Where to live......

I really like Nha Trang city

I would suggest Hoi An.  Great community with a reasonable number of Australian expats, clean air, good food, charming ambiance in the old town, beautiful beaches, and good access with the new international airport at Da Nang.  I'm also involved in a business which is 99% internet based and have had no problems working from home--other than the distraction of having the beach only 100 meters down the road!

Fantastic!!! Thanks for responding so quickly. Hoi an has been on my mind as has Nha Trang.  Sounds beautiful.I'm always happy to be distracted by the beach How's the summer there? What sort of rental prices in Hoi an and Nha Trang?

I dont know about resort price in Nha Trang. However, both place are hot.

There are multiple choices for you guys in case you just require for the excellent internet connection and accommodation close beach.You can easily get high speed internet connection and 3G or wireless connection everywhere in Vietnam.
Firstly, I would say Nha Trang city (south central of VN) is the best choice for its unspoiled beaches and good services. Nha Trang Bay is widely considered as amongst the world's most beautiful bays. My topping must-see list is the world’s longest cable car to cross the sea, running from Nha Trang to Vinpearl Land in Vietnam. As a land of soft white sand surrounded by warm turquoise water, filled with marine life and dotted with deserted islands, Nha Trang offers uncompromising vistas and perfect relaxation. It is an ideal place for water sports such as scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, wind surfing. Sea water 's color almost the same to color in Mediterranean. Especially, this city 's blessed with comfortable weather (sunshine and blue sky all year around).
Besides, Da Nang city (country 's fourth-largest city), Hoi An (ancient town in the central), Phan Thiet (considered as capital of resort in VN), Phu Quoc island (considered as VN 's Pearl island with many beaches amongst the most beautiful beaches in VN which 're still secluded). The color of sea water at beaches on Phu Quoc island is different from those at other beaches. Because Phu Quoc island close Thailand Gulf and you can enjoy scenery of sundown here. Con Dao island is not a bad choice. It 've just received family of super star Brad Pitt visiting recently.
The most beautiful beaches are mainly from the central down to South. However, In the North many foreigners prefer to visit Cat Ba island. From a summit of one mountain in Cat Ba town you will see vast view of seascape with dozens of islet emerging from emerald clear water. It 's really awesome.
Just some basic info. Hope it help.
Last

Jimmy cuong wrote:

There are multiple choices for you guys in case you just require for the excellent internet connection and accommodation close beach.You can easily get high speed internet connection and 3G or wireless connection everywhere in Vietnam.
Firstly, I would say Nha Trang city (south central of VN) is the best choice for its unspoiled beaches and good services. Nha Trang Bay is widely considered as amongst the world's most beautiful bays. My topping must-see list is the world’s longest cable car to cross the sea, running from Nha Trang to Vinpearl Land in Vietnam. As a land of soft white sand surrounded by warm turquoise water, filled with marine life and dotted with deserted islands, Nha Trang offers uncompromising vistas and perfect relaxation. It is an ideal place for water sports such as scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, wind surfing. Sea water 's color almost the same to color in Mediterranean. Especially, this city 's blessed with comfortable weather (sunshine and blue sky all year around).
Besides, Da Nang city (country 's fourth-largest city), Hoi An (ancient town in the central), Phan Thiet (considered as capital of resort in VN), Phu Quoc island (considered as VN 's Pearl island with many beaches amongst the most beautiful beaches in VN which 're still secluded). The color of sea water at beaches on Phu Quoc island is different from those at other beaches. Because Phu Quoc island close Thailand Gulf and you can enjoy scenery of sundown here. Con Dao island is not a bad choice. It 've just received family of super star Brad Pitt visiting recently.
The most beautiful beaches are mainly from the central down to South. However, In the North many foreigners prefer to visit Cat Ba island. From a summit of one mountain in Cat Ba town you will see vast view of seascape with dozens of islet emerging from emerald clear water. It 's really awesome.
Just some basic info. Hope it help.
Last

So impressed, where do u live in now?

I'd also like to ask about Hanoi. Most likely be over in June. How's life for an expat there? Any recommendations of where to live in Hanoi. Is it very polluted - are there clean areas? Where's the best place to live in Vietnam in Summer? Guess that's what I'm really looking for. Best place with excellent internet and not too polluted. Open to hearing what you think. Thanks for your help

I do not like Hanoi much, everything in Hanoi is too expensive, in summer it's too hot ( up to 45*C as I know)

Can vouch as someone born and raised in Hanoi, it's not the best choice for summer.

I have friends (a couple)  who live most of the year in Nelson Bay, NSW but spend April-August in Hoi An as they think it is the best of the bunch here when compared with their lifestyle in Australia.  They also have a reasonable size business in Australia which they control from Hoi An during their annual visits with no problems.  But as I haven't been to Nha Trang I can't compare fairly...

Thanks Richiv, we'll be checking it out. We're not fixed to any particular place - even when we get there.....apart from having good internet. We'll check out Hanoi for sure. What are your thoughts on Nha Trang?

Sorry Richiv - just read you don't know Nha Trang.

Hi Jimmy, thanks for the information. Very helpful. So many places to check out and choose from. Very exciting. We live near Byron Bay in Australia - on the coast. Very beautiful. Too expensive though as it's a very popular place to live. Time for us to have a change and experience life elsewhere.

That IS hot. Thanks for responding

I 've been to Australia two times but just short trips. Most cities I visited on the coast such as Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Darwin except for the capital of Canberra. What I found there were moderate weather (as I came there in autumn), clean environment especially Canberra that was quite green. Australia is a huge country in which main cities are scattered along coastline with small population. Not like in Vietnam 's cities where you can meet people everywhere in streets all days and nights, Australia seem to be boring to me.
For what you asked about Hanoi,  I can tell you smt. I've been working in Hanoi for more than 10 years. This city is considered as hub of the country which is the gateway to places of interest in northern Vietnam. It is a pleasant and even charming city, in large parts because its famous lakes, shaded boulevards and verdant public parks. The city center is an architectural museum piece, its blocks of ochre buildings retaining the air of a peaceful provincial town. 
The best season lasts from late April to July (sunshine and showers, rather hot weather in July) and late September to January (sunshine and blue sky, mist in the early morning in December-January).
The time of your visiting will be high tourism season in my country. Thus, cost of living will be expected pretty high. With your length of stay around one month, I suggest you had better rent a house or a flat rather stay in hotels or resorts. Of course it depends on ur budget capacity.

Dear Tigerb

Very interesting with your information for choosing the best place in Viet nam for living in one month. As i know, you are in the comparison of Nha Trang, Hoi an and Ha noi. As my own opinion of Vietnamese who had time to spend 8 years in Ha Noi, many times stayed at Hoi an for travel and my home town Nha Trang. I would like to share with you some information:

* For Ha Noi: i agree with all information which be told from Jimmy Cuong. It is the gateway of interesting culture of north Viet Nam. However, it has some trouble with the crowded, polluted air and the cost of living rather the highest in Viet Nam. For staying on summer in Ha noi is not the best choice as it is very hot weather.

* For Hoi An: very interesting destination. When staying here, you feel so peaceful with all of the roads, the lane and people very friendly and trusted. You also can work on the internet 24h per day with the facilities are in good equipped. So much people from abroad and local love Hoi An so much and say it is one of the worth destination to come for discovery of Viet Nam. If you have never been to Hoi An, so for 1 month staying in Viet Nam i think Hoi An is the preferable than Ha Noi. However, to compare the price between Hoi An and Nha Trang, i think Nha Trang is rather cheaper than this.

* For Nha Trang: it is really beautiful beach in Viet Nam. It is interesting with my places for travel. The standard of living is not so much high. Especially in June of this year, it will have Nha Trang Festival 2013 with plenty of interesting programme will be held during that time. So you can join with plenty of activities for discovering the local lifestyle living in Nha Trang.

So, i think there are two place for consideration:
Hoi An if you need the peaceful atmosphere with a litte higher expense
Nha Trang if you like noisy of activities with cheaper expense in Hoi An.
For Ha Noi, i think you should come on October with the Autumn season.

Thanks for sharing so much. Australia is definitely much quieter than Vietnam and other Asian countries. It will be great to have such a dynamic experience in Vietnam

Thank you so much for responding and giving me your views on these areas. It helps to get some ideas in place. Then we can arrive and check things out for ourselves and see which area suits us best. We hope to arrive in 1 month and stay for much longer than a month if all goes well for us.

If I can make a suggestion:  if you come to Hoi An stop at Dingo Deli soon after your arrival.  Michelle and Gordon, the owners, have moved here after years on the Queensland coast and they are plugged into nearly everybody and everything going on.  The deli also has a bulletin board with property rentals, etc...

Hi Richiv, thanks for the lead. Will certainly do that.

HI Richiv, here we are in Hoi An and gotta say - GREAT choice. Thanks for your input. Took your advice and called into the Dingo Deli and met Michele and Gordon. They were fantastic and connected us with a real estate agent and within 24hours we'd moved into our rental property. Have met some great people so far and love the cruisiness of Hoi An. And yes- the internet is fantastic. It's better than where I was living in Australia. So, finding our way and having a great time of it. Perhaps we'll cross paths in Hoi An sometime.