I was bringing back a remastered episode from 2021 with Chris Nguyen—a third culture kid, designer, and content creator who has spent years navigating different cultures, career shifts, and creative challenges.
Chris and I talked about what it means to grow up between cultures, how he transitioned from UX/UI design to content creation, and why he refuses to stick to a single niche. His perspective on creativity, self-expression, and life in Vietnam made for an insightful and entertaining discussion.
Returning to Vietnam: A Journey from Holidays to Home
I was curious about the story of “coming back home” of Viet Kieus, and why they chose to come back to Vietnam when their parents had escapted. I asked Chris about his history with Vietnam—when he first started coming, how often he had visited, and what eventually led him to stay.
He told me that he had been visiting Vietnam for as long as he could remember. As a child, his parents would bring him over and leave him with his grandmother for weeks at a time. Since kids adapt quickly, he had been fluent in Vietnamese at the time. But as he got older, his visits became less frequent. Going to school in England meant learning a new language, and at home, his family primarily spoke Cantonese. Over time, his Vietnamese faded.
Even so, Vietnam had always been a part of his life. He estimated that he had visited around ten times before he ever lived there. During his gap years, he had spent a couple of months in Vietnam—once with a friend, once with a girlfriend—getting to know the country beyond just family visits.
But it wasn’t until 2013 that Chris made the move, almost by accident. What was supposed to be a six-month holiday turned into seven years abroad. That part of his story felt so familiar to me. My wife and I had originally planned to be in Vietnam for just six weeks, but in 2025 we are still here. There’s something about Vietnam—an energy, a buzz—that pulls people in and keeps them here longer than they expect.
Listen to our story: Expat Life: How I ended up in Vietnam
Vietnam Then vs. Now: Viet Kieu Insights
I was curious about what Saigon had been like when Chris first arrived in 2013, especially since I had seen so many changes in just the last few years.
He told me that back then, the expat community had been much smaller, and there weren’t nearly as many cafés, bars, or restaurants catering to foreigners. Because of that, it was easy to get to know people—familiar faces popped up in the same places, and the nightlife scene was much tighter.
Explore More For Expat Spots: 7 Craft Beer Bars To Visit in Saigon
The skyline was completely different as well. Vietnam had been growing, but there weren’t as many high-rise buildings or modern apartments.
Now, Vietnam was completely different. The creative and tech industries haveexploded, and Chris had noticed a huge shift in the number of people moving to Vietnam to start businesses. He pointed out that even the Vietnam Content Creators group we were part of wouldn’t have existed back in 2013. The sheer number of creatives, entrepreneurs, and overseas Vietnamese returning to start new ventures was unlike anything he had seen before.
The Unwritten Rules of Vietnam
When I asked about the unwritten road rule he couldn’t live without, his answer was immediate: running a red light when it’s safe.I laughed because that was probably my favorite too. In Vietnam, traffic rules are more like guidelines. If there’s a red light but no one’s coming, you just go. But, recently the traffic laws changed with much increased fines for minor infractions. Despite the roads being less chaotic these adaptations may have led them the being more dangerous!
Then, I asked him for the most useful Vietnamese phrase he knew. His answer? “Em ơi.”
For anyone who hasn’t been to Vietnam, em ơi is used to call over a waiter, or bartender, or just get someone’s attention. It’s completely normal here, but as an expat, it feels strange at first—almost like you’re yelling at people. I told Chris that my wife, who is American, always struggled to say it loudly enough. We laughed about how polite Westerners tend to be in restaurants, barely raising a hand to call for service, while in Vietnam, you just shout em ơi! across the room.
Chris had a funny twist on the phrase—he and his friends had started using em ơi to refer to anything, like “Who’s your em ơi tonight?” or “Did you see that em ơi over there?” Somehow, the phrase had even spread to his international friends, who used it jokingly in conversations.
Vietnam has more secrets to explore, so let’s listen more: The EXPAT SECRET Nobody Tells You About!
Navigating Identity as a Third Culture Kid
What does it mean to be a third-culture kid? He described it simply: someone who grows up in a country different from where their parents are from.
Chris was born and raised in the UK, but his father is Vietnamese, and his mother is Chinese-Vietnamese. That mix of cultures shaped his upbringing in ways that weren’t always easy. In England, he felt different from his peers—his family spoke different languages, ate different foods, and carried different traditions. But when he came back to Vietnam, he didn’t feel fully at home either.
He explained how coming to Vietnam and feeling like an outsider, despite his heritage, had been a strange experience. People would sometimes tell him, “But you’re pretty white, though,” as if that was a bad thing. It highlighted the complicated position third culture kids often found themselves in—never quite fitting in anywhere. But over time, Chris had come to see this as an advantage. He believed it allowed him to adapt to different cultures more easily and keep an open mind toward new experiences.
For me, this was fascinating because my upbringing had been the opposite. I had grown up in a monocultural environment—Scottish through and through, with no real mix of different cultural influences. That had completely changed with my generation—my wife was American-Mexican, my cousins were part Hong Kong-Chinese, and my extended family was now spread across different countries. But growing up, I hadn’t faced the kind of cultural identity conflicts that Chris had.
He joked about what it would be like if I had kids—Scottish, Mexican, American, and then growing up in Vietnam. “Who is this child?!” he laughed. It made us both realize that as the world became more globalized, future generations would likely struggle with identity in new ways.
Another third-culture kid’s story: Nhi Mai, A Third Culture Kid’s Journey and Experience In Vietnam
Cultural Expectations and Misconceptions
Chris also talked about some of the expectations placed on him as someone with Vietnamese heritage. While he didn’t feel pressured to act a certain way, there were cultural norms that had taken him by surprise.
One example was when he visited Vietnam at 17 and invited his cousin out for dinner. She showed up—with about ten friends. In Vietnam, there was often an unspoken expectation that if you were from abroad, especially in the UK or the US, you had more money. So naturally, Chris was expected to pay for the entire night. As a teenager who had just saved up for a trip, he found it an overwhelming and expensive lesson in cultural differences.
Another difference in culture is that in Vietnam, if you were invited to a wedding but didn’t attend, you were still expected to send money as a gift.
There was the complexity of being caught between cultures. He was expected to follow traditions, but he didn’t always understand them in the same way locals did. And sometimes, those expectations didn’t align with his own values or financial situation.
What stood out to me most was how Chris had come to embrace his mixed identity. He no longer felt like he had to fit neatly into one category. Instead, he saw the best of both worlds—the ability to adapt, to see things from multiple perspectives, and to connect with different cultures in a way that others might struggle with.
Content Creation: Choosing A Niche Or Not
When I first came across Chris Nguyen’s content, one thing stood out immediately—he didn’t have a niche. Most creators, especially when starting out, are told to find a niche and stick to it. But Chris had a different approach. He embraced the idea of exploring multiple interests rather than limiting himself to one specific topic.
He explained that his content journey had only just begun, and he wasn’t ready to box himself into one category.
“Why do you need to decide when you first start?” he asked.
It was a question that made me reflect on my own podcasting journey. I had never set out with a defined niche either. Seven Million Bikes started simply because I wanted to share interesting stories. I wasn’t thinking about branding or growth strategies—I just wanted to talk to people and share their experiences.
Putting Yourself Out There (Even When It’s Uncomfortable)
Chris shared a funny but frustrating story about reaching out to fellow creators online. He had posted in a group looking for people to collaborate with on a podcast episode. While most responses were positive, one person was overly aggressive when Chris politely declined to work together. What should have been a simple “thanks, but no thanks” turned into an hour of unwanted messages and online pestering.
That story resonated with me because I often hesitate before posting in groups or putting my ideas out there. Even something as simple as inviting people for a Zoom chat can sometimes spiral in unexpected ways. I haven’t had an experience quite like Chris’s, but hearing it made me reflect on how much we overthink simple interactions online.
I could relate to that a lot. Even though I consider myself confident, I still have moments where I second-guess things. I try not to overthink, and honestly, I think my success so far is partly due to being “stupidly confident.” I don’t analyze things so much that I get paralyzed by fear. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have started Seven Million Bikes Podcasts in the first place.
The lesson? If you put yourself out there, you’ll always face negativity. But that’s not a reason to hold back. “There’s always going to be haters, and there’s always going to be people that like your stuff,” Chris said. And that’s true for anything creative—whether it’s launching a business, starting a podcast, or performing on stage.
Final Thoughts
Looking back on my chat with Chris Nguyen, I saw how much his journey touched on things a lot of us go through—figuring out who we are, finding creative outlets, and rolling with life’s changes.
If there’s one takeaway from this episode, it’s this: You don’t need to have everything figured out. You don’t need to fit into a mold. And you definitely don’t need to wait for permission to start creating. Just start, keep going, and let the rest fall into place.
I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. If you want to follow Chris’s journey, be sure to check out his content on YouTube, Instagram, and his podcast, Semi-Grown Kid.
And most importantly, follow A Vietnam Podcast for more stories and insights about Vietnam.