Gems

Hmmm, I live 4 half hours North of Perth and like it! Also lived 9 hours north of Perth and thought it was nice place and handy for Coral Bay.

Gems

stuckinblighty

Agreed,there is alot of snobbery in Melbourne regarding where you live

Lee

bigAPE

Yeah, we're all assholes

Compared to Bayside, Geelong is quite industrial. That is mainly because Bayside is not an industrial area. Nothing wrong with Geelong, as they say.

Take Williamstown for example. Right in the heart of the docks surrounded by heavy industry and it's a gem with a lovely harbour, great shops, restaurants and bars and even a cute little beach. Don't be put off until you have seen these areas.

Another example is Point Cook. Some love it, some hate it. The point is that it's an evolving area and I bet you it will be thriving in 5-10 years times.

It all depends on what you're after and what you like in life. Everyone is different

Wise words Bill

Geelong Gent

Like Shanghai in China? Is it not closer by plane than other Australian cities? or is that just a fable? much like Melbourne is cold?

Best solution is for OP to spend a few days in each city - could be worse they could of asked too compare Auckland NZ with any international city

TheColebecks

I wish we could afford to do a reccie to Melbourne too but that is just not an option after the cost of the reccie to Perth last year

Everyone's views on this thread have been very helpful, thanks

Hugs
Karen xx

bigAPE

If you don't want to do another reccie then perhaps if you have not already got work or accommodation lined up in Perth an alternate solution would be to emigrate to Melbourne, spend a month here in a furnished holiday rental (plenty about) before heading over to Perth (in a rental camper perhaps to see some of the South coast and Adelaide along the way!).

If you're concerned about shipping your gear, just have it shipped to Perth and time it so that it arrives within a 4-5 weeks of you getting there (so 2 months after landing in Melbourne).

If in the interim you find that you really enjoy Melbourne you could get the shipping company to change the delivery address from Perth to Melbourne and have the container sent over by train. Might cost a little more but certainly less than moving your entire family to Melbourne when you find that you don't like Perth after 6 months (hypothetically of course).

I know this might sound reckless and a little adventurous (specifically if you have a family in tow), but think about it. Your moving your entire lives to the other side of the world (literally), will that one more month of travelling really hurt ? It could really help you make up your minds.

Al

hevs

It doesn't sound reckless at all, thats what we did
But from Perth to Melbourne, we had a ball and our kids still talk about it 5 years on

bigAPE

Come on Hevs, anyone who goes for the Bombers must be reckless

Just look at Bill

TheColebecks

Could be a possibility; we're not rushing into getting kids into schools and have no jobs lined up so this idea could work

popwa

Hi, I'm new to the site and would like to add my 2 bobs worth. I did live in Melbourne for a few months when backpacking years ago. I last visited briefly almost 8 years ago. I have been living in Perth for over 18 years now and have 2 young boys. I feel that Perth is fine for young families, but it does have its limitations, as others have said. Perth is very unspoilt, but that is changing, particularly on the wonderful coastline. Plently of open space, but questionable local councils are squashing more and more people in, leading to urban stress. Very little protection for consumers, eg in house building. Great climate, but you get stuck indoors on very hot days, just like you might stay inside in bad weather in UK. Tight, often impenetrable, networks in social, work and political circles. Lazy, disinterested population that tends to sit on its collective backside, rather than stop bad things happening. If you have special needs, eg in education or health, your needs may well not be met, especially outside Perth, but even within the metro area. Low standard of education in state system. Museums, art galleries, school outings for kids extremely limited.

Yes, isolated, in a way that you cannot understand unless you have lived here. Expensive to escape from. We've been well-served by touring rock bands during the boom, but many don't bother coming to Perth. Many different outdoors opportunities available, especially water-based, but if you like walking in the countryside, it's too hot for 8 months of the year. The other 4 months it usually rains heavily, too much for bushwalking. At least 20 years behind everywhere else, but not in a positive way.

If I had to move from Perth, but stay in Australia, Melbourne would be my choice. It would probably to great if you could take up the option of flying into Perth and stay for a month, then travel across to Melbourne, or vice versa, as others suggested, so that you aren't left wondering. Good luck.

mulben

This essentially boils down to two things, a well paying job and where do I want
to live. All other considerations are of no consequence.

As noted by Popwa housing estates are the norm on smaller plot size, this is in
every Australian city ,very few quarter acre (1000sqm) blocks are available in
any subdivision. So unless your one of the wealthy this wont be a factor to
decide on buying or renting.

Cost of living is comparative (in my experience) between them all.
Education, its a lucky dip (good teachers make good schools not the other way round)

Health services -Melbourne has the best in Australia -Hospitals not GPs

Travel - we used to holiday in winter at Hervey Bay a distance of 1500km so
if your used to travelling long distances its no hardship.

I personally don't think weather should come as a deciding factor as Australia
is hot in Summer (even Tassie ) and cool/cold in winter (particularly after you have acclimatised)

Having lived in Melbourne,Deniliquin, Griffith , Tamworth ,holidayed in lots of East coast towns I maybe see things from a non city perspective and think
coming to Perth after being in the east you really take in how very different
it is over here ( hard to explain)

I think you get a better idea coming east to west as bigApe said spend at
least a month in Melbourne then if you still want to compare you have a
standard to compare with.

Three Legs

... *applauds* ...

Top post and very accurate.

3

innojuk

These threads always make me laugh, such polarised opinions

Personally having spent at least 3 months in every major city in Australia (except Brisbane, I had to escape after 2 weeks!!) I would choose Perth every time, second would be Sydney and the main reason for that being that I found it more expensive to live in Sydney.

I always found plenty to do in Perth and never struggled for entertainment.

And just to put the cat firmly among the pigeons, Melbourne would be one above Brisbane in my list and Brisbane would be at the bottom.

Good luck with your move and I hope you find that you have made the right choice for you and yours.

hevs

Can you please explain.......

BATS666

[QUOTE=bigAPE;7127574]


There are plenty of NO COST things to do in Melbourne. waterskiing, kneeboarding, Kangaroo spotting at night in 4X4's,

QUOTE]
PETROL FREE IN VIC THEN IS IT ????