loveklein

Hi Everyone,

This is my first thread and I got a bit of a dilemma, sorry its a little long....ive been looking at the forums and this is great, so many good people and ideas who are like minded!

My dilemma is whether we settle in Perth or Melbourne. We (partner and my 3 year old boy) have just been granted our visas to live in Aus yippee!

Obviously we are going for a better lifestyle and quality where we can have a chilled and hopefully more comfortable life......we previously lived in Sydney 4 years ago and decided to come back to the UK when our son was born in Sydney as my other half (Helen) missed all her family/friends being the maternal mum. However since being back we have had a reality check and realised that we want to go back to settle and can cope now without family as we have our own to enjoy!

Helen (partner) has a cousin anyway in Melbourne who also has a little boy a few years older than our own so we thought from a family point of view the natural choice was to go there and make a fresh start. Also Melbourne is meant to be one of the best cities in the world to live in, and is constantly being voted the best for its lifestyle, its on the east coast so can nip to other cities, has loads in the way of day and night entertainment and meant to be good for schools and sports and social life...................

Then there's Perth...........
We felt if we decided on Perth noticing the difference in lifestyle and quality would be more dramatic with the laid back attitude, constant sunshine and beeches also close by.........and surely this is why we are going for a better lifestyle?.......am I missing something here between the two cities?

Could a family feel lost in a big city like Melbourne and find it harder to make friends etc? or could a family get bored with the smaller option of entertainment & nightlife in Perth?

Although we dont go out as regularly in the evening, we still enjoy evenings out together a few times a month or a meal in the city. Where would our money go further? Perth appears to have caught up with Melbournes property prices.....

We would be really grateful to hear from anyone who has lived in either city or both ideally and could give us insight into the pros and cons of living in each city.........until we make our minds up we're a bit stuck

All advice greatly appreciated
Spencer

thebears

Hi Spencer

Cant comment on Perth and have no intention of giving it a bad rep because it obviously suits some people (we all have different tastes).

With regards Melbourne it is very easy with regards kids and meeting other parents. You just wonder down to the nearest play area (of which are a high standard and everywhere) and start talking with the other parents.

We have already met and become friends with far more other parents than we ever did in the UK (and we arent wall flowers).

We go out as a couple twice a month and have a nice meal etc for around $100 - babysitting is about $10 per hour.

Can't think of any cons (and thats not me sitting here with rose tinted glasses - its just in relation to giving a child the best environment to have a childhood and for the parents to enjoy life cant think of where else I would get the whole package)

All I think about in relation to the difference is one has a sunrise the other a sunset. You could always start in Melbourne and go across for a reccie to Perth and if it floats your boat make the move.

Kiwi

loveklein

Hi Kiwi,

Thanks loads for your input, am still deciding; doing a bit more research into it at the mo.......will let you know where we end up and why? spence

beenthereseenit

I would be incllined to stay in Newbury myself having experienced Melbourne and Oz for 1 year. I would avoid Melbourne at ALL COSTS - unless you enjoy high cost of living and traffic chaos - although you will be used to that in Sydney. Perth/Adelaide the choice if you have to move out there. I would not sell the Berkshire home though - unless you enjoy pouring the best investment you have down the drain!

thebears

Ha ha

Newbury is such a dump compared to Melbourne. You must of been living in Frankston to make such comments.

Spent long time in Winchester and Newbury so know the difference to Melbourne.

shade8

I should imagain 2 compleatly diffrent ways of life.Melbourne is a big city with all that a big city has.Perth is lovely to bring up children nothing to far away City, Beach.Only thing I don't like about living here is the cost of flights to anywhere else in OZ.

mackinnon

It basically boils down to how much mental stimulation you require from your environment.

When my wife grew up in Perth there wasn't as much of the suburban sprawl as there is just now, so their house was basically backing on to bush.

This is why she has always stated that she is not a city girl, and yet shes loves Melbourne.

flip

Hi - whereabouts does Helen's cousin live? and do you intend to go into the city regularly?

If you find the right location you'll be set up for life but presumably she'd like to be near her family so that may limit you as she wouldn't want a 40 minute drive or more on a regular basis with the little one if being near family is the draw and mutural family babysitting does keep the price of a night out down.

We go into the city only when we have business or for a day out and it's truly beautiful with plenty of events going on but we wouldn't fancy going in every day while others are happy to do that and really enjoy working there.

They do have concerts, shows, etc. Maybe not on the scale of UK cities but still there's plenty to do and so many excellent restaurants. BYO (bring your own booze) in restaurants really keeps the prices down.

There are a few who try Melbourne and don't like it but I've heard of more returnees from the West. I wonder if there are statistics on it if you do a search.

We honestly could not be happier with our new home here in Oz. The weather suits me as I can't cope with constant heat, and I think we have a few less scary insects. We moved a lot in the UK (every 2 - 5 years) and I've never found making friends so easy (although you do often have to be the one to start a conversation but it's not difficult to get talking laughing at children's antics or even by asking for advice anywhere you can make long term or casual friends very quickly.

I suppose if you're looking for the beaches they are probably better in Perth. If you're looking for a more similar, but often better, life to the one you're leaving then try Melbourne.

Lindsay Clan

Another way of looking at this dilemma is the positioning of both Perth and Melbourne. Perth is quite isolated over on the west and going into another state in quite a drive. However Melbourne has other states a lot closer and all within a couple of days drive. Melbourne is a beautiful city, it's got beaches, country, wineries, mountains, fabulous coast line. What more could you want!!!

Lorraine

beenthereseenit

You must be walking around with your eyes shut! Mind you Malvern is one of the more "Upmarket" areas of Melbourne.

I think if you were totally honest you would admit that Melbourne is not a patch on Winchester - there really is NO COMPARISON unless you like living in a country thats years BEHIND ! you only have to look at what people are driving, their attitude (Now getting more American than anything else with the falseness of "how ya going?") and the availabilty of decent food and affordable things to realise that! And no I didnt live in Frankston - !! try Scumshine (Sunshine) now thats a DUMP!

The Crow

What decent food could you not get in Melbourne

thebears

??? whats that got to do with the price of fish??? its the way people drive thats more important. So I used to have a £100K worth of BMW in my drive in the UK and now £15K worth of toyotas?? You can keep Winchester with its drug issues with people hiding in their houses and not talking to the neighbours. Just because I live in a nice area does not mean I dont have friends in poverty areas with whom I catch up for a beer or two. They may be on the bread line but still manage to retain a sense of purpose and dignity and by far are enjoying life more than those in Croydon, Crawley or Newbury.
Besides out on the boat fishing who cares where your from or how much you earn.

First I have heard of this? notice you forgot the "mate" so must be people being sarcastic too you and you not realising it!. your misunderstanding not theirs.

you have me in stitches, you cannot be serious, men are from mars, women are from venus and you are talking out of uranus.

Yes have to agree Sunshine is a dump so why did you live there? that is the last place you will get an even perspective of Melbourne.

Bordy

This should be interesting Rach.

The Crow

I sometimes wonder why I bother - but I couldn't resist it!!

BadgeIsBack

Why the hell were you in Sunshine - one of the worst parts in my opinion!