For nearly a year since leaving the city for the countryside, Nguyen Thi Thu’s husband, born in 2000, now living in Hoang Hoa Tham Commune, Hung Yen Province, has been commuting between Hung Yen and Hanoi for work, while she and their young daughter live in the countryside with her in-laws.

Although the commute is long, compared with the unstable and stressful life in the capital, the peaceful life in the countryside now still makes the couple content.

Thu is originally from Ninh Binh. She lived and worked in Hanoi for 8 years in marketing. In 2024, she married Nguyen Dang Nhat, born in 1995, from Hung Yen, who works as a wedding reportage photographer.

Thu said the couple’s total income is about 45 million VND per month, with her income at 20 million and her husband’s at 25 million. This income is considered quite good for many young couples.

However, given the high cost of living in Hanoi, they still had to calculate every penny.

"We rented a one-bedroom apartment of about 40 square meters for 8 million VND a month. Food cost around 6 million, service fees and gas were 2 million, and incidental expenses were another 2 million.

After having our baby, childcare expenses came to about 8 million VND a month. The total monthly cost was 26 million VND. By managing tightly and calculating cleverly, we managed to save just over 10 million VND," Thu recalled.

According to Thu, that spending level was strictly for essentials. The couple had to minimize personal expenses on clothes, coffee, and cosmetics. In months with unexpected expenses like a sick child, vaccinations, weddings, or funerals, their savings amounted to very little.

The couple once planned to buy a house in Hanoi to settle down. However, with savings of just over 10 million VND a month, that plan became far-fetched.

"We often told each other that we were merely surviving in Hanoi," she said.

Limited living space also became a major concern. After giving birth, Thu's mother-in-law moved from Hung Yen to Hanoi to help care for the baby. Their 40-sqm apartment with only one bedroom quickly became overcrowded for four people, leaving her mother-in-law without a private room.

"Renting a two-bedroom apartment would have pushed our expenses much higher, and we simply couldn't afford it, especially while I was on maternity leave. Raising a young child in Hanoi was becoming extremely difficult," Thu said.

Leaving the city 

In mid-2025, Thu began considering a move back to her husband's hometown. Because her husband worked freelance, relocating was relatively straightforward. For Thu, however, leaving Hanoi meant giving up her office job.

She worried that job opportunities in the countryside would be limited and salaries much lower.

"Even so, staying in Hanoi felt exhausting and stressful. Almost my entire salary went toward rent, food, and childcare. We had to rely on my husband's income for savings, which meant carefully calculating every expense.

When we looked at our future, we simply couldn't see a clear path, so we decided to move back," she said.

Her parents-in-law fully supported the decision. They set aside the entire third floor of their house for the young family and even offered to support Thu and care for their granddaughter until she found a new job.

The couple returned to Hung Yen with VND30 million in savings, enough to cover childcare expenses for six months. While her husband continued commuting to Hanoi for work, Thu stayed home to care for their daughter and learned new skills in preparation for finding a suitable job locally.

Nearly a year after returning home, Thu says their lives have changed dramatically. Although the family's income has fallen by more than half, daily living has become much easier because expenses in the countryside are significantly lower.

Today, the family spends around VND12 million each month from her husband's income, including VND5 million for their daughter and VND7 million for other household expenses. The remainder is saved.

"Life in the countryside is far more comfortable than in the city. Food, education, and daily expenses are all cheaper. We have a much larger living space, and fresh food is easy to find. Most importantly, we've eased our financial burden and no longer constantly worry about buying a house in Hanoi," Thu said.

Thanh Minh