This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marissa Goldstein, a 40-year-old entrepreneur from the Boston area who lives in Ho Chi Minh City. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2016, my husband and I flew to Vietnam with our 1-year-old twins and two bags. We told everyone we’d be back in three months.
Ten years later, we have four kids — two sets of twins — and a life in Ho Chi Minh City that I wouldn’t trade. We’ve taken our kids to about 50 countries and spend summers with our families in Boston, then come back to the chaos of a city we love.
Provided by Marissa Goldstein
Asia had my heart long before Vietnam
I grew up outside Boston. I studied communications at the University of Maryland, and a trip to Thailand during my junior year abroad was my first taste of Asia. I fell in love.
My husband and I met in high school and married after I graduated. I worked in PR and sales, then got my MBA at Babson College. Around 2015, there was an opportunity to help US companies diversify their supply chains away from China, so we started The Timroon Group, a manufacturing and sourcing company focused on Vietnam.
Being home with two babies overwhelmed me. Even though we had an incredible support system, living with my parents in a six-bedroom house in the suburbs. I quickly realized that staying home wasn’t for me.
When traveling, though, I felt unstoppable. We headed to Ho Chi Minh City the day after their first birthday.
Provided by Marissa Goldstein
Vietnam won me over through my kids
I loved it right away, especially how people treat children. We’d bring the twins to dinners and big brunches, and the staff would take them and play. I felt really safe. Within a month, we had friends from all over the world. Three months turned into 18.
When the twins were 18 months old, we took an overnight train to Sapa in northern Vietnam. Hmong women were selling their textiles, and I decided to start my own travel accessories brand, working with women artisans. On that same trip, we decided to have one more child. Soon after, we found out we were having twins again.
In January 2020, we returned to Boston, where I grew Raffi Nova, my textile accessories brand. But by 2022, my husband’s business was picking up, and we had the itch to return to Vietnam.
Provided by Marissa Goldstein
Ho Chi Minh City works for a family of 6
We live about 15 minutes from the city center. There are a lot of foreigners living here, several international schools, and everything is within a 10-minute drive.
There are good doctors and hospitals, Michelin Guide-rated street food, French bakeries, and plenty of activities for the kids, from taekwondo to tennis.
The cost of living is much lower, though school and housing add up. Housing in our area ranges from about $1,500 a month for a smaller apartment to around $10,000 for a villa. We’re somewhere in between, in a five-bedroom serviced apartment.
We spend about $1,000 a month on groceries, buying fruit and vegetables at the local market, and spending more on meat and imported food. A latte at a cute, bougie café is about $2, so I treat my friends to coffee without thinking twice.
We have a live-out helper who we pay about $900 a month. She cleans, preps groceries, and helps with the kids. Health insurance for our family runs under $10,000 a year.
I get serious sticker shock when I go home in the summer. I take the kids out for bagels, and it’s $100 or more.
Schooling is by far our biggest cost. International school fees in the city range from about $8,000 to $30,000 per child per school year. We’re at the higher end, but we strongly believe in a good education.
With fees for four kids, we probably spend about the same as we would in the US, where we wouldn’t have to pay for school. But there, we wouldn’t eat out or travel as much.
Provided by Marissa Goldstein
Being far away is hard, but travel makes up for it
Both our big families live in the Boston suburbs.
There’s also the weather: hot, hotter, and wet. In rainy season, it pours at school pickup every single day, even when you’re sure it won’t. The upside is that the kids need only one wardrobe all year.
I see Vietnam is our launchpad to the world.
Last spring, we spent a night in the jungle in Phong Nha, home to Vietnam’s largest cave. We’ve been to Thailand about 20 times. Last February, we rented an RV and drove around New Zealand’s South Island. On a trip to Sri Lanka, the kids learned to surf, and we stayed at a homestay in the mountains.
Traveling as six is hard. Most hotels don’t allow four children in a room, and we can’t fit in a regular car. Our best trips have never been at nice resorts. They’re homestays, campsites, and RVs.
That’s probably why this life suits us. I never wanted to say, “This is the house we’ll live in for the next 50 years.” Predictability scares me. I thrive in chaos, and with two sets of twins, there’s always plenty of it — I wouldn’t have it any other way.
