Melbourne Reccie done, this is what we found!

[MissionMelbourne]

Hi everyone!

This is just a little insight into what we found in our 9 days in Melbourne. Firstly some background info, I'm a 28yo Electrician and my OH is a 24yo supervisor in a government organisation, we are from, and currently living in a village 25mins from Maidstone in Kent.  We have both become a little disillusioned with life here in the UK hence the idea to move to Aus.

We were attracted to Australia by the better relative earnings in our professions, housing, the outdoors lifestyle, the extra time time at home with family etc etc, basically the standard reasons for Brits who want to move to Australia.

Before we set foot in Australia we had done our research and it certainly sounded like Melbourne would suit us best as we are both into the great outdoors, both love watching live sports and we don't really like the big city environment such as Paris or London amongst other reasons.

We wouldn't be looking to live near the CBD, we were looking at suburbs around an hours train ride from the CBD on the southeastern side of the city so we would be a little more in the country.

So our findings were -
1. We absolutely loved the city, it had a feel and a buzz to it that made the city feel alive
2. We loved the amount of parks and green areas which are disposable to the public
3. We loved the housing options and the costs. We found land, and a dream house to build that would be $240k inside our borrowing limit
4. The roads weren't busy compared to home, even during rush hour the traffic was always moving, sometimes not very fast but as a man who's spent many hours stationary on the m25, this was a vast improvement.
5. The place is just so tidy! Parks, streets, even the grass verges on the freeways were so clean and well presented
6. The people are so welcoming and polite
7. The sports! Wow, if you haven't been to Melbourne before, there is some kind of top level sport on every night here.
8. The outdoors areas to explore are insane, and very well kept
9. Compared to back home, the town's and villages have many more schooling options and facilities for families

Hope this helps someone down the line, I got some great help from people on here so it's good to give a little back!

[Beaty]

Well done on the reccie.

Would agree with your points and there will be a vast increase in quality of living for us, too, when we move there in October 2017. 

Looking forward to hearing updates on your Visa and Migration progress...

B

[MissionMelbourne]

8 minutes ago, Beaty said:

Well done on the reccie.

Would agree with your points and there will be a vast increase in quality of living for us, too, when we move there in October 2017. 

Looking forward to hearing updates on your Visa and Migration progress...

B

Thanks mate, seems a long way off, the Reccie is the first big milestone I guess, I'll hopefully be going on a permanent residents visa and I know they can take a while. Where abouts in Melbourne did you look at houses and suburbs?

[Parley]

Did you catch an AFL match at the MCG.

The other night I was sitting next to a guy from Dublin and he was blown away by the stadium and the atmosphere.

 

 

[MissionMelbourne]

2 hours ago, Parley said:

Did you catch an AFL match at the MCG.

The other night I was sitting next to a guy from Dublin and he was blown away by the stadium and the atmosphere.

 

 

Yes, we did is it goes and we loved it! We caught the Richmond - Collingwood game, it was brilliant!!! It was one of the highlights of the trip.

[starlight7]

Another good thing about Melbourne is you get the 4 seasons ( admittedly sometimes in one day!) Nothing better than cuddling up in front of a log fire at night but often the days are glorious and you don't have to wear a coat even in mid winter.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

8 hours ago, MissionMelbourne said:

Yes, we did is it goes and we loved it! We caught the Richmond - Collingwood game, it was brilliant!!! It was one of the highlights of the trip.

Just make sure you support Collingwood, everybody has a love/hate relationship with them lol.

 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

@MissionMelbourne what Suburbs did you look at?

[MissionMelbourne]

32 minutes ago, The Pom Queen said:

@MissionMelbourne what Suburbs did you look at?

Haha It's funny you should where our allegiances should lie as we said we'd follow the home team which was Richmond, and they won so at least we've got a team for when we move!! We looked in and around the Beaconsfield, Officer, Berwick area, that area is nicely out of the city but close enough for work, it's also close enough to the Dandenong Ranges for mpuntain biking and what not.

[Beaty]

On 26 April 2017 at 0:43 PM, MissionMelbourne said:

Thanks mate, seems a long way off, the Reccie is the first big milestone I guess, I'll hopefully be going on a permanent residents visa and I know they can take a while. Where abouts in Melbourne did you look at houses and suburbs?

We looked at Geelong (west) and Mornington (east) in the end chose the east. I'll be self-employed in an industry where work is plentiful around that area. Both lovely places. Where did you look at? We're hoping to arrive next November. 

With regards to actual houses we had a look at places like Armstrong Creek and Torquay along with areas of Mornington. All fabulous. Although the further out you go the better value. 

Speaking of Dandenong, we'll be staying close to there for short term accoms on arrival while we dip into Mornington for house-hunting.

B

[ABG]

Thanks for sharing your intel. We've secured our visa and want to move in September, although my employer may throw a spanner in the works and we may be doing a reccie/activation visit instead.


Sent from a really tiny keyboard - pardon random autocorrects and fat-finger typos

[kevsan]

Having lived in Melbourne for nearly 2 years now, i can confirm it doesnt get old, and sometimes you have to pinch yourselves that its real, other times its just the new normal and you have to be careful not to take it for granted.

Having been back to the UK for Christmas, it just reinforced that the decision was the right one and we don't regret it for a second.

We have 2 young kids so elected to be closer to the beach, originally in seaford and now in Langwarrin.

Oh and Richmond? Really. All brits should support St.Kilda, they are the plucky underdogs that we all love.

[MissionMelbourne]

8 hours ago, kevsan said:

Having lived in Melbourne for nearly 2 years now, i can confirm it doesnt get old, and sometimes you have to pinch yourselves that its real, other times its just the new normal and you have to be careful not to take it for granted.

Having been back to the UK for Christmas, it just reinforced that the decision was the right one and we don't regret it for a second.

We have 2 young kids so elected to be closer to the beach, originally in seaford and now in Langwarrin.

Oh and Richmond? Really. All brits should support St.Kilda, they are the plucky underdogs that we all love.

Haha yeah I've jumped on the Richmond band wagon, purely circumstantial! That's great to know that after 2 years you're doing well, it's one thing having a look at the place and a other trying to make it work. When there's so many positives on the table I really find it hard to think it would fail. 

[Parley]

Stick with the Tigers.

We are going to have a good year this year.