How I see the US after living in Vietnam

SUMMARY

Evan A., an early retiree in Vietnam after 6 years, contrasts US life with Vietnamese experiences, highlighting shifts in work balance, patriotism, youth energy, safety, traffic, food, education, and healthcare.

STATEMENTS

• Living abroad warps one's perspective on home, making everyday aspects like work, eating, arguing, aging, and driving stand out in new ways.
• Vietnam emphasizes a family-first rhythm with late nights and young optimism, while the US offers scalable innovations and healthcare but with attached stresses.
• Work-life balance in Vietnam feels natural, with coffee breaks encouraged and family time prioritized, contrasting America's grind culture that rewards overwork and shames rest.
• Patriotism in Vietnam is genuine and unifying, with flags and anthems evoking pride without toxicity, unlike America's polarized tribalism where symbols spark division.
• Vietnam's population under 35 drives youthful energy and ambition, filling cafes with startup plans, while Western societies feel weighed down by aging demographics and backward-looking conversations.
• Vietnamese traffic appears chaotic with swarming scooters but lacks violence, offering a safer daily vibe than America's orderly streets hiding gun culture and random dangers.
• Law enforcement in Vietnam is lax and tolerant, softening chaos with minor fines, compared to America's strict, fear-based enforcement that can turn routine stops deadly.
• Vietnamese food culture integrates community, freshness, and affordability into daily life, opposing America's industrialized, over-portioned meals driven by commerce and convenience.
• Education in Vietnam is relentless and respected, with families sacrificing for kids' futures, while Western systems suffer from underfunding, eroded teacher respect, and short-term political battles.
• Healthcare in Vietnam is affordable and accessible for routine needs, treating it as social welfare, versus America's elite, debt-inducing system despite technological superiority.

IDEAS

• Waking up at 10 a.m. to packed coffee shops of employees on breaks, not freelancers, reveals a cultural norm where socializing during work is encouraged.
• Vietnam's booming economy produces global goods like sneakers and phones without glorifying exhaustion, challenging the idea that overwork equals productivity.
• Hammer and sickle symbols persist non-ironically in Vietnam, fostering communal solidarity over the factional debates that turn American holidays into arguments.
• More than half of Vietnam's population under 35 creates palpable optimism, with families betting life savings on education for a better national future.
• Scooter swarms in Vietnam flow without escalating to fights, contrasting how America's rigid traffic rules mask underlying societal volatility like mass shootings.
• Entire families ride one scooter to dinner without helmets, tolerated in a non-enforcing culture, highlighting tolerance over punitive regulation.
• Daily market shopping for fresh meals keeps calorie intake low and social, unlike America's reliance on processed stockpiles for efficiency.
• Vietnamese kids endure intense tutoring and exams for discipline, gaining work ethic, while Western children prioritize expression but lag in basics like math.
• A doctor's visit in Vietnam costs under $50 with no insurance hassle, making healthcare feel like routine life rather than a financial threat.
• Living abroad for a year can slash retirement costs by 80%, reframing one's home country through a lens of optimism versus pessimism.

INSIGHTS

• True work-life balance emerges when cultures prioritize family and rest over endless productivity, reducing burnout without sacrificing economic growth.
• Genuine patriotism builds community through shared endurance and service, avoiding the toxicity of polarized symbols that fracture social cohesion.
• Youthful demographics infuse societies with forward momentum and ambition, countering the stagnation of aging populations fixated on preservation.
• Apparent chaos in daily life can foster safety through tolerance, outperforming enforced order that breeds fear and hidden dangers.
• Food as cultural ritual enhances well-being and connection, while commodified eating erodes health and community over time.
• Relentless education investment signals unshakable belief in future progress, exposing Western systems' shortsightedness in failing youth.

QUOTES

• "The grind isn't just a word. It's sort of like a Calvinist sacrament."
• "Love of country is often tied to sacrifice and service. Right? Everyone has grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles who lived through one of the many wars in the 20th century."
• "One place feels like tomorrow. The other place really does feel like yesterday."
• "I will take the scooter swarm over the gun culture any day. One looks messy, but it's survivable. The other looks orderly, but it can kill you."
• "In Vietnam, eating out daily is expected. Meals are short, social, constant. You don't stockpile Costco freezer packs and stock a pantry for nuclear fallout."

HABITS

• Prioritizing family dinners after work at 6 p.m., leaving emails unchecked to focus on home life.
• Taking mid-morning coffee breaks at packed cafes for socializing, encouraged by managers as part of the workday.
• Shopping fresh at local markets daily for balanced, herb-heavy meals instead of stockpiling processed foods.
• Betting family resources on children's education through intensive tutoring and homework routines every evening.
• Seeking affordable private clinic visits for routine health needs without insurance delays, treating care as integrated into daily life.

FACTS

• More than half of Vietnam's population is under 35, driving high energy in startups and education investments.
• Vietnam's GDP output from women is higher than in most countries, reflecting strong workforce participation.
• Road fatalities in Vietnam are high on motorcycles, but fist fights and shootings are rare compared to Western gun violence.
• Obesity rates in Vietnam are rising with Western food influence, but baseline diets remain light and vegetable-focused.
• A full medical checkup in Vietnam's private hospitals costs a fraction of US prices, often under $50 including tests.

REFERENCES

• Robera's pizza and Sierra Coast Pastry cannoli from Brooklyn.
• David Goggins' hustle culture.
• TET national holiday in Vietnam.
• Medicare, Social Security in the US.
• TikTok usage among Vietnamese youth.
• Starbucks cafes globally.

HOW TO APPLY

• Embrace family-first scheduling by leaving work promptly at 6 p.m. and prioritizing meals with loved ones over after-hours emails.
• Cultivate genuine patriotism through community service and shared rituals, avoiding divisive debates to build local solidarity.
• Invest heavily in youth education by allocating family resources to tutoring and skill-building for long-term future gains.
• Navigate chaotic environments with tolerance, focusing on flow and minor adjustments rather than rigid rule enforcement.
• Shift to daily fresh market shopping for balanced, social meals to improve health and reduce reliance on processed foods.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Living in Vietnam reveals America's pessimism versus youthful optimism, urging a reevaluation of work, safety, and future vision.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Experiment with abroad living for a year to cut costs by 80% and gain fresh perspectives on home culture.
• Adopt Vietnam's cafe break habit to foster work-life balance without glorifying exhaustion.
• Wave flags for unity and service, steering clear of tribal arguments to heal national divides.
• Prioritize youthful ambition in policy and personal life, betting on education over fear of decline.
• Choose fresh, communal eating daily to combat health-eroding industrial food systems.

MEMO

After six years weaving through Saigon's scooter swarms and savoring sidewalk pho, Evan A. returned to the United States with eyes wide open. No longer just a visitor, he saw his homeland through a Vietnamese lens—one that prizes family rhythms over relentless grinds, youthful hustle over nostalgic decline. "Your perspective warps in the best and sometimes the worst way possible," he says, capturing how exile abroad reframes the ordinary: the hurried commutes, polarized barbecues, and towering medical bills that once seemed normal.

Work-life balance struck him first. In Vietnam, cafes brim with chatting employees at 10 a.m., managers included, while evenings end promptly for family dinners. National holidays like TET empty cities as people rush home, no sneaky emails in tow. Contrast that with America's "Calvinist sacrament" of 70-hour weeks, where vacation days feel like indulgences and burnout therapy racks up alongside health premiums. Yet Vietnam isn't utopia—salaries lag, protections are thin, and glass ceilings persist. Still, its booming factories churn out Samsung phones without the hustle-porn boasts, proving productivity thrives without self-destruction.

Patriotism, too, feels purified abroad. Vietnamese flags wave unironically from every rooftop, evoking tears at parades and cheers for the soccer team, rooted in war-scarred endurance rather than exclusion. Back home, the Stars and Stripes signals everything from rallies to rage, turning Fourth of July grills into shouting matches. Evan notes Canada's own neighbor-envy as a poor substitute for pride, with brain drain to the U.S. underscoring fractured identities. Vietnam's vibe? Calmer streets, less polarization—a daily solidarity that makes Western aggression feel exhausting.

Youth pulses through Vietnam's veins, with over half the population under 35 fueling TikTok trends and cafe startups. Families pour savings into tutoring, betting on tomorrow amid bustling optimism. America, by contrast, sags under aging politics obsessed with Medicare and "make it great again" reveries, conversations orbiting decline rather than daring visions. Sure, underemployment nips at Vietnamese heels, but the baseline hums with forward pull—cafes alive with 20-somethings plotting futures, not reminiscing over grandkids.

Safety paradoxes abound. Vietnam's traffic ballet—families piled on helmetless scooters—defies logic yet rarely erupts in violence; alleys feel secure at 2 a.m., worries limited to potholes. America's painted lanes and patrols enforce order, but beneath lurks gun-toting volatility: active shooter drills in suburbs, dicey walks in once-familiar neighborhoods. Law enforcement amplifies this—Vietnam's cops seek minor grift, America's flash fear or worse. Food echoes the divide: Vietnam's $2 fresh feasts build community and trim waistlines (Evan dropped 20 kilos); U.S. portions balloon into costly, calorie-bomb indulgences.

Education and healthcare seal the shocks. Vietnamese kids grind through relentless exams, earning discipline and parental reverence, viewing school as salvation worth selling land for. Western classrooms crumble under funding wars and eroded respect, trapping youth in short-term political crossfire. Healthcare? A $50 Vietnamese checkup humbles America's debt machine, where elite tech serves the insured while others skip visits. Vietnam's patchwork prioritizes access over profit, a brutal mirror to Western woes. Ultimately, Evan urges a trial abroad: slash costs, ignite optimism, and glimpse home anew.