Do Duc Long, 37, currently lives with his wife and a child in Can Giuoc district in Long An, which is 23 kilometers far from his company in District 1 in HCM City. His daughter is 13 years old this year, but the couple has no plans to have a second child due to financial uncertainties.

In 2011, Long graduated from university and began working as a designer. Three years later, he bought a small house in District 12 with his savings, support from his parents, and a bank loan. After their daughter was born, his wife stayed home to care for her.

The burden of repaying the bank loan weighed heavily on the family’s sole breadwinner. During that time, his job took a downturn, and his income decreased.

“Our total income was not high enough to keep up with the monthly payments. My wife and I decided to sell the house and considered two options: renting an apartment in HCM City or moving back to our hometown to buy a house,” Long recalled.

In the end, the couple chose to relocate to Can Giuoc in Long An province, over 20 kilometers from his workplace. In the province, Long bought a house at a lower price, using the leftover money to pay off their debt.

Previously, he had to travel 12 kilometers from his home in district 12 to the head office in district 1 which took one hour. There was a time when he worked for a company 30 kilometers away from his home. At present, he also has to spend one hour to travel from his home in Long An to the office in HCM City.

Since moving to Long An, aside from the eased pressure of debt payment, his family can enjoy a fresher environment. Though Can Giuoc is a bustling area in the province, its population density is far lower than in HCM City.

“There’s an issue when your finances are tight—you end up living in areas with lower social standards, where social problems or uncivilized habits like noisy and drunk neighbors, quarrels, or cursing happen around you.

“But in the countryside, this is less common. The garden homes here are more spacious, so even if something like that happens, it rarely affects us,” Long said.

Regarding his daughter’s education, he’s very satisfied with the less competitive, exam-focused learning environment in the suburbs compared to city schools.

“Right now, my daughter studies in Binh Chanh District near our home, and the pressure is much lower than when she studied in the inner city. Here, she gets a full three-month summer break, while many inner-city schools only give one or two months, with lots of extra classes,” he explained.

Meanwhile, most of her teachers are young people born in the 90s, who keep their mindset and approach to education different from previous generations—they’re open-minded and modern.

Unlike other parents who believe that children’s future heavily depends solely on school, Long thinks that parental skills also play an important role in educating children.

In fact, his family faced some inconveniences on the first days in Long An. For example, in HCM City, grabbing a bowl of pho or hu tieu was as easy as stepping out to the alley. In Can Giuoc, he had to ride his motorbike to the central market.

Back then, there was no tap water in his area, power outages were frequent, and the roads were full of gravel.

But those drawbacks have been addressed. Clean water reaches their home, electricity is stable, and roads are paved. Can Giuoc’s population is growing, living standards are improving, and shops and eateries are mushrooming everywhere.

After seven years of living in the countryside, he believes his decision was absolutely right—even bringing more advantages than he’d anticipated.

Seeing more city dwellers move to his area, Long notes that the trend of relocating to the suburbs is growing.

“Some families who’ve lived in the city for generations end up dividing their house among multiple children after their parents pass away."

With the property split into smaller parts, they can’t afford to stay in the city, so they move to the suburbs, making these areas more crowded and lively. First, people move to the areas 15-20 kilometers away, then 30-40 kilometers, he said.

Long added that once public transportation improves, with key bus routes in place, he might not even need to ride his motorbike to the office anymore.

Nguyen Thao