Losing a job can force people to rethink everything. For one 33-year-old, it sparked a spirited question: what if she skipped the traditional job search entirely and moved abroad instead?
Posting on Reddit, she explained she has about $180,000 invested in a growth portfolio and is considering shifting into dividend stocks to generate roughly $1,800 a month. With estimated living costs in Vietnam between $700 and $1,000, she asked, “Can I move to Vietnam and live off dividends?”
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“Finding work in the States feels a bit hopeless right now, so I’m considering retiring early in Vietnam,” she added. “Since I have a Vietnamese passport, visas aren’t an issue. It almost feels too good to be true that I could just move my money into dividends and live off it for the rest of my life.”
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The response was immediate and, in many cases, harsh. While some said the idea could work in theory, most warned that the plan comes with serious risks.
One commenter summed up a major concern: “You’re way too young to enter this part of your life and simply don’t have enough money.” Another added, “You have zero margin of safety baked into your calculations.”
A big issue is the assumption that the projected income is stable. The fund she mentioned, NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (NASDAQ:QQQI), generates income using options strategies, not traditional dividends. That means payouts can fluctuate.
“Distributions aren’t guaranteed,” one person said. “They can go up or down.”
Several people pointed out that a market downturn could hit from multiple angles at once. If the portfolio drops in value, the income tied to it could fall as well. One commenter laid out a worst-case scenario where a major correction cuts both income and principal, leaving her “with less income AND less principal” at the same time.
Another common concern was the high yield itself. Many questioned whether a roughly 12% return is sustainable long-term.
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A More Realistic Approach
Despite the criticism, not everyone dismissed the idea entirely. A common middle-ground view emerged: the plan could work, but not as a full retirement.
Instead, many suggested treating it as “semi-retirement” or a financial runway. “You’re not retired, but you have breathing room to figure it out,” one Redditor wrote. In that scenario, dividends could cover part of her expenses while she picks up part-time or remote work.
Even small amounts of extra income could make a big difference. Earning an additional $10,000 to $20,000 a year could meet all her expenses while allowing investments to keep growing.
The original poster added that if she really needed to add extra income, she could probably find work in Vietnam, making $500 a month.
Others emphasized diversification. Going “all in” on a single fund was widely seen as risky. “Putting 100% of your net worth into a single 2-year-old untested fund, with no diversification, no cash buffer, in a foreign country with $500/month job prospects, isn’t investing,” one reply warned. “It’s gambling your entire financial future.”
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