woody1974

I know i won't be the first person to ask for advice on where to live but here goes.
brisbane was not my first choice to go but recently i have had an interview for a technicians job, which on the whole could mean me getting in sooner than if i apply myself. I was wondering how people get on with the weather on the gold coast and also the house prices and nice ares to live , only i would be grateful for all the lovely people who already reside there to give there opinion, mind you surfing all year round
For all those who are on expats and brit vics melbourne was my first choice as a desination but this may take a lot longer to get there. I know what to expect with melbourne as i was in melbourne not so long ago and already have people i Know who have moved their this year


I know there could be worse things to make your mind up about but any advice may make thing a bit more clear

jad n rich

I am from melbourne, when we came back from Uk we moved up to QLd after just a few months in Vic. We are not alone there is a large swing of victorians moving to qld, for most of them better weather seems to be the main reason.

For us it was we had spent 7 years in the Uk, moving to melbourne does not really seem that different to another UK town, and yes it can be very grey and wet in winter. Its not a place you go if looking to escape crime and drugs and traffic either. But I love my home town it really was not enough of a change for us to move around the world for and give up family etc. So we decided the high growth state of qld was worth a try, being a builder there was to be no worry with work, my building practictioner licence in Vic helped me get a QLd one too. With three boys the swimming pool/beach thing was important and still 4 years on they love that aspect. Climate to be honest is a bit much in summer, but where in australia isnt it? or if you get a mild summer you get a revolting winter nowheres perfect all year. So thats it really for us, we wanted a big change in the way we lived and melby was too similar in many ways to the UK.

Now after 4 years of laid back pool life we fancy a bit of UK or melbourne again tho

Why not take the job in bris you can always move to melb in a couple of years?

wmoore

Seems like pretty sound advice to me.
I'm here at Melbourne airport waiting to go back to Brisbane (was there all last week). We loved the atmosphere in Brisbane (not something I can describe, just the feeling we got when there) but were not so chuffed with Melbourne. I agree it feels like an English city in many ways (including the glum faces, pollution and buckets of rain). The sun is shining now but we've already decided (yes after only a few days) that Melbourne isn't for us.
In Brisbane, we felt like we could escape the 'big city' easily but even then the city itself was worth staying in. Plenty to do and seemingly plenty of space to do it in. Love the City Cats - we spent a day travelling up and down river getting off at random stops to explore! And all for $4.80 too. Only an hour and a bit by train to the Gold Coast (think Blackpool with sun and clean water ).
Each to his or her own of course....

Sue from Manchester

Met a lovely lady in Bundaberg had migrated from Scotland with her chef husband. First they went to Melbourne. then she said, why have I moved half way round the world to be cold. So then they moved to Queensland and they loved it. Melbourne can get very cold and foggy

Badge

People have a habit - and I fell for it too- guilty as charged M'lud - of arriving in Melbourne in a bad spell and never noticing when the weather is great. Then they go home and talk about the weather. Weve just had our worst winter for 7 years and it has been pissing down all the last 2 weeks - but then the whole of Australia has copped it. Coming from London, Melbourne is much pleasanter. Where we live it is fantastic. Sure it does get cold, but then summers are hardly humid. And Melbourne gets the longish summer nights. I did not have to scape my windscreen once this winter, or wear gloves, hat or scarf - just the same old light fleece. So it can't be too bad.

If it wasn't for jobs, the fact we can live, and afford to live, in a ''semi-rural'' community 1hr from work I would probably consider a move to NSW or QLD, on the basis - why not? but right now, it's not really on the horizon.

BM

tonyk38

I really liked both cities, but if pushed would probably opt for Brisbane, mainly because it just had a nicer ambience about it, can't really explain what i mean by that, though Melb'n has a place in my heart too.

Shellfish

Hi Woody

I think it probably depends what you are looking for. I have never been to Brisbane but I think it has the laid back, beachy lifestyle whereas Melbourne has a more European feel to it with lots of restaurants, shopping, theatre and sports. True, the weather isn’t the best in winter (a little like the UK but definitely not as bad) but on a day like today (it’s 27 without a cloud in the sky and most importantly, no humidity) there is no where else in the world I would rather be. We ultimately chose Melbourne because my husband wouldn’t last a week in Brissie with the humidity and also because we were advised on moving to Australia that if you are looking for a job go to Brisbane or Perth but if you are looking for a career go to Melbourne. My husbands buddy’s mum lives in Perth in winter and in Melbourne in summer and that’s what I am planning for my retirement (a long, long way away)

Hope it goes well

ABCDiamond

That sounds like a really good option, worth going for, if getting in sooner is important to you.

I started in Sydney, but ended up liking it better in QLD. We are all different

woody1974

Thanks everyone for the advice, seems like you've already gone through the same a one point or another.
Sounds like brisbane would be a good bet after all.
Also recieved a message from the company i had an interview with on friday last week about the possibility of sponsoring me. also on the same day had the positive response from the tra for a general electrician class.
seems to be going to well at the moment but still i'am that little bit closer to

Cheers all

anya4oz

I think it's so much entirely a matter of personal choice and taste that I woudn't try to advise you either way.

I'm in Melbourne and one reason why I'm so fond of it is because it reminds me of some of the mainland European cities in which I lived while growing up. Another reason is that there are so many different nationalities here that it's very cosmopolitan - so it's a bit like an Aussie New York (another city I'm very fond of). As for weather, I hate humidity & continual extreme heat & like the seaons here (as well as the legendary 4-seasons-in-1-day thing) - the fall here rivals that of New England, with amazing foliage & high blue skies; I also like the fact that you can drive for an hour or so in the winter & get to walk in *real* snow!

See, we're all different!

Good luck, wherever you go.

Cheers,
Anya.

fraser

have always loved melbourne and have only been to brisbane once found it hard to get around but we did stay at kangaroo point which probably isn't the best place. we couldn't get a beer on our last night in oz as it was a sunday and everything was shut by 10

woody1974

same here with the points as i turned 30 this year and now fall 5 points short of the 120 mark, but there is always the bond money if i go for melbourne over brisbane.

Anya, must agree it did have a sort of homely feel to melbourne and the city did seem to have a lot of food and drink holes. I think just getting in is a big big bonus and if i get to go where i want it will be like all my birthdays and christmas presents rolled into one

Thanks all and may even buy ya a beer when i get out

ATB

andy

CasG

Hell ! Cold and foggy! - just like it has been today in Mow Cop - couldn't see a damn thing (I live on a hill - it has been like Brigadoon).
Cas x

anya4oz

Yes, but here the cold/foggy/rainy days are interspersed with dazzling sunshine and 27C days. We had a few days of 17C & rain, then it was 27C on Weds. After a cold rainy day yesterday, with high of 16C, we're all set for 25C today & it's a fab sunny morning. I can see the water in the bay, all glittering & bright blue from my bedroom window! Lovely....

Cheers
Anya.

melbournebound

I agree with Anya,
I'm sat here in Narre Warren (se suburbs of melbourne), just put the washing out knowing its going to be dry in 1/2 hour (we used our tumble dryer every day in uk), sat out on wednesday in a gorgeous sunny day 27c with a light cooling breeze. We considered brisbane as a friend of ours had worked there and he said it would be ideal fro us, but we tried to find work for my wife as psychiatric nurse in brisbane and found out that there are no jobs in her speciality advertised, only found out last week that most jobs are got through networks of friends etc. So we decided on Melbourne and have found that yes it can have all four seasons in one day but like yesterday when it was cloudy and drizzling and then heavy rain it still felt quite warm and I was still able to walk down to kinder and collect our son in shorts and a light fleece jacket. I can look out of my bedroom window and think yes its going to be a good day ( we can see the dandenongs from were we ware and yes I wouldnt give it up for anything and we are only 20 minutes from the beaches at frankston and rye.
My advice is you could get bored of everyday being like the last one.
Melbourne bound