Why I Left FRANCE to Live in Hoi An VIETNAM (A Wine Entrepreneur Talks Business in Vietnam)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Lano was not what we know today, and nine years
ago it really kind of explosed six seven years ago,
I know it was beginning let's say ten nine years ago,
so it was a really little village. I love that
on because I felt that the time was in accel right,
you know, like when you're in Europe, everything stands for
like centuries, which is beautiful for that, but you know

(00:20):
you don't have so.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Much evolution in your own country.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
The most positive will be do you say, I think
it's amazing you can let talk your motorbike, even your
phone or whatever. It will be extreme, a rare to
be robbed can happen a bit more in Stigo and Annoy.
That is really bixed because of life amazing for sure,
which is for.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Me not the best.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Because these pushed people to do trous with us, which
is the case for what salosn of people. We know
when people actually want to visit a solution that that
was winemaker in France. So I was making wine and
I actually you a school of business and wine making.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
So let's just do man imaginan.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
I live in Name since nine years. I start in
Segon before moving down on quickly, I worked for a
big company of wine. Then I build my company and
seven years.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
Later, and you should you should definitely tell them where
we are. Where are we sitting?

Speaker 1 (01:14):
So yeah, well and Joyen, So here is as of wine.
So is a retailer wine of French connection wine, which
is most importation distribution pot. So we have a professional
part and part part. It's say we opened here two
years ago and we start the.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Company's seven beautiful Yeah, we.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Walk men in some tro Vietnam but also southing and
we import only French one.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
Only French one French correction.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
And I know that when we first met you talked
a little bit more specifically about regions.

Speaker 4 (01:43):
Maybe we'll get into that.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
Later, but let's just dive right into your cost of
living abroad and start with the basics of sort of
like how much you spend on food and drink, breakfast, lunch,
and dinner sort of in your average day.

Speaker 4 (01:56):
Or maybe in a month monthly budget.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Because mostly budget I don't really know, but every day
basically we'll eat Jeremy's food and bidgets daytime and cook
more going to expect restaurant.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
Okay, so what's your sort of average.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
Coster span for like a local meal the enemy's restaurant
forty in.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
You do, don't and I'll convert a dollar about twenty.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Five, I will say fifteen.

Speaker 4 (02:28):
Yeah, like a dollar fifty for sure, very realistic.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
If you want a big cat.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
I don't think I actually know. I don't think I
asked you the first time we met. Do you have
a partner, are you?

Speaker 4 (02:36):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (02:36):
I'm married here since three years to.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
A local yes, okay, so married to Hanoian, not local, local,
more local actually certainly Vietnamese. Okay, cool. So yeah, about
a dollar fifty a day for those meals. Obviously you're cooking,
you're you're operating, you know, food and beverage.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, so we do really coqutte, she's a French baguette,
like everything to pay and the Goldman with wine. It's
not any production of restaurants. It's really you went bark
or catches fine.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Intelection and it's man, this is a stunning location. I
know hopefully it will look beautiful in film, but really
like we're in between the beach and the river, right
by am Bang with Hawaiian and.

Speaker 4 (03:18):
Old town behind us. Wonderful location.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
It's it's it's really nice for like sunset time, like
most of people we spend the day at the beach,
and around six pm they will come here to add
some cheese.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
Yeah for sure, man, So what about when you when
you do do like a French or an international international
cuisine dinner out how much of your spending I.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
Mean the price offering here? For for example, sure, okay,
maybe I can introduce by what I offer here is
cheaper than in France with French products, so the tax
session is different and or the cost of difference. But
for a Courcutt plate it will be around twelve of all.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Only important produces.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Literally friends by get French, she is the Italian Gopa.
And for like a really big R board like we
could it eighteen, you know, which is very reasonable because
we use only a primium product from R Friends Spain.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
Man.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, so that's like invitom is done talking like three
hundred thousand, sort of four hundred five hundred or the
difference in cost is always about local versus imported, and
I mean, you know better than either.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, but even if we use imported, we have like
a mass market price, and because we are not a restaurant,
we march really low. But still we have like a
Q round two too point two, you know. Yeah, the
point is really to share with wine. So we don't
want change too much for the food. We just want
really good product and enjoyable with wine.

Speaker 4 (04:42):
What about you and your wife?

Speaker 3 (04:43):
How much do you spend on yourself for didn't drink
like a month, like roughly.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Japan because it's a bit of a part of our
job because we go to the restaurant. But let's say
around the seven.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
Hundred seven hundred dollars a month.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, so I just still talking like that's less than
twenty five dollars a day, right around, Yeah, around twenty
five every day.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
It's more like a couple.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
We prefer to go some time to good place that
just to go every day. If jenemies for that amazing
in the street and your.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
Worfe, yeah, I think that's a nice comparison though that
and then not of them realizes that like places like
your place exists, like really you know, high end, beautiful
imported products wine bars alongside you know, really lovely traditional
Vietnamese food and that you can do both. Like my
wife and I are the same way, right, like we

(05:34):
will have a breakfast that costs one dollar because that's
just what we want, right, it's whatever it is bank
sale or like maybe the local banghue. But then yeah,
if we go out to one of the nicer restaurants
in Danang, easily we spend fifty or one hundred dollars.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
Yeah, like expect restaurant, I actually right to similar to
the nice distruggle in French. They are not so cheap.
But but days on what I'm doing, you can go
every day in restaurant. If you won't, it's just like
to manage your biget or you prefilm it.

Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, And really that's true too, right if
you're if you push your budget up in that seven
hundred and fifty one thousand dollars a month on food
and drink, I mean you can really dine whatever nicely,
very well, very nicely, very quality. And it's like those
options in the Nyang, at least in Joyan and then
maybe in Ho Chimen and Hanoi are available, right Like

(06:27):
in the rest of Vietnam, I think you'd be limited,
But in these sort of in the three regions, right
like in the central and the Nanga Pan in the south,
and Houchimen in the north and Hanois, you can find
pretty much everything. What about do you spend anything on
like nightlife, going out, going to clubs or going this
kind of thing.

Speaker 4 (06:44):
Do you still go to the beach bars?

Speaker 1 (06:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (06:46):
Sometimes yes or no?

Speaker 1 (06:47):
Because living in Hoyan is nice because most of your
friends at villa is not like city life is apartment
or whatever, so we need less to go in a
bout or place to enjoy, which is ident just to
be in Twelvey Lass. Also because the price is really
more fully birds at other place. Yeah, the beach bay
is definitely is the most commune for me, and I

(07:10):
think for expert expat in general a bit avoid the
old town because it's the head quarter of all the tourists.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
But the beach Dish, Yeah, it's a place I will
go in.

Speaker 3 (07:20):
How much you think you spend on drinks in a
month maybe and one hundred dollars a month.

Speaker 1 (07:25):
I have a wine by wine and beers and distributions,
so I could spend more, but I have a good
stuck here.

Speaker 3 (07:32):
Well, I actually said, the first time we met, you
brought a beautiful bottle of wine. Yeah, it was nice
to a meal while we were eating one dollar street food,
but we were drinking incredible French wine.

Speaker 4 (07:45):
Okay, awesome, So we'll put it be in this world.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
You have a continent of wine, so it's.

Speaker 4 (07:50):
Yeah, okay, so we'll put up Nightlife for one hundred dollars.
I like to put up the big graphics. You know,
the viewers really like this one month.

Speaker 3 (07:59):
What about like gym or sports or like monthly sort
of membership.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
That's interesting because gym I never really did before and
I was doing more badminton or picklebo or whatever. But
recently I do Spot for my healths actually, and I
have a private coach and you cost me twelve dollars
every time I do it with him, so basically fifty
do I'll be jet every.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
Most okay, and it's wonderful.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
So as a gym and the private coach for fifty
dol amost.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
And yeah, so you go like a once a week
or something for a few once or twice, but once
or twice a week, few one on one direct coaching session.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, it's more efficient that when you do trust me.

Speaker 4 (08:40):
Yeah, that's it.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, And that's incredible for twelve dollars. So it's about
three hundred k, right, yeah, yeah, three hundred k awesome.

Speaker 4 (08:48):
What about health insurance?

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Medical costs for the EARS insurance, I have a kind
of basic package from both yet regular and safe for enemies.
I'm with my wife and there's different systems that we
can have. I don't have like an expat insurance I
used to have before. But for my urgent needs I
could go to friends of course, with the scale system
we know, and for anything regular is cheap and it's

(09:13):
actually most of the time better reson. I would go
for the qualitives of operation in France for SUGI, but
for most of the other things I get better. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:26):
The last package I had through my old work was
about yet watch the monthly if you are the premium namepay.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
Do one I think I have For example, when I
was employe, was like thirty do almost I think.

Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yeah, twelve that makes sense, like about thirty to forty
dollars US, right, like around around a million dong a
month or something.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
Like no more.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
And you have a really good quo. I mean actually
I used it one after accident and it is good.

Speaker 3 (09:53):
Yeah, I had that coverage and that I went to
Like when I was in Saigon, I would go to
the French hospital right frankly one, Yeah, I mean this
is a world class international hospital.

Speaker 1 (10:03):
Everything was advanced, it was beautiful.

Speaker 3 (10:06):
Okay, what about and you can include this too, not
just for personal but for operating the business. I think
it's because but what are you paying for your utilities monthly?
So like everything like your air conditioning, refrigeration, lights, water,
like all the the oil place.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
Let's say around twenty million.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
Around twenty millions, around eight hundred dollars US. And that
obviously for you, that's a business costs more than a
personal cost.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
Too, right, Yeah, for sure. We have a house on
the top four, which is nice but in small opportunity. Yeah, okay,
we really in your way. I just kind of course
for what we're doing.

Speaker 4 (10:39):
Here and there, so that like a big walk in
for age unit back there.

Speaker 1 (10:43):
This hou is actually amazing because it's kind of equal conception.
So we have the wine store and the one mete
of ground and everything is like unbitten concrete yep, bit
on in French and gene is the same to use it. No, really,
like this house was just the best opportunity when we

(11:04):
visit it because we can really share the office, storage,
wine bar, shop and actually accommodation.

Speaker 4 (11:13):
Did you find you found this house?

Speaker 1 (11:14):
It wasn't Yeah, it was looking around the area because
this area for me, it's really nice.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
You have a lot of vula.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
It's between the river and the beach, and I need
a easy access to the alla, which is almost ten
minute less in the old town.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's just perfect.

Speaker 1 (11:30):
It's so many villa building every year, this one, this
one is new.

Speaker 3 (11:35):
Honestly I made the post or something. I assumed you
had like built it or something.

Speaker 1 (11:40):
It's a friend of us actually built it. It was
the one off surkitchen, Okay, but no, no really, it
was like the perfect place for us and we re amazing.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
What about your personal like your phone package, your WiFi
anything like.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
This front package?

Speaker 1 (11:54):
Honestly I just reached out every month I should put
on my companies. Yeah, but in two hundred k maximumals
a limited that including everything?

Speaker 4 (12:06):
What is just like Wi Fi? There's the internet package.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
Was I don't know, we pay like four hundred k.

Speaker 3 (12:13):
Yeah, so all in maybe fifteen dollars or something. Yeah,
it did the Netflix to another fifteen so.

Speaker 1 (12:21):
I was actually quite cheap and it's less intended in
jet mamma, yeah, talk different in jetnams and also contries absolutely.

Speaker 3 (12:28):
So we were talking to a guy earlier who's like
an Internet creator, and like a lot of you pay
for a lot of subscription fees right like you're editing
a graphic design everything, and all of those fees if
you sign up for them in Vietnam are like half
to one third of the price.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
I can give you an example of today. I have
a little problem with my banks that that fixed. Today
They're supposed to charge me to renew my cab and
because I explained like a credible explication, they.

Speaker 2 (12:53):
Give me for free.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
So like every banking fees are not existing in Vietnam.
It's free to stake aunt completely to it a bit card.
It's you never have like idem fees. The bank actually
system in Vietnam. It's quite nice for that. When you
go in France, it's crazy. You feel everywhere in bank.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
One dred percent is the exact same way in Canada,
even just where you get charged. They're famous in Canada
for you get charged on both ends, right, so it's
like you get charged for using the machine and you
get charged in the bank for using your card. So
you're literally double payment that withdraw money on.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
All my card in France, because I mean I'll pay
to keep my money in the bank, especially when I'm abroad.

Speaker 3 (13:32):
You know who g bank with Viacom or who bank?
Do you tech Colm Viacom like which you.

Speaker 1 (13:37):
Are right now, I should just be c because the
first bank opened nine years ago and I didn't know
really where the sources as well. Okay, they are not
the best I can say technology service, yeah, but they
are good customer service because a bit more international and
other company. And I have also also bank to the business,
so we kind of have three banks.

Speaker 3 (13:57):
Does HSBC have a location in the Nang Yeah, yeah, okay,
big one, so like yeah, they're I think they're Hong
Kong headquartered.

Speaker 1 (14:04):
Right, or if you're share in Vietnam you say one,
oh right, yeah, yeah, I can be convenient. I mean
in Montpeo where I come from the agency and if
you're register to the World customer, which.

Speaker 2 (14:16):
Is actually way cheap.

Speaker 1 (14:17):
In Jetnam, you kin have like a direct link with
your bank again Vietnam, which is rare.

Speaker 4 (14:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
So I looked in the same things at HSBC or
at Say Say or whatever you want to call it
in Canada, and it's like for business banking, it's like
if I think it's if you have one hundred thousand
dollars or something.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
It's kind of less expensive, but yeah, you.

Speaker 3 (14:39):
Just have to have that money, like park there. But
the things that you qualify for are like incredible, like
the services and every everything.

Speaker 1 (14:47):
And if you're running a business like it's used in Vietnam.
When I did it was two hundred million. Ware you
convenient for me because I was away for six months
in France, so I could put this money kind of
savings up getting and I got all the studies in
monthly in my hometown in France. So yeah, it's eight thousand.

Speaker 4 (15:06):
Eight thousand dollars. Yeah, that's incredible.

Speaker 1 (15:08):
And you can have the same side is that when
you subscribe Candidactually.

Speaker 4 (15:11):
Yeah, I'm sure that's interesting.

Speaker 3 (15:13):
I never even thought about signing up for that service
within the country to get it back home. But these
are like you're getting like world class, top professional banking
services for eight thousand dollars.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
That's it's quite nice.

Speaker 3 (15:24):
And I mean if you're if you're operating a business,
how are you not going to have eight thousand dollars
right like.

Speaker 1 (15:28):
You're yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm talking more about persons.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
Yeah, okay, what about transportation costs? So usually this would
just be biking or you know, motorbike if you have
a car, but if you want, you can talk about
for your product and how that affects your business as
well for transportation.

Speaker 1 (15:46):
The guess is really chieaping this now. It's like eighty cents. Yeah,
and motibike consume really low. I have personality basics upbraide,
so it's power full and low consumption.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
I'm probably.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
For Android almost And so you don't find you don't
need a car, you think topper business.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
My wife would like a Cala groceries from Hanoi, but me,
I really don't want a car, like I mean, police
don't boos anyone in motorbike.

Speaker 2 (16:16):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (16:16):
And yeah, you're really free with motorbike and except when
I do.

Speaker 2 (16:20):
But city it is not so much.

Speaker 3 (16:22):
It's twenty Yeah, it's about half an hour maybe thirty
thirty minutes on a motorbike.

Speaker 2 (16:27):
Je name is really motibike.

Speaker 4 (16:29):
It is true. I'm mine too, Like it's kind of chaotic.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
But there's also there's the majority of people are on
a motorbike or a bicycle. So people here are more
conscious of the fact that there are bikes everywhere, like
at home in Canada, it's such a car culture that
on a bicycle or motorcycle can be I think more
dangerous because cars are not they don't look for it right, Like,
I know.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
What you mean, more dangerous.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, we used to be in Vietnam and you still
look quite cod.

Speaker 4 (16:58):
It's definitely riding.

Speaker 1 (16:59):
In Vidnam, but people are whales a motorbike.

Speaker 4 (17:05):
On the street, okay, and so need to.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
Be professional to drive motorbikes.

Speaker 3 (17:11):
Did you you've been here in nine years? Did you
bought a bike? Obviously you own? Yeah, did you buy
a new or use?

Speaker 1 (17:16):
There was used too, But I have a really kind
of rare model, so I breed Pasics on that electric
gas hybrid. Yeah, so I got it soon. And for
two thousand Dora is only ten thousand kilometer.

Speaker 4 (17:33):
So like like fifteen mil. And how many years have
you had it?

Speaker 2 (17:36):
Only one?

Speaker 4 (17:37):
What about travel?

Speaker 3 (17:40):
Take trips which can be within the country domestically for
work stuff. Also, we usually in this part include like
any talk about visa costs because there are a lot
of people that are doing like visa runs and stuff.
But I would assume have either spousal visa are like
a business investor visiness.

Speaker 1 (17:55):
So the visa is always a bit sensitive because Vietnam
is one of the most it's it's strict in So
East Asia. I'm married, I have a company, and I
still need to renew offen my visa. Before as the owner,
I could have two year visa after its one year,
and now I'm on marriage visa, so I need to

(18:16):
renew every it's three years.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
Yeah, like I'm on the like the t T the
marriage TRC visit. So I have this one as well,
and the same thing, and it's two hundred dollars about
every three years.

Speaker 1 (18:26):
But five thinks is officially one fifty and you add
one fifty for helping process.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
For the bureaucratic processing. How did your the visa you
had before for your business? How did that work?

Speaker 1 (18:37):
Like?

Speaker 4 (18:37):
What is the process like for that?

Speaker 1 (18:39):
I could talk about it, but it's still change a
lot for that. Yeah. Now the same visa I used
to have, I really need to invest ten times more
that I was doing before. But invested a vision. So
but the last thing I check, you need to invest
I think eighty thousand dollars minimum.

Speaker 4 (18:55):
Yeah, this is a vision which.

Speaker 1 (18:58):
Before was wayless. It has become one. I used to
do it. It was twenty thousand round. Okay, now it's eighty yeah,
full time in five years.

Speaker 4 (19:07):
Oh, like it's quadrupled.

Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yeah yeah, it quadruports a minimum to twelves desire access.

Speaker 3 (19:11):
But when you were doing it every year, you don't
have to reinvest money every time.

Speaker 2 (19:16):
Right, No, no, no, for sure, the.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
Same the same money rolls open.

Speaker 2 (19:19):
Ye's still open and what is good?

Speaker 1 (19:21):
Yeah? Yeah, but who want to do like a small
medium company, I have access to the design, which is
for me not the best because it's pushed people to
do tourist visa, which is the case for what thirty
percent of people we know when people actually want to
use the solution.

Speaker 4 (19:36):
Absolutely just to find the so.

Speaker 3 (19:41):
Like so a lot of my big part of my
audience is people are considering moving, you know, here versus
maybe like Thailand or the Philippines, and like that's a
big concern a lot of them. If there's no retirement
visa they think will find then you can go on
an investment path. I think then it might even be
one hundred and twenty thousand US dollars. Now it's it's
like three billion, I think even more. It's it's very

(20:03):
and that's like the minimum one, right, it's like obviously
can go on.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
It's a clear, you know, way to say to people
who coming in, we won't view you know. Yeah, Vietnam
is not exactly like all the countries around. They still
have their own management granted, let's say, and they definitely
want to upgrade to verdi of people, which is not
the best friendly way for other people who try to

(20:27):
do with sing Vietnam. But that is what's happening now.

Speaker 3 (20:31):
Yeah, it's interesting too because they know that, you know.
The other thing with the like the tourist visa the
thirty day ninety day that's changed multiple times in the
last ten years, and then through COVID too, right where
it was like it was ninety days or sort of
at one point it was like almost six months, and
like a lot of people were teaching English on that
visa and like maybe once or twice a year doing

(20:52):
a visa run or not even going in person, just
like having their passports.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
Will I would say, like, I don't even know if
it's legal, but I think it's I think you can
espleximum I think to being really legal. But for retirement people,
I would advise to just being to his visa and
going back I mean you have the international airport in
the No, you can go to Taiwan, to South Korea,
to Hong Kong, now Thailand, Hong Kong. How many plays

(21:20):
bally easily with Arajia quorump because nothing you avoid you
like a bad time save the course of the visa.
Shame to say that because the system work well exist
that is actually not the right one. I would say, yeah, everyone.

Speaker 3 (21:34):
No, it's like a loophole, right, but you never know.
I think that it would be great. We'll see that.
It's it's likely that there could be some sort of
DTV digital nomad type visa soon ish. I don't know
about the retirement visa, but we'll see.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
We'll see.

Speaker 4 (21:50):
Before we talk into some.

Speaker 3 (21:51):
Of the more personal stuff about your experiences, maybe the
emotional cost of living abroad. Rent housing usually the big one.
What's what's the rent for the business?

Speaker 2 (22:01):
This is what I say to you before twenty million.

Speaker 4 (22:03):
Was twenty million? Did you say already?

Speaker 1 (22:05):
Sorry?

Speaker 3 (22:06):
It will edit it out before. It's always got to
be the last one.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
So you know, it's twenty day with business or his accommodation.

Speaker 4 (22:15):
So that's fantastic, that's.

Speaker 1 (22:16):
And she's what eight.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
Hundred dollars a month, ninety six hundred a year, hundred
ten thousand dollars.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
You can provide a business, you can provide revenue. It's
what is really nice in Vietnam that brand friends. You
can't do is you can mix your accommodation and your business.

Speaker 2 (22:32):
And this can really.

Speaker 1 (22:33):
Fact all your expenses, especially abe when you start a
business in Vietnam.

Speaker 3 (22:37):
Absolutely, it makes it so much for economical And this
is a beautiful business to a beautiful place. Operating a
food and beverage and import export downstairs and then being
able to live upstairs.

Speaker 2 (22:47):
It's a triple use.

Speaker 3 (22:49):
Yeah, triple use really truly right, Yeah, that's a nice
new beach engineer the beach and the old town.

Speaker 4 (22:55):
Of course, it's fantastic.

Speaker 3 (22:57):
We're wrapping up the budget, the cost of living, experiences,
finance and stuff, and then we'll move into the other
more personal stuff.

Speaker 4 (23:05):
How do you make money living abroad?

Speaker 2 (23:08):
How do I make money?

Speaker 1 (23:09):
So when I arrived in Vietnam, I get a job
so for a company went port wine and adding a
sales manager to sales wine. So my job was to
selling wine to our resort restaurant and cafe. And two
years later I opened my own company. So at the beginning,
I rent like sense of importation and you kind.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
Of have business.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
Three years ago we restart everything after COVID. COVID was diffigured.

Speaker 2 (23:33):
Now we have our ownline sense business.

Speaker 3 (23:38):
Was this a business or industry that you were involved
in back at home, like or did you?

Speaker 1 (23:43):
Yeah? So I didn't talk about it, but that was
winemaker in France, and so I was making wine. And
I actually do a school of business and wine making,
so I have some experiences business and wine in tourist
wine and also in making wine. So in France was
and you're making wine. And then I moved to Vietnam
and I have a friend liading here. I said, okay,

(24:04):
you can walk in this company here, and you should try.
And I get higher, but the company tell me they
have a position in then on and I was in
second this time and then On was not what we
know today. And nine years ago it really kind of
explossed six seven years ago, doan know it was beginning
let's say it ten nine years ago, So it was
a really little village the exact area. And then for example,

(24:25):
when it's like five six business, I happe to be
there to see the evolution because evolution of that on
it just I love that on because I feel that
the time was in accelerate, you know, like when you're
in Europe, everything stands for like centuries, you know, which
is beautiful for that, but you know you don't have
so much evolution in your own country in then on
what I've seen in ten years is what I will

(24:46):
see in a lifetime in time, and this is quite
amazing to see terms of.

Speaker 3 (24:49):
Evolution, I think, Yeah, you put that so well, like
the pace right, and it's not just in terms of
like numbers like the GDP or economy, like like visibly
seeing a place evolve and grow and change in front
of your eyes is you don't get that at home
and here like yeah, there's the beautiful historic old town

(25:10):
in Joyan, but that's very small and like outside of
it you can see that, like you literally can see
the culture and the place.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
Growing, right, which is and you have a lot of
energy because I mean you have so many new opinion
you concept some close of course, but it's uh, it's
it's very diner me in this way, and you're not
in super big city like that. On it's still like
the really enjoyable city.

Speaker 3 (25:34):
Yeah, and it's I mean, it's like it's almost like
getting on a wave too, right, Like it's like I
definitely felt that coming here that not only was I
glad for that, like you, I came here for a job,
and I've involved into working for myself and marrying a
Vietnamese woman, but that it feels like this place feels
like it's it's growing, like it's becoming something new and
it's happening fast. And yeah, like if you want to

(25:55):
be a part of it, you'll actually it will happen
in your lifetime, right, you'll actually get to see you know,
if you and I are both here a decade from now,
which we probably will be. The one thing you know
for sure is that it won't be the way it
is now, right.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
Yeah, it would be.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
I mean I've seen jet Nam kind of South Korea
without anything wrong behind, but in terms of evolution, when
you susolution of Korea with Japan, you know, we would
have been close to South Korea was saying venom. But
you still have this farming area in Jetnams that we
don't mention, but it's still more than fifty percent of appropriation.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
We're doing farming the world.

Speaker 4 (26:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (26:35):
Absolutely, coffee, coffee, rice, chocolate, fruits. Absolutely, and it's what
makes it even though it's geographically is kind of small,
there's a huge land mass considering there's one hundred million people.
It does it's like a real at home. You call
this like a bread basket. You know, they used to
call Kinnada like the bread basket of the Prairies, and

(26:55):
like Vietnam is like that, like it can feed it
a one hundred million people and more, right, which is
I think is rare. Most countries in Southeast Asia, a
lot of them are very tiny or island nations, and
really they.

Speaker 1 (27:06):
Still have a system to kind of protect you. In
Jetnam is the avitage of communism, I would say, for
the good part. In France, we have similar system with
the co operative you know what is it in Jetnam
they using a lot so to put in community the tools,
let's say, and to can to share the cost and things.
In wine industry in France is the base let's say.

(27:29):
You know, like I walk in many corporative industry, it's great.
I mean you don't have honors, so all the money
is share with the workers and the one brings the gray.
So it's literally like a socialist system. Let's yeah, sure,
capitalism world.

Speaker 3 (27:43):
You know, that's a confusion too, right because people hear
the word communism because it's the Communist party, But the
system is a kind of socialist capitalist system, right, Like.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
I come from a country tota is socialist, you know. Yeh,
So it's not communism and socialism maybe it can have
a little differends Vietnam, it's a social republic. Yeah, well,
I really like his story, and I have heritage of
my French social country that say, and and I see
a lot of links. I mean in all proportion, of course,

(28:13):
but for the earth, care, for the education a bit,
you have some help everywhere, and you have a really
strong public support for people who work for the government
term of land sometimes what they can that work quite okay,
i'ld say.

Speaker 3 (28:28):
Yeah, I remember too, thinking like not only how relatively
safe I felt here during COVID and lockdown, but I
also remember at some of the worst times the government
gave up rise not money.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
Right, food and me was taking care of that.

Speaker 4 (28:43):
Yeah, it was great.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
None is not used for fighting, like you're more use
to help population.

Speaker 3 (28:49):
When it's really figured and this Yeah, This was like
a really sort of beautiful thing to be to understand.

Speaker 4 (28:53):
Like, oh, do people really need food? They need food
right like.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
When people are struggling to feed them, and now it
was it's cool to see, very interesting. So what about Well,
let's let's shift that into what are some of the
sort of pros or the positives you feel living abroad
in Vietnam?

Speaker 1 (29:10):
They most positive, will be really safe. I think it's amazing.
You can let your turn motorbike, even your phone or whatever.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
It will be extreme.

Speaker 1 (29:20):
Area to be robbed can happen a bit more Insigo
and Hanoi, but it's a really big city. Otherwise it's
really safe and the course of life is amazing.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
For sure.

Speaker 1 (29:29):
Me are working with French projects, so to manage let's
say European revenue and local life can be helpful, especially
when you start a company. People are really nice jeenemy
is that not exactly the cliche that people could have
from source East Asia. That also the influence from China,
so you need a bit more time to know that.

(29:50):
Genemy is sometimes you can feel a bit tall, but
it just apparents and the very image people and more
you go out of the city, like countryside. More you
will see see the real face of genemies. We don't
need communication with people when you go out that's just
happy to see you, to meet you, and sometimes you
help on your other jeenemy's.

Speaker 2 (30:09):
Wife too.

Speaker 4 (30:11):
Or alcohol.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
Alcohol can also alcohol is international. Yeah, yeah, right, language
in GenAm which is great.

Speaker 3 (30:18):
Grape wine versus rice wine. Sure there's differences, but I
think that I didn't.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
Mention that I worked in Crevid for one year for
premium rice wine competing.

Speaker 3 (30:27):
Actually okay, so before usually we go to the flip side,
the negative side. So what are some of the cons
or the drawbacks you find a living here.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
As a negative side? It's not son negative. But I
traveled a lot in sausage as year before, and it
was easier to meet people local people like Indonesia Thai
to talk about what I know more in Vietnam. It's
good to stay long time to learn enemies because the

(30:56):
English is a bit less generalized. Another places, I would
say they'll be shy in something withn so beat different people,
but sometimes it's.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
Difficult to catch.

Speaker 4 (31:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (31:08):
I think that's like less like there's more introvertedness here
and less extrovertedness compared to some of the other cultures
or nearby neighbors, like especially Thailand comes to mind. Thai
people generally are much more.

Speaker 1 (31:20):
If you check these story as the country, I mean
some and yeah, when country is closed from years and
less tourism and culture and all these things. Yeah, but
it's changing really fast. I mean when you see the
new generation, it's it will be surprising your future thing.

Speaker 3 (31:36):
Yeah, And it's it's the same with the language and
the education. Right there's a really strong divide between rural
urban and also sort of like the level of English
speaking population, say under thirty five years old, like born
after Deimoy in nineteen ninety versus before.

Speaker 4 (31:52):
It's like really night and day.

Speaker 2 (31:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (31:55):
And the members of government is interesting when you think
about it, because like right now you can have an
end of generation, and when the generation will be to
tally passed, I think we'll be a new generation. We
come to the government, I would say, and we change
a lot of because you're still in a governance quite
old school Vietnam in a respectful way, and there's some

(32:18):
new generation coming. I think we change a bit certain sent.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
Yeah, absolutely, man, I think that's how that will happen.
Happens everywhere in the world, and I think here too. Yeah,
there's going to be a lot. It's not just language,
it's also the where, right, A lot of a lot
more Vietnamese people in the last thirty years have gone
abroad for education and then returned home to open business towards.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
More and more missing school in Vietnam, which is really expensive.
But I mean, my wife did all the international screen
annoy She has luck to do that because it's very extensive.
It's all the same level in annoyed and New York
or whatever.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
But you need to be My wife is Sitoni Is
and she comes from a pretty the like urban background,
Like she grew up in District four, which at the
time is like the very famous like you know, it's
like the gangster district. Oh yeah, yeah, back in the day,
it's like it was like the famous for gang yeah,
and she grew up there at like the height of that.

(33:16):
But she's a very good student. Father is a hard worker,
and they put a huge portion of income into education,
right because of the value of education. And she went
to college at the Australian University. Like so she studied
at an English college campus in Vietnam at MT and
like she got a fantastic international university education here in
the country, which is yeah, that's going to become I

(33:38):
think more and more available, which is a fantastic.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
You should go to one less generation. For the example
of my wife example, they have like five kids and
only the first one and the last one go to school,
the first one because we have only one bijet and
the last one because after fifteen years the budget is
the original Vietnam, but it was exists before it was
we put all in one eggs and you know, we

(34:04):
wish you will do your best and take care of
the parents in the future. It's always works in Vietnam.

Speaker 3 (34:09):
The things, Yeah, it's a beautiful The value of family
here is beautiful too. Why did you leave France? So
sort of what was like, what was the catalyst? What
was the impetus to leave home?

Speaker 1 (34:20):
So at the beginning, I always dreamed too really discover
the world. I traveled a lot with my parents before,
but mainly in Europe. We finish my first part of
studios and I decided to travel around the world.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
My plan was to.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
Doing Asia, Australia and South America, but then I get
stuck in Australia, and Asia the three first years, so
I was doing friends wine making and the other time
traveling I spent. I've been three time in Australia, although
it was the country I maybe could finish and the
produce wine as well there. Yeah, for three years basically

(34:55):
I was doing so Asia, Australia, Europe and then a
front of me, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (35:01):
It's your experience.

Speaker 1 (35:02):
I'm sure you forget the job quickly in Vietnam, and
I said, in three years I going back, went back,
maybe let's do experience in as well, and then never
left Yetmam get married.

Speaker 4 (35:14):
That's interesting.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
I had a similar experience that I went to Australia
on a one year visa and worked there, lived in Melbourne.
I saw a bit of that, like presumably in the
south somewhere around Adelaide, like wine region. That was the
first time I came to Southeast Asia too. What's a
piece of advice or something you would say for someone
who's sort of maybe in the position you were ten
years ago, or someone who's still in Europe and North

(35:37):
America thinking about coming over to Southeast Asia and Vietnam.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
First of all, to rent a place by mons, to
don't rent by day even if you have some really
good and cheap hotels. But what will make your life
withy cheap and good is you have your own place
paid by monts that you can.

Speaker 2 (35:55):
Cook or eat.

Speaker 1 (35:57):
Especially see everywhere in the streets. We have some way
to have kind of word sale price for imported products
to actually have some good product cheaper if you have
some friends with a restaurant, so you can be surprised
that I pay relatively cheaper my French food. So that
we're paying supermarket and friends, we imployed world sale price

(36:20):
so we still can have some good homie food for
reasonable price. It's just not really eco friendly that it's
something you need sometime to feel home.

Speaker 2 (36:32):
As well.

Speaker 3 (36:33):
We had someone in the comment saying that a rational
woman I talked to us talking about all the beef
she buys she buys imported beef from Australia and the
price she said she was paying for imported Australian beef.
Here Australians were saying in the comments is more affordable
than they pay for the same, which is true.

Speaker 1 (36:49):
Because the local tax in Australia, ohios and the types.

Speaker 4 (36:52):
Of and it can be the same for wine right
because of the wine tacents.

Speaker 1 (36:56):
Even Friends is really super wine. But for I mean Australia,
Astra is a second super high one. So briefly, you
haven't mentioned that where are you from? What region are
you from in France?

Speaker 2 (37:07):
What kind of from south of Friends? So I love
where I come from. It's beautiful.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
I love the culture there, long Dog, which is the
biggest produce of wine in France. It's about three hundred
thousand sctaries of fines. Yeah, I kind of grow into there.
My grand grandfather make wine the family of my sister
now yeah, like agriculture, like sales, and I always be

(37:32):
between city and the countryside. So wine was definitely the
choice makee and I was looking for products that I
can travel also, and wine is differently something that people.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
Looking for in the world.

Speaker 4 (37:47):
So I mean, you're kind of living your dream right absolutely.

Speaker 2 (37:52):
I refused a lot of money to keep my dream.

Speaker 3 (37:55):
The location right now is called ches Janin obviously I
will link and put to Google map connection to that,
and then importation business is called French connection.

Speaker 4 (38:04):
French connection.

Speaker 1 (38:05):
You're on the story, yeah, of course, so Janny, it
is my grandmother passed away the years that we did
the business, so it was really your home age and.

Speaker 2 (38:14):
Something with frenchly after French connection.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
Wine is actually spacy story because I don't know if
you know about French connection.

Speaker 4 (38:23):
Like the movie the film, like the movie, like.

Speaker 2 (38:25):
The drug charters and things. So French connection and.

Speaker 1 (38:28):
A big link with Vietnam because opium was actually collect
in Lao and Vietnam, this area which is actually part
of the Golden Finger. So even after the independence, French
keep a good relationship with the farmers and people there.
So that's why French people bring back to Marseilles, south
of France all these pure opium from Vietnam and transform

(38:51):
into really strong aroin who was sent to USA and
make you a lot of programs and make really.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Rich people in Marseilles.

Speaker 1 (39:00):
So so it's okay, let's I'm important drug because alcohol
is drug kill.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
The most people in the world. Okay, but it's legal.
It is my pession. So it's like a friends connection.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
Yeah, and it's another kind of homage, right, it's an homage.

Speaker 4 (39:16):
Part of the.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
It's it's a link is with his history of friends
with them actually okay, but not a lot of people
know it.

Speaker 4 (39:23):
Beautiful, so I do.

Speaker 3 (39:24):
I like to do something right as I wrap up
an episode of the Cost of Live in a broad
part where I take a question from the last guest
and give it to you and then you can leave
a question with me for the next guest. So the
last one was a question that's what's something you're not
doing right now that you know you should be doing.

Speaker 1 (39:43):
I should do more activity on c like itself, like
buying boat.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
It's like when you're living on a on the near
the sea and you have so many opportunities in Vietnam
because of course.

Speaker 2 (39:56):
That way cheaper.

Speaker 1 (39:57):
General, I wish to do most thing on the sea
and the reef. It's a been complicated with different blueing Jitnam,
but it's possible.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
And that's I wish.

Speaker 4 (40:05):
To do more at three hundred meters from the sea
like we are.

Speaker 1 (40:09):
Yeah, that's why walking.

Speaker 2 (40:11):
We admit.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
But yeah, it's really cute.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
And there's Yeah, there's a beautiful kite surfing location. I
forget their name, but I can find darling to the
time right there and beach. You know what, I know,
I've run by jogging on the beach and never stopped either,
So maybe we both need to do that.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
A question for the next guest I have.

Speaker 3 (40:30):
On the cost of living abroad, about the cost any
any question for them, like something I didn't ask you
that you would ask the next.

Speaker 1 (40:37):
Person, my host, would you rather have a car?

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Almost like?

Speaker 4 (40:43):
Okay? Beautiful. Thank you so much.

Speaker 3 (40:45):
I appreciate it, your time and the beautiful surround I
haven't had some hosting us here at Shad

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Why I Left FRANCE to Live in Hoi An VIETNAM (A Wine Entrepreneur Talks Business in Vietnam)

Episode Transcript

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.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Stuff You Should Know

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Why I Left FRANCE to Live in Hoi An VIETNAM (A Wine Entrepreneur Talks Business in Vietnam)

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