A Layoff Led to a Gap Year in Vietnam — and Changed His Sense of Home

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Peter Truong, a content creator who moved from Vancouver to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was born and raised in Vancouver to Vietnamese immigrant parents who came to Canada in the 1980s.

Even though my parents were typical Asian parents, I grew up very Canadian — I like hockey, pancakes, and maple syrup. I didn’t feel especially connected to my Vietnamese roots growing up.

This was before the internet, when the only Asian representatives on TV were Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.

My mom made sure our culture lived inside the house, but outside, like at school, it was a different story. I’d bring a bánh mì to school, and kids would say, “What’s that smell?”

I remember wanting my mom to get me hot dogs for my school lunch instead. I just wanted to fit in and be more Western.

I spent most of my childhood living in predominantly immigrant communities as well, where a lot of people were first-generation Vietnamese-Canadians or Chinese-Canadians.

For a long time, it didn’t feel cool to be Vietnamese. In university, I went through this phase where I thought, OK, I’m going to embrace my Asianness — but it wasn’t really Vietnamese. I listened to K-pop and other Asian artists, and basically explored everything but my own culture.

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It took me a while to finally understand that being Vietnamese was unique to who I am. It was on my first trip to Vietnam as an adult, in 2017, that it finally clicked.

In 2022, I was laid off from my job at a corporate tech company.

I was single, in my 30s, and something I’d always wanted to do was take a gap year to teach English in Asia. So I thought, why not? In 2024, I moved to Ho Chi Minh City.

I thought I’d be able to adapt to my new environment easily, but soon found out that wasn’t exactly the case. I was probably a little too confident in my language skills.

When I picked up the phone, people would start speaking rapid Vietnamese, and when they couldn’t understand me, they’d just hang up. Even simple things, like accepting a delivery, could be frustrating.

Little things like that made me really appreciate how important communication is. They also made me reflect on how my parents managed to move to Canada without knowing English and still build a life there.

I stopped teaching English after a year, and now, I’m focusing on being a content creator.

Work culture in Vietnam, and in much of Asia, tends to be more intense, with longer hours compared to Canada, where you can clock out at 5 p.m.. But in Vietnam, there’s a nap culture, which I really appreciate.

It’s been fairly easy to meet new people, too, as there’s more of a communal spirit. If I keep going to the same café, people start chatting with me. Before long, we’re buddies.

Looking back on my journey, I learned that I’m capable of a lot more than I thought. I didn’t need to move to Vietnam to become a new version of myself, but the experience made me realize that.

There’s a quote I’ve been holding onto in my second year here: “Wherever you go, there you are.”

If you had insecurities back home, they’ll follow you unless you work on them from within. It doesn’t matter what country you move to — you have to find that sense of security in yourself. That’s been my biggest lesson from living abroad.

Moreover, as a second-generation kid who has experienced just a fraction of what my parents did, I feel a much deeper respect, love, and compassion for them.

When I’m in Vietnam, I miss the cold in Canada. But when I’m in Vancouver, I miss the energy of Vietnam. It might be because I’m in the suburbs, but I don’t feel that same buzz in the air.

It’s been about a year and a half. At first, Vietnam felt like home, but over time, I realized Canada is home, too.

In Vancouver, everything’s familiar. I know the streets, my parents are there, and life runs on autopilot. In Vietnam, things still feel new. I have to think about how to open a bank account or find my way around. But as my world there expands and I build more connections, it’s starting to feel like a second home.

Moving to Vietnam brought everything full circle for me. I realized I’m not split between two cultures — I’m fully both.

I’m 100% Canadian and 100% Vietnamese. That’s what makes me, as they say, a third-culture kid: someone who gets to have the best of both worlds.

Do you have a story to share about relocating to a new city? Contact this reporter at [email protected].