hello,
Well to start with, i've lived for a month in Melbourne and for three in Sydney. I struggled to find work in Melbourne, but i put that down to the time of year i was there (just before xmas) and i found work in Sydney straight away. Sydney is more expensive than Melbourne (just) but i got a far nicer 'vibe' while i was in melbourne. The people were lovely and always willing to help and the city was great. Lots of bars, shopping arcades and little places of interest that i just stumbled upon. The weather was bit naff at times but the people and the city more than made up for it.
Hi Cat-Lynn -
Cool plan - I reckon Melbourne's a pretty cool city (but I am biased). Could argue Melbourne's the sports capital....it's defintely the culture capital - if you're interested in contemporary art, theatre, film, live music etc. It's a city with a very cool underbelly - dark and a bit mysterious. Sydney is very fun to visit but it's a bit more shiny and sunny - plus it's more expensive to live. You can use either city as a base to do little trips out to other cities - there's pretty good rail services and cheap flights around the country so you can spend a little time in some other places. If you can, the Northern Territory, far north Queensland and Tassie are all worth a visit.
CAD8000-10000 will get you about AUD8500-11000, which will be sufficient to last you a while, especially if you have some paid work as well. It's pretty easy to find temp work in hospitality or whatever.
Good luck with your plans!
hooray for a first post!
ok, i'll probably be just as biased as others living in their respective cities, but i'd have to say brisbane is the best city in australia. it has the best weather, the cheapest accommodation and work is not difficult to come by. most hostels will have a billboard for job vacancies and things as well. brisbane is also close to great australian places like the gold coast, sunshine coast and not as far from far north queensland either. brisbane is also relatively safe, with a burgeoning nightlife and growing art culture. that's my two cents anyway.. btw, some may say that melbourne is the "sport" centre of australia, but in most sports, queensland rules...
To be quite honest, I don't think you should just limit yourself to one city seeing as each city has its own characteristics. When I was living in Australia, I moved to a city that was about 1 hour south of Sydney by train(Wollongong, LOVED IT) which gave me lots of opportunities to go to Syndey as much as I pleased. While at the same time I could save money to travel to other places in Australia like Brisbane, Tassie, Melbourne, Caines etc. I feel you might regret staying in one city, but thats my opinion so you might feel differently. I think what ever city you choose you will be happy, but you also need to take advantage of your time there and how big the country actualy is.
And another first time post!
If you want to spend a year in one area of Australia, I would go for Brisbane. Brissie is a wonderful relaxed city, beautiful climate all year around, and work available either in the city or in harvest jobs in the area. Area meaning a few hundred km's west or south, but that is around the corner for ozzies ... Apart from that, the area around Brisbane has a lot of beautiful things to offer: National Parks, Great Barrier Reefs, outback and history.
We are travelling and working around Australia for two years now and have spend time in all state capitals (apart from Adelaide, that is next on the list). Brisbane is favourite so far!
Happy travels!
ak
I'm from Sydney and whilst it is more expensive than other cities in Australia it is worth the extra $$. As long as you don't arrive in December or Jan work should be very easy to find. I would recomend Sydney from September until April but I would probably head north for the winter. Not that it gets too cold but the vibe isn't as good. Travel up the coast and give yourself plenty of time. I'm a travel agent and it kills me when travellers come in and tell me they want to travel up to cairns and they only have two weeks. It's a big country take your time and don't skip the NSW coast. We have some of the best beaches in the world and most people fang right past them.
I live in manly and I think it's an awesome place to live. Happy to answer any other questions you have. Evan
Brisbane i fully reccomend its full of travellers to meet and plenty of work, the hostels there had the best atmosphere than any other hostel i stayed in people are always up for the crack.
its warm all year round , clean scenic and not to small and not to big
Plus you get the great lagoon in the middle of the city to spend the day for free what else can you ask from a city.
and australia zoo and the waterworld ,and fairground but most important of all is the wilderness is not far away in brissie its up the road in ozzie distance terms.
Limiting yourself to one city would be about the dumbest thing a person could do when they travel half way across the world on a working "holiday" visa. What is really the point of travelling half way across the world if you aren't even going to see hardly any of Australia? Australia is an amazing country that is so diverse and should be explored at least more than just one city. For finding work I think Bribane/Surfers Paradise region is really great. Everytime I have been there almost every shop window has had a help wanted sign up in the window, so you should be able to walk in to a job almost straight away. Other places like Sydney are a lot more expensive and you'll definitely regret it if you spend almost your entire trip there. Melbourne is also very nice, but it can be difficult to pick up work depending on the time of year and what fields you can work in. The other capitals would not be adviseable at all to stay for trying to find work, but for having a trip Perth and the whole of Western Australia is a must in my view. Travelling around Western Australia will get you a sight of the real Australia not just the americanised New York wanna be place like Sydney.
I have lived in 3 cities: Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney and I have to say (even though most of my family and friends live in Brisbane) that hands down, Melbourne was and IS my fave city in Australia. Sydney is very young, very skinny, very stressed, very clicky...it does however have beautiful sites and some great eating spots..and I highly reccommend sydney as a trip for a weekend, or one week. Brisbane is great but small, less to do than the other cities - though it is getting better.
Melbourne however, has the best food/shopping/art/atmosphere (this is a big thing for me, the general vibe of Melbourne is a lot cooler, relaxed and accepting) not to mention some of the prettiest streets and places in Australia. And the weather is not too bad - at least it doesn't get the terrible wind that sydney gets. That wind cuts right through you in winter!
But at the end of the day, all three have their good aspects - it is just a matter of which one has the best feel for you. Good luck!
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