Best area for a 3 month relocation?

No problem on that money. My wife and I spend about 800usd a month for everything.

For a couple with two children, we would suggest Da nang, has entertainment, good beaches, better hospitals should you need and convenient to see other places of interest.
We find that hiring an 8 seater with driver for about $60 a day or a Uber/Grab car for similar money will take you wherever you want to go for a full day...

Having lived in Melbourne for yonks, please know you are moving
from Hell to Heaven.   In so many ways...   

Research!   Read the reviews, avoid the tourist traps and (try to)
develop an open mind.   Attitude is all you need here.

As Col advises, it's as cheap as chips here, and areas cover beach,
mountain, city or rainforest - and everything in between, with
infrastructure improving rapidly.   Or laid-back as you like.

Why people would want to live anywhere else is beyond me.

Yes, I am biased.  You will be too.     

Totally agree Bazza 😆

Tru for a servicrd apartment rather than a hotel. If ypu choose Danang, I suggrst you also visit Hue 3 hours away for two or three days to so tours to the royal tombs ( two of which were palaces), the Imperial Palace and the Vinh Moc tunnels. There are also hot springs outside Hue.

Ravenus wrote:

We will be a couple with a 3yo and baby,

just want to live like locals but somewhere nice and where there might be other expats.

FYI here is how the locals get around.

(Wait, these are tourists with a website about their trip!)

Have to agree with the Da Nang recommendation - International airport, good hospitals, beach, mountains and plenty to keep you busy for 3 months - 30 minutes to Hoi An, Hue is close for a weekend trip. Phong Nha cave....   We (wife and baby)  live very comfortably on my superannuation pension - definitely cheaper than Melb.

Hi Ravenous (and maybe of interest to other expats),

My name is Peter Thompson and my lovely Vietnamese wife is Thúy.

We've recently joined a website called Love Home Swap. On this site your swap your house with people around the world.
I want to show Thúy Aus. and we're going  do it from home swap bases and camper van for an indefinite period of time.

You can go to the LHS website and get a trial period free. The lowest rate is $275 per year. 
The limitation is you need to be a 'member' before you can make contact and swap contact details, obviously to protect their client base.
As soon as your offer of a swap has been 'declined' you can no longer send messages to those people.
Have a look at the site and find our entry, I think you'll find it interesting. Our home would be perfect for you guys to quickly become a 'local' in one of the or beautiful, coastal cities in Vietnam. 
Perhaps you have friends in Aus who also might like to consider the possibilities of home swap without paying $275.   
Ravenous, maybe you and your family don't own a home but whether you do or don't contact us, either through our details below if they're not deleted or through expats .com
Have a lovely evening  it's 4pm here).

Peter & Thúy   
***

Da Nang would get my vote too. Having spent the last two years travelling north to south and back again, it has everything including an airport for when you want to check out other parts of the countries. Good beaches, good tourist attractions, mountains, wait... WHAT AM I DOING IN HCMC AGAIN?!

I have lived in Can Tho in the centre of the Mekong Delta. The other place I recommend is Da Nang. Both are beautiful and very cheap to live

Hi. Just to add my few cents to the wonderful discussion. I have been in Hanoi now for two months and have loved it. The food, places to see, culture, and the nearby getaways by air are just great. I have so far been to Halong Bay but this week am going to Hoi An and then to Hue. Around mid June, I will leave on a visa run to Hong Kong and then return and take the train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City where I will spend the rest of my time in Vietnam. I do have side trips planned from there too. I don't know exactly what I live on each month. I stopped trying to count. I live in the old quarter and the hotel room is rather excellent location wise for my photography walks. I really love Hanoi. I've met a number of people here that are now friends. I'm retired so this is not a vacation for me. This is my slow travel life. After Vietnam it will be Cambodia which gets me through 2018 and into 2019. The plans get a bit fuzzy then. Maybe I need another Hanoi beer :-)

I spend time in Dong Hoi, last trip was for 2 months, I had a hotel with breakfast for about $500 AUD per month.  Other expenses for food and transportation were less than another $1,000 and I lived in luxury!  You can rent a villa for less, many options, live like royalty for $2500 AUD per months.

I'm going back in December for 3 months, with side trips to Lao and my budget of >$1,500 AUD per month.