having lived at Cronulla those places were local and i loved them, wouldn't live at Stanwell tops though too many tourists and those Ferraris go there most weekends

We thought about Cronulla before we moved here, we were met with derision for wanting to live in The Shire! Looks nice to me!

Sylvania is another of those places I've really only seen from the train line but looks like a piece of (expensive) heaven. No-one burst my happy bubble please...

I lived in Cronulla for a long time ...... very pretty but full of people who don't get out much ..... still Cronulla is very close to my heart. Bundeena would be nice if you are happy not to leave. The drive in is right round the national park and there is a foot ferry to Cronulla.

Looking very much forward to this. Plenty of subject matter to pick from.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/...320-1vgn9.html

Cronulla sounds like a riot.

Launceston or Northern NSW. We only require an internet connection for work but we have kids so education and ballet etc are a consideration too so we choose Brisbane, otherwise we'd be in Tassie or Northern NSW.

Cronulla/Bundeena sound very good if I end up going the Sydney way.

I'm currently on an Employment Pass in Singapore so I don't want the move to be too much of a system shock to me in terms of climate, crime rate or the general buzz of the place (shops, pubs, etc.).

That's why I'm not even considering anything other than Queensland+Darwin and possibly Sydney. Obviously no place will have it all so compromise is the name of the game.

Is Surfers such a bad place, what kind of crime are we talking about? I only looked at it because it seemed like a busy place, so I thought there would be lots of shops, cafes and that the place wouldn't die down at 5pm.

Any other parts of Queensland by the coast worth looking into? Kim, how is Brisbane from the kids' perspective?

Has anyone even been to Darwin? Small town, low population, so I'm a bit wary it'll be hard getting used to after a lively place like Singapore.

Surfers isn't a bad place it's just not a 'make a home for my family' place. It's a small holiday suburb. Yes there's crime, just as there is in any busy CBD/town centre over a weekend period. I don't know anyone who's suffered crime on a personal level and that includes all friends of two teenagers who go up to Surfers a lot.

Crime is more centred on B&E, robbery at shops etc. Before anyone jumps down my throat and bangs on about the media reports etc, I am not for one minute saying that people don't get mugged, beaten up, raped etc but that it's no way as portrayed in the media. Even Schoolies is not as bad as portrayed when you're actually there. The media however do love to follow kids around, encourage a few to misbehave for the cameras and highlight the small minority acting like morons.

I wouldn't live there but there's no reason why a person in their 20s, footloose and fancy free and working locally wouldn't find it an excellent place to live. Each to his own and all that.

Yep, one horse town doesn't cover it. IIRC there are 60,000 people in Darwin - I've been to football matches with more people. Its also very much a tropical climate, meaning if its not raining its hot and muggy. There are about two months of the year that its liveable, it seems. If you are used to Singapore it might be better for you, but the murder rate rises noticeably in the buildup - which doesn't sound a great endorsement to me.

Sounds like you should be looking towards either Cairns (party town in the tourist seasons) or Brisbane (CBD or Gold Coast options). Everywhere else likely gets too cold in winter.

I would live where I live now.

The question really is: *if I had more money* (which does the rounds) then I would live here in a bigger joint, and get more places elsewhere...

i found bonogin , gold coast is a good place, after researching a lot from forums and friends...

now i am looking at options for building a house or buying a house at bonogin gold coast,
i prefer building the house, but not sure..

Spent 6 months in Darwin and whilst it does have some wonderful scenery nearby it's too humid to really enjoy it. We spent all day in aircon and ventured out at night. There are nice swimming pools but you can't swim in the sea. It's also rather red neck - even compared to Qld. There are remote beautiful places on the Qld coast - Magnetic Island or Cairns, Airlie Beach if you don't mind humidity.

If you don't want to lose the busy buzz that you have in Singapore then there is only one option and that is Sydney and even that will seem quieter.

Exactly where I live now (Balmain), although if I won the lotto I may upgrade to a waterfront property with space for a boat

Did you know that Hobart is warmer in the Winter than the 3 main Melbourne Cities of Castlemaine, Bendigo and Ballarat. Which was a complete surprise to me.

Am actually pretty happy where I am now ...