moved the chest of drawers in behind the door saying she wasn't going to be raped by a dingo
I know this isn't the place to laugh... but I'm going to have to
I hope things look better in a few days Buck. As has already been said, all cities seem to have areas you'd avoid if you knew they were there. Good luck with it all.
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:arghh: We gotta get out of this place
Tony (stickman) the web designer, Lou (loufy) the nurse, Daisie the daughter, Maddie the cocker spaniel
i amazed at what you have found there... i stayed by the shrine of rememberance and went into the CBD everyday. what you may find pointless now is actually just different. things get broken and vandalised in the UK, too - you say probably vandalised - you don't know - it might just not be working!! most of the trams have an option to pay once you get on board. every city has graffiti - and i agree with the person who prefers melbs to sydney. do you not possibly think that the reason no one has posted anything like you are seeing is because they didn't see it like that. i find it completely unrealistic that anyone on here would try to deceive anyone in any way at all.
as someone has mentioned - head down onto the southbank for a meal on the river. the restaurants are great. have some dim sum, head to china town. if you want some great food there - go to LongGrain. great cocktails, too! melbs has some of the best culinary places in australia - head down the alleys in the cbd and grab a seat at a greek or sushi place. head over to the queen victoria or south melbourne market - both good places to have a wander round and grab some great fresh food..
after all that flying and no sleep - don't post on here - get to bed and then wake up refreshed ready to face the new challenges. more importantly - good luck.
Odd that you should say that, had you been to Australia before? When we first arrived in Australia I was totally shocked, it was not how I imagined it to be, I did imagine a sort of paradise and what first and secondly see was not!! We landed in Brisbane and I could not believe my eyes, the place is huge and the city was huge too, its odd how you build an image in your mind and then reality well, different story. We then went to the Barrier Reef, Hamilton Islands and YES there it was Paradise, loved the place. Whilst at the Barrier Reef we met an Australian family and they said the best city in Aus was Melbourne, well we were a little disappointed but then I suppose by then we were tired from travelling and it was tipping it down. Anyway we did eat in China Town area and this was lovely. But I dont know why but Melbourne didnt do it for me although my son loved it and my Aunt, cousin and Nan live there so it must be good. Sydney was next but only a few days so wont comment. Then we went to Adelaide and I loved the place just got a feel for it, Adelaide is small and feels so homely. Anyway having said all that we are going to try Brisbane, as the boys and my OH loved it and I have to say after the initial shock I did then see some lovely areas. I spoke to my cousin and she said that she knows so many English that went back to the UK and then came back again, purely because they had not found the right location and the second time they gave it ago they seemed so much happier. So there you have it Location is everything, so just keep searching you will find the right area even if it is in Melbourne it's there somewhere!
Be happy and I sincerely hope it does work out for you
Kim
p.s. just a little bit of advice, dont let the little ones hear or feel your disappointment as they will latch onto your feelings and they will then be disappoinnted too, kids are easily swayed. Be positive for them!
I was in Melbourne two weeks ago and I didn't see what you are describing. I must admit that i prefer both Perth and Sydney (just a personal thing) but I certaintly didn't see what you are.
The restaurants on the southbank are lovely and I had one of my best meals in Australia there. I would recommend having a walk to the botanical gardens, it feels a million miles outside the city and is truely beautiful.
I really do hope that things work out for you, please give it a go, I think all of us that haven't made the move yet know that the first few months are going to be hard but I for one have promised myself that after all the effort I will stay at least two years. All the states are so different so if you really dont like Melbourne try someone else before thinking about coming home.
deffo second the option of going to the bot - nice place to have a coffee on the lake there. turtles in the water, birds flying round, the shrine is lovely, too. and why not go and see ramsay street or harold when they do the evenings in st kilda?! (no - i never did it! i was living with a local at the time and she refused to let me!)
Hi I was in Melbourne just 1 year ago and my friend lives in a place called Truganina, I visited this area and Hoppers Crossing/Werribie and found it all very nice we found that Williamstown had a great beach and some nice restaurants along the front one called the automic bar which was stunning and did a $10 a steak on a specific night and believe me if you like steak it knocks the socks of a UK steak LOL! I am sure once you explore a little more and settle into a better area you will be happier, you are doing the right thing to give it some time.
Best of luck and check out some of the areas I have mentioned to see if its better than your impressions so far.
All the best
Sarah
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Sounds like you walked along Elizabeth St.
The corner of Finders Street and Elizabeth does look a little down market.
A few hundred yards along Elizabeth St and you get to Collins Street.
Good placed to eat The Block, The Arcade
near the corner of Elizabeth & little Collins St
I personally have not had any bad food yet in Melbourne.
Take the city loop and try getting off the train at parliament station and then walk down Collins Street or little Collins street.
You will get a totally different impression.
also on the south bank there are some very good places to eat but they
are a little more expensive .
We were in Melbourne yesterday and I have to say that we live in a little rural village in the UK and hate the feeling we get when we go into big citys but we love Melbourne. It is a friendly place with a really good atmosphere.
As Buscuit said, head down to the Southbank, there are stacks of restaurants serving every type of food you can imagine.
I suggest you get on the free tourist bus, it will take you all around Melbourne it has lovely park areas that you may not have seen.
We also couldn't believe how clean the palce was, there was no litter to speak of, certainly not on the level you would find in a UK large city.
We also went down to St Kildas and felt we were missing nothing, it was a bit to 'young' for us. Head out towards Mornington, Mount Martha areas they are really nice.
I hope you feel better after a few days and feel more settled,
