Melbourne v Sydney

[racht]

I hesitated to start this thread for fear of World War 3, knowing what rivalry may ensue !!

 

We have always had our mind set on Melbourne but as the time is drawing closer I started to look at Sydney the other day and wondered how you chose between the two. We have two young kids (4 & 2) and want to live in a house with a decent sized garden (big enough for a pool) and not have to travel more than 40 mins to CBD.

 

Ideally we want to be close to a golf course and not bothered about being close to the sea. Want good schools and local services ie hospitals etc.

 

We originally wrote off Sydney as we thought value for money in terms of houses may not be so good. Both are good for my OH job (IT) - Sydney probably has the upper hand.

 

What do you guys think and where are you all settled heading for and why do you like it there? So many questions...! Just want to get as much info before we head out there.

 

Thanks

:GEEK::GEEK:

Rach

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Hi Rach

If I said choose Melbourne over Sydney, you may think that it is just because we live here, which I suppose is one of the reasons. However, Sydney is a lot more expensive than Melbourne and to be honest they have more rain than Melbourne. If you like Golf then why not take a look at Sandhurst in the South East Suburbs of Melbourne, it is 5 minutes from the beach, 5 minutes from the train station and around 50 minutes on the train in to the CBD. Driving off peak it would be 45 minutes, at peak hour it would be between 1 - 2 hours. However, I haven't done rush hour since the East Link has opened so it may be quicker now. Have a look at the suburb guide for Sandhurst here: Moving to Melbourne: Sandhurst Suburb Guide Obviously, Sandhurst itself is home to the PGA but there are another 10 golf courses less than 30 minutes drive away with 5 being on the doorstep.

[kellyjamie]

we visited sydney for 3 days and i hated it, aside form darling harbour area i wasnt too impressed. that said i live in edinburgh and the population here is only just over 1mill im originally from outside london and never went to the city that often it was too busy so thats probably why i wasnt keen on sydney, also we stayed in chinatown and it was awful!

[racht]

Thanks for your posts guys. We have looked at Sandhurst and really fancy it. I think I am just making sure we have considered everything before taking the plunge. Whereabouts in Melbourne are you?

Rach

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Thanks for your posts guys. We have looked at Sandhurst and really fancy it. I think I am just making sure we have considered everything before taking the plunge. Whereabouts in Melbourne are you?

Rach

 

Hi Rach

We are in the South East Suburbs and love it, there is so much going on for everyone. Most of the expats who have stayed with us love Sandhurst, Lyndhurst, Lynbrook, Berwick and Mt Eliza. They are all handy for the beach, public transport, good schools and the rainforests in the ranges. There is easy access to Melbourne CBD with various different routes available. Without traffic from all of the suburbs mentioned apart from Mt Eliza you are looking at 45 minutes to the city. In rush hour this can be anything from 1 hour - 2 hours. The train is roughly an hour and again apart from Mt Eliza all the suburbs are within easy reach of the train stations (approx less than 5km)

 

I would not recommend choosing a suburb without visiting it as everyone has different tastes and opinions, you even get people saying a suburb is terrible/nice without actually visiting it themselves. It is a little like chinese whispers.

 

If you want more information on Sandhurst, you can email Adam direct and he will give you all the information you like. I will pm you his email address.

[Guest mont de wally de honk]

Another golf option in Melbourne is Sanctuary Lakes (where I live). It is 20 mins drive to the City off peak and the train is 35 - 40 mins to the CBD. It is 30 mins from either airport, and only an hour from the Great Ocean Road, although there are beaches just 5 mins away. The course hosts the Victorian PGA every year, and it is easy to get to either the Sandbelt or Bellarine Peninsular courses. If you are hooked on golf, then Melbourne beats Sydney hands down. The choice of courses is superb.

As for Sydney, we had the opportunity to move there 2 years ago and turned it down. We would have been looking at living at least an hour out of the City, and getting around Sydney is a nightmare (the train service was rubbish, not sure if it has improved).

For a family with a young child, we are very happy with Melbourne.

[connaust]

THE outlook is bleak. Melbourne, not Sydney, is Australia's city of the future.

 

A world study evaluated cities on their efforts to improve sustainability including public transport, local economy, environment, health, education, recreation and living standards. Melbourne rated sixth on the top 10 list of sustainable cities and Sydney was nowhere to be seen.

Sydney suffers and the winner is...Melbourne - National - smh.com.au

 

I was born Yarrawonga basically live Melbourne part of year and in past never heard a good word about Melbourne from Sydneysiders.....but this has changed...

 

I live in Budapest where friend has hostel with many Oz backpackers.....amazing....Sydneysiders staying talk of moving to Melbourne!!

 

Personally I recommend regional centres especially for families.....

 

Cheers Andrew

[racht]

Thanks for all your posts - wow that is a resounding MELBORNE then! We have also looked at Sanctuary Lakes, Mont, it is one on our shortlist. So glad I posted this as it is confirming what we have kind of already thought.

Rach