My boyfriend Adrian and I will be moving to Melbourne from Worcestershire in the UK in late May 2008. We are both in our early 30's, professionals with no kids (as yet)! We have both been lucky enough to secure jobs in the CBD. We have just returned from visiting Melbourne for the first time and now face the v.daunting task of going through the emigration process! We would love to hear from other Brits based in Melbourne. We do have a few questions if anyone can help:
1. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to live? Ideally we are looking for a 3-4bed house with a pool and possibly about an acre of land in a rural or coastal seting. We did like Berwick but the commute of 50 mins to the CBD is a bit far.
2. Has anyone arranged for their pets (in particular a cat(s)) to be sent over to Oz?
3. Can you get Sky tv over there?
4. What is the weather really like, we keep hearing about 4 seasons in one day but it was 30c plus during our entire stay!
We would love to hear from anyone out there with any suggestions on how to make the process easier xxxxxxxx
Location: Coombabah, Gold Coast from Oldham, Gtr Manchester
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Hi Melanie, not from VIC, sorry, but I can tell you there is Sky- well, a version of it! Austar is available by satellite dish, and Foxtel by cable. Both have similar to Sky+ (MyStar and Foxtel IQ) too.
Good luck with your move; I'm sure someone from VIC will answer your other questions.
Jo
Hi Melaine,
We are in the same position as you. My boyfriend has accepted a job in the CBD and we are hoping to be out there about May time. Just sent our x-rays in and waiting for the go ahead. My father lives in Melbourne, a place called Sandringham, dont know if you have been there. Its a lovely suberb with gorgeous beaches. Its about 15-20 by direct train into the CBD so its far enough out but not too far if you know what I mean. You could go further out on the same coastal stretch if you wanted more land and a sense of space but it depends on what your priorties are, the house/land etc or the commute. We are hoping to find a place in or around the Brighton area which is a few suburbs closer to the city from Sandringham.
On the TV front, my dad has Foxtel and I dont think it is anywhere near as good as Sky.
The weather in Melbourne is quite up and down. We have been out three times now, once in their winter (August) and twice in January and February. In August we stayed in the Dandenongs and it was rather cold up there, snow on the mountains and thick fog but when we came down into the city I coped fine in just a t-shirt. If I remember correctly I think it was about 18 degrees in the city. Not bad for winter! When we were over in Janurary last year, it was very hot but the weather did seem to change dramatically from day to day. One day it was about 32 and then next it dropped to about 25. Sunshine was aplenty though and it hardly rained at all.
Are you going over on 457 visas? how is your application process going timescale wise. Ours seemed to progress really quickly and then these last few weeks seem to have dragged on and on. Just waiting for them to confirm that they have received the x-rays which we sent on the 5th February.
Anyway, good luck with everything.
Kathy (25) & Niall (32)
Location: South East London at the moment - moving to Melbourne in May 2008!
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We were in Melbourne in December 2006. The day we arrived it was sunny and 40 degrees then 2 days later on xmas day it was 15 degrees and sleeting! It certainly keeps you on your toes. Generally the weather in Melbourne is the same as it was in Perth 5 days before.........takes 5 days to cross over the desert. Also depends which way the wind blows.........either an antartic blast or a desert heat.
Hi, we are taking our cat. Its thirty days in quarentine for them. They need to be micrchiped and it costs about £400. You need to complete the documentation but can't remember the site i down loaded it from . I just googled pet migration australia. There is a quarentine place in melbourne so it is quite convenient.
Me and my partner Dan moved to Melbourne in May 2007, we too are similar ages, professionals with no kids (yet) and have jobs in the CBD.
In answer to your questions…
We are currently living quite close to the city in a suburb called Malvern which is lovely, but a bit family orientated so were looking to move a bit closer to the city. Id say the further out you are the cheaper the rent will be as we are currently paying $570 per week for a 2 bed ground floor apartment, which whilst its brand new and really nice, I would imagine you could get properties much nicer ie with more bedrooms and a pool if you look further afield but like you say trying not to be too far out because of traveling. One thing I would most definitely take into consideration is the train system here. I can only describe it as ‘UNBELIEVABLE’. On a daily basis I am subjected to being squashed up against a wall or worse someone with bad BO! I cannot move, hardly breathe and have actually nearly fainted due to the heat on the summer days. It is without a doubt a big downside to Melbourne and I could not imagine being on the trains for longer than my 15-20minute commute from Malvern – so I strongly advise for you to think about this!
We also had our cat flown over from the UK, I used a company called Pet Air Uk who were great. We chose the top service which meant that they did everything for us, they even collected my cat from my home in Nottingham and drove her to Heathrow. They did all the paperwork and we did nothing except pay them which took a lot of the stress away from us! Id say the total cost including quarantine was around 1500pound. Quarantine wasn’t too bad, my cat was based in Spotswood quarantine which is around 10-15 train journey from the CBD. She was VERY well looked after by a lovely woman there and I could visit her 3 times a week. Id just like to add that id really think hard about bringing your cat over. Looking back if I could choose now I wouldn’t bring her. She was subjected to being kept in a box for over 24 hours and has turned into quite a nasty cat. She is scared of everything, hates traveling and gets very distressed. She went from being a friendly cat to a cat that hates to even be touched. My decision was based on the fact that shes my baby and I couldn’t leave her but that said I think it would’ve been kinder to of found her a new loving home. But saying that im sure not all cats will react the same, but just so you are aware hun. http://www.petairuk.com/
Yes you can get Foxtel which is great, they have a UK TV channel which means you can watch Eastenders and Corro! I love it when the theme music comes on-reminds me of home J
We first arrived here at the very beginning of winter and didn’t find it cold at all (compared to the UK!) when it got to around September it gradually got warmer and warmer and weve just enjoyed around 6 months of fantastic warm weather. My only problem is that I didn’t cope too well with the 40 degree days which were unbearable! But ive got a great tan and couldn’t fault the weather. Its just starting to get cooler now and the 15-20degree days are affecting me more after such a lovely summer. But the weather is great, youl love it.
I hope your move goes well hun! Heres my email address if you have any more questions lindsaydan199@hotmail.com, no better way than to ask someone whos been there ! J
Hi Melaine,
We are in the same position as you. My boyfriend has accepted a job in the CBD and we are hoping to be out there about May time. Just sent our x-rays in and waiting for the go ahead. My father lives in Melbourne, a place called Sandringham, dont know if you have been there. Its a lovely suberb with gorgeous beaches. Its about 15-20 by direct train into the CBD so its far enough out but not too far if you know what I mean. You could go further out on the same coastal stretch if you wanted more land and a sense of space but it depends on what your priorties are, the house/land etc or the commute. We are hoping to find a place in or around the Brighton area which is a few suburbs closer to the city from Sandringham.
On the TV front, my dad has Foxtel and I dont think it is anywhere near as good as Sky.
The weather in Melbourne is quite up and down. We have been out three times now, once in their winter (August) and twice in January and February. In August we stayed in the Dandenongs and it was rather cold up there, snow on the mountains and thick fog but when we came down into the city I coped fine in just a t-shirt. If I remember correctly I think it was about 18 degrees in the city. Not bad for winter! When we were over in Janurary last year, it was very hot but the weather did seem to change dramatically from day to day. One day it was about 32 and then next it dropped to about 25. Sunshine was aplenty though and it hardly rained at all.
Are you going over on 457 visas? how is your application process going timescale wise. Ours seemed to progress really quickly and then these last few weeks seem to have dragged on and on. Just waiting for them to confirm that they have received the x-rays which we sent on the 5th February.
Anyway, good luck with everything.
Kathy (25) & Niall (32)
Hi to Kathy & Niall also :) hope your move goes well too , take care
We also looked into take our cats across to Melbourne, but decided to find them new homes instead. After doing some research into taking them (we contacted Casey council as we are moving to Berwick), we found out that cats in Melbourne are not allowed outside the owners premesis, and if they are found the owner will get fined and the cat could get 'destroyed'. Our cats love going outside and I couldnt bear the thought of them being locked inside all day long. All cats are different though and yours might be an indoors cat, in which case it is not much of a problem.
Hayley
