Anyone from Australia please!!!?

Question

Well I intend to move to Australia, but not knowing in which city. Can anyone from Aus give me REAL info on the different cities with info on cost of living, job opp and climate. Is Perth a good city?

Answer 1

G'day,

Melbourne!!! Wellll... where should I start?
1. First of all... some people do not like the weather in Melbourne (you can have 4 seasons in one day). However, if you read the first article from The Age newspaper, you will find out that the weather is still more preferable than the other cities. Sure you can have 42C day like last month, but almost immediately you'll get a much cooler weather pretty soon afterwards. It is very rarely that you got 2 or 3 consecutive days of hot weathers (unlike Sydney, Brisbane or Perth).
2. Melbourne is a city of diversity. If you are a newcomer, and you do not look 'Anglo-Saxon', you do not feel like an 'alien', since you can find almost every race in the world walking in the city. They are both immigrants and overseas students.
3. THE FOOD!! Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Thai, All-you-can-eat, African, Lebanese, Mexican, Sea Food... anything else? All available and lots of them in a very-very-very affordable price
4. Pretty good public transport system. With one ticket, you can switch from train, tram and bus. They do not always come on-time, but still reliable and improving (www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au).
5. SHOPPING!!! Original branded clothing sold very cheap. There are even shopping tour, where the participants are taken to retails outlets just for shopping. Big temptations for ladies.
6. Crime rates... just read the second article on the bottom.
7. Cost of Living... I'll say it's second most expensive city after Sydney. Altho I have to say that some cities in Queensland can be more expensive to live. The third link on the bottom will give you some hints on where to look.
8. Night Life... hmmmm... I'll say the centre of nite activities will be Crown Casino and Docklands. Altho there are still plenty of cafe's and clubs scattered around the suburbs as well.
9. Tourist attraction. This is the area that I think Sydney is better than Melbourne, since it has most of it's attraction within its suburbs. Most Melbourne attraction are pretty much out of Melbourne, such as the gold mines in the cities of Bendigo and Ballarat, The Great Ocean Road, Lakes Entrance, Grampians, skiing in Mt. Buller etc.

Living closer to the beach will be the suburbs of Altona, Port Melbourne, Williamstown, St. Kilda, Elwood and Brighton to mention some that are pretty close to CBD. You can cross reference with some real-estate websites to know the rental costs (www.realestate.com.au or www.domain.com.au).

Jobs websites:
www.seek.com.au
www.mycareer.com.au
www.careerone.com.au

Running out of ideas, but I hope that I can at least give you some more informations that have been provided by the answerers before me.

Good luck and welcome to Melbourne. I've been living in Melbourne for 16 years, visited some other capital cities in Australia and still giving Melbourne 10/10 for the best city.

Answer 2

As a dual UK / Australian resident I hope to offer you some realistic hints. Without doubt Melbourne is the best city to move to because you will soon feel at home there. It has a character all of it's own and is diverse and appealing. Perth is too remote from any other cities, Sydney is expensive and full of pretenders and posers. I dont know a lot about Brisbane and it would be my second choice due to its location and has few bad reports . I imagine it to be a very nice city and certainly it's location is great. Adelaide?scratch it from the options! You are now bound to come in for "Australia is the best country in the world" from Aussies cos they are such bores and always trumping their own horn, ignorant to how crass that is. But there are pitfalls in Oz like anywhere. Head for Melbourne..you'll enjoy it I'm sure and should settle quickly.There are many choices and cultures there and not too many blah blah Ozzy dimwits! Just ignore them anyhow and they'll go away. Worked for me, I've got the dualship well mastered ! Check out some neat cafes in Hardware Lane(between Bourke and Lonsdale Streets, also in Degraves St off Flinders Lane in the City Centre.Try Cafe Segovia in Block Place City and .....enjoy the trams and Victoria market ! ( watch the cabbies ! ) All the best in Oz !

Answer 3

People have gone into a lot of details here, so you don't need much from me.

But Perth is a laid back city, with considerabley cheaper property prices than melb, syd. It's got a warmer more tropical climate too which is great. I'd say in my opinion it would be a more relaxed way of life than living in the "big city".

However if you're really into your career Perth may not be the place to be if you were in industries such as finance, marketing, IT etc however it really depends on what you need but it's definitely not as developed as the other cities.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?? Up to you mate!

Good luck.

Answer 4

Your question requires too much of an answer for a site like this. I suggest you start by consulting Wikipedia on these cities -Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston, Geelong, Ballarat, Newcastle, Fremantle, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Darwin, Townsville. There are also many smaller cities and large towns, eg Dubbo, Bairnsdale, Mackay, Bunbury, Alice Springs, Burnie some of which have Wiki articles.

Also general web searches on Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia. Look for real estate sites in Australia (we do not call them realtors) for an idea of rents, housing prices. Cost of living (apart from housing) will vary a little from city to city, though not by much as the tax regimes in all states are similar. Perth is loved by many but it is the most isolated western style city in the world which has some disadvantages.

Where you live may depend on your work and qualifications.

Answer 5

At the moment, I would say Brisbane.
I am a Sydneysider hailing from Byron Bay and have spent time all over the show (BTW, Marijuana is not legal in Nimbin, do not be misinformed or you may be thrown in jail haha!) and a lot of people I know are living in Brisbane and loving it!
Fortitude Valley is a pumping music and party central and they have some great clubs. Also there are great Job availability and the rent is close to half that of Sydney!

Close to Gold Coast is good too.. Kind of Commercialised but fun for an occasional romp.

Good luck, Hope you have a fabulous time in Australia like we all do everyday!

Answer 6

Perth is an absolutely AWESOME place to live. Depending on where you come from though, it can be pretty hot (40C + in summer). It depends what you're into as to where the best place for you to live would be. There's a pretty good lifestyle/culture down at Fremantle, inner city living is OK, personally I live near the hills. Perth (and Australia generally) has heaps of diversity. My best advice is to come over for a holiday first and travel around. I'm sure you'll find somewhere that suits your fancy. The cost of living is still pretty cheap, there are plenty of job opportunities (lowest unemplyment rate in Australia). Thanks to the mining and resource boom there is a real skills shortage - you won't have any probs finding a job. Plus most of the people are awesome (like me). Like any place it has its good and bad points, but come and see for yourself!

Answer 7

Where are you moving from, and why?
As an Australian, and having travelled a bit, I can really say Australia is the best country in the world...otherwise why would so many other races be trying to get here, legally or otherwise.
Perth is as good as anywhere else, job availability is what you make of it.
Cost of living is cheap compared with UK or USA. We only get 60 cents in the Euro and 40 cents in the pound, so people from those countries would have a cheap time here.
Climate here depends where you are, but usually HOT.

Answer 8

Melbourne is easily the most livable city, for jobs and schools and reasonable house prices and cost of living. They are also the most fashionable by far! But if your moving to Australia for the weather, go to Brisbane! The weather is walm and tropical up there, compared to being harsh and dry in summer and cold and bitter in winter, in melbourne. Sydney is a good balance between both, but i am told it is quite an expensive city to live in, but its a good place to get a job. Don't waste your time on the other states. Adelaide is a hole. Just kidding.

Answer 9

G'day. Perth is very good for job opportunities at the moment with heaps avaliable in the mining and hospitality areas. I am personally from Melbourne which is fantastic and the culture centre of Australia. Melbourne is known to have 4 seasons in a day and is usually about 14 degrees c in winter and up to about 38 degrees c in summer which it was today. I love melbourne. Heaps of sport too if you are interested. Sydney is similiar to melbourne but more touristy and more expensive but also has the surf beaches bondi and manly which are better than brighton, st.kilda etc which are in melbourne. I also love the gold coast. You must at least visit surfers paradise. Lots of job opportunitues especially in retail and fantastic hot perfect beach weather all year round.
Hope it helps you.

Answer 10

I can only speak for Perth.It beautiful here plenty of job opportunites reasonably well priced rentals (although its becoming more expensive but lots of student flat share available).You can pay as little as $100 a week for a rental share.The public transport system is pretty good OK bus and train stations going to most suburbs.It can get very hot in summer (up to 40 degrees and more but usually Feb is our hottest month) Winters are mild with the odd storm and cooler temps at night.The beaches are wonderful and plenty of great places to see Kings Park,Swan Valley and lots of great little trips you could make to places like Mandurah I guess it depends what you are into.Im not into clubs or pub scene but there are lots of great little cafes in the city and good dining.We came here 12 years ago form New Zealand and just love the place.