Movie to area outside of Melbourne… from Canada

[Onward]

Hi everyone,

I’ll soon be moving from western Canada to Australia.

What’s crazy is that Covid 19 is preventing me from visiting Australia first. I’ve never been.

Honestly, the spiders freak me out a bit. We have the odd daddy long legs or wolf spiders, but that’s it here.

Covid and a winter climate is a brutal mix. The allure of endless beaches and *warm* weather is drawing me to Australia.

Keep in mind, while Melbourne is cold by Australian standards, it’s warmer than Vancouver, Canada.

Questions.

1. How’s the Internet, Wi-Fi, and cable TV compared to Canada?

2. How soon do I need to make friends with a rugged Aussie dude neighbor in case of a spider the size of my hand appears in my house?

3. anything else I should know before moving myself and family?

 

 

[Quoll]

You don't know cold until you've been to Ballarat!!!  Partly because the houses aren't cold friendly but the wind comes straight up from the South Pole and goes right through you!  In the summer though, it's not very pleasant when it is high 30s low 40s (all jokes aside, its not a bad place for an Aussie country town and it has been known to have snow on Christmas Day but then on New Years day it will be 40C)

OK - when you say "outside Melbourne" just how far outside Melbourne do you mean?  You could be out in the wilds of Woop Woop in which case your internet speeds could rival that of a slow tortoise.  Cable tv -hmm Aussie tv is not good at the best of times. Victoria is quite a decent size so what may be true at one end of the state may not be so at the other end - and Victoria is, of course, one of the smaller states. 

I assume you mean one of the further suburbs of Melbourne or maybe one of the closer country towns (like Ballarat - you aren't going to Ballarat are you?) then everything will be reasonably civilised.  Broadband speeds aren't too bad though maybe not quite as fast as Canada, I don't know, never been to Canada but not as fast as I was used to in UK.  Never had cable tv, don't actually own a tv but you can get programs on your computer through all sorts of free sites and if you feel like paying you can get Netflix, Prime etc.

Aussie dude neighbour - yeah right, half of them will squeal and stand on a chair if they see a spider, especially the ones that live in the suburbs.  Out in the bush, not so much, anyone will squash it for you - the Sheilas are just as handy with a rolled up newspaper as the blokes.  Just don't leave your shoes outside and if you are the gardening type, jump up and down on your gardening gloves before you put them on (red backs like things like that) and don't put your hands into any dusty dark spaces. If you're living in the bush you will probably get them in your wood pile and you will need to watch out for the snakes as well.  If you're in the suburbs, chances are you will never see a red back or a snake in your entire time in Australia.  Edited to say the spiders aren't the size of your hand - not in Victoria anyway - and it is the little ones that kill ya! (just keep an eye out for the red back or the white tails).  

Ah, I see you aspire to endless beaches - not Ballarat then, its a good 100km from the sea.  Actually, Victoria isnt really the best place for beaches although there are some lovely ones the weather isn't always beach weather and really there aren't that many towns on the sea except the odd tourist places like Lakes Entrance in which case you want to watch out for floods from the Snowy.  Remember that the closest place to the south coast of Australia is the Antarctic and the water and the winds from there can be a tad on the chilly side.

What else should you watch out for - check out the neighbourhood before you move in anywhere and don't believe the real estate advertisements and pictures of rental appartments, there's a lot of poetic licence in them (always visit in person).  Check out the mobile coverage maps, mobile phones don't always work everywhere.  Check out the flood maps and the bushfire risk maps.  Talk to the locals, they don't bite. Don't stress, it'll either work out or it won't.

Good luck, it's going to be quite different from the West Coast of Canada!

Edited January 24, 2022 by Quoll

[Toots]

Why are you moving to outside of Melbourne?  Have you got a job lined up there?  We visited Warrnambool a large town on the Victorian coast and really liked it but it's probably too far away from Melbourne  ..................  about 3.5 hours drive away. 

Good luck with the move.  

[Bulya]

The most important thing to do is pick a footie team.  Everything else in Victoria is of secondary importance..

[VERYSTORMY]

What visa have you got?

[Quoll]

21 minutes ago, Bulya said:

The most important thing to do is pick a footie team.  Everything else in Victoria is of secondary importance..

Should be specific - that's Aussie Rules of course!

[Bulya]

4 hours ago, Quoll said:

Should be specific - that's Aussie Rules of course!

Apologies, I thought that was a given 

[Cup Final 1973]

We lived nearly 15 years in country Victoria and I never saw a red back or a snake - although my daughter did say I’m as blind as a bat!  Our neighbour for the last 3 years was Canadian and we enjoyed celebrating July 1st with her.  She didn’t find the weather as cold as in Winnipeg but said that in Canada the houses are built with triple glazing and really good insulation whereas her Australian home had window and door frames which didn’t fit snugly.  Great when it was 42 degrees, not so good at minus 2!

[Bulya]

2 hours ago, Cup Final 1973 said:

We lived nearly 15 years in country Victoria and I never saw a red back or a snake - although my daughter did say I’m as blind as a bat!  Our neighbour for the last 3 years was Canadian and we enjoyed celebrating July 1st with her.  She didn’t find the weather as cold as in Winnipeg but said that in Canada the houses are built with triple glazing and really good insulation whereas her Australian home had window and door frames which didn’t fit snugly.  Great when it was 42 degrees, not so good at minus 2!

Rolls of seal from Bunnings fixes that so easily

[Onward]

Wow. Great responses.

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

The area is Geelong. Where I’m from, well, we just had a run of -30 Celsius.

Winnipeg is “Winterpeg.” One of the coldest cities in Canada.

What you think is cold, you have no idea  -2 Celsius is skiing in a t-shirt weather for Canadians.

It’s an employer sponsored visa. Still in progress.

I’m a big guy, but when I come across a spider the size of my hand, I’ll also be standing on a bar stool.  

 

 

[BeachBabe2022]

I have friends in Torquay VIC (nice beach), and they drive to and from Melbourne each day for work. Bit of a long trek, but they don't seem to mind. 

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Onward said:

The area is Geelong.

 

Be careful when talking to the people of Geelong, then.  Calling Geelong "outside Melbourne" is like calling Montreal "outside Ottawa", and might get you a biff on the nose.   Geelong is a city in its own right, the second largest in Victoria and something like the 10th (?) largest in the whole of Australia. 

Geelong used to have a reputation as a dull manufacturing town, but that has all changed in recent years.  As Melbourne has become more and more crowded and housing gets too expensive, young families are moving to Geelong.   It has all the amenities of a city but with cheaper housing and it even has a beach.  So you're lucky to have found a job there.  

Don't worry about spiders. Most of what you read about Australia refers to the tropical and sub-tropical regions.  The further South you come, the less numerous the spiders and insects   For instance, cockroaches are the bane of people's lives in Sydney, but they're far less common in Victoria, so I've never seen one in Melbourne in the 6 years I've been here.  

Redbacks are the only spiders you really need to worry about and they rarely venture indoors.  Huntsmen are huge (like wolf spiders) but even I can handle the rare Huntsman that ventures into the house, and I'm a terrible scaredy-cat where spiders are concerned.   They're not aggressive so they'll just sit there.  Go and get a big glass bowl and put it over the spider, then slide a piece of paper between the bowl and the wall so the spider is trapped inside - then dump the bowl in the garden and run away.  

[Bulya]

3 hours ago, BeachBabe2022 said:

I have friends in Torquay VIC (nice beach), and they drive to and from Melbourne each day for work. Bit of a long trek, but they don't seem to mind. 

That’s a long haul..

[Quoll]

Ah Geelong.  Just be careful you don't call it GEE long.  It's more like J'long

You'll probably find that your "team" is chosen for you - if you don't support the Cats (Geelong)  you could find something unsavoury on your doorstep, especially if they lose one week.  If you decide to barrack for Essendon or Carlton don't expect to make too many friends LOL

Edited January 25, 2022 by Quoll

[Amber Snowball]

I lived and worked in Geelong for a few years and have a bit of a soft spot for the area. Definitely worse places to live. The trains are quicker into the city theses days I think. Driving, depending on time of day and where in Melbourne, was a ball ache. Don’t drive on the outer lanes of the westgate bridge, an engineer’s advice!

 

[Marisawright]

41 minutes ago, Amber Snowball said:

I lived and worked in Geelong for a few years and have a bit of a soft spot for the area. Definitely worse places to live. The trains are quicker into the city theses days I think. Driving, depending on time of day and where in Melbourne, was a ball ache. Don’t drive on the outer lanes of the westgate bridge, an engineer’s advice!

 

Yes,  I would never consider living in Geelong and working in Melbourne, what a headache that would be.  But Geelong is not a suburb of Melbourne and does have jobs in its own right too.

[Bulya]

13 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Yes,  I would never consider living in Geelong and working in Melbourne, what a headache that would be.  But Geelong is not a suburb of Melbourne and does have jobs in its own right too.

The voice of reason as usual…

[Quoll]

18 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Yes,  I would never consider living in Geelong and working in Melbourne, what a headache that would be.  But Geelong is not a suburb of Melbourne and does have jobs in its own right too.

My nephew does. He doesn’t drive and takes the train. Been doing it for a long time now. He starred as a student and has just kept going. 

[Parley]

Thousand of people commute from Geelong to Melbourne on the train. Only about an hour.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Parley

[Dan Not Dale]

On 24/01/2022 at 14:29, Onward said:

Hi everyone,

I’ll soon be moving from western Canada to Australia.

What’s crazy is that Covid 19 is preventing me from visiting Australia first. I’ve never been.

Honestly, the spiders freak me out a bit. We have the odd daddy long legs or wolf spiders, but that’s it here.

Covid and a winter climate is a brutal mix. The allure of endless beaches and *warm* weather is drawing me to Australia.

Keep in mind, while Melbourne is cold by Australian standards, it’s warmer than Vancouver, Canada.

Questions.

1. How’s the Internet, Wi-Fi, and cable TV compared to Canada?

2. How soon do I need to make friends with a rugged Aussie dude neighbor in case of a spider the size of my hand appears in my house?

3. anything else I should know before moving myself and family?

 

 

I know nothing about west of Canada, but you won’t find Geelong cold. However, when we first moved here we had no heating in our first place. I found winter here harder than England because inside wasn’t warm. 
Heating and double glazing is still not compulsory in a new build here. I had to build a house to ensure I had double glazing throughout. With double glazing and heating winter is a doddle here.  VIC gets below 0. Make sure you get a place with heating. 

Internet/Wifi - again, don’t know Canada, Aus has improved with the NBN rollout, but I believe this is still being rolled out. We have it and it’s good. If you don’t, your internet will be poor by worldwide standards. 

TV - Free to air Australian TV is appalling. Some good stuff can be found on SBS and ABC, (mainly British stuff) they do their best for somewhat impartial news coverage too. Your channel 7, 9, 10’s news coverage neglect that a world exists outside the capital city you happen to be watching it in. Foxtel is the paid service, it’s not bad, potentially essential if you want certain sports. I would guess you will revert to streaming services most days!

Spiders - barely seen any in 8 years.

Geelong is nice - but your questions make me think you are not outdoorsy? Could be wrong? Beyond a beach and a shopping centre, not a lot to do. You may likely find yourself going to Melbourne to find something other than walking, eating or drinking coffee . 

I have considered living there, we stay at partners uncles some weekends and it’s lovely. But potentially boring long term.

[Alan Collett]

On 25/01/2022 at 19:16, Marisawright said:

Yes,  I would never consider living in Geelong and working in Melbourne, what a headache that would be.  But Geelong is not a suburb of Melbourne and does have jobs in its own right too.

I commute to my office in Melbourne CBD from South Geelong by train 3 days a week ... it's really not a long way!

And there's free car parking at South G.

Best regards.

[Alan Collett]

On 25/01/2022 at 16:38, Quoll said:

Ah Geelong.  Just be careful you don't call it GEE long.  It's more like J'long

You'll probably find that your "team" is chosen for you - if you don't support the Cats (Geelong)  you could find something unsavoury on your doorstep, especially if they lose one week.  If you decide to barrack for Essendon or Carlton don't expect to make too many friends LOL

G-town to us locals ...  

Onwards!

 

[Dusty Plains]

On 24/01/2022 at 15:23, Quoll said:

You don't know cold until you've been to Ballarat!!!  Partly because the houses aren't cold friendly but the wind comes straight up from the South Pole and goes right through you!  In the summer though, it's not very pleasant when it is high 30s low 40s (all jokes aside, its not a bad place for an Aussie country town and it has been known to have snow on Christmas Day but then on New Years day it will be 40C)

OK - when you say "outside Melbourne" just how far outside Melbourne do you mean?  You could be out in the wilds of Woop Woop in which case your internet speeds could rival that of a slow tortoise.  Cable tv -hmm Aussie tv is not good at the best of times. Victoria is quite a decent size so what may be true at one end of the state may not be so at the other end - and Victoria is, of course, one of the smaller states. 

I assume you mean one of the further suburbs of Melbourne or maybe one of the closer country towns (like Ballarat - you aren't going to Ballarat are you?) then everything will be reasonably civilised.  Broadband speeds aren't too bad though maybe not quite as fast as Canada, I don't know, never been to Canada but not as fast as I was used to in UK.  Never had cable tv, don't actually own a tv but you can get programs on your computer through all sorts of free sites and if you feel like paying you can get Netflix, Prime etc.

Aussie dude neighbour - yeah right, half of them will squeal and stand on a chair if they see a spider, especially the ones that live in the suburbs.  Out in the bush, not so much, anyone will squash it for you - the Sheilas are just as handy with a rolled up newspaper as the blokes.  Just don't leave your shoes outside and if you are the gardening type, jump up and down on your gardening gloves before you put them on (red backs like things like that) and don't put your hands into any dusty dark spaces. If you're living in the bush you will probably get them in your wood pile and you will need to watch out for the snakes as well.  If you're in the suburbs, chances are you will never see a red back or a snake in your entire time in Australia.  Edited to say the spiders aren't the size of your hand - not in Victoria anyway - and it is the little ones that kill ya! (just keep an eye out for the red back or the white tails).  

Ah, I see you aspire to endless beaches - not Ballarat then, its a good 100km from the sea.  Actually, Victoria isnt really the best place for beaches although there are some lovely ones the weather isn't always beach weather and really there aren't that many towns on the sea except the odd tourist places like Lakes Entrance in which case you want to watch out for floods from the Snowy.  Remember that the closest place to the south coast of Australia is the Antarctic and the water and the winds from there can be a tad on the chilly side.

What else should you watch out for - check out the neighbourhood before you move in anywhere and don't believe the real estate advertisements and pictures of rental appartments, there's a lot of poetic licence in them (always visit in person).  Check out the mobile coverage maps, mobile phones don't always work everywhere.  Check out the flood maps and the bushfire risk maps.  Talk to the locals, they don't bite. Don't stress, it'll either work out or it won't.

Good luck, it's going to be quite different from the West Coast of Canada!

Thanks once again for a negative review and actually a very poor knowledge of living in Australia. Perhaps you would be happier elsewhere and yes I know why. Give it a rest please. Its not North Korea after all. 

[Dusty Plains]

On 25/01/2022 at 13:05, Onward said:

Wow. Great responses.

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

The area is Geelong. Where I’m from, well, we just had a run of -30 Celsius.

Winnipeg is “Winterpeg.” One of the coldest cities in Canada.

What you think is cold, you have no idea  -2 Celsius is skiing in a t-shirt weather for Canadians.

It’s an employer sponsored visa. Still in progress.

I’m a big guy, but when I come across a spider the size of my hand, I’ll also be standing on a bar stool.  

 

 

Canadians and Australians have a unique relationship. That is, we are not the USA and at the same time, we are not British.

Canada and Australia share diplomatic services world-wide. For instance, if you are in a country that has no diplomatic Canadian office, such as South East Asia for instance, then the local Australian diplomatic service will provide you with a new Canadian passport and the like if necessary. Equally, the Canadian Diplomatic Service will also assist Australians world wide. This has been a "CAN-AUS" arrangement for years 

My advice is that you will fit in, given that Canadians and Australians are not just trying to prove a point, given that we have no "point" to prove, do we?. Also, Australia has more skiable snow fields than Europe, so bring your skis.

We love Canadians because they have no baggage, political, social, or otherwise, so come on over'

Now, "Spiders" as you have suggested. I live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, and the possibly of encountering one of the worlds most dangerous spiders is found in the greater Sydney Area, yet particularly in the Blue Mountains. I have lived in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, for forty years and we have spotted only two spiders in that time.

Welcome "Big Guy".

 Oh, and please excuse the odd Brit on here with the usual negative diatribe.

        

Edited January 30, 2022 by Dusty Plains

[Onward]

On 27/01/2022 at 17:58, Dan Not Dale said:

I know nothing about west of Canada, but you won’t find Geelong cold. However, when we first moved here we had no heating in our first place. I found winter here harder than England because inside wasn’t warm. 
Heating and double glazing is still not compulsory in a new build here. I had to build a house to ensure I had double glazing throughout. With double glazing and heating winter is a doddle here.  VIC gets below 0. Make sure you get a place with heating. 

Internet/Wifi - again, don’t know Canada, Aus has improved with the NBN rollout, but I believe this is still being rolled out. We have it and it’s good. If you don’t, your internet will be poor by worldwide standards. 

TV - Free to air Australian TV is appalling. Some good stuff can be found on SBS and ABC, (mainly British stuff) they do their best for somewhat impartial news coverage too. Your channel 7, 9, 10’s news coverage neglect that a world exists outside the capital city you happen to be watching it in. Foxtel is the paid service, it’s not bad, potentially essential if you want certain sports. I would guess you will revert to streaming services most days!

Spiders - barely seen any in 8 years.

Geelong is nice - but your questions make me think you are not outdoorsy? Could be wrong? Beyond a beach and a shopping centre, not a lot to do. You may likely find yourself going to Melbourne to find something other than walking, eating or drinking coffee . 

I have considered living there, we stay at partners uncles some weekends and it’s lovely. But potentially boring long term.

Thanks!

We live in a city with a population of a million which is large for Canada.

We don’t do that much big city stuff. Our kids love going to the zoo, aquarium, science center, stuff like that.

We definitely plan on spending weekends in Melbourne. I can’t wait to spend a weekend at the Hamptons apartments Port Melbourne.

I enjoy golfing, mountain biking, surfing and skiing. 

In Canada, I work hard all year long to take a week off here or there to go somewhere with warm weather and a beach like Kauai, Maui, San Diego, or Miami.

The idea of living in a place with much warmer weather (than western Canada) and endless beaches is irresistible.

Most people (I talk to in Canada who have lived in Australia) lament the cost of living which is apparently higher in Australia.

For example, we have a weekly cleaning lady that we pay $25 cdn / hr and a full-time nanny that we pay $20 cdn per hour.

We also hire a gardener to maintain our lawns/trees and snow removal in the winter.

I’m not sure how wages compare in Australia for those services?

We’ll be looking for a 4 bedroom house to rent initially. They seem to have heating for what we’ve looked at.