jon diamond

Hi
We are having dificulty in finding a place to live , we have been to seminars researched the internet read books,and still am confused, evreywhere seems great ,spoiled for choice,because we have not visited and wont be able to afford to do so before we go which could be a year away as just started the visa process ,i,m wondering if anybody who have any first hand experiences on where to live ,we are a family of 4 aged 38-34-8-6,would be greatful of any advice,, Thanks John

confuzzled

Do you have a short list? East or west? Coast or city?

jon diamond

Hi confuzzled
Thanks for taking the time

well would prefer near a city but quieter area near a beach south aus adelaide did crab my attention but don,t know it might be to quiet,
i know it,s a long shot because everybody is different and wants different things it,s down to the individual,i,m looking to speak with people from most of these area who actualy live there and then maybe form and opinion that way rather from books or internet,,,as i said it confusing because everywhere looks great,, if i was to choose right now adelaide would be the one,,but have a year to decide, cheers john

confuzzled

Wow big decisions ahead, hey. I am a WA girl, and have never been to Adelaide so can't help, im sorry. At least now tho, others can see where you are thinking of going. good luck with it all

Alan Collett

Maybe Geelong? 50 minutes from Melbourne and 20 minutes from the Surf Coast?

Best regards.

Pollyana

You really do need to come up with more info about what you like. Australia is HUGE and diverse. It has a tempeature range which goes from tropical almost to the Antarctic, and takes approx 6 hours to fly across on a passenger jet. Even people that have narrowed their search down to one State are still looking at an immense choice of lifestyles, climates, housing, jobs.

You have to give us more to go on........what job to you do? what hobbies do you have? What hobbies does your family have?

Paul & June

I have been all round OZ and have decided a long time ago that Perth is the place for me.
It's great for families with it's laid back feel to it.
Watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean is amazing amongst other things.
But Perth house prices is high compared to Adelaide and the other downer about Perth is it's very isolated, which to me is not a bad thing, I'm not keen on big cities.

vicki t

i have the opposite problem, my other half will only consider sydney! thats where he grew up and thats where he wants to go back to. i have never been to oz but i am open to anywhere really! once get the visa will validate and have a good look around (well sydney melborne canberra and either brisband or adelaide not sure which one!)

sorry couldnt help!

jon diamond

Hi Alan,
Geelong ,i will have a look at it cheers, notice you are an agent with go matida, i have just signed up with go matilda due to the great comments on this forum,i am at the tra stage just gathering all the information together.
thanks for the info John.

jon diamond

Hi all, pollyana,ok i will tell you a bit about ourselfs and see if anyone can match us with a place,,age 38-34-8-6 two daughters.my wife a hairdresser with 15 yrs experience.i am a social care worker and have worked in most aspects of this job with 9 yrs experience, we love the city life but not to live in,we like the med weather but don,t mind a little hotter and would like to be near a beach, good schools are very important,as is house prices,jobs also,not to isolated,enjoy the usual hobbies,meals out, swimming ,gym, theatre,pubs and clubs,
walking,also like to go for long walks in the country,areas for kids to play,
, i know its down to each individual person,but if people can tell me about the area where they live i could get a better picture of these places and real opinion not just all glamour like the books always say,,thanks to you all for the reply,s John

Geelong Gent

Melbourne

Alan Collett

Thanks John.

I live and work (most of the time) in Geelong, so I guess I have a bias towards the place. Perhaps suffice it to say that when we (I and my family) were looking at emigrating to Australia 8+ years ago we had a blank sheet of paper as well.

We decided we didn't want hot and humid. We wanted to be close to a reasonable sized city so we could go to the theatre, enjoy sporting events, consume good food, etc. And we wanted to be close to the beach.

We decided Melbourne would be our focus. We did a recce visit in May 2000 before we applied for our visas. We saw some schools in Melbourne and Geelong. Had a holiday in Sydney and Brisbane. Flew back to the UK. Decided that Geelong was the place for us. Melbourne up the road. Torquay, Anglesea, Lorne a relatively short drive. And comparatively cheaper than Melbourne. So Geelong it was, and still is!

The local newspaper (which contains some useful links) is the Geelong Advertiser: http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/

Best regards.

jon diamond

Cheers alan,
i will definately give it some research it does sound perfect also my dad has a few cousins in melbourne ,i have only met them a few times when they visited us here in scotland ,if you don,t mind me asking, how old were your kids when you moved, still gathering the tra stuff at moment,
all the best , John

Alan Collett

They were 10 and 4, John.

My eldest is now in Year 12 doing his VCE exams as a precursor to going to Uni ... how time flies!

Best regards.