In short
Saigon is loud, dense and commercial to the point of obsession. It is the city on this list where you meet the most people in the middle of building something.
District 1 is the shop window, Thảo Điền the comfortable expatriate option, Phú Nhuận and Bình Thạnh real daily life at local prices.
You do not come here to rest. You come for the pace, the encounters, and a cost that is still low for an economic capital.
What it really costs
Housing covers every level, from the local studio to a serviced apartment with cleaning included, and the price gap between the two is narrower than elsewhere.
Food is the lowest line on this entire list if you eat local; the expatriate districts take you straight back to European prices.
Transport runs on motorbike-taxi apps, for a few euros a day.
Working here
Good infrastructure, plenty of cafés designed for working, and a genuine local startup ecosystem.
The same reservations as Đà Nẵng apply to the stability of the international connection.
The city is a good regional launch pad: frequent, cheap flights across Asia.
What nobody tells you
Traffic is a way of life and a permanent source of fatigue. Crossing a street has to be learned.
Air quality downtown is mediocre for a good part of the year.
And street theft targeting phones is real and documented: you do not walk with your phone in your hand.