Nearly 50 years of living in the magnificent capital of Hanoi and never intending to leave city life, Nguyen Hoang Nam, after taking a motorbike tour to the mountainous region, completely changed his mind. The mountain life brought him peace and a wonderful environment because of the unspoiled nature and fresh air that he had not had in the city.

After that trip, Nam always thought about leaving his home in Hanoi to live in the countryside. He also brought up this issue for family discussion. However, his idea was not supported by other family members.

In 2017, after many field trips to Hoa Binh province, Nam decided to become a citizen there by purchasing 5ha of land. He hired local people to build houses and plant trees. It took Nam nearly two years to design and build his dream home in Hoa Binh.

Nam spent more than 1.5 billion VND to recreate land and build his garden. His organic garden was expanded to 2 hectares after he bought land from a neighbor.

Nam is proud of what he has, a house in the middle of a green garden. “My family gradually got used to this house and love it, now we like to stay here more than the streets. Unless I have meetings, I don't go back to Hanoi. I really don't want to go back there," he said.

Wealthy people like Nam are willing to spend money to be at peace, to enjoy dishes with organic ingredients. They look for the sustainable value for health, both material and spiritual, and experiences connecting with nature.

Spending billions of VND to build a farm in Hoa Binh, Mr. Do Manh Thang from Hanoi is still unsatisfied. Five years ago, Thang came up with the idea of building a house in the middle of the forest after a trip to Thailand. "In Thailand, there are houses in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the mountains and forests, even though they have nothing, they are very expensive," he said.

He worked hard to find land with the initial goal of having a place for weekends and do business if possible. He went to many mountainous areas such as Ba Vi, Hoa Binh, and Son La to seek a suitable piece of land. These places are not far from Hanoi, have convenient highways, and still have unspoiled nature.

According to Thang, the most difficult thing is to find an area with favorable terrain, especially where there are streams or near a pond and lake. After finding a suitable piece of land, it took him more effort and money to upgrade the soil. He had to hire many local people to plant, take care of trees and build the house.

The farm is nearly complete, with a house, an orchard, and a vegetable garden. Thang said that in the near future, he will build a house, a swimming pool for children, and outdoor meditation space. "At my age, living in the middle of nature, planting trees is a little hard, but it is better for me," he said.

“During the epidemic outbreak I saw how important it is to have a natural living space. My family lives here for the whole week because we can still work online. The children can play freely. Life is not different from a fairyland, which many people in the city do not have,” he said.

He added: “I currently spend 60% of the time in my second home, the remaining 40% is in Hanoi for work and for my children to go to school. However, from next year, perhaps my wife and I will settle down here."

Treasures for the next generation

It is not new that some young people in Vietnam "leave the streets to the rural area". The trend of wealthy people going to the mountains to build resort farms has existed for a long time. They want to have a peaceful life in the midst of nature. These are villas on high hills, with open views, pristine nature, fresh air, full of sunshine and wind, luxuriously designed and strictly protected.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tho Tuyen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BHS Real Estate Joint Stock Company, the places chosen by the rich to build a second home usually have fresh air, and beautiful landscapes such as hills, lakes, rivers and streams.

"I am not talking about the material value, but the great value is the spiritual. I want to leave it (his second house) to my children and grandchildren as a safe place to live when they're tired."

Thang said that in the near future, when urbanization increases and the environment is more polluted, the tendency to choose to live in nature will be of more interest. Man will return to nature to heal the soul.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Duy Ha, a businessman in Hanoi, has a longer plan. He built a resort farm in Ba Vi, a suburban district of Hanoi for both living and to rent as a homestay.

Nguyen Thanh Trung, director of the Suburban Resort Development JSC, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has made many changes in user habits. The rise of peri-urban resort real estate, in particular Hoa Binh, is a testament to this change.

In fact, it is not until now that the trend of moving to the suburbs of Hanoians has appeared, but it actually began in the 2000s with four main areas: Soc Son, Luong Son - Hoa Binh, Hoa Lac and Ba Vi.

Duy Anh

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