Location location location

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, Constance said:

How do you all find the extreme weathers for both Melbourne and Brisbane (and wherever you are). Extremes are occurring more frequently everywhere, but they have been longstanding for Australia. 

I associate Melbourne with dry, bushfires and Brisbane with flooding. However, these are when it makes global news - what is it like more regularly? 

I would never associate Melbourne with bushfires.   Bushfires do not happen in cities (with rare exceptions).   During the bad bushfires in country Victoria, we were very aware of them because we could smell smoke and see haze if the wind blew in the wrong direction, but they were a long way away.   

Melbourne is known for its extremes of weather, but they're not dangerous extremes.  Melbourne sits in a unique position, like no other city on earth.  It's on the edge of a very hot continent, but also on the edge of a very cold sea.  When the wind blows from the north, we can get very hot temperatures.  When it blows from the south,  you'd better get out the mittens and hat. And of course, the wind can change during the course of the day!   

For instance, in summer, the day will usually start out mild if not positively cool, but by lunchtime it's starting to heat up and it can be 40 degrees by 3 o'clock.  I don't mind that, because I can get out and about in the cool morning (I don't tolerate heat well), and even the heat isn't that bad, because the humidity is low.  Whereas the East Coast (Sydney and Brisbane) is a humid heat. On a hot day, it will already be sticky by 10am. 

[Skani]

7 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I would never associate Melbourne with bushfires.   Bushfires do not happen in cities (with rare exceptions). 

Bushfires do happen in cities - Canberra, Hobart, Perth, Sydney,  Melbourne, even Brisbane in drier years have all experienced bushfire events within their boundaries.    However if the OP is concerned it is important that they look for housing in areas well away from the urban/bushland interface.  

 

[Marisawright]

33 minutes ago, Skani said:

Bushfires do happen in cities - Canberra, Hobart, Perth, Sydney,  Melbourne, even Brisbane in drier years have all experienced bushfire events ...

I did say "'with rare exceptions". I didn't say never.

[Ausvisitor]

27 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I did say "'with rare exceptions". I didn't say never.

Never been to Port Macquarie then, a pretty common occurrence up there - I suppose the question now becomes when is a city a city as opposed to a town....

[Ken]

6 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Never been to Port Macquarie then, a pretty common occurrence up there - I suppose the question now becomes when is a city a city as opposed to a town....

According to Wikipedia Port Macquarie is "a coastal town". 

[Guest]

Quote

 

The reason I said I associate with Melbourne is because I was living there in 2008/2009 which was obviously awful times. I had friends at work who lived out of the city who were in real danger. Having never experienced anything like that before, it's something that's stayed with me. 

We are pretty much now settled on Brisbane, predominantly for living costs. The humidity is of course a factor, but cost of living feels more so. 

Interesting to know the views as I sit here in Glasgow on a dark morning, in a week of torrential rain!! 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Skani said:

Bushfires do happen in cities - Canberra, Hobart, Perth, Sydney,  Melbourne, even Brisbane in drier years have all experienced bushfire events within their boundaries.    However if the OP is concerned it is important that they look for housing in areas well away from the urban/bushland interface.  

 

Yes, exactly that - There's lots of factors when looking at housing areas. Flood maps for Brisbane too, as some of the areas I had been looking at have flooded more frequently in recent years. As I said, it's so rare for extreme weather where i live now. Lots of rain, but we are on high ground so flooding is mostly localised. Some areas of England experience it where it affects entire towns and villages, but it's rare for here. 

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Ausvisitor said:

Never been to Port Macquarie then, a pretty common occurrence up there - I suppose the question now becomes when is a city a city as opposed to a town....

I should have said "capital cities".

[Marisawright]

26 minutes ago, Constance said:

The reason I said I associate with Melbourne is because I was living there in 2008/2009 which was obviously awful times. I had friends at work who lived out of the city who were in real danger.

As you say, they lived out of the city.  You asked about cities.

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

As you say, they lived out of the city.  You asked about cities.

You are so rude on here at times Marisa, i don't think it's necessary. It is really off putting. 

[Marisawright]

51 minutes ago, Constance said:

You are so rude on here at times Marisa, i don't think it's necessary. It is really off putting. 

How was that rude?  You asked about Melbourne and Brisbane, which are cities.  You said that the experience of your friends who lived outside the city left a mark on you -- i'm just pointing out that if you're planning to live in the city, it's unlikely that will be an issue for you.  If you'd said you planned to live in the countryside I'd have given you a different answer. 

[rammygirl]

You also mention fires in Canberra. It is not a big sprawling city like Melbourne though (more like a big town really) and surrounded by forest and scrub. My son can walk to the centre but lives right on the edge of forest reserve and Black Mountain. No way could you walk to the centre  of Melbourne from forests.  
Check bushfire grading for places you are interested in as well as flooding. Recent weather events world wide are getting more frequent and severe so it is something to be aware of for sure wherever you are planning to be.

[Skani]

10 hours ago, rammygirl said:

 No way could you walk to the centre  of Melbourne from forests.  
 

No, but there are definitely city suburbs with bushfire risk.  It depends whether one is talking about "inner city" city, or suburban city.  There have certainly been bushfires in suburban Melbourne over the years, just as there have been in suburban Sydney (for example the 2019/20 Black Summer fires reaching suburban Turramurra  on the North Shore.)    The problem is that  extreme fire danger conditions can make parklands and reserves extending through suburbs  vulnerable.  (A classic example is the Lane Cove fire  - in the 1990's IIRC? - which came within 7 km of the Sydney CBD). 

Quote

Check bushfire grading for places you are interested in as well as flooding.

That would be my advice to anyone concerned.  Local councils are becoming very proactive in mapping areas vulnerable to fire and linking them to their websites, so check these out before choosing a location.   

[rammygirl]

17 minutes ago, Skani said:

That would be my advice to anyone concerned.  Local councils are becoming very proactive in mapping areas vulnerable to fire and linking them to their websites, so check these out before choosing a location.   

And so do insurance agents, premiums are much higher in at risk areas.  The rating changes in the same street sometimes too. We are medium risk as near the edge of the township but further down the street is low risk as nearer the historic high street (no way would they not pull out all the stops to save a major tourist attraction!)

Fires have come close to us and we keep a wary eye on warnings in the season and have a “go bag” ready! 
I would never, never underestimate the threat but people do need to inform themselves and have a plan. 

[Whey aye]

On 12/09/2022 at 23:13, JustJoe said:

I’m looking into moving to Oz with my wife, 2 kids (3 and 5) and cat. We’re trying to decide on a location and it’s got my head spinning. 
 

I work in railway engineering and my wife’s a PM in utilities. There seems to be quite a lots of opportunities for both of us, mainly if not exclusively in the main urban centres and seems likely one or both of us could get sponsored. 
 

The issue is we’d like to live somewhere fairly rural, a town not a city, near the beach, but within commuting distance from city. Don’t want to be much over an hour away. 
 

We’ll rent initially but want to be somewhere we can afford to buy once settled. We’ll have between $800k and $1m to spend on a 4 bed ideally with a garden and pool. 
 

Currently considering areas around Melbourne (have a relative there) and Brisbane (cheaper and better weather). Would consider Sydney but don’t think we can afford it. With the possible exception of Perth (with I feel is too isolated) everywhere else will likely be too small to sustain work. 
 

Any idea would be appreciated!

 

 

I wouldn't be coming up with strange statements like Perth is too isolated.Australia is isolated.Perth is closer to everywhere.Asia,Europe.

To get to Europe we would have a holiday in Singapore or Thailand,then onward. 5 hours to Singapore,7 to Thailand.Try that from the Eastern states.In general for flights on to Europe then pick up the plane in Singapore,10.30 pm or 11.30pm approx.One is the the Sydney/London,and one is the Melbourne/London.They've been on the plane 10/12 hours just to get to Singapore.

If Manchester/Liverpool,Preston/ Blackpool etc were on their own would you feel isolated or just a case of a conurbation that has everything anywhere else has.

Dirt cheap houses in Perth.The city is long,perhaps 150 klms from outer northern suburbs to Mandurah.However it is a semi circle.Country living in the hills, 50klms from the beach max. $600K gets you a mansion.

Check out Hillary's for coastal suburbs around $1 million.Canning vale for inland,20klms from the beach,15klms from the city centre.Shopping is done at suburban centres,think of Westfield in London or Bluewater near Dover.I know those by having shares in the companies that built/ managed them.Westfield and Lend Lease. 3 hours free parking.

Retired so don't use cars.Perth has cycle paths everywhere,you can get from anywhere to anywhere.Working is different,you need a car to get to the various industrial estates.Perth is the city of the car.

People over east are isolated,they may fly up to Cairns for the barrier Reef,Perth you would fly to Singapore or Bali,not a lot of difference in flight time.Everywhere in Australia is isolated and long distance,it takes a bit of time to come to terms with the sheer size of Australia.

Perth also has excellent weather,virtually no humidity,probably the place would never have been built if it was humid.

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Whey aye said:

I wouldn't be coming up with strange statements like Perth is too isolated.Australia is isolated.Perth is closer to everywhere.

It's true that it's closer to Asia and Europe than the Eastern States, but it's still several hours' flight from any other city.

Your comparison with Manchester or Birmingham is valid. Manchester may have everything you need, but how would you feel if the only way to get to Birmingham or London was a 5 hour flight?   By contrast, if you're in Sydney or Melbourne then the other Eastern cities are only an hour or two's flight away. You mention Sydney to the Barrier Reef -- it's 2.5 hours flight and faster to board/arrive as there are no passport controls. That's half the time of Perth to Singapore.  Then of course, a lot of people drive -- Sydney to Melbourne is a day's drive, so is Brisbane to Sydney or Melbourne to Adelaide. Sydney to Canberra is half a day.  Then there are all the regional centres in between and all the coastal resorts.

Obviously, none of that is going to interest people who spend their holidays going back to the UK (as I used to do), or who prefer Asian holiday destinations.  For those people, Perth offers a distinct advantage. 

[Bulya]

10 hours ago, Whey aye said:

I wouldn't be coming up with strange statements like Perth is too isolated.Australia is isolated.Perth is closer to everywhere.Asia,Europe.

To get to Europe we would have a holiday in Singapore or Thailand,then onward. 5 hours to Singapore,7 to Thailand.Try that from the Eastern states.In general for flights on to Europe then pick up the plane in Singapore,10.30 pm or 11.30pm approx.One is the the Sydney/London,and one is the Melbourne/London.They've been on the plane 10/12 hours just to get to Singapore.

If Manchester/Liverpool,Preston/ Blackpool etc were on their own would you feel isolated or just a case of a conurbation that has everything anywhere else has.

Dirt cheap houses in Perth.The city is long,perhaps 150 klms from outer northern suburbs to Mandurah.However it is a semi circle.Country living in the hills, 50klms from the beach max. $600K gets you a mansion.

Check out Hillary's for coastal suburbs around $1 million.Canning vale for inland,20klms from the beach,15klms from the city centre.Shopping is done at suburban centres,think of Westfield in London or Bluewater near Dover.I know those by having shares in the companies that built/ managed them.Westfield and Lend Lease. 3 hours free parking.

Retired so don't use cars.Perth has cycle paths everywhere,you can get from anywhere to anywhere.Working is different,you need a car to get to the various industrial estates.Perth is the city of the car.

People over east are isolated,they may fly up to Cairns for the barrier Reef,Perth you would fly to Singapore or Bali,not a lot of difference in flight time.Everywhere in Australia is isolated and long distance,it takes a bit of time to come to terms with the sheer size of Australia.

Perth also has excellent weather,virtually no humidity,probably the place would never have been built if it was humid.

Perth is isolated.  No amount of waffle is going to change that…

[Blue Flu]

On 08/10/2022 at 11:37, Whey aye said:

I wouldn't be coming up with strange statements like Perth is too isolated.Australia is isolated.Perth is closer to everywhere.Asia,Europe.

To get to Europe we would have a holiday in Singapore or Thailand,then onward. 5 hours to Singapore,7 to Thailand.Try that from the Eastern states.In general for flights on to Europe then pick up the plane in Singapore,10.30 pm or 11.30pm approx.One is the the Sydney/London,and one is the Melbourne/London.They've been on the plane 10/12 hours just to get to Singapore.

If Manchester/Liverpool,Preston/ Blackpool etc were on their own would you feel isolated or just a case of a conurbation that has everything anywhere else has.

Dirt cheap houses in Perth.The city is long,perhaps 150 klms from outer northern suburbs to Mandurah.However it is a semi circle.Country living in the hills, 50klms from the beach max. $600K gets you a mansion.

Check out Hillary's for coastal suburbs around $1 million.Canning vale for inland,20klms from the beach,15klms from the city centre.Shopping is done at suburban centres,think of Westfield in London or Bluewater near Dover.I know those by having shares in the companies that built/ managed them.Westfield and Lend Lease. 3 hours free parking.

Retired so don't use cars.Perth has cycle paths everywhere,you can get from anywhere to anywhere.Working is different,you need a car to get to the various industrial estates.Perth is the city of the car.

People over east are isolated,they may fly up to Cairns for the barrier Reef,Perth you would fly to Singapore or Bali,not a lot of difference in flight time.Everywhere in Australia is isolated and long distance,it takes a bit of time to come to terms with the sheer size of Australia.

Perth also has excellent weather,virtually no humidity,probably the place would never have been built if it was humid.

 

Not much strange in saying Perth is isolated. Isolation is hardly measured in the shaving of off a few hours in flight time to UK. Nor being closer to Asia. Asia is not that reflected in being closer than it is in Sydney or Melbourne. 

Isolation is more reflected by the parochial nature of the place . The self-centered and locally focused  thinking which at times those from The Eastern States, have told me they felt discrimination in the employment area by not having local experience. 

The small elite living in the Western Suburbs , who know pretty much all who matter  and thus can bend the rules to arrive at desirable outcomes with some ease. Probably not as easy in bigger, more diverse places.

Manchester? That city is far more diverse than Perth. I believe after London, the most  cosmopolitan city in UK. Hard to think of a city more different to Perth. 

There are few 'dirt cheap' houses in Perth. Even areas not so great for living, demand a price higher than their worth. It may be cheaper than some other places in Australia, with over heated (inflated) prices, but often there are sound reasons for them being cheaper. 

Cycle paths do not cover anywhere like everywhere. Indeed much of the inner city with a cycle path being 'created' (paint) beside parked cars , is positively dangerous in the advent of an opening door. 

Bali is indeed almost an overseas suburb of Perth, not sure if that is a good thing. 

The weather is great for warm weather types but it was the mining boom that made the place tick, not the weather. Perth was pretty much a back water prior to the massive iron ore finds back in the sixties. 

[MARYROSE02]

I thought Perth was nice when I first came to OZ in 1978 but I couldn't get a job. (I wish I'd just stayed there now) But I ended up in Sydney where I have spent most of my life in Oz bar the last few months living in Surfers Paradise. Now I wish I'd come come to Surfers and stuff both Perth and Sydney and everywhere else.

Pick a place to live where, if possible you can buy a home with as short a possible commute to work as possible. I've heard it's a nightmare commuting to Brisbane - 50 miles(?) I don't know. I never go there. I have no reason to go there. It could be 5000 miles and the same for Sydney and Melbourne. Spending hours every day, morning and arvo, commuting to work is horrible (in my opinion).

Geographical isolation is only a problem if you NEED to be able to get somewhere else - health, work, education, whatever. If you have all those facilities and services close by then life should be pleasant.

I love Surfers. Everything I want is walking distance or a tram ride. I don't own a car and I don't need a car.

I liked Perth. I liked it when I went back 5 years ago. If my family were all there I would move there now but they are in Sydney. Surfers is close(r) to Sydney than Perth so I'll stay here for now. Perth's isolation is only relevant in so far as my family are in Sydney. Otherwise it would be irrelevant.

 

 

[Marisawright]

@MARYROSE02, you're a perfect example of the kind of person who would be very happy in Perth.  While you were in Sydney, you rarely travelled outside your suburb except for work.   Now you're in Surfers, you never travel as far as Brisbane, which is only an hour away by car or bus.  

I'm in Melbourne now and I don't NEED to go anywhere else for practical things like work or business, but I do have a NEED to visit a wide variety of places because it's in my nature, so it benefits my mental health.  Very often, people who migrate are restless nomads by nature.  It's probably a bad character trait, really, because it means you don't settle down as easily. 

[MARYROSE02]

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

@MARYROSE02, you're a perfect example of the kind of person who would be very happy in Perth.  While you were in Sydney, you rarely travelled outside your suburb except for work.   Now you're in Surfers, you never travel as far as Brisbane, which is only an hour away by car or bus.  

I'm in Melbourne now and I don't NEED to go anywhere else for practical things like work or business, but I do have a NEED to visit a wide variety of places because it's in my nature, so it benefits my mental health.  Very often, people who migrate are restless nomads by nature.  It's probably a bad character trait, really, because it means you don't settle down as easily. 

The irony, if that's the right word, is that I planned to live in Perth and had no intention of going to Sydney. I've got my diary for 1978 and I wrote in it for the day I arrived on 3 Nov, "I like it and and I want to stay." But I couldn't get a job and i decided to travel east, Adelaide first for a week then Sydney around 8 December and I finally got a job at the end of January. 

Looking back I think, "Why didn't you just stay in Perth? A job would have come up sooner or later." 

But also looking back I think, "If only you'd come to Surfers Paradise." But I would have hated commuting to Brisbane. You could do it in an hour but if the traffic is stuffed then double that time. Like commuting from my brother's home at Spring Farm near Camden to Sydney CBD. 

Some people say they don't mind commuting but if you don't like it then Perth and Adelaide are ideal, Canberra too, and I imagine Hobart. I was amazed when I was in Perth 5 years ago that I could drive for pleasure, which is almost impossible in Sydney.

I suppose if you have an unlimited budget you can buy a house or unit at Bondi, Bronte, Clovelly or Coogee and if you work in the CBD, have a relatively painless commute for the 7 or 8 kilometres to work. The Northern Beaches or Cronulla are nice too but the commuting time increases.

I thought Perth was like a smaller version of Sydney - great ocean beaches, and nice inner city suburbs easy to commute to Perth CBD, wineries 40 minutes away instead of 2 or 3 hours to the Hunter Valley. Maybe some of the suburbs are bland but they are wherever you go. It's a city of 2 million not 20,000 the way some of its detractors go on about it.

What do you put on the wish list for migrating to Oz? Living the Dream? Live on a beach with nice weather, relatively cheap homes and relatively easy commute to work. Which place ticks all the boxes?

It's now Surfers for me. Excellent public transport, walk to the beach and just about every other facility I need. Live a car-free life. And if you hanker for the big city then Brisbane is an hour away as you say but I don't hanker for it.

 

 

 

[Jon the Hat]

Perth is indeed isolated, but it also has everything you need  That said I travel quite a lot with work so who am I to judge!

[Bulya]

Say you want to go to the footy finals on the East coast or your kids are into horses and qualify for the Grand National Championship in Sydney, as a number there do, then you’ll understand Perths isolation. Grand National organisers fly in three U.K judges each year, and a few years ago one asked a young competitor during a break “how long did it take you to get here”, six days she replied.  He looked confused and said “oh, you broke down”.  Prospective migrants need to think carefully before moving to the West Coast. 

[Tootsie]

On 13/09/2022 at 01:13, JustJoe said:

The issue is we’d like to live somewhere fairly rural, a town not a city, near the beach, but within commuting distance from city. Don’t want to be much over an hour away. 

 

 

Hello There

Central Coast in NSW could be a possibility

Tuggerawong is near the beach, but also classed as rural with bush and farmland - and is 7klm from the nearest big town

Looking on Real Estate Online I see for that area:

To buy 17.3 acres of land costs just under a million

To buy a four bed-roomed family home is $750,000

To rent a three bed-roomed family home is $400 a week

If you got a job in Hornsby or Newcastle - Tuggerawong is an hours drive from both locations along the M1 motorway (plus 7klm from the railway line connecting to both Sydney and Newcastle)

It is a very nice place.

That is my best suggestion

 

 

 

[MARYROSE02]

On 13/09/2022 at 16:34, JustJoe said:

Brisbane is our first choice at the moment, for all the reasons you’ve mentioned.
 

Any recommendations of suburbs around Brisbane that are rural (ish), good schools, nice cafes, nice feel? Ideally walking distance of a beach but realize we may have to compromise on this. We just want to bear water so close to a nice lake might work too, if that’s a thing?

My brother just sent me a link to a one bedroom unit for sale in Redcliffe or is it Redcliff? ($450k plus) He's stayed in the complex and says I would like it. It looks nice in the photos, possibly like one of the suburbs on Sydney's Northern Beaches?

I told him I'm not sure I want to start again. I've been in Surfers Paradise for nine months now, continually deferring returning to Sydney. I've got doctor, dentist, podiatrist that I like, made a few friends. Each time I move it's like emigrating again. You can commute to Brisbane from the Gold Coast but I wouldn't like to do it. 

I wondered what it would be like to live in a regional city like Toowoomba, Wollongong, Geelong. I talked to a guy from Ballarat or Bendigo (I always confuse them) and asked if commuting to Melbourne was do-able? He said yes. Cities like that are big enough to have all the services you want. The Gold Coast has all those services too.