Where to live?

Hi,

I am from Montreal and I am planning to go live in Australia for a few months starting in October of this year. I am having trouble deciding between Melbourne and Sydney. I want to be in a busy place (not a suburb), but I also want to be near some beaches. From what I understand, you can live in Sydney and still be walking distance to some beaches. In Melbourne, the beaches seem to only be close to the suburbs. It is hard to tell on a map, so I would like someone who knows these areas to help me? On the other hand, I have read that Melbourne is a much more interesting place to live than Sydney and that the people are friendlier. I have ruled out the north because apparently it is the wet season when I am going... Any suggestions or ideas?

I don't understand what you mean by not living in a suburb? By that I can only assume you mean living in the CBD?

I can't speak for melbourne but you won't be surprised to learn that rents in areas that are close to the nicer beaches in Sydney will be substantially higher than elsewhere.

Most of the Eastern Suburbs will be expensive to live as will Manly and the Northern Beaches.

Cronulla might be more affordable but you are a long way from the city.

Sydney is an expensive city - a friend of mine rented an 1-bedroom apartment at Milson's Point with harbourside views and it cost him $4000 a month (and he got a good deal).

Personally I would go with somewhere more affordable like the Inner West where train and bus services run every few minutes.

By suburb I mean the little cities outside Sydney. I really want to go to either Sydney or Melbourne. I want a place thats very active and where it will be easier to meet people (Im going halfway around the world by myself...)

Whilst the very center of the city in Melbourne in not right on the beach, there are several suburbs that are considered inner city (and less than 10 mins by tram to the CBD). In Melbourne, if you want to live in a place with lots of cafes, pubs/bars and night life as well as parks, entertainment and shopping as well as still being right on the beach front, I'd suggest looking at St Kilda or Port Melbourne. Both of these places are are busy and right on the doorstep of the central city.

Also, St Kilda has a lot of backpackers, ex-pats and artists living in the area, whilst Port Melbourne tends to be more exclusive and expensive....

[ Edit: Edited on 19-Jul-2010, at 02:31 by KoalaGirl ]

Thanks for the info!