No matter where you live, you will always face certain challenges. File photo

Alex Reeves

At times, it seems people back west assume life out here is on some kind of easy mode. As things get tougher back home due to policy missteps, economic realities and a dozen other issues I won’t get into now, their opinions shift. When I, and many others, moved east five or more years ago, it was seen as brave, bordering on adventurous. “I could never do that,” some said, ignorant of the thriving country that lay ahead of me. And yet, here we are.

Now that algorithms push videos by influencers cashing in on clicks, preaching the ease of life in places out east. Digital nomads on Bali holidays, the pound or dollar stretching further than it does in London or LA, the narrative has flipped. Suddenly, moving out here is viewed as the soft option. The more disillusioned the person at home, the more critical they seem to become of anyone who’s packed up and left. At best, it’s trivialised. At worst, you can almost feel the green-eyed monster lingering in the corner of the conversation.

Yes, things are cheaper. That can mean a better quality of life. We know. We moved here. Welcome to migration. But is it always easier? Absolutely not. There are challenges. There are gaps in rights and protections that we take for granted back home. Take today, for example. A delayed flight from HCMC made me miss a connection back in the UK. It cost hundreds, countless emails, calls and energy expended. And for what? No refund, of course. Just shrugged shoulders, empty apologies and a blank screen. No recourse.

“Computer says no.” A phrase popularised in the UK from an early 2000s comedy skit, mocking how bureaucracy erodes the discretion of the individual and strips humanity from our interactions. While Việt Nam bursts with individualism in so many ways, when it comes to anything vaguely administrative, that phrase perfectly encapsulates the reluctance for accountability. People follow the script like it's gospel.  

Conversely, there’s a lack of consistency. A simple process can become a nightmare depending on who’s behind the desk. Some are meticulous, bordering on obsessive, wanting a little more than crossed T’s and dotted I’s. Others barely lift their heads to feign interest. You could say this happens all over the world, and you’d be right. The difference is that elsewhere, codified recourse exists to protect from exactly this. Here, there are no consequences, no pressure to provide better service.

There’s always something to moan about, and I’m hesitant to let this column become too much of a recurrent nag. But when you’re sitting in an airport, wallet lighter, still stewing over a sense of injustice, and the column’s due... well, it’s hard to reflect on anything else. It must be said, though, Việt Nam is trying. There are signs of improvement, and if people want it, things will get better. But no, it’s not always easy out here. Sometimes, it’s just a different kind of hard. VNS