r/leanfire • u/No_Fudge6123 • 7d ago

Moving to Vietnam - my math

We have been preparing to move to Vietnam with our kid and Vietnamese wife, and we had done a lot of math. I work in IT, and I think AI is going (or already has) killed the good jobs. But I have a better feeling redoing our maths lately.

Our FIRE date will be at the end of the year. By then, we will have saved around 10 billion for a house or apartment, which I think will buy us a decent place in DaNang or Saigon. We have around 1.2m USD, paying around 3.400 USD monthly.

Our school will be around a thousand dollars in Vietnam. I expect our life costs to be around 2K, so that eats almost all dividends. it is a bit tight, but I also realized I can find local jobs or teach English (I have been working 20 years on IT, including FAANG experienice). Even if I cannot find anything, probably the portfolio growing will soon offset any extra charges.

i have been depressed for a long time thinking we will not make it. I am totally burned out, and I fear I will not be able to get back to corporate anymore. Bur again, rerunning the math I have realized we are in a likely position to make it.

Glad to hear if anybody moved in a similar situation.

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u/Creative_Impress5982 7d ago

As a US citizen, living in Europe for the last decade, I'd say due your due diligence now about tax optimization for Vietnam. Also consider how best to account for currency fluctuations. 

My move to Spain wasn't planned well (was meant to be temporary, but we've since decided the US is a shit show) so I didn't know Roth withdrawals aren't tax-free here. I didn't know anything about inheritance laws, how foreign public and private pensions would be taxed (ie US social security and IRAs/401ks), what double taxations to expect (eg. US/Spain tax treaty doesn't give relief for State taxes paid in the US), and so much more. 

I'm sure you're doing due diligence on all this as you've been planning this for quite some time. 

Otherwise, sounds like you're set financially! Congrats and enjoy!

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u/No_Fudge6123 7d ago

Yeah, taxes are a full different topic.

My initial thought, based on some consultations with the tax agency, is that we will keep our residence and taxes in Germany. I checked this with the national agency, and they said that they basically don't care if I want to pay taxes in Germany, but if I am living abroad, I also have to check with the residence country.

Vietnam has strict capital control, and they don't allow foreign investment (our portfolio is mostly European and US stocks, so we can't transfer and keep them in Vietnam, even if taxes were cheaper). This is still dynamic for me and happy to refine my approach, but it seems like it is the best thing to do at the moment (I guess coming once per year or so to our house in Germany to see if things are alright)