I agree totally with Fraser (I was born Yarrawonga on Vic/NSW border, lived Melbourne 20 years, now live Budapest, but Melbourne is still "home" and compares with anywhere), regional Victoria has much to offer yet you do not have to be far from the city, e.g. most major centres are within 1-2-3 hours max.
Must mention conversation other day, UK backpackers in Budapest, been to Oz, described to Sydney sider friend and me that Sydney was like LA, Melbourne was like San Francisco :) Sydney sider was bit upset.....
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Andrew Smith
Cert IV Workplace Assessor & Trainer, B. Bus., Cert. TEFLA, Grad. Dip. Ed. & Training, M. Ed. & "Aussie Specialist" http://www.aiec.biz
I live just outside Melbourne and do a lot of travelling around the country.
I would struggle to live in metropolitan Sydney... too expensive for decent housing..and too busy. Sydney has lots of nice suburbs if you don't mind a commute. ..and there are lots of really good bits in regional NSW too.. especially the south coast (Merrimbula, Bega, Bermagui, Eden kind of areas... South of Woollongong)
Adelaide is just a great big country town. I wouldn't mind living there... and the coastal areas south of Adelaide are just sublime (Victor Harbour etc)
Perth is just beautiful...in fact the whole of WA is..... Right from Broome (Even if the north is a bit hot & sweaty..) down to Esperence ... just a bit far from the rest of Aus for me though... 3.5 hours by plane for Melb or Sydney... (think London - Jerusalem... Australia is BIG!!!))
Queensland is just a bit humid and sweaty for me... but a great place for a holiday, and the Barrier reef is a real wonder of teh world... and a must-do trip for any new Aussie.
Tasmania is just gorgeous, and looks a bike like the Lake District in summer. I love it. I might even retire there some day.
NT? Fine if you like solitude, digging holes or showering a lot, and don't mind mozzies or crocs.....
...but, as I say... and having been there, seen that... I still choose to live in Vic... Nr Melbourne... but not in it. Melb is great and I love having the facilities easiliy to hand... but I am not a city-dweller! ....so .... get out of the mindset that says you need to live in a capital city...Australia's regional towns and cities are even better.... especially those within, say, an hour to an hour and a half from a capital city... all the best lifestyle, none of the city grief...cheaper housing, bigger houses, larger gardens..
So, for Vic, Think about Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo... or any of the small towns between each of those and Melbourne.
...Or one of the inland, but riverside towns along the Mighty Murray: Albury (NSW), Wodonga, Shepparton, Mildura (Vic) Lots and lots to choose from
...Or the coastal towns in Vic (Port Fairy, Portland, Warrnambool)
Think outside that box!
Or Mornington,Mount Eliza,Mount Martha,Fankston South,Ferntree Gully, I could go on all day
Missiemo I am looking at Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave, do you know how long it takes to drive into the city in PEAK hour? whereis.com.au gives me travel times but I suspect that it is off peak.
Missiemo I am looking at Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave, do you know how long it takes to drive into the city in PEAK hour? whereis.com.au gives me travel times but I suspect that it is off peak.
Driving to the city at peak hour will be a veritable nightmare... Now that those areas are in Zone 2 for the purpose of public transport, you could buy a monthly ticket (Zones 1&2) for $152.60 and tak the train. The journey is just over an hour, an hour and 10 at the most.. Parking at stations is free of charge. If you worked a 19 day month, parking in the city alone would cost more than that! Certainly worth considering, anyway...
I had a look at the trains and parking etc but because there are two of us that would be sharing a car it would be $185 or so for parking a month. Some websites I have seen seem to suggest it takes about an hour to drive in peak hour but I had assumed that the train would actually be slower?
Public transport comes under a lot of criticism here which is really not founded. I hear people moaning that the train is 2 minutes late for the second day in a row, blah, blah, blah and I wish I could put them on the British Rail (or whatever it is these days) network for an hour and see how they go on!!! Personally, I would rather staple my tongue to the floor than travel by public transport in U.K. but would not consider driving into the CBD each day even though the journey is marketed as 20 mins from where I live... Travelling from Belgrave by train each day would be considerably quicker by train and I very much doubt that an hour in the car would get you anywhere near the CBD... Actually, I've decided to start a post on public transport in Melbourne!!!
As in England we have the north/south divide so do Australians argue about which city is best!
Sydneysiders see themselves at the top of the hierachy, Melburnians consider themselves to bee cooler than the rest, the atmosphere and pace of life is relaxed, and melbourne is full of quirky little places to explore and has real character, everyone dumps on Brisbane for being dull and boring! Its fun banter between the cities, but after spending time in both Melbourne and Sydney I can honestly say Melbourne is THE place to be!
Interesting how mostly Sydeny siders perceive themselves :)
Cheers
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Andrew Smith
Cert IV Workplace Assessor & Trainer, B. Bus., Cert. TEFLA, Grad. Dip. Ed. & Training, M. Ed. & "Aussie Specialist" http://www.aiec.biz
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