Logistics of living in a condo on the beach for about 6 months. I

You can choose among those below 3 groups of options:
1. Nha Trang, Phan Thiet (very close to Mui Ne), Vung Tau:
- Large foreigner's community. Mostly expats: Nha Trang (lots of Rusian) & Vung Tau. Phan Thiet or Mui Ne: more tourists, esp. Rusian ^_^.
- Vung Tau is close to Ho Chi Minh City (about 2 hours driving car), the most dynamic city in Vietnam with the largest expats' community, I think.
-  You can enjoy many bars, entertainment places, sports at these places, esp. Phan Thiet & Mui Ne.

2. Da Nang (very close to Hoi An):
- Clean, more locals, typical Vietnam, esp. Hoi An is one of world heritages with many authentic houses,...
- Hoi An is more expensive than Da Nang cause it's a hot tourism pot.
- From here, you can go to Hue, formed capital of Vietnam.
- Da Nang is voted among Vietnamese to be the most desired place to live in Vietnam. Used to be less corruption than any other cities. Good infrastructure & facilities.
- You can enjoy a calm but not too slow life.
- I can ask my friends to help you to find a place in Da Nang or Hoi An if you need. You can stay at a house next to a river and drive bicycle to the beaches everyday if you are in Hoi An. Da Nang is bigger but still you can find a house near the beaches. Feel free to contact me for help.

2. Islands:
- Either Con Dao or Phu Quoc are perfect for quiet calm lives. You can be a Hemingway here.
- They are developing so infrastructure may not be as good as other cities & life is not much convenient, except when you stay in a 5 stars resort. Unless than, if you stay among locals, you will have chances to experience interesting local life with cheap great seafood everyday.

What else do you want to know?

Hi Bettye- beach lover,

We share the common interest. I also like to live and work in beach cities:)
Scarletvn's post is a nice comprehensive guide. I would strongly recommend Hoi An too, for the very unique ancient, cozy and of heritage experience that I am sure you cannot find anywhere. If you don't want to just take a fast glimpse of everything everywhere, it would be a great choice spending time discovering and experiencing the beautiful historical small beach city Hoi An.

Nha Trang is a graceful and quite untapped city.  Da Nang is more modern and crowded. Phu Quoc is quite a remote area. Besides, Ha long bay (up in the north) is a worthy destination for a visit.

Enjoy planning for the trip!

Thank you, Scarletvn.  I am in the initial stages of exploration so am collecting all the information that I can.  Your reply was hepful.

Thank you.  I think I will focus on Hoi An.  Any suggestions of how to approach finding an apartment to rent.  Should I try to do it from here or should I wait until I'm in Hoi An?  I don't want to get scammed and am so unfamiliar with Vietnam (except for what I have read) that I know I am vulnerable.

There are many mix n match solutions.

Probably you can move from South coastline to North.

I would think 6 months is quite a long time & is enough for 1-2 weeks stay at each place.

There are good places to hike too!

Forummers here are spread everywhere over Vietnam, bet you can tap on each resources.

Good luck and enjoy!

Scarlet wrote a very good, balance reply for you. Hoi An realy is not such a big place to spend a whole six months in. You may end up very bored. Also, as Scarlet noted, it is more expensive to live there. Even meals in restaurants are more expensive han elsewhere.

I suggest you base yourself in Danang and catch the local bus 30km down to Hoi An whenever you want to visit. Hue is definitely worth visiting, too. It is my favourite city in mid-Central Vietnam.

As Ralph said, you might get bored in Hoi An . There's not much night life ,but there are hundreds of dress shops and Taylor's if that's your thing.
Also, you said you want to be on/near the beach.  If your in the middle of Hoi An, it's 5klm from the beach.    There are resorts and accommodation at the beach but not a lot happening.

Nha Trang has apartments and long term rental hotels right on the beach, and you have all the facilities and entertainment of Nha Trang at your doorstep.

Most of the Russians have left since the Ruble crashed and the tour companies tanked.  So accommodation deals are good now.
You can always take a train,bus or plane up,the coast to Hoi An for a break anyway.