“I was sitting in Primavera Restaurant, a beautifully renovated, harmonious little place, enjoying an authentic Italian meal. There was live jazz playing, people were chatting over glasses of red wine. I thought to myself, I could be in Melbourne right now.”
Lorelle Champion is describing her adopted home town of Da Lat, Vietnam.
Da Lat is the resort town that the French carved out of Vietnam’s Central Highlands back when the country was a French colony. The city was endowed with villas, boulevards, golf courses, parks, and health complexes during that era. Today, the remnants of French architecture and culture cast a romantic air.
The striking Old World influences can be disconcerting. You might find yourself stopping frequently to question where you are.
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Accentuating that feeling is the weather, which isn’t what you might expect from Vietnam. It’s always cool and comfortable in Da Lat.
Sitting at almost 5,000 feet above sea level, the temperature hovers at 65 F year-round. The climate and the misty peaks and surrounding pine forest were why the French chose Da Lat as their hill station. It was a refreshing escape from the hot and steamy conditions of low-lying Ho Chi Minh City.
Today, many expats choose Da Lat for the same reasons. The city feels far away but familiar at the same time. You get all the benefits of living in Southeast Asia—the adventure that comes with immersing yourself in a completely different culture, amazing natural scenery, fascinating local history and traditions, and a low cost of living—without giving up things like Italian restaurants, French bakeries, Western-style grocery stores, and cozy cafés.
The was the appeal for Lorelle who was inspired by the scene she discovered in Da Lat to open One More Café. Its soft chairs and foamy cappuccinos invite you in.
Menu items include homemade cinnamon buns, Eggs Benedict, and French toast. One More Café is reminiscent of any quality café you’d find in Australia, where Lorelle is from, or North America.
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Da Lat has always been alluring to expats, but it hasn’t always been so convenient. When Lorelle arrived in 2005, it was hard to find basic Western products.
“Back then, you couldn’t even buy fresh milk; only one little shop sold long-life milk, peanut butter, and a few tins of things. Buying everything was difficult, even refrigerated meat.”
The town has since enjoyed the arrival of Go, a large supermarket where you can buy everything you need, including produce, meat, and cleaning products, at fixed prices.
“I shop for the café every day. For fresh produce I go to the amazing main Da Lat Market. I also shop at Go, of course, but these days there are small shops around town that have different Western products. I know the place that sells Lindt chocolate and which one has frozen lamb chops and good wine. Living here has become a lot easier.”
Da Lat has also become more interesting, thanks to the arrival of people from diverse backgrounds. As more and more entrepreneurial types move in, the range of available products and services continues to expand.
“A lot of different countries are represented,” says Lorelle. “We’ve got British, Canadian, American, Australian, Russian, French, and Dutch. They come to the café quite a lot, and they’re opening different businesses of their own around town.
“Fabio from Italy has opened Primavera Restaurant. Francesco has started L’Alpi. Restaurant Ichi has been here a long time. Its owner, Tomohiro, is Japanese. Leonie from Germany has a thriving beeswax candle-making business, and there are Dutch people involved in flower-growing here.
“The city today is quite diverse with expats of all different ages. Some people are doing face-to-face or online teaching; some are doing cryptocurrency, data analysis, web design, and software development.”
While living here as an expat can be very comfortable, Lorelle says that it can also change a person.
“When I went back to Australia for the first time after living here in Vietnam for three years, I realized how much I’d changed. I found that I was looking at everything from a different perspective thanks to my time abroad.”
To make a successful move to Vietnam or any other country, you’ll have to give up more than just your old ways of thinking. You might also have to let go of some of your possessions.
“I downsized from a three-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment. There’s a wonderful book called ‘Abundant Simplicity,’ about downsizing. I’ve lent mine to so many people that I don’t know where my copy is anymore.”
Being tied down by “stuff” is not a good reason to stay in the same place forever. Sometimes we confuse material possessions with the memories we attach to them. It’s hard to get rid of things, but clearing out can also have a liberating effect.
Lorelle says, “A retired Canadian couple I know downsized to seven suitcases, which are stored somewhere in Canada. They have a condo there, but they rent it out. They’re based in Vietnam but they also go traveling. They’re now in their eighties.”
This anecdote illustrates the possibilities available to expats regardless of age, and while inspiring it’s not unique. As Lorelle says, “It’s exciting to make a change at any age.”
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