Thinking of moving from Perth WA to Melbourne

[p0msd0wnunder]

G’day guys!

 

I’m new to this Victoria forum, so thought I’d drop by and say hi.

 

My wife and I (both aged in our early 30s) migrated to Australia from the UK at the end of 2010, and after buying a campervan in Sydney and travelling through Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide, we decided to settle in Perth mid-2011 – initially because we had spent all of our money (a 6-month holiday will do that to you, oops!) and needed to find work, but then because we really liked Perth (great weather, beaches and employment opportunities) and decided to build a house here – out in the Swan Valley.

 

Anyway, we are now exploring alternative options – mainly because the economy in Perth is becoming a little unsettled as the iron ore and oil prices have been falling so dramatically. Sydney and Melbourne are on our radar, but we are leaning more towards Melbourne at this stage as we continually hear so many great things about the city, and we enjoyed the month or two that we spent there in 2011. And life is short, right, so we are keen to try something new – the only thing really keeping us in Perth is our jobs, which may not be all that secure anyway! We are a little concerned about the climate in Melbourne, given that we have grown to love the 11 months of sunshine here in Perth, but coming from the UK we are quite used to cold grey skies and rain! And I hear that the beaches in Melbourne are not quite as beautiful as what we have here, but we rarely go to the beach anyway!

 

I have always worked in internal recruitment roles for large companies, and my wife is a business analyst/ project manager. I am a real foodie (sorry to quote such a cliché) and have dabbled in hospitality, and I spent some time working as a cook a year or so ago. In a perfect world I would be keen to return to that kind of work – maybe in a small café, and maybe training to be a barista. I LOVE food and coffee, which is another tick in the box for Melbourne, and whilst Perth has improved so much in these areas since we moved here, it can still be a real struggle to find what I am looking for sometimes. However, if we find that there is more demand for recruiters in Melbourne, or if I find that I need to continue working in recruitment so that we can afford to live there, so be it – I’m pretty flexible. I expect that we would wait to move until at least one of us had secured a job, and we are now starting to explore the current job market. I have heard through the grapevine that things may also be a little slow over there at the moment, so would appreciate any thoughts or comments on this.

 

We plan on keeping our property in Perth, and renting it out whilst we are gone, as we are not sure whether this move will be a short or long term thing at this stage and would like to keep our options open. In terms of where to live in Melbourne, we really have no idea! I have had a quick look online at some suburb profiles (just discovered the homely website, which looks very helpful!) and rental properties (fully furnished would probably be our preference at this stage), and like the sound of Fitzroy, Carlton, Collingwood, Northcote, Thornbury and Brunswick. We are planning a bit of a recce trip in the next couple of months to take a closer look in person, so please let us know if there is anywhere else that you would recommend. We anticipate living in a small apartment near to the CBD, but are open to all options – things that we would be looking for would include: being close to where we work, and having access to public transport, decent internet, restaurants, cafes and bars. Moving from Perth CBD to the Swan Valley has caused us a few frustrations in terms of there being limited public transport and having a limited choice on places to eat, etc, but I anticipate that these problems may not exist in the suburbs of Melbourne, which would make living further from the city so much more “convenient”… Similarly, I guess that employment opportunities won’t be as restricted to the CBD as they are in Perth. Our commute is currently about a 40 min drive each way, so we would prefer not to have to travel further than that. We do like spending time outdoors – on bikes, kayaks, or going for a picnic or a walk, so these would also be other factors to consider. Living in the hills or countryside is also great in theory, but we have found that we also need to be practical too, which may rule this out.

 

Just putting it out there – a bit of a long shot I suspect, but does anybody know if some kind of document (maybe a map) exists that highlights travel times to the CBD and prices for rental properties for the different suburbs? Presumably prices will decrease (and size of property will increase) the further you are from the CBD, but it would be good to get a clear overview of this. If not, I will continue using Google Maps and the real estate websites to try and figure it out!

 

In terms of time frames, we are probably looking at early 2016, but wouldn’t rule out doing something sooner if all of the planets align in the meantime – in terms of finding jobs and somewhere to live, etc.

 

Wow, I really have rambled on, sorry! I only planned on saying hi, but ended up dumping everything that has been buzzing around inside my head, haha

 

I’m sure that we will both have loads more questions as time progresses, so I look forward to hearing from you and speaking again soon. And, please, if you think we're bloody mad for considering Melbourne, do tell us why.

 

Thanks for listening

[emu]

Ok I'll try to reply to some of your questions.

ptv website is good for public transport distances etc

all the suburbs u mentioned will have that cafe foodie culture going on. If you check out on Instagram the #melbournefoodie tag u will see u not alone!

I understand your dream of wanting to work in a cafe, but unless is your own cafe I wouldn't do it. U will get paid 800-900 a week working very long hours and u won't have time or money to have the lifestyle u want. U both have careers and jobs that pay well, better stick to that. Reason I said that, I also followed my heart and worked in coffee briefly and it didn't work out. For many reasons but the low salary was one of many problems.

There are many companies making people redundant in Melbourne, some are on the news other u hear via friends. So unfortunately lately that seems to be a problem and is making people cautious.

[buzzy--bee]

We are a little concerned about the climate in Melbourne, given that we have grown to love the 11 months of sunshine here in Perth, but coming from the UK we are quite used to cold grey skies and rain!

 

Well you will be pleasantly surprised, we don't get cold grey skies and rain as often as people think. Definitely cooler than Perth though. Very dry heat here in summer, no humidity which is nice. It's warm/sunny enough for us to have our boat on the water 7 months of the year.

 

And I hear that the beaches in Melbourne are not quite as beautiful as what we have here, but we rarely go to the beach anyway!

 

I'm not familiar with Perth beaches, google images for "Parkdale beach", "Aspendale beach" and "Mentone beach" to have a look as some of the ones I can walk to from my house. Very safe beaches here, no rips, no dangerous currents and no sharks!

 

my wife is a business analyst/ project manager.

 

She needs to develop 2 CVs then as certainly here I haven't heard of anyone combining the two roles.

 

 

rental properties (fully furnished would probably be our preference at this stage),

 

Short term rentals come fully furnished, longer term are normally completely unfurnished.

 

We do like spending time outdoors – on bikes, kayaks, or going for a picnic or a walk, so these would also be other factors to consider.

 

Melbourne is a very outdoorsy city 12 months a year.

 

 

some kind of document (maybe a map) exists that highlights travel times to the CBD and prices for rental properties for the different suburbs?

 

http://www.ptv.vic.gov.au for transport

realestate.com.au for rentals

 

 

And, please, if you think we're bloody mad for considering Melbourne, do tell us why.

 

I think people are mad for not considering Melbourne!

 

BB

[T-bone]

V line app for your phone is a good train timetable app. That should give an indication to train journeys and times.

 

I absolutely love Perth to pieces but I personally have always found the work is better and higher paid in Melbourne, but then I don't work in the Resource industry and I'm not a Tradie.

 

Melbourne definitely doesn't have beaches as good as Perth, but they are lovely in their own right. The mountains are breathtaking too!

 

As you say - Life is short and it's great to experience all of it if you can!!

[emu]

Melbourne is on the coast but doesn't feel like a coastal city. People don't go to the beach as they do in Adelaide or Sydney. Can't compare to Perth because I never been. There are some nice beaches like Brighton and Elwood etc but the stunning coastline is quite a few hours drive.

Melbourne suits more someone after a city living type of lifestyle. Lots of culture, galleries, markets, all sort of events, cafes etc. There is definitely a café culture.

[buzzy--bee]

Melbourne is on the coast but doesn't feel like a coastal city. People don't go to the beach as they do in Adelaide or Sydney.

 

Don't know about Adelaide or Sydney but our local beach in Melbourne's suburbs has people doing different activities all year round.

 

BB

[betterskierthanthewife]

Melbourne is on the coast but doesn't feel like a coastal city. People don't go to the beach as they do in Adelaide or Sydney. Can't compare to Perth because I never been. There are some nice beaches like Brighton and Elwood etc but the stunning coastline is quite a few hours drive.

Melbourne suits more someone after a city living type of lifestyle. Lots of culture, galleries, markets, all sort of events, cafes etc. There is definitely a café culture.

 

The Ocean beaches on the Mornington are just under an hour's drive from the SE suburbs.

[Paul1Perth]

Don't know about Adelaide or Sydney but our local beach in Melbourne's suburbs has people doing different activities all year round.

 

BB

 

When we were over it was a nice weekend and the St Kilda beaches were more packed than any we've seen in Perth. Might be more to do with more people and less choice of beaches mind you. It's not what you would class as a nice beach.

[Paul1Perth]

The Ocean beaches on the Mornington are just under an hour's drive from the SE suburbs.

 

That's about 40 minutes too far.

[Allgood]

Wont answer all the questions but I'll answer some from my point of view.

 

Weather - You will get used to the weather very quickly in Melbourne. It's not half as bad as people think. Also bear in mind it doesn't rain all that much (Perth gets more rain than Melbourne), it drizzles. Which means you can still go out and do stuff, and the funny thing about Melbourne is people actually do. One little sprinkle in Perth and the whole city comes to a complete close. Melburnians have learnt to live with a little strange weather and you will find heaps to do in all seasons.

 

Renting - Try the south east suburbs (Glen Iris, Malvern areas) or yes you can head to the North as you have stated. You really can't go wrong as long as you stay away from the West (only until you know Melbourne better). Also you will be pleasantly surprised for what you get for your dollar in Melbourne versus Perth.

 

Beaches - Perth wins on beaches (as in the actual beach) close to the city. However does Perth have the infrastructure on the beaches like Melbourne does? No, because local city councils never allow it. So if you just want to take a stroll down the beach, grab some CHEAP fish and chips and watch the water Melbourne is your place.

 

Outdoors - HANDS DOWN Victoria destroys WA for outdoor living, and the best part is it's all seasons in Victoria. Kayak on the Bay, the Yarra, take a drive up to Albury (3.5 hours away) and Kayak on the Murray or Lake Hume, the best part is in you'll be in NSW (OMG another state!). Cycling, Melbourne takes the cake for bike paths. Also the cycling culture is very very strong in Melbourne, many major roads have designated cycle paths and cars don't drive like morons around bikes like they do in Perth. Walking in Melbourne is the best, especially hiking. Melbourne actually has things to climb UP if you are interested, and you don't have to drive 7 hours to Bluff knoll to see some actual height, also Melbourne is green, not brown.

 

More on outdoors - Melbourne has a ski season, even if you are not into skiing, strap on a pair of snow shoes and walk around Lake Mountain, it is stunning.

Like visiting those small country towns or cities without feeling like you are about to abducted and murdered by the locals? Victoria is your place, Daylesford, Bendigo, Sale, Torquay, Lorne, the list goes on and on, and they all actually enjoy and welcome the tourists.

 

Travel times to work - Okay good and bad points here. Bad points, yes Melbourne traffic can be pretty bad, but you seem to be looking at areas close to the city and the tram system in Melbourne is awesome. I used to live in an inner city suburb and trust me you will opt for the tram over a car. Which brings me to my next point, As spread out as Melbourne is, it's not as bad as Perth and we have more than just one road into the city so at least you won't be stuck out on the freeway/highway 50 kms from the city.

 

Other good things about Melbourne - Proximity the other cities, you can leave Melbourne airport at 9:00am, and be in Sydney central station by 11:00am, and it's bloody cheap.

 

Also don't buy into this crap about cheap flights to Asia from Perth. Other than the few SE asian countries, the increase of traffic from the Eastern states brings prices to the same if not lower than Perth. There is more to Asia than Bali and Phi Phi island.

 

Development, at present Perth is seeing decent amount of development in the city, but wait until you hit the East. Melbourne just put in a 6 story mall in the city without a bat of an eye lid (I heard about it maybe 2 years ago), I am still waiting for Elizabeth Quay to be built since hearing about the latest approved plan 7 YEARS AGO! I'm pretty sure that almost the entire district of Docklands has gone up in that time.

 

Things to do - Shows, sport, festivals, art, music whatever you want, Melbourne has it.

 

Coffee - Yes the coffee is better in Melbourne (just joking………………… but seriously yeah it is).

 

 

Anyway I may seem biased and yes I do love Perth but I'm sorry Melbourne is so much better. Keep your house in Perth, try out Melbourne for some time and see for yourself.

 

BTW I will hopefully be beating you there as I plan to move back (well somewhere in the east) before the end of the year. So keep this thread updated as I would be interested to read up on how you go.

 

Experience - Lived in Perth for 20 years, Lived in Melbourne for 6 years.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Allgood

[Allgood]

They were probably mostly tourists, you know how to spot a touri…………. oh wait I forgot lol.