Brisbane or Gold Coast?

[Snowball2]

Hi all

I posted this on the Queensland section and got some great answers but hoping for others, so I’m posting here.

I’m after some advice on places to live. We’ve been in Townsville for almost a year and I don’t like it much. It has great nature/outdoors but it’s too quiet for us. Most cafes are closed by 2pm and good bars are few & far between. Cultural stuff & the LGBT community is minimal too. 
I might be able to move with my job, and our choices will be Brisbane or the Gold Coast (maybe Melbourne).
We like cafes, upmarket bars and restaurants and cultural activities/festivals. We also like the beach, outdoors and nature. I’m after opinions on whether Brisbane or GC would suit us best (we are going down for a reccie but not for a couple of months). We moved over from central Manchester, so would like something similar but perhaps a bit more laid back. Thanks!

[Collie]

Based on what you said you like, Melbourne is the best city in Australia for those interests.  4 seasons in 1 day though.

 

Sydney next, both come with a price tag.

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, Collie said:

Based on what you said you like, Melbourne is the best city in Australia for those interests.  4 seasons in 1 day though.

Sydney next, both come with a price tag.

Melbourne houses are about two-thirds of the price of Sydney.  

My only concern (for the OP) about Melbourne is that they're going back to a climate that's closer to the south of England than Townsville!   S

[MARYROSE02]

I've spent 99 per cent of my time in OZ in Sydney and I was thinking that for beach/cultural activities/ cafes and bars/LGBT Sydney, especially the inner city suburbs, ticks all the boxes, my own suburb - Surry Hills for example, 7 km from beaches like Bondi/Coogee/Bronte/Clovelly, Belvoir St Theatre, another theatre on the corner of Cleveland St and City Road (what is the name?) - Newtown and Glebe close by, which are both comparable to Surry Hills. Darlinghurst and Oxford St is also practically party of Surry Hills.

But now I am 'living' in Surfers Paradise, having been here for three months with no desire to return to Surry Hills. I can say that an apartment lilke this one we are living in at the Hilton is just about perfect - beach 250 metres, a plethora of restaurants/bars/cafes/shops and supermarkets all on the doorstep along with the excellent Gold Coast Tramline. There is a little bit of 'culture' here - arts centre over on Chevron Island but I guess weekends in Brisbane might be the go for that aspect, ditto perhaps the GBLT scene. And Brisbane does not have beaches on its doorstep?? It doe have the artificial beach on South Bank. No good asking me about Brisbane - not far - 80 km but also seemingly as crowded and traffic jammed as Sydney.

[Wanderer Returns]

On 26/10/2020 at 22:17, Snowball2 said:

We moved over from central Manchester, so would like something similar but perhaps a bit more laid back. Thanks!

Based on that one sentence alone, and given your choice of either Brisbane and the GC, it's got to be Brissie all the way. The GC nightlife and cultural attractions are pretty limited, and mainly aimed at tourists. Yes, it's by the beach, and that's about it really.

I've lived in Brisbane on and off for the last 15 years, and it's amazing how much the city has progressed in that time. It felt rather provincial back in 2004, and everyone referred to it as a big county town. People would pass you by on the street and still say 'hello', even in the CBD! That's all changed and it's lost something of it's charm in my opinion, but the upside is that it is definitely more cosmopolitan. It's still not in the same league as Sydney and Melbourne, but then it doesn't suffer the social problems of a major city - well not yet! Coming from Brownsville it will feel like you've arrived in New York. I would give be inclined to give Brissie a whirl before moving to SYD or MEL - from the sounds of it West End would be the suburb for you.

[MARYROSE02]

9 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Based on that one sentence alone, and given your choice of either Brisbane and the GC, it's got to be Brissie all the way. The GC nightlife and cultural attractions are pretty limited, and mainly aimed at tourists. Yes, it's by the beach, and that's about it really.

I've lived in Brisbane on and off for the last 15 years, and it's amazing how much the city has progressed in that time. It felt rather provincial back in 2004, and everyone referred to it as a big county town. People would pass you by on the street and still say 'hello', even in the CBD! That's all changed and it's lost something of it's charm in my opinion, but the upside is that it is definitely more cosmopolitan. It's still not in the same league as Sydney and Melbourne, but then it doesn't suffer the social problems of a major city - well not yet! Coming from Brownsville it will feel like you've arrived in New York. I would give be inclined to give Brissie a whirl before moving to SYD or MEL - from the sounds of it West End would be the suburb for you.

To an extent I would agree with you but after four months in Surfers Paradise I can see it has certain attractions - get a wonderful apartment for a relatively low price (compared to Sydney my home town), walking distance to the beach, walking distance to everything in fact, or on the marvellous tram service if it's too far to walk. Many of the places are geared to tourists of course especially on the weekends but locals go in them too. My brother and I have become locals at a few of the places now, SP Surf Life Savers Club, for example. And if you want a dose of culture, do the opposite of people in Brisbane who come to Surfers for a weekend of partying  - go to Brisbane for a weekend of "culture."

[s713]

On 26/10/2020 at 12:17, Snowball2 said:

Hi all

I posted this on the Queensland section and got some great answers but hoping for others, so I’m posting here.

I’m after some advice on places to live. We’ve been in Townsville for almost a year and I don’t like it much. It has great nature/outdoors but it’s too quiet for us. Most cafes are closed by 2pm and good bars are few & far between. Cultural stuff & the LGBT community is minimal too. 
I might be able to move with my job, and our choices will be Brisbane or the Gold Coast (maybe Melbourne).
We like cafes, upmarket bars and restaurants and cultural activities/festivals. We also like the beach, outdoors and nature. I’m after opinions on whether Brisbane or GC would suit us best (we are going down for a reccie but not for a couple of months). We moved over from central Manchester, so would like something similar but perhaps a bit more laid back. Thanks!

Melbourne always reminded me of Manchester, not as good of course. Plus, the weather is crap a lot of the time so you will feel right at home .

From your description, it does sound like Melbourne would suit more.

[Marisawright]

8 minutes ago, s713 said:

Melbourne always reminded me of Manchester, not as good of course. Plus, the weather is crap a lot of the time ...

...but not as crap as Manchester’s. Still, we do get cold, wet, windy weather so it can be a big disappointment to people expecting  a beach lifestyle 

[starlight7]

Worst place for weather is actually Sydney because it rains so much there. When I think of it I have never been there when it hasn't rained heavily.  Ever. I have been there many times, too. Melbourne these days is too dry and we hang out for rain, especially once we get to Spring and Summer. I wouldn't want as much as Sydney gets though.

[rtritudr]

11 hours ago, starlight7 said:

Worst place for weather is actually Sydney because it rains so much there. When I think of it I have never been there when it hasn't rained heavily.  Ever. I have been there many times, too. Melbourne these days is too dry and we hang out for rain, especially once we get to Spring and Summer. I wouldn't want as much as Sydney gets though.

While the amount of rain is greater in Sydney compared to Melbourne, when it rains in Sydney it really rains so the number of sunny days is actually greater in Sydney:

https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Australia/Cities/sunshine-annual-average.php

Average total days a year with sun

City	Sunny	Partly Sunny	Total Days With Sun
Maitland, New South Wales	90	150	240
Melbourne, Victoria	46	139	185
Newcastle, New South Wales	79	141	220
Perth, Western Australia	144	121	265
Rockhampton, Queensland	121	151	272
Rockingham, Western Australia	146	140	286
Sydney, New South Wales	107	129	236
Toowoomba, Queensland	107	148	255
Townsville, Queensland	116	148	264
Wollongong, New South Wales	108	131	239

[Marisawright]

13 hours ago, starlight7 said:

Worst place for weather is actually Sydney because it rains so much there. When I think of it I have never been there when it hasn't rained heavily.  Ever. I have been there many times, too. Melbourne these days is too dry and we hang out for rain, especially once we get to Spring and Summer. I wouldn't want as much as Sydney gets though.

When it rains in Sydney, it really rains. I remember the first time it rained after I arrived - I thought it was a monsoon!   I laughed when the weather forecast said "showers" because it always meant a friggin' downpour.  But that means the high rainfall is all concentrated into fewer days, so it's over with - and the other days are predictably sunny.  

Now I'm in Melbourne, the nuances of "drizzle", "showers", "light rain" etc mean something again. And a shower can turn up unexpectedly.  It doesn't bother me, because one of the reasons we left Sydney is that I don't like hot weather. 

[Dusty Plains]

9 hours ago, Marisawright said:

When it rains in Sydney, it really rains. I remember the first time it rained after I arrived - I thought it was a monsoon!   I laughed when the weather forecast said "showers" because it always meant a friggin' downpour.  But that means the high rainfall is all concentrated into fewer days, so it's over with - and the other days are predictably sunny.  

Now I'm in Melbourne, the nuances of "drizzle", "showers", "light rain" etc mean something again. And a shower can turn up unexpectedly.  It doesn't bother me, because one of the reasons we left Sydney is that I don't like hot weather. 

Sydney has always had a higher rate of rainfall than Melbourne, and yes when it rains in Sydney ....it rains. Melbourne has traditionally more wet days than Sydney. No big deal really. The more rain for either capital, the better.    

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Dusty Plains said:

Sydney has always had a higher rate of rainfall than Melbourne, and yes when it rains in Sydney ....it rains. Melbourne has traditionally more wet days than Sydney. No big deal really. The more rain for either capital, the better.    

Yes, that's the point I was trying to make.  In Melbourne, I've had to get used to taking a jacket or packing an umbrella on a day out - because, like England, you never know when a quick shower might hit.   I quite like the variable weather in Melbourne but I think it would be a disappointment to many migrants who are expecting the sun-and-sand kind of "Aussie" weather.

[MARYROSE02]

15 hours ago, rtritudr said:

While the amount of rain is greater in Sydney compared to Melbourne, when it rains in Sydney it really rains so the number of sunny days is actually greater in Sydney:

https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Australia/Cities/sunshine-annual-average.php

Average total days a year with sun

City	Sunny	Partly Sunny	Total Days With Sun
Maitland, New South Wales	90	150	240
Melbourne, Victoria	46	139	185
Newcastle, New South Wales	79	141	220
Perth, Western Australia	144	121	265
Rockhampton, Queensland	121	151	272
Rockingham, Western Australia	146	140	286
Sydney, New South Wales	107	129	236
Toowoomba, Queensland	107	148	255
Townsville, Queensland	116	148	264
Wollongong, New South Wales	108	131	239

I have never thought of Sydney as a "rainy" city - prone to horrendous storms of course, which the weathermen call "showers" especially if it is coming up to the weekend.

[Dusty Plains]

8 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I have never thought of Sydney as a "rainy" city - prone to horrendous storms of course, which the weathermen call "showers" especially if it is coming up to the weekend.

Cats and dogs when it rains in Sydney.

[Snowball2]

Thanks everyone, really useful stuff. We fly down to Brisbane & GC for a holiday in a few weeks to see what we think