fergal007

Jesus no I would never buy a new car! mine is 10 years old with only 77k on the clock (44,000) miles and its mint its the RD not the Sport and its a 2.4 Vetec petrol, Hondas hold their value, I paid 12.5k from a Honda dealer, but its low kilometers and FHSH from Astoria Honda where I bought it. Take a look at Astoria Honda in Melbourne and Essendon Honda I know there were doing a run out sale of Civics, Accords and CRVs you could deffo get a brand new CRV for something like $29,999 out the door.

Queensland and Western Australia can be quite bad, Victoria is fine so far I reckon Sydney and Melbourne should be ok , but like any country once you go out into the country you meet rednecks!

Deffo true about the houses! no Insulation built with flimsy weatherboard, along with single pane windows! It can get chilly! We rent a lovely, but old Victorian townhouse and have a great big open fireplace and there's nothing like an open fire when its a bit cold

If you want people who are "generally" a bit more cultured , then I would say Melbourne may be the place to find them. SURF!!!! The home of Australian surfing is an hours drive from me in Williamstown, the Great Ocean Road to the southwest boasts 200ks of reef and beach breaks and of course is home to one of the BEST surf spots in Australia, Bells Beach. To the east you have Philip Island ( about an hour and a half drive from the CBD) which I surf quite often. Eastern Victoria has some great spots all the way over to Mallcoota, Wilsons Prom etc. Your from Scotland? I have surfed at Macrahranish up on the Mull of Kintyre, Thurso and Dunbar near Edinburgh a Scotsman that likes the sun?? Donald wheres your shorts LOL!! The summer so far has been nice had 44 degrees last week way to hot, I nearly passed out getting changed at Philly, for the most part its been fairly moderate here so far like between 22-32

Well the weather can be "intermittent" in Melbourne all right , but I don't mind a bit of everything , yes it does get cold in winter (but not that bad really) but I think a bit of cold keeps you in touch with reality! Frankly that's why half of this country is useless! they spend too much time in the sun and it makes you soft and lazy! and their brains are fried LOL!! Crime happens in every country, state, city etc, Melbourne is no exception, Boiler tec I would think you would have plenty of work here , Rheem have a big place close to me in Altona they were looking for people I recall seeing an ad on Seek. Our neighbors are a family with two small children and they love it here? I cant really give much advice on the whole kids thing as I am a single man but I see plenty of them around! Its not like Melbourne is anti kids or anything. Plenty of nice suburbs to live in the greater Melbourne area on the way to Geelong to the west/south west and to the east/south east towards Philip Island

Perth is a lovely place but probably is a little bit backward as its quite isolated, nonetheless a lovely city but not really for me. Melbourne is lovely and Victoria in general is lovely place. come take a look you might love it or loath it, but hey nothing ventured nothing gained

They are still living in the 70s over there LOL!!!

You will get a brand new Honda CRV for under 30k or a Subaru Forster, though personally I would go for the CRV anything Japanese, stay away from Korean cars like Kia, Hyundai,they are cheap but crap equally anything Chinese ie Great Wall. As somebody said , Euro cars have a lot of trouble dealing with the extreme conditions of Australia and can be very expensive to fix, Dont get me wrong Jap cars can be pricey to fix as well but not much goes wrong with them. If your considering some serious off roading then i would say a Toyota Land cruiser or Nissan Patrol. It depends on what you plan on doing when you get over here? My CRV is All wheel drive and can tackle light off roading( ie driving through a field to camp), unsealed roads ie (dirt roads) and some beaches, its enough for what i need it to do. I think the Nissan X Trail is the most popular SUV/4x4, I was thinking of buying one , but i found the seats too small. One down side to some of the Jap cars is that the interior can sometimes be basic and the seating and footwells seems sometimes made for smaller people! I wanted to buy another Volvo over here as thats what I had in the UK , but parts and getting people to work on them at a reasonable price can be hard to find. Hope that helps you a bit PS: if your going to doing a lot of miles a Diesel engine model may be the way to go , better MPG and good low end torque (for pulling your boat) and make that a manual too

Wait for the bubble to burst! Personally I am going to work here for a few years and buy a small cheap house outright back in Spain, hopefully the dollar will stay inflated for a few years and then I am outta here! I have no desires to be tied to a mortgage in this country, as like Ireland it will end in tears, what goes up MUST come down! Australia is an expensive place to be!

I am using those two as examples Paul!! I am sure plenty more people can add to that , you know well the place is a rip off and Australians are getting fleeced. It could be worse I could be living in Perth!! with all the bogans and rednecks

Good to hear that Stu, It can be a bit rocky at first for some people including myself , I hope this year after i get my qualifications assessed that I will land a well paying job and be able to say the same as you! All i need to do is find an OH that makes plenty too LOL!!!

Im my experiencing Perth is boring as hell , I lived there for 3 months that was enough, a lovely place but more geared towards families come to Melbourne or try Sydney way more fun over here both cities have a lot more going on

Gumtree and if you need brand new but cheap stuff Fantastic furniture and super Amart , I got a free working fridge and a 2 seater futon for $50 on Gumtree , Its not flash but its clean and usable. Ikea is always good too

Came across this today on 7 news!have a read! http://au.totaltravel.yahoo.com/news-opinions/news/a/-/15877944/english-cricket-fans-face-expensive-ashes/ And who said beer was not important!!!:tongue:

I would like to remind people that I am a 33 year old single man with no major overheads living in suburban Melbourne sharing a house with one other person , I pay rent and have a smallish loan (15k for a car over 3 years) I earn 55k a year I dont struggle, nor do I live like a lord! but I cant imagine how a family could live on 80k a year and be comfortable. I think the people with kids and mortgages can better answer the OP concerns. I think Purp has hit the nail on the head on that note I am leaving the debate Later dudes

Fair enough I used to drive from Ruislip, London to Croyde to surf, hey at least a coat will last a while unlike sun cream which runs out fairly quickly LOL!! maybe you can get the kids to wear the coats over here save on the sun cream LOL!!

Reaearched!!! wait till you live here!! free days me arse, as soon as step outside your door your spending money, sun cream for your kids, ice cream and food for your kids, petrol to get to the beach etc etc a trip to the beach will cost you!! , you will find out for yourself!! and by the way you will be fleeced at the beach! like $7 for an ice lollie and a 600ml bottle of Coke zero I paid on Monday in Torquay on the Great Ocean Road so multiply that by how many kids you have and then add the cost of some proper food! Trust me you will be bringing your sambos in your esky box!

and look at what you earn???? cents in regional areas, dollars in citys, alas its all the same you earn it you spend it!! no matter where you live!

I rest my case, thank you Chortlepuss I earn 55k and do ok , rent is 760 a month,plus a loan for an old car of 520 a month, food, bills etc I save some but its no flashy life! 80k for 5 people , that will be tough! as you stated if your flush coming out here then good and well if not!! then god help you!

A husband and 3 kids on 80k , they will be eating beans and toast!!!

Thats true but i lived in London and Melbourne and Oz in general seems way more expensive!

What social life ??? a pint is $10 here! a 6 pack of 1664 would cost me $60!!!

Hear hear so true

Seafood? you would expect to be cheap as its plentiful, TVs who needs one there is nuffin but s***e on it anyways, Insurance???? why do i need funeral insurance!! as i will be dead, they try to sell you everyfink over here!! at least if i dont buy a TV I wont have to listen to all the nonsense! LOL!!

Meat is cheaper at the moment because there is a surplus