Coworking in Bali vs Vietnam, the visa thing changes everything

Last year I did 2 months in Bali and then 3 months in Saigon. Same kind of work, same timezone issues, but the difference was wild. Bali was cheaper on paper, $350 a month for a decent room, but I kept getting hit with visa runs every 30 days. That meant a flight to Singapore, $120 each time plus a lost day of work. Vietnam gave me a 3 month e-visa for like $25 and I didn't touch an airport once. My actual monthly costs ended up $150 less in Saigon because I wasn't burning cash on those runs. Has anyone else compared two spots like this and realized the hidden fees made the 'cheap' place way more expensive?

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grant.jason18d ago

My last trip to Bali I did 6 weeks and honestly the visa runs were part of the fun for me. I get that they add up financially but I used those Singapore trips to reset my brain, eat some proper hawker food and even landed a client at a coffeeshop in Tiong Bahru. Vietnam's e-visa is a game changer for sure, but I found Saigon way more draining with the constant noise and motorbike chaos. The quiet parts of Bali, like Canggu or Ubud, let me actually focus for longer stretches without the hustle that comes with a big city. So yeah my bank account might have been thinner in Bali but my head space was way better, and that's worth more than the $150 I saved in Saigon.