Hi All

We are still deciding on whether to move to the Gold Coast and my Husband commutes to Brisbane, or to move to Melbourne and live in a beachy suburb!

I have twins that are 4 in April so will not be starting school till next April, and a Daughter that will go into year 1.

My concern about Melbourne is that its expensive to do things with the kids, and when the weather is not so good i don't want to be stuck in doors with the kids like i was in the UK! The plus side to the Gold Coast is that its sunny all year round and the beach is free!!!

Any thoughts on these places would be appreciated

What visa will you be on?

My Husband will be on a 457 visa

With a 457 you are tied to your employer so you have to go where the job is.

Have you already got a job offer

Beaches around Melbourne are free as well, and the Gold Coast is most definitely not sunny all the time! Tipping down at present!

My Husband has been offered a job in Melbourne CBD and Brisbane City!

In your opinion which do you think would be better. Money will be tight for a while and as i said i will be at home with the twins for a year, my Husband has a cousin that lives on the Gold coast with 2 small children too so that would definitely help, but the job in Melbourne seems better, the company seems more established. Its the climate in Melbourne were worried about, people say it can get really cold!

We currently live in Malaysia so were used to Humidity, but were moving from here as we live in the City and i am not a city person i was brought up by the sea and thats something i really miss, i know Melbourne has lovely beaches too but how often an you go the beach if its cold!

Have you researched the commute to Brisbane from the GC? It's quite a trip. Does your husband (or you for that matter) want 3 hours traveling per day plus long hours. Oh yeah, people IMO tend to work longer hours here than my experience in UK.

My Husband does a 3 hour commute at the moment an hour and a half each way the traffic in KLCC is terrible, he used to commute an hour back in the UK too so is used to commuting. Long hours are part of my Husbands job, he Starts at 8am and finishes at 7pm and doesn't get home till 8.30pm.

Its the being stuck at home with twins, having no family and friends around with a small budget to do things that is the issue and we don't no if the Gold coast or Melbourne would be the best option!

Are you in the Gold Coast then, whats your experience like?

Redcliffe is in Brisbane and has bayside beaches, similar to Melbourne's bayside beaches. A better commute to Brisbane city. It is sunny right through the year (not every day of course) so you could be on the beach with 20c+ temps in the middle of winter sometimes.

The reason for choosing the gold coast was that my Husband has a cousin there that has offered us somewhere to stay until we can find a place to rent and a car to use until we can afford to buy one which would really help, also just having some family around is a real plus especially when i don't work, she has 2 small children too!

Its really difficult to choose somewhere when youv'e never been, both Melbourne and Gold Coast have great qualities its a very hard decision, i suppose ultimately my Husband has to decide as he is the bread winner!

Persoanlly I'd choose Melbourne, I prefer the climate, I like the feel of the city, and I cannot remember the last time I went near a beach.....possibly 7 years ago?! I would also want to live nearer to work than the Gold Coast -. I work with several people who commute from various bits of the coast to brisbane and they hate it. Send their day nipping over to look at our traffic camera feed and trying to judge the best time to leave to avoid accidetnts/jams/etc

But I don't have kids, and that family support could be good for you

Redcliffe wins over the Gold Coast any day

How much do you want to pay for a house.

A decent Melbourne beachside suburb will set you back a whole lot more than anywhere in Queensland.

Having spent a good 6 months looking for a house in melb ( teen kids in Aviation and Uni there ) the prices and even purchase costs will floor you compared to QLD.

The family offer is great, and could work out a treat. However the amount of people who find tempers in tatters after 3 weeks of living with distant relations ....

Weather, how hot do you want it, the intensity of the sun in either place will keep you inside at times, the sun protection thing gets totally on your nerves after the novelty wears off. But melbourne is generally a good few degrees cooler. Very few are that bothered about beach and barbies after the first 2 years, it actually gets very boring.

There's a lot more to life than the beach. You say you are concerned about being stuck indoors with children. Bear in mind that in Australia the heat will keep you stuck indoors more than cold or rain, and that applies to Melbourne as well as anywhere else.

Our kids have a great life in Melbourne, they are only stuck indoors on the hottest of days when it gets over 38 degrees. Melbourne's weather may not be as "beach-holiday-like" as the Gold Coast, but it's considerably better than anywhere in England.

We also have twins who are now 8.

We've lived in Melbourne 7 years now, and are very glad we chose to live here for many reasons.

BB

If I had the option of living in either place I would choose the Gold Coast over Melbourne but that is because I have been to both and prefer the Gold Coast.

I am not however sure about your rationale. It is not sunny in the Gold Coast every day, in fact it has more rain than Melbourne and it is rain that can stop outdoor activities. And I don't think anyone used to living in Northern Europe, is seriously going to find Melbourne "really cold" either.

Personally I would not let one cousin or the offer of free accommodation for a couple of weeks come into my decision making either. And I live a short walk from the beach and no it doesn't mean that it provides all the activities I could possibly want to do for free.

The thing that I would be put off by with your plan, is definitely the commute for your OH, it is well documented as an unpleasant commute. So in your situation, I would probably end up picking Brisbane.