Bellamys

I would like a little advice i am applying for my visa's now and cant decide where to live when we get to OZ, I was thinking or canberra, but not sure, my husband is a joiner / carpenter and i work in admin, we have 3 young children, and are looking for some where with open space and no more than 1 hour from the beach, please let me know where is a good place for family living.

Thanks
Lisa

rasen78

A good place to start would be to research the different areas. What sort of climate would would you prefer? Somewhere hot and humid or more temperate, somewhere with 4 distinct seasons, or not? Just as with most countries, there are areas that are good for family living and areas that are not so good, but you need to start with what your requirements are. Aus isn't all sun, sea and beach. There will also be differing opinions as to what a 'good' area is. What is YOUR definition of a good area? Is it good schooling, a sense of community? A suburb, city or rural area?

We have made choices on what area we would like to move to, but we have prioritised those choices. Ultimately, our choice will be dependant on jobs, but also, very high on our list is the climate we would prefer, followed by schooling etc.

While we have done extensive research online, nothing can replace actually seeing somewhere, so while we have made certain decisions, we are realistic enough to understand that those decisions may change depending on our specific situation.

Bernieboy

May i suggest the outer hebrides

rasen78

Was it something I said? Or something himself said

Buzzy--Bee

If you want to be within an hour of the beach then I would suggest Canberra would be the one city you should not move to!

All the other major cities would have many areas within 1 hour of the beach.

BB

paddyo

What he said!!!!
What a bizarre choice, what on earth made you think of Canberra??

steen1976

I read that and didn't click on

Bellamys

Thanks for your advice, I am struggling researching online as there is a lot of conflicting information on the web. I don't want to be in a city, although work and good schools are at the top of my list, my husband and boys like a lot of out door activitys, cycling and off road motor bikes ect. Not sure what climate we want, but I don't think all year round heat would be to good to work in, we do plan to visit before me move but I just feel so overwhelmed at the moment.

rasen78

If you prefer a more temperate climate, then you would be better looking towards the south of the country. Victoria, southern SA and NSW and even Tasmania (not sure of job opportunities there tho) If you look more inland towards some of the mountain ranges, the weather there can be more akin to the UK, so I believe.

If you google the individual states, you can usually get some very informative information about weather, schooling etc ie

http://www.livingin-australia.com/living-in-adelaide/ this link was very informative about Adelaide and SA in general.

HTH

quoll

Nothing wrong with Canberra, it's a nice enough place to live but it will take you an hour and a half to get to the beach and two hours to get to the snow in winter. Fair bit of building going on at the moment and do it alone tradies seem to be minting it (if our reno is anything to go by) and it has thousands of families living here quite happily. You could do much worse than Canberra, it isnt the big city environment of Sydney or Melbourne but it is big enough that it doesnt have the same problems of the rural cities. Plenty of open space here and you can see the bush from anywhere in town.

What visa will you be coming on? That might have an impact on where you can live.

KJCherokee

In that case stop looking at the major centres and move out a bit - like the Mornington Peninsula or Sale/Longford in Victoria or anywhere up the Central Coast of NSW.

paddyo

I wasn't dissing Canberra, I was questioning it as a choice based on the beach requirements. I like the place, often down there!!

iamthecreaturefromuranus

South of Wollongong

Steve2009

If you're not sure what you want yet then you might benefit from a bit of a tour around for a few weeks if you have the money. You might also potentially benefit from keeping footloose in terms of putting down roots for a number of months / years and keep an open mind on trying out different suburbs / cities.

quoll

Nope, you didnt, but no worries, it is an hour and a half from a beach and that may or may not be a deal breaker LOL