Mark12

Hello,

I'm a 32 year old outgoing male seriously considering the opportunity of working in Oz for a couple of years or longer. Having never been before I am a little unsure as to where to head to. Brisbane was recommended to me but I would love to get some more views if anyone can help????

ABCDiamond

Brisbane is nice, but Sydney can be good too.

Being single and free, you can afford to try one City, then move to another and try that.

It's an adventure, no matter where you start, but the weather is better in Brisbane

Budgie

Having lived in Sydney Melbourne and now living in Brisbane, I'd say the pro's and cons of Brisbane are:

Pros

1. GREAT WEATHER!

2. Cheaper housing, certainly when buying property.

3. The feeling of space compared with Melbourne and Sydney - hard to pin down, but I think it's a combination of less crowded housing, wider roads etc - it's just a sense that it's a much more open place to live.

4. The fact that wherever you live in Brisbane, you seem to be able to get anywhere else pretty quickly compared to other cities - when I lived in Sydney in the Inner West it took so long to travel anywhere (even the coast) I seldom bothered.

5. Great natural environment (bushland, the bays and beaches etc).

Cons

1. Social life. As you are single and in your thirties, and if you haven't procreated yet you'll be spending most of your time avoiding the council patrols that round up single childless people over 30 and deport them to other states ;-) Seriously, I've found Brisbane a difficult place to meet people. Much more than Sydney and Melbourne, there's a whole age group of single childless people who seem to be missing! Everyone seems to settle down in their 20's and start popping out kids - and from then on life revolves around the family. We are just about the only couple living in our area that don't have kids. It's not that people aren't friendly in Brisbane, far from it, and Brisbane is a good place to raise a family - but if you don't have one, be prepared to make a lot of effort and hunt far and wide to fit in. If having a good social life is a number one priority for you, I'd suggest Sydney or Melbourne might be a better fit at first.

2. Public transport - personally, I think the buses are fine but if you're used to rail travel, then prepare for a shock as this is extremely limited in Brisbane.

3. Food - costs in supermarkets are more expensive than other cities, as are restaurant meals, and I don't think the quality is as good either. I'm not sure why this is - possibly the lack of competition as there are a lot more of these places in a smaller physical area in the other cities.

4. Pubs and nightlife - pretty poor in Brisbane compared to Sydney and Melbourne. Unless you live close to the city centre, pubs are few and far between. My nearest local is a 30 minute walk away, and I only live 7km from the city centre.

I'm sure some of these are contentious, but that's just my experience. As the other poster said, your flexibility is an asset and you can always try other cities later. I find Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are quite different to each other (can't judge on the other cities as haven't been there yet), each with their pro's and cons so you could try a few of them out and see what you think!

Cheers,

Mark12

Many thanks for your advice, some really good points there. It does sound like another city to Brisbane would be more suitable for me, cheers!

ausi dream

Brisbane- Love it. Has lots of opportunities for all ages and very versatile for getting to most places.

kporte

love it here but think i would struggle as a single man.
the girls love the scottish accent though

pixie135

Hi,
Our friends moved to Sydney beginning of the year, but they found it really hard as living costs and renting a house was quite expensive. They went on a weekend visit to Brisbane and found wages were the same but living costs were cheaper than Sydney so they have decided to move up up Brisbane in 3 weeks. We also have another friend in Brisbane who loves it and would not even think of moving back to the uk.

catherine

ABCDiamond

I disagree with your "Con no 3", but I agree with the rest of your comments.

I lived for 12 years in Sydney and the last 5 years in Brisbane, although just outside a bit...

Maybe the supermarkets and restaurant's are cheaper out here, than in the Brisbane centre ?

asprilla

As a 32yr old married man with a young family, I think brisbane is great... The climate is nice and it is very laid back here in comparison to the UK.

However - if I was a 32yr old single outgoing male I might be more tempted by Melbourne or Sydney, which have more in the way of entertainments etc.

In your position, you could always spend a few months working in each city, in a backpacker-style. That's would I'd do.

spartacus

Eh? Struggle to what . . . remain single?

rabsody

I came here as a 21 year old backpacker (first time) and there wasn't much struggling going on, I can tell you!

spartacus

Apart from out of you shorts!

rabsody

sarongs are a marvellous invention, and a backpacker staple

spartacus

Why Rabs, you've made me blush!

rabsody

first time for everything! i'm reformed from all this wanton disregard for societal propriety these days i hasten to add ... this was in my misspent youth!