Possible move to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh

i am from Singapore where my husband is from Canada, we have a big dog and a 6 month old son. There is a possible move for us to Vietnam...can anyone advise where is a good place to rent a house close to grocery store and shopping? we have a housing allowance of USD 6000. And to international nursery (if there is one)?
Though i am from Singapore but i have been living in North America for many years..is it possible to drive in Ho Chi Minh? What type of license is acceptable? Sorry for all the questions..but I have never been to Vietnam before but I seem pictures on the internet and it seems like a culture rich country and a very nice place and close to singapore too!
Any advise is welcome! Thanks in advance.

Also..what TV programmes can we get? Do we get cable TV? ESPN? NHL? NFL? CSI series.....etc? What's the weather like? It is warm all year round??? Thanks..

I'd say get an agent to find you a house in either D2 (An Phu) or D7, both are popular with expats with families. 6k will\should get a lot house for that :-) D2 I know has some good international schools etc, not sure on D7 for them. I would also look at where your husband is working that may have some input on your location.
You can drive, but you'd be better off hiring a driver. If you already have an international driving license then its a simple
(ish) enough process of getting your license translated into Vietnamese.

TV yep cable is here and ESPN, Star, HBO, CSI etc... It's not too bad but I don't watch too much TV.

Weather... easy HOT n Dry... or HOT n Wet :-)  average around 35 during day down to 25 at night. Give or take. It's pretty constant all year round.

Thanks laidbackfreak. Would I need to enlist a agency to help me find a driver? Is the traffic bad enough?? we were living in Dubai for 5 years and traffic was terrible there..(drivers speeding fast...i mean crazy fast). I do have a international driving license expiring in August this year...

International driving license's are not accepted here. Hire a driver it's the best way to go in my opinion

Hey there.
I think with 600$, u can find an apartment easily.
You can google some building named:
1. Sky Garden 2, Phu My Hung, Dist 7
2. Hoang Anh Gia Lai 3 (New Saigon), Dist.7

Many foreigners are staying in dis 7, dis 2, dis 1 in the city. It also has international schools, supermarket, international hospital around. It has Canadian International School at here too.

The weather is hot, cold, warm, ... up to the month. Normally, from May to October, its rainy season and the weather is hot. From November to April, its dry season and the weather is cold. But lately, the weather is very strange. Its often hot and sunny.

You should get a new driving license. Its easy for a  foreigners to get a new vietnamese driving license. The traffic at here is not too bad. It just has a traffic jam in rush hours. We have some bad drivers (driving too fast, ...) but they are not too much. Otherwise, u can use taxi, its not too expensive

About TV programme, u can get many channel, like this kplus.vn/Default.aspx?page=service_premiumhd. Its up to 80 TV channel around the world

Is there any more questions?
Cheers!

As Budman says the international license isn't accepted here, but having it means you don't need to do the driving test, its a paperwork excersise in getting it translated.

I would as budman says hire a driver much better option all round.

I ride around on motorbikes but if I need to use a car, I hire one with a driver or get a taxi far easier.

[Moderated: No free ad on the forum]