Naturally, in S-shape, Vietnam is a highly populated country with a population of over 90 million of people spreading around from north to south. There are many distinguished lifestyles based on different regions and generations. However, there are some aspects of life remaining unchanged from time to time. Too difficult to discover all of them? This guide will help you recognize this with the best experience of a real Vietnam. More broadly, for more interesting information about the lifestyle and culture of other Indochina countries, go here now!
The Importance of Family in Vietnam Lifestyle
The family takes an important part in the Vietnamese people’s lifestyle as well as to all the people of Southeast Asia. On the contrary to a general nuclear family in the West, family in Vietnam traditionally consists of two or three or more generations. The baby is brought up by all his grand family, then his grandparents bear a good responsibility for taking care of him, especially when he starts school as both parents may have to be well working. The children do not move out unless they get married, one of the sons will take after his parents by living with them.
Respect for the elders is essential, not only in the family but in general also. The Vietnamese are well-known for being kind, friendly and hospitable since every child is early well educated about how to obey his parents and – especially – his teachers. Certainly, children are expected to help around the house or do the housework when they are able to. People often use Confucian to teach their kids, which involves duty and honesty as well as respect for others, along with helping those misfortune ones. These things can you find everywhere around Vietnam and makes it one of the most wonderful aspects of the lifestyle of the Vietnamese.
Vietnam Lifestyle in Rural Areas
Because of being a society mainly based on agriculture, three-quarters of the Vietnamese population lives in the countryside from lowlands, mountainous areas, and the coastal line. In tradition, the countryside in Vietnam is described as a picturesque scene with bamboo-hedged villages, beautiful green paddy fields and friendly farmers in their conical hats. As an agricultural nation, Vietnamese villagers live on farming, raising livestock and making handicrafts with the habit of working together and being willing to support each other.
People in Vietnam are very hard-working and patient especially in Central Vietnam where the locals have to suffer from various seasonal natural disasters and harsh weather conditions. These difficulties make the youth in the region choose to work in industrial zones or higher study in bigger cities instead of working day after day in the fields.
Vietnam Lifestyle in Urban Areas
Meanwhile, in the city, everything is much different. Life in the city is not as simple and traditional as that in the countryside but it is considered to be modern and complicated. People from many distinctive areas move to the cities with a view to having a better life for them and their children.
However, the cost of city living is not cheap so the inhabitants have to work as office secretaries, merchants, teachers… and even take an extra part-time job to earn money. In addition, the lifestyle of the Western country effects in Vietnam pretty much. Today, Vietnamese women just wear Ao Dai – traditional costumes in Vietnam – on special occasions, they choose fashionable clothes for daily costumes like jeans or T-shirts.
Vietnam Night Lifestyle
Long-established agriculture leads to the early waking-up of the Vietnamese people. Therefore, in rural areas, the locals have few activities at night and often go to sleep even at 9.00 pm. After dinner, the adults often watch TV or gather at a bamboo table in the yard, enjoy some tea and chat about their day. Children often spend time doing homework and preparing for their tomorrow classes. The nightlife in Vietnamese rural areas seems quite boring.
Urban areas have opposite night lifestyle. When the sun goes down, the lights are turned one and the citizens start hanging out with their families and friends. Their destinations are often restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and nightclubs. It is time for urban people to exhaust all of their energy. They only come back home when the first hours of a new day passed.
In short, the Vietnamese lifestyle varies region by region. Each part of the country has its own unique features of culture from religions to customs practiced. Certainly, a tourist will enrich his memories if he sees the diversity within the country while exploring the natural friendliness and hospitality of the locals.