Which Australian city is best for family living?

[millholl]

Hi there, could do with your thoughts on this one.

 

Me and my family (2 adults 2 girls 3 & 5 years old) were planning in moving to Sydney. We've just been there for 3 weeks where I was offered a job ($90k). After experiencing Sydney's high living costs and also seeing how ridicously high the housing prices are we're now thinking of another city suburb. Which Australian city is most the family orientated with plenty to do but also quiet enough for laid back living?

 

Can anyone give any of their thoughts and experience on this question.

 

Thanks

[pablo]

Not there yet so no expert BUT Adelaide gets a big heads up off a lot of people on here re family living,crimes low,hse prices cheapish,weather more seasonal,think the average wage is a bit lower tho as well,not the city i'd probably move to if i was a kid on a non stop party,but theres plenty enuf nightlife there for us anyway,others give it a bad name because its a bit quieter than melb/sydney supposedly,but i couldnt care less what suits others tbh,its about what suits us,SA is where we are going anyway,all the best with it

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

We loved Perth and thought Brisbane was fantastic and could definately live in both places, but............... the exchange rate means we need to look at cheaper places and Adelaide looks like the best bet............ cheaper houses nearer the sea and city and Adelaide seems to tick all the boxes for us.

[Guest MaybeOz]

No expert but here's my limited experience.

 

We are a family of 5 and visited Perth a few years back to validate our visa but did not feel it was somewhere we could see us living - lots of reasons but mainly the climate and (for us) a distinct lack of things to do and places to visit during our 3 weeks there - ended up visiting most of the 'must see' places twice as ran out of suggestions from our resident relatives of new ones! :eek:

 

We would also like to see as much of Aus as we can but with Perth being very isolated it would necessitate a flight to other cities/states and the cost associated with that for 5 people would be too much to justify.

 

We are now looking at Melbourne (top of list) or Gold Coast.

 

Melbourne seems to tick all of our boxes for weather, culture, things for us all as a family to enjoy from an outdoors lifestyle (beach, hills, bush, snow), very nice houses with some land within our budget (approx $650k) and the list goes on.

 

From Melbourne it would be possible to drive to other states which makes it a more viable option for us than Perth.

 

Gold Coast appears to have most of the above but the climate may be too humid for OH so that's one negative for us.

 

Wherever you decide, I wish you all the best for your adventure.

 

Kari :wubclub:

[Guest Mallam]

Most Cities I should imagine are great for kids, surfing, parks, barbies all on your doorstep withot bloody parking fees.

[Guest chris955]

For me it would be Brisbane, plenty to do, housing not too expensive if you move out a bit and the weather is good, especially spring, autumn and winter. Perth is just too isolated IMO. Melbourne is OK, Sydney way too expensive. Adelaide is very pretty. Whether any of these places is good for families depends very much on the suburb. I could go 10 minutes from here and be somewhere I wouldn't live if given a house but where we are is great. It's all about location.

[Pumpkin]

I think families can and do live perfectly happily in all the cities.

 

If I were looking for cheaper housing / cost of living and could work in any of the cities, I would go for Adelaide or possibly Brisbane. My reasoning would be that Sydney adn Melbourne are expensive for housing and Perth is too isolated for me, a long flight to all of the other major centres.

 

I have briefly visited Adelaide and Brisbane and think I could happily live in either. We ended up in Sydney as my husband is in a very niche occupation and it was literally the only place he is going to find work.