CGERALDH

Hi Hayley, We left the Uk almost 7 years ago and the plan was to relocate to Perth. An offer of a permanent resident visa sponsored by Australian Capital Territory (ACT) persuaded us to come to Canberra instead. We have visited Perth albeit only for 2 weeks holiday and it certainly has it's attractions. Brisbane is busier than Perth but probably has more employment options. You are right to ignore Melbourne and Sydney. They are overcrowded, over priced and over rated. Having lived in Canberra for almost 7 years however I would highly recommend that you consider it as an option. It has more sunshine than any other state capital, higher salaries, a higher quality of life overall and low unemployment It has no traffic congestion and the average property price is around half that in Sydney which is a 3 hour drive away. Happy to provide more info re Canberra and other cities if required! Good luck, Chris

Good luck, you won't regret it. We moved out here to Canberra 4 year ago. Much better than Luton I can tell you! Most Poms go to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Brisbane. Having been to all of them I can recommend Canberra or Perth. Sydney is overcrowded and expensive. Melbourne has dismal weather. Canberra is Australia's best kept secret. Perth is another good option..

I can't comment on the visa but I reckon the pound will continue to strengthen against the AUD for another 12 months at least. I use HIFX to transfer my GBP over here - I bring chunk over each time there is a spike in the exchange rate. I expect 2:1 by mid/late 2014. Good luck..

I agree that things are overpriced here but the only other issue in my opinion is the lack of proper football. Having lived in England for the first 45 years of my life (apart from 3 years split between South Africa, Brazil and China) I must say life here is many times better than UK. This could be partly due to the fact that I live in Canberra which has great scenery, sunshine almost every day and no congestion. If I had to live in Sydney or Melbourne maybe I would be a little less enthusiastic...In my opinion, you may regret leaving if you decide to go. The UK now panders to the whims of Muslims and is a puppet of the EU. The weather will never be attractive. It does have proper football however and decent pubs. Good luck with your decision making.

Interesting to see that the 2 cities with most votes are actually the best cities in my view...it seems to me that it is necessary to live in Canberra in order to appreciate it..

Having moved to Canberra from Bedfordshire (not far from Milton Keynes!) a little over over 3 years ago I must say how impressed I am with it. Our goal was to move to Perth but we couldn't get permanent resident visas (State sponsored) there hence we chose Canberra. The coast is 1 1/2 hours drive away and we drive there almost every 2nd Saturday. My son and I have learnt to surf and have bought boards and wet suits. Canberra is surrounded by bush land, rivers and lakes and the Brindebella mountains are a short drive away. Traffic jams don't exist, unlike in Sydney or Melbourne and the crime rate is very low. It is the sunniest Capital on the East coast. Salaries are higher than anywhere else in Australia and it is a great place to bring up kids. The only similarity to Milton Keynes is that both Canberra and MK have a Costco...Having said all that, I would say Perth has the edge over Canberra but Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are much less attractive...