Advice on moving to Brisbane or staying in Sydney

Hamz · 02-08-2008, 08:22 AM

Hi Everyone.

This is my first post and dont generally post on other forums.

Im really impressed with this forum and being many thousands of miles away from home i feel comforted knowing that there are other brits around having the same thought as me. Im really grateful for the help.

Ive been in sydney for almost two months now after accepting a job at fox studios. We were really excited to move to australia and saw it as a great place to bring up our baby boy. I was born and grew up in Zimbabwe (when it was great and stable) and wanted the same outdoor, fresh lifestyle that i had for my son. We were living in the Uk for about 20 years before moving over.

My dilema is whether to stay in sydney or move to areas around brisbane - preferably a child friendly area around the gold coast or sunshine coast.

Im a little disappointed on how things are in sydney and its not really the paradise life we expected. I have a lot of mates from queensland and sydney and their views are very different - they both dislike the other place - i hear that most people (from sydney to) see sydneysiders as being quite rude and think themselves above their station.
Things are a bit more expensive than i thought it would be which is disappointing.

At the moment im living in clovelly near the beach but again isnt what we thought it would be. The guys from brissy say it doesnt hold up to the beaches in brisbane - having said that i like manly (nsw)

I work in film visual effects for the hollywood projects and know that there is a small company in warner village that do my line of work - even though it would be a step down in career i am more than willing to make the move if the life for my wife and baby is a better one. after all you only have one life and your cv doesnt mean all that much in the grand scheme of things.

by the way my wife is a forensic scientist but will be taking time out to be with the baby - she will really feel comforted knowing that there are other brits with families around. its scary being away from the family.

What im trying to gauge from this post is:

how many people have made the move from either the uk to brisbane or from sydney to brisbane and what where the reasons for that move?

What does brisbane have that sydney doesnt have? Why would i want to move to brissy from sydney and why did you guys?

We are planing a short holiday to brisbane and the surrounding areas - but living in a place is completely different to having a holiday there.

are things genreally cheaper in brisbane than sydney and is it by a lot?

Please dont get me wrong - i like sydney but just wondering if theres better out there.

thank you so much for reading this long winded post - any replies would be very welcome and appreciated.

just got foxtell sorted so i can watch the premiership - up the magpies!

hamz

Jaynie · 02-08-2008, 09:01 AM

Hi Hamz,

Could you commute to Sydney? I live on the Central Coast and the commute to the city is about 90mins, you could live by the beach up here, a lot cheaper and more child friendly if that's what you are looking for.

Have you been up here yet?

Just a thought...................

Regards

Hamz · 02-08-2008, 04:49 PM

Hi Jaynie

Thanks for the reply - i dont mind commuting. Back in england i used to do 3 hours on the train a day, so wouldnt mind doing that again if it meant my family was in a really nice place. Preferably would give it a miss.

I think queensland offers the more "paradise" lifestyle we imagined but im sure the place you are in is just as lovely. Ill check it out too. It all hinges on me getting consistant work from the company in queensland - or i may have to make that commute to sydney from somewhere closer.

At times i wish i wasnt doing the career im doing - it limits where i can live.

thanks again for the reply.

hamz

Jaynie · 03-08-2008, 12:51 AM

Hi Hamz,

If you want beach life, check out Terrigal, Avoca Beach, Copacabana, Forresters Beach, The Entrance, Wamberal.

The only thing is if you choose one of the beach areas and you commute by train, it adds even more time on to your journey as you have to drive to the station and then it's about 90mins on the train into CBD. But this is a lovely area, I am sure you and your family would enjoy it. Book yourself a weekend away up here and investigate the area out.

Good luck

Coffee · 04-08-2008, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamz

I was born and grew up in Zimbabwe (when it was great and stable) and wanted the same outdoor, fresh lifestyle that i had for my son.
[...]
Im a little disappointed on how things are in sydney and its not really the paradise life we expected.

Hmmm, outdoor lifestyle, paradise, fresh lifestyle. All good and well but how can you achieve that in a large city? Sydney, as well as Brisbane, has a population of over 1 million and just because it is in Australia doesn't mean that not the same principles apply as to any other large city in the world. Finding paradise is difficult anywhere. You don't find paradise - you make it!

I can't comment on Brisbane as I have never been there but apparently it is not that much cheaper (property wise) anymore. The one thing to bear in my is the climate: if you have been around in Sydney for 2 months you have just and only gone through the cold time. Anybody here in Sydney tells me it's a completely different place once the sun is out and the temperatures go up. Brisbane, though much milder in winter, might be a little bit on the humid side in summer.

Quote:

having said that i like manly (nsw)

Well, there's your answer then!

No, seriously, maybe give Sydney a few more months and in the meantime gather information about Brisbane and life in Brisbane. There's nothing worse than moving in a rush, spending lots of time and money and then finding out you've just missed paradise again.

Jo&Rich · 04-08-2008, 05:18 AM

If you do have a look at Brisbane, it would be well worth looking at the Sunshine/Gold Coasts too I think; is Warner village on the Gold Coast (next to Movie World; may be wrong)?
We're on the Gold Coast, been here for over 10 months and really like it. Manageable commute into Brisbane CBD if need be(depending on where you choose), and there are so many things to do for children. There are the beaches, lovely well maintained public parks, on the Gold Coast are the theme parks, great for my little ones, and Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast. It's not a really cheap place to live, but can't compare to Sydney as never lived there. Eating out is very reasonable, and there are loads of great schools and kindies. There are sooo many English families here too, it can't be that bad!
Jo x

Lynandsean · 04-08-2008, 05:35 AM

Hi Hamz!
We live on the Gold Coast because we wanted to be close to the beach and have good access to Brisbane as my son studies performing arts there plus my husband occasionally needs to travel there for work.

The Gold Coast beaches are stunning with the choice of the livelier ones near Surfers or the quieter ones at the southern end. It takes my son about 1 1/2 hrs each way on the train to his place of study on the northern side of Brisbane (requires 1 change of trains) and he copes fine. The lifestyle here is more laid back and friendly (although there are definitely some snobby areas on the coast!) and even more so in Brisbane I believe (until you put the buggers behind a wheel then they morph into something completely different but then that's another story/thread!! LOL).

I think the cost of living, price of houses is cheaper than Sydney at present although I understand it is predicted to catch up, best bet I guess would be to check out
www.realestate.com.au Like everywhere there are very expensive suburbs and very cheap suburbs (cheap ones usually with good reason...)

I love to visit Sydney but would never want to live there - we did look into it because we thought the performing arts set up would be better (as you work at Fox Studios you are probably close to Brent Street Studios which is THE No.1 dance school but not as it turns out No.1 in performing arts).

We unexpectedly love the life here despite the fact that is totally different to our life in the UK - we lived very rural, and rural we ain't now

although we could move inland a bit and be more so, we are very happy where we are.

Can't answer for the Sunshine Coast although we do plan to check it out sometime soon to maybe take into consideration in the future.

How Brisbane give's what you want in comparison to Sydney I guess is going to come down to what you actually want or need for yourselves so a visit definitely a good thing there.

Weather wise, our summer is VERY humid but the rest of the year more than makes up for that.

Keep in touch
Lyn

Hamz · 04-08-2008, 09:10 AM

Quote:

My dilema is whether to stay in sydney or move to areas around brisbane - preferably a child friendly area around the gold coast or sunshine coast.

Hi everyone

Thanks for your replies and advice.

Im sorry i didnt make it more clear that i wasnt looking at brisbane city itself - more the areas around it and would commute to work from a more tranquil area. I made the mistake of saying brisbane when i meant the outskirts and generalised the whole area as brissy.

I have friends who live in the sunshine and gold coast area - and they love it - so will be looking there. A few stay in byron bay

I have to be in sydney for a minimum of one year so will not be doing anything in a rush. Ill be over in a few months to have a proper look round at the area.

thanks once again for the advice - i still would like to know why people chose brisbane, gold and sunshine coast areas over sydney - im just looking for a comparison between those areas and sydney.

cheers

hamz.

Hamz · 04-08-2008, 09:25 AM

forgot to mention...

Lyn the dance school is based in fox studios - very close to my building - looks very cool but im sure youre in a nicer place for your kids - although sydney is way better than london for the kiddies.

by the way - i spent 10 happy years in radlett in hertfordshire (near shenly, watford and st albans. went to aldenham school - elstree.) my favourite county!

Hi Jo - definately looking at those areas - and will visit australia zoo - steves a legend!
Most people i know that have moved there love it.

Cheers coffee for the advice - will be around here a little longer and sydney may grow on me.

cheers guys

hamz

blondie · 04-08-2008, 09:45 AM

Hi Lynn

Sorry to jump in onto your post like this but I noticed you mentioned your son studying Performing Arts. My daughter Meg wants to go to drama school and is heavily into performing arts. Could you tell me where you found about the place for your son, is it a uni or stage school ? She is planning to audition with NIDA later this year but is realistic about her chances of being accepted, basically I am trying to find out as much as I can for her while she is off backpacking, if she can't find what she's looking for then she may end up back in UK to audition for a school there.

Any help/advice would be great thanks

Blondie