After living in Sydney all her life, 26-year-old Lilly finally got tired of the exorbitant prices and decided to move to Brisbane in 2018.
She told Daily Mail Australia she has never looked back since and doesn’t see herself moving back to Sydney anytime soon.
Lilly had been paid $550 a week to live in a unit in Alexandria, in Sydney’s south, while she worked for a PR firm in Potts Point.
It took her an hour to commute to and from work every day, where she found the environment becoming increasingly competitive and stressful.
“The cost of living became unsustainable,” she recalls.
Lilly knew she wanted to live somewhere warmer and moved to Brisbane where she knew life would be more affordable.
Upon landing, she noticed an immediate change in her mood. Strangers smiled and said hello on the street – something she had ‘never’ experienced in Sydney.
Lilly decided to share rent on a $450-a-week two-bedroom apartment in the CBD, in a complex with three pools, a gym and a relaxation room.
In 2021, Lilly moved into a one-bedroom apartment, paying just $320 per week.
When the owners put the property up for sale, Lilly, who was 25 at the time, realized she could afford the deposit on the property, which was on the market for $340,000.
After living in Sydney all her life, Lilly, 26, decided to move to Brisbane in 2018. She was able to buy a property after just three years after having ‘no money’ in Sydney
She decided to make an offer and it was accepted.
“When I left Sydney I never thought I would ever become an owner,” she said.
Living in Brisbane for three years had helped her save the money. By comparison, when she lived in Sydney she never seemed to have ‘money’.
Lilly believes Brisbane has many advantages, including good jobs, warmer weather and a better work-life balance.
She added that people were generally friendlier and more relaxed and that work environments tended to be less stressful and competitive.
However, public transport was not as good as in Sydney, where people usually had to drive, take Ubers or walk to their destination.
The 27-year-old admitted she could understand why people called Brisbane a “big country town” and joked that “everyone knows everyone”.
“I think Brisbane is a relaxed city,” she said.
‘We are increasingly becoming an important player, especially now that the Olympic Games are approaching. My advice to people considering moving is to visit first.
“You’ll be pleasantly surprised at what it’s actually like.”
Lilly added that Brisbane, like everywhere else in Australia, had been hit by the rising cost of living, but her city was generally more affordable.
“You can actually spend the money you make here,” she said.