Ngo The Hoan · Software Engineer with an interest in history
Why is the Philippines still richer and look a lot more modern than Vietnam?
Because many Filipinos love to dig out photos of Vietnam like this:
They then proceed to compare it with photos of their cities like this:
Then conclude that their country looks richer and more developed. But the reality is much more complicated.
You see, each tiny white blob you see in the Vietnam photo is a private property. Something that looks like this on land:
They are called tube houses, a characteristic feature of Vietnamese cities. Tube houses came about due to people’s desire to make use of their small land. The more money you have, the more you build up.
The government is lenient, allowing you to build as many storeys as you like. So it’ completely normal to wake up one day and find your window blocked off because your neighbour decides to add another storey.
So why is this important to this discussion?
These houses are almost always used as commercial properties as well as place of resident if it is facing a street. Which means at least 50% of the small white blobs you see are commercial properties and businesses, at least 70% of them have uses other than residential. Their value will only go up and up as Vietnam’s economy grows. And they have been, which is why the number of rich people grow exponentially in Vietnam.
Importance of land value and home ownership
Have you ever wondered why there are so many family owned hotels and guest houses in Vietnam?
Because the tube houses were turned into a hotel business by the family.
If the business doesn’t do well? Well they can close it and turn the lower floor into a phone shop, the second floor into a childcare centre etc etc
Every single business you see in this photo is someone’s house:
If you look at the first Vietnam skyline photo, you’re probably thinking that Vietnamese cities have no trees. But quite the opposite, the trees simply got blocked off by the height of the tube houses. So the only trees you see are parks.
And you must be thinking the tall tube houses only exist in Hanoi and HCMC, but not at all. The tube houses turned businesses are all over Vietnam .
Notice the tube houses on two sides are as tall as the government building in the middle.
So to Filipinos, Vietnam might look poorer than the Philippines because their definition of rich and developed is tall skyscrapers and many cars on the roads.
But to Vietnamese people, we understand that tall skyscrapers don’t mean they are richer. Because people who own those skyscrapers belong to the 1%.
But people who own Vietnamese tube houses are at least 90% of our population. And people who own tube houses that can be turned into a business is at least 80%.
Tube houses in Hai Duong, a small town East of Hanoi
Tube house turned hotel. Tube house can be as high as you like.
Keeping up with the Jones Vietnamese style is keeping up with your neighbor’s tube house. Don’t be the shame of the neighborhood by having the shortest house!
If you look at this photo, you might think a company built them, but no, they were built by separate families:
In other countries in the world, commercial properties are often owned by the rich and then leased out, but in Vietnam, if your land faces the street, congratulations you own a commercial property
Tube houses in Quang Ninh province. You can design them any way you like.
And guess what? Yes tube houses can be turned into offices as well:
Yes, these are tube houses.
You know we have many housing developments that look expensive and fancy like this:
But many of these people would rather have a tube house in a busy district, facing the street than one of these mansions if given the choice.
Perspective about skyscrapers
Skyscrapers are proofs that some people are rich, but are they proofs that the general population is rich?
One guy owns this, the tallest building in Southeast Asia in 2020:
But can we say we are rich because of him? Can we say we are richest in Southeast Asia because his building is the tallest?
We actually love and look up to rich people, but it makes us the happiest to think everyone is contributing to Vietnam’s economy and not just piggybacking on a few rich people. As I think it’s unfair for them to having to carry more than 100 million people.
So to answer this question: looking rich is a perception. So our definition of looking rich is actually different from Filipinos, as seen through many answers here.
To determine which country is really richer, I guess we will have to wait until the Vietnam and Philippines new GDP is announced next year, as both Vietnam and Philippines are undergoing GDP revision. Either way it’s best for both countries to continue to improve the lives of their citizens, as richer citizens are synonymous with richer countries.
149.5K views
View 1,904 upvotes
View 29 shares1 of 42 answers
CVD 