where to live

[riomhach]

Hi my family and I want to move to Aus but have no idea where to settle. We are a family of 6, our children are 19 ,18, 14 & 12. The main requirement would be to be somewhere that excellent athletics/running, clubs/facilities and good secondary/tertiary education. It would be nice to be on the coast. Does anyone have any advice on where we should start? Or how we go about finding the right place for us?

[kdal]

Hiya & Welcome to PIO,

A friend of mine has children roughly the same age as yours and they have just settled on the Gold Coast and the kids love it there and dont want to live anywhere else !!

But to be honest it is so hard to give someone advise without knowing them very well, as we are all different and what some teenagers love i.e. clubs that could be anothers worse nightmare.

Check out the GC though and see what you think.

Good luck

[J&T]

Hi, welcome to the site.

We've been to Gold Coast and Western Australia. At the Gold Coast there are more bigger things such as the theme parks etc., We stayed at Surfers Paradise and really enjoyed it there and would love to go again for future holidays. When we went to WA, we stayed longer so managed to see a much bigger area, and although there aren't the big theme parks there, it still felt quite homely to us.

I have a Grandad in Perth, so that's where we are intending on heading, but to be honest with you, if my Grandad was no longer around, I would love to check out Adelaide.

Best thing to do is watch Aussie programmes such as Auction Squad, Location Location, Amazing Homes etc., Subscribe to the Australia & New Zealand monthly magazine, and read what you can on websites like this! Oz is such a big place and different areas have different seasons, and each town is different to the next.

Hope this helps,

Tracey

[riomhach]

Thanks very much for your replies. It is going to be a bit tricky trying to please everyone and as Australias so vast we will probably have to pick somewhere, research it, and then if we like the sound of it, go for it. Have looked at Adelaide, Brisbane and Wollongong so far and they seem great. Anyone have any info about these places that might help?

[Petals]

Welcome as others have said so different each place and State.

I live in Melbourne and love it have lived here for over 30 years now and my children grew up here and they love it too.

Melbourne has four seasons of the year which I like and it has good schools, good unis, live band scene which my daughter is in to and lots of sport. Good beaches nice areas to live.

I am biased of course and it all depends what your families interests are, what kind of climate you like and where you want to work.

[Quoll]

Well of course I have to put in a bid for Canberra - not on the coast but you can be at some very nice beaches within 90 minutes (if you drive quickly) and also some snow fields (2 hours). We have good facilities - in fact we have the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) which gathers elite athletes from all over Aus. Sporty kids in Aus have to travel no matter where they live for state and national competitions so no worries about accessing high level comps. Lots of good pools, junior participation etc.

Education rates highly on any of the tables you may see published. We have a thriving non govt sector which caters for about 50% of HS kids. A College system which is unique in Aus for yrs 11 and 12 and a couple of them have talented sports programs so elite sportsmen/women can get credit for their sport training as part of their final years schooling. We have two universities - the ANU tends to be one of the top Aus unis in any rankings and the University of Canberra is more applied/vocational.

Workwise it is still going ok although a lot of jobs are for PR/citizens as they are in the public sector.

Weatherwise it is good because you get 4 defined seasons and though the winters can be chilly - frosts and all at night, during the day it gets to be warmer. Very little rain (which is a bit of a disadvantage when you are in drought) and blue skies most days. There can be periods in summer where it is HOT but it is dry which isnt nearly as wearing as the humid heat.

How you find the right place? Well, probably find the job first because that does tend to impact on your ability to live in a place. You may spot the Garden of Eden but if there are no jobs there then it can become an absolute hell hole.

Good luck.

[riomhach]

Thanks very much for all that information. Never really gave Canberra much thought but it sounds good for sport which is an absolute must for the children. We dont need to worry too much about jobs as there seem to be plenty in our field. So many in fact that it would be easier to choose a place, then go for the jobs, rather than the other way round. Will definitely check out Canberra. My brother lives in Melbourne so that is an option. Not sure how he would feel about his sister moving nearby after 20 years away!!!

[Jamland]

What do people think of Adelaide?

[michelle in Havant]

Hi
We have been looking into South Australia as I have family living in the suburbs just outside Adelaide and they love it!!! We are looking to move somewhere a bit more rural, and have been researching orroroo and the surrounding suburbs. Does anybody know what this area is like??
Any info would be greatly appreciated!!