SaltedPeanut

Hi, I've looking on this forum for a while now and we are just at the 'idea' stage of emigrating. having researcheed it for a while we still do not know which area would be best for our family - we have 2 children aged 5 and 7. From what I can gather Sidney is too expensive, Adelaide some have said is borning, and the 4 seasons in one day Melbourne doesn't really appeal to me as that is what we have here in the UK! My hubby is a dentist and so we would need to live near a main town i'm guessing. Having read a lot of threads on here I'm under no illusions and know that Australia is not 'UK in the sun' and to be honest I feel that a lot of the replies on here are negative and have put me off the idea a little, so please be kind My main concerns about the UK is the knife crime among youths and where we live i'm told it is the norm for youngsters to take cocaine regularly, I know crime is everywhere but i'm hoping that our children may be able to stay a little safer and stay younger for longer in OZ but i'm not still not sure on which area. Would love the coast within easy reach commute for my hubby no more than 45 mins but don't want to be in a small little place in the middle of nowhere, Could you please sum up these areas for me to help me decide: Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sidney, NSW. Many thanks!!

KJCherokee

In alphabetical order:

ADELAIDE - the only large city in South Australia (the state). Lovely city, unique in the way the CBD is surrounded by parkland which separate it from the suburbs. Because of the geography the suburbs extend mainly north-south with the northern areas generally a lower socio-economic status - employment is largely based on the Holden factory which only keeps going because of huge injections of government funding.

Climate can get very hot (40C+) in daytime summer and down to single digit temperatures in nighttime winter (sometimes below zero). Rain mainly in winter, little humidity in summer.

BRISBANE - Capital of Queensland. The other large population areas in Qld are the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Logan and Ipswich which together are known as The South-East. Relatively prosperous due to mining and energy (gas). Climate low/mid 30's in summer and teens in winter. Rains normally in summer and the humidity in Jan/Feb can reach high 90's%. There are good and not-so-good suburbs all over.

DARWIN - small, hot, humid - and not in the south, so forget it.

HOBART - Capital of Tasmania, which is actually part of south Australia whatever you may have been told. Never been there, but I understand that it is a beautiful place. Climate very similar to UK.

MELBOURNE - Large sprawling city, and along with Sydney offers the most in terms of culture and entertainment - all the big shows and tours come here whereas the other capitals are either bypassed or have very limited runs. Lousy climate, can be very hot, very cold, very dry and extremely wet: never mind, tomorrow is likely to be just the same. Lots of nice areas (e.g. Mornington Peninsular) which are far enough from the city to be almost rural but near enough to be able to enjoy a night on the town.

PERTH - Capital of Western Australia. Nice city, climate's not bad, but so far away from the rest of Australia that they have a totally different outlook on life. Prosperous because of mining and energy.

SYDNEY (not Sidney, he's the guy at the local fish shop) - Capital of NSW, largest city in Australia, has everything you would expect from a major city, both good and bad. Suburbs sprawl to the extent that it may take you an hour or more to commute into the CBD by train - driving would be even longer, but since it costs an arm and a leg to park you wouldn't drive anyway. Climate is halfway between Brisbane and Melbourne: more predictable than Melbourne, less humid than Brisbane.

Knife crime and drugs in schools tend to be reported locally, not nationally, but in SE Queensland where I live I don't see them as major problems. Sure you get the isolated incident reported in the papers but none of my friends with young children have indicated any concerns.

Oh, and there's also Canberra, where a dentist who specialises in pulling feet out of mouths could probably do well. Very cold place, both climatically and governmentally.

BadgeIsBack

Like the sum up, but as a biased Melbourne poster I would say that yes, it does get hot and dry in summer and yes it can get wet and grey in winter: however! there are many days in summer that are just right - with low humidity - there is high UV and some days that are too warm in all southern cities - and the cold winter is nowhere near as cold as recent UK winters. I like Kim's comment - that the next day might be the same- it distracts from Melbourne's usual reputation! but actually the next day might be welcome if the week before has been too hot. You have to remember that many people in the Australian summer would kill for cooler weeks or days and this is what Melbourne can bring. I actually think the 4 seasons in one day is ludicrous - what happens is that the weather can be variable - and say a summer day can start overcast and then be hot by lunch or a welcoming change comes in summer in the afternoon - you would also come to appreciate these!

Qld - can be too humid - there is also a sense of backwardness and many many posters are suprised to see that things seem different in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. For example NSW(Sydney) requires an annual roadworthy certificate (MOT) for older cars - Vic(Melbourne) requires one only on sell of a vehicle (it's a start!) In other states the level of safety diminishes. However, I think all states authorise that police officers can mark a car as unsafe....

This knife crime thing sounds like poor reporting - and it all comes down to where you live, (in both countries) and the perception of how the news is received.

GarryP

Adelaide : Full of weirdos
Brisbane : Hot & Humid & Thunderstorms
Darwin : Avoid
Hobart : Cold and considered to be throwbacksville. Think Wales.
Melbourne : Culture & Real weather
Perth : You can't afford it, and there's a long way from anywhere
Sydney : A city. Expensive, but acceptable if Melbourne won't let you in.

You may think, coming from the UK, that you will happily see the back of weather. However the desire for some change is built into our blood. Melbourne is much less of a culture shock than somewhere with 'the wet' and 'the dry' would be.

KJCherokee

I wonder what makes me think that GarryP lives in Melbourne? Can't be his totally unbiassed assessment of the various cities, can it?

GarryP

Did I ever say I was going to be unbiased

ozzieeagle

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesnt Tasmania, then Melbourne, Then Sydney, then Adelaide then Brisbane, then Perth, have the descending in order, have the highest satisfaction rates for UK migrants ?

With Tas top and Perth last.... Although I will add people that love Perth really love it.

BadgeIsBack

I wasn't sure..

I admit to bias - but it is my hope that the the spin is underpinned by credence..

SaltedPeanut

Thank you for your replies! very helpful and interesting. Apologies..i did know it was Sydney don't know how that happened there
Please keep your replies coming, the more info the better - thanks!

Buzzy--Bee

OK there's nothing I can say about Melbourne already that hasn't been said in other threads - the weather is TONS better than the UK here, for instance we never get snow or frost.

Have a look at these threads to get some idea of my completely biased view of Melbourne, where I have lived for almost 6 years -

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413388

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=527425

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=673936

BB

SaltedPeanut

Many thanks that info is really helpful!