A lot of people in Perth who want to move to the East Coast, say that it is because they want to be able to travel to other cities in Australia more easily.
How many people do 'pop' to another city for a weekend break ?
I am just curious as we all lived close to Europe once (and it is often one of the reasons why people go back to the UK) but wondered how many people also used to go to Paris or Rome for example, for a mini-break, because it was close !

Dont know if I would pop for a weekend break if I moved there, but it would be nice to holiday for a week without it costing an arm and a leg in airfares.

We've been here 4 years and have made the most of being able to visit every place we can. Weekend trips from Melbourne to Canberra and Sydney but also just having a look around Victoria. Long weekends to Perth, Brisbane and even Port Douglas, Cairns and the Whitsundays. It can be expensive but its worthwhile.
We're not here for ever though so are making the most of seeing these places while we can. Its made us realise that once we return to Europe we'll also be making the most of the sites to see there on the weekends too!

I don't think that it is that common. Internal flights are expensive when your working (and thinking in Dollars) Shift/ Weekend work is also quite common here so that would mean less flexibility in getting away.

Sometimes Australia can all seem pretty much of a muchness anyhow

I think that it is actually very common. Every single family we know here in Brisbane has relatives / friends who live in other towns and cities up and down the coast. In my experience it seems to be quite typical to make one or two trips per year to see family/friends (which is a mini-holiday in itself) and then maybe another for a long weekend away somewhere.

These trips are done via car or plane. Whereas in WA, the car is perhaps not such a viable option (as other destinations are so far away).

Plus, flights are far cheaper (in terms of time and money) when you are on the east coast, compared to WA.

I suspect that if I lived in WA, I'd want to holiday in places like Sydney/Melbourne/Cairns for at least a week, to make it "worthwhile". Whereas when you already live on the east coast, a long weekend of 3 or 4 days is no trouble.


so in answer to your question :

yes - many, many people in the UK take advantage of the proximity to Europe by having weekend breaks.
yes - many people on the east coast do the same kind of thing (though Australia is not quite as varied as europe)
yes - it is harder to do in WA because of time and money constraints.

I just spent the Australia Day weekend over in Perth - it was superb!

I've been over to Sydney for the weekend and I'm off to Adelaide this weekend. In March I'm using the Labour Day in Victoria to get up to Darwin/Kakadu NP for a fast 3-dayer. I have a friend coming down from Brisbane for the weekend in February.

For Easter, I'll be over in Tasmania.

If you plan in advance and make the use of the public holidays you can get anywhere with a bit of willpower. The flights are suited to take into account the time zones.

My advice - go for it and experience this great country, after all, isn't that why we're here??

Been up to the Whitsundays and down to Sydney, would love to spend more time and money holidaying in Oz but at the moment we are on a 2 year 'UK visit' cycle.

As far as Australia being 'much of a muchness' I think this can only be accurate if you doing a countrywide tour of shopping centres.

Some points:
Flying time is almost irrelevant IMO. Unless the flight is under an hour, by the time you've frigged around getting to the airport, waiting for the plane, getting ot your destination at the other end, then an hour or two extra flight time means little.
Fares can cost more to/from Perth but this is changing. Just had a quick look at the Qantas site. The cheapest fare, Perth-Melb. is $189, for Brisbane-Melb. it's $115, which in the big scheme of things is not that much.
With increased competition fares are falling. We recently booked Perth-Melb. for $49 and Melb.-Launceston for $19 on Tiger. Cheap as.
I don't think Aussies travel around that much to be honest.

I don't agree. I think Aussies travel around a lot (everyone I know does). The thing is they tend to get in their cars and drive - rather than fly. I know people in Sydney who don't think twice about hopping in their cars and driving to see relatives in Adelaide. And the Newell Hwy is unbelievably busy during school holidays - it's chocka block full of Victorians driving to Queensland and back. The Pacific Highway heading north out of Sydney just after Christmas is like the M25 on a bad day.

Just cos you Perthites have few places to drive to doesn't mean the rest of the country is the same.

It's one of the main selling points for me, having spent 6 years in a country of 250 square miles and without a car I'm really hoping we can drive off regularly for long weekends and more (assuming catsitters are easy to find or friends are easy to bribe).

It's also a downside that friends who've moved there from Asia have warned me about, as we currently have so many other countries within about a 3 hour flight, but you've got budget airlines, haven't you? To be honest I'm a bit over Asian beaches and temples, and I think Australia is diverse enough to keep us occupied for quite a while.

We drive 10 hours each way 3 or 4 times a year to see the rellies down in Ballarat. We go and visit the son and g'daughter occasionally - 4hours each way. Most weekend visits are family related. Some of my friends have beach houses and wander off for the weekend quite regularly but the beach doesnt have a great pull for us any more.

or fast food places

or Oirish bars ...

I have always travelled a lot in Australia...I love it . About 3 times I have driven from Adelaide to Hervey Bay, either via the coast road going and overland coming back...and vice versa
I would drive to Port Lincoln and Coffin Bay very often...mind you, this was for about a week, not a weekend.
I have flown to Cairns then driven the one hour to Port Douglas to stay and explore the Daintree etc.
Now that we are retired...and here I am in Perth...we wait for Qantas or Virgin 'specials'....we have just returned from 8 days in Adelaide
It is, of course, so much easier when you are retired but all the trips I made out of Adelaide was when I was working

I've visited Sydney and Canberra a few times. Used to visit France and Belgium mostly in the UK as they were easiest and cheapest to drive to. Flying with a large family was expensive so didn't do that very often.

Done loads of Victorian trips as it's all new to me.