WelcomeIf you are new to Poms In Oz and migrating to Australia or currently living in Australia feel free to say hi to all the other either in or moving to Oz.
Newbie here, thinking of moving to Melbourne, we're waiting for the Expo in London in April but would like some general information on life in Melbourne, areas that we are interested are Points Crook,Weeribee, Sanctuary Lakes, obviously near the beach. Does anyone know of these areas and can you let us know about them, would appreciate it.
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Hi Silvie Welcome to pomsinoz - i dont know these areas but someone on this site is bound too, they are all a helpful & clever bunch of folk. Good luck with your application gizmo
__________________ ** Here There,Where Ever Be Happy**
Hi Silvie,
We moved to Melbourne in November 2007 and lived in Coburg for a couple of months in a small house and it was great as it was near the city and and all the great streats like Lygon street & Brunswick street but we have 2 small kids and the house did not have any garden and was on a busy road so it was not ideal.We started looking for rentals in the Point Cook area and have been living here for almost a month now.Point cook is a work in progress,there is a lot of construction going on and there is currently not a lot of major amenities.There are all the usual things such as video shops,a variety of take aways,off licences and local shops all within a five minute drive to Seabrook or Laverton,Sanctuary Lakes has a Coles and a small shopping centre with chemist,and all the above mentioned and although it is called Sanctuary Lakes shopping centre it is in Point Cook.Werribee is about a 10 minute drive away and has a bigger shopping centre with pretty much everything you need and a cinema,the Point Cook shoping centre is due to open very soon although I believe it is opening in phases between now and the end of the year so very soon you will have most things on your doorstep.there is also a huge range of warehouse type retail parks at hoppers Crossing which is about 5 minutes away.The Cbd is about 20 minutes drive in non rush hour and about 45 in rush hour if there are no delays such as accidents etc,most people here complain about the traffic but unlike back in uk it does seem to constantly move so doesn't seem so bad.My biggest gripe is that the speed limits are riduculous and there are speed cameras everywhere with no warnings I have had six points since arriving both with $220 fines so beware!!Also try to get your head round the parking laws quickly as we have had nearly $800 dollars worth of parking fines(DOH!!!)Trains from Point cook....well there are none as there is no train station but Laverton train station is a 10 minute drive and the trains are fairly frequent into the city and take about 40 -50 mins but I can't really comment personally on them as I have not done the journey by train personally I am only going by info I have obtained but again like back in uk the locals slate the service but I will let you know my own view once I start commuting.As far as I know there are plans for a train station in Point Cook but when this is to happen I don't know.Point Cook has a beach which is about 5 minutes drive away and I think its great coming from Glasgow but it isn't anything flashy or have anything on it, it is just a beach but you know you can take your kids there in the evening and walk along the beach and watch the sun set while they play and that to me is fantastic,there is also a park just next to it with chutes and climbing frames a few covered areas with barbies so again in my view its great but its really all down to what you want.Overall I think Point Cook doesn't have all the attractions and the amenities that the east side of the bay does but it will have eventually,you are really no more than 10 mins from pretty much anything you need,the biggest selling point for me about PC is it seems to be full of young families or people getting ready to start families which is great as this is what we wanted for our kids to be in an area with other young kids.Overall I think PC is great and only going to get better so is worth moving to,Melbourne is just a fantastic place and seems to have everything,it is multicultural with people from every corner of the planet,it has great variety of things to do,places to eat,variety of food,and shopping I know is a sore point for a lot of females but as a guy I think there is no real difference, the weather.....!? well it is very changeable with a few days of great weather sometimes very hot but the hot spells are usually folowed by a period called the cool change which brings a drop in temperature which can be quite extreme ie. form mid 30's down to 20 degrees,it can also be cloudy a lot in the mornings but by afternoon its glorious,it does rain although not as much as is required or as it did in Glasgow!!As for 4 seasons in one day I have yet to see it in 4 months,it can get cold in the house and we have had to put our heating on but I think that has a lot to do with the lack of insulation, no double glazing,tiled floors possibly a bit of getting acclimatised etc so it can seem cool but if you go into the sun its very warm.I hope this helps and let me know when you are due to arrive and we can maybe meet up.Good luck and safe journey.
Cheers
Ian
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Ian,Catalina,Lewis(3),Bailey(1)
Skills Assessed - Sept 2006,Visa sent 30th Nov 2006,Visa Acknowledged - 29th Jan 2007,Case Officer - 26th Feb 2007
Police checks completed - 3rd April 2007,Meds done - 11th April 2007,Meds Sent - 26th April 2007
Visa's Granted - 15th May 2007,House on market - 20th July,House Sold - 24th Aug,Flights booked leave UK 29th Oct,Arrived Melbourne 8th Nov
Hi Ian
Thanks for the information, very helpful and also good to know from someone living there. We are due to go to the Opportunities Expo here in London in April 2008, we are doing our homework, we need to be near the city of course and near good schools, looking at the catholic schools as our children are in catholic schools at the moment. We have so many questions????? We don't want to live the British life anymore, work, come home attitude, we just seem to work to pay bills. No entertainment...if there is, it's done at home with friends. Schools.....well put it this way with the national curriculum, if your child does understand the first time then it's tuff, we pay £300 a month on private tuition for our eldest daughter, there's crime....I could go on forever. I know PC is up and coming......I'm not worried about the shops.....as long as there is a good food shop, don't mind. Have you met lots of other people out there? How easy was it to get your visa's? Let me know. Cheers Ian.
:)
We are also in the early stages of thinking of emigrating to Australia with Melbourne being our choice of place to live. We will also be attending the Expo in April, but feel forums like this one can really give you excellent information so appreciate any information good and bad on living and working in Melbourne. We also have children 12 and 10 so really need to research into the education side. We have brought an excellent book which covers loads of aspects and what to expect.
We are hoping that my Husband will find a job before moving over. So he is applying daily for jobs.
Any other tips and info on Melbourne, good and bad would be very much appreciated.
Hi there. Like you we are also in the early stages and Melbourne or Adelaide would be our first choices. Its really good to hear from Brits that have made the move and what all the good and bad points are. My OH won't be pleased to hear about the speed limits and camera for instance! We have two kids, 14 and 12, so would appreciate any info on the best suburbs to live and schools in particular.
