Wanting to move to Vietnam with my child to teach

First, Congratulations...

..most (all?) of us expats agree we should have 'dunnit' years ago...  Our only regret..?

..apart from those who miss their walnuts..?    .

..but as a budding teacher, you seem to be smarter than the average bear...

The quick answers: ridiculously easy.   Vietnam is not only the cheapest(?) country to live in, but her people are also among the friendliest.  Living proof of Shakespeare's edict to love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.   ..that and the fact that they don't understand what 'multicultural' actually means...    But they suffer from self-awareness just as we do.

Yes, there is the usual petty and opportunist crime.   Outdone by far the bureaucratic bull and corruption at all levels.   'Westerners', tourists and locals have separate pricing, as you might well have already heard, but if you keep an open (and curious!) mind, you'll be more than Ok.
Viet. people do not fit in the ignorant and poverty-stricken myth.   They live with integrity too, and less stressed, balanced lives than those who follow the materialist model.

..as you will (soon) see for yourself.   Personally? I find it as close to Heaven on Earth as we are likely to find.    And I'm not alone in that belief...

Jobs are going begging for anyone with half a clue.   Less, since even the backpakkies have no problems teaching English.    THE true economic language.   Pun intended.   Informal or not, you will be flooded with work and evening classes are very popular.  Set your own up.   It's that easy.  You WILL find a work permit, even without cruising these pages...    Avoid the 2-year 'contracts'.   Again, research carefully...

Good to see you renting small before investing.   Human nature does not change, so the common sense you show will reinforce your research.  tripadvisor.com will give you all the details (and more) on beaches, districts and the pros & cons.

Even if..?  ..he cannot find his niche here immediately, the internet is y/our fallback position and a little surfing will find (often unexpected) opportunities.    Anyone who wants to work will find it here. 

As for the rest..?    Read the (long) lists of all the stuff we (should have) packed before leaving home on this site...      Walnuts especially...

..but larger sizes of clothes & shoes  (most important!)  ..as the larger population is actually the opposite.   In BMI, especially.   Medicines too, are hard to obtain or are very expensive.   Read of our whining and weep.  For us.  You have learnt from our mistakes...   ( read our posts; 'Essentials to live in Vietnam' )

And (finally!) the (many) upsides.   Seeing them for yourself.   Forget the bad & ugly.           Too good to be true?

Maybe only for those who know that the true meaning of life is appreciation.    .

I have liked Vietnamese people ever since I first met them in Baria-Vung Tau Province 45 years ago. They are generally polite and friendly, but never expect them to arrive until an hour after the appointed time. 

And they are simply suicidal on the roads. Never under estimate the Vietnamese ability to self-destruct and take you with them. WHO estimated road death toll in 2010 was 22,419
(ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c … death_rate), which is over double to official, Vietnamese government figures. In other words, the VN government fudges the figures, which this report confirms:
http://thediplomat.com/2012/08/traffic- … nt-killer/

My personal estimate is double the WHO figure, based on Vietnamese figures released some years ago.  The number of registered motor vehicles in VN has quadrupled in the last fifteen years (my VN brother in law's estimate), but my, oh my, the road toll keeps dropping instead of rising, which is complete rubbish. 

Look both ways before stepping off the curb, as motorcyclists ride both ways in both sides of the road. That's Step One in learning to stay alive in Vietnam.

There are cheap and dear districts in Saigon, cheap and dear accommodation, look around and decide what suits you. Phu My Hung, is a lovely,  international standard suburb just south of Saigon. It knocks me over it is so well designed and built, but beware, it has international prices to match. I have heard there is good accommodation in District 7. Other posters should be able to tell you about that.

ALL pollution figures in Saigon are 30% and more above maximum international standards. Dust is 1400% above (figures released in the Saigon press a few years ago).  When you see your nice, white shirts covered in red dust after a 20 minute xyclo ride,  you will have no trouble believing this.

Do try and learn some Vietnamese language. Yes, it's difficult and totally different to European languages. It will help if you have already learnt a tonal language. Vietnamese will very much appreciate that you are trying to learn their language, and complement you on your efforts, no matter how little  you know. The more you know, the more doors of friendship you will find opening for you.

Good luck and enjoy Vietnam.