{"id":30946,"date":"2016-09-05T04:43:28","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T11:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=30946"},"modified":"2016-09-05T04:49:13","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T11:49:13","slug":"hanoi-diary-3-the-privileged-life-of-an-expat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/05\/hanoi-diary-3-the-privileged-life-of-an-expat\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanoi Diary #3: The Privileged Life of an Expat"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hanoi,
Hanoi, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I wanted to give you an update about life in Hanoi, after about 4-5 days of living here, and some random meditations about life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How life is as an expat in Vietnam<\/h2>\n
\"Hanoi,
Hanoi, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As an American, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t very familiar with the term \u00e2\u20ac\u0153expat\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (until I met a lot of my British friends who lived overseas). I guess the phrase means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ex-patriot\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d meaning that you no longer live in your home country, but somewhere else. Cindy told me that the term originated from the war.<\/p>\n

Anyways, the first thing I realized is my privilege. As an American, I earn \u00e2\u20ac\u0153American\u00e2\u20ac\u009d wages \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which is much much more than any of the locals living here.<\/p>\n

In terms of the cost of living here, it is remarkably cheap compared to living in the states. For example, a 30-minute Uber ride only cost us $3 (that is with 1.3x surge). A meal inside a mid-tier restaurant only costs $2-3. Staying at a clean and comfortable mid-tier hotel (like what we are staying in) is only $15 a night (breakfast included).<\/p>\n

Cindy and I have been spending most of our days like this:<\/p>\n