I'm a programmer who just left Saigon after ~ 6 weeks.
Excuse the language, but it's kind of a shit hole, even a lot of the "nice" D1 parts... One of the most polluted cities in the world, swarms of motorcycles everywhere, always trouble walking from A to B, permanent hearing damage from crappy vehicles' shrieking breaks or the constant honking.
The expats I met (and let's not kid ourselves, a lot of them are straight up 'sexpats'... and there are infamous bars in town for that) wanted out. YMMV.
The good parts... Vietnamese people are amazing, very friendly. There are tons of cafes to work from. You can live in a 4 star hotel on the cheap.
Even so, I wouldn't move to Ho Chi Minh. Has a long way to go.
The experience you get out of something largely depends on how you approach it.
I live in a wealthy, quiet neighborhood - where most of my neighbors are Vietnamese and a majority of them are wealthier than me. Because of this and good networking I've met many successful business people, startup entrepreneurs and consulate generals. I'm also committed to here. I speak the language, have an office and team here. That level of commitment opens more doors than if I was just passing through. When I'm ready to move on to my next project, it will be hard to say no to many of the opportunities here.
There are a lot of expats who are unhappy here, though you'll find that in any expat community. A lot of them like to complain. I avoid those types if possible - more fun to be around future oriented people than past. (And that's one of the best things about Vietnam - it's so young. I'm sure you've read the statistics before, 70% under 30 years old. And most of them are excited for the future.) As for the sexpats maybe I don't see them - maybe I'm happily married with kids and don't hang out in the backpacker areas or bars.
Completely agree with you about the pollution. It's the hardest thing for me, which is why I live on the edge of town across from a jungle and a river and not in District 1. (View from my office https://goo.gl/photos/wuMnNcKFFnAMUNsn9)
Had my approach to Vietnam been different my opinions would be completely different. No way is the right way, just different.
It's sad to see you go. But it's very true that the air is critically polluted, esp. in the central area. I moved from DaNang city (You would try!) to Saigon to seek for a job; except for the money and the high tech air, Saigon isn't worth living.
The most critical thing is that people seem not to believe in others any anymore, and/or to believe in the future. (The author said people only thought of today, that's a reason.) Living fast, living short. And killing the future. :(
Excuse the language, but it's kind of a shit hole, even a lot of the "nice" D1 parts... One of the most polluted cities in the world, swarms of motorcycles everywhere, always trouble walking from A to B, permanent hearing damage from crappy vehicles' shrieking breaks or the constant honking.
The expats I met (and let's not kid ourselves, a lot of them are straight up 'sexpats'... and there are infamous bars in town for that) wanted out. YMMV.
The good parts... Vietnamese people are amazing, very friendly. There are tons of cafes to work from. You can live in a 4 star hotel on the cheap.
Even so, I wouldn't move to Ho Chi Minh. Has a long way to go.