# Where to live? Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns or Perth?



## AdamR

So, where would you choose?

on my travels I quite liked the melbourne area, a bit calmer, alhough I prefered the areas between brisbane and cairns, simply beautiful.

I'm hopefully setting out in Jan '10, at the moment I'm swaying towards Brisbane.


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## Wanderer

Hi Adam and welocme to the forum.
Re:
"on my travels I quite liked the melbourne area, a bit calmer, alhough I prefered the areas between brisbane and cairns, simply beautiful."

All the regions/cities have their good points and also those that can cause problems and at times a bit of chaos.

For instance, right now or in last couple of days we have had:
Sydney sees red as dust storm hits NSW

That caused planes to be re-directed to Brisbane [and Melbourne I imagine], Brisbane being less affected and Melbourne not in this dust storms path though I've also seen them in Melbourne.

The outfall this time for Brisbane was a lot of flight delays and I imagine that may have been repeated about the country re any flights towards Sydney and also because of planes being grounded there.
Interstate train and bus services possibly got a temporary spike in business!

I'm not too sure that I would put Melbourne down as being 'calmer' as it certainly has a vibrant nightlife scene in quite a few different sectors of the city and arguably is the sporting capital of the country.
It's main negative, some would say is weather and though other than summer it is usually a cooler climate than further north it is never really what one would call bitterly cold.
Though further south it's summers can actually have higher spike temperatures, records of about 47C earlier this year in February when disastrous and tragic life loss bushfires occurred, Sydney about same time having about 44 and Brisbane was about 35 if I recall correctly.

Talking of weather, the big differences moving north are:
*1.* not just increased humidity, Sydney having a real summer mugginess to it and likewise and often more so Brisbane, it being just that bit further up the river of same name and away from coastal breezes.
*2.* With Sydney and again more so Brisbane, summery weather can arrive earlier and stay longer even if temperature variations are not so large, eg. having lived up that way now for a few years [ both south and north of Brisbane][and also Melbourne and Sydney regions at various times] w often think of summer starting around October/November and running through to May, and this year we have had an early start of August/September you could say.

If you like warm weather, you might think Yep, that'd be so great and you do acclimatise to humidity to some extent but there are times when you can think it'd be nice to have some cooler days too.

The other main considerations for lifestyle as far as I am concerned are traffic and general society mayhem.

Melbourne and Sydney you could say have always been cities that have grown along with the traffic problems besetting them though not to the extent of foreign cities and having to resort to traffic zones like London has [well not yet anyway], and both you could describe as being akin to the proverbaial Spiders Web pattern, expanding and at same time increasing the ammount of traffic that wants to either get into the city or across to other side.
That has been coped with to some extent by having ring roads and city bypass systems developed but peak hour and holiday weekends traffic is something horrendous and some people can increase their working hours by about 50% with commuting times, hence the ever growing attraction of inner city living, overcrowding, prices explosion, dual income families, KWOPs and the growing social problems that cities seem to create!
My recommendation to governments would be to limit city sizes and actively develop [not just mickeymouse promote] decentralisation.

The one advantage that Melbourne has over Sydney for traffic is not having Sydney's supposed greatest attractions - The Harbour and it's tributaries that dissect Sydney and add to infrastructure development problems/cost and then there is the luxury of having the massive National Parks so close to north and south of the City, but many Melbourne people also do lengthy commutes from the east/south east especially.

Brisbane is a little different, often having been thought of as a large country town that has in recent decades come of age, fuelled partly because of southern folk thinking a warmer climate would be nice.

It has a web of a different pattern for there are the very popular satellite regions of the Gold and Sunshine Coast with much commuting now done from either to Brisbane, it all being funnelled down the one north-south motorways system that also carries heavy interstate/intrastate commercial traffic in addition to visiting travellers and domestic holiday makers and then the city itself is dissected by the Brisbane River and you have the N-S traffic intersecting with City - Airport traffic, something that has been addressed though total project of Gateway Bridge duplication is not yet complete.
Brisbane is also in the midst of developing City bypass systems but one wonders whether all these just help move additional traffic faster to get your bottleneck somewhere else!

For instance, motorways that are intended to move traffic rapidly start to fail when off ramps can not cope with traffic on the motorway wanting to get off, and there have been times when you are on a motorway and traffic stops to a crawl and you might think Oh No!, maybe an accident up ahead and after 10-15 minutes of a crawl, all of a sudden the traffic speeds up again and thins out - perhaps the local police got out and gave some traffic direction to get offramp traffic moving.
That kind of traffic build-up will always happen but maybe traffic control HQ with live video survellance can get ahead and predict snarls and have police on the scene before it happens.
A good move because some bad motorway crashes can happen and then snarl will just get worse.

Cairns will be OK if you not mind a lot of rain/humidity, but then our climate is supposed to be changing!

Personally, I would look to establish yourself in a regional city if your occupation or whatever allowed that, maybe even a slight occupation change or if income is not going to be an issue.

And if the latter is the case, one of the most beautiful places of Australia to live, one with a moderately mild year round climate is the South Coast of NSW.
Living, Working in Eurobodalla, Local Business & Lifestyle, South Coast NSW - Eurobodalla
Eurobodalla Nature Coast, South Coast NSW
Homepage - Eurobodalla Shire Council
Nature Coast Tourist - South Coast NSW, Australia


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## AdamR

wow, what a brilliant reply, thanks! you must of read my mind, the traffic info is great. 

I have 2 friends that have moved to Brisbane in the last 2 years, and 1 to sydney. So far so good on all counts.

If there was some way I could be self-employed and do what I do now (fix pcs), I would be quite happy and would prefer to live away from the city, the main draw for me to australia is the lifestyle, I'm not bothered about being rich or wealthy even, just to have a good easy going life long term, and enjoy a better climate.

But, I think I will need sponsorship, so I am presuming I really need to be in or near a city to stand a chance of finding a decent employee that will uptake the sponsorship.

By Melbourne being calmer, im not totally sure what I meant, i just found it to be quieter than other cities, but thinking about it im not really sure how. 

I was there between april and july, the climate was very nice everywhere I went, starting in Melbourne. I can appreciate the temps in the summer are probably a lot more uncomfortable up north!


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## Wanderer

I think quieter or calmer in a sense of sereness is Melbourne in some ways when I think of it more and I put that down to the wider streets brought about by having room for trams and now a lot of traffic management to have some of the streets relatively free of traffic.

And then despite Sydney having the Harbour, the Yarra river and a huge green belt to south and east of Melbourne seem to give Melbourne more an open feel to me whereas Sydney just seems to have more of high rise and traffic clutter, even Brisbane too, though a lot smaller in size as cities go.
And certainly when it's a bit cooler, having an outdoor stroll is much better than if it is warm and humid, times I have been in Sydney and it certainly generates a real heat sink feel. 

If anything Adelaide has a similar feel and could be an option to be considered as is Perth though it always has that distance away, you would be surprised how many people in Australia never get to the west coast nor west coasters to the east and travel is probably overseas in many instances before trans Australia.


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## scarlet0906

I suggest you go for Sydney. It is one of the most beautiful city in the whole world. Besides, it is surrounded by beautiful beaches. So, I'm sure you'll love it there. And, the lifestyles and quality of living there is great!


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## Mick

Melbourne! 

Sydney's too expensive. You can't beat Melbourne for shopping and nightlife.


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## Newolympic

Check out Lismore on the far north coast of NSW. Affordable housing, coastal location, relaxed life style.


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## blazejkrzak

For me, Melbourne!


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## g85

blazejkrzak said:


> For me, Melbourne!


I've been looking at Melbourne as well. How is it there?


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## heather25098

with out any confusion you should choose Sydney if other things support. there is no much of this place to live in.


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## debbie30

If you're at all into sport, you should defo go for Melbourne!










Its home to Australia's biggest race, the Melbourne Cup (pictured), plus the tennis, F1, Aussie rules, biggest football team, the MCG, and so on and so on... they're mad for it!


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## debbie30

Woah sorry! Didnt expect that pic to come up so big!


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## claire&alex

If you prefer cosmopolitan areas Melbourne and Sydney are the best option...Melbourne being more diverse and multicultural whereas Sydneys more beachy and such...
If you dont want to be in the city and you want to see the real deal- get into some rural towns at least for a little while...
I high recommend the South West of Western Australia eg..towns like dunsborough, margaret river etc. great atmosphere and people down there..plenty of work seasonaly and non seasonally....wineries etc...surfing...soo much fine..so manny backpackers living there fulltime now.


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## Alec

Of course, Melbourne is a very attractive but I like Sydney. Sydney has many natural beauty that attract the visitors and tourist. I have a plan to go there in this summer vocations.


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## jamesfly

Melbourne!

Sydney's too costly. You can't defeat Victoria for purchasing and ambiance.


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## chenelle84

Hey Hey,

Wherever u go in australia hope you love it here 

My advice is.

*Melbourne* if you like cool weather.
*Brisbane* if you like tropical warm weather all year round..

Both have great work opportunity's and if you dont like big citys Head to *Hobart* tasmania its beautiful and the lifestyle there is without a doubt unlike any place in the world!

I am australian and i have lived both in melbourne and hobart + heavily traveled the rest of australia in my lifetime.

Dont go to *Perth or Darwin* its to hot for many people and *Sydney* is extremely expensive & overated by a mile! *Canberra* is a just pathetic. Not many jobs and the people's mentality isnt very friendly.
*Adelaide* Is not to bad but its a bit boring and not as much going on as the other citys..

Also if you wish to search jobs/rentals/cars/anything in the area simply google "gumtree"

Wishing you all the best <3


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## georgescifo

I will suggest Sydney due to the amazing living atmosphere that prevails over there..


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## aroon

Nice post! Is usefull to me, i flying to Melbourne the next January and after it think to move in Warrnanbool...



chenelle84 said:


> Hey Hey,
> 
> Wherever u go in australia hope you love it here
> 
> My advice is.
> 
> *Melbourne* if you like cool weather.
> *Brisbane* if you like tropical warm weather all year round..
> 
> Both have great work opportunity's and if you dont like big citys Head to *Hobart* tasmania its beautiful and the lifestyle there is without a doubt unlike any place in the world!
> 
> I am australian and i have lived both in melbourne and hobart + heavily traveled the rest of australia in my lifetime.
> 
> Dont go to *Perth or Darwin* its to hot for many people and *Sydney* is extremely expensive & overated by a mile! *Canberra* is a just pathetic. Not many jobs and the people's mentality isnt very friendly.
> *Adelaide* Is not to bad but its a bit boring and not as much going on as the other citys..
> 
> Also if you wish to search jobs/rentals/cars/anything in the area simply google "gumtree"
> 
> Wishing you all the best <3


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## illustarellite

I am thinking to apply for RSMS. Perth, Adelaide and Cairns are on my list so far. Scratched Darwin because its too hot there and bugs and insects are very common.
​


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## jettasher

momiwasi said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> My name is Zeeshan. I am visiting Australia from 1st to 30th January 2015 for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
> 
> I am planning to visit all the places where matches is going to be played such as Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Canberra, and Melbourne. As I am visiting Australia for the first time I tried to contact the travel agents for hotel bookings and city tour packages. But they seem to charge more than what is listed on the websites. So can any one help me in planning my trip at each place, that can be covered all the places and also I am getting confused about the hotel bookings, where to book and I am looking for Economy type of hotels.
> 
> Thanks


Have to tried getting in touch with CouchSurfing guys. It could be helpful to you.

May be you could get someone to watch a match along side


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## slowder1980

I never been in Australia yet but i heard that Melbourne is Ok


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