richdownunder Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Hi, I'm relatively new to PIO, but have been reading threads relating to Perth and Melbourne which are two of our favoured locations for some time and still am confused about whether Melbourne is the place for us to move too (already done a similar post for Perth), so I'd like to understand from existing residents in Melbourne what is good about living there and what's not so good. We have previously visited Melbourne and stayed in Mount Martha and looked at Mount Eliza, Ringwood, Croydon and Berwick as places to live, so have some idea about the layout of the city etc, but as we all know holidays are different from living there. We are a family in our 40s with a 6 year old, so we need to be in an area with good schools and good commute into the CBD as one of us sadly will have to work - probably me:( I would really appreciate some views on the positives and negatives about living in the Melbourne area. Also, if anyone has some thoughts on good places other than what we've seen it would be most welcome - We will have a budget of about about $550,000 to buy and rent of about $400-450 PW as we want to buy as soon as possible as don't like the thought of lining a landlords pockets for too long and too much. Thanks so much and I look forward to some interesting feedback. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Hi Rich, the biggest down side for us was the weather, it's ok at first but after a few years you start to deal the cold more. I love where we are now but Melbourne has everything you could ever want and you have a great choice of schools, hospitals etc. The areas you looked at, Mt Eliza/Martha, Berwick etc are my favourite areas in Melbourne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Personally I find nothing bad about Melbourne and we have lived here a long long time. The weather does not bother me, although this winter has been wetter as we were in drought for the last 10 so not used to so much rain. Guess it will depend where you work and how long you want to spend commuting and what transport you intend to use to get to work. There are lots of nice areas closer in such as Mentone, Parkdale, Cheltenham, Moorabbin on the Frankston line. I find its not so congested with traffic over nearer the beach, no cars coming from the sea. Easier once you know where you are going to settle. Forgot to mention Life in Victoria is a forum specific to the State and there is a lot of good information on it. There is a link at the foot of the page, join up and speak to the locals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 It rains a lot i have been told and gets cold....seems brilliant for a brit:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea4two Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Hiya, I've been both. Perth I like for a holiday but I fail to see what else other than beautiful beaches they have? And it's isolated. For that kind of rent you won't get much out east and we had to go west to get a lovely house for that price. Point cook. We have a pool on the resort and tennis courts/gym which is great. But the commute is hard. Fab city though, always something going on and close to great ocean rd beaches and mornington peninsula. But the cold weather is a downside. It's been cold now for 4 months and I'm over it! Depends what you value more I guess- weather or things to do xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westward Ho Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 It rains a lot i have been told and gets cold....seems brilliant for a brit:wink: Four seasons in one day is Melbourne weather!!!!Where i live in Victoria we had snow showers yesterday,its currently only 5.5 * C.so it does get cool here,haha. I was in Melbourne[West] on Thursday arvo,hadnt been there in 10 years,it has so changed,i didnt recognize a lot of where i was going,so developed nowadays,i assume the other side of town have all changed/developed too..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalejaneaustralia Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 We've been here for 5 and a bit weeks and Melbourne really does seem to have everything!! Things to do.....beach, city (if its your thing), the hills (Emerald is lovely), so many choices for food, if you can't shop in Melb and it's suburbs you never will! I've been surprised by the amount of traffic, but I guess you expect that in a massive city and surrounding areas. Berwick is really nice!! Great fish and chip shop (very important), Bar 81 (good food and bands), Moods (awesome cake), has most of the banks, shopping centre and probably more we haven't discovered yet. You'd be well positioned for the beach or the hills and good road links. Haven't been to Perth, but read up on here as I remember reading about folks finding it hard to secure work, but saying that there will no doubt loads of folks who have had no problems. I guess the climate over there will be totally different too. Cheers Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 You would get a nice house out round Ringwood, Croydon or Berwick for that money. Personally I think there is no comparison between Perth and Melbourne but I am very biased and have lived in Melbourne more or less continuously since 1975. Perth to me is like a frontier town-not enough infrastructure and it has that 'new' feel about it. Very pretty and all that but no soul... as I said, i am very biased! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I think this is an ideal opportunity for me to quote one of my favourite maxims - that a place that is great for a holiday is almost never great to live in. Fantastic beaches believe it or not can get very boring if there is not much else to do. The most important thing in your choice between Perth and Melbourne should be whether you can get well paid meaningful work, if you can't then everything else is irrelevant. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I think this is an ideal opportunity for me to quote one of my favourite maxims - that a place that is great for a holiday is almost never great to live in<snip>.... BB I had a great holiday in Melbourne so maybe you're right Buzzy :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Ha ha! I reckon Melbourne is a goldilocks place about living and holidaying, but if I was told I could only ever have 1 holiday in Oz I wouldn't choose Melbourne. But if I was told I could only ever live in one place I would definitely choose Melbourne. It does all come down to income though. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Ha ha! I reckon Melbourne is a goldilocks place about living and holidaying, but if I was told I could only ever have 1 holiday in Oz I wouldn't choose Melbourne. But if I was told I could only ever live in one place I would definitely choose Melbourne. It does all come down to income though. BB I think your maxim reaches it's usefulness when talking about cities though, rather than little beach towns...you can have a great beach holiday in Sydney...doesn't mean not a good place to live because of it. Perth might hold exactly the right balance of warm weather, good beaches, and enough non-beach stuff to do for many. I'm sure many in Perth rarely go near a beach and still have a great life. All depends on preferred balance, time of life etc. Melbourne could be a disaster for some families due to dislike of cold weather generally, living in a remote suburb far away from any activity due to high prices, don't like outdoor activities in the cold, traffic, less laid back city people or whatever. Not arguing against your valid opinion just discussing the maxim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 The biggest disaster of all, anywhere, will be lack of income. All other disasters are smaller than this (except health/family) BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 The weather, and people are rude!! In Melbourne that is, only holidayed in Perth and it's very pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 The weather, and people are rude!! In Melbourne that is, only holidayed in Perth and it's very pretty. I have to say that in 5 years living here I cannot recall anyone having been especially rude to me. Exactly the opposite, in fact. I am constantly amazed how polite and friendly complete strangers are to each other. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalejaneaustralia Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 The weather, and people are rude!! In Melbourne that is, only holidayed in Perth and it's very pretty. 6 weeks in and have had no rudeness at all! It's one of my highlights so far to live somewhere the people are not rude and ignorant.....sure beats home for me. As for the weather at the moment is just shocking!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 As for the weather at the moment is just shocking!!! Mate, get up to the snow and enjoy winter, then hang on in for the fantastic spring/summer/autumn period... BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalejaneaustralia Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Mate, get up to the snow and enjoy winter, then hang on in for the fantastic spring/summer/autumn period... BB Yeah haven't managed to get out there yet! We're moving into our rental next week so it's all consuming at the minute. May have to ride this rain out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Yeah haven't managed to get out there yet! We're moving into our rental next week so it's all consuming at the minute. May have to ride this rain out! One of the great things about Melbourne is that the worst weather also comes at the coldest time of year. I have lived in places where summer is the wettest season, which meant you were either cold or wet! Spring is just around the corner mate, it will only be a few weeks until we start getting sunny 20+ days. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boganbear Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 We have not long moved from Melbourne after nearly 4 years to Brisbane. Our main reason was to be nearer to the OHs family but I don't think either of us really enjoyed Melbourne. Its a nice enough place, very pretty, crime far lower than in the Uk but we found it very provincial and stuck up its own backside although a lot of this comes from the media. It certainly isnt as vibrant as London or even where we lived in the Uk - Bristol and making friends was hard but many poms say that about the Aussies anywhere. It has all of the problems of a large city but they are nowhere as bad as in the UK. Traffic can be a nightmare but but I've never experienced anything as bad as on the North Circular, M25 and anywhere in London, council services are pretty good too. One thing i did hate was everyone wearing black..and hipsters! I dont know much about Perth, even though i have quite a lot of rellies there but I know a lot of people on here say Perth is very expensive. My oH lived there for a while many years ago and said it was stunningly beautiful and the beaches are probably the best in the world but after a while is gets boring and you do start to feel the isolation from the rest of Aus. I am sure other people will agree or disagree. Since moving to Brisbane I have found people to be more laid back and as I imagined Aussies to be, a lot of things are cheaper and it is easier to get out of the city and do things. The weather is much warmer than Melbourne although I might not enjoy it in summer! We've already made quite a few friends (but it is easier with friends of rellies and their friends). Brisbane too is quite provincial and too provincial for a city of its size but it is what i expected it to be and not claiming to be a "world city" as Melbourne does. I wont deny that we have had lots of good times in Melbourne and Victoria but do I miss it? No! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I think you must walk round with shutters on your eyes! The drivers are appalling, tailgating cutting you up not indicating, no acknowledgement when you let them push in, and pedestrians walking 3-4 abreast nearly knocking you over, where I work they are rude to the staff and have no manners, these are not Australians!! But these visitors have no respect, we are abused everyday!! Just trying to do our jobs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalejaneaustralia Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Where do you work/live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I think you must walk round with shutters on your eyes! The drivers are appalling, tailgating cutting you up not indicating, no acknowledgement when you let them push in, and pedestrians walking 3-4 abreast nearly knocking you over, where I work they are rude to the staff and have no manners, these are not Australians!! But these visitors have no respect, we are abused everyday!! Just trying to do our jobs!! I think that everyone thinks their driving is the best and everyone else is pants, however if only we could see what we do. I have driven in Melbourne for a long long time and its no different to driving in the UK down south as far as I am concerned, noticed when over there in 2010 they had picked up the Aussies habits, perhaps its because so many Aussies move over there lol. I say if anyone is a nervous driver drive the quieter routes. Buy and automatic car. Give way to trucks and do not jump in front of them. Melbourne is what it is and I think its a great city, great cities depend on how deep one's pockets are. The good thing about Melbourne is with the four seasons of the year there are plenty of activities, parks etc to take the children to for free. For me I think London is the pits and we try to avoid going there when over in the UK. Just my point of view. Brisbane, is ok I don't mind it for a couple of weeks, bored after that, too humid in summer, the dry season there, supposed to be winter and wet in summer in fact my best friend lives there and its been raining most of the year according to her. Perth lovely city and I remember what Fremantle used to be like and to be honest I loved it then. I have cousins who live in Rockingham/Baldivis area and my Uncle migrated many years ago and they love it in Perth. Places are very personal to us in interpretation and as we are all different, one size does not fit all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I don't profess to be the worlds best driver and if you pm me i'll tell you where I work don't want to get into trouble broadcasting it on here suffice to say we're moving to Perth.next year and if that doesn't work out we are going to retire in Spain!!! Not going back to the UK!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 s ...Brisbane, is ok I don't mind it for a couple of weeks, bored after that, too humid in summer, the dry season there, supposed to be winter and wet in summer in fact my best friend lives there and its been raining most of the year according to her. ... Going to the Brisbane bayside is your problem...send me to sleep too As you know Petals the east coast has been the wettest it's been for a long time due to the La Nina so Brisbane had a very unusual start to the year. Going off one year is not very helpful in working out the facts about weather. It is a fact that Brisbane's winter is the dry season. It averages 4 days of rain every 30 days (Source: Bom >1mm average rain days per month) It means we get our dry season when the temperatures are a lovely 21c so very pleasant. Of course there is a lot of fair weather in summer as well. As an aside, it currently hasn't rained for 34 days straight. It has been warm for a fair while and the weather is fantastic. It makes it a joy to live here. Great for getting out and enjoying the city. Deciding between two cities is very hard. Living in the wrong place in a city can totally change it so not many people are comparing apples vs apples. Personally, I look for a balance between outdoor stuff to do with the kids and markets, city activities, cultural events etc. In this balance Melbourne is far better than Perth on the indoor stuff, access to cultural activities etc and due to weather I think Perth is far better than Melbourne for year round warm outdoor activity. I doubt either of them meet my particular preferred balance of both but we are all so different. If you have a strong preference for one type of life over the other choose that city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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