kismet

hi all,
We are going to Brisbane to live and i was just wondering if anyone who has been there could compare it to a uk city?? is it as impersonal as London or more friendly like Manchester??
Someone just posted a message with "if you are thinking of living in Brisbane i wouldnt recommend it" this rang a bell with me and i would love to know the fors and againsts living in Brisabane.
I would love any feedback on this as im starting to worry........
Cheers all!!!!
kismet

ex kiwi

I would say that Brisbane has nothing in common with any UK city. Its about 15-20 degrees hotter year round for starters! Loved the place though!

I too am relocating the family to Brisbane from Auckland, and have just spent 2 weeks there “Checking it Out�. We drove over 1200kms and can say we were very impressed with the city overall. The public facilities (Roading, rail, buses, parks, etc) are all top class. We found the locals friendly and helpful. Just little things like drivers letting you go first, and shoppers pointing you in the direction of a empty car park at a busy Mall.

The only complaint I have is that the grocery & beer prices were about 10% more expensive than NZ. Even for Aussie beers!!!!!!!

Nice areas: Albany Creek, Bridgman Downs, Birkdale, Wellington Point, Riverhills, Westlake. But if there was a suitable job for me, I will definitely move to the Gold Coast, in particular Robina.

Don’t worry, for every person that bags Brisbane there are 5 that love it.!

Good Luck
Ex Kiwi

colind

Although we live in Sydney, my wife is from Brisbane and we spend a reasonable amount of time there. I imagine the reasons people might post advising not to live there might be:

1. The climate...it's extremely humid in summer and some people find that hard to deal with, when combined with high temperatures (the winter weather is incredible, however)
2. If you have come from a busy, bustling city (e.g. London) you might find Bris a little sleepy and quiet.

Personally, I really like the place and as long as you're OK with the above, I would say you'll be fine.

Colin

dotty

I think compared to London or Manchester, Brisbane would seem almost more like a large UK town, if you are talking size comparisom only. My brothers from London and Brighton both came here and were like, oh well weve been here 3 days and that it now.

People do underestimate the weather, the Humidity is relentless, day and night in summer, beautiful but short winter tho. Put it this way it was in the 30,s in October and will cool down again about next May.

I dont think it is like the UK at all. Good sides, less traffic, reasonable priced detached houses, (under $300,000). Its not as isolated as Perth, (fly to Sydney for around $200 return.) Coastal resorts only an hours dirve.

Bad sides are the heat, some grotty areas, crime same as anywhere in the world. Fairly backward for most things, like buying TVs Computers, (same for most of Aus). Little arts theatre etc, very boring shops, (same in every suburb).

I would not go down the cheap cost of living track. It may be compared to UK wages, but certainly not when earning Australian dollars.

Probably a great spot for those who really love Hot humid climate and a fairly quiet simple life.

Ceri

My opinion
Sleepy .. no
peaceful... no
good driving ...no.
Housing cheap.. no, well I don't think so, cheap to London yes, and certain cities in England (a 4 bedroom house in Gower (Wales), over looking the water 250 thou.. My mate in the Uk has one) a house 3 roads away from the water... Gower again ... 120 thou (mother in law)
It depends what you are used to, obvious it is quieter than London, Manchester I have not got a clue about.

I'd compare this place with Cardiff.
Laid out... sprawled... boring, packed with people, bad driving, and as friendly as a snake.

Like I said it depends on what you're used to.

It also depends on what area you go to in Brisbane... don't fall for the cheap housing/areas... they are cheap for a reason.

Weather... mild in the winter... and hot in the summer, if you don't like heat.. don't come here. it's not so much the heat, but the humidity. It's humid in Brisbane for a good few months. Doesn't bother me though, I've been living in a far worse humid climate than Brisbane.

Everyone has different opinions... mine I hate it here in Brisbane, I preferred Newcastle where the people were more down to earth, and the driving was better , and the countryside and beaches near there, were more to my liking.

It may be a good idea to check out Brisbane first.. before you commit to anything... i.e. rent first, get a feel for the place... which is hard to do if it's only for a couple of weeks on holiday mode, you may need a couple of months to really check out the place... see if it's suited to you.

Cheers

P.S.. it would be interesting to know how many people like it here compared to how many don't... and I mean the ones which are living here now, not holiday here or just been for just a couple of weeks (it's hard really getting to know a place in only a couple of weeks)
I've been living in Brisbane almost 5 years. I think it will be- for everyone who doesn't like it here, there will be someone who does, one to one maybe.

It suits some people, others hate it... depends on what you are used to.

kismet

hi all,
Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply.
Its nice to hear both sides of the coin the good and the bad. There are going to be good things and bad about anywhere though so its nice to get the full story.
cheers you have given me something to chew over............
kismet

Stan J

Myself I'm from North West England (Southport) and have lived in Brisbane for more than a decade (although I'm in the UK now).

OK Looks - Brisbane looks more like an American city. Glass towers predominate the CBD (Central Business District) and shopping malls are found in many suburbs.

When I went there I got not much more than two dollars to the pound ... now it takes almost three dollars to buy the pound back ... so earning aussie dollars makes life in the UK seem very expensive. If you can convert a decent tranche of savings into Aussie dollars you will find that it will go far.

Check out the Courier Mail http://www.couriermail.com.au for a feel of salaries and property prices. You will probably find it difficult to match UK salaries but the money you do have will spin out further.

In Manchester at Burger King (still called Hungry Jacks a lot of places in Oz) you might pay $14 for a 'value meal' which would be $6 downunder, Subway & Mc Donalds are similar. I was picking up large takeaway Pizzas from PizzaHut in Brisbanes for $5.50 yet to I paid $36 to dine in in London. (I know ... not a direct comparison) ... but you get a feel of the price differential.

A new Cinema complex has opened on the saefront at Southport and their ticket prices are $12 (£4) average price of two movies in Brisbane maybe $9 on a Tuesday.

If you live in Brisbane you can 'weekend' comfortably anywhere between Byron Bay to the South and Noosa to the North. For me I preferred the coast at the weekends but needed the dynamism of a 'State Capital' to secure employment. I was air-conditioned at work but not where I lived. Being on the coast I found more comfortable and enjoyable.

Found I wasn't going out drinking as often as in the UK ... but was eating out more ... with a couple of beers at a BYO (Bring Yer Own) restaurant. I'd say since Brisbane did the Com Games and Expo 88 it has taken off from it's old 'market town' tag that you will hear.

Rent will probably be less than in Manchester ... I'd say a two bedroom flat could be rented for $250-350 a few stops from the City Centre.

You can find the odd British and Irish Pub where you can drink pints but you pay a premium for the imported beer. If you've seen the XXXX beer label you'll recognize the place if you pass Milton railway station (two stops from town) BUT you won't recognize the taste of the beer.

I've lived in and around the suburbs of St.Lucia, Toowong, Taringa, Indooroorpilly and Auchenflower for the most part. There's plenty of different restaurants etc around these areas and several shopping malls. Indooroopilly Mall must be on a simliar scale to Trafford ?

There are lots of bikeways around the city ... but remember that sweltering humidity folk were telling you about ... well the law says you have to wear a bike helmet ... put me off cycling.

If you do drive shortly after arrival remeber you can only park your car facing the flow of traffic. No parking nose to nose like the UK.

In my opinion there is less road discipline around SE Qld than in the UK ... that probably 'cos may Qlders are card carrying members of the Centre Lane Owners Club. Though largely traffic moves noticeably slower than in the UK. Legal limits are about the same 70mph (100 or 110kph). Mind you I think this is partially due to inadequate constructed length of Motorway filter on ramps. (How one is supposed to reach 110kph and safely filter on to the Bruce heading South to Brisbane from the Glass House Mountains Rd ... I dunno.) You will find the locals entering the Motorways traveling at 75mph at speeds of only 50mph because of arguably inadequate road design (and poor public tuition of how to use Motorways) Also get used to being overtaken on the inside.

If you live in Brisbane you will be able to go swimming in the ocean on a mid-winter's day (say up at Noosa) at a temperature of 22 degrees yet you might expect to have woken up to a morning as cold as 4 degrees. That is there is a greater di-urnal temp swing than in the UK. You will seldom find yourself going to work on a dark morning but you can forget those mid-summer evenings.

With a few days off you can drive South to Sydney (about twice the drive to Cornwall) or North to the Whitsunday Islands, Barrier Reef playground (about three times the drive to Cornwall ex Manchester)

From Brisbane you can 'weekend it' at Byron, Gold Coast (Southport, Surfers Paradise to Coolangatta), Sunshine Coast (Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, Noosa) or one of several sand Islands (Fraser, Moreton, Nth Stradbrooke etc) or do the Rainforest thing at Lamington National Park. Then you're back in Brisvegas for Monday morning work.

At least you can cruise into town on the City Cat (a river baesd catamarran service)

Hmmm.

Ceri

True!!! ... actually the middle lane drivers travelling towards the Gold Coast (the new motorway) .. are now 3'rd lane drivers (4 lanes) !!... You'll find that the fastest lane... is the left hand lane ( the so called slow lane)... a no, no in Britain overtaking on the left!!!... but what the hell, only way to overtake half of these people here who refuse to get over, or don't look in their rear view mirror..
Pet hate of mine is the driving here
Actually I noticed that Queenslanders are bad, worse than NSW (newcastle/Sydney way)... I'm not the only one who thinks this either... an aussie workmate moved up the same time as me from NSW... he say's excatly the same about the driving here in Brisbane... and he's an Aussie born and bred.

cheers

Stan J

I share your view on the NSW (Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong) metroplex drivers having more lane discipline than SE Qld. Also you're correct regarding the confusion on the BNE GC Motorway confusing the Qld ers by offering 'more than one' middle lane.

It's actually a massive waste of money building 50 kilometres of concrete laneway to remain all but empty due to poor public education of how to properly use the Motorway.

ex kiwi

[QUOTE][SIZE=1]Originally posted by Stan J
I share your view on the NSW (Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong) metroplex drivers having more lane discipline than SE Qld. Also you're correct regarding the confusion on the BNE GC Motorway confusing the Qld ers by offering 'more than one' middle lane.


If Brisbane drivers are bad, then Auckland drivers must be absolutely disgraceful. During my time there I found the Bris / Gold Coast drivers to be very considerate of other drivers.

One thing I did notice though was the abundance of really old crusty cars on the road. i.e. Torana’s, Kingswoods, Datsuns. You just don’t see these old prehistoric scrap heaps on the roads of NZ. I’m sure it has to do with the ridiculously high prices for 2nd hand cars in Aussie. No wonder the people hold onto there cars for so long.

One downside to this in NZ is the emergence of the “Boy Racer� culture. Spotty 15 year olds (both sexes) driving 280 HP+ Turbo high performance Jap imports, which you can easily buy for $10,000 NZD with $500 deposit. These children get there jollies buy using the roads as a race track, especially after 1am.

Didn’t see this in Brisbane. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

Ex kiwi

Herman

When we were in the Gold Coast there was a giant car park in Southport (Gold Coast) on a Sat night that was full of hundreds, no exaggeration literally hundreds, of spotty teenagers in their rediculous cars. There were police everywhere searching their cars. In the middle of the night we could here these kids having fun up and down the coast, revving and wheel spinning. My sister lives there and tells me this is a normal Sat night.
We live in Sydney and sure enough, come 1am on a Saturday out come the dickheads in their 10 year v8's getting their kicks at the lights.
Its endemic in this part of the world I'm afraid. Boys will be boys I suppose, but at least in the UK all they can afford is a mark 3 1.1litre escort because of the insurance!

ex kiwi

Isn’t there a law in NSW giving the Police power to confiscate the dickheads cars after the 2nd offence??

The opposition party are trying to pass the same law threw NZ parliament now, but are getting opposition from the politically correct / human rights idiots that seem to rule this country.

Ceri

Yip, the Gold coast is known for "Hoons"... burning out, racing etc.
I don't live in the Gold Coast but it's always on the news and current affairs here about the boy racers "meets" in the Gold Coast...

We've got them this end too (Redcliffe, North Brisbane).. meets, there was even a web site advertising these meets up here in Redcliffe. Although it's not quite as big as the Gold Coast ones.

cheers

Ceri

Funny you say that... there is a law coming in here, up in Redcliffe anyway (I don't know if it's a QLD state law.. it might be) that the police can seize/impound the car after the second offence I think. New law.

cheers