East ? South

[vanSchoorFamily]

We just cannot make up our minds where to go?

What are your views of Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Gold coast, Brisbane?

I here a lot about Melbourne, but hardly anything about the other?

Any advise ... good/bad?

[Nev]

So people rabidly defend their cities, so here is my personal 10 cent guide to the major cities:

Your mileage may vary, if what i say annoys you i meant the other thing....

Hopefully this doesn't get me into too much trouble

Melbourne is the laid back cultural capitol, second only to Sydney in jobs, my favorite, but it can have crappy weather during winter, summer is fantastic, camping time is here.

Sydney is really glitzy and corporate, if you are into the rat race this is the place to be, good bucks to be made but really expensive to stay.

Canberra and Adelaide are small town living, you need to be in the right industries to get work easily, concerts and sporting evens often skip these cities, definitely for people who want a out in the country type of lifestyle.

Perth is very far from everything, it is called the second south africa as there are a ton of expats there, i do worry that with mining getting a quiet that they may have a bit of a rougher time of things for the next little while, currently property is really expensive in Perth.

Brisbane is the true surfers living, weather is pretty good all year round, they have warm sea water, pretty much what you would expect California to be like, again though you need to be in the right industries to get work and the salaries are not as good as the big cities, very much a lifestyle choice.

So short answer is you want to move to Melbourne..... not that i'm biased....

[vanSchoorFamily]

So people rabidly defend their cities, so here is my personal 10 cent guide to the major cities:

Your mileage may vary, if what i say annoys you i meant the other thing....

Hopefully this doesn't get me into too much trouble

Melbourne is the laid back cultural capitol, second only to Sydney in jobs, my favorite, but it can have crappy weather during winter, summer is fantastic, camping time is here.

Sydney is really glitzy and corporate, if you are into the rat race this is the place to be, good bucks to be made but really expensive to stay.

Canberra and Adelaide are small town living, you need to be in the right industries to get work easily, concerts and sporting evens often skip these cities, definitely for people who want a out in the country type of lifestyle.

Perth is very far from everything, it is called the second south africa as there are a ton of expats there, i do worry that with mining getting a quiet that they may have a bit of a rougher time of things for the next little while, currently property is really expensive in Perth.

Brisbane is the true surfers living, weather is pretty good all year round, they have warm sea water, pretty much what you would expect California to be like, again though you need to be in the right industries to get work and the salaries are not as good as the big cities, very much a lifestyle choice.

So short answer is you want to move to Melbourne..... not that i'm biased....

I know ... I asked a very touchy question, but like I said, you only here of Melbourne ... mostly, that is anyways.

Thank you for your opinion, it is very much appreciated.

[Mel-B]

After many years of reading, and listening we chose Melbourne for many different reasons! Seems the only thing its missing is easy access lovely beaches Otherwise it seems pretty darn close to perfect.

[Fish]

.... Brisbane is the true surfers living, ...

I've just finished telling surferman there is no surf here in Brisbane and there you go giving him hope again.

[Mara]

Nev, I have a bone to pick with you, Melbourne was supposed to be a secret! LOL!

I am with Nev on his descriptions, the only thing he left out is the humidity in Brisbane, we lived there and I was more than happy to move to Melbourne.

Good luck with your final choice, just remember, if at first you are not happy, move, many of us have!

[vanSchoorFamily]

All of you guys are so super awesome ... I had my heart set on Melbourne from the beginning ... It was hubby that was unsure, so I said I would find out.

After reading all your posts ... he has agreed ...we are going to MELBOURNE

Nev, I have a bone to pick with you, Melbourne was supposed to be a secret! LOL!

I am with Nev on his descriptions, the only thing he left out is the humidity in Brisbane, we lived there and I was more than happy to move to Melbourne.

Good luck with your final choice, just remember, if at first you are not happy, move, many of us have!

move ... That is exactly what I said to him ...

But you all have helped me to convince him ... whoo hoo!

[Fish]

Nev, I have a bone to pick with you, Melbourne was supposed to be a secret! LOL!

I am with Nev on his descriptions, the only thing he left out is the humidity in Brisbane, we lived there and I was more than happy to move to Melbourne.

Good luck with your final choice, just remember, if at first you are not happy, move, many of us have!

In that case Mara, for completeness, I think he also left out the freezing cold in Melbourne....some summer humidity worth it to some to avoid that long cold windy Melbourne winter. Brrrr... Edited September 22, 2014 by Fish

[Mara]

Hey Fish, it is easier to rug up than walk around naked!

VanSchoorFam, I am so glad that we helped with your decision! Hopefully we will meet once you arrive!

[Fish]

Hey Fish, it is easier to rug up than walk around naked!

VanSchoorFam, I am so glad that we helped with your decision! Hopefully we will meet once you arrive!

Nothing wrong with a bit of summer nakedness Mara to get mild awesomeness the rest of the year...so worth it we embrace our nakedness up here...most of the year just looking at the melbourne temps on the telly makes me shiver....there should be health warnings before they're shown

Edited September 22, 2014 by Mara
Yeah but imagine the fun when you need to stay under the covers!

[Neels]

Just to add my 2 cents worth - I was fortunate to be able to visit Melbourne in February, in July and in October (not all in the same year). I have spend some time in the city working, in the suburbs, and in the outskirts of the city, 4x4 in State Forests, camping in the foot hils . There is a saying - If you don't like the weather in Melbourne, wait 10 minutes, and it's true... BUT:

I am a sports fanatic - motor sport in Albert Park or Philip Island, AFL, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, visit the MCG, AAMI stadium, Rod Laver Arena....name it. Sit on a park bench having fish & chips next to the Yarra River.. The fact that most (it's hard to mention a sport you won't find there) sport will be found in or around Melbourne, makes the cold and miserable couple of months in the winter worth it.

I can't wait to live there and do all that with my wife and kids.

[Nev]

Yep, we were talking about it at the office this morning and the verdict was that Melbourne has the best access to live sport in Aus, since we have been here we have watched a ton live

I agree on the beach though, there are some nice beach areas like port Melbourne or the great ocean road, but the water is pretty cold all year round, so not many people brave the sea water

These are from port melbourne 2 weeks ago:

And the great ocean road over December (Camping trip)

Also agree with Fish, winter is pretty rubbish, cold and wet most of the time, but summer is fantastic, we off camping this weekend, this is the spot we will be going to:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Stevensons+Falls+camp+site&espv=2&biw=1122&bih=689&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ZskgVJLTOcX68QWMnoKYAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg#tbm=isch&q=Stevensons+Falls+campsite+otways&spell=1

Stevensons Falls Camp Site in the Otways rain forest (Great ocean road) about 4 hours from melbourne

[DeepFriedMatt]

Nev

Thanks for the summary of Melbourne life and the photos! I am also a big sports fan so cannot wait to watch cricket at MCG and some football at Melbourne FC! Your comments and pictures have just made me so damn keen to get there already, especially because we got our 189 visas this week! I think we should just jump on a plane tomorrow and come over!

[Nev]

Sounds about right

[ruditrix]

Any comment on gold coast? I must say, i am leaning towards pacific pines.

Who wants to give their 2cents?

Thanx.

Trix

[Bronwyn&Co]

Any comment on gold coast? I must say, i am leaning towards pacific pines.

Who wants to give their 2cents?

Thanx.

Trix

Trix it is quite glamorous by Aus standards (disclaimer: not being negative at all, but it's not Monaco or California ☺️) The roads are wide and well-planned. Lots of nice big roundabouts and newish shops.There are a few 'kugel' types haha but that's ok. There are really nice beaches with some wave action going on (waves are not as big as Durban but still they're waves). In November/December Surfer's Paradise turns into a party zone for a couple of weeks with 'schoolies' which is a bit like 'rage' but it's normally well organised, just teenagers letting their hair down.

The property is quite good value on the GC as they are still coming out of a bit of a slump. Also it's a bit far to commute to Bris and fewer jobs than Bris. Definitely a holiday atmosphere.

There are very nice big playparks near the beach for the kiddies. And of course you can invest in annual passes to go to the 'Worlds' like Seaworld, Movieworld. Residents get a bit of a discount compared to tourists.

There is a shop called 'Springbok foods' if you for some reason desperately need to buy biltong spice or lemon creams, or whatever ?

But if you are state-sponsored I thought you had to go more rural...?

Edited September 30, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[ruditrix]

Yes. I have discovered pacific pines is under the regional postal codes. 4211

Just a couple of km from the coast so it suits me incase if a tsunami..... lol.

No really. Any 4211 so it's all good.

A friend told me not to go to gold coast but rather north brisbane, but i do not know the p codes that side and to lazy now to look up.

Going inland is great budget wise, but reeeaaaalllyyyy would like to stay closish to the sea so its not a couple of hours drive to the beach for the kiddos.