Expert: Ian Smith - 9/1/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hello my name is Leslie i am 18 and i was thinking where is the best place to live in Australia for a young couple who wants to study in a college in Australia, find work and a home.We live in Georgia United States ,and i plan to leave once i graduate.Can you please help us in this.

ANSWER: If you believe surveys, Newcastle is the best place to live.  This was the international survey to decide liveable cities.
Although it doesn't appear on the International ratings (because they didn't include it) the survey was done Australia wide including all the cities that missed out being surveyed and guess who came in number one.
So, on the latest international survey however, Melbourne is number one (ahead of Vancouver) and Sydney is number 6 while Perth and Adelaide tied for eighth.
However, it all depends what you like.  Not much good sending you inland if you want to be on the beach; not much good sending you where there's heaps of cafes if you like dining at home.  You need to supply a lot more information before anyone can justly recommend somewhere.
Hope this gets you started.  Feel free to contact me again.
Cheers, Ian

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you. Well we want to live in a place where we can always be busy near stores,markets and restaurants. Not a place expensive to live as in buying a home or apartment and like i said before near colleges and schools as well as jobs. Not on the beach but near it is fine. We would like somewhere multicultural and no snakes.

Answer
Some Australian cities (read Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and possibly Brisbane) are expensive, no use denying that here.
If you're looking for cheaper then again I'll refer to Newcastle, Adelaide, Hobart.
You'll also find places like Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Nowra and similar towns have all that you require.  Might I suggest that when you arrive you take a trip between Sydney and Brisbane to suss the area out.
Also, inland, places like Bathurst, Armidale, Bendigo, Wagga Wagga etc all have what you require, except for the beach.
As for snakes, bear in mind that less people have died from snake bite in the last 100 years than are murdered in one week in the States.  It's a perspective thing.  Also, I do a lot of bushwalking and I've only ever seen a couple of dozen and they are much more frightened of you than you are of them.  Snakebites invariably occur because people pick them up.  They are not an issue, believe me.
Everywhere in Australia is multicultural but the larger cities more so.  In Newcastle we have a solid European base plus whoever's studying at university these days (a lot of Asians).  The Uni is actually one of our largest employers.
Hope this helps you a little more.
Cheers from down under, Ian