Job Discussion Forums

[lozwich]

I agree with august03. I've lived in all three, and when not living in Melbourne and Sydney have visited regularly. I like Brisbane for the weather and outdoors, Sydney for the fun of it, and Melbourne for the culture.

I prefer Brisbane (after quite a few years of not liking it very much), especially now that eating out and going to the theatre there is a lot more available than it was in the past. I think its a city coming of age.

[Crazy Eagle]

Lozwich wrote: "I like Brisbane for the weather and outdoors, Sydney for the fun of it, and Melbourne for the culture."

Sounds cool, it is great to have a choice of three great places. I will check them out when I can, probably in Feb or March of next year.

Are all three of them sunny year round? I hate prolonged cloudy weather for weeks on end, it makes me depressed. Does this rule out Melbourne?

[august03]

Well it seems as though weather is of utmost importance to you, if so then you'd be better off in Brisbane. The winter is brief and bearable, but beware it can rain and rain all year round, but hey you can't have it all.

[sandcity_uae]

My experiences in Oz, for what it's worth:

1. It's easy to register to teach in Qld - you can do it all by mail.
For NSW I had to attend an interview.

2. I started out relieving in Sydney. Before the end of Feb I was substitute teaching in inner city schools in which first-year teachers were already on stress leave! Relief teaching in Sydney and Brisbane was a great way to get the feel of a range of schools. Plus you have the advantage of being able to play tourist if you wanted to have a day off and could resist the pleas of harrassed principals.

3. Every state is different as is every education system within a state: eg state, Catholic and other private. I found state schools a whole lot more organised. Catholic schools seem to run on the smell of an oily rag, a wing and a prayer! I don't know much about the 'other' private schools.

4. Catholic schools pay less than state schools - I guess is true of everywhere.

[Crazy Eagle]

Thanks for all the feedback!

Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane all sound very nice. Are they all sunny most of the time? Do any of them get gloomy for several months of the year, like England?

[lozwich]

Yes, Melbourne is gloomy during winter months, but quite lovely in autumn and spring.

If you want warm, sunshiney days, head north. Brisbane is occasionally gloomy in August, but its almost refreshing because you don't see it that often. When it rains in summer its like tropical rain (funny that - being in the subtropics and all..) not gloomy, cold, yucky rain.

But, some people don't like humidity. I'm one of those weirdos who loves it, so I don't mind the humid Brisbane summers. And the houses are built for breezes. If you live somewhere with a breeze you will be quite comfortable most afternoons.

Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, and the official catchphrase thingy was "Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next."

Go live in Brisbane if you want the good weather, but you'll be sacrificing a bit of the cosmopolitan lifestyle that the southern capitals have.

Lozwich.

[Crazy Eagle]

Thanks for all the great info!

Brisbane or Sydney it is then. I will check them out next year. Sydney sounds like great fun, but just wondering if a high school teacher (with a graduate degree) can live comfortably in the Sydney suburbs. Heard mixed things regarding this - but I guess I can investigate more thoroughly when I visit.

Gracias, amigos.

[naturegirl321]

I'm applying to La trobe uni in Melbourne and Edith Cowan in Perth. I was going to apply to Wollongong in brisbane, but there is just way to much paperwork involved.
I'd prefer La Trobe, though I've heard the accent in Melbourne is horrible.

[sandcity_uae]

So Naturegirl, you heard the accent is Melbourne is horrible??? Are sure you want to work in this (ESL/EFL) field?

[naturegirl321]

[lozwich]

ERmmm, naturegirl,

Wolloongong is actually in New South Wales, and about two hours drive from Sydney, which makes it about 15 hours drive from Brisbane. That's one hell of a commute!

and what's wrong with the Melbourne accent. Just because they use upwards inflection for sentences? And sometimes no inflection at all in questions?

FYI, its starting to show up in Brisbane too, because there's so many ex-Melbourne bods living there...

Urgh.

[naturegirl321]

[AsiaTraveller]

Crazy Eagle,

About "Asian" students ...

You wrote earlier in this thread: �They tend to make good and serious students (that Confucian culture you know) so that would make my job a bit easier!�

Try reading the posts on the China teaching forum here on Dave's ESL Cafe.

After reading what EFL teachers in China have to say, you might need to revise your generalizations about Chinese students and how they are such wonderful students in the English classroom.

However, Chinese students in Oz will certainly have different values and goals than those in China ... as will Indonesian students, Malaysian students, Thai students, and others compared to those in their home countries.

[august03]

I can proudly say I am a Melbournian! I've never heard any negative comments before about our pronunciation style. I do, however know that the people from Brisbane and QLD have a very common habit of using 'ay' at the end of question sentences.

'Geez it's hot today ay'
'Let's go to the pub ay'
'Geez it's hot today ay'

[ls650]