Questions about living in Australia

[99redballoons]

Hi, the dismal cold holidays have got us thinking about moving to Australia. We have friends that moved to Perth last year and are loving it. I have family in Queensland. Dh & I have never been to Australia, even though everyone in our close family have been and rave about it.

My questions to you are, what is the weather like across the county? Which places get too hot and which are more like the UK? Is there a happy medium? I guess I'm thinking more of the big cities.

What is the politics like and actual living in Aus? eg. healthcare system, taxes, utilites etc.? Is it always a case of 'the grass is greener' or would living in Aus really be 'nicer' than living in the UK?

What is the schooling like? We have 2dc's, our eldest only just started school this year. We would have to move from where we are in the UK anyway for a decent secondary school (our catchment primary school is very good though) so thought if emmigration was a possibility it would be atleast 2-4 years away.

What are the house prices like? Is Aus having a housing market boom like we are? Have we missed the boat or are house prices still 'good' over there compared to in the UK?

Sorry for all the questions. It's all research atm. I would greatly appreciate your comments. TIA

Hi all,

Was really interesting reading your messages-My DH is Australian and I've been over about 6 times for a month at a time.
When my DD was 3 weeks old we had to fly over as an emergency as my father in law was take ill-the flight there was okay (believe it or not) but the flight back was a killer, having not slept for nearly 48 hrs!!!! I think I aged about 40 years in 2 days - anyway-on with the story...

Our plan is to move to Australia for good in April and DD will be 6 months.
I really love Australia and can't think of a better place to bring up our little girl but I seem to be absolutely petrified about it and burst into tears every time I think about going-all my family are here-does anyone have any advice-about schools in Sydney or even how to cope with the transition?

Thanks :-)

I live in Canberra, which has a bad reputation as being 'boring'in Australia, but I love it. It's a very different climate from humid Sydney, where I grew up. We usually have hot summers - above 30 and several weeks above 35. Nights are cool though, which makes it bearable as everything cools down and the mornings are pleasant. This summer has been unusually cold - meaning we've had weeks in the low 20s. Winters are cold. I think the temperature range must be similar to England but it's always dry and sunny. I love winter here. We also have a distinct, though short, spring and autumn.

You usually have to pay a bit for doctors and a lot for dentists, even with medicare or private cover. But when I read childbirth threads about hospitals in uk I am so glad I gave birth here!

Housing is incredibly expensive. We couldn't afford a house in Sydney and even canberra is very expensive. There was an article on the front page of the newspaper today. www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23161171-2702,00.html

I lived in London for a while, and while I enjoyed it, I found there were a lot of daily stresses that just don't exist here. I found even walking down the street a battle because there were so many people to weave around and they were so aggressive, pushing into me. That never happens here. Shopping, catching a bus, just going out is so much easier even in sydney and easier again out of sydney.

Thanks 99 for this thread. I've read it with interest as I've had lots of similar questions on my mind as we're seriously looking into moving down there.

Ditto,Belgian!

Do alot of the same 'things' apply to NZ?

On Richard&Judy the other day they were saying 700 people a day were moving to OZ,cant blame them!

Is it like you see in home&away,and neighbours? Sorry to ask but people always ask this about the UK and eastenders for example.

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