OK,

Here are my initial observations:


The sun comes up ****ing early in Brisbane. I think it was like 4 am or something.

Those of you flying in for the Aussie Millions better give yourselves 2 days prior to tourney time.

The coffee cream is really thick.

Live NBA on TV at 0600- cool.

I keep bumping into people on the side- er, footpath cause i can't get this left side thing going.

4.45am this morning.

Queensland is the only state on the eastern seaboard to not have daylight saving - so for the rest of us (eg, Melbourne) the sun rose about an hour later (slightly less due to angle of earth, but you get the idea)

This causes more of an issue if you're near the border of NSW and Queensland (eg, southern Gold Coast region) and you're booking a restaurant - make sure you book it for the "right" 8pm.

Yo, Australian here.

What you call 'coffee-cream', I believe we call 'full-cream milk'.

The cream which you're currently using is actually normally used for deserts and as a cooking ingredient. It'd be very rare to put it in coffee.

Use milk. Look for these brands:

http://www.bananablue.com.au/images/...99012717_1.jpg
http://mediapix-australia.com/Coffee...Full-Cream.JPG

Josem--

What's the deal with Brisbane? I've been recently looking into the city, but googleing only shows so much.

It seems like a warmer climate than the other two cities. Any idea on the nightlife and social scene there? From what you know, is it a pretty nice/clean/safe,whatever city?

Any idea if there is a good suburb near the beach?

Worse if you're staying on the Gold Coast and you're flying out of Coolangatta...

Probably on average, it would be marginally warmer, particularly in winter. But by world standards, Australian winters are not that cold. In summer, Sydney & Melbourne both get their fair share of days in the mid-30's (or 90's) and warmer.

Nightlife is much more limited when compared to Sydney or Melbourne. Don't think there are too many issues around safety in any of the major cities, sure they have bad / poor areas, but comparing to the likes of US / Europe, they'd be much safer.

Sydney is arguably the prettiest city in the world - definitely in the top 5. Melbourne is not as pretty, but probably has better restaurants / culture. All Australian cities are sport crazy - Melbourne probably shades it from a big events perspective. Brisbane is often referred to as Brisvegas.

Melbourne has the best Casino poker scene, Sydney has a huge pub poker scene and is in the only state that allows, pub poker comps with cash buy-ins (usually ranging from $10 - $50, sometimes outside that bracket).

All coastal cities will have some decent waterside suburbs. Sydney's beaches has the nicest beaches in close proximity to the City Centre. (East has Bondi / Tamarama / Coogee / Maroubra; North has Manly / Shelley / Dee Why / etc).

Hope that helps.

Quick update:

Noosa rocks!

Ask and I'll try to answer your questions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane provides a good overview of the place.

I'm not particularly familiar with the nightlife etc., but it is a significantly sized city of 1.8 million people.

I imagine that there will be cool stuff to go and do of an evening.

re safety, the US State Department says:

That said, there are something in the order of 500 murders annually in Los Angeles. By comparison, there are around 50 murders annually in Sydney. Brisbane would have a fraction of that.

The southern suburbs, I hear, tend to be "nicer".

Well, no, because they're on the same side of the border and in the same time zone.

I also think this is wrong - two years ago I was in contact with the Victorian Office of Gambling Regulation (or whatever it was called) and they told me that such activities was legal in Victoria.

If you're up tonight, the geminid meteor shower is happening right now. Just below Orion, near Mars. Look up!

Darnit, why did I have to sleep in tonight?

I'm thinking about moving to Sydney.

Anyone else in the same boat and want to live in an apartment or something? (obv. need to make sure you're not crazy) pm me.

Yes, it does. Thanks for you help. Which of these burbs would you suggest (w/ public transportation to the city)?

Heh, yeah maybe. When are you thinking of moving?

I'd just like to point out that the Barossa Valley rocks if you like reds.

i live in manly which is a very nice area. a good alternative if you dont like the bondi posuer atmosphere.
lots of tourists though good or bad

Manly seems nice area, but also like a very expensive area too, though. How much do you typically spend per month (or week, I guess) on rent?

I guess I'm looking for a suburb of Sydney that would be comparable to Hoboken, NJ (a suburb of NYC). It's the type of place that is close to the city but slightly cheaper, and is considered a young and hip town. Hoboken has a lot of bars and things to do for the mid-twenty crowd. Would this description fit for any suburb of Sydney?

There are suburbs like that - Newtown / Leichardt / Crows Nest / Darlinghurst spring to mind, but they're not right on the water. There's very little that's cheap and on the water in Sydney.

what the FK is the deal with the spiders?! i swear i had never heard anything about this, but now, as i tell people im goin to australia, ive mustve heard from like 5 diff people to be careful about jumping spiders, poisonous venom fuuckers and all this crap. im like really scared now i hate spiders so much

the drop bears and the lizards are also a worry.

the drop bears are really only an issue out in the bush, but if you get one of the lizards into your house you're totally stuffed. unfortunately the venom in those things can paralyse you below the neck, so you can still see and hear stuff, but not move.

it's not a happy morning to wake up like that.

Who does all the graffitti in the city if there are no mexicans?


Got pulled over for 74 in a 60 and was given a "caution" not a fine- standard or lucky? (SA, btw)

Crown tower rocks. (thanks for the rec btw) now just to find the pokies room....

lucky.

speeding just isn't worth it.

wait until you head up the hume freeway out of melbourne, and you'll come across cameras that record your time and location, and calculate whether you've sped over that distance.

fascist i think.

The little "neverlost" piece of crap box we got with our hire car is the machine that goes "ping" within 500m of a known camera.

OK, here is some useful knowledge:

"Place", as in what is commonly known as coming in second in the horse race, can also mean second OR third, as there is nothing called "Show"

and you shop around for the best odds pre-race without the ?benefit? of paramutual betting?

Also, the blokes and sheilas at Randwick dress like they're running the Derby every day....

****, I've got more:

When playing pick-up cricket in the park, the more flamboyantly you can dive, roll, spin and whatever in the field, the more the locals will give you a "good effort,mate", along with some of whatever they're drinking.

Correct.

In small races (ie, 6 horses or so - it might be <8... check with bookmakers) there is "No Third Dividend" (abbreviated to NTD) meaning they don't pay out on third.

hahaha you guys are TAB junkies