blobby1000

Follow your heart, its not often wrong!

Where are you these days Wattsy??

The boring suburb thing is only a minor part (not mentioned by me until you pointed it out from my profile!!). Just a tweak that might help things. At heart lies a bigger problem where I/we have not really had much 'success' of making a go in Aus (reasons mentioned before) and I don't know if I want to stay here at all, let alone Melbourne. Trying the east coast is probably a minimum for me before seriously thinking of heading back to the UK.

Fair enough and I hope it works out for you

Thats whats great about the uk, no one ever asks what you earn, what car you drive, what your house cost` Aussies do seem to be more materlistic than brits.

But that's the Brits that ask all that in Oz!

but the Brits don't do it in the UK!

i think it's just about trying to find something to talk about.....and subconsciously checking you are doing OK by making sure others aren't doing better than you!!!,!

Do you know what I think , lol , I think it's no different apart from weather and do u know why u get bored because u don't know anyone ! So when the mrs or husbands at work ya wondering what to do ! I am not going to sit on a beach on my own without looking a total plebe ! Lol , I don't want go shopping on my own because where's the fun in that ! It's good when we together at weekends though but we not yet !

 

But in uk when my hubby was at work I went shopping with my mates , I met up for lunch with them , if I nipped food shopping i would bump into someone and they would say when Uve put ya shopping away nip round for a cuppa ! You had ya friends and ya family to keep ya occupied ! When my hubby got in on a Friday teatime in UK I'd be in the shower music on doing me hair and make up getting me glad rags on to go out ! We would come home my son and his girlfriend and my other two kids would be in we would have a laugh my mates who we went out with would come back after and then get a taxi home !

 

I mi think here because ya have no circle of friends that live close by u have friends but miles away most of them ya don't tend to do that ! I lived on a private estate where family lived on the same estate too ! And my sons partner her sister lived on same estate so you always saw someone ! In the suburbs it's very mundane ! You don't see a soul ! My next door but one neighbour knocked yesterday though and said she had missed me and to come round today meet her daughters new baby ! That's nice ! But she's in her 70s and adorable don't get me wrong but they hardly going be dancing round my kitchen getting ready go out on a Friday night dancing to footloose now are they haha ! I met a friend the other day and she is my age and we meet up about once a month for a coffee and somert eat and then she messages me and says she always enjoys her afternoons out with me lol and she blows my frock up !

 

But of a weekend she is out with her hubbie I'm not going play a gooseberry lol ! !

 

So I find it difficult perhaps when I settle somewhere if I ever do maybe then I might settle into normal life but to me it's not normal I'm in limbo and have been for 3 years !

 

But it to be honest I just want get me son through school and see then ! But maybe it will work maybe it won't ! My hubby's old boss got In touch yesterday in Brisbane , said we have a short term assignment for you well it's 6 weeks work ya not going give up what u e got for 6 weeks work so I'll just have to ride it !

 

But for u davelap maybe that is the case you don't know anyone and that's why I've lost ya mojo because ya not working ! And you have no one familiar around you maybe !

Yeah we met a lot of nice older people and they didn't dance round our kitchen either!

you are right...it's bloody hard trying to find that vibe! Even as a middle aged man now, I missed having mates round and going out with people I actually liked. It's really hard to find friends full stop...and particularly friends that can measure up to the 20+ year friendships we have in the UK

Hi Blobby. What you say I fully agree with.

 

However, the main point is that I WANT to change my lifestyle, I thought that's why we came here. But we have just slipped into the 9-5 grind living in a boring suburb. The suburbs we live in are boring, but convenient for work.

 

Now I can't get a job, am getting older, this daily grind holds a bleak future for me.The problem I have is that wife and son don't seem to want to change. They come home from work, wife slouches in front of TV and son goes into his room to play xbox. Even when I was working I hated that.

 

I don't want a couple of hours at the footie (don't like it anyway), a meal out once a week and the occasional weekend away, trying to find some pointless hobby. Always looking for a reward to make up for the grind. I want to wake up everyday looking forward to it.

 

As mentioned, I have many of the stereotypical hang ups about Aus that a lot of Brits do. I don't like the Aus culture (or lack of) and don't see myself becoming an Aus. I have lost some mojo / inner happiness whatever. since being here I have disengaged and withdrawn. It doesn't feel like I belong. This has probably been exacerbated by not being able to get a job and onset of old age

 

I do think Aus is a beautiful country and I still like the weather. So I am willing to have a go somewhere where we can appreciate the beauty and weather more. Its an achievable dream. Without that, I don't think I want to be here any more. It may not succeed, but not doing anything is too frightening to consider. Would the UK be any better? Don't know, but it might restore some of what I have lost within myself.

Yeah I found that

We went to Oz for a different life....but we found that we still had to work, vacuum, wash up, pay the bills, sleep, cook etc

surfing before breakfast? I don't think so....who has time for that every day when you have to start work at 7am 100km from where we lived!!

we found the lifestyle and opportunities we were after but work still got in the way

regarding watching TV/XBox etc...I agree...I don't think people change. My wife watches tele all evening, she did it in Oz and she does it here, but that doesn't mean I can't go out running, take the dogs out, sit in the garden, take my bike out, take the kids out to the park etc. I have stopped nagging her about it, I no longer care about it....people will do what makes them happy.....

im not telling you how to live your life...and it's hard to get motivated when you are feeling down...but you should lead by example...say "right, this suburb is boring.,.....i want us to live somewhere better" (and there are better suburbs in Melbourne than Greemsborough) you could move somewhere better without uprooting the family......

if if your family won't listen then you go and discover that suburb,....and then show them it.....you could win them over!

i know it's not that easy.......but you can only control what you do, and it sounds like you haven't given up on finding happiness in Australia so I reckon you need to carry on!

I i were you.....or if we were heading out pre-kids I'd be going to St Kilda

its near the CBD. It has a beach....it's a bit crappy compared to the beaches on the Great Ocean Road...but it's decent for Melbourne.

St Kilda has a lovely feel to it....yes there's a bit of crime, a few hookers, and drugs about but it's a funky place and you don't need to indulge in those things! There's lovely parks, great restaurants and it's not too far from the CBD...

People have different opinions but I don't rate Altona at all and Point Cook is as dull as it gets and you'd be better off with a paddling pool in the garden then the beach at Point Cook!

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Obviously I would like to state im not looking for utopia but I am looking for people opinions on suburbs in Melbourne, good place to bring up family etc.

 

If someone could advise on which suburbs are most & least expensive, suburbs with high crime rate. It would be greatly appreciated. I apologise for not asking correctly first time round.

No need to apologise!

You are not in Melbourne yet so you cannot possibly know what is a realistic question! These were the things we were looking for and probably the things most people hope for!

Glad my threads can still include a bit of drama even from 10,000 miles away!

my advice though, is stop squabbling ladies and get out and enjoy the sunshine! I'm sure you both have perfect marriages just like me!

Hi blobby1000, there are some interesting comments in your OP that struck me and I am wondering why no one else is highlighting this so I wonder if I am missing the point? You have listed several very positive things that you are currently experiencing in England yet you question whether it was really worth going back for after being very unhappy in Aus. Then you list several things you miss about Aus....yet these seem to be the things you disliked in the first place (for example you say one positive for England is swimming without the fear of being eaten, yet you miss 'trying not to get eaten by sharks'! Forgive me as I don't want to sound rude but this all sounds like you're moaning for the sake of moaning? You actually remind me of my husband; a very 'grass is greener' type, and it certainly is the curse of the expat and I've no doubt my husband will never completely be happy with the choices he/we make! It sounds like you have a very nice existence in England and chasing a dream of Aus when you didn't like it in the first place, it seems like you have a lot to risk, especially with children involved?!

 

I certainly do not want to be a hypocrite as I am a 'ping ponger' myself and am currently planning my 2nd return to UK, but honestly I wouldn't wish this on anyone and I would encourage you to think strongly about what you risk losing and gaining in moving again, and the justifications you have for doing so.

 

Having said that I would never discourage someone from pinging back as only you can make that decision and sometimes once you've got an idea in your head you have to follow it regardless of people pointing the obvious out to you! You may find if you don't give it another go you'll eventually grow to hate all the great things going on for you in UK!

 

For us, in hindsight I wish we had given ourselves longer to settle in the UK because one theory could suggest that we would be very happy now! On the flip side, if we had never come back to Aus we probably would have grown more and more unhappy and who knows what might have actually happened? Although I wish we'd stayed put, I do hypothesise that my husband would probably have grown to resent our children for holding him back and ultimately ending in our divorce!! The point is you can't predict the future!

 

Good luck with whichever decision you make!

im not moaning for the sake of it....I'm just demonstrating the complexity of my mind!!! Haha and Hoping that this will help others in a similar position

my pros and cons are certainly contradictory..,the whole thing is contradictory!

i never claimed to make any sense (or at least I hope I didn't!)

Hi All

A lot of sensible, well meaning and useful comments to my postings. Thanks to everybody.

 

Blobby, you got it right again. I don't want to live in a boring suburb! A couple of years ago I worked in Sydney in IT on contract (see posts in IT thread). Loved it and wanted OH to consider moving. She moved to HH to downsize from the rental we were in, which was a big house and garden. They wanted to put rent up and I suggested she downsize and move closer to work. Bu we have always lived in boring places and is one of the issues I face (as mentioned before).

 

Leading on from that, a few replies suggest I talk it through with OH. I have. Many times, but the conversation dies. She always says, yes we will move sometime. It has been ongoing for 3 years at least . I want a plan and some action. We have been forced to move rental again as landlord is selling. Going to sunny Greensborough!!! Son works in Bundoora and wife still Heidelberg. Another practical move with promises we will think again once that is complete. So another year stuck in limbo. Probably a catalyst for my posting. A suggestion I might 'resent' her success in the job in some way is totally not right (no offence taken). I wish she would climb the greasy pole, earn more money, but she is from a socialist family (South Wales steel workers) and pretends to resent earning good money! She commits a lot of time and effort and should get rewarded for it. And no - its not about the money.

 

Other comments suggest counseling. We get on, its just become too comfortable and a bit of a rut. I will always speak out if things aren't going well and have done so this time around. Like I say, always promises to do something, but nothing more. OH will not leave our son, I am pretty convinced of that. He has turned a corner, but she still worries he might 'fall' again.

 

As for volunteering, tried that. If I spoke to anybody and said I was looking for a job, the more interesting recruiters didn't want to know, especially if I had an interview lined up. They want 6 months commitment. And can you believe, I actually got a reject email applying for the salvo's doing basic shop work !! Strange but true. I started a casual job helping older people set up technology and use the internet. Paid for a police check. I got one assignment in a month. The next one a month later, they wanted me to go to Lalor with no expenses paid. I said it was a bit far and they suggested I quit!

 

As for sport, since being in Aus I have given up. Cannot stand the blatant bias towards Ozzie sport. Need to watch without sound of the commentary. The news will say 'Ricaarrdo(?) finishes 5th in Grand Prix' and won't mention anybody else. Never got into AFL. I do keep fit, jog, walk, weights bench. Got a fitbit (just for the steps) and watch my diet. Not been slimmer since my 20's, no belly and visible biceps! If anything I need to stop losing weight.

 

I'm not (really) a miserable person. I just want to look at the present / future and feel some contentment. No real ambition (which isn't a negative). I have traveled a lot of the world when younger and don't wish for that, more a yearning to settle down. Happy to do that with wife and son. Just not sure on the where, when and how. Life is what you make of it and I don't want it to be a daily, boring, grind. It doesn't need to be for us.

 

Anyway, this thread seems to be hijacked by me. I've said a lot in 'public' which is not really my nature (no, I don't bottle it up - but as mentioned no friends in Aus to moan to). I hovered over the send button and did pull the trigger. So probably no more long replies. Thanks to everybody for showing an interest, your suggestions and sharing.

Hi Davlap,

i havent read any posts past this one yet so I may be repeating what others said. But it's almost my bed time and I wanted to reply to you!

Really you are echoing a lot of what I said when I lived in GREENSBOROUGH! (See my post "Melbourne Smells" it was quite notorious and got a lot of replies and really kept me going through the tough times!!!)

Anyway I get what you are saying about Aussie sport. It really got on my tits. What you say about them mentioning the 5th placed Aussie (or even the 25th placed) but not the winner is SPOT ON! Do you remember the Olympics! The Aussies under performed so they just said (on tele and radio, papers etc...all media coverage in general) 'we don't like the Olympics! It's not real sport!" And then They started saying "the Sydney Olympics were much better than this!" Quite simply Australians are the worst losers in the world and that is annoying!

But does it really matter!?

When I was there I said YES but now I think : why couldn't I have just laughed at that! Well because really I think being able to lose is a skill that is required in a sensible society....

But anyway!

When we look back on our 2 years....we wished the first year (in GREENSBOROUGH) away and then headed to Torquay. But now, looking back, we preferred that first year. G'boro is not much cop, and you could have picked much better places, it's a boring suburb but it is safe and there are a few nice parks...I'd say it's one of the better northern suburbs, but is it worth travelling across the world for? Certainly not.....but if you go into URBAN GROOVES say hi to Manuel from us (he won't remember!) but it's a great cafe on the Main Street!

But the good thing about GREENSBOROUGH is it's so near so many nice places....But I guess you were near them, in Heidelberg.

Personally I'd have gone to Warrendyte. It's much nicer and more character, yes, more expensive, but it's worth it I reckon as it feels like you are somewhere different to the UK and the people are pretty chilled out and friendly...that's where we would go back to (but we won't!)

Anyway what was the point of my post? Oh yes...I remember...

My mum and her elderly, rather thin, always on the toilet, friend came over in 2011 when we were in GREENSBOROUGH, I spent three weeks telling them how crap it was whilst taking them to 3 weeks worth of truly amazing places, all within driving distance. I wish I'd stopped to think...actually this is quite good! But I kept saying..there is only 3 weeks worth of good stuff and then You just have to repeat things,.,..

Well...now back in the UK we repeat stuff all the time! We go on holiday to the same place, I take my dogs on the same walk, we take the kids to the same park, we cycle on the same tracks, we drink in the same pubs, we eat in the same restaurants, we get our Chinese from the same takeaway....that's life....it's what we do! Somehow we expected to have it different in Australia....but it's still just life and you can't have exitement every minute!

anywaay I get what you are saying and I hope you find peace in whatever you do.

Oh, and £3000 to bring him home!!

£4000 for a retriever 5 years ago!

i think you have a good price!

Thanks for all the comments guys...

Its really helpful to read your opinions and it keeps me sane!!

Davlap.....

im not trying to be a smart arse, but what in the name of God are you doing in Heidelberg Heights?

If you are renting, (or even bought) the first thing to do is get the hell out of there. Have you always lived there whilst in Oz?

There are a million nicer areas than that and you could move without any upheaval to your family....you'd only have to go 10 miles and you'd find a totally different experience.

Hello everybody!

We have now been back in the UK longer than we were in Australia and have returned (via a failured venture in Cornwall for 8 months) to the same house and town that we left in Gloucestershire . We have been back 31 months and were in Australia 26 months?

Its been an interesting time and generally quite unsettling for the adults! Our children have settled into a great school, our oldest has been well behind due to not starting in Australia (and attending a rubbish school in Corwnall) so effectively missing the first 2 years of education. But he is catching up and both our children are happy. Our trusty dog (now 10) is still alive and has been joined by a new puppy. I have a job that I enjoy and Mrs Blobby has a job that she doesn't (no change there)

I suppose the point of my post is to say that although we seem to be doing quite well (and are hopefully about to move house as well) we have found it difficult to get Australia out of our heads. It was a while ago, but you may recall that during the 26 months we spent in Australia, I spent most of my time on here moaning. Towards the end I saw the error of my ways, but Mrs Blobby grew to absolutely abhor Australia and all things Australian. It's fair to say I would have given Australia one more chance in terms of moving whilst we were there to try a third location...but coming home was my idea at first...and it was always going to end that way after we agreed we wanted to leave....having said that we NEVER expected to be back in the same town, the same house (and until recently, me doing the same job)....we had hit a wall in Australia and just couldn't see anything good about it......it was all to do with absolute total negative thinking (everyone on here told me that,,,but I didn't listen).

Anyway, now we are back there are some positives and negatives that I think would be interesting to mention. I genuinely find English people nicer than Aaustralians..friendlier, funnier, more intelligent....(I'm talking generally...as we all know there are plenty of ignorant, unamusing, unfriendly thick English!).... And I do prefer England as a country...the greenery, the seasons, Christmas, swimming without constant worry about being eaten or drowning, the humour, the pubs, the ale, the football (although I've gone off that)' National Hunt racing (flat racing sucks!), snooker (!!!), being able to drive my car without being tailgated, sworn at and driven off the road, not getting speeding fines every week, sensible weather (not 46 degrees!)

BUT

life just doesn't feel the same! I'm lucky...I have a lovely family...believe me I'm not saying life is dull...it is not. But our time in Australia, looking back, was so exciting! We had the whole country to go at...we didn't really know where we would be living from one year to the next...we could get in the car and go on road trips having no idea what we would find....we lived by the beach...the coffee was great...the scenery was incredible, we could spend our time looking for whales, trying not to get eaten by sharks, seeing Dolphins, watch our son dive into our own private pool in Bali and swim a width before breakfast, never knowing when it's going to rain and when it rained did it bloody rain,,,and the electrical storms....never seen anything like it. And you did get in a car wondering if you would die! It was really edge of the seat stuff at times! And we had money, and we didn't know what to expect from one day to the next (although at the time I kept saying I was bored)

it's funny but I have good family and friends and loads of stuff I like to do that I can only do in England. In a sense, when these things come around England feels special but it also gets me thinking 'was it REALLY worth coming home for this? Is Cheltenham Race Week really that important?!!!

i guess you can only make a decision based on how you feel at the time. And at the time I genuinely think we were both a bit depressed and actually quite paranoid. I look back now and really do think that.

im not saying we made the wrong choice but I miss the adventure. And funnily enough, Mrs Blobby would return to Australis tomorrow if I would agree! I wonder if that would work? (We are NOT coming back! Too risky. And too much upheaval for the kids!)

anyway just a few thoughts

In conclusion, I have to say... Life is never quite the same after you've emigrated!,,

We paid around $1000 for our large dog for a month. I don't know if you still have to do a month. It's not cheap.

Glad your back on here blobby how's England been for you.you glad you went home?. I remember you saying Cornwall didnt work out for you.all the best BP

It's been interesting! Been back longer than we were in Australia now. We do miss Australia a lot and are never quite sure if we made the right choice, some days it feels like we did, some days not. I'm sure you are never quite the same person after emigrating and seeing a different side to the world. Sometimes other people (over here, that never seem to do anything) seem so narrow minded, but unfortunately I think we were quite narrow minded in Australia and spent too long thinking about the things we missed rather than what we had in Australia! But it's a difficult thing to do, moving to the other side of the world, and I don't think it's for everyone!

I have always wondered why people head for capital cities especially Sydney and Melbourne which are so expencive. Aus is a huge place the climate and cost of living vary a lot. Does your husband have a job that would be easy to find in a different state/town ? Honesty is always the best policy, you never know maybe he is miserable as well but putting on a brave face because he thinks you are happy in the mountains. Time to sit down and be honest and tell him how you feel. Between the two of you maybe you can come up with some ideas as to how you can make things better.

I knew a couple who bought a wild red patterned carpet. The loudest bloody carpet I have ever seen. It covered half of their house.

Every day (it seemed) he would remark what a wonderful carpet it was and his wife would agree.

Then one day the carpet wore out (after about 15 years). He said to his wife, please can we replace the carpet?

She said "shall we get another bright patterned carpet?"

He said "no, I only bought that because you liked it"

"I didn't like it" she replied "I only agreed because I thought you liked it!"

Don't spend 15 years with your own silly carpet TALK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone. Not even sure how to begin this as I'm so confused right now, and so desperately unhappy. I've been in Oz since September, following my Australian husband out from the UK. It was traumatic, but the excitement and anticipation kind of eclipsed the bad stuff, and I felt pretty settled as we enjoyed our first 6 weeks or so in Sydney. Things started to go bad for me when the tenants vacated our house and we made the move to the Blue Mountains (aka the Blues Mountains!). I've always HATED being cold and damp, so the climate here in the upper mountains has been my worst nightmare, with temperatures sinking below 12 degrees and ghastly, freezing fog that is worse than any English winter - and this was in the summer! I feel horribly isolated, and as time has gone on, starting to wonder why the hell I moved here. It rains nearly every day, everything is constantly dripping water, my arthritis is giving me hell, and my dog and I were both recently covered in leeches from the quagmire that is our back yard. I have to say I'm not that impressed with Sydney either as every time I go there it's either p*ssing down with rain, or struggling with pathetic, insipid temperatures. My parents were good about me going, all things considered, but this is where the nightmare is really kicking in. My Dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor just before I left the UK, and although it is benign and has now been treated, my Dad keeps having seizures and ended up in hospital (first of a number of admissions) on Xmas day. I feel so desperately, utterly guilty for leaving my parents, and the images of our goodbyes are haunting me to the point where I feel as though I'm losing my mind.

 

I can't stop crying - I burst into tears for no apparent reason, and anything can set me off. Music, a film, even words in a book. Tears are pouring down my face right now. My doctor wants me to see a psychiatrist but I can't afford to -my financial situation is absolutely dire, and another reason for me being so depressed. I have nobody to talk to as I'm frightened of upsetting people. I don't want my husband to start hating me as I pushed so hard for this move, and if I mention any of this to my parents, I'm scared I'll give them false hope that I might come back. I just don't know what to do - I was desperate to leave the UK, but now I'm desperate to return. But I don't know if returning really would make me feel better as I've wanted out for years. I just wish to God that we'd moved to Spain or France - somewhere easily accessible to the UK.

 

I'm really hating Australia right now. Overpriced, overrated! I'm so sick of being ripped off every time I go shopping to feed us - the prices here are beyond a joke. The weather is utter cr*p - you certainly can't rely on it, and I honestly think it's WORSE than the UK! I hate the way drivers crawl all over your bumper the minute you get on the road - but the police will have you if you go 1km over the speed limit. (My husband got an $800 fine recently on a trap). I hate being so poor, but most of all I HATE being so far from my loved ones.

 

I just don't know what the hell to do. Either way, someone's going to end up being really badly hurt, whether it's my husband because I've walked out and headed home to the UK, or my family, if I decide to stay here. The price of my "dream" lifestyle is proving way too high - the dream wasn't anything like I thought it would be and has turned into a nightmare. All I can see is the pain in my parents' eyes as they waved goodbye to me and my dog. Knowing they'll probably never see my dog again - who they loved dearly. That our two dogs will never run together again. That it could even be the last time they saw me... I feel as though I'm going crazy with grief. I honestly believe I have made the biggest mistake of my life!

I've not read all the responses on here to your post but I have to say that you do not need to see a psychiatrist in my opinion. You are not mentally ill, you are sad and you are homesick. You are also making the mistake most nice people make, you are trying to please everybody! This is a very stressful way to live and also impossible, so no wonder it makes us unwell!

Having said that I am sure if you can find a professional to talk to then that would be very useful, but please don't think of yourself as "mad" because you are, in fact, speaking very logically.

Having returned to the UK from our Aussie Dream a couple of years ago, I wish we had been more selfish. I wish we had spent more time thinking of ourselves rather than feeling guilty to those we had left behind. But these thoughts make us who we are, and I often felt that the Brits that we met in Australia were generally selfish and quite unpleasant people...I found myself wondering if those are the characteristics you need to get by! I don't now believe that at all, I just think in order to get by and thrive in a new country you have to be determined and single minded. I do believe that by the end of our 26 months in Australia I (DEFINITELY) and Mrs Blobby (MORE THAN USUAL) had become somewhat insane.

I do agree with you about the car drivers and the fines.!!!!!! I moaned about this constantly and nobody could see what I was getting at, I mention it in England and people say "you cant have left Oz due to the drivers, surely!!" but I found it encapsulated Australian life perfectly! (now I sometimes wished I'd just laughed it off!)

So what's my advice?

TALK TO PEOPLE!!!!!

Talk to your husband first. He's not much of a husband if he doesn't care what you are feeling. I'm sure he will listen. I'm sure that will help. We are not mind readers. We men need to know why you are upset so tell him!!!!

Talk to your parents. It's not false hope. They love you. Talk to them!

And then make a choice/ Maybe give it a certain amount of time....or don't!

But believe me, the UK ain't perfect, and you obviously left for a reason, try to remember what that was because the reasons you left will all be waiting for you if you return!!! That's not to scare you, just to get you to think carefully.

Best of luck and if I'm any help you can always PM me. I've been there!!

Warrandyte? You get the river which you can swim in, you get the bush and not too far from anywhere. Have a look at it, you would probably like it.

Yes Warrendyte is about as perfect as it gets

However, nowhere near the beach and would take hours to commute across the city

If we returned/could turn back the click , we would live in Warrendyte

I've read a lot of threads regarding suburbs and we thought we'd got our shortlist together (Mordialloc, Parkdale, Aspendale etc) but there is currently a new series of Location Location Location Australia showing on UK tv which is showing Melbourne a lot, and whilst the suburbs shown are closer into the centre, it reminds us of London

 

So we revisited our requirements;

 

 

1. Near the beach

2. Near open countryside with bike / running trails

3. Community where we can meet people, children (9 & 5) can go to schools

4. No views of CBD / city

5. Away from freeways & train lines

6. Ability to commute to northern / eastern suburbs for work

 

 

As I'm an accountant and will be looking for jobs in industry, rather than accountancy firms etc, the chances are I won't be in the CBD & would certainly like the flexibility of being able to access the CBD if needed or drive to work in the outer suburbs.

 

Requirements 3-5 are non negotiable. We currently live on the edge of the New Forest in the UK and are about 20-30 minutes from the beach. We'd like to be closer to the beach, but also don't want to lose the access to bike / run trails.

 

Do any suburbs meet all requirements above ?

 

We've started to look at places such as Templestowe & Manningham which seem to meet all bar number 1 above. But how easy is it to get to the beaches?

 

We'd be looking to rent at first but then buy in the same location with a budget of $750k - $850k for a 4 bed house.

 

Thanks for the help (& reading a long post )

There is no suburb in Melbourne that meets all 6 of these criteria

i doubt there is anywhere in the world that meets these 6 requirements?

if I have one bit of advice (coming from a failed pom in oz/returnee ) it is that you must learn to compromise !

By the way if you do find somewhere that meets these requirements, please let me know, because we will be coming back!

This is our info for this year.

 

Any questions, please ask and i'll try to answer them as best i can.

 

Hope it helps.

 

Dan

Bloody hell, I wish my wife was as organised with money as you are.

We were far far better off financially in Australia as nurses than in the UK. In fact it is the only time we have not had to worry about money. Admittedly we rented over there (a huge house) but may have been a lot more stretched had we bought somewhere as prices were high and interest rates enormous plus loads of hidden fees...

However, I would not worry about money if you are a nurse as compared to UK it is much better financially (we did leave in 2012 after 3 years so things may have changed)

There were loads of tax breaks too.....too many to mention but amazing incentives to work

Over here in the UK we don't even get our 1% pay rise (in Australia I.....and every other nurse.... was given a one off tax free lump sum of $1000 just for continued professional development!!!!!!)

Purely on financial terms.....GO FOR IT!!!!!!

Head for the city on Australia Day, loads going on

Ellwood is a nice place to start

We won't be joining you as we are 10,000 miles away but best of luck with it all!!

Hi!

i think you should go back as I don't think your heart really seems to be in it, if you are spending all your money travelling back to the UK then you never really gave yourself a chance. It's not a criticism. Living On the other side of the world is bloody hard .

We lived in Oz for 2 years . We complained a lot when we were there and looking back we never stood a chance as we were permanently concentrating on negatives. With hindsight, on many levels , having been back 2 years we regret it. But you know what they say: the problem with hindsight is that's it's never there when you need it.