the_grip on 5/3/2011 at 19:08
This is a question for the Aussie folks around here...
I'm married, 35 years old (wife is 35 too), and we have two young kids, ages 5 and 3. We currently live in the US but are thinking about packing it up and moving to Australia. It's a long complicated story as how we got to this point, but the thing is neither of us know a thing about living in Australia.
Can anyone provide some basic info:
1. What are the more expensive cities to live in? The cheaper ones?
2. What is the social climate like in the various cities? Laid back? Fast pace? Etc.
3. What is considered a good area to raise kids, etc.?
4. If YOU had to pick someplace in Australia to live, where would it be and why?
And so on... any help is appreciated. This is obviously a big decision, and it is just in the "let's toss this idea around" stage so far, so some basic input is definitely wanted :)
TIA!
henke on 5/3/2011 at 22:05
DON'T!
That's spider country, man!
You can't pull over there!
actual advice: I have no idea!
Haplo on 5/3/2011 at 22:59
I can tell you about Sydney, that's where I live.
1. It is the most expensive Australian city
2. Fast paced compared to rest of Australia, slower than many US cities (I worked in US for one year)
3. Each city has its own good & bad areas; we should discuss this after you have chosen your city
4. Sydney. Sydney is where things happen and where the jobs are (I'm an electronics engineer). Unless you are make a living as an artist (which in this case Melbourne will suit you better), you'll have a higher chance of finding a job in Sydney. And because of this "more" things happen in Sydney too (although I am sure many posters will disagree with me).
Muzman on 6/3/2011 at 00:19
1. Australia has the (
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/04/3155848.htm) most over inflated house prices in the world. You're in for it in any major centre. How this translates to actual figures vis a vis what money you have, I don't know. Cruise a few (
http://www.realestate.com.au/) Aus real estate sites. Our dollar is worth slightly more the US at the moment so you won't have to do any converting.
Economies of scale and vast distances tend to make just about everything at least slightly more expensive than other parts of the developed world. There's also a bit of regression to the mean in terms of variety thanks to this, meaning you tend to get the same stuff everywhere, no matter what goods we're talking about (except perishables like dairy which is more local) and even slightly unusual stuff is rare and expensive. But the infrastructure is solid and Asia is next door so people are turing to the 'net in droves.
2. Sydney and Melbourne are the true urban centres. I dunno what Dallas is like, but people who want a big city lifestyle generally have to go there. Although they tell me Brisvegas (Brisbane) has a certain over amped quality mostly attributed to the humidity, a bit like an ant colony in warm weather they all go a bit faster despite the general volume of the place.
3. Suburbia is Australia's stock in trade. Every city has vast hinterlands of it, growing by the day and generally speaking it's all well serviced and cheerful above a certain economic threshold. (by this I mean power, water, shops, schools, roads. Public transport: not so much)
4. Where would I live? Right now, someplace cooler. Maybe Hobart?
Turtle on 6/3/2011 at 01:27
Bring floaties.
Shug on 6/3/2011 at 01:37
If you're comfortable sharing what you do for a living, that'd probably help our recommendations
june gloom on 6/3/2011 at 02:15
Australia is a fucking death continent. Everything in it actively seeks your demise, except maybe some of the people.
mxleader on 6/3/2011 at 03:04
I'd get a metal detector and some other gold mining equipment because they have some areas with a ton of gold just laying out on the ground. You might want to bring a large water truck with you though as most of it is located in mostly inhospitable places.
Martin Karne on 6/3/2011 at 06:07
Bring your own submarine, you'll never know when you might use it to save your family.
Shakey-Lo on 6/3/2011 at 06:35
In descending order of population,
Sydney is all fast-paced suit-wearing latte-sipping cellphone-talking douchebags.
Melbourne is all fedora-wearing fixie-riding graffiti-spraying fart-sniffing douchebags.
Brisbane is, uh... XXXX-swilling humidity-sweating brothel-frequenting flood-avoiding people.
Perth is beach-surfing laid-back east-coast-hating nice-weather-having people.
Adelaide is boring.
Below that it doesn't matter.
Perth has the best weather but is pretty boring and very isolated. Brisbane has a similar vibe to Perth but very topsy-turvy weather and better urban planning. Melbourne is the "cultural capital", good for hipsters, underground criminal activity, and bashing indians. Adelaide is a vacuous hole.
If I had to pick somewhere in Australia to live, it would be Brisbane, because I just did. I moved here from Perth because I just got that feeling of having outgrown my hometown and I chose Brisbane because it is much like Perth only slightly bigger and with a brighter future, and there is more emphasis from the State government on supporting arts and culture. However if I fail to settle and find a decent job here, I will move on to Melbourne, because that is the filmmaking capital of Australia. However, it has shit weather.
Did I mention Perth's weather is awesome?
