Moving to Austalia!?

Question

I am planning on moving to Oz. Can anyone recommend where to live? Looking for nice location not too busy not too quiet, good schools, nice homes, somewhere quite suburban. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Well I am bias as I live here – But I think Cairns in North Queensland is the BEST place – Warm / Tropical surrounded by rainforest and alot of beaches!
http://www.welcometocairns.com.au

So much to do and see all the time and ALOT safer than the bigger cities. No traffic jams or overhead motorways or skyscrapers.
The Northern beaches are a great place to live, 15 mins from the city itself. Nice homes everywhere - some can be very expensive (living on the beaches) Cairns is very spread out and has ALOT of quiet suburban areas.

A lot to do with kids and the school systems here are great.
For High Schools in the beaches area are:
http://www.smithfieldshs.qld.edu.au others in town are http://www.cairns-australia.com/101957.php
Primary Schools: http://www.studycairns.com.au/primary.html
James Cook University http://www.jcu.edu.au
General info on Education in Queensland http://education.qld.gov.au


For living costs - http://www.aussiemove.com/aus/costlive.asp

Things to do and See in Cairns
http://www.tropicalaustralia.com.au/things_to_do_and_see
http://www.ksr.qr.com.au
http://wettropics.gov.au
http://www.skyrail.com.au
http://www.wildworld-aus.com.au
http://www.cairnsvisitorcentre.com

The Cairns Esplanade is GREAT for the young ones
http://www.cairnsesplanade.com A massive lagoon and playground, skateboard park and recently they’ve added a volleyball court …

http://www.cairnsinfo.com

Port Douglas isn’t far away either -
http://www.portdouglaseguide.com
http://www.vcentres.com.au/port-douglas

If I can be of any other assistance email me

Answer 2

G'day,

I am an immigrant and have been living in Melbourne for the last 16yrs. This is what I can say about Melbourne:
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 in summer, 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.
8. 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.

In regards to schools there are 3 choices: Public/Government, Christian/Catholic and Private. Public schools have pretty much the same standard wherever you go and they are the cheapest alternative. You usually just enrolled to the one closer to where you live. The list of government schools are here: http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/schoolsonli...
Private are the most expensive, since on top of the tuition fee, you will still have to buy books, uniform, etc. The list for non-government schools are here: http://www.isd.com.au/

For housing, these are some of the online real estate website that you can check for pricing:
www.realestate.com.au
www.domain.com.au

I certainly hope this helps. Yes, there will be some time needed for adjustments, but there will be helps and supports along the way since Australia is built by immigrants (yes, this include the Anglo-Saxons and the Aborigins, so I was told).

Welcome to Australia and enjoy :)

Answer 3

First of all... I am SO jealous!! I've recently been there on a gap year and I LOVED it, think i might return after im qualified and have money. So Have you not been before?! Well... i'll tell you my opinion, we went to Sydney first for one month then to Cairns in North Queensland.
Sydney is colder than cairns, when we went it was raining and a bit chilly, but it does get warm. We weren't keen on Sydney Centre personally it was kind of we could have been anywhere, but the harbour is brilliant, but then if i was to be living there it wouldnt be somewhere i'd go near, more touristy so i'd head more up for Queensland.

Cairns was BRILLIANT! we loved it, its tropical so very hot, it has the barrier reef which is awesome, its quiet but not completley secluded! People are soooo relaxed there, its awesome, Anywhere along the north queensland coast is a must i'd say. The draw-back... no surfing because of the reef, but exchange that for snorkelling, brilliant! You've got the rainforest to explore too which im sure can never get boring, god so much to do!
I'm afraid im not sure about schools or anything, just personal experience. Personally i'd head up to the tropical areas for the weather and life-style, maybe somewhere along the gold coast. Im sure wherever you go you'll LOVE it! Its a brilliant place with such a nice lifestyle!!!
This may not be any help as an answer i just LOVE talking about my experiences in australia, makes me want to go back!!

Answer 4

I've just come back from a holiday in Australia, I stayed in Melbourne with my cousin and went round several show villages, they are beautiful, the houses are massive and you get an awful lot of house for your money too, there are some beautiful areas in Melbourne with really good school, if I were going to move to Oz its were I would settle, good luck.

Answer 5

I suppose it depends on the climate in which you want to live however I have friends and family who live in Toowoomba in QLD and they love it. It's inland but only 1hr from the beach and a major capital city. I have been there a number of times and I have to say if I was ever going to move that's where I would go. Perth and melbourne also get pretty good raps if you are after a large city.

Answer 6

It is an awesome place to grow up (I lived there for 2 years) and I found that it does differ from the U.S., but no more than other cultures do. The climate is a change, for sure, and depending on where you live in the U.S., the people are pretty different/similar. It was a great experience and you'll love it. Be open-minded, too.

Answer 7

i lived in a place called Engadine it was about half an hour from sydney which was cool, the schools i went to were good, i can remember a dentist being near by as well as a massive shopping mall and nice swimming pool! it was quiet but not out in the middle of nowhere!x

Answer 8

If I was moving I would go to the suburbs of Melbourne as the climate is closer to European climate and the city there is beautiful. Lots to do and a good family place. Brisbane is the other city I would consider. Avoid Western Australia as it is very isolated. Adelaide is cheaper but a bit boring. Enjoy making the decision.

Answer 9

Adelaide,Freemantle or Canberra.Coz Sydney, Perth,Melbourne are all too busy and commercial, but if you have to go to Melb, try out towards the Dandenongs. But for sure the climate is better towards the south of Oz.

Answer 10

Brisbane is wonderfull , great for the adults and kids , the outdoor life is great , weather sunny all year round, lots of great areas and schools but wait till you get there and have a look around you will be spoilt for choice