I don't wanna be home

[Georgina]

I'm looking to uproot myself from singapore to australia or new zealand. Any ideas for the best cities to migrate to. Basically I'm not made for this lifestyle in singapore. I want some place laidback where my kids can enjoy their growing up years and not worry abt the piling homework they have to do at kindergarten...

[JRG]

Hi Georgina

My suggestion would be Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane is great for children - the beach, the entertainment parks, the schools. The weather is favourable but I personally like the cold.

cheers

[Aliya]

Ditto Brisbane.  Great climate, similar to Sing but it does get a bit of a cold snap in winter which is nice.  Fastest growing city in Australia so lots of work.  You can have a house and garden for a shedload cheaper than you can here. 

[helping hand]

Canberra.  People will laugh and say it's too small (300,000ppl) but it has just about everything the bigger cities have, close the snow, lake to sail on, LOADS of cultural activities year round, it's the center of Australian politics, has the best government schools and the best University (ANU) in Australia and some very good private schools, has the best Australian rugby team (the Brumbies) and loads of sporting opportunities. 

As for the workplace, loads of government work but also increasingly large MNC's  (especially Finance, Legal and Accounting firms) place offices in Canberra and these are growing faster than the rest of Australia.  They REALLY value overseas experience MUCH more than other cities (with possible exception of Sydney)

Part of this is that Canberra as community is much better educated and travelled that the rest of Australia (check ABS website if you like), it has the same proportion of the population holding post-graduate university education as the rest of australia has post-secondary! 

It also has a wonderful multicultural aspect with not only the embassies but also growing african, asian and south american communities that are actually given support services and thus Canberra doesnot have the problems places like Sydney have with ghetto's forming and crime gangs.

You have nice hot summers and cold winters (snows some times).  You can get from one end of the city to the other in 30minutes, even when traffic is bumper to bumper.  The surf is 1.5 hours away, the snow 2 hours away.  You can do weekend trips to Sydney if needed, and grow a family in wonderful surroundings - 10 minutes will get you to hiking trails and nature parks. 

My wife once described Canberra as "Washington without the crimes" She was a Sydney girl who has been overseas for most of her adult life and when we decided to move Australia (i was taking up an expat posting) we choose to move to Canberra, took some convincing to get my company to allow me to set up an office from scratch there but they (and us)  haven''t regretted it at all.  If it wasn't Canberra i'd say Adelaide, Perth or Melbourne.

[helping hand]

One more thing, the Canberra education system is based on continual assessment: no massive exams at the end of each year, only a scaling test to moderate marks given between the schools.  Lot less stress on the kids.    plus it keeps them on their toes! 

[liberty]

I thought Canberra was REAL boring...

I've had a few friends there, and they're complaining to me day n night how lifeless that place is.  I've thought of going over there to work too... and feedback from residents there are like: "Go to a city instead. There's nothing here."  great place for seniors and retirees only.  what an encouragement!!? 

[helping hand]

Common stereotype i',m afraid. It's like any other city, it can be boring, it can be exciting, it's what you make of it.  It has loads of cultural events on most weekends and during the week, a vibrant theatre scene etc etc.  No offense, but in my experience people who find places like Canberra boring are the same ones that either (a) also find places like NY boring or (b) think a great night out consists of getting blind drunk and eating curry at 6am in the morning.

It's just my opinion, if you want to believe a stereotype i won't stop you 

I thought Canberra was REAL boring...

I've had a few friends there, and they're complaining to me day n night how lifeless that place is.  I've thought of going over there to work too... and feedback from residents there are like: "Go to a city instead. There's nothing here."  great place for seniors and retirees only.  what an encouragement!!? 

[Child-Bride]

I spent some time in New Zealand and if you really wan to get away from the rat race then you should try Christchurch or Dunedin. 

These places are relaxed even compared to comatose Australia