environmental quality, like breathable air, exerts a profound, underappreciated influence on long-term mental and physical health.
• "Free" public services in developed nations hide inefficiencies, such as endless waits, that erode quality of life more than out-of-pocket costs elsewhere.
• Economic pressures in expensive cities amplify loneliness by prioritizing work over community, perpetuating a cycle of superficial connections.
• Generational housing dreams collapse under inflation, compelling younger cohorts to redefine success through mobility and alternative investments.
• Technological acceleration obsoletes outdated life scripts, granting agency to craft fluid paths that prioritize experiences over stability.

QUOTES

• "We just waited 8 hours from like midnight to like 8:00 in the morning."
• "If you are making a,000 2,000 USD in Vietnam, healthc care might actually be better in Vietnam."
• "No generation of my people can afford it. No one."
• "Get yourself out of the the whole blueprint. Get yourself out of this matrix."
• "The old way of living and being like, 'Hm, I don't like where I am. I'm just going to settle with it.' You don't have to play by those rules no more."

HABITS

• Sell non-essential assets like a car to generate funds for international relocation and reduced dependency on personal vehicles.
• Rely on public transportation systems daily to save money and embrace car-free living in urban environments.
• Take long walks on sidewalks to clear the mind and appreciate walkable neighborhoods.
• Eat out frequently in affordable settings to maintain variety without financial strain or tipping obligations.
• Switch jobs regularly rather than committing long-term, adapting to technology-driven career fluidity for better opportunities.

FACTS

• Vancouver's provincial sales tax is 5% plus 7% federal GST, totaling 12% on restaurant meals.
• A bowl of Vietnamese pho in Vancouver now costs around 20 Canadian dollars.
• Condos in central Vancouver start at one million Canadian dollars, while suburban options range from 700,000 to 800,000.
• Mortgage approval for a two-million-dollar home requires proof of at least 200,000 Canadian dollars in annual household income.
• The speaker saved only 1,000 to 2,000 dollars monthly while earning 90,000 Canadian dollars yearly in Vancouver, covering rent, groceries, and a middle-class lifestyle.

REFERENCES

• Vietnam Survival Guide (digital resource for expats).
• Grab app (motorbike ride-hailing service for convenient, affordable transport).
• Public transportation in Vancouver and Richmond (efficient systems enabling car-free living).

HOW TO APPLY

• Evaluate your current lifestyle to identify survival-mode elements, such as high rent or car payments, and calculate potential savings from relocation.
• Research visa options for target countries; for Vietnamese diaspora, secure a six-month exemption to avoid border runs and open a local bank account.
• Sell unnecessary possessions like a car to build a relocation fund, aiming for at least three months of expenses to test the new environment.
• Immerse yourself abroad for a minimum of three months, tracking daily costs, health access, and social dynamics to form an unbiased opinion.
• Upon arrival, prioritize building routines like using local transport apps (e.g., Grab) and dining out affordably to stretch finances while fostering community ties.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Escaping Canada's costly rat race through Vietnam living reveals affordable paths to mental freedom and redefined success.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Test Southeast Asian living for three to twelve months to discern genuine fit beyond creator hype.
• Leverage public transit to eliminate car ownership costs and embrace urban walkability.
• Question generational housing myths by investing in experiences over unattainable properties.
• Prioritize air quality's role in mental health when choosing long-term residences.
• Break free from rigid careers by embracing technology-enabled mobility and frequent pivots.

MEMO

After nearly two years immersed in Vietnam's vibrant chaos, content creator BVCCO stepped off the plane in Vancouver, his headache vanishing instantly amid the crisp Pacific Northwest air. What once felt like home now struck him as a gilded cage: sidewalks begged for aimless strolls he had missed amid Ho Chi Minh City's scooter swarms, and the quiet hum of suburban streets offered a peace long overshadowed by constant urban buzz. Yet, the return sharpened his critique of Canada's vaunted lifestyle. "Free healthcare" rang hollow after eight-hour emergency room vigils for a simple sprain, while in Vietnam, a chipped tooth got x-rayed and fixed in 10 minutes for pennies. Air pollution's toll, once abstract, now highlighted Vancouver's invisible luxury—clean breaths that restored his mental clarity overnight.

Vancouver's allure dimmed further under the weight of its infamous cost of living. A modest suburban house, the kind BVCCO grew up eyeing, now fetches 1.7 to 2 million Canadian dollars, demanding a household income topping 200,000 just for mortgage approval. For a single millennial scraping by on 90,000 annually, savings hovered at a measly 1,000 to 2,000 monthly after rent, groceries, and taxes devoured the rest. Dining out, once casual, now meant 20 to 30 dollars per meal plus 12% taxes and tips creeping toward 30%—a far cry from Vietnam's tip-free feasts, where street eats fueled days without breaking the bank. "No generation of my people can afford it," BVCCO laments, pointing to how inflation has locked out young buyers, relegating them to million-dollar condos or exile to cheaper suburbs like Burnaby.

The "Canadian dream" unravels as a relic, BVCCO argues, sold to schoolchildren but shattered by reality's grind. Older generations lucked into homes at fractionally lower prices, watching values quintuple through market whims, while today's workers chase six figures that net just 60,000 after 20-30% taxes. Public transit shines as a silver lining—reliable enough to ditch his car last year, funding the Vietnam leap—but even that can't offset the loneliness of a high-stakes city where everyone hustles in isolation. Vietnam, by contrast, pulsed with energy: Grab bikes zipped him everywhere affordably, fostering a sense of belonging for this Vietnamese-Canadian who reclaimed cultural roots via visa perks and a second home. Yet, he cautions, cheap living isn't escape—it's a launchpad to build, not just cope.

Technology has turbocharged this shift, BVCCO notes, dismantling the old script of lifelong loyalty to one employer for a pension at 60. Job-hopping is the norm now, and digital nomadism lets dollars stretch further abroad, hacking the matrix of survival. Still, Canada's friendliness, though sometimes surface-level, offers genuine quiet and community potential that Vietnam's pace might eventually erode. His advice cuts sharp: Don't chase creators' viral dreams—live it yourself for months, weigh pros like walkability against cons like tipping fatigue, and redefine flourishing on your terms. Returning hasn't erased Vietnam's lessons; it has reframed Canada as one option among many, urging a generation to wander before settling.