# Sydney vs Melbourne for a surf lifestyle (and work)



## paisleypark (Mar 9, 2010)

Hey,

Looking to relocate to Aus - and surfing is a big driver for moving there. We want to be able to get home from work and shoot down for a wave. Now I been looking at google maps, and the only city that will allow us to do that is Sydney - is that correct?

are there places just outside sydney like maybe a 45 min drive to the city centre (work) that one could rent a place? any rough estimates for a 2-3 bedroom house with a bit of a garden rent would be?

Then - what would be a decent salary range I should be looking at - for just 2 people (no kids)?

thank you


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Melbourne and North Queensland also work for those. In Melbourne you want to look at the mornington peninsula.

I would also check out WA (maybe not Perth). It can't be true that waves and easy work commute are only in Sydney, but it is one of the easiest places for it.



paisleypark said:


> Hey,
> 
> Looking to relocate to Aus - and surfing is a big driver for moving there. We want to be able to get home from work and shoot down for a wave. Now I been looking at google maps, and the only city that will allow us to do that is Sydney - is that correct?
> 
> ...


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## paisleypark (Mar 9, 2010)

So whats the drive duration from mornington peninsula to melbourne CBD? I see its about 97km's - that might take over an hour to get to Melbourne if i work there everyday. Does mornington peninsula actually have surf?

If you were to recommend a place about 45-60 drive outside Sydney CBD, what would that be (its gotta be relatively close to a surf beach though).

I assume the house rentals are going to be lower in Melbourne then Sydney?

thanks


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

You could just live in the Eastern Suburbs or Northern Beaches. Commute to city is 45-60 mins each way (public transport). 

West-East has alot of traffic so you don't want too be far west.

As for the peninsula I would think that size of water should have some surf.

You don't have to live at the end of the peninsula. Consider some areas like Bonbeach (just not sure if it's surf or just beach/water). 

Houses are not cheaper in Melbourne to rent, rentals are basically the same now between the two cities.



paisleypark said:


> So whats the drive duration from mornington peninsula to melbourne CBD? I see its about 97km's - that might take over an hour to get to Melbourne if i work there everyday. Does mornington peninsula actually have surf?
> 
> If you were to recommend a place about 45-60 drive outside Sydney CBD, what would that be (its gotta be relatively close to a surf beach though).
> 
> ...


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

If surfing is a serious decision for moving then I would avoid Sydney and Melbourne...Melbourne especielly.

Perth or Gold Coast it's common for people to surf in the morning before work and after work as long as weekends. With Sydney it would be a nightmate and too difficult with traffic unless you had a 500-600k to spend on a 1 bedroom flat near the beach.


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## lisecnz (Mar 4, 2010)

I agree with Weebie, and I would be leaning more towards the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coasts in Queensland... amazing beaches! You can live on the Gold Coast and work in Brisbane. The train is about an hour commute directly into the city centre. Or you could live halfway between the two, say at Cleveland or Yatala if you were concerned about costs.

IMHO, it is easier to determine all of this if you take a look for yourself... when I moved over here I checked out a few of the cities first and then decided from there... perhaps you should come over for a visit, check out Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane etc and see what you like first, hard to make a decision if you haven't actually been there!

All the best
Lise


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## paisleypark (Mar 9, 2010)

thanks everyone - yeah best bet would be to come look, see and decide - but unfortunately that is not possible. 

Oh well, I will just need to pick one location for now, work for a year or so and then potentially relocate - once a get a good feel for the place.

thank you


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

As far as surfing on the Mornington Peninsula goes, you really need to go south as far as Rye (Rye Ocean Beach/St. Andrew's Beach/Gunnamatta Beach for surfing (which is about as far south as you can get!) so deffo not commutable (awesome beaches though!!!).

Dolly


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## paisleypark (Mar 9, 2010)

It looks like I got a very decent offer in melbourne, so we are thinking of living in Geelong and driving into Melbourne for work - I hear many people do this. What's the drive in non-peak times?

And from Geelong I hear its 16-20km to the nearest surf spot on Ski resorts, surf breaks and mountains nearest to Geelong in Australia - so what's that a 20 minute drive?


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## paisleypark (Mar 9, 2010)

OK, so where would be a better spot to stay Geelong side or Frankston side? 
Which one is closer to downtown Melbourne? 
which side will have less crowded surf spots? 
I see Frankston has a surf spot called D-Bay...how consistent is this?

I am looking for mellow surf spots that are less crowded, prefer these to the huge swells and crowds that it usually gathers.


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