richdownunder Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Hello, I always thought that the hardest part of moving to Oz would be obtaining the visa, but that was relatively straightforward compared to finding somewhere to live as we keep changing our mind each week, sorry day. We are a family of 3 with a 6 year old and we are in our 40s. We live near London and have both worked in London, so we are used to the big cities, but live in a small town in the country about 30 mins outside London so we have the best of both worlds. Here's our daily dilemma. We love Sydney and while it may be the best option for work (both accountants - yawn) we really know that a decent house is way off our price range - up to $600,000. We like Perth, but not sure whether it's too remote and it seems to be getting very expensive to live there. We like Canberra, but not sure whether after a while we would feel that we've made a wrong decision in moving there and it would be to isolated. We love Melbourne, but to get a decent house near good schools in an area we like (Mount Eliza or Berwick) the commute would be at least an hour each way and that's more than my commute here in the UK and that doesn't make sense. While I can probably get my head around the commute, I'm still unsure if after a month I would be saying 'I hate this commute' and want to go home. We've not been to Brisbane, but am not sure about it as the heat and humidity would probably be too much after a while. We've not been to Adelaide, but on paper and the internet it seems to be a nice place and one that always seems to get positive views. So where does that leave us - Probably Melbourne or Adelaide? It would be easy if we were in the UK as we'd probably just say Surrey or Hampshire, but from 10,000 miles away it's harder. I'd really appreciate some views on where people feel is the best place to live and why and how many people have moved and then moved again to another state once they have arrived/lived there for a while. Thanks so much - Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Rich re Melbourne, just because you are accountants doesn't mean you need to work in the CBD, I'm sure if you were in Berwick or Mt Eliza you would find something closer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 You go where you get a job. Australia has a far more 'mobile' population than the U.K and people move around a lot more. Good luck with your search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 There are loads of accountancy jobs advertised for Adelaide - I have a daily email from seek with them on as I'm looking for a project accounting / accounts assistant role, and it's always a long list. I love Adelaide but it's not for everyone. Some people find it a bit sleepy with not enough going on and if you really like Sydney you may find Adelaide a bit small and quiet. On the plus side though some of the nicest areas with the best schools are right on the edge of the CBD so you would have a really short commute to work, and most other places are in easy reach from the center of Adelaide. I've only ever been to Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast so can't really offer a comparison of Adelaide with Melbourne. Hopefully someone else will be able to help further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Move where you want, I am sure two accountants should be able to afford accommodation throughout Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Depends on so many things- do you like country, beaches, city etc? If you are a city person I would think of Sydney/Melbourne first. if you are into beaches more Brisbane/ Sydney. Coffee/restaurant/intellectual stuff is more Melbourne perhaps. The Dandenong Ranges are nice and much of them on a train line. I like Adelaide but have met many who live there who say it is very boring- seems to be the rule rather than the exception so I guess they should know.Tasmania a bit similar and a fair bit cooler. I would narrow it down to 2 and then do your research thoroughly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Hello, I always thought that the hardest part of moving to Oz would be obtaining the visa, but that was relatively straightforward compared to finding somewhere to live as we keep changing our mind each week, sorry day. We are a family of 3 with a 6 year old and we are in our 40s. We live near London and have both worked in London, so we are used to the big cities, but live in a small town in the country about 30 mins outside London so we have the best of both worlds. Here's our daily dilemma. We love Sydney and while it may be the best option for work (both accountants - yawn) we really know that a decent house is way off our price range - up to $600,000. We like Perth, but not sure whether it's too remote and it seems to be getting very expensive to live there. We like Canberra, but not sure whether after a while we would feel that we've made a wrong decision in moving there and it would be to isolated. We love Melbourne, but to get a decent house near good schools in an area we like (Mount Eliza or Berwick) the commute would be at least an hour each way and that's more than my commute here in the UK and that doesn't make sense. While I can probably get my head around the commute, I'm still unsure if after a month I would be saying 'I hate this commute' and want to go home. We've not been to Brisbane, but am not sure about it as the heat and humidity would probably be too much after a while. We've not been to Adelaide, but on paper and the internet it seems to be a nice place and one that always seems to get positive views. So where does that leave us - Probably Melbourne or Adelaide? It would be easy if we were in the UK as we'd probably just say Surrey or Hampshire, but from 10,000 miles away it's harder. I'd really appreciate some views on where people feel is the best place to live and why and how many people have moved and then moved again to another state once they have arrived/lived there for a while. Thanks so much - Rich If you like Sydney but can't afford to buy property there you might consider living and working in Wollongong (or elsewhere in the Illawarra). It is close to Sydney without being part of Sydney. There is a lot more to Australia than the capital cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Depends on so many things- do you like country, beaches, city etc? If you are a city person I would think of Sydney/Melbourne first. if you are into beaches more Brisbane/ Sydney. Coffee/restaurant/intellectual stuff is more Melbourne perhaps. The Dandenong Ranges are nice and much of them on a train line. I like Adelaide but have met many who live there who say it is very boring- seems to be the rule rather than the exception so I guess they should know.Tasmania a bit similar and a fair bit cooler. I would narrow it down to 2 and then do your research thoroughly. There is a whole community on Poms in Adelaide who would probably disagree with this, me included. However I would agree that it's not the most happening of places and if you are used to big cities then it's probably not the place for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Spent 3 yrs in SA after touchdown and nother year later in the military but wouldn't go back. Different strokes for different folks though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.