Bong Dau Village in the central province of Quang Nam is famous for being a place where 70% of its male residents aren’t married.

Single men return their hometown after years working in big cities

Many people even find it easier to find the village by using its nick name “Village of single men” instead of its official name.

A 35-year-old local man said that for years many men in Hoi An Hamlet, Tien Phuoc District’s Tien Chau Commune, seem quite happy living a single life.

Most of these single men are aged between over 30 and over 50, who make a living by acting as unskilled workers in big cities such as HCM City and Danang. They just return to their hometown for the Tet holiday. Those who stay often opt to earn a living as a hired worker along nearby Tien River.

Bong Dau Village is home to 28 households with nearly 150 residents. Many of the local women are bemused the local men.

“In comparison with those who live in the surrounding areas, men in Bong Dau are second to none, but I don’t know why so many men have yet to get married,” Vu Thi Phuong, 32, one of a few wives in the village said.

A local man said, “It’s not really true that these men don’t want to get married. They don’t have any physiological problems as they often talk about women and love affairs. They are just compelled to live a single life due to various reasons. Some have to take care of their aging parents, while others have too modest incomes to ensure a family life.”

Another local man said, “We find it difficult to feed ourselves. How can we support a family with our current modest incomes? Any parent wants to see their children grow up and to share their happiness when they get married. We are facing economic difficulties while I don’t have a stable job. I earn only VND40,000 (USD1.91) a day by working hard as a hired worker. In such circumstances there would be no way of looking after a wife and kids.”

He added that many local young men have travelled to big cities to make a living and just return to their hometown to do farm work, meaning that by the time they’ve reached their 40s or 50s it’s a bit late to get married.