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How did you choose which city to move to...


lucyk

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We chose Perth because it seemed to have what the others had, but the weather was more suited to us lol.

 

No wet seasons, no cyclones, no four seasons in one day:wink:

 

Did we make the right choice....deffo:jiggy:

 

For us Perth has everything we need and more if we want it. It lends itself to give us just the most amazing lifestyle.

 

Ive visited a couple of other cities in Aus while being here, they've both had their attractions and I've enjoyed them, but glad ive been a tourist and get to live my day to day life in Perth

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We chose here because Melbourne is where i grew up and my family is around.

 

Coming from the concentration of population that is the M62 corridor, the OH wanted a place with people, things to do, opportunities a big city holds, but close, not outside the front door.

 

She also wanted a beach.

 

We both needed jobs.

 

And some space where the kids could grow up in a house with a backyard that is affordable on a teaching wage.

 

 

This part of the peninsula ticks all those boxes and we are very settled here.

 

 

 

 

Whenever we go to another city or town in the van she always claims,

 

This place is lovely,

 

But i couldnt live here :laugh:

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It was decided for us, because the only state hiring teachers overseas was Victoria. Unfortunately one of the conditions was that you had to work in a rural area and we soon found out that country life didn't suit us. The Dept of Education wouldn't allow a transfer to a Melbourne school - even if the alternative that my oh would leave their service - so we had no alternative but to look for work in the private sector. He applied for several jobs and got one in Sydney, so that's where we went.

 

We were babes in the woods then with no idea how different each of the capital cities was. Nowadays I'd be looking at things like housing costs, job opportunities, weather, lifestyle, pests and diseases, culture and trying to weigh up which one would suit me best.

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We ended up in Melbourne because I applied for a job here back in 1996. I was offered the job but ended up not taking it. In the meantime OH had secured a transfer with his company to the Melbourne office, so we decided to come anyway! Stayed here until 2009, and then came back in 2012. We've not lived in any other cities in Oz, but have visited. I would absolutely choose Melbourne again. The only thing I would perhaps change is not having left.

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We chose Melbourne because it had the overall culture and vibe we were looking for - and so far I'd say we made the right choice. My husband and I are massive cafe, bar and food lovers and we are struggling to get to all the places we said we would go before we came, purely because there is so much here! I work in the CBD so we meet up after work and do stuff here and then hubby works in Fitzroy where there are a lot of awesome bars and cafe's, so we tend to go there on a weekend. We are close to some amazing wineries and beaches and the fact the weather changes so much keeps it all interesting. No day is the same for me here!

 

I've been to Sydney with work which was great but seemed very hectic where I was, and I'm off to Brisbane for Christmas so can make some better comparisons then I guess!

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I moved to Sydney and lived there for three years. Loved Sydney but I was single at the time and my friends and I decided that it was too expensive renting there so we moved to Melbourne. Lived here for a couple of years went back to the UK to live for a couple of years and been in Melbourne ever since. I would not live anywhere else. Wish all the others that are coming would though ha ha, fastest growing city in Aus.

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Canberra chose us because it was where the best offer came from at the time then career-wise it was sensible to stay. If I had to live anywhere in Aus then it's probably where I would choose. The other big cities leave me cold and I hate the total isolation of the bush. We have looked at properties in Gippsland but - meh - not really ticking all the boxes and the DH has no pulls back to Ballarat and that area but I guess that might be a second best.

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We could have gone the spouse visa route, and then could have had the choice of anywhere in Australia, but as OH worked all his life for Ford in the UK, jobwise we were looking at either Melbourne or Adelaide. Wasn't too keen on the Melbourne climate, and an ex-colleague of my husband was working in Adelaide and passed his CV onto management, and then he was offered a 457 to come out here. To be honest, the only thing I knew about Adelaide was where it was on a map - never been here, but read up a bit about it and it seemed to have the sort of climate we liked, which was one of the main reasons for us moving, plus houses were very affordable, specially coming from a relatively pricey area in the UK.

 

The comparatively low cost of properties, food and education when we came out here were a huge bonus - we could afford for me not to work, and pay for an excellent private high school for the kids - with help from scholarships - so I definitely think it was the right place for us to come to. I was born in Manly, so have a soft spot for Sydney, but apart from there being no work for my OH there, we probably couldn't have afforded as nice a house or as good a school there, certainly not within 20 minutes of the CBD, 30 minutes of the beach like we are here.

 

I think if we moved anywhere it would be Melbourne - again, dependent on work - and with just two of us to think of, would probably look at somewhere closer in to the centre of the city: the few times we've been there, it does seem to have a lot of urban sprawl going for miles and miles out of the city if you're looking for a nice family house within easy reach of everything. Adelaide is a sleepy little place, but everything that does happen, happens in the centre - sports, concerts, festivals, nightlife etc - so I wouldn't like to live anywhere in Adelaide much further from that than we do. We're not big beach goers, so the hills suits us very well - OH is a cyclist and I just like trees - but for those with younger kids, it's still affordable to live a few streets from the coast if you don't mind living out in the stix a bit.

 

Queensland just doesn't appeal - I found the Gold Coast very superficial, and Brisbane - well, 'Brisvegas' probably sums up why it wouldn't be for me! Also the humidity is a pain - we have about two humid days a year here and those are the worst days! We have a definite Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter here which is nice. Also, no cane toads or paralysis ticks, and only the occasional poisonous spider to worry about. Plus the wineries of course, I do like my wineries! Never been to Perth, Darwin or Canberra.

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We landed in Adelaide 3 years ago but thought we would go touring for 6 months in a caravan before we decided where to settle.

On returning to Adelaide it became apparent there was little in the way of teaching jobs for my husband.

We knew that there was plenty of work for teachers in Cairns so that was where we ended up.

My younger son joined us after a year and became very disheartened at the lack of employment opportunities (worked in a bank) and had nothing for almost a year. Anyway he is now working in Brisbane and seems settled in a different career.

The oldest son is a doctor in Darwin and loves the lifestyle and can't believe how fortunate life has turned out for him.

For us life is ok and we are settled but I think emigrating in your mid 50's needed a lot more thought than we gave it and we didn't research it enough or indeed where in Australia would have suited us best. In retrospect maybe Adelaide would have been better as we have relatives there and it would have provided an easier transition and of course the support would have been helpful.

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