Beoz

Well that seems to be the plus points, and you can do any of that in any city in Australia

Not at all - ever heard of "you pay for what you get?" That's the point - it costs more so you get more. To be honest, it appears the only thing that costs more is housing. If you look up any average salary calculator Sydney trumps Brisbane for average income so any housing price increase could prove cost neutral if the salary calculators hold true.

Why????? How???? What has Brisbane got that Sydney doesn't???? Brisbane doesn't even have a decent beach. Sydney has a whole coastline full of them.

Are you on drugs? Where on earth have you been shopping in Sydney?

My pleasure, but it would be fair to say, if you've missed Paddington in your previous visits, one really needs to ask "where the hell have you been hanging out"?

bingobob777

William your wage may seem way higher, but plan on your outgoings being 2.5 times as much in dollars as it is in pounds before using that as an excuse to come.

If you do move to The Gap and are working in the CBD or Valley, make sure you live within 10 walk of the bus routes. If you can afford the slightly higher rents, move to Ashgrove. You get all the benefits of the Gap, but with easier access to local shops & bars and well as increasing your options for getting into the CBD.

rabble_rouser

I have only lived in Brisbane for 1 year but I think its almost paradise. I think its vastly nicer than melb or Syd. It hasn't got the rather overrated hipster restaurants of melb or the sophistication of Syd but its got what I want.

Its certainly not as 'blessed' by multiculturalism or 'culture' as melb but for me it has a more real Australia feel that I moved here for. In short I love that I can hunt and fish and boat and bushwalk on weekends and this more than compensates for the minor downsides.

WilliamStacey

I love a spreadsheet so i've done my best to compile a cost of living sheet with my wage which i have under estimated and the rent/bills etc. which i have hopefully over estimated. We have a very comparable way of life over there and that is with just me working. At the moment my wife has to work full time due to my wage and she would like to be more of a hands-on mum and work part-time so she can meet people while still picking up the wee one from school and hopefully adding a brother or sister.

Also stuck in a pokey 2 bed flat whereas for a very similar rent price we could get 3/4 beds with a pool and big garden.

Beoz

I'm pretty sure you can fish and boat in all the other capital cities to the same degree if not more than in Brisbane. Not sure about the hunting part ..... do you mean hunting ladies?

Can you tell me more about the Australia feel you mention? I'm kind of curious.

Buzzy--Bee

Certainly my own boat is out constantly here from October - May, watersports though, not fishing.

I am also qualified crew in the Australian Volunteer Coastguard and I can tell you people fish and boat in Melbourne all year round.

And I think people do pig hunting here too but this is not my thing so I don't speak from experience.

BB

Pollyana

Pig Hunting is mostly far north Queensland - every so often we have to send the SES out to help someone when the pig wins the battle

rabble_rouser

In Brisbane I can be in nowheresville within only 1 hrs drive from my home. Camping fishing etc. I couldn't get out of Syd in 1 hour. Plus its got more essence of Australia here with the pissant Australiana style villages with queenslanders and rundown bakeries and not a hipster in sight.

1-0!

Beoz

Ok. if that tickles your fancy we can add that Brisbane list. Hey for what its worth, you can be on the National Park or the Blue Mountains within an hour of downtown Sydney. Not sure who sold you the story on that.

Kim67

The OP asked specifically about the good and bad of Brisbane, as they have family here. Why does every thread about Brisbane have to become a sh*t fight with people from other states bagging it. I reckon it must be weather envy

Buzzy--Bee

I think it might have been because someone from QLD was saying how much better it was than other states!


BB

Beoz

I've been looking for the good in it for a long time. I think we are getting somewhere with this thread. Baby steps. And of course, you need to compare it to its competitors to get a good appreciation. Having never lived in Brisbane I can only get the info from those that have and of course many of those who live in Brisbane have never lived anywhere else, so the discussion works both ways. Hope that helps

jad n rich

Quite honestly the main thing I do more of in melb than brisbane is shopping. And get to wear lovely winter clothes for a few months. We eat plenty of ethnic food too, but did that on the sunshine coast all the time. Oh and I use public transport a lot.

Melb beaches are as flat as the bayside ones ( that dont exist apparently ) off brisbane, and if I want surf I would have to drive and hour or so also the same as brisbane then. Water temp is obviously very different.

I prefer melbs cooler climate overall, but many prefer heat. .

The one factor I think would make a HUGE difference is if you had a mortgage. We would pay at least double in melb to even come close to our (comparable) rental properties in QLD. The property on the sunshine coast would not even exist in Victoria, you simply could not get mountains, surf beach, total privacy, acerage and a massive house and pool 5 mins to a coastal CBD with all facilites with what is a first home buyer budget in melb let alone sydney.

Brisbane and surrounds have what a lot of migrants want, bang for the buck and that bloody sun everyone but me wants.

Beoz

I'm not sure the Sunshine Coast is up for debate here. I've not heard a bad word said for the Sunshine Coast. What about Brisbane?

Kim67

Brisbane and Perth are the only two capital cities I've lived in in Australia (I'm a Pilbara girl by birth). But I have family all over Australia in most capitals and country towns and the general concensus with all of us is that we all love Brissy.