Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth or Melbourne? Which place is the best?

wizardofOz · June 2015

Ano po ba ang definition ng “laidback” lifestyle, in an Oz setting?

I’ve been hearing this for a very long time, and read it a couple of times in this thread… even before pa ako nag-apply for a visa. Lagi in-contrast to US, mas laidback daw sa Oz…

I’ve been living in an SEA country which I could say is more “laid-back” compared sa Pinas… I could go home 5PM sharp, people from work cannot push me to deliver as they please, my life doesn’t revolve around my job basically…

Ganun din ba definition ng laidback sa Oz?

orange11 · June 2015

@wizardofOz yes you hit it. People here in Australia is a fan of work-life balance. They value quality time for themselves or family during weekends and holidays. They love to catch-up with friends or family over coffee. Community is always very quiet. When I arrived here in Melbourne in 2010, shops and malls closes 5pm sharp, pero ngayon medyo nag-extend na sila up to 6 or 7. Pero during weekends sa ngayon, until 5pm lang ang shopping centers. Residents love to go out-of-town short trips like long drive to visit scenic places, or just stay at home and do barbeque. Dito nga, pagka friday na, tatanungin ka kung anung plans mo for the weekend. Tapos pagka monday na, tatanungin ka uli, how was your weekend. So dapat praktisado na ang sagot mo hahaha. They are fond of doing picnics at parks too. Daming parks dito kabi-kabila. They make it as a place para din mag-exercise like jogging and running. They are very health conscious, uso ang gym... Basta for me, ang definition ng laidback para sa mga Aussies is doing whatever they please at their own leisure because they have the luxury of time complemented by a beautiful environment.

johnvangie · June 2015

@wizardofOz
Sa tingin ko, un di nagmamadali ang mga tao dito, relax and cool :-)
Yun environment is calm, peaceful.
Simpleng buhay, picnic sa park... barbeque party with friends.
Di kumplikado. :-)

jkk32w · January 2016

hello everyone! read this thread thrice na cguro ..sarap mag imagine ng mga dine describe nio.for sure most u na nag comment early on this thread are citizens na. congratulations! how were ur choices of places? maybe some of u have lived in the same place or some have transferred to a diff state.

all insights are of great help. Its true that ung cost of living, ung ganda ng place ..doesnt solely depend on what others say but u can only prove it otherwise til u live in that place.

2015 has been a year of opportunities for most intending migrants ang daming na invite and na grant narin. so i hope this thread will be 'alive' again with MORE inputs and experiences so we can be 'guided' at least..Happy and not so happy experiences are much appreciated. I know life is not perfect in Australia but im sure its better than other places we chose to 'leave'.

Mabuhay!

garfield · May 2016

@wizardofOz yes you hit it. People here in Australia is a fan of work-life balance. They value quality time for themselves or family during weekends and holidays. They love to catch-up with friends or family over coffee. Community is always very quiet. When I arrived here in Melbourne in 2010, shops and malls closes 5pm sharp, pero ngayon medyo nag-extend na sila up to 6 or 7. Pero during weekends sa ngayon, until 5pm lang ang shopping centers. Residents love to go out-of-town short trips like long drive to visit scenic places, or just stay at home and do barbeque. Dito nga, pagka friday na, tatanungin ka kung anung plans mo for the weekend. Tapos pagka monday na, tatanungin ka uli, how was your weekend. So dapat praktisado na ang sagot mo hahaha. They are fond of doing picnics at parks too. Daming parks dito kabi-kabila. They make it as a place para din mag-exercise like jogging and running. They are very health conscious, uso ang gym... Basta for me, ang definition ng laidback para sa mga Aussies is doing whatever they please at their own leisure because they have the luxury of time complemented by a beautiful environment.

Hayst this is the place I want to retire. Quite,peaceful,serene,laid back and so on and so forth. Maraming salamat aa info.

jedh_g · May 2016

@jkk32w could you share your experience so far for 2 months there at Melbourne? I'm excited to move this year. Thank you in advance. I prefer to move in Perth then my family will follow early next year.

kristelmae_ · May 2017

Does anyone have an idea on the itemized living expenses at Sydney and Brisbane? I am trying to compare the two cities, even if Sydney is statistically expensive. I want a concrete list of a weekly or monthly expenses sa dalawang cities. For example, sample weekly budget on:
rent
gas+electricity
phone+internet
food+eating out
public transport
clothing+entertainment

Please help me, at least an average expenses lang para alam ko ang budget weekly/monthly perhaps. Thank you.

fishball2017 · September 2017

popular ang melborne among pinoys parang california yta siya ng australia

rjlim · January 2020

Sydney

weekly rent - 500
gas - 148 last bill for 3 months
electricity - 210 yung last bill ko for 3 months yan
phone - 49/month
internet - 59/month
food+eating out - isang meal average ng 10-20 dipende saan ka kakain
public transport - 50 budget ko sa train 1 week
clothing+entertainment - no idea lahat ng damit ko yung dala ko from Ph..hehe tipid tipid

auyeah · January 2020

hi @rjlim how are you in Sydney? Can you suggest areas na okay mag stay?

rjlim · January 2020

@auyeah been to QLD once lang for 3 days business trip. Mas less tao, less traffic, can't comment sa cost of living doon kasi paid naman ng office. But kung mas gusto mo yung mas laid back pa sa laid back(lol) ok sa QLD.

Kung pwede lang palipat ng office dun permanently gagawin ko. Nagustuhan ko doon kasi homebuddy lang ako. Hindi masyado mahilig lumabas at mag mall. Mas gusto ko yung park lang ganon eto sample yung malapit sa office

noelxmas · August 2021

Hello po,

Just hoping to get advise about the ideal location between Brisbane and Gold Coast.
I'm planning to move there around Xmas so I'm trying to research as much possible. I prefer a cheap rental suburbs between those 2 since I still need to find a job kaya tight ang budget ko, good for 5 months. Kung may suggestions po kayo na ideal location for flatting, please do let me know.

Thanks

athelene · August 2021

I do agree with most of the advice in this thread; the affordability of living in a specific city depends on your personal spending habits and lifestyle. Cities also have different salary ranges, depending on the occupation and job opportunities. Ang napansin ko na big difference in cost of living between Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are the rent. Yung cost of food and transpo, depende sa location mo in the city.

Since I'm an international student, I prefer to live closer to the city or university para hindi haggard tuwing papasok sa school. Naranasan ko magcommute ng more than one hour from southwest Sydney to city almost everyday for 5 weeks, only to realize it was not sustainable for me kasi nakakainip at nakakapagod (lalo na kung may mga bitbit na books at laptop). Most people would be willing to commute kasi mas mura tumira sa malayo, pero iba din kasi ang preference and priority ko. So kung lilipat kayo sa sa Sydney or Melbourne wherein mahal ang accommodation sa city, i-consider nyo nalang which type of person you are. Like willing ka bang magcommute para makatipid sa rent, or increase the budget for rent to shorten travel time? For my own room right across uni, I paid AUD 230pw, whereas in Brisbane I'm paying AUD 205pw (it's 2-3 suburbs away from uni). I paid roughly AUD 30 per month for transpo since I just walk to uni and I travel infrequently (bumabiyahe lang ako pag maggrocery or gagala).

I'd say costs related to transpo depends on your routes. Kung nakatira ka sa malayo, mas mataas ang transpo cost, but if you live a few suburbs away lang from your uni/work, it should be relatively cheap (maybe AUD 3 to 4 per trip). Food and grocery expenses can be kept really low if you cook most of the time. Eating out is expensive, so you need to include that in your budget if you like trying out new places to eat (AUD 20 to 30 per meal). May slight difference ng price when eating out, but this depends on the restaurant. In Newtown (Sydney), you can find good but affordable food (like AUD 15 for pad thai, for example), but in Brisbane it's around AUD 18 to 20 for pad thai. Having stayed in Melbourne for at least 3 weeks, I feel like food in Melb was slightly cheaper than Sydney. Cost of shopping for items, palagay ko wala naman difference across the states (like if you shop at Coles, Woolies, KMart, Target, Big W).

In terms of lifestyle and culture, I actually like Melbourne because of their arts-centered vibe. I planned to move there after studying in Sydney, but pandemic happened and I ended up in Brisbane. I haven't explored Brisbane much because of lockdowns, but I feel there's not much to see in the city (unlike Sydney's tourist hotspot: Opera House, Circular Quay).

One big thing I noticed in Brisbane is that there are fewer asians here than Sydney or Melbourne. A friend who moved to Brisbane from Townsville said that puro caucasians daw sa Townsville, so she experience a bit of discrimination doon just because she looked different and did not grow up in that community. Townsville is apparently a small town so maraming magkakakilala. And that was in the context of a workplace. Not that I think it should be a deciding factor on where to move, but I figured it would be good for people to know that not all Australian cities are the same.

If you prefer a more culturally diverse environment, definitely go to Sydney or Melbourne. Of course, the large presence of ethic communities in these cities translate to more options for dining and shopping (restaurants and asian groceries). In Sydney, there are tons of asian and Filo groceries (Ingleburn, Blacktown, Hurstville, Kogarah, Haymarket, etc.) which have a wide variety of products. Here in Brisbane, there are fewer places to shop and some products that I've bought in Sydney aren't available here.

Yung nabanggit na discrimination based on where you live, I don't know if they really discriminate here based on where you live. Some people could be living in more affluent suburbs because they can afford to buy the house or they've simply inherited a house that's been in the family for generations. Eastern suburbs (Bondi, Double Bay, Vaucluse, Coogee) and Northern Beaches have higher rents kasi views ang binabayaran mo, including access to the world-class beaches. Houses are relatively bigger and newer too. Where you live depends on which kind of lifestyle you're after. Kung mahilig ka mag-surf at magswimming, living in the Eastern suburbs might make more sense for you (kahit mas mahal ang rent), pero kung homebody kayo at hindi naman kailangan nakatira malapit sa beach, living in Inner West or even Western Sydney is okay (cheaper rent).