My opinions on the Aussie cities
I agree with ACED, regarding Melbourne.
I lived in Melbourne for 20 years. Hated it when I arrived, hated it when I left. Even now I have to spend 8 weeks a year there and still can't see why other people like it. The locals are parochial, unsociable, and uncultured, which is probably why they like Brisbane so much.
Perth has nice weather and ... um ... sand.
Lived in Sydney for a while. The eastern suburbs (harbour and beaches) are very nice if you can afford them. The other 90% of the population live in overpriced, underserviced, featureless suburbs that could be just about anywhere.
Adelaide is a quaint, dying, country town.
I quite like some of the UK cities - Manchester, bits of Glasgow and Leeds.