hello everyone! I've been lurking the forums for a little while and had finally decided to sign up.
I am a half Filipino half European mixed American and my boyfriend is full Vietnamese with Vietnamese birth certificate but US citizenship. My boyfriend speaks Vietnamese fairly fluently but not at business level. I plan to take classes when I'm in Vietnam to help me to learn the language. I went to school at the California Culinary Academy in SF (we are both from SF bay area) for baking and patisserie. My boyfriend is an English major but wanting to go into marketing.
We will be visiting his family soon in Vietnam (he has family all over) and are highly considering on settling down there once we finish our travels. Our main considerations as of now are mainly Saigon and Da Nang.. leaning more towards Da Nang based off of what I've read but we shall see.
I am a baker with a dream of opening up my own ice cream shop that sells other goods. I have spoken with an expat that has a successful food business in Saigon so I have a basic idea on that in terms of commercial rent and food costs in Saigon (plus I've been doing a lot of research).
Wherever we choose to settle we are in interest of buying land and having a home built. We would pretty much want an equivalence of a suburban lifestyle in the sense of having fairly easy access to the city but living in a more quiet and clean neighborhood. I guess one of my biggest concerns with Vietnam is the pollution and what effects climate change will have on certain areas.
If anyone has tips or suggestions or anything I'm all ears 
Possibly moving to Vietnam but could really end up anywhere
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Ice cream shop, Mmmmmm, lovely.
Someone mention ice cream??
Yep welcome to the form and good luck with your dreams and endeavours.
You need to come and take a look at what Saigon has to offer, its a big city, many people. Qual 9 is being developed very fast now and there area lot of housing opportunities, but there is not much else. Be aware that Saigons pollution extents all the way across the city and into the suburbs though.
Please keep us informed of your successes, trials and tribulations.
I would not recommend Saigon as it's really polluted, but still there are lots of amenities, district 2 is very cool and you should open your business in D 1,2 or 7 as there are lots of expats
Saigon has a huge pollution problem, exceeding maximum recommended levels for every pollution factor, as reported in the local press a few years ago. Dust was 14 times the maximum recommended level. Danang does not have a pollution problem. Do your travelling and find a city that suits you.
Thank you! Yes, ice cream makes (almost) everything better 
Saigon is tempting in many ways but if pollution is really that bad I'm not sure if it's somewhere I'd like to settle but we'll see!
I will definitely keep you guys updated and I'm sure I'll have questions soon. Thanks for the warm welcome!
Yeah Saigon seems like a great city otherwise (and perhaps a bit more convenient for business aspects) but I am definitely concerned about the long term health risks Thank you for the suggestion! We will be checking out all the districts once there (=
Wow, I didn't even know it was that bad! To be honest I haven't researched the pollution much so that is very good to know.. I'm hoping Da Nang doesn't grow to be as bad as Saigon. I've read a bit that they are trying to be a "green city" by 2020 so hopefully that remains true.
Real time air pollution index from US Consulate, Saigon:
http://aqicn.org/city/vietnam/ho-chi-mi … consulate/
Whats interesting about the air pollution in Saigon is that, whilst I have lived in many hot countries and had to use fans for cooling (I try to avoid aircon as much as possible), only in Saigon have I had to clean the fan blades of muck every three months.
Hi,
I've been living in Thu Dau Mot (big town north of Saigon) for 3 years. I hate pollution and big cities.
I moved to Saigon few days ago and love it. Actually I'm not in Saigon itself, but really near, in an area full of nature and much less pollution and not so much traffic.
Get a map and check Nguyen Van Linh street. The east is district 7, but west is Binh Chanh, it's like you're in Saigon but not so crazy. Really near of everything.
Look for Conic or Camellia areas. They are starting selling in Camellia, so maybe you can find something interesting for you.
Hope it helps.
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