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Living overseas

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Original poster

Ok Perth or Brisbane??????.............Which one??

37 replies

Helenemjay · 17/07/2006 15:56

Dp, myself and our 3 small children are moving to oz next year, but we are finding ourselves torn between Perth and Brisbane! We are british born and bred, and lots of people said we would be more suited to Perth as Brisbane is a very humid heat and us brits cant cope with it, dont really know a hell of alot about either places yet - any input would be brill!!!

OP posts:
geogteach · 17/07/2006 16:12

We lived in Brisbane for a year but never been to Perth. It is humid especially in summer but it is also all relative once we'd been there a bit and travelled to northern queensland and inland coming back to Brisbane seemed quite mild.

cece · 17/07/2006 16:33

I have been to both on extended ish visits. Brisbane is hot, however being on the East coast may count for something. Perth I found very nice but the downside is how remote it is. There is a nice wind even on the hottest days I believe.

Pruni · 17/07/2006 17:06

Message withdrawn

eidsvold · 17/07/2006 22:32

My english dh and I moved ( back in my case) and over to Brisbane - 2 years ago. We have had hot summers but dh seems to cope with it fine.

I better start by saying I have never been to Perth but have only heard good things about it. Best it is 6 hours closer to the UK! But it is remote.... and from what people have said - you are aware of that remoteness.

Brisbane has a great relaxed style about it - despite what others have said - full of fab bookshops, great cultural events - always something going on.

depending on where you live in Brisbane - 1 hours drive to fabulous beaches. Bushwalks, fabulous rainforest areas, great shopping in the city although I have fabs shops near me that I rarely venture into the city. We have world class acts of every description perform in Brisbane. Festivals of all descriptions - eg. Paniyiri - greek festival - fabulous food, dancing music etc, out of the box - fabulous theatre/activity festival for children.

So many outodoor cafes for just watching the world go by, world class restaurants, I could go on and on.

There are others who are English and have moved - they may be able to give a more balanced account - given that I am a brissy girl - by birth and have lived most of my life here.

about Brisbane

eidsvold · 17/07/2006 22:34

three monkeys - fab little cafe - west end - best kept secret

eidsvold · 17/07/2006 22:36

no doubt Suzy will be along later to tell you how fab Perth is

SittingBull · 17/07/2006 22:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Helenemjay · 18/07/2006 16:09

Hmmm Perth does sound nice, my sis and her husband and 2 small kids are also going around the same time, and we would all like to end up at the same place, so we all need to be reasonably sure im very excited

OP posts:
DumbledoresGirl · 18/07/2006 16:12

My inlaws are all from Brisbane - MIL's family foes back generations and yet MIL can't stand the Brisbane summers. Mind you, she also thinks the Brisbane winters are too cold and comes over here to avoid them each year, so maybe her opinions aren't too trustworthy....

KTeePee · 18/07/2006 16:27

Having been to both (briefly) I would definitely prefer Perth, both in terms of the climate and being more cosmopolitan than Brisbane

mogwai · 18/07/2006 21:12

You need to visit them both.

I've been to Perth twice. It's a nice place, nice lifestyle and great for kids. the beaches are lovely, but as far as I was concerned, it was very "small town" and remote. There's nowhere major to visit in the immediate vicinity, which might freak you out!

eidsvold · 18/07/2006 23:03

is stunned at dumbledores mil - as she sits looking at another sunny 24 degree winter day

DumbledoresGirl · 19/07/2006 09:18

Me too eidsvold, as my first visit to Brissie was in August and we did not wear a jumper once. In fact we spent a week (it was our honeymoon) on Orpheus Island on the GBR and, while it wasn't very hot, it was perfectly decent weather to be lying on the beach, snorkelling, etc.

She has swapped your pleasant 24 C for the soaring temperatures we are currently having (35 C yesterday at 5 pm - and undoubtedly hotter in London where she is!). Admittedly, such temperatures are not common in England, but given that she hates the heat of Brisbane summers, she must be regretting her choice of location right now!

scully · 19/07/2006 13:46

I can't wait for a Brisbane winter again, and am looking forward to not having to pack hardly any winter clothes for any of us when we move back there in Nov
I've been pleasantly surprised at how more 'grown up' Brisbane has become in the last 10yrs or so. I left Bne in 1993 and each visit back, have noticed that it seems to have everything you need but has still retained the laid back feeling. Not to say that I am a little concerned at what I might miss about the UK though, after we've been back in Bne a while
I also like Perth, but agree with Mogwai that it is quite remote, even for Australia's idea of long distance.

lunavix · 19/07/2006 13:51

I lived in perth for six years.
Lots of brits, so you feel kinda at home, plus all people will talk to you they aren't up their own bums like they are here

It's nice to bring up kids, yes it's in a very remote area but they're building it out all the time. Plus house prices on the outskirts of the metro area are very reasonable - four years ago, on the outskirts a brand new four bed house plus land was $100,000 ( £30,000 at the time) and that was about 25 min from Perth at the final train station north so far (currambine) they've built out since so not sure of recent areas/prices.

Brisabne has far more to do, better for travel etc etc, but it's stinking hot there (much hotter than perth) and also there's far more poisonous things!!

debbies · 20/07/2006 09:23

I've been in Perth since 2000. I love it and wouldn't really choose anywhere else (although I haven't been to Brisbane so can't really compare). It was a lifestyle choice for us (no more 3 to 4 hour communtes into central London for DH) etc.

It is very laid back here - we live about 5 mins drive from pristine white beaches and yet my commute into the central business district of Perth ifor work is just 10 minutes. The climate is great - mediterranean, humidity low, lovely sea breeze...

The outdoor lifestyle is great for kids and we have great shops, cafe's, and all the usual mod cons Pay TV shows lots of UK TV programmes (Coronation Street every day !!)

WA is in the middle of a boom, and unemployment low (only about 3%). So getting a job should be OK. House prices are rocketing, which can make it difficult to buy at the moment. Apparantly only Sydney is more expensive now. The figure of AUD 100, 000 would not be true now (the median price in our locality for a house is AUD 900,000 - UKP 360,000).

You should readlly come and visit and then make a choice - but I really love Perth and would highly recommend it.

email me offlist - [email protected] - if you want to talk through more.

bound4oz · 20/07/2006 16:46

Great question, somehow it seems that people dont go to both brissie and perth, why is that? is it because they are both great places to live and that people tend to settle in one and not feel the need to explore the other or is it the sheer distance between the two! we are emmigrating to oz next year and would really like to hear from anyone who has lived in both Brisbane and Perth.

eidsvold · 20/07/2006 22:34

domestic airfares have historically been very expensive.

For me living in Brisbane at times it was cheaper for me to fly to Asia and even cheap deal to the US than to fly to Perth. It is also 6 hours flying time - could again be in NZ with time to spare or a number of Asian countries.

We hope to visit Perth in the future - now that airfares are a little cheaper.

harrogatemum · 21/07/2006 13:54

eids - is 3 monkeys still there!? It was the first coffee shop I went to when I first went to Brisbane in 94 and had their delish pumpkin soup! I always remember it as it was near Edmonstone Street adn that was my maiden name!

eidsvold · 23/07/2006 07:40

yeh - got a write up in the courier a little while ago. I haven't been there in years - must take dh back there one night when we are sans dds.

bloss · 23/07/2006 08:19

Message withdrawn

yummimummy · 23/07/2006 23:31

Hi, I moved to Brisbane in 2002 and love it.
Everything Eidsvold says is true.
I can't say the heat has bothered me too much really - most houses and all shops and restaurants have aircon these days. There are a few days in high summer that you probably wouldn't want to venture out for a long walk, but it's perfectly copeable.
And the winters are glorious.
For me the proximity and cheap flight availability to other cities is important. Especially coming from the UK where we are used to that with a wide range of diverse cities easily accessible. Not to mention Europe.
I think Perth would be too remote for me. But I haven't ever been there and it does sound very nice.
Surely you'd have to visit both places before making your decision.

suzywong · 24/07/2006 01:20

PERTH

of course

It's crawling with Poms, there are several British Supply Shops and a very small branch of Next I think, but that's way up in the Northern Suburbs with the Geordies

And hello debbies? Have we "met" on here before? Bloody great isn't it here, even on this unusually rainy Monday I can still find plenty for the kids to do.

HeyBaby · 10/08/2006 21:22

I'm from Brisbane and in response to Pruni's email it has changed a LOT in the last 6 years (eg now has a big 3-floors Borders bookshop in town with cafe, Tiffany & Co, LV etc). I've never been to Perth but to give you some idea of distances, I think the flight from Brisbane to Perth is around 6 hours! I've heard that both cities are similar in feel (compared to other major Australian cities) however Perth is right on the beach whereas Brisbane is about 1 hour's drive to the closest beach (but they are lovely beaches!).

Brisbane IS very hot (seems to have gotten hotter in the last 5 years!) but at the same time has facilities for the climate (eg undercover parking, airconditioning everywhere etc). I'm sure Perth has the same. What I do know is that there is still a lot of development happening in Brisbane and it is a great place to bring up a family. It is definitely becoming more cosmopolitan, but again not sure how it compares to Perth. It's definitely less cosmopolitan than Sydney or Melbourne (but also less expensive re: property and less hectic in general).

Hope this helps!

mymama · 11/08/2006 11:37

I am in Brisbane and I love it. Yes it is hot/humid in summer but that is what air conditioning is for . Liken it to winter in the UK and the days where you don't really want to venture outside. The type of heat being discussed is usually for about a month to 6 weeks so not a very big deal.

I have never been to Perth so I cannot pass my opinion. However, Brisbane has really "grown" up in the culture/cafe/restaurant department. We also have fabulous beaches and an outdoor lifestyle to be envied. In my particular neck of the woods I have approximately 10 UK families who have moved here in last two years and they absolutely love it. One UK friend did not like it and returned to the UK yesterday after two years leaving her dh behind . He has actually chosen this lifestyle over his wife and dd.