kevsan

Well, its hardly the worst in the world. Have you tried watching netflix in burkina faso recently? I think the latest Akamai state of the internet report puts Aus about 8th in APAC, but considering its up against South Korea and Japan thats not bad going. Its about 50th Globally, which isnt something to be proud of, its a lot better than other places

Agree with both sides of the above and having lived in Melbourne for over 2 years, we wouldn't change a thing. And we definitely enjoy the weather more. We certainly have more time outside and at the beach. Its still early spring but have been to the beach a few times, and even swum in the the sea last weekend when it got to 35degrees! For balance, its 18 and raining today! Only you can make the call about if it will work money wise. The best advice i had was to do a spreadsheet and work out as a % what you spend now vs what you plan to spend, you can then see if you are 'better' financially. I'll try and dig out the spreadsheet if you are interested. Again, money is only half of it and we are not richer in a money sense than when we were in the UK, but our money goes to different things now - the kids are in private school, we have a brand new car, we have paddleboards and kayaks for play time etc. BUT, having no money to spend will leave you miserable. The other thing to bear in mind is if you are reliant on your salary in total, or will your wife work? that can make significant differences.

We pretty much always fly Singapore Airlines, there are never really any bargains to be had. Worth checking out here and asking the question: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/forums/singapore-airlines-krisflyer.87/ midweek is usually 'cheaper' but that includes both departing and arriving midweek, so leaving on a tuesday is 'better' assuming you are going straight through.

westpac are part of the Global ATM Alliance that Barclays are with, you could try there, but it would be worth calling barclays first

I had a job to go to. I managed to secure an internal transfer with my company that allowed me to relocate without missing a payslip. That came with its own challenges, as i 'left' my Uk job on the tuesday, we flew wednesday, arrived thursday and was in the Aus office on friday. I am well aware that i am in the minority of those making the move, but could this be an option? Also there is nothing stopping you applying. I would avoid agencies who will ignore you until you are in country, but depending on your field, can you approach HR of potential companies. Another method i used was stalking people in my field on linkedin and approached them directly ( i used this in case my transfer fell through) some were more helpful than others, but for the sake of a few hours work, you never know what opportunities may come out of it.

Diamond Bay

hmm, fairly timely as we had a visit from a red bellied black in our garden in Langwarrin yesterday. More concerned about the dog investigating than anything else, but he was long gone by the time the snake man arrived.

is a car mentioned anywhere else in the contract. When in the UK, some contracts i had were explicit that i needed to have a car, and some insisted that it was less than 4 years old. You might be ok, but that would be extra costs you might need to add in as well.

also the big one in cost of living is the proportion of anything you spend as part of your salary. a quick google suggests that average salary for manchester is £26k whereas average salary for melbourne is $80k (which converts to £47k) so does that also need to be taken into account???

either way, a lot bigger than manchester at 44 square miles!

i take these figures with a pinch of salt. be interested in some context and background figures, or a % of average wage etc. Eg - monthly ticket for public transport, i'd argue that melbourne is the same physical size as greater london. A 30 day PTV pass is $147 whereas a zone 1-9 tfl ticket is over £300...

it was about 20k when we looked into it for an average 3 bed.

You'll also have to check out when your annual hard rubbish collection is. you will be amazed what people will throw away.

you're probably looking at St Kilda or Sandridge beach for the closet to the CIty. About 30 minutes drive from brunswick as its on the opposite side of the cbd. If you want the beach, you're better looking at suburbs down the bay, east or west and then work out what other amenities/travel times/costs are involved. Check out realestate.com.au for prices of buying/renting properties. in terms of brunswick affordability are you looking at costs of housing, or everything else? if you want a family home, you'll have to go over $1m i expect.

As mentioned, you're kinda going about this the wrong way. Work out where you want to live first and then work out the other elements from there. Melbourne is similar in physical size to Greater London to give you an idea. Melbourne Uni is rated as a law school in the top 10 in the world, but the main campus is at parkville so thats not really beach territory, but nearby brunswick has a good set of bars / restaurants etc. RMIT campus is mainly in the CBD, but if you want Law, then aim for Melbourne Uni. Its pretty easy to commute by train as long as you live close to a rail line. - The law school is a quick walk up elizabeth st from Melbourne central station which is on the city loop, so you can live pretty much anywhere and get in easily.

if you are happy with second hand, dont dismiss the likes of cash converters, especially for tools etc. Replaced a lot of the stuff i left behind. Bought a circular saw from there for $30 2 years ago, and still goes strong, drills and even some hand tools The electronics side less so (although just bought my son a drum kit for $70!), but there are still bargains to be had.

factor in a couple of weeks generally We arrived 27th August. Viewed and applied on 29th August, approved on 31st August, paid deposit 03 Sept, picked up the keys on the 5th Sept. The previous tenant had already moved out so that was in our favour. 2-3 weeks should be more than sufficient.

You can also use this to better see the stations and rail lines to give you a view/ http://www.openrailwaymap.org/

I used a radius tool when we are looking - something like this will give you an idea of suburbs - this should give you 10k from the centre of preston http://obeattie.github.io/gmaps-radius/?lat=-37.731111&lng=145.021012&z=12&u=km&r=10 then just plug those suburbs into realestate.com.au and you're good to go.

Have never seen a single cockroach in the two years living here....

Ah ok - Preston isnt really the CBD. If it is preston, then north would be better. Look at the suburbs along the South Morang line and see if you can hit the sweet spot between price and travel time

Does it have to be North Melb? South East can meet your requirements easily. Cranbourne will hit your budget, but the infrastructure is still being built out. Carrum Downs and Langwarrin (where we are) will also come into your budget as well. Langwarrin is 10minutes to the station driving and then the express train is 50mins to the CBD (so with the faffing about, just about in your timeframe)

I should coco! I take home about 7.5k a month and have a wife, 2 kids, a dog and a mortgage!

we've had some friends come over from the UK recently and in their words, it was basic but fine. They only stayed a week, so long term it might be a bit more of an issue. It depends on your budget, but we stayed in a Stayz.com.au holiday let for 3 weeks while we got our proper rental finalised, obviously if your on a budget, it might be a viable option for you.

no, you can check as many bags as you want, as long as the combined weight doesnt exceed the 30kg.