hi folks im hopefully emigrating to oz next feb time with my partner and three children aged 13 11 and 2. my question is should it be melbourne or brisbane? our wish list is better weather than here, as few spiders as possible(i am absolutely terrified of them!!) good job opportunities although we are coming on my visa (im a nurse). would love to live near the beach but surburban as im told less spiders( that true?) anyway thats our wish list. we are hoping to rent for the first year would need to be near some good schools and love the outdoors.
anyway thanks forany advice or tips that you all may give me

Melbourne, less spider, more jobs.

really? less huntsman spiders? whats the weather like there?

I would say Melbourne too - but I am biased...

Seems to be less affected by recession than QLD...

The weather here at the moment is cold - but not by UK standards.

QLD is humid, has lots of rain in summer, beautiful coast, nice beaches Spring and Autumn are nice - summer too humid......

VIC has 4 seasons, much drier - in 11 yr drought, is more cultural (IMO), has nice beaches too.... Dry heat not humid (guess that is cos it doesn't rain)

Hope that helps

You will get spiders everywhere. You will get absolutely heaps in QLD - it's tropical.

I prefer weather in Melb. It doesn't get humid and uncomfortable like it does in QLD.

Don't worry about huntsmans. They are the most timid spiders in the country.

thanks to both of you for your advice im going to research melbourne as well now. thanks again

Me and my OH have been having this discussion for months, (well I have he's never been bothered where we go). Initially it was Brisbane but then I changed my mind and for a long time it was Melbourne we were heading to, I thought the weather might suit me better I'm not the biggest fan of the sun and it I was told it was like Manchester so since that's where we live now great I though! (Or maybe I was being selfish)

But every time I looked on Seek for jobs for the OH 90% of them were in Brisbane and it just makes sense tbh to go there - to have a pick of jobs to choose from rather than having to go for the only one advertised because there aren't any more jobs around if you know what I mean makes sense so we're going to Brissie to validate and we're going to have a drive around and look at the areas and stuff, so we'll see what we think when we're there. To be honest if you ask the question Brisbane or Melbourne 99% of people will say Melbourne but I think you can't let people's opinions sway you - I asked the same question a while back and everyone said Melbourne too! I think you have to see them for yourself and make up your own mind, everone likes different things.

Ps - About the spiders; I'm terrified and I am DREADING the day I see a huge one in Oz - I can't stand the big ones we have in the UK in summer! Have a look at one of the threads I did asking about creepy crawlies.

thanks for your insight i looked at your thread on creepy crawlies there seems to be different accounts of how many spiders you can expect to see although a lot of people have said that there are more big ones in brisbane than melbourne because of the climate. im a nurse and currently there are jobs in brisbane and melbourne so that shouldnt be a problem. my partner will eventually get a part time job untill the kids settle down more but he can turn his hand to most things.
anyone know of any good places near the coast in melbourne?

Yes thats true theres less spiders near the beach becasue they don't like to surf. Ask the real estate agent for a list of suburban spider numbers, starting for the worse suburbs with the most spiders to the suburbs with the least spiders. Every real estate agent has one for their British clients.

Are you serious?!

We started in Brisbane but OH got a job in Geelong which is about an hour south of Melbourne so we came down here after 2 weeks. We love it down here. The weather is more UK than I'd like but the area more than makes up for it. There are at least 3 hospitals here in Geelong - 1 public and 2 private that I've seen. It's a big town and we have left it 3 times in a month to have an explore - everything we need is here though. Never more than 15 minutes drive from stuff.

It's on the bay and has a little beach with loads more stunning beaches - surf beaches to the south about half an hour away. It's also wine territory so there are lots of vineyards around too - have been too busy to sample them yet! The train to Melbourne takes about an hour and seems very cheap to us - $24 for a family return.

As you can tell from my wittering, we think it's great!

Melbourne like Manchester ?? Have you every visited Melbourne or Brisbane ?

I highly suggest that you visit both before making a decision and don't let spiders be a deciding factor. After a year of finding small spiders in your pants you will become numb to them, eventually even having competitions to see who can find the most poisonous or biggest in the house. Seriously though, people always over hype the spider thing and it isn't really an issue. Melbourne certainly has less creepy wildlife than Brisbane, but I would highly suggest you visit both before you settle on a location.

One final comment, don't come to Australia comparing it to the UK or you will fail big time. Remember every day that you are moving to the other side of the world to a totally new country and no matter how much you think you know about it from Aussie celebrities and Aussie TV it's going to be very different. They are a unique, highly social, people with a frank attitude living in a stunning country that they are fiercely proud of, but can also be very frustrating to anyone who thinks it will be "just like home". From our experience we have found that Aussie's do not look kindly on people who don't try to integrate, and believe me you do have to try. Remember you are living in their country and "fitting in" is something you have to work at.

Al

very wise words there I reckon....

I suppose the comparison of Melbourne to Manchester has relevance depending on which context you are using it. I came straight from London to Brisbane, which are nothing alike in any way whatsoever. The first city I visited outside of QLD was Melbourne, about 18 months after arriving in the country. Because I had been away from England so long I found Melbourne very similar in many ways to parts of Britain. The Yarra areas for instance I found very similar to parts of outer London (Richmond, Kingston etc). Culturally I found it very similar to bits of Manchester and London. But in many aspects it is nothing like any of them. But one thing I do know from visiting most fo the major cities in Aus is that Melbourne is probably the closest in likeness to anywhere in Britain.
So in short if you came over expecting it to be Manchester in Aus you are likely to be very disappointed. If you want something completely different to what you are used to then Brisbane is probably the better of the two choices

Bribane has a tropical climate so you are more likely to find bigger spiders there like huntsmen. They're harmless but I am like you, I freak out over spiders.

However, any area in Melbourne with plenty of trees will have plenty of spiders too, but they are more likely to be daddy long legs and small black spiders.

Weather-wise Brisbane has warm winters where the average day time temp is around 22C, in Melbourne winter days can range from 11C to 17C. Brisbane is very humid in summer and that can be stifling. Melbourne has a more mediterranean summer with hot dry summers.

Try www.cityhobo.com. It is an excellent source of information on where to live in Melbourne and Brisbane.