Been living in Saigon (legally) since 2006. Count me in the Saigon group. My wife is from Hanoi (where we met) and she moved to Saigon. The climate is much milder and the city has less red-tape. They told me there is even a migration of Vietnamese from North to South..
It seemed that people who loved Ha Noi did not care for Saigon and visa versa.
You seem to be in the Ha Noi group.
Saigon is a worthy place to visit full of people from different parts of Vietnam and around the world. It is culturally unique.