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Adelaide or Melbourne?


LouiseMark

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Hi there. We are looking for some seasoned advise! We have to choose a sponsoring state and have Victoria and South Australia as the best options. We would have loved to go to Sydney or Brisbane but those are not on the list unfortunately.

I have heard Melbourne is one of the most livable countries in the world. i have also heard it is rather expensive and the weather is not always great for the outdoor lifestyle. But on the plus side I have heard there are good jobs to be had if you are willing to work hard and that it is child friendly and lovely places to see.

I have not heard too much about Adelaide except that it is cheaper than Melbourne, more sparsley populated, summer are rather hot but the sea water is warmer! What about jobs?

We live in Cape Town and love being outdoors but are used to chilly wet winters. In summer we spend hours in the pool or my hubby likes being on the beach.

My kids are pre-teen so we need to look at decent schooling.

We do not have friends in either places (but loads in Sydney and Brisbane - ironically). So support will not be a deciding factor. Economy, safety, lifestyle.....

We have been to Perth and Sydney but never Adelaide or Melbourne ( again ironic :rolleyes: that our choices land up not being where we thought we would land up)

Google only takes you so far in understanding the area!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We are just your average Cape Town family........ :D

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I would say it depends on your careers... we know a couple in Adelaide and they LOVE it! And then I know a family in Melbourne, and they LOVE it! The family in Adelaide does building/maintenance, the one in Melbourne does IT. Search on seek for jobs in both places and see what would give you a better chance at success in landing a job. I haven't been to Australia yet, but I'd imagine that both cities would have perks, and you could be happy there.

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I think you've summed both of them up pretty well in your first post. I've lived In the Western Cape and don't think you'll find the Melbourne winters too different from there.

We live in Melbourne and like it, but where you live very much affects how you enjoy life here in terms of how long it takes you to get to work. We hated the commute as we lived far out in a boring suburb and it put a dampener on everything. Now we live closer to work in a suburb we love and it's made all the difference.

I love Adelaide as well. In fact it's my first choice, but the only thing keeping us from moving there is the lack of job prospects.

Life is much slower in Adeliade and although a lot of Aussies poke fun at that fact, it sounds ideal for me. That said, although Melbourne is a very big city it does feel smaller and lack some of the craziness of really big cities.

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Mel-B has given you the best advice. My opinion is always to go where the jobs are FIRST, if afterwards you decide you do not like it there, then by all means, you have the "Aussie work experience" under your belt and will find it easier to find a job elsewhere.

Melbourne is definitely more expensive to live than Adelaide, but that also means there are a lot more jobs available.

Yes the winters are wet and cold, but the summers can be pretty hot, best thing is, Melbourne does not have humidity, it is a dry heat.

I have been to Adelaide a number of times, I could easily live there as well, it is a beautiful city, beautiful countryside, and all the people we came into contact with, were great.

I have lived in Melbourne for 17 years, on the fringe in Sunbury, we love it here and it offers us everything we could wish for.

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On Melbourne being expensive: it is, but so is every city in Aus. Property prices are high, but if you ask me, the salaries make up for that premium.

When we looked at moving to Adelaide, sure, property seemed a lot more affordable, but the drop in salary made up for that. Everything else, eating out, groceries, bills, etc, seem to cost the same.

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Yep, agree with all the above, job first and depending on your industry that will almost certainly be in Melbourne

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Neither Victoria or South Australia seem to be doing well for jobs in general at the moment but like always specific circumstances may differ:

"Official figures reveal Victoria has become the hardest place on the mainland to find a job"

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/official-figures-reveal-victoria-has-become-the-hardest-place-on-the-mainland-to-find-a-job-20140402-35yvo.html#ixzz37AgQ9rTO"

Edited by Fish
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Thanks everyone.We will definitely take a look at job websites. i am a teacher. Not sure i will find much on any website but hubby may well see some possibles.

Tough choice because like I said neither were on our preferred list in the first place! But somewhere in Oz is better than nowhere in Oz! :)

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I fell in love with Melbourne. We then went to Brisbane and I fell in love with Brisbane. Then went to Sydney and fell in love with Sydney. I didn't expect to like Oz that much. There was something special and different in each one - am guessing it will be the same with Adelaide. Ups and downs wherever you go.

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Neither Victoria or South Australia seem to be doing well for jobs in general at the moment but like always specific circumstances may differ:

"Official figures reveal Victoria has become the hardest place on the mainland to find a job"

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/official-figures-reveal-victoria-has-become-the-hardest-place-on-the-mainland-to-find-a-job-20140402-35yvo.html#ixzz37AgQ9rTO"

I can believe this...we ended up moving again for a job.

Def would agree to go where the work is. But in saying that...when we decided on Melbourne, there were more jobs advertised in Hubby's line there than any other city....and it changed while we were there.

But as DXB says...all the cities are amazing...I could be happy in any one of them.

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Bit strange though that they show Perth as the lowest,

With the mining downturn they are shedding jobs in the thousands per month, we just had a friend of ours (Geoligist) in mining on a 457 have to head back to RSA because there company shed a ton of jobs and there are just no other jobs available for him to move to, huge competition with all the locals who have also lost their jobs

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Neither Victoria or South Australia seem to be doing well for jobs in general at the moment but like always specific circumstances may differ:

"Official figures reveal Victoria has become the hardest place on the mainland to find a job"

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/official-figures-reveal-victoria-has-become-the-hardest-place-on-the-mainland-to-find-a-job-20140402-35yvo.html#ixzz37AgQ9rTO"

As always though, stats don't paint the full picture. I would suggest that many of those job seekers are in low, semi-skilled, food and beverage and retail areas. Not neccesarily true for professionals.

They keep talking about Melbourne having such a massive population boom, so I think these stats can be explained by the population increase and the downturn in retail and manufacturing jobs.

I guess my point is - don't see this article as a sign that Melbourne is a no-go because you can't get a job.

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As always though, stats don't paint the full picture. I would suggest that many of those job seekers are in low, semi-skilled, food and beverage and retail areas. Not neccesarily true for professionals.

They keep talking about Melbourne having such a massive population boom, so I think these stats can be explained by the population increase and the downturn in retail and manufacturing jobs.

I guess my point is - don't see this article as a sign that Melbourne is a no-go because you can't get a job.

Yes, and also I would say don't just assume the larger the city the easier getting a job will be because the number of applicants vs available jobs quotient can become unbalanced in any size city.

I think what large cities are good for are niche jobs that you may not find in smaller cities. Run of the mill professional skills you may have to research the best cities of the moment a bit more.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We went to Adelaide and LOVED it. Went to Sydney and liked it to. We are actually looking at moving to Adelaide, and we also, thankfully, have a support system there. Will be interesting to see where we actually land up :blush-anim-cl:

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Just some info as a teacher.... To get registered in South Australia, you need to get skills assessed first and need to physically be in Adelaide before you can complete registration, so you won't be able to apply for jobs before you arrive there. In Victoria they assess your skills when you register and you can do everything from South Africa. If I'm successful I can already start applying and maybe get a job before we arrive there.

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Just a note for teachers, don't want to put a damper on it but teachers really struggle to find work here in Melbourne. I have two Aussie friends who are teachers, the one took about two years to find a permanent position and the other is still looking. She does temporary work now and then but is finding it incredibly hard to find something permanent.

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It's the same in Adelaide. My hubby is a teacher now (was an engineer but had to retrain for medical reasons) and usually only gets six month contracts each year (first semester). Then the second half of the year is a bit of relief teaching with hardly anything in the 4th term.

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My biggest thing here in Australia is, I don't want to pay of someone else's bond - definitely not for 4 years.

I have been to Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and currently live in Sydney.

The price of the average house in Sydney is around $850 000

If you can afford a house in Sydney, you can afford a house almost anywhere in the world

In that sense, everywhere else is a lot cheaper - what you get in Sydney for $850 000, compared to what you get elsewhere for $850 000

I think overall food is priced the same....

All the cities gets to at least 34 degrees or more in summer.... summers are just longer in some areas than others

If you like Cape Town, you will like Melbourne... it is vibey and arty farty, but 4 seasons in one day and they are predicting growth for Melbourne to be the biggest out off all major cities in Aus

Sydney has an older look... lots of green... colder winter, hot summer... 4th most expensive city in the world - but a great place

Brisbane is humid, great beaches..... river runs through the centre of the CBD... boiling hot summers with high humidity

Perth is flat and isolated, rains in winter and very hot in summer.... but has everything you need - carries more than a quarter of the Australian economy and pays the highest salaries

And then there is Darwin.... broken jaw capital as a result of alcohol - but I think everybody drinks beer to cool down (LOL - nice excuse)

Again.... I don't think it is about where you go, but about your attitude and what you make of it

Every state will have different things that attracts different people....

And you will always have the option to relocate....

Edited by VanTonderFamily
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The only other thing I can add is that Melbourne schools far outrank Adelaide schools on a national scale. You may struggle for a teaching job in both, but Melbourne is a bigger market. House prices are cheaper and commutes possibly shorter in Adelaide.

Is the state sponsorship possible for the whole of Melbourne or only regional?

If it's the whole of Melbourne I'd be inclined to go there.

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FYI, "Sydney"...."4th most expensive city in the world"...this isn't true. Doesn't take into account salaries.

Edited by Fish
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I agree with the advice above - ie go where the jobs are - ie Melbourne over Adelaide. I live in Melbourne and lived in Cape Town for a year - the weather is similar, except there is less of a summer here and when it is hot, it is hotter. I've only been to Adelaide on a few day visits for work and really like the look of it, but the economy there is struggling more so than in Melbourne. Adelaide is smaller than Melbourne, but it is not small. The mountains are really close to the city and a (British) colleague living in Adelaide is having a great time touring and cycling in the area. The beaches are also better and the water is warmer, despite being on the same latitude. (Saying that, the water in Melbourne is warmer than in Cape Town, so you'd be ok!) If you are able to secure a job before coming over I'd say Adelaide.

Adelaide gets very, very hot - mid 40's - which may sound nice, but it is unbearable (IMHO). I'm not sure about the winters.

Melbourne is starting to grow on me, but for the first 6 months to a year I was not much of a fan. Coming from Cape Town you are going to be unpleasantly surprised by the aesthetics of the place. The city itself is the heart of the place and is vibrant and exciting. The (outer/ cheaper) suburbs not so much.

By the way, I'd be interested to hear what you say about the education levels here when you have been here for a while (ie with you being a teacher).

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From what I could gather, when you look at SEEK, there are a far greater number of jobs available in Melbourne and hardly any advertised for Adelaide. Perth is ranking second, then Brisbane. But then again, it also varies for the different industries.

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New unemployment figures today:

"Unemployment surges to 12-year high at 6.4 per cent; youth jobless figure hits 14 pc"

...

State-by-state
  • NSW: Unemployment up from 5.7 to 5.9 per cent; participation steady at 63 per cent.
  • Vic: Unemployment up from 6.6 to 7 per cent; participation up from 64.2 to 64.7 per cent.
  • Qld: Unemployment up from 6.3 to 6.8 per cent; participation down from 66.3 to 66.2 per cent.
  • SA: Unemployment down from 7.3 to 7.2 per cent; participation down from 62.8 to 62.3 per cent.
  • WA: Unemployment up from 5 to 5.2 per cent; participation steady at 68.4 per cent.
  • Tas: Unemployment steady at 7.5 per cent; participation up from 60.9 to 61 per cent.
  • NT: Unemployment up from 4.5 to 4.8 per cent; participation down from 74.8 to 74.4 per cent.
  • ACT: Unemployment up from 3.8 to 3.9 per cent; participation steady at 71.2 per cent.
Source: ABS. All data seasonally adjusted, except Tasmania, NT and ACT which are trend, due to small sample size.

"Queensland was by far the hardest hit of the states in July, with unemployment rising sharply to 6.8 per cent, even as more Queenslanders gave up the search for work - that is the highest rate for the state in 11 years.

However, despite a small decline in unemployment last month, South Australia continues to have the worst jobless rate on the mainland, while Tasmania maintains the unwanted distinction of having the highest rate overall.

The two most populous states also saw increases in unemployment, but in Victoria's case this was offset by a very strong rise in participation. Nonetheless, Victoria's jobless rate hit a 13-year high.

JP Morgan's Ben Jarman says the rise in the youth unemployment figures may be due to young people starting to look for work ahead of planned changes to unemployment benefits eligibility criteria.

"There's actually the largest rise in that category on record," he told ABC News.

"It's not quite clear what has driven that, but perhaps fears around news that was coming through to unemployment benefits in the May budget, perhaps those fears have induced more in those younger age groups to join the labour force, that might have been influential."

For more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-07/unemployment-data-abs-july/5654926

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I know I'm probably going to offend people here but Adelaide is dead in terms of jobs. They are doing everything to attract people but it's hopeless imho. The car plants have closed, the desalination plant is shelved, the property market is stagnant, it's full of pensioners, and it's so far away from everything I haven't even heard the word 'Adelaide' since we moved out almost 4 years ago ? I'm not even exaggerating. Just being honest.

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For the teachers looking for jobs, check out the govt site for NSW - unless I misunderstood, it looks like there is a need there.

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