Melbourne is a dump!

[Guest mont de wally de honk]

I love Melbourne for a shopping holiday only but could never live there - way to cold.. Come to Perth you will love it there!!!!!!!

 

That is like saying to someone "Don't move to London, come to Swindon, it's much better". :biglaugh:

 

Perth is worse than Brisbane, and that is saying something. I have worked in both, and at least you have half a chance of getting a beer in the centre of Brisbane after 9.30 on a week day. Perth is the place to go if you have very low asperations.

[Guest mattandsam]

No you go there if you want a very high income and a great life style, so i would say go to Perth if you have high lifestyle expectations

[Guest JoanneHattersley]

To those of you reading this who are trying to decide about Melbourne, simply ignore the first post in this thread. Visit Melbourne, take some time to look around, and you will appreciate just how rich and diverse a city it is.

 

 

Sorry but I dont think that the OP needs to be "ignored". I think that is VERY unfair to say that. Everyones opinion is valid. Just cos we all dont like the same things/places , it doesnt mean our opinions are less valued.

 

To the original poster, I take it when you refer to Brisbane's beaches, you mean the man made one on the South Bank, because Brisbane doesn't have any other beaches ?

 

ok, there are several beaches around the BRisbane area, Im sure that was what the OP meant.

As far as I am concerned, anyone who prefers Brisbane over Melbourne is more than happy to settle for the medicore.

 

 

You are VERY entitled to your opinion but having lived in Brissie for over 3.5 years I love it here. I visited Melbourne but knew instantly that I couldnt live there. I flew into Brissie and knew instantly that I could!

 

If you thought Melbourne's restaurants weren't any good, you are going to be in for a huge shock in Brisbane.

 

There are so many good restaurants to eat in Brisbane!! It is not just a little country , backwater town any more you know!

[Guest JoanneHattersley]

Perth is the place to go if you have very low asperations.

 

Another unfair post to make. Yeah I know it is your opinion but come on......... dont make generalisations like that about those in Perth,

[Guest mont de wally de honk]

No you go there if you want a very high income and a great life style, so i would say go to Perth if you have high lifestyle expectations

 

So EVERYONE that moves to Perth has a high income and a great life style. Really ? Outside of mining, I don't think that is the case at all. We know some people in Perth and they certainly don't have a great life style at the moment. Still, Perth is handy for getting to any other major city isn't it ? :nah:

[Guest mattandsam]

I think everyone is bias of where they live - good to see we all stick up for the state we live in... And am sure if we didnt like the lifestyle/income/cafes/beaches we would move...

[Guest mont de wally de honk]

There are so many good restaurants to eat in Brisbane!! It is not just a little country , backwater town any more you know!

 

When the original poster makes statements that are factually incorrect (Brisbane's beaches, Melbourne has no restaurants, Melbourne's weather is no better than the UK), then it is fair to say ignore the post, because it provides no useful information to potential migrants. To say there is nowhere in Melbourne other than Brighton that is worth moving to is simply ridiculous. It's like saying that Kensington is the only place worth living in London.

 

As for Brisbane, having spent the last 6 months living between Melbourne and Brisbane, I am well aware of Brisbane's short comings versus Melbourne. If you knew instantly that you couldn't live in Melbourne, then I would say you didn't really give it a chance did you ?

 

In my opinion, Brisbane still is a town in many ways and is slowly becoming a city. It is a victim of it's own success, and current infrastructure is struggling badly. It will probably be OK in terms of transport in few years time, but it will take a lot longer to change the small town mentality.

[tracy123]

Right, enough of this rubbish about Melbourne's restaurants. You can have an opinion about the quality of food or service of an individual place, but cut the "I don't think the restaurants in the CBD are the best and most are cafe style" cr*p. As a local, you clearly have no clue where to go, so please stop trying to give people bad advice. You as bad as the original poster. And what are you babling on about the Crown Casino ? It has 12 restaurants listed in it's Premium Section alone.

 

Jamie Oliver said during the programme about setting up Fifteen Melbourne that he was worried about opening here because there is so much competition at a very high level. In the CBD alone there fantastic places to eat, such as Flower Drum, The Press Club, Vue de Monde, Taxi, Grossi Florentino, MoVida Bar de Tapas, Yu-U, and Fifteen Melbourne. If you haven't heard of these, then look them up, and then you will realise how foolish that statement about the CBD is. You might as well tell me that you can't get a decent cup of coffee here :wacko:

 

To those of you reading this who are trying to decide about Melbourne, simply ignore the first post in this thread. Visit Melbourne, take some time to look around, and you will appreciate just how rich and diverse a city it is. I can assure you that after 3.5 years of being here, there is still loads that we haven't done and plenty to enjoy at any time of the year. I espcially recommend reading any of the sites that review restaurants, such as /www.yourrestaurants.com.au , and experience just how good Melbourne's restaurants are.

 

To the original poster, I take it when you refer to Brisbane's beaches, you mean the man made one on the South Bank, because Brisbane doesn't have any other beaches ? As far as I am concerned, anyone who prefers Brisbane over Melbourne is more than happy to settle for the medicore. If you thought Melbourne's restaurants weren't any good, you are going to be in for a huge shock in Brisbane.

 

Welcome to PIO mont de wally de honk

Another new comer? That doesn’t like to leave any information about themselves, but like to come on and attack other posters. Thank you for choosing my post as the 1st to leave your wonderful words of wisdom

So welcome Wally you don't mind me calling you Wally do you? That name just seems to suit you! A few questions Wally how long have you lived in Melbourne? It seems from your "babbling" you have spent quite a few years in Australia.

And how long did it take you to find these wonderful fine dinning places of yours? Or before you go anywhere in the world do you read all about which restaurant is worth going to?

 

I think most people that can afford the money and time to take a recci to Melbourne are more interested in housing, jobs, schools etc to worry about the best restaurant's to go to in Melbourne! But that's only MY view so maybe we need to cut people just a little slack. Or maybe YOU could start a thread!!! Wally's guide to Melbourne's best Restaurants! In sure that would go down just a little better than slagging people off. Don't you agree???

Maybe you have miss understood me as you walk around Melbourne a lot of the eateries that are eye level are set up for lunches or quick bites for people on the go, IF you want to go somewhere nice a lot of the nicer restaurants are set up in the hotels Even the Flower drum is off the main street of China town not easy to find if you are a visitor to the place Or do you never get lost??

The Crown Casino, Sorry I may have worded it wrongly, What I meant to say was that One of the restaurant’s in the Crown I find to the best restaurant I have eaten in but once again that’s my personal view!

I could go on about the places you have chosen to class as the best Melbourne has to offer but there is no point as that’s your view. But how much money do you earn to afford to go out fine dinning or once again is it over time you? Have you ever been to these places are you talking from experience? Or from reviews? Or your arse? Just interested

People who are thinking of moving to Victoria please ignore Wally, Not all Victorians are Wally's. We are a friendly bunch but I guess it’s good to see the other side!

 

Geoffrey

[tracy123]

Well said

 

The problem with attracting people with no taste is the general value drops as customer expectations/levels of satisfaction decrease.

 

Therefore we should encourgage people such as the OP to search out Brisbane and its beaches.

 

Should we be impressed with your Name??? :skeptical: Toorak Trev :notworthy: LMAO

[Guest mont de wally de honk]

Welcome to PIO mont de wally de honk

 

Another new comer? That doesn’t like to leave any information about themselves, but like to come on and attack other posters. Thank you for choosing my post as the 1st to leave your wonderful words of wisdom You are welcome.

 

So welcome Wally you don't mind me calling you Wally do you? That name just seems to suit you! True comic genius ! A few questions Wally how long have you lived in Melbourne? It seems from your "babbling" you have spent quite a few years in Australia. 3.5 years

And how long did it take you to find these wonderful fine dinning places of yours? Or before you go anywhere in the world do you read all about which restaurant is worth going to? I thought that anyone with a passion for decent food would use the interweb and recommendations from friends/colleagues to find good restaurants ? Surely it is just common sense ? So yes, I read about decent restaurants before I go to a place. Silly me !

I think most people that can afford the money and time to take a recci to Melbourne are more interested in housing, jobs, schools etc to worry about the best restaurant's to go to in Melbourne! But that's only MY view so maybe we need to cut people just a little slack. Or maybe YOU could start a thread!!! Wally's guide to Melbourne's best Restaurants! I would be delighted to contribute something useful to this forum. In sure that would go down just a little better than slagging people off. Reread your post and then consider "pot calling the kettle black" Don't you agree???

 

Maybe you have miss understood me then make your point clearly and don't say "I don't think the restaurants in the CBD are the best". Say what you mean. as you walk around Melbourne a lot of the eateries that are eye level are set up for lunches or quick bites for people on the go, IF you want to go somewhere nice a lot of the nicer restaurants are set up in the hotels Even the Flower drum is off the main street of China town not easy to find if you are a visitor to the place Or do you never get lost?? See above point about reading before coming to a place. I prefer this to wandering aimlessly about looking for a place to eat.

The Crown Casino, Sorry I may have worded it wrongly, What I meant to say was that One of the restaurant’s in the Crown I find to the best restaurant I have eaten in but once again that’s my personal view!

I could go on about the places you have chosen to class as the best Melbourne has to offer but there is no point as that’s your view. But how much money do you earn to afford to go out fine dinning or once again is it over time you? Have you ever been to these places are you talking from experience? Or from reviews? Or your arse? Just interested Once again, I read reviews and asked for recommendations for places to eat. It really isn't hard. Of the places I mentioned, I have been to Flower Drum, Taxi, Fifteen and am going to MoVida next week. I have personal recommendations from people who have been to the others, bar Yu-U. As for how much I earn, how is that relevant ? I don't go to these places every week, but as and when I can afford to. It doesn't alter the fact that there are some very fine restaurants in Melbourne's CBD that anyone with half an ounce of common sense can find and enjoy.

 

People who are thinking of moving to Victoria please ignore Wally, Not all Victorians are Wally's. We are a friendly bunch but I guess it’s good to see the other side! Well done for showing your friendly side. I take it people don't disagree with you very often ?

 

Geoffrey

 

You come across in your post as quite an angry person. Why should people ignore me but listen to you ?

[Guest madgenrich]

this is all getting a bit scary:no:

 

 

 

You come across in your post as quite an angry person. Why should people ignore me but listen to you ?

[tracy123]

You come across in your post as quite an angry person. Why should people ignore me but listen to you ?

 

I'm not asking for people to listen to me, you take what you want out of posts don't you?! But I think that its unfair you judge people on your high standards Everyones different

 

All the best

 

Geoffrey

 

PS Look forward to your reading your thread on the best places to eat in Melbourne, it should be a great read

[Guest Toorak Trev]

Should we be impressed with your Name??? :skeptical: Toorak Trev :notworthy: LMAO

No but why would I care about people who will not grace my table?

[tracy123]

No but why would I care about people who will not grace my table?

 

God bless your cotton socks

[Guest moonraker1961]

Alot of newbies on here all of a sudden is'nt there?????????? Are these people for real or what?

[Guest Bella]

Alot of newbies on here all of a sudden is'nt there?????????? Are these people for real or what?

 

 

 

 

I'm real (so my oh keeps telling me )

 

Been on ere since June july ish and im still ere lol

[sykestykes]

I'm real (so my oh keeps telling me )

 

Been on ere since June july ish and im still ere lol

 

And very glad we are to have you too, Bella!

 

Sue x

[calNgary]

Alot of newbies on here all of a sudden is'nt there?????????? Are these people for real or what?

 

There sure is moonraker,so maybe its time for a gentle reminder for everyone to read the forum rules before posting,,

we like to keep it sweet on here guys ,nothing wrong with a good discussion but please lets avoid getting into arguments with each other,after all this is a help forum and arguing helps no-one,,geoffrey stop biting please ,you know better boy!!lol,or are you wanting to keep us mods busy?

Cal x

[Guest kali02]

Helloooo

 

Ignoring all the sniping etc (tut, tut everyone)

 

We did a reccie of the possible cities to live in last May, at the same time as my husband visited each of the potential employers he was considering.

 

Our arrival point was Sydney and we spent 3 days there. We did a lot of walking and also did both the city and the bay bus tours, spending time at Bondi in particular. We walked especially around the opera house, Rocks area and the ferry terminal area, as well as around the apparent 'red light district'. Of course we also wandered around the main business and shopping areas. There were lots of good places to eat and we had some lovely food. I really enjoyed the Domain, the botanical gardens and all the flying foxes nesting in the area!

 

We liked Sydney as it is a modern, clean city but thought it was a little 'sterile'. Yes, there is lots to see and do and plenty of lovely places to go, but it wasn't for us. Definitely a nice place to visit and probably a great place to live if you want city living, or to stay in one of the beach suburbs, but to us it tried to hard to be too 'perfect'. It was kinda like a cross between Vancouver and Singapore!

 

I'm sure there are 'bad' or rather more rundown areas of Sydney outside of the CBD, like there are with any major city, but we didn't come across them ourselves. Also, we felt safe everywhere we did go. Oh, Bondi Beach was also smaller than we expected. Weather was cool, although some warm days, and it rained a fair bit.

 

Next we drove down the coast route to Melbourne and unfortunately only had 2 nights there in a campsite at Footscray. The Footscray area seemed to be an old neighbourhood with lots of houses with porches and nice architectural features, but it was obviously rundown. The bus ride into town was via the industrial and dock areas, which I can imagine would put some people off, but to us it was what you would expect to see in a big port city. We've lived in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, so this area of Melbourne seemed familiar to us.

 

The CBD reminded us of San Francisco CBD in that it had skyskrapers etc, but was on a smaller scale than other cities. It seemed vibrant, the people were unbelievably friendly and helpful, there was obviously a lot of investment in the area and this was evidenced by the developments around the docklands area and South Bank. Yes, there were plenty of good places to eat of all types!

 

Whilst my husband visited his future employers, I went to the aquarium (really good), wandered along the banks of the Yarra and watched people playing sports in the sun, visited some secondhand bookstores (fantastic!!) and generally took pics and nosed. After he was done we ate on the South Bank and found the waiters etc extremely helpful and friendly. We then nosed around the casino and we're astounded by the size of the place and the overall tackiness, but it was worth a visit just for that.

 

We liked Melbourne and like it's placement with the mountains and forests, as well as the beaches. Public transport seemed really good and I don't remember being overally struck by graffitti or there being a lot of litter. London is worse from what we've experienced. Weather was warm, t-shirt weather and we ate outside (with the flies!).

 

Next we headed along the Great Coast Road, through Mt Barker (a lovely, small mountaintown). We stopped in Mt Barker for lunch and wandered around the few streets that there were in the centre of town, through the shopping centre and nosing in the windows of the estate agents. People smiled and said g'day as we passed and it made us feel really welcome. There was also free parking and this was the point at which my husband decided he definitely wanted to move to Australia!

 

Adelaide is what some people might call rundown, but it reminded us of places we've lived, like Leicester due to the older very Victorian/Georgian buildings, the old shopping arcades and lanes, and Edinburgh due to the parks. It was a smaller but more traditional and leafier city. Again, public transport was great and we stayed in a campsite at Walkerville and took the bus into town, through varying neighbourhoods, some well off and some not so well off.

 

We really liked Adelaide and were very taken with the idea of living in one of the mountain suburbs, like Mt Barker, and having the closeness of all of Australia's different environments: bush, beach, mountain and desert. Plus it is possible to drive to Melbourne or even to Sydney in a day - albeit a very long day! Warmer than Melbourne and dry whilst we were there.

 

Next we headed to Alice Springs, which was the big surprise for us. It wasn't quite the tiny, desert town we expected, with a good sized shopping area and plenty of places to eat. The Desert Park is great and really worth a visit, especially if you don't want to risk a trip into the desert proper - it's very educational and great for taking pics. We couldn't believe the number of people who seemed to live in the area, but with cheap land prices and the ability to buy a LOT of land and a huge house for not very much, we understood the draw. Good time to visit as it was not unbearably hot, although I think we had 32 one day.

 

Our final stop was Cairns where we stayed for a week at Yorkey's Knob. This was the 'holiday' part of our trip. We had booked ourselves into an apartment hotel, which was incredibly cheap for what we got. The owners were excellent hosts and the apartment was fantastic (would def recommend this to anyone). We spent a lot of time sitting on our balcony overlooking the sea and watching the huge bats at dusk, or walking to the nearby strip for more alcohol or to eat out. Warm and wet!

 

Any way, this is just our personal experience from the few days that we stayed in each place, but gave us enough of a idea to know that Adelaide would be our number 1 place to live, with Melbourne 2nd.

 

Strangely, the job my husband took is in Melbourne and our visa was approved on Thursday (6 working days after applying - it's a 457), so we will soon get to experience life there properly. We will be in the CBD for the first few weeks in serviced accommodation provided by the employer, then intend on moving to rented accommodation in the Ferntree Gully area. We like the closeness of cities for nights out and visits, plus my hubby will be working there, but this move is about quality of life and for us that means a beautiful area to live, with lots of space and places to walk or mountain bike.

 

Hope this helps :spinny:

[Guest Pinhead]

Great write up Kali, very helpful.

[Bod]

After reading a few threads when I was still in the UK about how awful Melbourne was, my first thought was that the people were just homesick. Now I realise they were not negative homesick posts, they were honest posts, Melbourne is really awful (and I am not homesick)!!

 

I have been to Oz before, and have travelled from Cairns all the way to Sydney (via Brisbane) by car over a number of weeks. I absolutely loved almost all the areas we saw. Cairns with its palm trees, Brisbane with its incredible beaches, Sydney with its great shops and vibe. My OH and I decided to come to Melbourne as we have some family here - we decided to give it a try even though we had never been to Melbourne, with the thought that we could move to Brisbane if we didn't like it. So many people we have spoken to have who had been to Melbourne only had good things to say about it, so we were very positive!

 

The drive back from the airport to our accommodation through Melbourne was awful. The streets are awful, I was shocked at the amount of grafitti that is everywhere. I had heard there was graffiti, and this didnt bother me as I know that most cities do. But, I have never seen a city with as much graffiti as here - and I have visited many countries. Not a good first impression.

 

We have now been here for a few weeks and have spent hours each day driving around to find a decent area to live. There arent many. Brighton was about the best that I saw, admittedly it is lovely there, but crazily expensive. I had a long list of possible places to live from recommendations, including Mornington and Mount Martha, and even those areas are not nice (in my opinion).

 

I had also heard that Melbourne had many great restaurants. Where are they? I have looked around the city, and all the restaurants I have seen look like school cafeterias, very small, run down, with only one or two customers, I wouldnt want to eat in any of them.

 

Ok, to be fair there are a few positive points. The people are friendly. The trams are great and seem to run on time. There is also a lot more parking in Melbourne than London. But thats it. The weather has rained non stop since we arrived 3 weeks ago and has been freezing - the locals say Spring will only come in November. Thats a few more months of miserable weather. Dont come to Melbourne if you are moving to Oz for the weather, its no better than the UK...!

 

Sorry if I sound negative, I am just incredibly shocked with Melbourne and very confused how many people love it here when I think its nothing short of awful! I am 24 and my OH is 29, so we are still 'with the times' - what are we missing with Melbourne that everyone else sees?

 

We will wait for our shipping to arrive in 3 weeks, and then we are heading up to Brisbane where the weather is a lot better, the areas are a lot better, there is less graffiti and the people are just as friendly. I'm afraid for us, the grass is 100 times greener in Queensland!

 

A word of advice - if you havent been to Melbourne, do not assume that you will like it. I only wish we had visited it first so we could have missed out on this horid place and went straight to Brissie!

 

Hayley

 

 

 

Thats what makes us all diffrent If I come back over I'd settle in Melbourne way above

Brisbane. Melbourne has more about it than Brisbane ever will.

What I did not like about Victoria was how dry and Ugly it was I'm sure a bit of rain has changed the place for the better they need it down there

But I do think this happens alot that the first city we go for is not what we exspected before moving on to somewere else.

 

Good luck Hayley go with your gut instict and trust your own judgment

 

John

[Bordy]

s after applying - it's a 457)We will be in the CBD for the first few weeks in serviced accommodation provided by the employer, then intend on moving to rented accommodation in the Ferntree Gully area. We like the closeness of cities for nights out and visits, plus my hubby will be working there, but this move is about quality of life and for us that means a beautiful area to live, with lots of space and places to walk or mountain bike.

 

Hope this helps :spinny:

 

Good luck with it. We have lived in Ferntree Gully for 8 years now & love the area.

[Guest madgenrich]

I have only ever been to Melbourne so have kind of stayed away from this thread, it's so nice to hear someone saying what I think. On Saturday I took my kids to Geelong and we had a lovely day by the sea and in the great big shopping centre then on Sunday we got the train into Melbourne where we went to the market and up top the Eureka building we had a walk through the craft market and just generally walked around, I have liked Melbourne since my first visit, yes there is some graffiti but in Glasgow the train lines have graffiti as well, the tram drivers are all very helpful as are the shop assistants and lets not undervalue the feeling of walking down the street with your head up; not staring at the pavement no eye contact with the people coming towards you. I have been reading this thread and when we were walking around I kept saying to my oh how much I like the place, evryone is different, everyone has different norms, values and way of looking at places, I hope nobody discounts Melbourne because of this thread because they would miss out on a really friendly city with great public transport and one of the best zoos me and my kids have visited!

[Guest Redaussies]

I think everyone's different and have different tastes and a different wish list different needs in their life. For example, someone with kids should definetly do a reckie to Brisbane and see what it has to offer for young families.

 

I liked Melbourne apart from the crazy electronic car toll system which left me confused as a visitor. In short, You had to telephone a number and tell them what roads you had used around certain areas of the city, each time, and then get your toll calculated. For a tourist/visitor I think that's a bit naff. As for area's I found a nice area down South of Melbourne called Point Cook which was nice in terms of a golf course, and some shops and still just about half hour away from the City.

 

But if you want a laugh the thing that put me right of Melbourne. Speeding ticket.:policeman:

 

A month or so after getting back to UK I got a speeding ticket in the post from Melbourne and a $200 fine. Needless to say like the good law abiding ciizen I am, I dealt with it (read into that what you will) But I really got peeedddd off with that ticket and thought to myself, Na Melbournes not for me, too much like home. So we chose Brisbane instead. like I say, everyone's different.

[Bordy]

Well said Madge. :yes: