I'm planning to go and live in Australia in about 6 months, just for a change. I'm having trouble deciding whether to stay in Melbourne or Sydney. Can anyone advise please.

How long have you got? You may be able to see both.

They're quite different cities and each has its attractions. Most people would recommend Sydney because of its natural beauty (well, not Melburnians perhaps), but it does depend somewhat on your interests.

If you are intending to LIVE in Australia as you say, rather than visiting; there are a number of requirements you'll need to satisfy.

www.liveinaustralia.com will give you a start, if you haven't already done the paperwork and been accepted.

As to which city to choose, it would depend on your interests and preferences for city styles, climate and so on. If you are intending to work here, that will also be a factor in your decision.

Perhaps if you can clarify whether you're actually intending to move here to live or just to visit for a period, people will be able to give you more meaningful guidance.

sunnybunny, I just noticed that you said "live in Australia". Does that mean you're contemplating an extended stay, and if so have you checked out our (relatively stringent) residency rules? If not go to www.immi.gov.au.

We've got a lot of bunnies already here that get sunny too, some even getting sunstroke.

But yes, your options are temporary visiting that still need a visa[tourist visas, no work allowed other than for www.wwoof.com.au ]; there being a Working Holiday Visa that allows work during a twelve month stay and then there are a variety of other visas for either temporary or permanent residence.

Hello - to go back to your original question on whether to choose Sydney or Melbourne. When do you plan to come? As this could be a determing factor. Winters are colder in Melbourne and Melbourne has also experienced extreme temperatures this summer - a very cool early summer and then temperatures of the extreme 46 degrees celsius at its peak. Sydney tends to have less extremes and milder winters. I have lived in both cities and both have their good and not so good points. Of course Sydney is way more expensive than Melbourne in terms of just about everything. If you're planning on renting somewhere to live in either city, Sydney will be the (far) more expensive option. In Sydney I would not live any further than a 10km radius from the city. I choose not to in Melbourne either, but because of Sydney dreadful traffic travelling time takes a lot longer. A 5km trip can take 7 minutes or 45 depending on traffic. Will you be working? If so where you live will be a a major consideration. We don't have superfast trains, so living 30kms or so out of town will mean a 50 minute train trip - with trains (at least in Melbourne) only running every 20 mins during peak and every 30 mins during off peak. What you like doing during your leisure time can also be a factor. Whilst Sydney has good shopping, Melbourne is better. I also believe that Melbourne still rules in the restaurant stakes (at least for choice) and good restaurants can still be cheap. Sydney has the best beaches close to the city - being surf beaches rather than bay beaches like Melbourne. Sydney is a more beautiful looking city and the harbour is gorgeous - you will never get tired of looking at it. And if you like sailing then the Harbour is second to none. Public transport is relative but I can tell you from experience that Melbourne has endured some real problems over this last summer with train cancellations, delays and other technical problems. This hasn't affected our amazing trams though. Melbourne and Victoria are currently 100% drought affected so our beautiful bushland and country side is dry and brown and terribly bushfire affected. This will not worry you too much living in the city, but in terms of getting out of the city to visit other places around Victoria you would not be seeing it at its best. Both cities are very liveable, but if you can't follow Neil's advice and spend half the time in each city - I would choose Sydney to base yourself if you can afford it and perhaps take advantage of some cheap airfares and pop down to Melbourne for a long weekend or 2 or 3......