Buzzy--Bee

Yes, many times, and three times before I had ever been to Melbourne.

The beaches in QLD are stunning too, but we chose Melbourne over Brisbane partly because in Melbourne we could live within walking distance of a lovely beach and easy commute from the city. This is harder in Brisbane, most of the commutable beaches are mud flats and you have to go to the GC or Bribie for nice beaches, which were too far for a commute.

Plus I don't like humidity.

BB

astera

Melbourne gets a bit cold though, does't it? Living in one of the colder areas of Australia (like Mel or Tassie), even though I understand that everyone has there own preferences, is like going to a great steakhouse (aka Australia) and asking for a veggie meal.

I like downtown Brisbane, but I see your point about beaches - another must-have aspect that I also intrinsically link to living in Australia.

To me the Gold Coast has it all, I even skipped Sydney for it. What do you need from the "city" that's important, especially in today's day and age where the best shopping, eating, and naturally the beaches - pretty much all the important bits - are not located downtown between office buildings and the zombies that occupy them for 8+ hrs each day.

I found the GC more interesting than Sydney in terms of every aspect imaginable. Better shopping (Robina Town Centre is probably better than any mall I have been to in Singapore), better restaurants, more interesting places to drive to in a short time (Tamborine mountain has some fantastic restaurants with remarkable views), some of the best beaches in the country, all sorts of other attractions from regular concerts at Jupiters Casino to all those fun/amusement parks.

GC seems to offer more than any big city in Australia, without bringing in the problems of a big city from congestion (due to all the office drones), high crime, poverty-stricken/problem areas, etc. Certainly seemed like a win-win choice to me. Plus it has the skyline - highest building in Australia is still here.

Buzzy--Bee

Certainly cooler than other parts of Australia, but nowhere near as cold as anywhere in England, where I came from, or as cold as southern New Zealand, where my wife comes from.

I like the seasons. I hate humidity. And I enjoy that for 3 months of the year I can drive to ski-fields for a day trip, which I couldn't do in London. For 7 months of the year my kids enjoy wakeboarding behind our boat. That's pretty good living in my book.

A well-paid job, that allows me to fully enjoy the lifestyle of Australia. That's the number one reason I chose Melbourne. Without a well-paid job, none of the other benefits of emigrating could be realised.

BB

Beoz

Ho ho ho. You are having a laugh right. You like the Gold Coast because it has a mall? My word you really need to see more of Australia. Seriously, go and spend some quality time in Melbourne and Sydney.

astera

Where exactly did I state that?

Beoz

Next time I'm on the Goldie, I've gotta get to the Great Robina Mall hilariouz.

GarryP

If you like Benidorm, then the Gold Coast is the place to end up. Personally if I were looking at the Brisbane surrounds I'd be looking north rather than south.

Beoz

Likewise. The Sunshine Coast all the way.

astera

I think you should find the nearest Kumon centre instead and improve on your reading comprehension skills.

Beoz

Forgive me .... I must have had a vivid dream about the Great Robina Shopping Mall.

I think I see the issue here. You've been living in Asia so long where they aspire to live in high rises and hang out at shopping malls. Its taking a while to adjust

astera

Wow, genius.

You honestly think people there aspire to live in high-rises?

That is the key to everything, and it seems like you are enjoying the lifestyle that the move to Australia and Melbourne have offered.

bcworld

I'm surprised Q1 is such a draw! It's a building that certainly hasn't aged well IMO...and the bar up top has really lost it's lustre. Sure it qualifies as 'tallest' if you include the giant metal spike on top, otherwise it's easily outdone.

Beoz

You tell me. There's a lot of high rise living in Sing. There's also a lot of hanging out at the mall. Maybe its for the air conditioning. Jakarta even worse. All social things are done in the mall.

asher

Having lived in both Melbourne and Sydney they are both absolutely fantastic places to live .

Melbourne has hotter summers cooler winters but still sunny, Sydney has more humidity but a smaller range of temperature.

never been called a Pommie anywhere in Australia.

beaches are beautiful in Melbourne, but as has been said Melbourne is more city and river, Sydney is the harbour and beaches.

housing is expensive around Sydney but Melbourne has more and easier accessible fresh food markets.
cost of living is what you make it.

We drove into Melbourne city a lot but we would never drive into Sydney if we can avoid it.

really both are very nice just look around before you make any decisions.

astera

Q1 is surprising in how it polarises opinions. I seems to be very popular with Asian guests, but locals do not like it due to the lack of balconies (it has these "enclosed balconies" where you can simply lift the windows a bit - more like a winter garden).

Locals omit the place entirely and prefer buildings like the Oracle in Broadbeach.

Yes there are. Just because there are lots of high-rises does not mean that they are simply there because that is how people love to live. It's all about money and lack of space. In fact people there aspire to live in landed properties, but those are few and far between in central areas and come at an astronomical cost.

Malls are simply a way or organising the retail sector, yet again due to space limitations. So instead of houses and high street style shops (you get those in some areas still) you have roads lined with condos, hotels and malls...

A lot of social activity focuses there because that's where all the services and restaurants are too. But overall it's not so much about the Western mall concept as simply a way of squeezing in and managing retail space in a country limited by severe land constraints.