I visited Saigon (and the rest of Vietnam) a couple of years ago with an eye to maybe moving there and working remotely.
It didn't take me too long to decide that I wasn't going to move. The main reason was just the lack of creature comforts. No offence intended to Vietnam, but everything there was just a bit shitty and in a state of disrepair. I just felt like everything was put together with a minimum of effort, and then no effort was made to maintain it. Whether it was motorbikes, or roads, or buildings.
The other things that you might think were obvious downsides weren't actually problems for me at all. I didn't mind the traffic, or the pollution, or the noise. Riding motorbikes everywhere was actually fine as well. The heat was pretty bad, but I'd get used to it.
I think at the end of the day the main reason that I didn't move was that my reason for wanting to move was the lower cost of living, so I could save money. I don't think that saving money is really a good reason to move countries. Instead, I moved to another country with similar cost of living but higher wages.
That's why I find these articles interesting. What works for one person really might not work for others. I've seen stories posted/linked to on HN about people who moved to Japan and hated it.
Agreed, Saigon (and VN in general) is not for everyone, but that is changing over time as more western influence starts to happen here. Case in point, Landmark 81 is now open. I'm not sure that is good or bad... It also is a city that you live in, not visit.
Those 'creature comforts' are not easy to find as a tourist, but they exist. Having friends and dating locals helps a lot. My google maps is unreadable now cause I've marked every single place I've been to and I know that I'm missing out on tons of things cause I don't know the language.
It took me about a year to get used to the heat, but you do (I actually find that I get cold more easily now).
Can you share with me more about your experiences in Vietnam?
Could I buy you a coffee, sometimes?