bcworld

If you read some of the posts by people who live in Melbourne you might get an idea...a whole lot of exaggeratin!

But you're doing exactly the same with Brisbane...it's really not as bad as a lot of people make out, many, many days in summer are absolutely fine & bearable.

BadgeIsBack

I noticed the humidity (not unbearable) even at 9am but it is stable I guess.

anatolie

It can get unpleasantly hot in Melbourne- dry heat though- with flies all over CBD (yes I was working in CBD and remember those days very well, wasn't dreaming), yet winter can be uncomfortable- and people moving straight from Britain may think it is some kind of subtropical paradise too- depending on how wild their imaginations are.

The problem with Melbourne and other warmer Australian cities is the heating problem, they don't have the central heating concept even in fr*kkin Melbourne. It can feel cold in winter in Brisbane too, because people rely on little electric heaters or air conditioners if they are lucky. So it feels a lot colder than it actually is. Is that the case in Europe?

BadgeIsBack

In some UK homes they seem to overheat them. I remember a childhood when you could go into some centrally-heated homes and smell the heat - amidst a fug it had been set so high.

(I grew up in a cold house and it didn't do me any harm. Character building. In fact it helped me deal with cold conditions working outside later on in life! So now we have a wood burner I thank my lucky stars...)

fish.01

Brisbane's best summer is the spring one. The autumn summer is great too. The winter summer is mostly awesome. The summer summer is the worst one....but still lots of good days. Every month of the year averages somewhere in the 20's.....not something I'd expect you one summer people to understand.

So lets put Brisbane's worst season, summer, against Melbourne's worst, winter. That is the "big difference". Some will prefer to suffer through a sweaty summer to get the other 3 non humid summer seasons (daytime), some would rather put up with the freezing winter to avoid humidity altogether....all about choice.

anatolie

I actually prefer London summer, as there is not much suffering if you don't have to use the tube.

Brisbane can get uncomfortable in summer, but if you drive down to Gold Coast or if living there, you will notice a nice sea breeze difference.

Buzzy--Bee

I have lived in Melbourne 3 years and I have rarely if ever been to a house that does not have central heating (Badge's house may be the exception). I have only been to 2 that have radiators but all the rest have ducted heating which I quite like as it heats up quickly and doesn't take up wall space.

The bigger problem is lack of insulation which means the houses cool down quickly too. This can of course be installed by the occupant should they wish.

BB

bezzanbob

Summer in Brisbane - worst memory simply the perspiration from the 40 degrees and having to find the nearest air conditioned mall - and Melbourne it would be the sleet.

Brissie can get a bit too predictable - when we lived there we yearned for clouds - whereas even last summer in Melbourne we had some very pleasant days amidst the usual grey and showery weather.

For me Melbourne has the variety and the seasons - Victoria for us.

AlliF

We have ducted heating in our rented house and it is absolute rubbish! By the time the air gets round to the main bedroom it is freezing! It's like an icebox in there, never warms up in the winter. And the mainliving area has so many windows it is like sitting in a wind tunnel. We usually sit with blankets over our knees in winter.
Plus as it is rented we unfortunately cannot just instal insulation if we wish.
The plus point is that we dont need air-con in the summer so dont end up with huge power bills!
Fortunately we are about to move into our new house which should be a bit cosier.

Really annoying thing is everyone keeps saying stuff like - "oh but your scottish you must be used to it? Isnt this like a summers day in scotland?" - (and then collapse in laughter at their own comedic abilities.)
Hmm. just because we are used to the cold doesn't mean we actually like it or want it!!
Plus our house in Scotland was double glazed, well insulated and had very good central heating.

Right, now im going to go and put my scarf and gloves on and watch some telly.....

(and before anyone suggests a move to another, warmer, part of aus - we had to come to Melbourne because that is where OH's employer needed him.)

iamthecreaturefromuranus

I quite like my weather.... none of the extremes that everybody else seems to complain about.

Buzzy--Bee

Glad you are about to move into your own house which should be warmer - rentals tend to be under-specced both in heating and insulation! Ducted heating is fantastic if it is correctly specced and accompanied by insulation and double glazing - our house is lovely and warm.

Yeh I find the stereotypes of the UK especially by the older generation of Aussies rather annoying, my accountant told me yesterday that his daughter was about to spend a year in London and they had told her she would be living on baked beans as London was so expensive, not that they've ever left Australia themselves!


Yep, northern hemisphere houses are well catered for in this regard, plus passive heating which a lot of people don't realise, but this is what keeps your house warm overnight when you have had the heating on during the day.

The most important thing about emigration is an income. Without that, it doesn't matter how good your ducted heating is, your emigration won't succeed.

BB

Sherlock Holmes

I may be a southern nancy b@stard, and I do like living here but I'm with Scotdownunder: If another Aussie says to me, "You're a pom, you ought to be used to it", I am going to chin him/her.

My reply to that non funny line is...well yes I'm used to it, but NOT INDOORS! Then they look suitably offended. Strike One!

Buzzy--Bee

Good one.

I'm going to use that next time.

BB

AlliF

I like it, i may well use that one too!

Sherlock Holmes

Ducted heating..well..yes..good sytems work..crap ones don't.
But my point in replying is that especially with Australia apparantly being the land of asthma...those who have ducted heating, crap or otherwise need to be advised to clean it!! There are serious health implications with a dirty dusty blown air system.

Those with reverse cycle aircon...it really only heats the air, eventually the fabric of the house, that is if there is any fabric to start with. But the main pest is that most are positioned high up (for cooling in summer) and as we all know, heat rises.

The romans knew how to do it; heat from underneath.

Comment has been made of a lack of recirculated hot water central heating systems as per UK / most of Europe. After two years of internet searching, I finally found it on the net here and I have installed it. The boiler is Italian and is a 37 kw job. Whilst comparing kilowatts with btus is a bit like comparing apples and oranges, 37 kw is approx 90,000 btus. The radiators are Dutch and very modern in design. The pipework is a five layer compound and can be bent by hand. One company that supplies all this is:

http://autoheet.com.au/

Keep warm!