Melbourne _Recce_Report

[And_and_Debs]

Hi All

Well we are finally back from our Reccie trip to Australia. I've put together a report below which I hope you find useful.

Do get in touch if you want any more info.

We flew with Etihad Airways from Heathrow. First stop at Abu Dhabi Airport. Despite what I’ve read about the Airport, it was very nice clean, etc. The flight went really quickly with good Entertainment so the kids were happy.

Had a two hour stopover and then on the next leg of the flight. This was about 15 hours and was ok, but I agree with everyone else about flying with kids. My youngest son (8) was saying he felt sick, etc for most of this flight - although luckily he did not throw up over us !!. I tried to stop the children from sleeping too long in anticipation of getting them onto the Australian timezone – this is something I’ve learnt to do with all the flying of my job and I’d recommend this to others making the trip.

Arrived in Melbourne absolutely knackered. I must say that I am used to flying with my current job and have flown regularly – but the trip to Oz was a bit of a killer.

Etihad though was a very good airline and I would recommend them.

On arrival, first experience of a native Australian was not good in the car rental. I could not believe how rude and condescending the woman was, so we were happy to get in the car and be on our way to the first hotel which was in Frankston.

Driving from the Airport down the Toll Road to Melbourne was pretty busy, but as the city came into view, it reminded me of the Chicago Cityscape and was nice. However, we were probably distracted as we missed our turning and found that we were heading to Geelong !! Had to U turn and head back again (after seeking directions from ‘friendly Australian this time’.

Arrived at Frankston knackered, but went to bed and all of us slept pretty much until next day.

Spent the next morning looking around Frankston – not too bad a place, and then decided to drive down to Point Nepean. Stopped on the way at Mount Martha (as everyone seems to rave about it) and whilst the beach is ok, there is not much there to be honest. Looked at some houses, which seemed nice, but very expensive and whilst bigger than those in UK, you don’t get a lot for your money (remember you will be earning Australian Dollars so the cost is really on par to Uk or more expensive).

From Mount Martha drove to point Nepean. The Mornington Peninsular is very nice, and reminded me a bit of England. The thing I found weird is that at each one of the towns on route, they all seem pretty much the same, a row of shops, etc on the mainroad.

Got to Point Nepean only to find that the park closed in 2 hours and we were too late to really do anything !! Bloody Typical, so turned around and headed back. Stopped at Sorrento for Dinner. I liked Sorrento, it was really nice with seats outside the restaurants, sun was shining, etc, very European.

Day 2

Went to St Kilda. Very nice seaside town, reminded me of UK Beach resorts about 30 years ago. Luna Park (their main attraction) is so simplistic compared to what we have here now in UK.

The drive to St Kilda was interesting. Some of the areas that you drive through are pretty rough along the train line.

We did some of the tourist things - walked out on the pier – nice view of the City from here, walked along the beach, etc. Going from the beach into the main town, there are many restaurants along the main road which is very much like the resorts of Europe.

One thing I did notice is that the public toilets have syringe disposal units – so not sure if there is a drug problem.

From St Kilda, drove back to Frankston and went to the beach. This was nice as the beach was empty (I’ve never experienced that before in UK). We ate out in Frankston – tried an India……absolutely rubbish and not a patch on what you get here in England – also it was really expensive.

Day 3
Drove into Melbourne City. The drive was pretty painful. The City is very small compared to London. Spent the day in interviews with job Agencies checking out the market. The family wandered around Federation Square and some parks. Was OK but not with the character of London (winding streets, old pubs, etc).

Day 4
Spent the day in Melbourne City. Wandered around the parks, saw the sights (Parliament building, etc). City is clean, but not that much to do to be honest.

Day 5
Started the drive down the Great Ocean Road. Stopped at Lorne which was really nice and simple. There was a market going on near the beachfront (as was Easter). Nice view of the bay, also stopped for an ‘award winning Australian Pie’ but was not much different than the supermarket ‘Pukka Pies’ here in UK – apart from 3 times the price. From Lorne, drove to Apollo Bay and stayed there the night. Apollo Bay is really nice, like one of the ‘midwestern’ towns in the Us that you see in the movies. One row of restaurants/shops, with a big hill in the distance. Great scenery, but not sure what else there is to do there (especially for Children) apart from beach or walking in forest.

Day 6
Drove to Port Fairy. Amazing drive on the Great Ocean Road with fantastic scenery. Small beaches/bays along the route with people surfing. The twelve apostles is nice (although not sure why it’s called the twelve apostles as there are not 12 of them). Port Fairy was really nice, and again very simplistic. Small high street, restaurants, nice beach. Really relaxing.

Day 7
Port Fairy
Son got stung by a Jelly fish which after speaking to the lifeguard was quite an amazing thing as they don’t apparently get them in Port Fairy. Life Guard was excellent in dealing with the sting – no politicial correctness like here in England – i.e. not being able to touch children, etc. Had a nice chat with the lifeguard who told us about the area, etc. Went kite flying in the afternoon – can you believe they do that ??? Can’t remember the last time I did this in England…..but it seems to be an event for the town – which a local store lays on – they even lend you the kites with no questions asked/nor deposit. This aspect of Australia is really nice, and again is like England years ago.

Day 8
Drove to the Grampians. Amazing place, with fantastic scenery. It’s really funny as you drive along the roads as all you can see are yellow fields, with no trace of civilisation apart from the occasional sheep. As you get into the forested areas, there is a lot of roadkill (dead kangaroos which you really have to be careful of them jumping out in front of you). We spent the night in Halls Gap which was very nice. Kangaroos are everywhere and you can get up pretty close to them.

Day 9
Spent the day walking the trails in the Grampians. Really nice and relaxing. Amazing scenery.

Day 10
Drove back to the Airport via Ballerat. To be honest, not very impressed with the Town (or is it a City if so it’s very small). Children hanging around the town in groups. Went to McDonalds (on my kids insistence !!) and was shocked to see that it seemed to be the local hangout for teenagers. They were throwing food around, and quite badly behaved and I had visions of us making the move to Australia and my oldest son becoming part of this scene in a few years time !!

Flight back was an absolute killer. Going out it is ok because you are excited, but on the way back, as you try to hold off sleep to try and get back on UK Time, and also, as you’ve already watched most of the movies on the way out, it really drags. Son felt ill again.

The second leg of the flight was even worse. Had screaming kids that even the earplugs (and headphones on top) could not block out, so arrived back to UK absolutely exhausted, but very glad of the experience.

Summary thoughts based on my personal experience:-

• Food – really expensive. Whilst fruit and vegetables seem to have a wider choice, the overall cost of food to me seemed really high. On talking to an Australian colleague on my return to the UK, she also said that food prices had really shot up recently.
• Houses – yes the houses are nicer (depending on how you judge ‘nice’ – i.e. not a lot of character, but big) but if you want to live in a nice area, then you really have to pay. If I compare the salary in Australia to UK, and the cost of the houses (and current interest rate) I would say they are more expensive than here.
• People – really nice and friendly. Seems that wherever you go (apart from Car Rental) they really want to help and chat.
• Driving – loved it – empty roads that stretch for miles. More pleasurable than the crowded (and crappy potholed) roads down in the South East, apart from driving into the City along St Kilda Road (this was bad, but no worse than driving into London).
• Scenery – wonderful – twelve apostles, Grampians, absolutely lovely. But we also have some great stuff here in the UK too which easily compares – the highlands/Cornish coastline/Wales/Northumberland, etc.
• Culture – didn’t see a lot of this. And I’ll probably come in for criticism here, but the lack of history (e.g. Tower of London/Hadrians Wall/Country Houses, etc) really seems to leave a hole.
• Jobs/Job Market – I spoke to some Agencies whilst in Central Melbourne, and whilst they advised there are jobs they did warn that the competition is stiff (many returning Australians), and also that they felt Australia has not really yet been hit to the same extent with the recession (I was told they are about 2 months behind). Whilst there, I did hear on the news that the young have the highest unemployment rate, and also that unemployment was on the rise (not trying to be a scaremonger here by the way).

Overall: I would advise anyone considering the move to go on a reccie. Whilst the cost of doing it is in addition to all the visa/agent costs, the money spent up front can save in the long term (both financial and heartache). Even two weeks is enough to experience many things/people and culture and will really give you a good idea whether you could make the move or not.

On returning to the UK, it really made us see things differently – spring blossom, green fields, rolling hills. I know the news here is always depressing, but if you detach yourself from that (remember once in Oz you’ll get caught up more into their politics, etc), then life here is pretty good. We are so central to Europe, US, Africa, etc. We have everything on our doorstep, a variety of different histories and people, climates, history, etc, etc.

For us as a family, we are not sure to be honest whether we want to make the move or not. We are trying to ‘pinpoint’ the exact reasons for wanting to go to see if these can be dealt with here in UK. In addition, I’m going to undertake some more research on whether it really is better for the children before making the call (after considering also the effect of not being with family/taking away from their friends). I certainly do not have the 1,000,000% feeling that I was hoping to have on my return right now so the reccie was an excellent experience. Don’t misunderstand, I could easily live in Australia (due to similarity to UK) but not sure if it offers more than the UK. I would also love to go back again (if we don't make the move) and see some more of the Country.

[paulacox]

Hi Deb's

What a great post.

Paula

[TaniaColin]

Thanks for such a great post we fly out 1st June to Melbourne so getting quite excited, don't know how we will handle the flight with 4 children, suppose i am dreading it in one way, as my daughter who will be 5 then does not travel well.
Tania X

[itxrd]

Brilliant trip report. Funnily enough we just got back from validating our visas in Melbourne/doing a reccie and while we didn't do as many things as you did we think you've got it pretty much spot on. Couple of extra points

1) Food was cheaper we thought when eating out - nice meal for 2 was $50. here I think it would be more like £40. Supermarkets not cheaper really
2) Weather in melbourne sucks. We were there as it goes from summer to autumn and I reckon its equivalent of Brighton at the same time of year. I'm not moving to the other side of the world for that. i want sun, sun and then more sun ;-). There is a reason Melbourne has so many cafes
3) St Kilda - we stayed there and they have a druggie problem. Wasn't bad or anything but its there
4) Commute to Melbourne is a nightmare. Train it would have to be.

Thats all folks

[Magnetic6]

Really interesting read, thanks!

[JoanneHattersley]

Thanks for an informative and honest post.

On returning to the UK, it really made us see things differently – spring blossom, green fields, rolling hills. I know the news here is always depressing, but if you detach yourself from that (remember once in Oz you’ll get caught up more into their politics, etc), then life here is pretty good. We are so central to Europe, US, Africa, etc. We have everything on our doorstep, a variety of different histories and people, climates, history, etc, etc.

Thank you for being honest enough to say that the reccy made you appreciate what you had at home! Australia isnt right for everyone but I am sure that you will get on well whichever way you go!

Keep in touch on PIO!
Good Luck

[sanders family]

Thank you for the post it does give you food for thought, We go out in July and are very nervous and excited.

[Petals]

Very good report and it brings home to others that Australia is very very different, just because the language is English its not the same and never will be. Australia is a mix of cultures and people all new from the other side of the world and therefore there is no predominant culture like in UK. As time goes by Australia will become less and less like the UK in my opinion it has to because of our racial mix. It will become more Asian and this is a good thing as they are our trading partners. Aus is not in the common market and farmers are not subsidised so market prices reign.

[margaret]

Tania,I live in eastern suburbs and flew out with 3 .My oh was more frazzled than i was with 12yr old &4yr old boy twins.all you can do is your best.that was in 2004.Have summer clothes seperate as weather will be cool when you arrive.winter jackets useful but no heavy coats regards