NavoyNostos

Hai Phong vs Samarkand

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Hai Phong edges it, 56 to 49, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Hai Phong is stronger on quality of life, air quality, climate; Samarkand on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.1 of 56 points (scores 64/100)Safety: 7.5 of 56 points (scores 68/100)Healthcare: 7.4 of 56 points (scores 67/100)Internet: 6.7 of 56 points (scores 60/100)Visa ease: 3.9 of 56 points (scores 35/100)Getting there & around: 4.7 of 56 points (scores 42/100)Climate: 6.5 of 56 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 5.4 of 56 points (scores 48/100)Quality of life: 6.5 of 56 points (scores 58/100)56
Hai Phong
out of 100

Vietnam's northern port city, two hours from Hanoi and Ha Long

Full Hai Phong profile →Where to stay in Hai Phong →
Safety: 8.8 of 49 points (scores 70/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 49 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 7.2 of 49 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 49 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 6.0 of 49 points (scores 48/100)Climate: 5.2 of 49 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 4.0 of 49 points (scores 32/100)Quality of life: 5.1 of 49 points (scores 41/100)49
Samarkand
out of 100

Timurid Silk Road city with the Registan at its heart

Full Samarkand profile →Where to stay in Samarkand →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricHai PhongSamarkand
Cost of living64no data
Safety6870 ✓
Healthcare6769 ✓
Internet60 ✓58
Visa ease35 ✓33
Getting there & around4248 ✓
Climate58 ✓42
Air quality48 ✓32
Quality of life58 ✓41

Cost

MetricHai PhongSamarkand
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$900no data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricHai PhongSamarkand
Homicides per 100k1.91.4 ✓
Political stability (0–100)67.7 ✓67.4
UHC service coverage (0–100)7179 ✓
Life expectancy73.8 yrs ✓72.2 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricHai PhongSamarkand
Download18.9 Mbps ✓16.3 Mbps
Upload17.8 Mbps18.5 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricHai PhongSamarkand
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporte-visa requirede-visa required
Entry, EU passport45 days ✓30 days
Entry, UK passport45 days ✓30 days

Getting there and around

MetricHai PhongSamarkand
Non-stop airport destinations1528 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricHai PhongSamarkand
Comfortable months per year7 ✓5
Annual mean PM2.528.2 µg/m³ ✓35.8 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Hai Phong or Samarkand?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Hai Phong or Samarkand safer?
Samarkand scores higher on safety (70 vs 68), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Hai Phong or Samarkand?
Hai Phong: a measured median of 18.9 Mbps versus 16.3 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.