jaxcooper Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Hi All, I know that's a bit of an open ended question as there is good and bad anywhere but i would like a bit more insight into life in Victoria if anyone is willing to share! We are just about to start the whole process so it is very early days yet but basically Hubby is in IT. He is on the SOL1 but as he is not so young anymore we probably need state sponsorship for the extra points. I have searched for information on Melbourne and the rest of Victoria but all I seem to find is comments about the cold and the terrible traffic. We are in our late 30s /early 40s with 2 young children and have a quiet life here in the UK although Hubby likes working in a city or a busy town. If Hubby can only get work in Melbourne is it really that crazy to get to and from work whilst living in a quieter area? Please tell me all the wonderful things about Melbourne as well as the reality as we want our eyes open to the good and the bad! Thank you :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memmymooch Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Hi good luck with making the move I am hopefully headed to Melbourne next summer. I spent 3 weeks there on a reccie in September. I have 2 kids 7 and 11 the thing which was really great we thought it was very family friendly lots of open spaces and playgrounds and things like zoo and museums are free entry for kids - zoo on weekends and holidays only - unless a member which is def worth joining if they love the animals. The little penguins at the end of St Kilda pier were great too. We travelled around a bit looking at different areas traffic wises the only real nightmare we saw was the west gate bridge there are huge queues to get on the bridge to travel into city at peak times the rest of the traffic was busy at peak times but certainly no worse than you would find in any big town or city here and nothing like crossing London at peak time. If you are looking for somewhere quiet to live then there are areas like Berwick or even out to the hills and also further down the bay but it is easily 45 min drive possibly an hour into the CBD so guess it depends on how long a commute your husband is up for and if you have preference for beach or countryside. I do quite a commute daily here so personally am looking to reduce that we like beach and hills so prob will aim for somewhere with equal distance to both. Melbourne is great for culture and sport also. The actual city centre felt very much like London only with not such a hectic pace. We ventured out of the city a bit did the great ocean road and also into surrounding countryside about hour or so drive much slower pace and hardly any traffic that we saw although of course could just have been lucky Well that's my limited experience hope it helps and sure more experienced Melbournians will add much more detail for you regards Mem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Do you mean Victoria or Melbourne? It is not like in the UK when you can maybe talk about moving to Cheshire or Hertfordshire. In the UK I can drive through five counties in an hour, here you can drive for 9 hours and not leave the state. So for best advice, be specific, there is a massive difference between Melbourne and Victoria. If your husband is in IT, then he probably does need to be in the city and I would think Melbourne or Sydney would be the best cities to be in. I am in Sydney but have visited Melbourne for work and pleasure several times, I don't really like it much as a city myself, however many do. We have an office in Melbourne and I travel there quite often, to be honest I have never heard any particular complaints about travel to work rom my colleagues, it does not seem particularly bad when I travel into the CBD from the airport at rush hour and I have never really read any complaints about journey to work on the forums either. Mellbourne gets very hot in summer and is cooler than some of the other cities in winter. Don't think you would really describe it as being a cold place, although once you get acclimatised to Australian weather you might start to feel nippy in winter as houses are not well insulated here, but people say that everywhere, we say that in Sydney and they do in Perth as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I have lived in Melbourne for over 35 years now and we love it. I have also lived in Sydney. I much prefer Melbourne. Melbourne has four seasons of the year which we love. Spring and Autumn in Melbourne are wonderful. Winter can be cool but I have never owned an overcoat, jackets are fine. Summer we get hot spells but they do not last long and cool change comes through. Its not humid which is something I am grateful for I hate humidity. We live on the Mornington Peninsula and love it. However if I was working in the city it would be a bit far to commute for me. However many people do it. We live between the two bays so have beaches 20 minutes away, hills and countryside. In the UK there are Villages and not far away another Village town etc. Its not like that here. Melbourne covers the area of Greater London and its continuous houses, no breaks in between. I love Victoria because its easy to get around the State and its got no outback as such. If you want more information, join the Life in Victoria forum there is a link at the foot of this one. Many of the members are already living here and will be able to give you more information about what it is like to come and live here recently. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxcooper Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 Thanks for the replies, and the guidance! The reason I said Victoria is because of state sponsorship. We would be happy to live anywhere but we need to be realistic about where Hubby will find the most work and work from there. Indeed that seems to be Melbourne. He does an hours commute each way here in the UK and is happy to do that there if need be. Petals I love the sound of where you live- sound like you have the best of both worlds ;-) Rupert thank you for the insight into the traffic- it helps to hear from someone who has made the journey! I have joined the Life in Victoria forum so will have a read up there too, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 In all likelihood, he would be working close to the CBD or the metropolitan area. Melbourne has a very good train network so you can really live in any suburb and commute in on the train. I would research suburbs within about 20K of Melbourne so the commute is not too long. Your budget will determine where you can live to some extent. My advice would be to choose something within about 20km of the CBD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali B Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Hi there, some good advice above. We live in Eastern suburbs about 22km from city centre. Takes 45 mins by train ( brilliant network and they come every 8-10 mins in rush hour and about every 15 mins rest of day) Driving we can get from home to city in 20 mins on freeway. Too easy. If you have specific Qs message me privately. You might like somewhere countryish like Warrandyte in NE or Eltham, both outer suburbs but not near trains. Or nearer to trains Jells Park area: Glen Waverley, Roweville. Google it for pictures and estate agents. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack13 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Melbourne is great! Victoria is really good state Iv'e been to Geelong and the great ocean rd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Hi All, I know that's a bit of an open ended question as there is good and bad anywhere but i would like a bit more insight into life in Victoria if anyone is willing to share! We are just about to start the whole process so it is very early days yet but basically Hubby is in IT. He is on the SOL1 but as he is not so young anymore we probably need state sponsorship for the extra points. I have searched for information on Melbourne and the rest of Victoria but all I seem to find is comments about the cold and the terrible traffic. We are in our late 30s /early 40s with 2 young children and have a quiet life here in the UK although Hubby likes working in a city or a busy town. If Hubby can only get work in Melbourne is it really that crazy to get to and from work whilst living in a quieter area? Please tell me all the wonderful things about Melbourne as well as the reality as we want our eyes open to the good and the bad! Thank you :-) Hi, I work in IT in Melbourne for IBM. We live on the border of Parkdale and Mordialloc and although it is the suburbs we live an almost semi-rural life, we live in a quiet street, we know all our neighbours and always see people we know if we are out for a walk. We have great beaches within a short walk of our home and we are a short drive from bushland, wineries and about 30 mins drive from the bustle of the city, which is a very happening city indeed! Melbourne really has the best of everything. Some people say Melbourne is cold, but that word is comparative, we never get frost where we live although inland parts of the city do, we never get snow, never need jackets, and winters days are in the low-to mid teens and quite sunny. Spring and Autumn are like Southern English summer, summer is like the hottest English days, and then it gets hotter! As for the traffic, its nothing like South East England, it does move and normally you get through every traffic light if not on the first change on the second. I love it here in Melbourne, been here 5 1/2 years now, the kids are blossoming and we have more friends than we ever had in the UK. Hope that helps. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxcooper Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Hi, I work in IT in Melbourne for IBM. We live on the border of Parkdale and Mordialloc and although it is the suburbs we live an almost semi-rural life, we live in a quiet street, we know all our neighbours and always see people we know if we are out for a walk. We have great beaches within a short walk of our home and we are a short drive from bushland, wineries and about 30 mins drive from the bustle of the city, which is a very happening city indeed! Melbourne really has the best of everything. Some people say Melbourne is cold, but that word is comparative, we never get frost where we live although inland parts of the city do, we never get snow, never need jackets, and winters days are in the low-to mid teens and quite sunny. Spring and Autumn are like Southern English summer, summer is like the hottest English days, and then it gets hotter! As for the traffic, its nothing like South East England, it does move and normally you get through every traffic light if not on the first change on the second. I love it here in Melbourne, been here 5 1/2 years now, the kids are blossoming and we have more friends than we ever had in the UK. Hope that helps. BB BB Thank you so much, that definately helps. You describe the ideal for us so I am chuffed to bits! We have a long road ahead of us but I have to say, the destination is looking very inspiring indeed :-) Thanks for all the responses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 When you arrive and are in your first residence have a really good look around to see where you want to settle because Melbourne varies a huge amount from rural to urban to beach to forests up in the Dandenong Ranges- all depends where you are comfortable. Check out the Eastern suburbs, making sure you are near a train line if you plan to commute and also check out the beach suburbs ( mostly more expensive but not necessarily) If you like city living check out Fitzroy, Carlton etc or even some of the new areas round Dockland. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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