MELANIEAM79

Myself & my partner are looking to go to Oz in Jan/Feb 08'. As regards the work, the cost of living, the accomodation availability, the weather, the beaches & things to do, could you please give me the Positives & the Negatives about all the areas in Oz, to help us make up our mind which area we should go to, as we're hoping for possible sponsorship from it, to be able to stay on, if we love it. I'm an Account Manager in Sales & my partner is an electrician... As much information as possible would be very very helpful. Thankyou.

pawgero

being on the west coast myself, i would recomend the west if your looking for work, with the WA mining boom at the moment. Sparkies are in short supply.. As for things to do on the west, living in geraldton myself i would skip it. Kalbarri is good for the scenery. sharks bay, play with dolphins, nice beaches. down south of perth margret river, wine region. Perth it self is a good spot, with fremantle and rottnest island. Nice beaches too

And if you go the east coast the sites are endless. Queensland awesome beaches.

As for that time of year, it will be stinking hot most places Perth probably 37deg C in the start of feb

Neil_Oz

"The positives and negatives about all the areas in Oz"? That's a very big question - too big for a forum like this. (Assuming you're American, think about trying to tackle the same question in regard to the USA.)

I would suggest raiding your local library for suitable books on Australia - travel guides, even though they're oriented to tourists, would be somewhere to start.

And if you plan to work legally, you'll need to carefully study the rules - the Department of Immigration's website is www.immi.gov.au. Good luck!

kaneda

Though there are a few things to see there, I found Sydney too new and brash. Brisbane I didn't like (neither did my cousin who was there a few weeks back). However the Gold Coast south of Brisbane is nice. I didn't like Perth either. Melbourne is OK and is only a short hop from Tasmania.

It's down to personal tastes but I'd take NZ any day over Australia.

RalphR

"I found Sydney too new and brash....However the Gold Coast south of Brisbane is nice"

That comment strikes me as strange in that Sydney was settled in the late 1700s (and has plenty of historic sites and buildings to prove it) whereas the Gold Coast, Australia's Miami Beach, was nothing but a pristine stretch of sand until the early 60's.

KathyNZ

RalphR - I agree with you, there are many interesting historic things to see in Sydney and the Gold Coast is all new. What about the Sydney rocks area for a start?
Anyway moving right along, this poster wants us to plan out their whole future and save them the trouble, how about doing some research on the internet yourselves first. And asking the questions to the more appropriate websites you will find when doing your research.

Neil_Oz

kaneda, given that Sydney's "brashness" offended your delicate sensitivities, I too wondered at your preference for, of all places, the Gold Coast. Or was your comment made with tongue in cheek?

Your final judgement is gratuitous, as the poster made it quite clear that she's planning to visit Australia, not New Zealand.

Bokhara

Gosh yes, Kaneda: Any fool can see the subtle charm the white shoe brigade brought to the Gold Coast when they developed it from the nothingness of Ralph's pristine beaches comparing favourably with the brash newness of Sydney.

Sarvowinner

Sydney - "brash" vs "Gold Coast" nice? Kaneda must have visited a parallel universe to the one I live in.

MELANIEAM79

To everyone, apart from KATHYNZ. Thankyou very much for all your help & advice. And to Kathy, why reply telling people to research. What do you think I'm doing? RESEARCHING!!!!! By asking people from their experience what places are like. Don't reply to people with sarcastic comments. The information you gave was absolutely pointless. Easier for you not to reply at all!!!!!

LizzyF

Neil OZ, Ralph et al, I have been looking at some of Kaneda's replies to people and I think that your surprise at her/him's comments on Brisbane v Gold Coast and also Sydney is that he/her has never been there. In all of the answers that Kaneda has given to people ( other than about the UK where we know K hails from and France where K now lives) have been either incorrect or very, very superficial and I doubt that K has been to many of the places that K leave's comments on. In particular, places that I have been and know well, the comments from K have been very much off the mark and totally incorrect in a number of instances. Also don't get sucked into K's bitter and twisted mindset. I think that K only writes on this forum to get his/her jollies.

Neil_Oz

I think you're right, Liz. kaneda seems to have a large bee (bumblebee maybe?) in the bonnet about Australia, for reasons we can only guess at. That would explain his/her rather pointless and unhelpful response to the OP.

Sarvowinner

My second post that referred to K's other ignorant post on Uluru has disappeared. I guess it was considered to have attacked K with excessive zeal?

Sarvowinner

& I agree with both you Liz and Neil.

john_and_lisa

We live in Western Australia, in Perth. Whether Perth is a good match for you depends on what you like. Perth is a bit sleepy and has been labelled "Dullsville", mostly because it has very little happening in the city centre. Each of the other state capitals has a more vibrant CBD. Perth is kind of the road less travelled, and is quite a long way from anywhere else.

On the other hand, if you like the water, Perth is great - the beaches are lovely, the river is a sailor's paradise, and there are nice places to walk and cycle near the water. If you like camping and getting away from it all, some of the most beautiful scenery in the world can be found in the remote parts of WA. The southwest is beautiful as well.

The negatives? Well, summer is - as someone has already said - stinking hot. And the worst part is, if you are looking at getting work in mining, you will probably need to head north to the Pilbara or the Kimberley, which are even hotter, or inland to the Goldfields, which is hotter still. All beautiful but hot, and sparsely populated. If you don't like the small town syndrome, you will not enjoy living in or near a mining community.

I would have a look around, if you can afford it, as the country is very diverse and everyone's opinions will differ - as you have probably already discovered from the responses to your post!