Tass

Ok , one for all you guys who intially settled in Sydney or other areas and then moved or are thinking of moving up to Queensland.Are things REALLY better up there ? Was it worth all the upheavel again ? More and more expats appear to move to Queensland.Do you all tend to move in the expat circles or is your support from other friends too ? Do you think it's easier to live the Aussie dream there ? Everyone that posts would appear to have a good house , a pool or be only a few minutes from the beach and good ones at that and genuine-lly (?) spend all their time outside.Lifestyle would appear to be so different from down here.
Now the question that I'm going to get slated for but, for your ordinary Joe Bloggs who DIDN'T come here with much change to jingle in their pocket , do you think buying houses etc would become realistic ? From what I've looked at on line ,house prices are not that much better than the suburb we're in just now and they're not on the beach ! (or have a pool)
Just curious as to why. ( and might be good info for the would be expats)
Look forward to the replies,
All the best,
Tass.

soapy©

great thread tass, ill keep my eye on this for answers

Bix

Stop ducking the question.
It's something you are doing.
Tell us why ?

soapy©

ive already made my reasons public mate.
looking ahead i dont think my kids will ever be able to buy a house here.

ABCDiamond

When we moved up here, about 30 months ago now, from Sydney, the comparisons I had were:

* The driving was more relaxed and less stressfull here than in Sydney (however that has been changing due to the influx of Sydneysiders to QLD ! )

* House prices were so much cheaper, but again that has been changing, due to so many cashed up Sydneysiders moving up here !

* People seemed much more friendly, happy to say hello in the street etc., but again..... (more Sydneysiders)

* The weather is MUCH better, and those Damned Sydneysiders can't change that

spalen

Ok So I didnt live in Sydney but Ive visited it for work (in an office environment).

Brisbane house pricing is cheaper than Sydney in that - there are reasonable areas to live in that are closer to the CBD than the equivelant $$ would get you in the same proximity to the centre of Sydney.

- So you can work in the CBD in brissie and live in a house with a pool for less bucks than you can do the same in proximity to Sydney CBD.

- The traffic commuting into CBD in brissie is NOTHING like the commuting into Sydney CBD.

- I guess the weather plays a part , in Qld the weather is better for sure. The 'winter' we've just had was like english summer.

- People who 'live in brisbane' actually live in a 30-40km radius out from the CBD up and down the two coasts (Gold + Sunshine). And in that range there are property hotspots where houses are 1m$ and other areas just as close to beaches and great outside spaces for only a percentage of that.

- From my personal experience i see my work colleagues in brisbane go home earlier than my work colleagues in Sydney ( I see this every day because I can see them log off and go home ;-) ).

So my assumptions are that Queensland is easier to live in because people dont do stupid hours and dont have huge commutes home. I know there will be those who do the stupid hours.

There is also more coastline that is beachable and under-developed than Sydney - a house on bondi is attractive globally (so Mr investment banker billionaire from Hong Kong wants one) , a house on victoria point, bayside, queensland.. with sea views - what the ? where is that? isle of wight?.

floweroscotland

Hi Tass,

I haven't lived in Sydney, so I can't truely compare. I just know the Gold Coast and Queensland has the all year round weather, beautiful beaches, fantastic places and activities for the kids, friendly people. You can buy a brand new 4 bed here for $300k upwards. There are more expensive areas and cheaper areas, but your always either very close to the beach or at the most maybe 15-20 mins away. Even though you maybe haven't got the money to buy a house it's still realistic to think you can get one at some point, either you need to save the deposit or there are loads of places offering 100% morgages. We do spend all our time outside as we have the year round weather, still winter here and in the 80's . Everyone's idea of the Aussie dream is different, so it all depends what your dream maybe.

Lisa

jad n rich

[QUOTE=Tass]Ok , one for all you guys who intially settled in Sydney or other areas and then moved or are thinking of moving up to Queensland.Are things REALLY better up there ? Was it worth all the upheavel again ? More and more expats appear to move to Queensland.Do you all tend to move in the expat circles or is your support from other friends too ? Do you think it's easier to live the Aussie dream there ? Everyone that posts would appear to have a good house , a pool or be only a few minutes from the beach and good ones at that and genuine-lly (?) spend all their time outside.Lifestyle would appear to be so different from down here.
Now the question that I'm going to get slated for but, for your ordinary Joe Bloggs who DIDN'T come here with much change to jingle in their pocket , do you think buying houses etc would become realistic ? From what I've looked at on line ,house prices are not that much better than the suburb we're in just now and they're not on the beach ! (or have a pool)
Just curious as to why. ( and might be good info for the would be expats)
Look forward to the replies,
QUOTE

Anything on the beach is VV expensive but not so in suburbs 10 minutes back, new houses with pool would go from around the $450,000, less if you want to live on the western side of the highway which aussies percieve as the wrong side for breeze etc. Less for older houses, no pool etc too.

I have lived in Melbourne and spent quite a bit of time in Sydney and the advantages are probably Brisbane a fair bit less traffic to melbourne and a lot less traffic to sydney, but very bad at peak hour. The coasts main traffic probs are commuter hour, plenty commute from both coasts and the holiday periods. Traffic on both coasts in dec jan goes into gridlock as millions of toursists pile in, we usually pile out to melbourne or sydney at that time of year

Nowhere has perfect weather all year, winter is very mild but summer is the bit people need to check out, it can be very hot (ignore last summer, very mild and dry) steamy as you often get daily storms but that part only lasts 3 months the rest of the year is really good.

People do spend a fair bit of time outside especially in winter, summer, you tend to find shade and do everything early am, evenings can be a bit of a let down its dark at 7pm but we had a house last summer with a big pool with lights in it, heaps of fun, swimming around under a dark sky you just got used to it. Eating out is big too, sitting in thai restaurants or noodle bars on the sea front, that sort of thing.

I think the thing for us was we came out here for something different, living in any city is pretty much the same. So it ended up queensland, its not all theme parks etc tho, once you live here you rarely go to those sort of places , its more about being casual I guess, casual clothing, casual entertainment, barbies etc, casual schools most are very relaxed here, of course all the other day to day stuff and work is the same old hassle after a while.

Princess Leia

We live in Sydney but regularly visit Brisbane as the inlaws live there.

I prefer the Sydney weather - in QLD for 3 months of the year the weather is very humid and sticky to the point that 28 degrees in Brisbane can feel more uncomfortable than 35 or even 40 in Sydney.

I also exercise a lot walking out in parks etc - in Brisbane you would have to only walk early in the morning for those 3 months of the year as it would be too uncomfortable to do otherwise.

I like the variety in the weather in Sydney but if you are someone who likes it hot/warm all year around with lots of blue skies in winter then you'll love QLD.

The traffic - I agree with a previous poster that Brisbane has become a lot more busy compared to a few years ago when we first started going up there. I was surprised one day to be in the middle of a gridlocked traffic jam out of the Brisbane CBD at rush hour - we just couldn't move! I thought this wasn't supposed to happen here but it does and the locals confirmed it when I asked. Sydney traffic is intense and heavy but at least it generally moves.

Culturally Brisbane has always been less diverse than Sydney. But I think this is changing now.

I'm pretty happy with Sydney but I think I could live in Brisbane now if I had to. A few years ago it was "no way" but I've mellowed

ABCDiamond

I thought that once, after spending a couple of weeks up here on holiday immediately after arriving from the UK in December, and thought I could never live here.
But we change, and here I am, happy as a... (I've forgotton the saying)

spalen

here I am, happy as a...banana bender?

jad n rich

I think the traffic in the major cities is a surprise when you arrive from the UK, you tend to think all that space there wont be any, then it dawns on you most of the 20 million people live within just 1/2 hours of sydney, melbourne perth, or brisbane.

ABCDiamond

I remember driving in Sydney when I first arrived, it was like a country village when compared to London.

But Sydney has become much busier since then, and of course London has become quieter.

Tass

[ Even though you maybe haven't got the money to buy a house it's still realistic to think you can get one at some point, either you need to save the deposit or there are loads of places offering 100% morgages.

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We have been looking into mortgages recently.We are in a lovely rental but due to the removal of vendors tax , the owners are probably going to sell. (They had a market appraisal done last week)
Points to note for people coming here with the bare minimum.
1. Because we have just ourselfs to rely on for child care , I only work on a casual contract , so if need be , I can be here for the kids.
2. Because I only work casual , a majority of morgage lenders disregard my wage completely despite the fact I earn more than my husband.
3.My husband and I are both professionals - nurses -and do not have a lump sum to invest as a deposit. So far there are only 2 banks happy to lend 100% morgage BUT doesn't look like they will proceed any futher because we cannot prove a 3 year saving plan in this country.(we've only been here 9 months). Our savings are starting to go back up now (what's left) but due to relocation costs of everything, it doesn't look good on paper.(BUT we have NO debt !!!! )
4.The $7000 first time buyers allowance from the government would have to be used to pay the insurance on the loan as we have no deposit or garrantors .(forgot what it's really called but will post it when I remember) (and look at my spelling ! :scared: )
5.Saving for a deposit on $300,000 even with the minimum amount accepted 5% is still $15,000 and will take a few years to save , by which point we will have lost the window on the market.(but we will have AT LEAST 3 years saving history then ! )
We will be able to pay our morgage payments ,no worries , but it's back to getting your foot on the ladder !
Thats why I was wondering if in comparison living in Queensland is really much cheaper as houses don't seem to be BUT if the quality of life is better , well !!!
Hey , I've hijacked my own thread !

Tass

Hee-hee !! I had heard this ! No , seriously , there would seem to be a major population shift from Sydney to Queensland. A lot of people from around here are selling up and moving because they believe they will have a better life.
I just wondered about it because basically I would still have to get out my bed and work everyday but all the "I love Australia " posts , with nothing to moan about seem to come from people in Queensland.That's why I was particularly interested in the views of people who had moved from different areas in Oz.
Simple things like , do you think Expats get on better up there because there's more of a community feel BETWEEN expats. (You all seem to see each other more than we can down here.)
Is it living a life more "rose tinted" like and away from normal everyday stuff because of the geography of the area?(more undeveloped coastline was mentioned earlier)
Is it more you feel fulfilled and content because you can live the life you dreamed of ?
I don't quite know what I'm looking for in all these answers but thanks to EVERYONE who has replied so far.
All the best,
Tass.