Ghent vs Ho Chi Minh City

Thinking about Ghent or Ho Chi Minh City? Here’s the honest, side-by-side comparison for2026 — cost of living, language, climate, careers and getting set up.

🇧🇪

Ghent

Belgium · Europe

🇻🇳

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam · Southeast Asia

The short answer

Ghent and Ho Chi Minh City land in a broadly similar monthly budget bracket. Expect a language curve either way — Dutch in Ghent, Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City. Both have full set-up guides below, so the real choice comes down to climate, career field, and the lifestyle you're after.

Cost of living, side by side

What it costs🇧🇪 Ghent🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City

Rent — 1-bed, central

Ho Chi Minh City ~25% cheaper

EUR 850–1,150 / month

One-bed flat, central (Patershol, Prinsenhof, around the Kouter)

₫15–30M / mo

1-bed apartment (central wards)

Mid-range meal (per person)

Ho Chi Minh City ~65% cheaper

EUR 16–24

Dagschotel — the lunchtime plate in an ordinary brown bar

₫150–300k

Meal, mid-range restaurant

Coffee

Ho Chi Minh City ~65% cheaper

EUR 3.00–3.60

Coffee in a city-centre café

₫35k

Coffee

Getting around

basis varies

EUR 300–400 / year, often reimbursed by employers

De Lijn annual network pass

—

Groceries (one person)

EUR 290–400 / month

Groceries, one person

—

Utilities

EUR 150–240 / month

Utilities and internet, one person

—

Other monthly costs (excl. rent)

—

₫15M (excl. rent)

Est. single-person monthly

Est. total / month

rent + everyday costs

—

≈ $1,434

Prices are curated local figures shown in their own currency. USD totals and “% cheaper” claims use approximate exchange rates to put both cities on one scale — rough guidance for budgeting, not exact quotes. Ranges are averaged; annual rents are shown per month.

Full Ghent cost breakdown →Full Ho Chi Minh City cost breakdown →

Language, region & climate

🇧🇪

Ghent

Dutch: Day-to-day life rewards some Dutch.
Europe: GMT+1 · EUR
Climate: Temperate maritime — grey and damp for most of the year, mild winters, and summers that are warm rather than hot.

🇻🇳

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnamese: Day-to-day life rewards some Vietnamese.
Southeast Asia: GMT+7 · VND
Climate: Tropical — hot and humid year-round with a May–Nov rainy season.

Which is better for…

Your budget

It's a wash

Ghent and Ho Chi Minh City cost about the same month to month once rent and everyday spending are combined.

Your career

Depends on your field

Both run on local + English at work, so the edge comes down to your sector. Ghent: Ghent University & the university hospital, Biotech & life sciences, Port, steel & heavy industry. Ho Chi Minh City: Technology, Manufacturing, Finance.

Your lifestyle

Depends what you want

Ghent feels like “A medieval core you are not allowed to drive across, tens of thousands of students, and the lowest city tax in Flanders”, while Ho Chi Minh Cityis “Electric, fast-growing hub for builders and digital nomads”. Climate is a real differentiator: Ghent — temperate maritime — grey and damp for most of the year, mild winters, and summers that are warm rather than hot. Ho Chi Minh City — tropical — hot and humid year-round with a may–nov rainy season.

Which one will let you in?

Your passport

Pick your passport to see which of these two you can actually enter, and on what.

The essentials at a glance

Detail🇧🇪 Ghent🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City

Population≈272,000 in the municipality — Flanders' second city — with tens of thousands of university and college students on top of that during term≈14 million since 1 July 2025, when the city absorbed Bình Dương and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu; ≈9.9 million in the old city area

LanguagesDutch, with a strong local accent. English is spoken almost universally in a city this student-heavy; French is understood but is not the administrative languageVietnamese, in the southern accent; English is common in the central and Thảo Điền wards and thin elsewhere

CurrencyEuro (EUR)Vietnamese đồng (VND)

Time zoneCET (GMT+1), CEST (GMT+2) from late March to late October—

Power plugType E, 230 V — the socket has a protruding earth pin, so some German and Dutch Schuko plugs sit awkwardlyTypes A, C and F, 220 V at 50 Hz

ClimateTemperate maritime — grey and damp for much of the year, mild winters, warm rather than hot summers—

RegionFlanders — which means Flemish work permits, compulsory civic integration, the Flemish Housing Rental Decree and a Flemish low emission zone, all different from Brussels—

Communal tax surcharge6.5% for assessment year 2026 — the lowest of the big Flemish cities, against 7.0% in Antwerp and 6.9% in Bruges—

Administration—No district tier since 1 July 2025 — the ward (phường) is the unit on your paperwork, and pre-2025 district addresses are obsolete

Tipping—Not expected; rounding up is kind

Go deeper on each city

🇧🇪

Moving to Ghent

6 set-up guides · cost, language, culture & more

Read the full Ghent guide

🇻🇳

Moving to Ho Chi Minh City

6 set-up guides · cost, language, culture & more

Read the full Ho Chi Minh City guide

Still torn between Ghent and Ho Chi Minh City?

Take the 30-second quiz or start a free, AI-personalized plan built around your job, budget and move date — and land in the right city with confidence.

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