@Peter99: Do you think your post reflects admirable character traits?

What makes you think you're going back to America? We are lifers.

Staying on topic.

If its true what laowhy says, that many foreign companies relocating to Vietnam, its quite interesting.

I was down in Hanoi last autumn. The dystopian darkness has not gripped Hanoi - at all. But theres bureacracy for sure. Its probably a good choice, well, who knows, challenging for sure.

From what I have heard, Vietnam is the most US friendly country in all of SE Asia, so if US-China relations (currently and in the worst case future) are a concern, then it is probably a safe bet in these parts.

Even if comparing to Japan or South Korea, in the worst case scenario, Vietnam would remain safest overall in Asia.

Only fifteen years ago, even ten, just about any foreigner staying in Vietnam was a possible “spy”.

But they are past that now. Its over. Now its China. Orwellian as ever. And Vietnam, Internet works. No acute moral crisis. Food is fairly safe. Crime low. Social score? Nah. Survelliance allover, nope. No mob attacks in horizon. Pollution....well. Labor costs low. Burecracy will be a problem, it will be interesting to watch.

Laowhy did the right choice. And imagine an earthquake, his house would maybe have been ashes in seconds.

About 12-13 years ago I was chatting to an expat running a manufacturing company that had moved from Thailand to China 3 years before that. He was already considering moving to VN. The increased costs of factory space and labor had already eroded the financial advantages of moving here.

"The enemy of my enemy is an opportunity for a friend"...the USA has been aggressively lobbying VN and Myanmar - while China has been aggressively adding countries south of the Great Fence of USA (NOT visible from space).

Was chatting with some EU friends the other day - they keep referring to the America's (rather condescendingly) as "new world" and refer to themselves as "old world" when describing culture and behavior. They actually consider countries south of the great fence as "old world" in culture and behavior and feel a closer kinship (UK excluded for BREXIT reasons I suppose).

For some reason - they don't consider the UK as part of the EU...

Aiyaa...WAY off-track...sorry..

"...some EU friends... they keep referring to the America's (rather condescendingly)..."

I am shocked, shocked.

"(UK excluded for BREXIT reasons I suppose). For some reason - they don't consider the UK as part of the EU..."

This Continental vs. Atlantic split is longstanding -- the French often refer to Britain and the U.S. collectively as "les Anglo-Saxons." It is also widely believed that Charles de Gaulle vetoed the UK's entry into the European Common Market largely because he saw it as a stalking horse for American interests (more than for the economic reasons he publicly cited).

GTFO you douche