Lambethlad

Melbourne is great. Always something happening. Plenty of sporting events, arts, theatre, music etc. And you can go to the beach without fear of sharks or stingers or crocs like up north. Only negatives are the long winter (good if you like AFL or snow sports) and traffic (especially if you have to commute from the outer suburbs). Tomorrow I'm off to the city to the National Gallery of Victoria for the David Hockney exhibition then to Chinatown for dinner, then Crown Casino for drinks and a punt - so there is plenty for me to do on a hot summer's day. Good luck.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/14/autism-linked-to-vitamin-d-deficiency-during-pregnancy-researchers-find Makes sense to me. 40 years ago autism was rare in Oz. Now it's out of control. Why? One explanation could be the paranoia about sun protection, the government "slip, slop, slap" campaign would be remembered by older poms. We get Vitamin D from sunlight we need it for good health so it's crazy that in a country with so much sunshine most Australians are actually low in vitamin D. I have never used sunscreen but my daughter doesn't step outside without smothering herself in sunscreen. Five years ago she gave birth to my only grandchild. My granddaughter has autism spectrum disorder.

Brighton, Hampton, Beaumaris, Blackrock, Mentone, Parkdale, Mordialloc are all good bayside suburbs but you would probably only get a very old, not very nice house for your budget in these areas. Frankston South is nice, full of Brits and better value but is at least an hour by train to CBD. You can live much closer to the CBD if you are prepared to live in an apartment.

$28 an hour for a skilled diesel technician is pathetic. Don't do it - you can do much better than that. They are ripping you off at that rate. In Victoria you don't have to get a road worthy certificate every year (I think that's the same as MOT). In NSW if the car is more than 5 years old it requires annual RWC. Get on to https://www.realestate.com.au/rent to find rentals in your area or find share accommodation.

As far as I know Melbourne is still open for business and plenty of accommodation is available. But if you are a young person looking for "fun" you really have to stick to the vibrant, multi-cultural inner suburbs. The word "fun" can't really be applied to the sprawling, soulless outer suburbs which is the natural habitat of the average Aussie family.

The "junkies rule the country" statement is bizarre and ridiculous. The "cons" you mention are so obvious I would have thought you would have know them before you came here. If you don't like the cities get out into the country. Regional Australia is much nicer than the cities.

It's probably meaningless, everyone has their own idea of what "fun" is. Melbourne does have a lot of events and festivals that people seem to enjoy. Sydney has the Gay Mardi Gras that is very popular - that's if your idea of fun is watching hundreds of men cavorting in tight shorts with the bum cheeks cut out.

London-based magazine Time Out has rated the world's cities for their "fun" factor. Chicago came No. 1 with Melbourne 2nd. Sydney languished near the bottom of the list as one of the least "fun" cities. - and I would have to agree with that. https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/33319249/sydney-voted-least-fun-city-in-the-world-while-melbourne-ranks-second-best/#page1

My wife works in disability support for children with autism in Melbourne. There is a huge demand for experienced qualified staff at all levels.

I'm sure you will be a great loss to Australia and all the gobshites that live here.

This would be a good reason for moving back!

This illustrates the madness of Melbourne weather. One day 36 degrees sweltering with the air con going flat out. The next got below 10 degrees and needed to light the wood fire.

Bloody hell. How can you stand it. I've got a couple coming to stay but they are total pains in the bum. Can they come and stay with you?

Never met anyone from Pakistan here so I would say there are very few in Melbourne. Lots of Indians and Chinese and people of Anglo-Irish background.

I loved the album "Songs of Love and Hate". It had great songs like "Avalanche", "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag" - very dark stuff - but I didn't discover him until the early 80's and his songs were a contrasting relief from all the new romantic crap that was happening at the time. Surprisingly the album only got to number 145 on the US charts but got to number 4 in the UK. Just shows the taste and intelligence of the British is so much superior to those philistine Yanks.

The apple trees have spoken - they know. They predict a very mild summer in Melbourne. I checked my four apples trees this morning and they are covered in thousands of tiny apples. This only happens when a mild summer is on the way. It will make no difference to us. We have never had an apple to eat in 30 years. Before they ripen properly we get invaded by Cockatoos, Rainbow Lorikeets and possums which eat the lot. I did net them one year but after finding a dead Cocky tangled in the net I removed the nets.

I was just thinking that if you head down the Mornington Peninsula there is a car ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff - you can pick up the Great Ocean Road from there. It saves a 2 hours drive back around the bay through Melbourne.

That time of year I would be heading south down the coast. There are lots of lovely seaside towns all the way to Merimbula. From Merimbula I would go inland via Bombala and Delegate then down to Buchan (caves there are worth a look and a lovely camping ground with lots of friendly kangaroos) - then from Buchan down to Bruthen and pick up the Great Alpine Road to Bright/Mt Buffalo (one of my favourite spots) - then from Bright across to Echuca (old riverboat port on the Murray River) - from Echuca down to Melbourne - (Crown Casino is a good place to stay). From Melbourne you can go south east to Phillip Island or south to the Mornington Peninsula or south west to the Great Ocean Road.

What was this woman thinking? I don't mind a sick joke but this is really tasteless, insensitive, gutter humour. Needless to say it's no surprise she has been suspended. http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/dreamworld-tragedy-hobart-radio-presenter-anna-dare-suspended-station-sorry-for-off-colour-joke/ar-AAjs3oQ?li=AAavLaF&ocid=spartanntp

I have a property you might be interested in. I have kept it vacant for a long time because I had intended to sell it as a development site but property prices have been rising so fast in Frankston that I figured it was better to keep it a bit longer. It is in a position of prime convenience. There are two primary schools, one government and one private within one minutes walk, all the shops you need are just another minutes walk. So there is no need to own a car here. The train station and beach are a couple of minutes by car or a 20-25 minute walk. The house itself has 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and toilet but also has an external shower and toilet room that is usable. The house is very old but clean and comfortable and quite liveable. I would leave it up to you whether you wanted a lease or just rent on a month to month basis. Rent would be $1400 a month which is about $324 a week.

My heart goes out to the victims' families and those Dreamworld staff and emergency service people who had to deal with the horror of this incident.

My heart bleeds. Not. Serves the greedy bastards right. During the mining boom there was a lot of talk from Perth about seceding from the rest of Oz and keeping all the loot for themselves. Now they are fast going down the gutter and they need us to bail them out. Funny how no one in WA is talking independence now.

I don't know. I must be silly. How can we have spring or summer when winter never ends?