Post differential

We learned about an interesting statistic while attending the reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy here in Hanoi.

The U.S. State Department has a metric called the "post differential" which calculates the standard of living difference and the hardship State Department employees might face overseas when they are posted to a country.  The United States has a 0 differential, as does England and many Western European countries.  The differentials go up in 5% increments (% is used because that is the base pay percentage increase a diplomat gets in that country) such as 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, all the way to Afghanistan and Iraq which have a 35% post differential.

According to the diplomats we spoke with last night (and confirmed by the web site), Vietnam has a post differential of 20%.  That means that the State Department feels that the lifestyle and hardship we face in Vietnam are closer to Baghdad than they are to Hiram.  On one level, it is pretty easy to dismiss that.  I feel like our lifestyle here is pretty good, and while there are some inconveniences we face, I don't feel like our lives are in danger simply by being in Hanoi.  But on the other hand, we've seen some pretty stark poverty, especially out of the city and out the window of our apartment.  So maybe the 20% post differential is about right.

Here are some post differentials of note:

England -- 0%
Belgium -- 0%
Korea -- 0%
Japan -- 0%
Romania -- 5%
Israel -- 10%
Argentina -- 10%
South Africa - -10%
Mexico -- 15%
Vietnam -- 20%
Russia -- 20%
Syria -- 20%
Laos -- 25%
Egypt -- 25%
Saudi Arabia -- 25%
Benin -- 30%
Burundi -- 35%
Libya -- 35%
Iraq -- 35%
Afghanistan -- 35%

You can see the entire list here, broken down by city:
https://aoprals.state.gov/Web920/hardship.asp