My 3 week epic backpacking trip for a taster before I emmigrate

I really wanted to make the move but not having been to Aus before I felt i needed a taster and it turned in to the best 3 weeks of my life ! I only got back yesterday and boy I am tired! in 21 days...

day 1 flight began

day 3 arrived in Melbourne for 4 nights

day 7 flight for airlie beach for 1 night

day 8 started a 2 day 1 night Whitsundays sailing trip

day 11 A 13 hour bus to rainbow beach 1 night

day 12 Fraser island trip 1 day/night

day 14 bus to Brisbane

day 16 bus to surfers for 1 night

day 17 bus back to Brisbane

day 21 flight home to Glasgow

Loved every minute and now planning my visa application ! I think I want to try move to Brisbane ...job permitting or maybe further south just outside Sydney maybe -I am worried about the high temps in Queensland for my dog?

I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip - but I would say, if you liked Brisbane then move to Brisbane. Sydney is a completely different kind of place.

Saying you love Australia just because you love Brisbane is like saying someone saying they love every city in Scotland just because they loved their visit to Inverness! Each city in Australia has its own character and they are all quite different, not just in climate but in culture, lifestyle and affordability.

I really wanted to make the move but not having been to Aus before I felt i needed a taster and it turned in to the best 3 weeks of my life ! I only got back yesterday and boy I am tired! in 21 days...

 

day 1 flight began

day 3 arrived in Melbourne for 4 nights

day 7 flight for airlie beach for 1 night

day 8 started a 2 day 1 night Whitsundays sailing trip

day 11 A 13 hour bus to rainbow beach 1 night

day 12 Fraser island trip 1 day/night

day 14 bus to Brisbane

day 16 bus to surfers for 1 night

day 17 bus back to Brisbane

day 21 flight home to Glasgow

 

Loved every minute and now planning my visa application ! I think I want to try move to Brisbane ...job permitting or maybe further south just outside Sydney maybe -I am worried about the high temps in Queensland for my dog?

Sydney is a totally different proposition to Brisbane and unless money is no object to you, first and foremost you have to consider housing costs which vary hugely between the two cities. Sydney housing costs are probably one of the key reasons we decided to leave Australia 18 months ago, we had high incomes but it can be out of reach and we did have to work in Sydney due to a niche occupation.

I would also point out that Sydney can have pretty high temperatures and in fact I would be more surprised to see the late 30s to early 40s in Brisbane than in Sydney. Brisbane does not tend to go much over 30, the difference is the humidity not the temperature. Brisbane will feel stickier and more uncomfortable, although Sydney is still humid.

Well I loved Melbourne but I wouldn't want to live there it was a bit too full on for me....I loved airlie beach and whitsundays ...I loved all of it not just Brisbane but Brisbane seemed more affordable and I loved the city's vibe!

Well I loved Melbourne but I wouldn't want to live there it was a bit too full on for me....I loved airlie beach and whitsundays ...I loved all of it not just Brisbane but Brisbane seemed more affordable and I loved the city's vibe!

If you thought Melbourne was full on then I'd say, definitely steer clear of Sydney - I regard Melbourne as a quiet place compared to Sydney!

What I'm saying is that you can't say you love all of it because you didn't see all of it - you saw Melbourne which is one city in Victoria, and you saw quite a bit of Queensland. That gives you no idea what the rest of Australia is like. If someone visited Inverness and Manchester, then decided to settle in London, would you say that was wise?

Not trying to put you off, just saying - from one end to Australia is a long way and places are different. I'd stick to Queensland if that's where you fell in love with.

...like saying someone saying they love every city in Scotland just because they loved their visit to Inverness!

Who is this sad, lonesome, miserable soul!? Have they received medical attention and/or terminal correction for their problem?

I have a good friend who is emigrating to Wollongong that's why I would consider it. I wouldn't say Melbourne was full on in the busy sence it's just very intense mainly in rush hour and I can't be assed with that, it's very like London. Also it's s expensive! I live in a very busy city and love it but I am looking to move out to Aus for a happy medium and Brisbane seemed to tick all the boxes but I would also like to live near my friend so that is also pulling me to move near where she settles.

Don't forget perth

I have a good friend who is emigrating to Wollongong that's why I would consider it. I wouldn't say Melbourne was full on in the busy sence it's just very intense mainly in rush hour and I can't be assed with that, it's very like London. Also it's s expensive! I live in a very busy city and love it but I am looking to move out to Aus for a happy medium and Brisbane seemed to tick all the boxes but I would also like to live near my friend so that is also pulling me to move near where she settles.

Melbourne is quite a lot cheaper than Sydney - a lot of Sydneysiders have been moving there recently for that very reason. Sydney is also similar to London in terms of busy rush hours (I lived 20 minutes' drive from the city - in rush hour the same trip could take over 2 hours). Sydney's public transport also isn't as good as Melbourne - no trams, only trains, which get packed like sardines in rush hour. Don't get me wrong, I loved living in Sydney but if you found Melbourne too full-on, Sydney is more so. It may look more laid-back because you've seen pics of the beaches, but that's just the beaches - Sydney life is very intense!

So if you want to be near your friend, I'd be looking at Wollongong itself - but it is a smaller, fairly quiet town so I'd be having a long conversation with her on what it's like! On the plus side it has some wonderful beaches and national parks along the coast on either side. Newcastle is another town a couple of hours to the north of Sydney - again, a small city but it's the gateway to the wineries, has a great beach, is handy for Port Stephens with its dolphins and sand dunes.

I have a good friend who is emigrating to Wollongong that's why I would consider it. I wouldn't say Melbourne was full on in the busy sence it's just very intense mainly in rush hour and I can't be assed with that, it's very like London. Also it's s expensive! I live in a very busy city and love it but I am looking to move out to Aus for a happy medium and Brisbane seemed to tick all the boxes but I would also like to live near my friend so that is also pulling me to move near where she settles.

Melbourne and Sydney are both bigger, busier and more expensive than anything Scotland has to offer. Of the two, I find Sydney most like London. Mostly it seems to be grungey, dingy suburbs stretching out for miles and miles with little individual identity. The harbour and beaches are pretty but unless you are super-rich you’ll seldom see them. As others have noted, Sydney has a public transport problem. There are also problems with crime, violence, drugs and social marginalisation exacerbated by the unaffordability of housing. Melbourne is not perfect, but suburbs seem to me to have more of an individual vibe and more going on at a local level. It may feel frenetic compared to Scotland, but it is actually quite laid back and bohemian by Australian standards.