For me making friends with locals is hard, mostly because my lack of Vietnamese language skills and being retired I have limited access to locals in the work place. Though for me it is hard meeting expats as well, as most expats work here and make friends through their jobs.

My home address is a small apartment in Fair Oaks, California but I'm here in Ho Chi Minh City right now staying in a rented room and this is where I spend a good part of every year.

On my discharge, I had the challenge of putting my life back together but Vietnam stuck in the inner recesses of my mind.

The visa thing can be an issue, if you're going to work for someone here make sure they will help you with this. However, so that you know what you need make sure you research the visa issue on your own. A 90 day visa is not a problem and I saw six month visas being offered through the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, but nothing about one year visas or temporary residence cards. Of course you are probably aware that you need some sort of visa in advance just to gain entry into Vietnam.

I would say healthcare in Vietnam is so-so. There are several international clinics that are good but expensive and the care offered is limited.

Why Ho Chi Minh City? It is crowded, noisy, scruffy, crazy, but always interesting and things are happening all at a break neck speed.

For the most part Ho Chi Minh City is safe but like any large city you need to pay attention to what's going on around you.