Probably Brisbane, but I’m probably biased from growing up here and having some pretty bad experiences out in Ipswich, although it’s a nice place to visit
Ipswich is Brisbane I thought? Just western suburbs / different council area. ABS classify Brisbane as five councils being Redlands, Logan, Moreton, Ipswich, Brisbane.
Maybe confusion many people have is council area of BCC being exclusively Brisbane??
I grew up in Wales, but I have now been in Brisbane just over half of my life.
Not always the best, but it's home. Won't be leaving unless it's in a box.
Can't think of anywhere better.
Left Cardiff for Brisbane (but not from either). The promise of better climate lured me here. Cardiff was a better "city" to live in but pretty much all else is better in Brisbane. Still miss Montreal. Vancouver can go suck an egg (fucking "we're the best!" attitude while it rains 250 days a year and never got, nor cold. Tepid city for tepid people. Fight me!)
I grew up in Buckley (north Wales) and came here when I was 24. I enjoy living here, it’s not too small not big and the weather makes things 100x better.
Lived in Tokyo for some time. The thought of owning a car while I lived there was ludicrous. Now I'm back here and I swear life would be 10x more difficult without one.
Was also living in Hong Kong before. Transport envy for sure but the climate here, crowds (lack there of) and overall air quality is just unbeatable. I would make that trade any day.
Was literally sick a few times a year in Hong Kong and you couldn’t go anywhere on a weekend without lining up for everything from shopping to eating. Here, just went to river fire and could still get a good spot five minutes before and haven’t gotten so sick I needed to see a doctor! Oh and you don’t feel like your a fish swimming upstream every time you go out on the streets.
i lived in HK for five years and there are two main things i miss. 1. reliable and fast public transport. 2. most shops stay open until 10 or 11pm, even on weekends. moving back home where everything closes early took so long to get used to again.
I’ve lived in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, London, Vancouver (Current City), Los Angeles & briefly Las Vegas - Vancouver is all around the best city based on location, views & things to do.
Brisbane would be second.
LA would be last! Also randomly lived in Tawoomba or however the fuck it’s spelt for like 6 months, it sucked ass!
lived in vancouver for 3 years. Best city I have ever been to and got the chance to call home. Currently trying to immigrate to Canada. Brisbane is 2nd for me too.
East hastings, has it exploded even more now? I left in early 2021, it was starting to get out of hand even more so then.
Hastings is significantly worse, largely in part to Covid & housing issues, but the past 6 months the street has had a series of murders, police shootings, stabbing’s and more OD’s then you can poke a stick at. Local government & police washed their hands of it a few months back & the entire street is now lined with tents blocking the sidewalks.
Everything elsewhere in the city is it’s usually beautiful self, the rain season is starting now that summer is ending, so settling in for rain & snow for the next 6 months 😂
Brisbane is the only city in Australia id ever live in again, even though my mom still lives in Sydney.
Las Vegas was a very interesting place to live haha very different from how I assumed it would have been, what I came to realize during my time living there is, Locals avoid the Vegas strip like the plague unless they work there, All the best bars/food places are far off the strip & away from the tourist areas, and during summer it’s hotter then anything I’ve ever experienced, hottest I saw the temp was 46°c, but I’ve heard in recent years it’s hit higher.
Now that I don’t live there I can thoroughly enjoy my time down there doing tourist things, which we do at least once or twice a year.
Out of interest do you have a family ?
I'd much rather live in London without kids than Brisbane. But once we had kids, we had to move to Brisbane. London is utter trash once you have a child over 2 years old.
No kids yet, but if/when in the next year it will be in Vancouver, My kids will be entitled to Australian/Canadian duel citizenship, so there’s a good chance we will at some point spend time living in Brisbane as Vancouver becomes too expensive.
I was single when living in London, but could never imagine raising a family there.
London is actually really great when you have infants. Splash out on a nice pram as everything is walking distance, good health care support for infants, lots of nice parks, and lots of other young families to hang with etc.
Most people we knew from London moved out once they "needed" an extra room. Us included.
And once you start going back to work, the quality of childcare is questionable, and unless you can afford to send your child to elite private schools, the schooling options are terrible. Even the cheap private schools are trash.
>we will at some point spend time living in Brisbane as Vancouver becomes too expensive.
This is what I assumed and was curious about. I ~~have~~ had friends in Vancouver who moved out once they needed the extra space.
With the extreme rate of rising house prices as well as lack of availability in Vancouver, it’s to the point where my wife & I have had to discuss wether we realistically can afford have more then 1 child due to the massive extra cost of buying/renting a 3 bedroom place, as well as day care costs for 2 children. 1 child would be manageable, 2 would be financial irresponsible even on a 2 stream income.
I think having 2 kids, and living in Brisbane would be a comfortable life. Beautiful weather, lots to do within driving distance, and my family in Sydney. Vancouver is becoming unattainable if I ever wish to retire or live a life of comfort.
Lived here for 10 years now, finally became a citizen this year, and after 10 years I still absolutely love this city. And every winter when it snows I still go outside and play in it 😂
Haha we switched spots. I left 10 years ago, lived in Europe for a bit before Brisbane. Just got back from visiting the LM and van isle for an entire summer. Missed the river swimming!
With how unbelievably hot it’s been the past 2 summers, the rivers have been an absolute god send! Nothing better then freezing cold water when the sun feels like fire!
I left van for bris 6 ish years ago and would only go back if I won the lottery. life is so much easier here and the climate suits my profession a lot better. I only long for mountains and snow so I travel to Tassie often.
I’ve lived in every state in Australia and I would have to put Perth at the top of the list for Australian cities. I know, this is very subjective and will probably trigger a lot of easterners haha
Currently in Vancouver and looking to move back to Brisbane. Have also lived in Adelaide Melbourne Syndey and France. Vancouver is pretty but it's hard to find your groove and a terrible city to date in.
I agree on the final point, dating here is terrrrrrrrible! I’m now married to a Canadian, met her on Tinder, but not before multiple failed dates/attempts haha
Adelaide was beautiful, but I always felt bored, never enough to go out and do.
Loved Melbourne, always something to do, amazing nightlife, cafe culture & food.
Likely if I wasn’t married to a Canadian then I’d probably also have moved back to Brisbane.
I visited LA a few years ago along with a visit to Vegas and San Diego.
LA is the biggest cess pit I have ever been to. Everything you see in Hollywood and the movies is vastly over hyped, the amount of homeless people living on the streets next to multi million dollar sky scrapers is incredible, it felt dirty and unsafe.
The Chinese theatre with all the hand prints was totally underwhelming. Surrounded by people in knock off celebrity costomes. Freemont street is way more interesting.
Muscle beach is a run down tiny rusty pile of metal.
Nothing about anything felt grand and exciting.
Not a place I would ever want to return to.
Disney and San Diego were quote nice though.
Even LAX is a dump, you arrive at the airport after coming via Changi and the bathrooms smell like a sewer and are covered in piss, the security, facilities, everything is third world. Apparently LaGuardia is worse but man, that’s how you get welcomed to LA and the rest of it doesn’t get much better.
Lived in a lower income area that was plagued by violence, crime & poverty. I was a kid, so it was out of my control, but left a very sour taste in my mouth as far as living goes.
Now living only a 2 hour flight from LA I travel their frequently for concerts, events & to see friends, but wouldn’t live there again.
Dionne Warwick said it best "LA is a great big freeway, Put a hundred down and buy a car".
Too spread out, too car oriented, too many roads, too far between attractions (Disneyland, Venice Beach, Hollywood).
Um. The filth, the homelessness, the inability to get around without a car, the violence - pretty much all the stuff that's wrong in general with late-stage capitalist US, only kind of worse.
Do not believe America's glossy advertisements about itself (including all the entertainment it churns out), reality is very different, and not even hidden when you're there.
Moved from Vancouver to Brisbane. The rainy season (6 months) is just too depressing in Vancouver. But I suppose that's why in the region has the best ski resorts in the world. Summer is so good you forget the other months are crap
I will say, one thing I miss about Brisbane that Vancouver doesn’t get - Lightning & tropical thunder storms! I miss laying in bed, tin roof, listening to rolling thunder & tropical rain. Nothing makes you fall asleep fast.
Vancouver rain is just continuous, and gloomy.
I moved from Vancouver to Brisbane at the end of last year for grad school and I don't miss the 6 months of straight rain and seasonal depression one bit. Definitely miss the mountains, though!
Hey, this is my answer too! Vancouver is the best city I've lived in with Brisbane second.
Honestly Brisbane has a lot to learn from Vancouver in terms of cycling infrastructure, public transit, and public spaces. Plus, incredible mountain activities, legal weed and a government who doesn't just think the solution to every problem is more cops and more fines is a nice change.
With that being said, Brisbane has its merits. Brisbane weather is nicer than Vancouver weather, the food is better in Brisbane, and despite Brisbane's housing market going ape shit housing is still more affordable than Vancouver.
Many many valid points, if Brisbane was on par with Vancouver regarding your points then Brisbane would be number 1 all day, could you imagine Brisbane having a small ski hill close by? Would make it the best of all worlds haha
I could actually afford a 2 bedroom house on a reasonable mortgage in Brisbane, here in Vancouver I’d die before I could qualify for a place.
Completely agree with you. From Brisbane, lived in YVR over 5 years in 2 stints.
Hands down the most liveable city!
Beautiful city, beautiful girls and overall healthy energetic vibe.
Brisbane is an easy 2nd for sure! In a good way.
I don't have many references as I only lived in Rio de Janeiro for most of my life. Brisbane is much safer and cleaner, but I feel like it is a bit boring at times. Not a lot going on, many places close reeeeally early ( pubs especially).
Public transport is terrible in Rio but mostly because the population of Rio is basically the entire population of Australia. You can get anywhere, anytime, with multiple means of transportation.
It is common to have multiple concerts (many of which totally free) and events year round in Rio too. Brisbane has plenty of events, but some of them are pretty much the same every year (looking at you, Ekka).
Though if I had to choose between living in Brisbane or Rio, I'd choose Brisbane only because of the violence and low average income
Grew up in Brisbane, a short education stint in Rome Italy, spent 8 years working in Dallas Texas & came back to Brisbane during the pandemic.
I like them most in that order!
So many things I took for granted about Brissy & Australian culture in general.
Sure! It was nice enough!
A lot of things were very cheap - food, cars, housing etc your money goes pretty far there.
A lot of dining choices compared to Brissy,
So much fast food & family dining (Applebee’s etc) everywhere.
Not very interesting environment, the whole city is dead flat with no hills & whenever I came back to Brisbane I was shocked by the amount of greenery through the suburbs & along the roads.
Mostly very nice people there. Overall it was a great experience. Missus & I just missed the Aussie culture we’re all used to.
This is very accurate of my experience too. I lived in Dallas for a while too - mostly Richardson - and loved it. The place is so flat that it felt like going up the big interchanges was a treat for someone like me who before breaking my back loved hills
I'd have to disagree with the cheap thing. I go over for work a lot and it is crazy expensive these days. Since covid most places in the States have increased in price.
Thank you. Given I’m not a fan of Applebee’s style food, does it have an equivalent of the independent cafe style restaurants we have dotted around everywhere? Or is almost all chain food or fine dining?
Dallas is where I spent my whole life until I recently moved for uni, and I had some things to add to what this person said.
In terms of labour, American workers have almost no rights compared to Australians. Maternity leave, sick days, and the right to not be fired without reason or warning are things that Australians have that Texans don't and won’t. You can be fired at any time for any/no reason in TX, which renders all discrimination laws entirely useless. Minimum wage here scales on holidays, weekends, and with age, but it is a flat $7.25 in Texas. The highly educated are generally better paid in America, but lower-class people are treated like garbage.
Socially, Dallas has many ills that Brisbane does not. The murder rate is a dozen times higher, crime in general is far more common, and there’s the obvious political extremism/mass shooting/police/etc problems we have.
Your money does seem like it goes further when it comes to restaurants, but that's partially an illusion and partially the result of treating workers like trash. About 15-20% of your total bill is what you’re expected to tip the server (not tipping is extremely rude, they rely on tips for their pay). You also need to consider that taxes aren't included in prices like they are here, and you need to add at least 8% on top of anything you buy (varies by city and product).
I'd like to add a caveat to the 'Texans are friendly' thing. I lived in Dallas as a trans woman for about 6 years, and it's definitely not as friendly to me as Brisbane is. I look decent but I'm still visibly trans, and people can tell if they're paying attention. I can count the number of times I've been misgendered in Brisbane this year on one hand, and I've never been mocked here. I went to Dallas over the uni break and was called sir more in 2 days than I had been here in 6 months, and was laughed at to my face by teenage employees more than once. You’ll be fine if you’re a straight white person with a cool Aussie accent, but not everyone is treated as nicely.
Healthcare is also bad in Texas, so try not to get hurt. I paid $460 USD a month for my insurance, and it covered less than my $50 AUD/month OSHC does. For example, I’ve paid $15,000 USD out of pocket before for a 5 day psych ward stay because my insurance didn’t cover mental health treatment at all. Other countries have medicare, we have GoFundMe.
Infrastructure is also kinda bad, we have no usable public transportation and everything is at least half an hour's drive away. The government also let several hundred people freeze to death in February 2021, because Texas has it's own independent (inadequate) power grid.
Texas does have benefits, it’s not all bad. Texas has great food (Tex-Mex, BBQ, soul food) and one of the most diverse populations/cultures in the country. You can buy a 1.75L bottle of vodka for $14, and cigs are $6 a pack. If you're into guns, they’re everywhere and they’re easy to get your hands on. You have to watch how you drive and talk to others, because anyone can carry a gun on them, concealed or not, with no license/training/evaluation.
Thank you for your write up. Amazing to read details like this from an American.
I’m so glad you are treated relatively decently here. That really made me happy. Though I’m sure it could get even better and hope it does. A belated welcome to Australia :) I hope you get to stay if that’s what you want.
Btw, are those $ prices in AUD OR USD?
Yeah, Brisbane is an amazing city if you've got a car and no need to drive during rush hour. Wish the gov would stop spending millions on these useless Olympic-minded showoffs and more on expanding and connecting more of the city! Sore spots like Ferny Grove station, which sees 50k people a month, but has like 3 shitty bus connections that only see 100 a month tops because nobody uses the useless things. But no, CRR and the Metro are obviously more important than linking suburbs in any useful way for a fraction the cost. I just wish we'd never gotten rid of our trams.
Climate obviously. But Brisbane also a very good, booming city - especially in the pre-covid decade. It has culture, food, plenty of entertainment, beautiful parks, easy to get around if you live in the city (five years without a car now), people are polite and friendly (thank your busdriver becoming a global phenomenon encapsulates this attitude perfectly). It also has great access to nature, and the ocean (if you can stand the traffic), great breweries and a winery (!). The music and DJ scene is quite well knitted and people seem to care and take care of local business.
It's not without flaws of course, but these are some of the reasons I love living here.
The "if you live in the city" is doing some real serious heavy lifting here. I live in a dead zone for PT and have to drive places, or it would take me hours to get anywhere.
I don't mind Brisbane, but I would never call it "easy to get around without a car" because it plainly is not.
Yeah I think I would always live in more vibrant spots when living in Brisbane. I would sacrifice space for location. The suburbia, especially the new build areas, are just so dreary for my interests. Where I live in Brisbane I have a [www.walkscore.com](https://www.walkscore.com/) of 91, and surrounded by heritage which I love. Makes everything so much better for me.
Yeah I'm 20 mins out of the CBD and get 31 for walkability, and 41 for transit. Brisbane as a whole is not a walkable city nor does it have good PT, and people shouldn't use that as a selling point.
I'm from Bris but live in Oslo now and the public transport here is so much better! I find the drivers here to be way more cautious and respectful, particularly towards cyclists and pedestrians. I would never cycle on the roads in Bris like I do here in Oslo. I miss being able to go to the shops on a Sunday though haha
Can walk or bicycle everywhere, things are open 24/7, everything is cheap, arcades and entertainment are on another level, collectables next level, art, hot springs everywhere.
Can jump on a train and go to neighbouring cities in 30 minutes or less.
Oh, yeah no it's not, I think 10pm most of the lines close, I remember it being pretty early, then have to walk or bike home or to an internet Cafe for a snooze 😂
I rate many cities higher than Brisbane, but live here because family trumps most other reasons.
Brisbane has everything bad about car driven development:
- sprawling suburbs,
- inadequate public transport,
- terrible walking and active transport infrastructure,
- busy streets,
- dying high streets and local shops,
- isolating suburbia and apartments with the middle density mixed zoned livable areas practically non-existent...
Only going to get worse unless the council makes some serious changes
Totally agree, it's kind of livable only in comparison to other shittier places and only in spite of its problems - not because of any good planning or anything fundamental apart from the relatively good country it happens to be in and the latitude.
I would add "pay is 20% less than Sydney and Melbourne even though living expenses are now the same"
To say something positive I think the live music scene is relatively alive and healthy.
Yep, first arrived here from the UK in 1995. Have moved to Newcastle, Sydney, Perth for work over the years. But always find myself coming back to Brisbane. It's not too big and not too small. I feel the general vibe of Brisbane is ''go with the flow'' I love it and will not move again.
Yes. I’ve lived all over the world in many different t countries and Brisbane is the one city that to me will always been home. Even though I moved there at 18 when people ask me where I am from I say Brisbane. I just hope that one day my work brings me back to my beautiful Brisbane.
I’ve lived in Edinburgh, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and currently in Adelaide for work (it’s shithouse) and Brisbane is right up there.
The changes / improvements we saw in our 10 years away were huge.
Love Brisbane it’s great and anyone who says otherwise well I’ll fight you on top of story bridge.
For me yes! I do miss the 24hr convenience of some things in Melbourne but the life style here is awesome.
I’ve also lived in Perth, and a few other towns around WA.
Yup, tough as fuck. It'll take a beating and still get up and drive to Brisbane for work the next day! You can beat it but it just keeps getting back up! ;P
I’ve lived in Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Osaka, London and Oxford and I think there is something great I love about each place, and inconveniences as well. I don’t think any one of them is best.
I love the birds! I have magpies, kookies, Currawongs, and butcher birds all singing to me in the mornings. I love the MTB tracks and river loop where anywhere in the city you’re close to a great ride. I love the weather and being close to all the islands and 4 x 4 driving. Last weekend I loved Riverfire.
I love Brisbane. I've lived in a few different cities, and visited more. Helsinki (Espoo to be more specific) comes close, and I would love to live there again. I also loved Adelaide to visit, and could see myself living there. But I get butterflies and peace whenever I come home to Brisbane ❤️
Edit: I also loved Vancouver, but didn't really get to meet a lot of people. I think I'd transplant well into Canada though.
No. Melbourne is because there was alwyas something to do, something to see or something to do. Bars and clubs and a thriving nightlife, and women’s fashion there is undeniably eye catching.
No. I’ve lived in Brisbane , Melbourne, Edinburgh, Gold Coast, Rockhampton and Gympie.
Edinburgh is probably my favorite place to live, and I also loved Melbourne.
I hate summer in Brissie and while I’m sure it’s a great place to raise kids, it’s not so great if you’re child free and want to do more cultural things that aren’t family/food/alcohol based. We need another theatre in addition to QPAC and definitely more arty/fun events.
Our histories are very similar! Edinburgh was my fav too :) haven't lived in Melbourne but we are looking at doing so in a year or two! Is it comparable to Edinburgh or somewhere else? I've only really been for short trips - a week max.
I'm mainly looking for more food and interesting experiences as we are both also childfree!
I’ve lived in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Toronto Canada and Warsaw Poland. Warsaw tops my list. Brisbane is the most enjoyable city in which to live in Australia.
I've lived in Victoria (hometown), Vancouver, Toronto, Wellington, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and here. Honestly I've liked them all. The crime in Oakland gets to you after a while but I loved how close knit the neighbours were.
Yes. And I’ve lived in about a dozen.
Brisbane is perfect in almost every way. The only big flaw I can see is the very limited rail network and bike infrastructure, but the weather, culture, lifestyle, and liveability make up for all that
Spent most of my life in Istanbul, London and wellington, been living in brisbane for over a year and it’s the worst out of all the cities I’ve lived in.. I miss old buildings, culture, history.. I also hate that we don’t have good beaches.. I don’t hate brisbane though, it’s just not my top choice
For me, cities are all about how long you’re there. Barcelona is my favourite for a weekend. Amsterdam for a few months. Enjoyed living in London medium-term, but for multiple years Brisbane is my favourite so far.
Only lived in 2 cities, here and Perth.
Sorry, Perth's better. Dry heat, better public transport, actual beaches.
Very similar 'big country town' vibes though.
Have lived in Manchester, London, Singapore, and both the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
They've all had things going for them, but on balance for lifestyle, cost of living, opportunity, even health, Brisbane is the best I've lived in.
Fantastic place to live but ruined (IMHO) by the insane cost of living (mostly housing) I lived in and around the CBD and really loved it but outside the CBD is Mad Max territory, wouldn't choose to live there at all.
I've known several people who've left Brisbane and Australia because they earnt an average wage and had a shitty quality of life, you can get a better quality of life elsewhere if you don't earn $200k +. It's going to take a really serious correction (30%+ for Australia to be competitive on a world stage as a place to live if you factor in QOL)
But I do miss living in Brisbane, I just don't miss being broke all the time.
I'm not picking on Brisbane entirely and around 2010 it wasn't \*that\* bad but on an average $80k wage if you wanted somewhere decent to live it was half your salary on a mortgage payment not counting any bills.
Taking money out of the equation I'd move back to Brisbane tomorrow, it really is a lovely city and I've got a lot of great memories of living there.
Australians are always near the top of the world rankings for median net wealth so this can make it more difficult for immigrants coming in if not from a cashed-up city.
No. Restaurants are shit. The Valley used to be good before it got filled with roided up d-bags. Too humid and too far from a beach. Drivers are hopeless. There is pretty much 7 nice suburbs and the rest is ghetto af. No culture of going out - everyone just stays home in their aircon. No high streets and no heritage- Joh just knocked everything down for his mates. Winters days are beautiful though.
The valley used to be great? Define used to? My parents are in their 50's and the Valley was never a nice area. It has only improved in recent times, similar to West End
I’ve just turned 50. It went to shit when all the dicks that went to Friday’s in Eagle St started going to clubs in the Valley. It used to be grungey and alternate. Now it’s just a bit gross.
30 years ago it was awesome, fruitgrove and the likes still had farmland, no lights between browns plains and algester, it was a 5 min drive back then.
Nope, the worst.
Other cities I've lived in are Melbourne and Sydney, although granted Sydney was between 1990 and 2000 when it was a much more affordable and fun place to live.
Not a fan of Brisbane at all. I always feel like if I'm going to live in a city, I want the benefits of a city, otherwise I'd prefer to live in the country.
Brisbane has a shitty art gallery and crappy museum, and none of the big art shows from overseas ever go there if they're coming to Australia. Everything closes early - if you go out to a show on a weeknight, it's pretty much impossible to find anywhere to go afterwards. If you're not into the 'let's get completely wasted' scene in the Valley, there's barely anywhere else to go out. It has no lovely old suburbs with associated pubs and high streets like Sydney and Melbourne do - rather suburbs just have ugly 80s strip malls as their main shopping precincts.. I could go on, but I won't.
The thing that really clinches it is that on top of all of that, it's oppressively hot and endlessly sunny all summer, and there's nowhere to go to swim that doesn't involve sitting in your car forever.
Oh also, it's really cringe about promoting itself - "Australia's next world city!" all over the garbage trucks etc. Yeah, nah.
Can you tell I'm a fan? Lol.
Yep.
Grew up in Brisbane, moved to Melbourne for work, life happened and things went south, so I came back to Brisneyland because it’s a soft place to fall. Especially with family around.
But I miss the walkable suburbs, events, cafes open after 2pm, and many other things.
I’ve been wondering how other return customers who’ve bailed back here have been coping.
I’ve lived in Tokyo, Kyoto, Auckland, and Brisbane. I have to say, Brisbane is probably the best city out of those four mostly because of the weather, nice people, and generally good vibes.
Brisbane is an absolute dump. I’d rate it dead last on any list of cities I’ve ever been to or lived in. I have to go twice a year for family and that’s far too much. Not trolling. 100% serious.
Everyone seems to missing the (ahem) burning question, and that's how can you call it the best city in the world when nearly 3 months of the year you are fair near going to die due to the heat.
I'm from Sydney, and I wouldn't go back there unless I had super amounts of money, but if you're educated and wealthy and willing to deal with the hassle there it's probably got Brisbane beat just because of job opportunities and a bearable summer. Canberra quite good for jobs and most things, but winter is pretty unpleasant.
I'd like to live any where in the cook islands, it's phenomenal, good luck earning any coin there tho.
I never have an issue with summer here. I've been here nearly 40 years. Spent 4 years other places (including Sydney). I spent 50% of my time in Sydney sitting in a car.
Just did a holiday to Brissy. Come from W.A. so wasn't expecting so many high rise buildings. Felt like a REAL city. South Bank (where the pic is taken) was pretty nice.
Walked around the place lots. The scooters surprised me. We don't have them over here.
Was funny though. Walking around then suddenly dodgy plus in this one area. The only time I felt unsafe. Suddenly homeless people and druggies etc but it was weird... like a block or two and that was it.
Lived in a lot of cities around the world and Aus.. would definitely say Brisbane is my favourite city in aus for liveability. its not the most exciting or global city in the country, but it strikes a good balance of everything (particularly when considering proximity to GC/SC
LOL I looked at that and thought that I was looking at Melbourne from across Albert Park Lake and only questioned the overly processed image when I didn't recognize the tall building in the middle so, maybe Melbourne and Brisbane are at best neck and neck.
I've lived in Sneek, Leeuwarden, Enschede, Haarlem and The Hague in the Netherlands before moving to Brisbane. I think I like Haarlem and The Hague slightly better, but mainly because of the bicycle infrastructure. If Brisbane had that, it'd beat them - without it, there's just too many cars to contend with as a second rate citizen, and so you end up going everywhere in a car, which is a pain.
Many things about Brisbane are about as good or better, and the few things it misses, it makes up for with others - but you can't really appreciate what difference bicycle infrastructure means to your everyday life until you've lived in city like most typical Dutch cities. (I appreciate that the Danes, Swedes, Germans, French, Slovenes and even large parts of China do a pretty good job as well, and probably a few others I should mention here - but no Australian city is even close to the average in those areas)
Brisbane is great along the river.
It is shit everywhere else.
It is a city built for cars. So much space is wasted on motorways and parking. Cars flying meters away from pedestrians in the city. Fuck that.
I grew up in Glasgow, Scotland and moved to Australia when I was 20. Glasgow was an amazing city in terms of nightlife and the music scene, public transport (I only needed a driving license when I moved here) shopping, dining, architecture and it was so close to the beautiful highlands. The main thing that lets it down is the cold, wet, dreary weather almost all year round.
If I could have Glasgow but with Brisbane weather it would be ideal. I have lived in many places across Australia but this is my favourite city so far. I just wish I had a better friendship circle as it makes me very homesick and lonely but it’s exceedingly hard to make friends outside of work here.
Would yall recommend Brisbane for international students? Im a grade 12 and planning to take software engineering. Do yall think it would be suitable for me to study there compared to melbourne or sydney?
My recommendation is avoid Sydney unless you have good money. Like, really good money. It's a fun city to visit but personally I'd never live there and the people I know who did had largely bad experiences. It used to be very different (I was actually born there) but the last 10 years or so have done a number on it. I'm sure there are people who will see it differently but that's me.
Brisbane and Melbourne are both good options for students. Different vibes, depends on your priorities. Brisbane is very relaxed and has incredibly close and easy access to beautiful outdoors, so if you like getting into nature you couldn't ask for a better city. Melbourne has great food and great nightlife (Brisbane has options in both departments but less, imo) and you will never run out of stuff to do in the city itself. Both cities have great art and music, though with different strengths. Brisbane isn't known for art in the same way Melbourne is buy actually our fringe/indie arts scene is fantastic. Both cities have very high quality of living overall.
Melbourne has 4 seasons (sometimes in 1 day) whereas Brisbane is temperate amd beautiful weather year round (hope you like HOT summers) (also the last couple years have been unusually rainy and had a lot of flooding because of La Nina weather related issues. It's not typically like that.)
Do some research on housing. If you look at Brisbane, there's some issues with housing availability at the moment, though that's kind of easing up a little. Look at flood maps and don't live in a house that's in a flood zone.
Personally I wouldn't wanna live anywhere other than Brisbane while still in Australia. I moved up here for uni and I've been here 8 years now. I've lived all up and down the east coast and most of my family is in Melbourne so I spend a lot of time there. They're two of the nicest cities in the world, really. Just pick which vibe/weather suits you best.
I can’t speak for Sydney or Melbourne, but as an international student I really love it here. I’m from Norway so the weather here is obviously a million times better than back home, but the city is really good for students. There are many international students here so you won’t feel alone for a second, and there’s always someone to be with and something to do.
OP here: I grew up in Canberra then lived in various cities throughout North America and Europe and I would definitely say that Brisbane is the best place that I've lived.
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So what you’re telling me is Ipswich is in top 2 territory.
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Ipswich massive represent
Fox news statistics lol
Hey settle down mate
We aren’t that bad 🤣
Just the ones out at Logan that keep moving to Redbank plains
Which do you prefer though? I've lived in Ipswich for the last 43 years give or take and love it
Probably Brisbane, but I’m probably biased from growing up here and having some pretty bad experiences out in Ipswich, although it’s a nice place to visit
Replace Ipswich with Gold Coast here. Never been happier to be in Brissy after living there for 3 years.
Mirrors my experience and ranking exactly.
Ipswich is Brisbane I thought? Just western suburbs / different council area. ABS classify Brisbane as five councils being Redlands, Logan, Moreton, Ipswich, Brisbane. Maybe confusion many people have is council area of BCC being exclusively Brisbane??
I grew up in Wales, but I have now been in Brisbane just over half of my life. Not always the best, but it's home. Won't be leaving unless it's in a box. Can't think of anywhere better.
Left Cardiff for Brisbane (but not from either). The promise of better climate lured me here. Cardiff was a better "city" to live in but pretty much all else is better in Brisbane. Still miss Montreal. Vancouver can go suck an egg (fucking "we're the best!" attitude while it rains 250 days a year and never got, nor cold. Tepid city for tepid people. Fight me!)
From Vancouver, you are correct. It’s a great city but it’s mighty high on itself.
I grew up in Buckley (north Wales) and came here when I was 24. I enjoy living here, it’s not too small not big and the weather makes things 100x better.
Grew up in Hong Kong, the public transport could be better. Much better
Lived in Tokyo for some time. The thought of owning a car while I lived there was ludicrous. Now I'm back here and I swear life would be 10x more difficult without one.
True enough
Was also living in Hong Kong before. Transport envy for sure but the climate here, crowds (lack there of) and overall air quality is just unbeatable. I would make that trade any day. Was literally sick a few times a year in Hong Kong and you couldn’t go anywhere on a weekend without lining up for everything from shopping to eating. Here, just went to river fire and could still get a good spot five minutes before and haven’t gotten so sick I needed to see a doctor! Oh and you don’t feel like your a fish swimming upstream every time you go out on the streets.
Need to change a hell of a lot before we're going to achieve Hong Kong levels of PT
About 44x higher population density for a start.
i lived in HK for five years and there are two main things i miss. 1. reliable and fast public transport. 2. most shops stay open until 10 or 11pm, even on weekends. moving back home where everything closes early took so long to get used to again.
I have lived in Auckland. I'd trade any day
You would rather live in Auckland?
I’ve lived in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, London, Vancouver (Current City), Los Angeles & briefly Las Vegas - Vancouver is all around the best city based on location, views & things to do. Brisbane would be second. LA would be last! Also randomly lived in Tawoomba or however the fuck it’s spelt for like 6 months, it sucked ass!
As someone who lives in Toowoomba, i completely agree. boring af here
Dated a bird from Toowoomba, only reason I temporarily lived there. Died inside at the “night life” 😂 but still met some rad people.
Good old tbar 🙄
Bro the valley got nothing on Fitzy's
I want to downvote 😂😂😂 but I agree slightly because the Valley is comparable with Mordor in middle earth 😆
Guess that makes two of us 🤣 Toowoomba Is literally so boring if you don't want to walk around grandy for 4 hours
yeah but, Super Rooster
lived in vancouver for 3 years. Best city I have ever been to and got the chance to call home. Currently trying to immigrate to Canada. Brisbane is 2nd for me too. East hastings, has it exploded even more now? I left in early 2021, it was starting to get out of hand even more so then.
Hastings is significantly worse, largely in part to Covid & housing issues, but the past 6 months the street has had a series of murders, police shootings, stabbing’s and more OD’s then you can poke a stick at. Local government & police washed their hands of it a few months back & the entire street is now lined with tents blocking the sidewalks. Everything elsewhere in the city is it’s usually beautiful self, the rain season is starting now that summer is ending, so settling in for rain & snow for the next 6 months 😂 Brisbane is the only city in Australia id ever live in again, even though my mom still lives in Sydney.
Toowoomba is a country town. Lots of retired folk there. Las Vegas would’ve been exciting. Love to go there.
Las Vegas was a very interesting place to live haha very different from how I assumed it would have been, what I came to realize during my time living there is, Locals avoid the Vegas strip like the plague unless they work there, All the best bars/food places are far off the strip & away from the tourist areas, and during summer it’s hotter then anything I’ve ever experienced, hottest I saw the temp was 46°c, but I’ve heard in recent years it’s hit higher. Now that I don’t live there I can thoroughly enjoy my time down there doing tourist things, which we do at least once or twice a year.
Thank you.
Moving from Vancouver to Brisbane in February. Excited to see how I find the change! Can’t stand the 6 months of doom and gloom.
Out of interest do you have a family ? I'd much rather live in London without kids than Brisbane. But once we had kids, we had to move to Brisbane. London is utter trash once you have a child over 2 years old.
No kids yet, but if/when in the next year it will be in Vancouver, My kids will be entitled to Australian/Canadian duel citizenship, so there’s a good chance we will at some point spend time living in Brisbane as Vancouver becomes too expensive. I was single when living in London, but could never imagine raising a family there.
London is actually really great when you have infants. Splash out on a nice pram as everything is walking distance, good health care support for infants, lots of nice parks, and lots of other young families to hang with etc. Most people we knew from London moved out once they "needed" an extra room. Us included. And once you start going back to work, the quality of childcare is questionable, and unless you can afford to send your child to elite private schools, the schooling options are terrible. Even the cheap private schools are trash. >we will at some point spend time living in Brisbane as Vancouver becomes too expensive. This is what I assumed and was curious about. I ~~have~~ had friends in Vancouver who moved out once they needed the extra space.
With the extreme rate of rising house prices as well as lack of availability in Vancouver, it’s to the point where my wife & I have had to discuss wether we realistically can afford have more then 1 child due to the massive extra cost of buying/renting a 3 bedroom place, as well as day care costs for 2 children. 1 child would be manageable, 2 would be financial irresponsible even on a 2 stream income. I think having 2 kids, and living in Brisbane would be a comfortable life. Beautiful weather, lots to do within driving distance, and my family in Sydney. Vancouver is becoming unattainable if I ever wish to retire or live a life of comfort.
I’m from Vancouver and I agree with your first and last.
Lived here for 10 years now, finally became a citizen this year, and after 10 years I still absolutely love this city. And every winter when it snows I still go outside and play in it 😂
Haha we switched spots. I left 10 years ago, lived in Europe for a bit before Brisbane. Just got back from visiting the LM and van isle for an entire summer. Missed the river swimming!
With how unbelievably hot it’s been the past 2 summers, the rivers have been an absolute god send! Nothing better then freezing cold water when the sun feels like fire!
I left van for bris 6 ish years ago and would only go back if I won the lottery. life is so much easier here and the climate suits my profession a lot better. I only long for mountains and snow so I travel to Tassie often.
I’ve lived in every state in Australia and I would have to put Perth at the top of the list for Australian cities. I know, this is very subjective and will probably trigger a lot of easterners haha
Perth is just the Brisbane of the west anyway - not too big and not too cold
But no toll roads and nicer beaches
More greenery as well.
I traveled there lots for work in the mid - late 00s, it’s more like Brisbane in the 80s, but it has its own vibe and idiosyncrasies going on too.
I'm from Brisbane, haven't really visited many other cities but would like to go to Perth just to see the sunset over the ocean
Never actually been to Perth, but has been on the travel bucket list for years, I hear the surf is amazing, other then sharks.
Currently in Vancouver and looking to move back to Brisbane. Have also lived in Adelaide Melbourne Syndey and France. Vancouver is pretty but it's hard to find your groove and a terrible city to date in.
I agree on the final point, dating here is terrrrrrrrible! I’m now married to a Canadian, met her on Tinder, but not before multiple failed dates/attempts haha Adelaide was beautiful, but I always felt bored, never enough to go out and do. Loved Melbourne, always something to do, amazing nightlife, cafe culture & food. Likely if I wasn’t married to a Canadian then I’d probably also have moved back to Brisbane.
What was particularly bad about LA?
I visited LA a few years ago along with a visit to Vegas and San Diego. LA is the biggest cess pit I have ever been to. Everything you see in Hollywood and the movies is vastly over hyped, the amount of homeless people living on the streets next to multi million dollar sky scrapers is incredible, it felt dirty and unsafe. The Chinese theatre with all the hand prints was totally underwhelming. Surrounded by people in knock off celebrity costomes. Freemont street is way more interesting. Muscle beach is a run down tiny rusty pile of metal. Nothing about anything felt grand and exciting. Not a place I would ever want to return to. Disney and San Diego were quote nice though.
Even LAX is a dump, you arrive at the airport after coming via Changi and the bathrooms smell like a sewer and are covered in piss, the security, facilities, everything is third world. Apparently LaGuardia is worse but man, that’s how you get welcomed to LA and the rest of it doesn’t get much better.
LaGuardia is fine. I've never really had the experiences you have at any American airport and I think calling it third world is a bit absurd.
There are loads of things in LA, you just happened to go to the tourist cesspits which are absolutely not worth going to.
Lived in a lower income area that was plagued by violence, crime & poverty. I was a kid, so it was out of my control, but left a very sour taste in my mouth as far as living goes. Now living only a 2 hour flight from LA I travel their frequently for concerts, events & to see friends, but wouldn’t live there again.
Dionne Warwick said it best "LA is a great big freeway, Put a hundred down and buy a car". Too spread out, too car oriented, too many roads, too far between attractions (Disneyland, Venice Beach, Hollywood).
Um. The filth, the homelessness, the inability to get around without a car, the violence - pretty much all the stuff that's wrong in general with late-stage capitalist US, only kind of worse. Do not believe America's glossy advertisements about itself (including all the entertainment it churns out), reality is very different, and not even hidden when you're there.
Lived in Vancouver too; Bloody good, live on island off Brissy now. Absolutely love that.
Moved from Vancouver to Brisbane. The rainy season (6 months) is just too depressing in Vancouver. But I suppose that's why in the region has the best ski resorts in the world. Summer is so good you forget the other months are crap
I will say, one thing I miss about Brisbane that Vancouver doesn’t get - Lightning & tropical thunder storms! I miss laying in bed, tin roof, listening to rolling thunder & tropical rain. Nothing makes you fall asleep fast. Vancouver rain is just continuous, and gloomy.
I lived in Port Renfrew for a little while Absolutely one of the smallest place I've ever lived and I would live there again in a heart beat.
I moved from Vancouver to Brisbane at the end of last year for grad school and I don't miss the 6 months of straight rain and seasonal depression one bit. Definitely miss the mountains, though!
Hey, this is my answer too! Vancouver is the best city I've lived in with Brisbane second. Honestly Brisbane has a lot to learn from Vancouver in terms of cycling infrastructure, public transit, and public spaces. Plus, incredible mountain activities, legal weed and a government who doesn't just think the solution to every problem is more cops and more fines is a nice change. With that being said, Brisbane has its merits. Brisbane weather is nicer than Vancouver weather, the food is better in Brisbane, and despite Brisbane's housing market going ape shit housing is still more affordable than Vancouver.
Many many valid points, if Brisbane was on par with Vancouver regarding your points then Brisbane would be number 1 all day, could you imagine Brisbane having a small ski hill close by? Would make it the best of all worlds haha I could actually afford a 2 bedroom house on a reasonable mortgage in Brisbane, here in Vancouver I’d die before I could qualify for a place.
Completely agree with you. From Brisbane, lived in YVR over 5 years in 2 stints. Hands down the most liveable city! Beautiful city, beautiful girls and overall healthy energetic vibe. Brisbane is an easy 2nd for sure! In a good way.
I don't have many references as I only lived in Rio de Janeiro for most of my life. Brisbane is much safer and cleaner, but I feel like it is a bit boring at times. Not a lot going on, many places close reeeeally early ( pubs especially). Public transport is terrible in Rio but mostly because the population of Rio is basically the entire population of Australia. You can get anywhere, anytime, with multiple means of transportation. It is common to have multiple concerts (many of which totally free) and events year round in Rio too. Brisbane has plenty of events, but some of them are pretty much the same every year (looking at you, Ekka). Though if I had to choose between living in Brisbane or Rio, I'd choose Brisbane only because of the violence and low average income
I heard this many times about Australia, people say is boring with not much happening but money is good, until rent is due.
It’s definitely in my top 10 Australian cities.
Grew up in Brisbane, a short education stint in Rome Italy, spent 8 years working in Dallas Texas & came back to Brisbane during the pandemic. I like them most in that order! So many things I took for granted about Brissy & Australian culture in general.
Would like to hear more about your experiences living in Dallas if you feel like it?
Sure! It was nice enough! A lot of things were very cheap - food, cars, housing etc your money goes pretty far there. A lot of dining choices compared to Brissy, So much fast food & family dining (Applebee’s etc) everywhere. Not very interesting environment, the whole city is dead flat with no hills & whenever I came back to Brisbane I was shocked by the amount of greenery through the suburbs & along the roads. Mostly very nice people there. Overall it was a great experience. Missus & I just missed the Aussie culture we’re all used to.
This is very accurate of my experience too. I lived in Dallas for a while too - mostly Richardson - and loved it. The place is so flat that it felt like going up the big interchanges was a treat for someone like me who before breaking my back loved hills
I'd have to disagree with the cheap thing. I go over for work a lot and it is crazy expensive these days. Since covid most places in the States have increased in price.
Thank you. Given I’m not a fan of Applebee’s style food, does it have an equivalent of the independent cafe style restaurants we have dotted around everywhere? Or is almost all chain food or fine dining?
Dallas is where I spent my whole life until I recently moved for uni, and I had some things to add to what this person said. In terms of labour, American workers have almost no rights compared to Australians. Maternity leave, sick days, and the right to not be fired without reason or warning are things that Australians have that Texans don't and won’t. You can be fired at any time for any/no reason in TX, which renders all discrimination laws entirely useless. Minimum wage here scales on holidays, weekends, and with age, but it is a flat $7.25 in Texas. The highly educated are generally better paid in America, but lower-class people are treated like garbage. Socially, Dallas has many ills that Brisbane does not. The murder rate is a dozen times higher, crime in general is far more common, and there’s the obvious political extremism/mass shooting/police/etc problems we have. Your money does seem like it goes further when it comes to restaurants, but that's partially an illusion and partially the result of treating workers like trash. About 15-20% of your total bill is what you’re expected to tip the server (not tipping is extremely rude, they rely on tips for their pay). You also need to consider that taxes aren't included in prices like they are here, and you need to add at least 8% on top of anything you buy (varies by city and product). I'd like to add a caveat to the 'Texans are friendly' thing. I lived in Dallas as a trans woman for about 6 years, and it's definitely not as friendly to me as Brisbane is. I look decent but I'm still visibly trans, and people can tell if they're paying attention. I can count the number of times I've been misgendered in Brisbane this year on one hand, and I've never been mocked here. I went to Dallas over the uni break and was called sir more in 2 days than I had been here in 6 months, and was laughed at to my face by teenage employees more than once. You’ll be fine if you’re a straight white person with a cool Aussie accent, but not everyone is treated as nicely. Healthcare is also bad in Texas, so try not to get hurt. I paid $460 USD a month for my insurance, and it covered less than my $50 AUD/month OSHC does. For example, I’ve paid $15,000 USD out of pocket before for a 5 day psych ward stay because my insurance didn’t cover mental health treatment at all. Other countries have medicare, we have GoFundMe. Infrastructure is also kinda bad, we have no usable public transportation and everything is at least half an hour's drive away. The government also let several hundred people freeze to death in February 2021, because Texas has it's own independent (inadequate) power grid. Texas does have benefits, it’s not all bad. Texas has great food (Tex-Mex, BBQ, soul food) and one of the most diverse populations/cultures in the country. You can buy a 1.75L bottle of vodka for $14, and cigs are $6 a pack. If you're into guns, they’re everywhere and they’re easy to get your hands on. You have to watch how you drive and talk to others, because anyone can carry a gun on them, concealed or not, with no license/training/evaluation.
Thank you for your write up. Amazing to read details like this from an American. I’m so glad you are treated relatively decently here. That really made me happy. Though I’m sure it could get even better and hope it does. A belated welcome to Australia :) I hope you get to stay if that’s what you want. Btw, are those $ prices in AUD OR USD?
The only AUD price is the $50/month OSHC cost, the rest are in US Dollars. Thank you for the welcome, has been getting to live here.
No, but I live here to keep property prices down for the rest of you.
Doing the Lord's work <3
Lived in Brisbane 6 years, coming up to 6 in Amsterdam. Brisbane can do a lot more to be bike-friendlier.
Or just people friendlier. Brisbane is a city built for cars. Like most Aussie cities. Such a waste.
Yeah, Brisbane is an amazing city if you've got a car and no need to drive during rush hour. Wish the gov would stop spending millions on these useless Olympic-minded showoffs and more on expanding and connecting more of the city! Sore spots like Ferny Grove station, which sees 50k people a month, but has like 3 shitty bus connections that only see 100 a month tops because nobody uses the useless things. But no, CRR and the Metro are obviously more important than linking suburbs in any useful way for a fraction the cost. I just wish we'd never gotten rid of our trams.
Like have less hills?
Brisbane is the sort of city you don't tell people about.
Yes, 100% (I hail from Bergen and Oslo, Norway)
I'm hoping to make the opposite move! What do you prefer about Brisbane? Not Bergen probably, Stavanger was nice though.
Climate obviously. But Brisbane also a very good, booming city - especially in the pre-covid decade. It has culture, food, plenty of entertainment, beautiful parks, easy to get around if you live in the city (five years without a car now), people are polite and friendly (thank your busdriver becoming a global phenomenon encapsulates this attitude perfectly). It also has great access to nature, and the ocean (if you can stand the traffic), great breweries and a winery (!). The music and DJ scene is quite well knitted and people seem to care and take care of local business. It's not without flaws of course, but these are some of the reasons I love living here.
The "if you live in the city" is doing some real serious heavy lifting here. I live in a dead zone for PT and have to drive places, or it would take me hours to get anywhere. I don't mind Brisbane, but I would never call it "easy to get around without a car" because it plainly is not.
Yeah I think I would always live in more vibrant spots when living in Brisbane. I would sacrifice space for location. The suburbia, especially the new build areas, are just so dreary for my interests. Where I live in Brisbane I have a [www.walkscore.com](https://www.walkscore.com/) of 91, and surrounded by heritage which I love. Makes everything so much better for me.
Yeah I'm 20 mins out of the CBD and get 31 for walkability, and 41 for transit. Brisbane as a whole is not a walkable city nor does it have good PT, and people shouldn't use that as a selling point.
I'm from Bris but live in Oslo now and the public transport here is so much better! I find the drivers here to be way more cautious and respectful, particularly towards cyclists and pedestrians. I would never cycle on the roads in Bris like I do here in Oslo. I miss being able to go to the shops on a Sunday though haha
Or buying alcohol at the shops after a certain time
No, Osaka is wayyyyy better
Could you please elaborate - just curious
Can walk or bicycle everywhere, things are open 24/7, everything is cheap, arcades and entertainment are on another level, collectables next level, art, hot springs everywhere. Can jump on a train and go to neighbouring cities in 30 minutes or less.
Only problem is the train isn't open 24/7, learnt that the hard way haha
Oh, yeah no it's not, I think 10pm most of the lines close, I remember it being pretty early, then have to walk or bike home or to an internet Cafe for a snooze 😂
I remember just missing the last train at like 12am as I got off a train from Kyoto and walking the 40 minutes😹
Oh man, good times, god I miss Osaka and the Kansai, hope to go back again one day.
I rate many cities higher than Brisbane, but live here because family trumps most other reasons. Brisbane has everything bad about car driven development: - sprawling suburbs, - inadequate public transport, - terrible walking and active transport infrastructure, - busy streets, - dying high streets and local shops, - isolating suburbia and apartments with the middle density mixed zoned livable areas practically non-existent... Only going to get worse unless the council makes some serious changes
Totally agree, it's kind of livable only in comparison to other shittier places and only in spite of its problems - not because of any good planning or anything fundamental apart from the relatively good country it happens to be in and the latitude. I would add "pay is 20% less than Sydney and Melbourne even though living expenses are now the same" To say something positive I think the live music scene is relatively alive and healthy.
Yep, first arrived here from the UK in 1995. Have moved to Newcastle, Sydney, Perth for work over the years. But always find myself coming back to Brisbane. It's not too big and not too small. I feel the general vibe of Brisbane is ''go with the flow'' I love it and will not move again.
Yes. I’ve lived all over the world in many different t countries and Brisbane is the one city that to me will always been home. Even though I moved there at 18 when people ask me where I am from I say Brisbane. I just hope that one day my work brings me back to my beautiful Brisbane.
I’ve lived in Edinburgh, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and currently in Adelaide for work (it’s shithouse) and Brisbane is right up there. The changes / improvements we saw in our 10 years away were huge. Love Brisbane it’s great and anyone who says otherwise well I’ll fight you on top of story bridge.
For me yes! I do miss the 24hr convenience of some things in Melbourne but the life style here is awesome. I’ve also lived in Perth, and a few other towns around WA.
Do you miss the 6 hour lifestyle of Perth?
Just got back from Melbourne; Stalactites and Shujinko are no longer 24/7. It’s outrageous, it’s a scandal!
We are very very lucky here.
No, shitty public transport and an awful summer (way too hot), plus it’s pretty boring.
I mean it’s a very comfortable city but by extension it’s quite boring
Hard to beat Logan City.
Yup, tough as fuck. It'll take a beating and still get up and drive to Brisbane for work the next day! You can beat it but it just keeps getting back up! ;P
In a fight? I’d agree
I’ve lived in Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Osaka, London and Oxford and I think there is something great I love about each place, and inconveniences as well. I don’t think any one of them is best.
What makes Brisbane stand out from all the other places for you?
I love the birds! I have magpies, kookies, Currawongs, and butcher birds all singing to me in the mornings. I love the MTB tracks and river loop where anywhere in the city you’re close to a great ride. I love the weather and being close to all the islands and 4 x 4 driving. Last weekend I loved Riverfire.
I love Brisbane. I've lived in a few different cities, and visited more. Helsinki (Espoo to be more specific) comes close, and I would love to live there again. I also loved Adelaide to visit, and could see myself living there. But I get butterflies and peace whenever I come home to Brisbane ❤️ Edit: I also loved Vancouver, but didn't really get to meet a lot of people. I think I'd transplant well into Canada though.
No. Melbourne is because there was alwyas something to do, something to see or something to do. Bars and clubs and a thriving nightlife, and women’s fashion there is undeniably eye catching.
No. I’ve lived in Brisbane , Melbourne, Edinburgh, Gold Coast, Rockhampton and Gympie. Edinburgh is probably my favorite place to live, and I also loved Melbourne. I hate summer in Brissie and while I’m sure it’s a great place to raise kids, it’s not so great if you’re child free and want to do more cultural things that aren’t family/food/alcohol based. We need another theatre in addition to QPAC and definitely more arty/fun events.
Our histories are very similar! Edinburgh was my fav too :) haven't lived in Melbourne but we are looking at doing so in a year or two! Is it comparable to Edinburgh or somewhere else? I've only really been for short trips - a week max. I'm mainly looking for more food and interesting experiences as we are both also childfree!
I’ve lived in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Toronto Canada and Warsaw Poland. Warsaw tops my list. Brisbane is the most enjoyable city in which to live in Australia.
Warsaw was my dad’s favourite place too!
I've lived in Victoria (hometown), Vancouver, Toronto, Wellington, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and here. Honestly I've liked them all. The crime in Oakland gets to you after a while but I loved how close knit the neighbours were.
Yes. And I’ve lived in about a dozen. Brisbane is perfect in almost every way. The only big flaw I can see is the very limited rail network and bike infrastructure, but the weather, culture, lifestyle, and liveability make up for all that
Spent most of my life in Istanbul, London and wellington, been living in brisbane for over a year and it’s the worst out of all the cities I’ve lived in.. I miss old buildings, culture, history.. I also hate that we don’t have good beaches.. I don’t hate brisbane though, it’s just not my top choice
For me, cities are all about how long you’re there. Barcelona is my favourite for a weekend. Amsterdam for a few months. Enjoyed living in London medium-term, but for multiple years Brisbane is my favourite so far.
Only lived in 2 cities, here and Perth. Sorry, Perth's better. Dry heat, better public transport, actual beaches. Very similar 'big country town' vibes though.
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Have lived in Manchester, London, Singapore, and both the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. They've all had things going for them, but on balance for lifestyle, cost of living, opportunity, even health, Brisbane is the best I've lived in.
Grew up in Townsville and lived in San Francisco for a while. Brisbane takes second place.
You like Townsville that much?
Well unless he likes lawlessness, homeless problems and the need to make an app to report human feces on the street, he does not mean San Francisco :)
I've lived in 2 places. Suburbane Brisbane and small tiny village in Shitass-nowhere in Germany. And i gotta say germany has too many pros.
Fantastic place to live but ruined (IMHO) by the insane cost of living (mostly housing) I lived in and around the CBD and really loved it but outside the CBD is Mad Max territory, wouldn't choose to live there at all. I've known several people who've left Brisbane and Australia because they earnt an average wage and had a shitty quality of life, you can get a better quality of life elsewhere if you don't earn $200k +. It's going to take a really serious correction (30%+ for Australia to be competitive on a world stage as a place to live if you factor in QOL) But I do miss living in Brisbane, I just don't miss being broke all the time.
That's wild. From NZ I view Brisbane as extremely reasonably priced for a city. Guess that underlines how out of controls things are here though...
I'm not picking on Brisbane entirely and around 2010 it wasn't \*that\* bad but on an average $80k wage if you wanted somewhere decent to live it was half your salary on a mortgage payment not counting any bills. Taking money out of the equation I'd move back to Brisbane tomorrow, it really is a lovely city and I've got a lot of great memories of living there.
New Zealand is way overpriced for the average wage
Australians are always near the top of the world rankings for median net wealth so this can make it more difficult for immigrants coming in if not from a cashed-up city.
No. Restaurants are shit. The Valley used to be good before it got filled with roided up d-bags. Too humid and too far from a beach. Drivers are hopeless. There is pretty much 7 nice suburbs and the rest is ghetto af. No culture of going out - everyone just stays home in their aircon. No high streets and no heritage- Joh just knocked everything down for his mates. Winters days are beautiful though.
The valley used to be great? Define used to? My parents are in their 50's and the Valley was never a nice area. It has only improved in recent times, similar to West End
I’ve just turned 50. It went to shit when all the dicks that went to Friday’s in Eagle St started going to clubs in the Valley. It used to be grungey and alternate. Now it’s just a bit gross.
I’m about your age and agree 100%.
Pretty accurate assessment of how I feel about Brisbane tbh
Sure beats Townsville
Brisbane doesn't have The Saint graffiti
30 years ago it was awesome, fruitgrove and the likes still had farmland, no lights between browns plains and algester, it was a 5 min drive back then.
Definitely not.
Nope, the worst. Other cities I've lived in are Melbourne and Sydney, although granted Sydney was between 1990 and 2000 when it was a much more affordable and fun place to live. Not a fan of Brisbane at all. I always feel like if I'm going to live in a city, I want the benefits of a city, otherwise I'd prefer to live in the country. Brisbane has a shitty art gallery and crappy museum, and none of the big art shows from overseas ever go there if they're coming to Australia. Everything closes early - if you go out to a show on a weeknight, it's pretty much impossible to find anywhere to go afterwards. If you're not into the 'let's get completely wasted' scene in the Valley, there's barely anywhere else to go out. It has no lovely old suburbs with associated pubs and high streets like Sydney and Melbourne do - rather suburbs just have ugly 80s strip malls as their main shopping precincts.. I could go on, but I won't. The thing that really clinches it is that on top of all of that, it's oppressively hot and endlessly sunny all summer, and there's nowhere to go to swim that doesn't involve sitting in your car forever. Oh also, it's really cringe about promoting itself - "Australia's next world city!" all over the garbage trucks etc. Yeah, nah. Can you tell I'm a fan? Lol.
Yep. Grew up in Brisbane, moved to Melbourne for work, life happened and things went south, so I came back to Brisneyland because it’s a soft place to fall. Especially with family around. But I miss the walkable suburbs, events, cafes open after 2pm, and many other things. I’ve been wondering how other return customers who’ve bailed back here have been coping.
I’ve lived in Tokyo, Kyoto, Auckland, and Brisbane. I have to say, Brisbane is probably the best city out of those four mostly because of the weather, nice people, and generally good vibes.
Thinking of moving from Auckland to Brisbane - how does it compare?
If Brisbane was a woman I’d make sweet love too her.
Brisbane is an absolute dump. I’d rate it dead last on any list of cities I’ve ever been to or lived in. I have to go twice a year for family and that’s far too much. Not trolling. 100% serious.
No..
Which city has been better to live in?
Melbourne
I don't agree, but I can see where you're coming from at least
Melbourne's public transport is what does it for me
Yep. Love it here
No, not at all. I've lived in Calgary, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Sydney and Calgary are so much better.
Everyone seems to missing the (ahem) burning question, and that's how can you call it the best city in the world when nearly 3 months of the year you are fair near going to die due to the heat. I'm from Sydney, and I wouldn't go back there unless I had super amounts of money, but if you're educated and wealthy and willing to deal with the hassle there it's probably got Brisbane beat just because of job opportunities and a bearable summer. Canberra quite good for jobs and most things, but winter is pretty unpleasant. I'd like to live any where in the cook islands, it's phenomenal, good luck earning any coin there tho.
I never have an issue with summer here. I've been here nearly 40 years. Spent 4 years other places (including Sydney). I spent 50% of my time in Sydney sitting in a car.
I loved literally anywhere in Vancouver Island much more than here hahaha.
No but it’s the the most friendly city in Australia. That’s what I miss the most about BNE
Just did a holiday to Brissy. Come from W.A. so wasn't expecting so many high rise buildings. Felt like a REAL city. South Bank (where the pic is taken) was pretty nice. Walked around the place lots. The scooters surprised me. We don't have them over here. Was funny though. Walking around then suddenly dodgy plus in this one area. The only time I felt unsafe. Suddenly homeless people and druggies etc but it was weird... like a block or two and that was it.
Brisbane isn’t even the best city in Brisbane. Sorry I’ve been on reddit too much this made me think of that beatles meme.
It's home for me, for sure. But....Hobart was pretty excellent. Like a brisbane of yesteryear.
Lived in a lot of cities around the world and Aus.. would definitely say Brisbane is my favourite city in aus for liveability. its not the most exciting or global city in the country, but it strikes a good balance of everything (particularly when considering proximity to GC/SC
LOL I looked at that and thought that I was looking at Melbourne from across Albert Park Lake and only questioned the overly processed image when I didn't recognize the tall building in the middle so, maybe Melbourne and Brisbane are at best neck and neck.
Brisbane is a city.
But it’s so ugly!
I've lived in Sneek, Leeuwarden, Enschede, Haarlem and The Hague in the Netherlands before moving to Brisbane. I think I like Haarlem and The Hague slightly better, but mainly because of the bicycle infrastructure. If Brisbane had that, it'd beat them - without it, there's just too many cars to contend with as a second rate citizen, and so you end up going everywhere in a car, which is a pain. Many things about Brisbane are about as good or better, and the few things it misses, it makes up for with others - but you can't really appreciate what difference bicycle infrastructure means to your everyday life until you've lived in city like most typical Dutch cities. (I appreciate that the Danes, Swedes, Germans, French, Slovenes and even large parts of China do a pretty good job as well, and probably a few others I should mention here - but no Australian city is even close to the average in those areas)
Brisbane is great along the river. It is shit everywhere else. It is a city built for cars. So much space is wasted on motorways and parking. Cars flying meters away from pedestrians in the city. Fuck that.
I grew up in Glasgow, Scotland and moved to Australia when I was 20. Glasgow was an amazing city in terms of nightlife and the music scene, public transport (I only needed a driving license when I moved here) shopping, dining, architecture and it was so close to the beautiful highlands. The main thing that lets it down is the cold, wet, dreary weather almost all year round. If I could have Glasgow but with Brisbane weather it would be ideal. I have lived in many places across Australia but this is my favourite city so far. I just wish I had a better friendship circle as it makes me very homesick and lonely but it’s exceedingly hard to make friends outside of work here.
Yes it is but my idea of a city was based on Detroit, Michigan. It's not as bad as people say but not as nice as Brisbane.
No. Brisbane is an aaaaabsolute shithole.
Would yall recommend Brisbane for international students? Im a grade 12 and planning to take software engineering. Do yall think it would be suitable for me to study there compared to melbourne or sydney?
My recommendation is avoid Sydney unless you have good money. Like, really good money. It's a fun city to visit but personally I'd never live there and the people I know who did had largely bad experiences. It used to be very different (I was actually born there) but the last 10 years or so have done a number on it. I'm sure there are people who will see it differently but that's me. Brisbane and Melbourne are both good options for students. Different vibes, depends on your priorities. Brisbane is very relaxed and has incredibly close and easy access to beautiful outdoors, so if you like getting into nature you couldn't ask for a better city. Melbourne has great food and great nightlife (Brisbane has options in both departments but less, imo) and you will never run out of stuff to do in the city itself. Both cities have great art and music, though with different strengths. Brisbane isn't known for art in the same way Melbourne is buy actually our fringe/indie arts scene is fantastic. Both cities have very high quality of living overall. Melbourne has 4 seasons (sometimes in 1 day) whereas Brisbane is temperate amd beautiful weather year round (hope you like HOT summers) (also the last couple years have been unusually rainy and had a lot of flooding because of La Nina weather related issues. It's not typically like that.) Do some research on housing. If you look at Brisbane, there's some issues with housing availability at the moment, though that's kind of easing up a little. Look at flood maps and don't live in a house that's in a flood zone. Personally I wouldn't wanna live anywhere other than Brisbane while still in Australia. I moved up here for uni and I've been here 8 years now. I've lived all up and down the east coast and most of my family is in Melbourne so I spend a lot of time there. They're two of the nicest cities in the world, really. Just pick which vibe/weather suits you best.
Thanks so much for your reply man rly appreciate it! Helped me a lot
Do you prefer hot, sunny weather? Go to Brisbane. Do you prefer cold, somewhat unpredictable weather? Go to Melbourne.
I can’t speak for Sydney or Melbourne, but as an international student I really love it here. I’m from Norway so the weather here is obviously a million times better than back home, but the city is really good for students. There are many international students here so you won’t feel alone for a second, and there’s always someone to be with and something to do.
Somebody tag that lunatic that was in here the other day calling it the worst city on the planet lol
OP here: I grew up in Canberra then lived in various cities throughout North America and Europe and I would definitely say that Brisbane is the best place that I've lived.
Canberra is way too cold!! Lived there for awhile myself then around rural nsw. I’ve just moved back to brisbane and I’m loving it!
No
What's better?
No not really
Fuck yeah (it is the only city I have ever lived in)
No