Thank you all sooooooooo much, that has all been very very helpful and has given me lots to think about.

Lisa x

Yes, unfortunately, 20mins down the road.

In the US we went through a drive through to try some and asked for one of x and one of y. They assumed we meant a dozen of x and a dozen of y - and we were made to look like the odd ones when we said only one of each.

There's a proper sit-down Krispy Kreme (restaurant?) out at Penrith in NSW.
You line up along these glass windows with the Krispy Kreme conveyer belt on the other side of the glass, watching them being made. The smell is somewhat overpowering - but I think it's designed to make you want to eat 12 donuts rather than just 1.

I couldn't believe how packed the place was with all these people having their Krispy Kreme breakfast, Krispy Kreme morning tea and Krispy Kreme lunch. Strangely, all the people eating had one thing in common - their size - most of them were verging on the obese....

My wife and I have the occasional 'meal' (if you can call it that) at a Pancake Parlour in Dandenong if we are passing through...

Good luck enjoying any of it when you are commuting 4 hours a day. I have several friends in Sydney and you definitely either love it or hate it

I work at home so my current commute is about 10 metres.

Oh great, another Sydney is better than Melbourne thread. Second only to the Australia is better than England brigade.

Which city is right for you will depend completely on YOU. Some of the happiest people on this forum moved to one city, realised is wasn't what they wanted, and moved to another.

Oh, and I almost forgot... You HAVE to move to Wagga Wagga. It's the best place on earth, they have three different donut shops, and a swimming pool that's as good as any Sydney beach.

Think we passed that on Sunday going up Mt Dandenong.

Hi Lisa,

We were all set on Brisbane, mainly for the weather and the fantastic looking city centre.

Emma, my partner, went over to Brisbane last June to meet her parents for a holiday ( they live in New Zealand ). She loved it but did say that she would find it a bit boring after a while as there didn't seem to be much outside the city and not enough galleries etc in the city to satisfy, ( she's a right culture vulture ).

Anyway, we were set on Brisbane for a long time during our application. Read loads on here and elsewhere on the net. Then, I started to panic a little about the heat and humidity as I don't do too hot. Also, I enjoy getting out into the surrounding areas for walks etc and it seemed like it would be too hot for us to do this in Brisbane.

We went to the book shop to get some travel and guide books on Bris, and by this time we had started to entertain the thought of Melbourne. There were hardly any books on Bris and loads on Melbourne. We bought what we could and after digesting them all it seemed that Melbourne won hands down for what we are looking for.

It has a more temperate climate, ( although it actually has less rain per year than Sydney and Brisbane ), as other posters have said there always seems to be something to do. The clincher for me was the surrounding areas. You have beaches, vineyards, hills and mountains - all within a couple of hours of the CBD. You can even go skiing in the winter less than 2 hours away from CBD!

Also, after sending out a few prospective e-mails, there are a lot more jobs for us in Melbourne. I have actually had 5 offers! Couldn't believe it. Obviously that makes in an even easier choice for us.

Anyway, I totally recommend this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...398550-9044630 for anyone considering Melbourne. In fact, I can't recommend it enough - BUY IT!!! It helped make our mind up. When reading similar books for Brisbane there just seemed no competition. Note to any Brisbanites - I am not knocking Brisbane at all, just saying that Melbourne seems to suit what we are looking for, ( I'm 30, Emma's 34 and we have no kids ).

If we can scrape enough cash together for when we move we hope to fly to Brisbane first for a holiday, then move down to Melbourne to live and work. At least then we will have an impression of Brisbane and know whether we may want to try living there at a later time.

Best of luck.....

Shh don't let everybody know about Melbourne, but good post!

We don't Love/Hate Sydney we like to VISIT Sydney but prefer to LIVE in Melbourne. We have spent 5 months in Sydney over the years including working there. We actually emigrated into Syd as we have family there. Melbourne is our home and it is for US.
The climate suits US better. The people suit US better. We have great weather for 3 seasons of the year which gives us winter to visit warmer climes on holiday etc.

research and check out different places for YOU before you put down roots.

LJJ