Vientiane - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
The housing is the low point of Vientiane, sadly. No one I know is truly happy with their housing. Layouts are awkward, the materials used are old, and insulation is direly insufficient. It seems like you either live somewhere near trash burning, or you have cobras, or both. There are decent housing options available, but they are not in the U.S. diplomatic housing pool as of 2023-2024. - Dec 2024
Blue Roofs housing neighborhood is the biggest group of single family homes with 3-4 bedroooms/at least 3 bathrooms. It is very safe for kids so many families with young children live here. It feels like 1950s' America with kids running around. We live in the Blue Roofs and really loved our experience here. Our neighbors are great and our child has many friends. However, it might not be the right place for everyone since it can feel like you're living in a fishbowl with co-workers. There are other housing clusters with a few homes and there are a couple apartments in downtown Vientiane for those folks who don't have big families. The commute time to work is about 10-30 minutes depending on what time you're on the road. There are many inexperienced drivers on motorbikes and cars so you have to drive carefully. - Mar 2024
Diplomatic housing varies from mission to mission and family size. Most of the diplomatic community is composed of families, so people live in stand alone houses. The houses are big 3-4bedrooms/3-4.5 bathrooms with yards. For single people, there are some apartments available and the amenities vary-- some have pools, gyms, restaurants, and massage parlors, while others are located in the center of downtown (great location, but no amenities). In short, there are options, and it depends on your budget or your mission's budget. - Mar 2023
Housing is nice, generally decent-sized houses with small to medium yards. Vientiane is not a big city but it is fairly spread out. There is little traffic compared to other capital cities in the regions and you can get almost anywhere in the city in 20-30 minutes. - Jun 2020
Our housing is excellent and spacious. Commuting time runs fewer than 20 minutes. Sometimes worse, but it's much better than other SE Asian cities. - Oct 2018
The houses were big with little storage space in some houses, and large outdoor concrete sheds in others. Some have huge yards, mostly in the front of the house. Phone wiring in some houses were old and people could lose internet and phone service at times, especially during the rainy season. - Jan 2014
