What city should 2 young, fun American females move in Australia?

Erika, St Kilda is a beach suburb of Melbourne, quite trendy with the young. Something is really disturbing me though, I was informed when I went over, besides my visa, I had to have a round trip ticket, even if it's an open ticket. Your both going to need access to $AUD5,000.00 ea. I also recommend you take out good travel insurance. Australia is not Rome or Europe, after traveling to Australia the first time, my wife and I have been frequent flyer's ever since, Australia is an attraction and a magnet of it's own. I do not like to compare Sydney to a US city, it's to good for that, but you could place it similar to your LA beach areas, San Diego etc. I wouldn't waste to much time in the one area like Melbourne, there is so much more to see in N.S.W. and also Queensland, you both have to do the Great Barrier Reef dive, and do the Whitsunday Island hops. After you get to Cairns, then head over to Darwin, and take a ten day coach/camping tour down to Alice Springs via Kakadu, Manaranka and Uluru, and do the breakfast Balloon flight. From Alice fly to Adelaide. That is to mention some of the stuff we did. Erika, my wife and I have been going to Australia for years, and every time we go, we see something new, we try and taste different things. You go to Rome, Tuscany, Venice, Friuli, and you have seen it all, not with Australia. Don't change your itinerary, start in Melbourne and go from there. Check out itravel200.com, expedia.com, a lot of the time Qantas has special Aussie Pass packages when you fly with them. Best of luck, I am just waiting for news to see if I am headed back there at the end of the year.

Saint Kilda is a suburb of Melbourne. It's literally right in the middle of Melbourne, right next to Albert Park where the Formula One race is.

St Kilda is a suburb of Melbourne, not a separate city. I think you'd like St Kilda and Melbourne - lots of culture, beaches (sort of, no surf), countryside is within easy reach, good prospects for casual work, concerts, nightclubs....

You sound really excited. I'm sure once you get there and settle in things will fall into place naturally and you can ask peoples opinions. Stick with the St Kilda/Melbourne plan initially as you have done the research and know a couple people there. You can branch out from there. Perth is really nice too. Definitely do Sydney at some point, I mean you have to. How about doing 4 month stint in 3 different places? Edit-I've heard Brisbane is amazing too. So I'd say do 3 months in Melbourne, then Sydney, then Brisbane, then fly out to Perth for the last 3 months. Edit-Realistically, it would be hard to do 4 big cities in a living/working capacity in 1 year. Start in Melbourne, settle in, have some fun, make some money, then maybe 6 months in you can try somewhere new like Sydney or maybe somewhere quieter. Don't forget, wherever you base yourself, you still have the option of doing a long weekend break etc in different places in a more touristy way!

St.Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne. It's a popular beach and the nightlife around the area is great. It's definitely a "party" suburb for young people with bars, restaurants, clubs, cafes, amusement park (Luna Park), and there is the St.Kilda festival which I am sure you will love. If you're looking for cultural diversity, Melbourne would be perfect for you. It's a big city with a thriving nightlife, music, arts and culture scene. Crown Casino is a popular place which has clubs, bars, and restaurants, and then you can find other clubs, bars and restaurants throughout the city (the best ones are hidden in the laneways), and the inner suburbs like Fitzroy, Carlton, Brunswick etc... Melbourne is great for visiting museums, galleries, exhibitions, festivals, theatres and so forth, as it is quite a European city compared to say, Sydney, which is more New York. You will find buskers in the city, playing all different kinds of instruments, and others dancing etc. I love walking through Bourke Street Mall and someone is playing a guitar or keyboard and you can hear it from streets away. But yeah, you will certainly find exciting nightlife and cultural diversity in Melbourne. St.Kilda is only about15 minute tram ride from the city.

Sure , Melbourne would be a great place to start your Aussie experience but I have to tell you that if you limit your time to big cities you won't experience the best that this joint has to offer.. Real Australia is much more than cities...the country towns & their people , amazing geography , natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef & much , much more will leave you with lifetime memories you'll never find in any city ... edit..Erika, CMC has given you great , independant advice...

Sounds like you love big, busy cities! Becaeuse of that, i'd recommend Sydney, you'll have heaps to do, amazing beaches (well there are amazing beaches everywhere in Aus!) etc. Melbourne is kind of like Sydney, because its also a big city, but i've actually never been there. About meeting new people, you can do that anywhere in Australia. I recommend Sydney!

Melbourne

I would go with sydney