Reason you should choose Da Nang to live

It is an awesome production about Da nang. Really reminds me of Penang in Malaysia maybe 20 years ago. Da nang is still not as crazy as Penang now. The pace is just right not too over crowded and big but just the right pace. The reason I like Danang like Penang too is the food. You can get both local cuisine and international too. There are many small cafe also sprouting out now. Is amazing the food offer.

Would love to live in Danang near the beach. It's one of the main things I don't like about HCM... No beaches!

Yes, it's what I love the most. I live pretty close to the beach... - Walking distance.

Lived in the North of Vietnam, moved to DaNang in 2006 and then left for Saigon where I spent almost 7 years and now for the past 3 years call DaNang my "home". 
I really got tired of the several hour drive or boat ride back and forth to the beaches from Saigon.  I live two blocks from the DaNang Bay and within 12-15 km of the westward beaches with the major hotels and resorts.  I would highly recommend anyone who enjoys the beaches, night life and beauty of DaNang to visit or make their home as I have done. 
Many of the business' speak English, great food, low crime and so far...no real traffic jams to talk about.  There are many attractions in and around DaNang for those with many interests.  A three hour drive North to Hue or South to Quang Ngai. 
I have found the local and State Police as with the Immigration Department in DaNang are very friendly and helpful.  For those desiring to work the Ministry of Education and Department of Labor are also friendly and informative. 
With only a few weeks of abnormal 'cool' weather, the beaches are normally wide open to anyone who cares to enjoy them.  I've walked much of the coast at times from Danang to Hoi An and during the day (9 am-3 pm) you can almost find 'NO ONE' on the beaches. 
Enjoy

Lived in HCMC for 7 yrs...that drive to the coast was nice, but got old after several years. It's great now...and no traffic!!

Stayed in HMC for a week, Vung tau for couple of weeks, a week in Hanoi, and a week in Halong Bay... Then, none of the above mentioned has met my preference where to stay for good.  Until, I met Danang. the loveliest city so far because of it's stunning beach, the laid back locals and et cetera... By the way my place is at 29 Che Lan Vien

Love the video! Reminds me of the wonderful time I spent in Danang last year.

Also, regarding Education for your children:
1. Singapore International School
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn3gHN33iZM

2. Pegasus International College
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kde5kiUYVXo

this was great to view    I am very interested in the possibility of living in Vietnam at times  simply because I have set up my own wine tour business here in Australia but do the wine tours in Vietnam.  I am looking at spending more time since I have friends and business partners in Vietnam and just fell in love with the country and its people.  ****  Danang looks very nice to live and I read it has a great expat community

like to get more contacts in vietnam to help about living in Nha Trang expat communities

aussieyank wrote:

like to get more contacts in vietnam to help about living in Nha Trang https://www.expat.communities

Hi aussieyank,

I invite you to browse through all the threads in our Nha Trang forum and post your question/s (if any) there.

Thank you.

Hi Anthony,
I'm thinking of Viet Nam for a move.  Is it possible to get high speed Internet in Danang? 
I'll be doing a lot online from home.
Any advice,  comments, or questions you might have are welcome.
I long to be near a beach .
Thanks.  Write back when you can,
Moira Walsh in minnesota

Agreed, that four-hour drive was nice, but it got old quick after 7 years living in Saigon.  By motorbike it is now only 5 minutes to the Bay and just 12 minutes to Holiday Beach.  Love it here.

Hi :-)
My name is Maxine and I am coming to Da Nang in January to stay for 3-5 month. I would like to know more about the beautiful town and have as all new users of the country, many questions. A small place to live that is not to expensive, where to get new glasses, extension of visa and so on.
hope you would meet with me for a Coffey and have  talk :-)
Maxine from Denmark

moirawalsh wrote:

I'm thinking of Viet Nam for a move.  Is it possible to get high speed Internet in Danang? 
I'll be doing a lot online from home.
Any advice,  comments, or questions you might have are welcome.
I long to be near a beach .
Thanks.  Write back when you can,
Moira Walsh in minnesota

Hi,

Since this is the Đà Nẵng forum (my current location) I'll see if I can address this post of yours AND your thread in the Saigon forum:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=835486

moirawalsh wrote:

Let me describe my dream plan, then please tell me if you think it would be possible in VietNam.
I'd like to find a long term homebase from which I could travel away to work short contracts elsewhere. 
I want to move there, with a cat, most likely to HCM City.  Within 3-6 months, I'd like to locate a house to rent long term.  I'd like to hire someone to live there, so they could watch the place and feed my cat when I'm away for months at a time.   
Would this be feasible in VietNam?  in HoChiMin City? 
Is this something commonly done?
What might it cost for a house?  staff? 

Glad I can ask you this here. 
Thanks.

The Đà Nẵng/Hội An region is a great choice for many reasons.

Beaches in Đà Nẵng and Hội An are beautiful and generally kept clean, though not always safe.

Lots of rip currents and undertows cause unwary foreigners to drown, especially when swimming at night.

Also, certain areas are prone to pollution more than others.

In Đà Nẵng Bay, on the north side of the city, the Hàn River dumps a lot of pollution into the south end of the bay.

Fortunately, the prevailing currents coming into the bay from the East Vietnam Sea (Pacific) keep the northern 2/3 of the bay shore relatively clean.

Any beach in Việt Nam is subject to pollution from rainwater runoff through uncontrolled flood channels often referred to as "poo creek" by expats.

If you become aware of those locations and swim where the Vietnamese (not Asian tourists) swim, you'll likely find the water as refreshing as do I.

I'm a native of a San Diego beach community (thus my username) and most of the time I find the water here to be better than back home, with much better underwater visibility.

Best times to swim here are generally between 5 AM and 7 AM and 4 PM and 6 PM, when most of the locals swim.

Lifeguards are on duty during those times, and will direct you to stay in the green or yellow flag areas, keeping you away from red flags.

High speed internet is fairly ubiquitous here, though perhaps not as fast as you'd prefer.

It seems that most landlords choose an intermediate speed level for the WiFi they provide with standard cable TV.

However, you may be able to pay extra for an upgrade, especially if you are renting a small house and you are the only user.

See this thread (Hanoi forum) that ended up getting responses from people in other parts of the country:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=811796

If you plan to travel a lot as you mentioned, the HCMC/Saigon area might be a better choice, with more direct flights to various destinations in Southeast Asia.

Many flights out of Đà Nẵng currently connect through HCMC (Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport) though new flights are being added all the time by the airlines.

If you decide to be near HCMC, there are some beach options within about 2 to 3 hours along the coastline near and at Vũng Tàu.

However, for beach AND airport access, I personally think the Đà Nẵng/Hội An region is the better choice.

I see you have already been getting feedback about your cat relative in other threads.

My gut instinct tells me your dream plan may be a nightmare for the cat, but I understand the need to explore the ability to bring your friend.

You might get better answers about costs here if you can be more specific about your budget and your resources.

Will you have any cash flow without working?

Basic living can be done here for less than $1,000.00 USD a month (backpacker rate) but thats VERY basic, and certainly doesn't include the cost of domestic staff.

It sounds to me as if you might want something between a two bedroom apartment and a four bedroom villa.

You can hire an all-purpose, LIVE IN domestic (cook, cleaning, shopping, laundry) for about $300.00 USD a month ballpark figure, though I'm sure others can tell you about paying more or less in different situations.

You would have to be here with boots on the ground to accomplish that with a trustworthy person.

It would have to be someone who continued living in your place while you are away.

That's what I would do in your situation.

For what you probably need, here in Đà Nẵng you are looking at rental/lease rates between $400.00 and $1,200.00 a month ($1,800.00 luxury) depending on how many rooms you need and location, location, location.

Everything is cheaper near the northside bay, more expensive at the westside beaches, and more expensive now in Hội An, a very trendy spot.

Once you are here, you can decide if you want to risk life and limb on a motorbike.

I personally use the Grab rideshare app (like Uber or Lyft) unless I plan a long trip.

I've met a number of good drivers with nice cars through the use of Grab.

Some of them work for me at 50% or more off the Grab rate.

So if you decide to live away from the city on the coastline, you'll quickly be able have a list of contacts to text for a ride.

As long as you can afford it, I think you'll find it relatively easy to create your dream life here.

Good luck!

Hey OceanBeach,  What a detailed reply, thank you.   Since you are a wealth of knowledge, would you mind expanding on a few more questions?  Air quality, crime (violent) , hiking, cycling and running (street safety).  Been living in Chengdu for a year and am sick of being sick from polluted air, lack of nature, and a crowded city!  Must have clean air (who would think I took this for granted? Never again!), easy access to nature (love hiking, swimming, diving), and no megacity population.  Thank you very much!  Cheers, G

iGallivant wrote:

Hey OceanBeach,  What a detailed reply, thank you.   Since you are a wealth of knowledge, would you mind expanding on a few more questions?  Air quality, crime (violent) , hiking, cycling and running (street safety).  Been living in Chengdu for a year and am sick of being sick from polluted air, lack of nature, and a crowded city!  Must have clean air (who would think I took this for granted? Never again!), easy access to nature (love hiking, swimming, diving), and no megacity population.  Thank you very much!  Cheers, G

Depending on your income and budget (a need to work vs independent wealth/pension income) The greater Đà Nẵng area has the potential to fit your needs.

I haven't been an active hiker, but I do walk all over the city.

I usually feel pretty safe crossing the streets, though things can get hairy at rush hour.

Two good areas for urban jogging are on the sidewalks at the northern bay and the western beach.

I haven't seen much evidence of serious cycling here.

Most of the expats I observe on bicycles are riding around the neighborhoods, like what we call 'beach cruisers' in San Diego, not out to accomplish any great distance rides.

Only one violent incident showed up in the local news since I returned here in October: New Years Eve a Vietnamese citizen bar employee was reportedly put into intensive care after an altercation with a "foreigner", though later reports disputed that, indicating that the foreigner shown blood-covered in photos was actually a good samaritan first responder who later disappeared.

Google "air quality Danang Vietnam". There are multiple websites indicating that the air quality here is questionable, though I don't usually notice a problem when there is a nice ocean breeze in my face.

You may be more comfortable outside the city, either in or around Hội An to the south or Huế to the north.

I personally can't stand the touristy feel of Hội An proper, but I hear a lot of people are very happy living in the surrounding countryside.

I've already written a lot about this area, and I encourage you to go to my profile and browse my posts using the "read more" option.

There is a Facebook group for expats in Đà Nẵng and Hội An:

Search for '1537832553137716'

Good luck!

P.S.:

I'm personally leaving Đà Nẵng largely to escape the heavy foreigner presence near the beach and the noise pollution.

See the recent thread I started here:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=835309

Thank you so much for your reply.  I will follow the threads... Cheers and good luck!

I would love to know more about the area you live in.  I was there in January 2019, likely rode my bike by your house....  I was looking for places to rent or buy... buy long term, rent till I know it is the right place.  Da Nang is absolutely beautiful.