North Siiiide!
I just learned that last year there was some big debate on the intarweb about which is better (for expats), Hanoi or Saigon. Article here.
The clear answer; as I’ve implied before, is Hanoi– with the caveat that HCM has more higher-paying job opportunities for foreigners. Other than that, in terms of _living conditions_, Hanoi is far better. Sure, it lacks some fancy amenities (omg, the motorbikes are manual rather than automatic? Troglodytes) but it’s _beautiful_, whereas Saigon is… under construction. Constantly. Hanoi is charming even on many of the worn down streets, and the interactions with people on the street are far friendlier.
Thirty years after the end of the war between communist North Vietnam and US-backed South Vietnam, the two regions continue to have distinct accents, cuisines and customs - and many in each city centre tends to consider the other inferior.
Trendy Saigonese often consider Hanoians plodding oafs clinging to the past - as opposed to the southern city’s bright lights and bustling markets. Hanoians tend to see Saigonese as crass money-grubbers, lacking in culture - unlike the 1,000-year-old capital’s serene temples and lakes.
It makes me feel motivated to invent an appropriate hand gesture to express North Siiiide...
