Moving Abroad - Australia vs America

HappyMJ

movinghelp wrote: »

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Melbourne - pros: great atmosphere, near to my godmother, cheapest housing of the three, probably best option for a nicer 'quality of life'. Visa much easier so OH could work. Cons: whilst weather is better than NY/London still very changeable, very far from home, unlikely to hugely progress my career but wouldn't be a barrier

Sydney - pros: fantastic weather and beaches, big city feel similar to London/NY, OH sister is moving here. As above re work (probably slightly better rep vs Melbourne) and OH visa. Cons: more expensive than Melbourne but cheaper than NY, very far

I was born in Melbourne and it is a great city to live in. Housing is cheap on the outskirts of the city. It takes over an hour to get into the central business district from that cheaper housing. You can buy housing closer to the centre but I would say it's much cheaper renting housing near to the city. There are plenty of job opportunities and you can progress your career. It's a big enough city to have that opportunity. I wouldn't worry about the weather. Yes winter can get cold not really cold just cool but that doesn't last very long. It does not get cold enough to snow. Occasional morning frosts but that's about it. Summer's very very hot days are much worse. I can't stand the heat and days over 40 degrees C are far too hot and uncomfortable.

I also lived in Sydney but looking at the prices of property now I would not consider it at all now. I'd rather live in a cheaper home and have money left over to enjoy myself than work as hard as possible just to pay the rent and have nothing left over.

richardw

Doshwaster wrote: »

... the business need you to move to another country. We move people around the world all of the time....

Would President Trump be that soft?

movinghelp

Thanks for all the replies so far. In answer to a few questions:

1) we wouldn't be looking to buy a property as this is not a permanent move, my plan would always be to come back to the UK although I understand people do change their mind. As such we would definitely look to rent close to work. Offices are all very central so costs would vary hugely with NY obviously being the most expensive.

2) hating being in NY with no money - this is a huge consideration, my salary would be enough to support both of us in all the options and we both have savings BUT it would be much more of a struggle in NY where we would likely have just one income

3) importance of 'big city' - I love london and am sure NY would be the same, my partner is more indifferent, he would prefer to have outdoor space (he enjoys climbing, running, kayaking etc) so Oz is a dream

movinghelp

Also in terms of the huge distance, we did the Melbourne trip in Feb and it didn't really affect us (landed at 7am OH went off to work for 9am). Suprisingly flights to Oz and NY seem to be similar around the £5-600 mark. I don't see us coming back more than once a year unless there is an emergency and hopefully people would want to come visit us - very conscious my dad and sister would be unlikely to want to make that long flight though.

richardw

If your Dad and Sister have time flying to Aus in stages via the Middle East is a lot easier i.e. Fly Uk-DXB, stay the night, then DXB-PER, stay the night, then PER-MEL/SYD.

callum9999

While the weather is better in Sydney than Melbourne, it's fairly marginal. You're certainly not going from "very changeable" to "fantastic"!

While locals love to say things like "if you don't like the weather then wait 10 minutes" in Melbourne, having lived half a year in each city I can't say I noticed any huge difference. According to the stats Sydney is about 2 degrees warmer and rains about 10% less - the weather wouldn't factor into my decision at all. Between those two options anyway - the Southern Winter is far too cold for me so I'd be much happier further North like Queensland!

callum9999

EssexExile wrote: »

I wouldn't mention New York & Sydney in the same breath, they are so different. I don't like big cities much so hated New York. I found Sydney to be a cosy little city by comparison. If you want the big city feel I'd discount Sydney, on the other hand if you want easy access to the terrific great outdoors then Sydney's the one.

That all depends on what people mean by "the big city" though! The most obvious meaning is a large sized city, but the attraction is never walking past block after block after block of housing - it's the facilities/attractions you get in the city.

Not being a huge city person maybe I don't get it, but (tourist attractions aside) there's nothing in big cities likeNew York and London that I missed while living in Sydney.

mgdavid

boliston wrote: »

I think the massive distance would put me off australia so definitely NYC would be my choice, been there a few times for holidays and have liked it. I would not really want to live in other parts of the US - San francisco is nice but too far really (12 hour flight!)

Many people do not share your views on flying. I've known people go to Las Vegas for the weekend, and Australia for a week . A 10 hour flight is pretty easy and Oz is not really a problem if you have normal health and a good attitude.

OP - if it were me I'd choose Melbourne...

movinghelp

Interesting insights. Right now I'm probably leaning towards Melbourne first, Sydney second and New York third. Mainly because of prioritising OH but also because I'm currently very stressed in London and feel New York would only exacerbate it!

Pincher

I lived and worked in New Jersey around 1994.
New York was about 30 minutes drive away from Upper Montclair, where there was a bus that goes to Port Authority building. Amazingly, I have a neighbour two doors down in London, who worked for Port Authority, and lived in Hoboken.


I know this woman who is alive today, because she was late getting to work on 9.11: at the World Trade Centre. She comes in by train from New Brunswick: beyond Newark.


If you are childless and trendy, and can afford Manhattan, that's where you should be. If you are just a commuter office slave, like us real people, you will end up living in New Jersey, where it's cheap and boring, and you might as well be in Melbourne.