Well thank you for your opinion on my opinion, I wont second guess or try to disprove yours, or put you down. I don't think thats in the spirit of the site, everyone's entitled to their own views and none is the 'correct' answer.

MEL-KUL return has recently been on sale for a tiny bit under $500. And of course that price, cheaper in fact, would be available many times a year when Air Asia is having a sale.

AAX are awesome. We've done PER-KUL return for $300, PER-Japan for $500 etc

I hope, as rumoured, that they go back to London. We did it for $600 return but I know people who got it for $400-odd

Here here old boy. I hate Brisbane but many people don't and if they like it then good for them. Doesn't offend me

As for the flight pricing who's AAX? As being able to leave Brisbane more easily (cheaply) would be most welcome.

Air Asia (X)...they fly from Gold Coast to KL. You can also take Scoot from Gold Coast to Singapore.

Ta muchly

So can anyone give me so hints on how to figure out a budget? I have no idea how much things cost in aus, for example renting, shopping, bills ect ?

Read through the threads on here - loads of them about the cost of living in different places, and most of them have links to calculators, shops etc

Coles Supermarkets will give you a start for food items

realestate.com.au is the best site to search rental prices. Rents in Perth vary enormously, from $300 per week for a basic one bedroom flat, to $5,000+ per week for a big house on the river or ocean. A 3 bedroom 1 bathroom detached house could be $400 per week in a cheap area, the exact same house in a premium area could be $1,000 - $2,000.

Neither Perth nor Melbourne is better than the other, but they are vastly different cities. Definitely job first, the rest follows

Perth if you like bungalows and farms; melbourne if you like hipsters and cafés

Yup. I live in a small 2 bed, 1 bath house on a cottage block about an hour's commute from the city and pay $370/wk. If I had moved 5 km south of where I am I could have had a 4 bed, 2 bath house on a large block for the same amount - only in a much less desirable suburb.

FWIW, I've never been "happy" in Perth, but would much rather be here than Melbourne. I have only visited, but I'm just not suited to a city that big anymore. It's great for a few days of shopping and theatre, etc, but not where I personally would want to live.

Yes, funny how people forget they can get a basket of goods online.
They can divide their salary expectations by the cost of a basket of goods and do the same for their current UK situation. An immediate idea - in one area - of the cost of living without relying on FX rates.

It's a very good point - that perhaps Perth is not so isolated after all.
Have to confess, I have no recent experience of crossing Asia to get to Europe as it is the case, and will continue to be so, that family trips will stage via the US.
Although I will be travelling globally next year with work.

I have been rationalising the fact that Melb-US is give or take a ton, whereas Melb-London might be quite a bit more.

The level of isolation of Perth is directly linked to the whinginess of the pom

Hope you have your flack jacket on!

We had friends who got the 'big seats' KUL - London return for around $1,200 - wish they'd bring these flights back too.