Been in Vietnam goin on 3 years now, went thru a pandemic (0 cases now) and still enjoying it. Many pros and cons about living here. I'm not a poker pro but I play occasionally in a live room (gambling is illegal but some rooms are okay with the local police).

Ask me anything and I'll respond as best I can!

Which is the best city to stay in for longer time?

Would like to be close to beach. Other important points
- good internet
- people speak some english
- expat community (meeting some people)
- some night life (but doesnt has to be super crazy, some nice bars are enough)
- "safe" for "white" people
- sports activites (football, boxing, tennis, etc.)

-how does one enter the country now?
-how does one stay long term?

Best overall city for what you describe is Da Nang imo. It's where I live and it has a good expat community (many long termers) many soccer leagues and pool league, etc.

- All of vietnam is safe for white people

If you live in the party part of saigon yes you might get robbed. And now there's talk of drugging and stealing from people. But that's only if you're clueless and stand out completely and live in that part of the city.

Danang and most smaller cities are completely safe. If you drop a thousand dollars on the street, someone will find you and hand it back to you, and I'm not joking.

Nha Trang might offer those things, I've heard it's more Russian, but never been. Vung Tau is a beach town but mostly older drunks live there and the beach is dirty. Danang wins hands down.

Now you need to be a vip (good job, management level, and quarantine for 2 weeks in controlled quarantine).

Long term visas are trickier now. 3 month visas and pay about 100 dollars each time. Or get a job with work permit. USA residents used to get 1 year business visas for about 300 a pop but I hear not anymore.

okay, thanks for your answer. Yeah I did a bit of reaseach and Da Nang sounded the best also for me. But I guess we just have to wait until they reopen borders again.

What would you say are your top 3 favorite places to visit in Vietnam? I'm planning on going there for a vacation when the pandemic is over, looks like an amazing country.

For adventurous people, I highly recommend visiting the countryside in the central highlands. Beautiful mountains, cool weather, and great salt of the earth people. It's not catered to tourists so it's rough and not always easy but so well worth it. I lived in Gia Lai for a few months. That area and surroudning is good, and then Quy Nhon is a nice beach not far away.

Vinh Long and the south is also very nice, along the Mekong, with super friendly people.

Saigon is good for nightlife but feels like America in many ways. Ha Noi is more interesting with more history. Halong Bay - if you do it, do the Cat Ba island and NOT the day boat trip. It's just so much better. Halong boat trips make you feel like a sardine and it's not a special tour, even though the views are stunning.

It's all based on your personal preferences but for me I'd say avoid tours as much as you can, get a motorbike and hit the road, staying off the beaten path. It's just such an amzing country because unlike Thailand it hasn't become overloaded with tourism. BUT certain spots have, like Halong bay, and you have to avoid the scammy tours (most of them). One thing Vietnamese are not good at is providing good value for your money. Everyone I know that has done tours has regretted them, including me.

@esspoker

Can you keep us updated when there are changes for entering the country again?

vnexpress.net is a good news outlet for you. Can't guarantee I'll be the first to post here, you should contact a visa agent in Vietnam for more accurate advice. If you pm me I can hook you up with one that I know who helps many people I know.

here's the English version of vnexpress

https://e.vnexpress.net/

I dream of visiting Vietnam! I always try to learn something new about this country!

Is it easy to pick up Vietnamese women?

I have been studying the issue of moving for a long time.
Are you interested in the main thing - how comfortable is the climate in your opinion?

It's great in central vietnam - hot summers, cool rainy winters, nice spring

North gets colder in winter

South and saigon is hot all year round with lots of rain

how much game do you have...

Tough to have a lot of game when the gal speaks a few words of English at best. IME a lot easier in Thai, Phils or Cambodia, but maybe it's just me

How hard is it to rent a studio apartment upon entering Da Nang

And you can do this procedure for how many times? Is there no maximum?

Super easy, so long as you have $$$ there's no questions asked.

I've known people that have been here on tourist/business visas for years and there's not going anywhere. If you ever get into visa trouble, you can always bribe your way out of it.

Yes, they are on average a lot smaller and lighter than western women.

Used to be limitless... until a couple weeks ago when they ended it... goodbye most expats! sucks for some of my friends

Your'e in hcmc now? Seems most of my friends are getting kicked out if they don't have a WP