The 36 -year -old Air Force veterinarian moved to Vietnam, lives $ 4,000 per month

Markeiz Ryan, 36, had a fairly good childhood in Maryland, but the 2008 financial crisis changed things.

“It suffered my mother’s work and it really made things difficult for us when I got my graduate diploma,” Ryan told CNBC. “I didn’t have much financial security coverage to fall. The best thing for me was to join the army, so I wouldn’t have to put my family in debt and I think it was the right decision.”

Ryan joined the US Air Force in 2010 and was parked in various countries of the world, including Korea, Germany and throughout Africa. In 2016, when he lived in Korea, Ryan was in trouble for having broken his curfew. He lost several months of salary, was limited to his military base and was demoted by the staff sergeant as a senior aviator.

“After that, I was very depressed and very sad,” said Ryan. “But this depression and this sadness make you think of the place where your life goes and it makes you redirect your life in the right direction.”

During this period when Ryan was limited to his military base, he planned a trip to visit a friend in Vietnam.

“It seemed so fun and it really experienced all of the media,” he said. “I ended up spending the best time in my life, and this depression was (just) disappeared.”

Ryan says that after this first trip to Vietnam and seeing how happy he was, he did not want to abandon this feeling. He started planning his return to the country.

The veteran returned to his life in the Air Force and ended his service at a Wyoming military base before being honorably released in 2019.

Shortly after, Ryan moved to Vietnam, where he lived around $ 4,000 per month, according to documents examined by CNBC.

Ryan suffers from arthritis of the spine, respiratory problems, hearing pain and mental health challenges in the army. He receives the disability of veterans.

His monthly income comes from several sources, including about $ 1,500 in disability, $ 1,000 from the GI bill while he is pursuing a mastery and $ 900 to $ 1,300 from the teaching of English. Ryan also does occasional jobs such as voiceover work, where his salary can range from $ 200 to $ 600 per month, and is a trading fan of days, where he is on average $ 300 per month.

“It might not seem much in America, but believe me, it’s more than enough to be average or even above the middle class in Vietnam,” he said.

Ryan lives in Ho Chi Minh Ville and has a two-bedroom apartment with a bathroom in one of the country’s highest residential towers. It pays $ 850 per month in rent and its public services completed up to around $ 130, which includes electricity, water and household maintenance.

In addition to these expenses, Ryan also pays $ 1,000 per year for health insurance and $ 3 per week in gas for his motorcycle. What he spends in grocery store varies from $ 100 to $ 400 per month, as he often alternates between cooking his own food or restaurants frequently.

“Vietnam is the safest place I have never experienced. I never have to look over my shoulder here. I noticed that there is this great level of calm,” said Ryan. “People are more focused on their daily life and they are less focused on what is happening politically. It is a much calmer feeling.”

Although Ryan likes to live in Vietnam, one thing that annoys him is noise pollution.

“There are a lot of horn, street vendors and sometimes very strong karaoke, so if you are very intolerant of noise, it may not be the place for you,” he said.

Since he moved to Vietnam, Ryan has made an effort to learn the language, but he admits that he is still not the best.

“I can never pretend that I commonly speak Vietnamese, but I do much better than most of my peers here,” he said.

Ryan has lived in Vietnam for six years now and says he has no intention of leaving.

“If I go, it is because Vietnam told me to leave. In America, I felt very unconteited. I felt like you are working hard, you are still in poverty. You are constantly pursuing a standard that you cannot really reach,” he said. “Here in Vietnam, you need a large part of the monetary pressure of your daily life. You focus on what makes you happy, that you want to become and how you will get there.”

This experience, he says, is the full opposite of what his life was back in the United States

“Every day, I wake up with a long list of things I want to do, not the things I have to do, and it’s a completely different way of living. Even if you need to work 40 hours a week here, you do it as an investment in your future. Get out of the mode of survival makes things infinitely more human.”

Last chance to save: do you want to be your own boss? The last days to obtain 30% reduction on CNBC are making its new online course, How to start a business: for new founders. Find step by step advice for the launch of your first company, from testing your idea to the growth of your income. Use the Earlybird coupon code for an introduction discount from September 16 to September 30, 2025.

More, Sign up at CNBC Making ITS Newsletter To get advice and tips to succeed at work, with money and in life, and Request to join our exclusive community in LinkedIn To connect with experts and peers.