Seriously considering moving to australia from scotland?

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Batako

G'day,

Congratulations on making the move. I know it is not something to take lightly. Trust me, I am an immigrant from South-East Asia who's been living in Melbourne for over 16yrs and never regret the move.

In regards to where to move, considering that you guys come from a pretty cold country, I just think that Brisbane's climate may be abit too warm, especially during summer. Unless you really like warm weather very much. Even in Melbourne (considered the coldest in Australia mainland, apart from Hobart in Tasmania), the temperature goes between 4C in morning and 14C in afternoon during winter. Is that too cold for you? You can research different parts of Australia's weather from the weblink below. Dun get me wrong, I dun intend to discourage you coming to Brisbane, just want to give you the facts to consider. And considering that you post your question in General-Australia, instead of Brisbane, I assume that you are still considering different parts of Australia to settle in.

OK... this is what I can say abt Melbourne, my hometown:
1. First of all... some people do not like the weather in Melbourne (you can have 4 seasons in one day). However, if you read the 2nd article from The Age newspaper, you will find out that the weather is still more preferable than the other cities. Sure you can have 42C day in summer, but almost immediately you'll get a much cooler weather pretty soon afterwards. It is very rarely that you got 2 or 3 consecutive days of hot weathers (unlike Sydney, Brisbane or Perth).
2. Melbourne is a city of diversity. If you are a newcomer, and you do not look 'Anglo-Saxon', you do not feel like an 'alien', since you can find almost every race in the world walking in the city. They are both immigrants and overseas students.
3. THE FOOD!! Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Thai, All-you-can-eat, African, Lebanese, Mexican, Sea Food... anything else? All available and lots of them in a very-very-very affordable price
4. Pretty good public transport system. With one ticket, you can switch from train, tram and bus. They do not always come on-time, but still reliable and improving (www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au).
5. SHOPPING!!! Original branded clothing sold very cheap. There are even shopping tour, where the participants are taken to retails outlets just for shopping. Big temptations for ladies.
6. Crime rates... just read the 3rd article on the bottom.
7. Cost of Living... I'll say it's second most expensive city after Sydney. Altho I have to say that some cities in Queensland can be more expensive to live.
8. Tourist attraction. This is the area that I think Sydney is better than Melbourne, since it has most of it's attraction within its suburbs. Most Melbourne attraction are pretty much out of Melbourne, such as the gold mines in the cities of Bendigo and Ballarat, The Great Ocean Road, Lakes Entrance, Grampians, skiing in Mt. Buller etc.
9. Crocs are non-existent in Victoria except in Zoos
10. To go to sea, the only threat will be the RIP, which is the undercurrent wave that could drag swimmers away from the beach if they dun swim between the flag, and some types of jellyfish that are poisonous (sorry, forgot the name).

In regards to schools there are 3 choices: Public/Government, Christian/Catholic and Private. Public schools have pretty much the same standard wherever you go and they are the cheapest alternative. You usually just enrolled to the one closer to where you live. The list of government schools are here from Victoria's website: www.vic.gov.au.
Private are the most expensive, since on top of the tuition fee, you will still have to buy books, uniform, etc. The list for non-government schools are here: http://www.isd.com.au/

I certainly hope this helps. Yes, there will be some time needed for adjustments, but there will be helps and supports along the way since Australia is built by immigrants (yes, this include the Caucasians & the Aborigines, so I was told).

Abt online newspapers, these are the list of all of them available in the net from all states: http://www.nla.gov.au/npapers/npapers_state.html#vic

For petrol watch: http://motormouth.com.au/default_fl.aspx

Welcome to Australia and enjoy.

Lemon Twist

Brisbane is a beautiful city. The winters, spring and autumn are superb. Summer is hot and sticky so make sure you own airconditioned everything and a swimming pool. A boat goes down well too!

As a Scotsman you will notice the following main differences:

. Clothing - most Queenslanders don't own real woollens (they have no idea what warm clothing is!)
. Weather - you will probably suffer a bit from the heat at first
. Everything is relatively new - no 300 year old houses or ancient castles
. Water that you actually want to jump into (it's very safe on patrolled beaches if you're not used to surf)
. Beaches with this stuff called sand that gets into your swimmers but is much more comfortable to lie on than stones
. A fog is a rarity that becomes a talking point at work
. The birds don't go tweet tweet, they go squawk-squawk (parrots, cockatoos etc)
. The people are friendly
. Crime rate is not zero but you're pretty safe just about anywhere
. It's a long way to everything. John-o-Groats to Lands end will just about get you to Sydney or Cairns!

A lot of Brits go for the more temperate climates of Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra but Brisbane is a fine place to live and demand for your skills is high. Gain a reputation as an honest mechanic and you'll be considered strange but you'll never fail to get business.

You won't find wild crocs until you get up past Cairns as a rule. I vaguely recall they found a small one in Moreton Bay, Brisbane many years ago but it was lost - perhaps driven there by a cyclone.

storm ahead

We took the plunge 20 year ago from Cumbria although we live in Melbourne have been to Brissie and always find it really good.DO IT you wont regret it the lifestyle here is so much better not just for you but the kids will benefit 100%.
Petrol is around $1.20 liter,I think the crocks are further up but dont really walk into your living room or anything.And the Sea is perfectly safe.I dont know about a paper to subscribe to but you can try WWW.tradingpost.com.au to give you an idea of second hand car prices,furniture etc.GOOD LUCK>

sweets

huge congrats to ya!

I'm not Australian but I love the country. I don't know much about the country from the inside but have been there.

Here is an article with more links at the end that might be a little helpful.

http://www.liveabroad.com/articles/australia.html#living_in_australia

all the best to ya in your lifetime ambition!

neon

Brisbane is fantastic, and it's great that you're fulfilling a lifelong ambition of yours moving here. I grew up in Brisbane and it's definitely a nice place to spend your childhood. The weather is nearly always warm and sunny, there are plenty of places to visit on the weekends, people are friendly and it's still got the advantages of city life but with a more pleasant country feel than you'd find down south in Sydney or Melbourne.

There aren't any crocs in the outskirts, don't worry, they all live about 600km further up north. I wouldn't swim in the sea around Brisbane (though there is a small man-made beach at Southbank which is safe to swim in), I'd rather drive down to the Gold Coast for the day. I made the drive yesterday, it takes about half an hour and is well worth the visit. There's also the Sunshine Coast to the north and plenty of islands off the coast that you can take a barge out to visit.

Price of petrol is $1.20 per litre at the moment. The main newspaper is The Courier-Mail which is circulated throughout Queensland and available online. The crime rate is probably typical of other Australian cities, but I'd say far less than what you've got in the UK.

Considering all this I'd still say Brisbane is as good as it looks..

margy s

Brisbane is a great place - I lived there for about 15 years when I was young. I think crime is everywhere these days, but probably not as bad as UK because there's less people. You could subscribe to the Brisbane Courier Mail
www.news.com.au/couriermail/queensland...
We buy our petrol in litres over here and it's about $1.20 per litre. Crocs mainly in the northern areas of Queensland, so none in Brisbane (I hope). The beaches are great, but you still have to look out for the occasional shark and the rough waves and rips. You are going to love it here, so have a good journey.

Richo Fev

gday Craig

I`m an Aussie, and pretty much what the others said is true. However I would urge you to consider Perth, it is a fantastic city with great climate. Perth & Brissy would be your best choices, not too big & great weather. Brisbane would be a bit humid for me in summer. Mate you will not look back once you move here, and with those trades work will come easily. The lifestyle here is so much better, i know, as I lived in Glasgow for 2 years.

ll_jenny_ll here

Hi Craig,
before you actually settle in Brisbane ... can I make this suggestion to you ... VISIT first... and see how you like the climate.

I have a friend who came from Paisley in Scotland ...and she loathes the heat .. and we live in Melbourne.. .she also hates humidity.. of which there is a lot of in Brisbane,

I've only been to Brisbane once .. it IS a lovely city but I wouldn't actually move ANYWHERE without visiting before hand

Good Luck with your venture :)

Underground Man

The crime rate is bad in Scotland?

sexc_n_h0rny_now

don't move to melbourne or you'll be subjected to a sport called GAYFL and many taxi drivers

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