Brisbane or Melbourne??

[robbieireland]

Hi, I'm moving with my girlfriend to Oz next year on a 1yr Holiday Visa.

We can't decide on Bribane or Melbourne to stay. Which of these cities has the best to offer like, cost of living, accomodation (1 bed appt) and work for <6mths at a time, since that what our Visa stipulates!!

Which has the best to offer on the weekends, like interesting places to go outdoors & indoors??

Is the weather so bad in Melbourne during the winter?? Is the humidity in Brisbane so bad???

any help appreciated,
Robbie

[kaz101]

Hi Robbie,

I haven't been to Brisbane but I have visited Melbourne. Melbourne is very cosmopolitan and yes you can get all 4 seasons in a day. We didn't move to Melbourne (and that area) because we thought it would be too cold for us which is why we moved to South Australia.

Websites such as Rental Properties, Lease and Holiday Rentals - realestate.com.au and http://www.domain.com.au/?mode=rent will give you an idea about rentals.

Hope that helps,
Karen

[Akatrin]

Brisbane has the cheapest cost of living at the moment. it's also got quite a lot of jobs, but it depends what "spehere" you want to work in. If you're only going for a year I wouldn't be too worried about the humidity, it's not quite tropical. There are great outdoorsy places to visit, it's near the gold coast and many theme parks, you can drive north and see Cairns and rainforest and go snorkeling on the great barrier reef, it's on the east coast so flights to new zealand are relatively cheap (but probably comparable to the cost from melbourne), and you can go inland and see the glasshouse mountains. If you're an outdoors type, I'd recommend Brisbane.

Melbourne seems more city-centric. It's more business-like, busier and livlier as a city. It has a better resturants and night-life, but there's something rather similar about cities and clubs and resturants all through the world so you'll have to decide what you really want to do while in Australia. I like the weather, but then I really don't like the heat :P You can still drive about, it's Ned Kelly country and there's some nice small towns down there.

hope that gives you a bit of an idea :P have a look at some pictures. If you're coming from Ireland, I'd suggest maybe Brisbane just for the contrast. *shrug*

[Loeske17]

hello!

I hope you dont mind me "snatching" your post, since its about the same topic, sorta. Me and my boyfriend are looking to move in a year or so, and i cannot for the life of me decide on where to go. We initially wanted to go to Perth, but the isolation factor got us a little worried. The plan is that I will be working (as a Clinical Neuropsychologist), and my boyfriend wants to go back to university. So now the question is: Perth, Melbourne, or Brisbane?
We are both city people so we really want to live in/around a larger city. Our other wants is that there's a good university, and we like it hot! I've lived in Texas for 4 years, and my swedish boyfriend keeps complaining about how cold it is in my country (The Netherlands). Then again it seems anywhere in Oz is nicer than here.....
and the properties are cheaper everywhere....
so i really can't decide...
Any suggestions?

Best,
Loes

[kaz101]

Hi Loes,

Wow reading that you are a Clinical Neuropsychologist took me back to my first job. I was an EEG technician in a Clinical Neurophysiology department (and I know that nots the same thing ) In fact I was a Physiological Measurement Technician in the Clinical Neurophysiology Department, but I soon learned that was not the answer to give at a party when you're asked "What do you do?"

I also worked in the Netherlands some years ago as an IT contractor (Kerkrade and then Den Bosch). I enjoyed working there and my husband used to come over to visit at weekends. Ah the Gamba met spek we used to enjoy at the local Greek restaurant

Sorry back to your question....
I don't know about how good the Universities are but I do know that Melbourne is not hot. So on weather alone Melbourne will be third in the running.

Regards,
Karen

[Loeske17]

Thanks for respondig Karen!
That certainly helps, because part of the reason we have decided on Oz is because of the climate!
I know what you mean about the party thing. When people ask what i study and i say: "clinical neuropsychologist", you either get: "wow" or "ehm..ok?"
I see you've been around! where are you originally from, if i may ask?
Right now we live in The Hague. I was born in the a bit south of Den Bosch actually, but never really lived in the netherlands due to my dad's work until I wanted to go to university.
I do get a bit of an itch every couple of years because i never lived anywhere longer than 4 years in my life, so the Oz move is very exciting. We're planning on staying 3-4 years (depending on how long it takes my bf to finish university), and then moving to Stockholm, where he is from. Seeing as it's basically dark for 4 months of the year, i'm gonna need my fill of sunshine.

anyway, is there really an isolation factor with Perth, compared to say.. Brisbane? I mean i know that it's the only big city for miles and miles, but aren't the distances quite large everywhere? Is Brisbane close to any other large city (i'm talking driving distance, not having to fly)?

Best,
Loes

[kaz101]

Hi Loes,

I'm British with an English Mother, a Jamaican Father and an Irish husband. And in July 2007 myself and my husband moved to Australia

I've not been to Brisbane at all and I've only visited Perth. Perth was certainly hot when we went there and we've heard others mention that Perth is isolated but we weren't there long enough to experience that ourselves. The most populated areas in Oz are along the East coast and South East, but the South East is cooler.

TTFN,
Karen

[robbieireland]

Thanks Kaz/Akatrin for your Replies,

Loeske17 daylight robbery, right in front of me

I'm living in the city all my life so the sounds of Melbourne and the weather is swaying me towards Brisbane.

I like the outdoors actually. Are the glasshouse mountains far inland???
Since we are heading only for a year a car was optional....is it hard to get around Brisbane without a car???

Cheers again,

Loeske17 i dare you

[Akatrin]

When it comes to universities, you want to choose one with the best reputation. Some are very dubious as all a student needs is to pay the money.
Check this out: Group of Eight (Australian universities) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There's pretty much one "leading" university in every major city.

But another thing to consider will be the fees, as you may fall into the category of an "international student", who typically pay quite a bit for fees.

Oh and to add to that, Brisbane is closer and within driving distance to many other cities, like Townsville, Cairns, and the Gold Coast.

[april]

Cairns is a 2-day drive from Brisbane as it is over 1000km away. The distance between Melbourne and Brisbane, and Cairns and Brisbane is about the same. Townsville will take about a day and a half to drive to. The start of the Great Barrier Reef is at Bundaberg, which is about a 5 hour drive from Brisbane.

You can get around Brisbane with public transport but it can be a pain in the bum. Most people have a car. The good news is that the Gold Coast is about an hour from Brisbane and there is a regular train and bus service between the two.

The weather in Brisbane is really good. Melbourne weather is unpredictable. My grandparents lived in Melbourne so I spent a few christmases there. One Christmas it was cold, and the next we had a 40+degree heatwave. But, Melbourne is much more cultural that Brisbane.

It doesn't matter which city you end up in as they are both beautiful and pleasant to live in. Enjoy!