Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

Thanks, this is really helpful. I hadn't considered the fact that actually dog parks etc are around to help keep everyone safe, including my dog.
We don't have such a problem here, maybe the odd adder and tick in summer but nothing major and even less so in the city. Will add this to my list of things to research!

My final things to ponder for now is how bad can the traffic on the roads get? Avoid inner city but suburbs ok to drive? Train / bus to work advisable? Are parking costs high?
If we were for examples sake say I worked in the center of either city, I'd be willing to commute up to an hour each way. Where / how far out would the limit be in real life (I've Google mapped some places but that is not always a true indication!) This will help me to research housing.

Thanks again to everyone who has replied, it has been really helpful :)

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

I can only speak with limited experience as I am currently in Brisbane on a business meeting and reconnaissance trip as my company is moving me out here later this year. My work colleagues tell me that parking costs in the CBD and South Brisbane parts of the city are from about $13-$19 a day. I downloaded an app in my phone which you can use the journey planner to put in hypothetical addresses and it will tell you the various public transport methods of getting from one place to the other and the times and bus stop numbers/trains etc. I use that when looking at houses to rent and put in the house address and work address and calculate. It is amazing how somewhere that doesn't seem far away in kilometers if you were to drive takes on public transport if it is an area not well served or has one main access route for the bus etc, for example The Gap. Then other places that are further out but are served by an express bus or train line get you to the office faster and cheaper than you can drive and park. I bought a "Go card" and have used the City Cat etc, very efficient. My colleagues tell me that traffic is bad but without having experienced it myself other than in the taxi from the airport and what is outside my hotel, I don't know whether "bad" is really bad compared to say Southern California where I am currently living, where there are 5 lanes of virtually stopped traffic on my way to work each morning!

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

The traffic is not really that bad. I drive from Coorparoo to Kelvin Grove and back again a couple of times a day (11.9km each way). My morning run is in peak hour traffic across the city - if I leave home by 7.30am, it usually takes about 20 minutes, if I hit really bad traffic, it can take half an hour. On weekends it takes me 15 minutes. I will be home and back within an hour driving both ways in peak hour.

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

I have no doubt that the mean February 3pm humidity is 60% - although you forgot to mention that from the same data the mean 9am humidity is 70% in Feb and 71% in March. This does not mean that there are not days when it reaches 95% without raining, and two or three of those on the trot can be pretty unbearable.

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

It doesn't happen. Not during the day, in summer, when it's also hot.

Look through the BOM data for summer 2014. None over 95% in the afternoon. There are barely any over 70% and...and those are associated with 'rain events'. Normal seems about 55%.

My opinion, people need not be concerned about the climate in Brisbane, make sure you have an A/C in the bedroom for when you need it, but that's about all you need for comfort.

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

I agree entirely! I was just pointing out (with maybe some exaggeration) that Brisbane does experience high humidity in summer that can get to uncomfortable levels, and people not used to such climates should be aware of what may be in store for them.

I've lived here, on and off, for 15 years - had A/C installed only in the last two years and have probably run it about 10-20 times in that period. Opening the windows and doors to allow the breeze to blow through the house is much nicer (and cheaper to run!).

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

Somehow this thread has gone Australian and is standing on its head. Don't panic Mr Mannering, 'they' have been told.

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

That happened to me a lot yesterday...thought I'd clicked something!

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

I don't understand this comment!? Have I missed something!?

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

Yes a brief BE hiccup, it's fine now. Either that or I've been sniffing something I shouldn't have. :unsure:

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

My sister lives in Brisbane. That alone is the best reason to choose Perth. :nod:

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

But I'm near Brisbane :(

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

... and back to topic.

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

We're moving out in a month, and we also narrowed the choices down to Perth or Brisbane originally. We visited Perth twice, and Brisbane once, all three times in February for two weeks.

We chose Perth, because:

- The beaches along the Perth coast are far better than Brisbane can offer
- Hot summer in Perth is much less humid. We were in Perth at 35-40 all week, and in Brisbane for 25-30 all week. Perth at 35-40 felt nice and warm. Brisbane at 25-30 felt horrid and sticky. The humidity really was the difference.
- Perth is more isolated and less good for backpackers, which is something we liked (we live in a rural village in the UK, so don't seek out busy places!).
- Perth is just a little closer to the UK when we want to take trips back to see family (17hrs with one stop flight compared to 21hrs with two stops flight for Brisbane).
- I had one friend in Perth and one in Brisbane at the time, and the one in Brisbane often complained about the year-round heat, whereas the one in Perth only occasionally complained it was cold. I reckoned it'd be nicer to have a few months of a bit cold than a few months of unbearably hot and sticky. I think it's that humidity thing again.
- My wife likes scuba diving and snorkelling, and while Brisbane is nearer the Great Barrier Reef, Perth is nearer Ningaloo, which is a pretty good alternative.
- Perth and WA in general have fewer of the nasty spiders and snakes and other things trying to eat you.
- My brother-in-law and my brother-almost-in-law both went on separate years out in Australia travelling. Both of them spent a few months going down the east coast, both then went to Perth, and both then stopped there for the whole of the rest of their year as they liked it there to live.
- We liked the feel of Perth city centre a little more than Brisbane city centre, and preferred Perth's river to Brisbane's to sit next to. All a bit subjective of course, and Brisbane does do a good line in motorways-on-stilts-in-the-river which was amusing.

- In Brisbane's favour, the countryside looked nicer in Brisbane. Perth city was more desert-y with few trees and mostly shrubs, from what we saw. Brisbane had far more trees and a much more lush feel. We preferred Brisbane for this but Perth won overall.
- Queensland has koalas which was another point in favour of Brisbane. Perth doesn't have any wild, but does have a few semi-captive, for example in Yanchep national park.

It wasn't an obvious choice, but a mixture of beach, low summer humidity and personal recommendations is what led us to that decision. Time will tell whether we chose well!

Re: Perth or Brisbane
 

Welcome to BE and good luck with your move to Perth. :)

Report back after you have been there a while please.