surfndirt

Hya, my Mrs is from Mount Gambier - will find out for you. We spend heaps of time in that town and I love the joint. Big enough to have everything you need (and I mean everything from a full size motorbike race track to a velodrome) and small enough to be a small town i.e. easy. There are a couple of car dealers at the south end of the main street, usual stuff in Mitsubishi / Toyota etc. We have just bought an NX Pajero and MQ Triton and really like them both. We are actually in the process of reviewing a move to Robe (just up the road).....

Yep, 100%. Bit biased though as never, ever, ever liked big cities anyway.....

And you ended up in one of the best spots in Australia. Good on ya's.... We have 6months left in SmellBum (Melbourne) then we are free of the city. Very different situation now as we have basically invested all AUD$ in international positive cash flow assets so are pretty much retired at 37. Turned up at Tullamarine in 2006 with $300 in a Westpac account, suitcase and surfboard and knew not a single soul. Goes to show as you say - hard work, and anything is possible. Bestest bit - now that we don't have to cater for work, it is just awesome looking at where you WANT to live, rather where you HAVE to live..... i.e. the city. Sydney and Melb are just rubbish.

$720 tax a year for it in Victoria now...... No, that's not a mis type - it costs 720 Australian dollars to tax your bike for 1x year.

Fair enough, must have been here too long then... I find once I escape the city it's just like being back in the North East really. Normal people, normal prices, normal drug problems, normal people pissy in the pub, normal scallywags nickin stuff. It's just the main 2x cities that are like some kind of US / Asian / Bladerunner B movie!

Melb is a massive city - think LA but without (as much) gangs n' stuff.... If you don't like big cities then I wouldn't move to Melb. My advice in terms of places; - Ballarat - Bendigo - Geelong - Newcastle - Tamworth - Toowomba All great regional cities that are really good places to live with good climate (Ballarat does get cold though). Making friends - easier in these places than in the cities, for sure. Don't for a second think that the rat race does not exist down here, Melb and Sydney are FAR worse rat races than any large town / city I lived in the UK with the obvious exception of that big horrid mess that is London. Concentrate your efforts on a regional city and you will love it.... Great lifestyle and cost of living etc. Cowboy type country stuff up north and very UK like down south.