carolinejones3

After deciding on Perth from the right off my o/h is making noises re bris or Gold coast etc..
We hope to be in Oz spring next yr (british time)
We cannot afford to do a rekki before then. How on earth do people decide where to go??
I don't mind where I nurse as long as I have a job. O/h is a sparki.. So not worried too much re employment.
We have to young boys and they are my main concern...Reason I lean towards Perth is just a gut feeling, nothing more..
Anyone else has been or in this position...which bit of Oz???? I have researched most areas and non the wiser..
Caroline

nursesarah

Hi Caroline,

I agree it really is a hard decision to make especially if you have not been to either of them before. I have been to both, spent 2 months in Perth, Sydney and Gold coast and my favourite place to live would be Perth.

Perth: really tipifies Australia to me, it is full of big open spaces, you have gorgeous beaches but most of all it just felt like home to me! (I also have family there which is nice!), its very family orientated and I really miss driving down to scarboro beach to watch the sea swallow up the sun at sunset - that is amazing! beautiful weather.

Sydney: Nice but very much a big city, really liked cronulla though (1 hr south of sydney)

Gold coast: from the busy over commercialised surfers paradise to the quieter suburbs, close to the beach, lots to do (especially for the kids with the theme parks on your doorstep) and close to brissie. Great weather but also humid.

Brissie: Nice city but without the 'real' beach on your doorstep.

After saying that, i'm heading out to the gold coast, partly because thats where I happened to bag a job and also because i'm just planning on being there for a year to try it out and have lots of fun and travel up the coast so it will be a good base for me to start with, then I will probably move to Perth to settle. I am in the fortunate position of having no ties so I am free to do this.

You should also consider other things like schooling for the kids, house prices (massive boom in Perth recently), etc. You could always holiday on the gold coast, virgin blue flights make it more affordable now than it was a few years back!

Its up to you to research and give it a go i'm sure you will like whatever you decide, Australia is just fantastic!

Sarah xx

cheshiremark

Hi Caroline,
We have been toying with the idea of going to either Perth and Brisbane -along with a couple other cities. Perth sound really great but the thing that is putting us off is the cost of buying a house there. Like Sarah says in her post, Perth has seen a massive increases in property prices - 40% increase last year. This boom seems to be over now - prices actually dropped by 0.8% in the first quarter of the year but according to the Australian Treasury the average price of a house in Perth is second only to Sydney.

http://www.treasury.act.gov.au/snapshot/REIAMF.pdf

Obviously this is for the cities themselves and house prices are always cheaper the further you go out but that just depend on how far you want to commute.
Mark

carolinejones3

Thanks for that Sarah, really helpful. I think we will stick to Perth, its my gut feeling and the most I have researched on. O/H is happy really to go where I feel comfy and positive about. We plan to do a really good rekki once there before rushing into anything major. We also want to experiance other parts of Oz so its good to Know its accessable from Perth (that was a concern)...
Take care
Caroline

carolinejones3

Hi Mark, its a worry indeed re house prices.
I love my house here in the uk and the thought of having to start all over again scares me..
We are of course hoping to cash in on the property boom here in resent years and what we make on the sale will hopefully set us up in Oz and provided some security for liam and me and the boys..
I guess until we are actually there its hard to get a grasp of it all.
Just need to get the visa and sell the house now!!!!!!! and breathe Caroline
Thanks for the link

annqldau

You only don't have beach at Brisbane if you move to the city if you stay either side of it plenty beaches and work and even if you stay central always nice beach in less than an hours drive.

QLD for me plenty to do all round and nearer other places when you want a holiday you can get to NZ (3 hours) quicker than Perth (5 hours) from Brisbane. Not knocking Perth just for me lots more options of other civilization this side.