Why Americans are moving to Da Nang, Vietnam for a better life

In the sixties, hundreds of thousands of Americans arrived in Da Nang, Vietnam, and many later died… while fighting in the Vietnam War. Today, American baby boomers remember Da Nang as a tragic place. 

But Gen Z and millennials are flocking there… for a dream life they can’t find in the U.S. I was one of them, when I visited in 2023.

The number of foreign citizens arriving in Da Nang surged 36% in 2024, from the year before, to more than 4 million people, according to Vietnamese media, Vietnam+ and Da Nang Today.

Microsoft Founder Bill Gates was one of them, reportedly spending $30,000 per night in Da Nang with his girlfriend.

Da Nang was the most searched city by Americans in January 2025, on popular booking website Agoda, with searches increasing by 16 times compared to one year earlier.

Lured by headlines like “cheapest and best city in the world,” many expats are migrating from other digital nomad hotspots like Lisbon, Mexico City, and Bangkok – where the cost of living has skyrocketed.

The cost of living In Da Nang is spiking as well, and it’s pushing local Vietnamese out of certain neighborhoods and causing gentrification, many local residents tell me.   

“A lot of local people just leave the tourist area, to live, because it’s too expensive,” says Tran Ngoc Man, a crypto trader born and raised in Da Nang.

One Vietnamese woman wrote on Facebook, “With the rising number of foreigners living in Da Nang, rental prices have been skyrokceting, and landlords are becoming greedier than ever. I’m currently paying (about $200) per month for a place that isn’t even in great condition… Now, they’re kicking everyone out and raising the rent to (about $300) per month.”

Locals and expats are even questioning whether Da Nang is the new Bali, Indonesia. "It is turning into another Bali, been happening for a while now, no respect for culture and laws," one expat wrote on Facebook.

But that just means what the city has been planning all along, is working.

In this video, I break down why Da Nang is suddenly drawing so many foreigners from the West, how the city is changing in 2025 for the better and worse, and whether it’s right for you for a short or longer trip… if at all.  

At its heart, this is a story about the effects of immigration, driven by the universal quest for a better life.

00:00 Americans moving to Da Nang, Vietnam
02:15 Why I fell in love with Da Nang
03:45 Da Nang invested hundreds of millions to improve quality of life
05:48 How foreign visitors are boosting the economy
06:35 Cost of living in 2025
08:16 Soaring cost of housing and gentrification
11:55 What expats hate most about living in Da Nang
12:36 Quality of life in 2025
14:02 Why many tourists dislike Da Nang
15:25 Is Da Nang the new Bali?

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