Vietnam at a Glance
Moving to Vietnam
Due to its peculiar geographic position, Vietnam’s climate differs vastly throughout the country.
Your move to Vietnam will take you to a drawn-out country in southeast Asia, sharing borders with Laos, China and Cambodia. Vietnam not only attracts visitors, tourists and travelers. It has also become an attractive destination for expats moving to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese are usually very welcoming to foreigners and expats. However, these hospitable people have long lived in a country occupied by foreign powers and torn by brutal fighting. They are thus now very protective of their independence and national sovereignty.
Moving to Vietnam: Geography and Climate
Vietnam is located between the Gulf of Thailand and the Gulf of Tonkin, in Southeast Asia. It stretches from China in the North to Cambodia in the South. Because of this geographical peculiarity, you will, upon moving to Vietnam, soon find that the climate differs strongly depending on where you live.
If you are moving to Vietnam’s north, you will be exposed to a monsoonal climate, with alternating dry and monsoon seasons. The south is tropical and hot all year round. The meteorological divide is the Pass of the Cloud, north of Da Nang.
If you are moving to Vietnam and the Mekong Delta, you will also experience quite a few typhoons in this area during the rainy season. These typhoons often cause flooding and severe damage.
Move to Vietnam: Economy
After moving to Vietnam, you will experience a densely populated country which still faces various economic challenges. Vietnam is a Socialist Republic. It gained its independence from France in 1945. In the second half of the 20th century, though, Vietnam has seen several wars as well as political and social unrest. The country is still recovering from the aftermath of the devastating Vietnam War and the loss of financial support from the Soviet Block.
Although the economy is still dominated by state-owned businesses, the government has made several attempts to further economic liberalization and international integration. Thus, expats moving to Vietnam are welcome if they bring sufficient professional qualifications to the table.
However, reforms are necessary, as Vietnam’s labor force is constantly growing. At the same time, the global recession has hurt the country’s export oriented economy. This may also make it difficult for less qualified expats moving to Vietnam to find work there.
Vietnam’s main income is still derived from the agricultural sector. The services sector, however, also offers lots of employment opportunities for foreign nationals moving to Vietnam.
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