swampey Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 So having migrated to Sydney in early 2015, my family and I (Wife and 3 kids) found the cost of living in Sydney and the sheer humidity too much and we returned to the UK in January 2017. The company I work for are UK based with an Australian office, so they were really accomodating, paid for all of us and our belongings to go both ways and we moved back into our own house that was being rented out. The cost of living menat we spent all of our savings, but we had a lot of fun and don't regret it. However, that was 18 months ago; with everything that is going on with Brexit and a bit of career stagnation, we are probing a return to Australia. Melbourne (or the wider Melbourne area, particularly the West) have come up as an option as being a bit cooler, a bit less humid and a bit less expensive. What do you think, is this the case? would you recommend it for our personal circumstances? Note I have a 189 Permanent Residents Visa that is valid until November 2019 (after which time I have to apply for a returning residents visa - no big deal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I lived in Sydney for nearly 30 years. I still can't decide whether I changed or the climate changed - my nephew is telling me he can't stand the humidity now either - but I moved to Melbourne for the same reasons. Cooler weather and cheaper housing. It is certainly cooler in Melbourne, and though everyone is complaining about the freezing weather at the moment, it's still better than most of the UK in my opinion. The only thing that's trying is that it is, if anything, even more unpredictable than British weather. Property prices are about two-thirds the cost of Sydney. The snag is that since you left, property prices have sky-rocketed. So while it's two-thirds the cost of today's Sydney prices, Melbourne is probably similar to the prices you were facing when you were in Sydney last. I'm not sure about Western Melbourne, unless you're thinking of going all the way to Geelong. The inner West suburbs used to be really rough but are becoming trendy, but that means they're getting pricier too. If you think Newtown or Redfern in Sydney, you wouldn't be far off. But go too far out and you're in bogan country. Check out homely.com.au to get information on the various suburbs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampey Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 Thank you for that...I have images of Kath and Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Noo- not the West. Go East young man...much nicer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampey Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Is it affordable with a family of three kids 8 -12? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Look around Croydon, Ringwood, Mooroolbark or Ferntree Gully, Boronia, The Basin etc. Park Orchards, Donvale ( a bit more expensive those 2) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobths Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 How far out west are you talking? Inner west is fine but house-wise is expensive (not compared to the east though!) but I think outer east is nicer than outer west. We live inner west (2 pre-school kids) and we love it. Hubby works but I’m at home looking after the aforementioned pre-school kids and we get by ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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