Auckland vs Brisbane/Melbourne

[AngryBeaver]

Hi, we emigrated to NZ around 5 years ago (I'm sure some here will remember the threads!)
Well, while we LOVE it here on Waiheke, we find it very restrictive, cost wise.

We decided to move to a suburb of Auckland (Devonport) which I also love.
But, the problem with NZ is its just sooooo horrifically expensive.
We could get a house in Devonport. But it would be a small 3 bed (we have 4 kids) with a tiny garden, and overlooked from most angles! And it will still cost us over a million.

It's not just the houses that are expensive - it's just EVERYTHING.

So, we started to think about Australia.
We started to look at houses in Brisbane and were shocked to see what we could get for the same money.

We wouldn't want to live West Aus, or Sydney.
But, Queensland/Melbourne look nice. I have never been!

We qualify for a visa, so that's no problem.
But, it's another big move for the kids 2,6,8,10.

Can anyone give me any insight into life over there. Someone who has lived both places would be great.
TIA

Ok - I'm from country Victoria originally, but lived in Melbourne for 10 years so I'm biased, but I love Melbourne. It's the only major city in the world I could see my self living in again. We've been back for all of Feb recently, and it just keeps getting better. You could always try somewhere like Ballarat if housing costs are a limiting factor?

Oh, Samford village is lovely!!! My auntie lives just outside it. Lovely and very pretty

Melbourne does sound fabulous. But, I'm not really a big city person, so not too bothered.
As long as there is ENOUGH to do, and see and places to go and shop and you know, just stuff! I will be ok.

I also thought samford valley looked really lovely, and wow, the house I looked at there was breathtaking, with lawns and a huge pool! But, I don't want to be miles form the city.dh has to be able to have a reasonable commute, and I'd like to go in to the city most weekends I think.

I'd like somewhere with a nice villagey feel, but closer to the centre.

Could someone please tell me about healthcare costs /dentists.
In the uk, of course we have the NHS so doctors visits are free. Dentist visit cost me £15 for a checkup when I went last month and I think fillings are now about £45.

In NZ, a visit to the docs costs $35 for an adult, referrals to see specialists are free. I think it's about $20 for a child over 12 to see the gp. And they see the dentist via school twice a year free of charge.

How does this compare to oz?

Would you want to drive in? I find parking in Brisbane horrendous + expensive, you could always drive to station (I think Ferny Grove is your closest) and train in? Samford is a bit of way out though, but believe me when I say, it's absolutely beautiful, close to Mount glorious and lots of pretty places to go.

I'm not a Brissy pro, when I met my partner he lived in Kelvin Grove/Newmarket area. I loved it, lots of little cafes and restaurants and very close to the centre. Ashgrove is meant to nice too.

With Drs here, some bulk bill, some don't. We also have reciprocal healthcare, so if you're British you get some free healthcare. Bulk bill is free, only some surgeries do it. I think you can pay upto $80 for a non bulk-bulling doctor. But I only use a Bulk billing doctor so not sure. Some blood tests are free, some aren't! It's a little confusing. My whole pregnancy care and birth were free. However when I had a smear test, I got billed for that. Hope that makes sense, I'm using my phone and blurting bits out I remember. My LO is too little for Dentist, yet so can't comment on that!

What does "wops" mean???!!!

It's a pejorative term for Italians.

OP it actually sounds like Perth could suit you. Certainly I find the weather better than Brisbane, but that's because I don't like the humidity. Ice in the wine is definitely a Brisbane/QLD thing!

Do you know what kind of budget you would have for a house?

As lamington said, some doctors are free if they bulk bill. Others you have to make a co-payment (some is covered my Medicare, the rest you pay). How much you pay can vary a lot.

Specialists are covered if you are referred by a GP and go through the public system (as a hospital outpatient) but waiting lists can be long, so I have usually gone as a private patient with a referral. This means part of the cost is covered by Medicare and you pay the rest. (Often you pay upfront and claim back from Medicare). Private health cover usually does not cover outpatient visits.

Dentists again vary. Inner city practices will charge more than in the suburbs just because of higher overheads. You can go through the public system but wait times can be horrendous. Private health cover usually covers dental. I can't remember the last cost for a check up.

In this context, "out in the wops" is short for "out in the wop-wops", which means out in the sticks/middle of nowhere/long way from anywhere. It's a common term in NZ/Oz.

Although "wops" is also a pejorative term for Italians, it's not used that way in this case.

What's does 'wops' mean?

It's NZ slang for the middle of nowhere/out in the sticks. 'Wops' is short for wopwops and stands for way out place, way out place.

Absolutely nothing to do with Italians which was obvious by the context anyway.

Sorry x-post with Zachary

I had never heard it used in that context before. Where I come from people do say 'out woop-woop' to mean the same thing, but never wops.

I asked my friend the same thing as she had just finished telling me that racism was rife in Australia!

She said "Woppity wops...um....boondocks?....sticks....bushfire and snake territory..."

I think wopwops is mainly used in NZ. Majority of kiwis (if not all) would have come across the expression.

In Australia we say Woopwoop or back of Bourke to denote remoteness.
OP I don't think Melbourne is for you as a short commute time is important and prices are through the roof here.
Have you thought about large regional towns such as Newcastle, Wollongong or Ballarat?

No we haven't. We are pretty set in looking for work in Brisbane and then finding a nice place within commuting distance, that's not too built up, or too pricey.

Have you seen the weather in Brisbane these past few days?!! While we've been freezing all day here in Melbourne, Brisbane has had a sunny day and 24 degrees. How I'd love to be there right now!

I must say it looks gorgeous up there

We were on the Goldcoast for a wedding in August last year, it was early 20's weather wise and just lovely... We kept say this is WINTER??? However the thought of what summer must be like did stop us in our 'could we live here'?? tracks Pur kids were in shortie wetsuits but loved the hotel pool and the sea... Our new Aussie family thought they were mad but the kids were in heaven!

Yes the winter is lovely but the summer, if you like it sticky with your make up sliding off your face, well then it's your place!

Have a look at The Gap area in Brisbane. It's just beyond Ashgrove but not as far out as Samford Valley. Easy run up to Mt Nebo on the weekends, good state primary schools and the reservoir/Brisbane Forest Park is a fun place for weekends. Can catch the bus into the city in about 30 mins. Bit cheaper than more lovely Ashgrove, Bardon and Paddington but still nice, leafy with cafes, pubs, supermarkets.

Chapel Hill, Fig Tree Pocket, Kenmore are also very nice. Older, established areas not cookie cutter at all, 30 min run into the city on the bus.

Also Corinda, Sherwood are lovely and on the trainline. Further out west is Jindalee, Westlake, Middle Park - you will get more for your money here and big blocks, pools, but I think it's a little too far out.

Culturally, Brisbane has come a long way in the past few years. The modern art museum is amazing, there are regularly lots of shows/theatre weeks etc for children. Queensland Ballet and Queensland Dance Company. Great parks (check out The Rocks park in Sinnamon Park), the train park on Milton Road, the park next to Milton State School.

Definitely worth a lot of consideration. Good luck.

You asked about medical costs.

I'm a GP near Brisbane. Essentially you have choices. When you see a GP the government/medicare will pay a certain amount towards the cost of a consultation. Currently for a standard consultation this is $37. Some GPs will accept this as full payment for the service provided and recoup the cost of the consultation directly from medicare. This is called bulk billing. Some GPs will charge a fee higher than the amount the government pay (this is called private billing_. So for example you pay the doctor $70 and medicare refunds you $37 of that. Some GPs will choose to privately bill some people while bulk billing others (pensioners, children etc).

It's sometimes difficult to work out why some GPs charge while others bulk bill. Privately billing GPs may have longer consultation times, have excellent interpersonal skills, a particular skill set, a great reputation etc, but there are some excellent bulk billing doctors around.

For hospitals and specialists you have the choice of going to a public hospital or seeing someone privately. Just like for GPs, private specialists will charge you a fee and medicare will refund some of that fee. You may also have insurance that covers some of the fee. Generally the advantages of seeing someone privately are 1) seeing someone sooner (public waiting lists can be long), 2) seeing someone at the time of your choosing and 3) you are guaranteed to see the consultant you choose. That said, the public system is free and good for lots of things. I find paediatric care, maternity and cancer care pretty good on the whole.

Most blood tests are currently bulk billed There are some which are either only free once a year or that need to be paid for unless you have certain conditions. Most scans requested by GPs can be bulk billed except most MRIs and some specialist scans, though all can be obtained through the public hospital teams with no out of pocket costs.

There is some free dental provision for children and for those on low incomes. Everyone else has to see someone privately. I get check ups on my insurance, but a crown recently cost around $1000.

I hope that helps somewhat.

So much information in the last two posts! I will take some time to digest it. I have copied and pasted to do so he can go through some of those areas and see whether he thinks any of them would be do-able for the commute to the cbd.
I'm going to look at a few now.

And thank you so much for the medical info-it's quite confusing, isn't it?!

We need to weigh up the cost of Aus vs NZ. But, I mean, here is just ridiculous. There HAS to be cheaper!

Yes, it is pretty confusing. I had forgotten to mention prescription fees. These are about $6 with a concession card (people on low incomes) and about $36 for those without, which can add up. For both medicare services and prescriptions there is a "safety net" where if you've spent over a certain amount in a year the rest is subsidised.