Murrydownunder Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Hi Everyone, i have been a visitor to your forum for a while but only just started to look into emigrating seriously and could do with some help.I had originally thought Sydney would be the best destination but now realising the cost of living could be a bit tight and considering Brisbane. I work in construction, mainly fit out and interior finishes and my wife is a primary school teacher. We have no experience other than backpacking 15 years ago so looking for any opinions on where is best Brisbane or Sydney. I know they are very different but just a general idea of which has the best work opportunities and overall better standard of living as we would like to start a family at some point too. Really need help. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Im biased as i love Brisbane,lol but only because we have found it a great place for families to migrate to, relaxed,family friendly and plenty to do. I have heard members say Sydney is expensive and a bit like London so i guess it depends what you want out of a city. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wombat84 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I'm a vote for Brisbane too! When I first visited Australia 3 years ago I spent about 3 weeks in total in Sydney, and 6 weeks in Brisbane. I found Sydney very big, crowded, busy, and not that friendly. Brisbane on the other hand is smaller, but still big enough to have a lot going on. People are (in general!) friendly, it's easy to meet people (e.g. Meetup.com has loads of Brisbane groups) and the weather is amazing. Downsides are that the closest beaches are about 45 mins drive from the CBD (and not as easy to get to as Sydney's) and public transport is expensive. Any way you can visit both before you decide? Everyone back home in the UK told me that Melbourne was the nicest city, but I lived there for 3 months and didn't like it much. When I got to Brisbane though I immediately felt at home. So everyone is different! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 They are both really nice but I think Brisbane would be cheaper to get into a nice suburb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I would look into work opportunities as a priority. I hear a lot of people (on here) talk about construction being slow in Brisbane but I don't know if it's still the case. In my opinion - Sydney was fantastic as a young, child-free person for going out and everything going on. However with a family and less inclination to go partying, I adore Brisbane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 It depends so much on what you want and who you are .... personally I prefer Perth. Have lived in both Brisbane and Sydney and prefer Brisbane of the two. Bottom line is though that you need to go and see for yourself as what one person will love, another will not... so depends on you and your personal views and tastes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londongal76 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Got a good friend working in construction out there. It's slow at the moment but apparently due to pickup towards the end of the year in Brisbane. My vote would be Brisbane too unless you really want to be living in a big city, but i'm biased as i like it there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrydownunder Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 Thanks everyone. We are saving so that we can head out in the school holidays to take a look. Will keep doing as much research as we can but would prefer to have chosen either Brisbane or Sydney before going out. I know it's down to individuals circumstances but how do people ever make the decision on where? They both seem great, im just worried about the expense of Sydney but as this will be a long term move have to make the right choice based on life and opportunities for kids in the future.Maybe Brisbane has more potential as it will eventually catch up with Sydney? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 There's no right or wrong decision, just two right ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrydownunder Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 Have just been looking through the Returning to UK posts. Jesus. Not sure we should be leaving England. Obviously it doesn't work out for everyone but there are a fair few who don't think Australia is all it's cracked up to be. Fingers crossed the wife doesn't enter that forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rink Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hi Murrydownunder, Each to there own i say, we only visited for a few weeks last year. When we left we thought, hhmmm not that good, then every day for the last year we can't stop thinking about it. Now we have decided it is the place for us as a family (although we don't have close family in the UK). Good luck in what ever you decide... after all if it doesn't work out its only a flight home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londongal76 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Have just been looking through the Returning to UK posts. Jesus. Not sure we should be leaving England. Obviously it doesn't work out for everyone but there are a fair few who don't think Australia is all it's cracked up to be. Fingers crossed the wife doesn't enter that forum! Yeah I made that mistake after joining last week too properly messed with my head for a few days, but what you don't see is the million-odd migrants who are happy posting about not returning, so don't read too much into it. There will always be cases where it doesn't work out. There are many many more cases where it does, they're just too busy jetski-ing to be here. At the end of the day, we can all just try. If it doesn't work for some reason, we too can come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystaltips Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 It's a tough decision, we really liked the appeal of Brisbane but all things considered, we had to go with Sydney. From the little research we did do on Brisbane, my overall opinion was, it would be a great place to live, especially with a young family. I also read through Brisbane's Economic Growth Plan - lots of new houses and development planned for coming years which would be a good indicator of potential employment opportunities for your line of work? Sydney of course is a fab option too but it's a whole different ball game...and an expensive one at that! There is so much to consider, do lots of research and use PIO for guidance, everyone on here has been an endless source of help...as long as your informed, you can't really go wrong. Good luck :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Anecdotally, it is very hard for primary school teachers to find work in Sydney, if not impossible for new migrants. I would do a search on employment prospects for teachers in both places before anything else. Received wisdom in NSW is that if you want to have a chance at getting a teaching job in Sydney, you have to do some hard yards for a few years out in a country/regional area to try and get yourself some brownie points. This puts most off. http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/piccoli-calls-for-cap-on-teaching-degrees-20131120-2xvm8.html The trouble is, no one can predict how each place will make you feel, and this can be very important The cost of living (especially housing) is higher in Sydney, it is easier I think to have more disposable income in Brisbane - if there is the work. Also do some research on qualifications and licensing requirements for your line of work. You say you work "in construction" but not as to what you do. In general it is easier to get started for staff rather than craft, because the paper qualifications are more widely recognised (especially for the likes of engineers where international agreements like the Washington Accord apply). If you are a tradesman, there are licensing systems in place (state specific, so they vary in technicality and application) and you will have to do some work to get licensed to work - and whilst doing so, your earning power is reduced. Once you have the license, typically wages for trades are relatively higher compared to the UK that the relative remuneration for staff. Please note for both trades quals and teaching quals, the presence of a skill/occupation on the SOL/CSOL is no guarantee there actually are jobs, nor does the skills assessment for trades in order to get the visa approved count in terms of getting a license to trade - you still have to get the local qualification Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Yeah I made that mistake after joining last week too properly messed with my head for a few days, but what you don't see is the million-odd migrants who are happy posting about not returning, so don't read too much into it. There will always be cases where it doesn't work out. There are many many more cases where it does, they're just too busy jetski-ing to be here. At the end of the day, we can all just try. If it doesn't work for some reason, we too can come back. You would see lots of negative posts in the moving back section. The people wouldn't be moving back if everything had been OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrydownunder Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Yeah I've looked on the SOL and CSOL lists but its all a bit confusing because my day to day job isnt what my trade qualification is in and I wasnt sure if when in Australia I would have to do the same job.We were thinking that maybe my wife could be the main visa applicant but like people have said, there doesnt seem to be many teaching jobs open and I couldnt see it on the list anyway. We need to do lots more research on qualifications and licensing, wish it was all a bit easier. Still, not giving up everyone on here must have been through this at some stage. Brisbane is looking our top choice but not sure we would enjoy a more tropical climate.Took a look at Brisbanes plan which is promising too. We love the idea of Sydney but the more we look into evrything the more we realise we most probably would be in a worse position than in the UK and the main point of moving is to have a better quality of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Have just been looking through the Returning to UK posts. Jesus. Not sure we should be leaving England. Obviously it doesn't work out for everyone but there are a fair few who don't think Australia is all it's cracked up to be. Fingers crossed the wife doesn't enter that forum! The problem is there could be a million positive stories on the forum and one negative, but we would still be drawn to that negative comment and question if we are doing the right thing. We sometimes need reassurance ourselves and for someone to tell us everything is going to be ok. Unfortunately only you can choose whether you are going to be happy or not. I've been on this forum long enough to know that 95% of members who make the move! love it and never return to the forum, 3 % of the members love it and stay around to help others because they got so much help themselves on here and made a number of really good friends! then the 2% who don't like it are the ones who shout the loudest which I've no qualms with at all. Just because they don't like a place doesn't mean I won't. Anyway to cheer you up have a read through these http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-chat-dilemmas/193833-positive-emigrating-australia-true-life-stories.html#post1936426932 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystaltips Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I've just been reading through some of the positive stories, great to hear people's plans working out for them. Need to keep bumping the thread so the good vibe spreads! Murrydownunder - you may need to be a little more specific in what you do as there could be other options for you. For instance, my husband works in construction so to speak but his actual role/day to day job, isn't present on the SOL for our chosen state (NSW). This being the case, the application for his visa has instead, been based on other qualifications/job spec that is present on the SOL. His current job still encompasses the responsibilities of the skill he's applying for but wouldn't necessarily have been what he'd originally thought to look under. You of course have to have the qualification to support your skill category but for instance, on the 189 visa, once in Sydney, he can work in whatever capacity he can find a job in! (I think?...shoot me down if that's wrong fellow forumers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanwilliams Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Hi Everyone, i have been a visitor to your forum for a while but only just started to look into emigrating seriously and could do with some help.I had originally thought Sydney would be the best destination but now realising the cost of living could be a bit tight and considering Brisbane. I work in construction, mainly fit out and interior finishes and my wife is a primary school teacher. We have no experience other than backpacking 15 years ago so looking for any opinions on where is best Brisbane or Sydney. I know they are very different but just a general idea of which has the best work opportunities and overall better standard of living as we would like to start a family at some point too. Really need help. Thanks Well, I was born and raised in Brisbane and currently live in Sydney, so that's a tough one :laugh: I find Sydney lovely, though I think it's somewhat overcrowded and more expensive, thus if I were you I'd go for Brisbane...though Sydney definitely has better work opportunities. Ah I sense I am not much of help, but good luck with your choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 You would see lots of negative posts in the moving back section. The people wouldn't be moving back if everything had been OK. Agree Paul... but on the flip side, there are very many successful migrants who have either not been members of POI or have been members but do not contribute now they are in Oz, so i suppose it would be very hard to quantify those who stayed against those who went. Human nature being what it is, the moaners always seem to out number those who just get on with it.... glass half empty versus half full I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Brisbane. No contest there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Brisbane is good, but Sydney is Australia's 'Big Apple' - 'if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere......!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradClark Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Brisbane. Great weather, happy locals, can't complain. Sydney has the cosmopolitan and happening nightlife with great food & coffee, but rubbish weather and unhappy people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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