Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
Oct 30th 2015, 5:46 am
#31
Frequent Flyer Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 10,994
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
3-4 is probably a bit meagre and doesn't reflect typical temps.
Temps are often discussed :
In summer it can be close to 10 degrees with a typical summers day going from 30-35 when it's only 20-25 in the UK but I suppose the range peaks in Summer. Obviously it can also go down to teens in summer and then up to 40...
Temps are often discussed :
In summer it can be close to 10 degrees with a typical summers day going from 30-35 when it's only 20-25 in the UK but I suppose the range peaks in Summer. Obviously it can also go down to teens in summer and then up to 40...
A 'typical' summers day doesn't reach 30-35 - that's just not factually correct! Luckily the BOM has been collecting this data for over a hundred years so we don't need to rely on anecdotes.
Hottest month: January.
Mean Max: 25.9C
Days in January exceeding 30C: 7.8 days
Days in January exceeding 35C: 3.6 days
Days in January exceeding 40C: 0.7 days
Based on 160 years worth of data the above would describe a 'typical' January, surely? Confine your data to recent decades (the 'climate change' years?) and you might be able to add a bit less than half a degree to that max.
Oct 30th 2015, 5:55 am
#32
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
But here's the thing. No-one cares about statistics, just how it feels.
So, to summarise, Melbourne feels a lot sunnier and warmer than London. In winter, here down by the bay, we don't get frost, although inland areas do, and we can grow tropical and sub-tropical plants. In summer it is often too hot to do much except collapse in a hammock with a beer.
I love the weather here.
BB
So, to summarise, Melbourne feels a lot sunnier and warmer than London. In winter, here down by the bay, we don't get frost, although inland areas do, and we can grow tropical and sub-tropical plants. In summer it is often too hot to do much except collapse in a hammock with a beer.
I love the weather here.
BB
Oct 30th 2015, 7:20 am
#33
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 14,040
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
But here's the thing. No-one cares about statistics, just how it feels.
So, to summarise, Melbourne feels a lot sunnier and warmer than London. In winter, here down by the bay, we don't get frost, although inland areas do, and we can grow tropical and sub-tropical plants. In summer it is often too hot to do much except collapse in a hammock with a beer.
I love the weather here.
BB
So, to summarise, Melbourne feels a lot sunnier and warmer than London. In winter, here down by the bay, we don't get frost, although inland areas do, and we can grow tropical and sub-tropical plants. In summer it is often too hot to do much except collapse in a hammock with a beer.
I love the weather here.
BB
Oct 30th 2015, 9:01 am
#35
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
Will you be on a temporary visa? That imposes a layer of problems that a permanent visa is less likely to - getting employment as a temp dependent can be harder, if it all goes pear shaped you have 90 days to leave or find another sponsor, you aren't entitled to some benefits, medical coverage can be more problematic in a few situations. Fewer holiday entitlements in Aus (20 days the norm) and working days just as long with commutes potentially just as long so if you live in the burbs as most do its just the same except the trains aren't as frequent as the Tube. If you stand on Flinders St station in winter you will need your winter thermals! It's a nice enough place if you fancy an adventure and it would like to think it is up there with the world cities but it lacks that certain "something" that makes the others great.
That said, there are little surprises : like Melbourne has more theatres and venues than many other places in Australia, including Sydney and whilst you can book the Opera House out every night of the week - for anything - there are several theatres and venues playing somewhere in Melbourne so there is competition. You can find all these little spots where things are going on. Melbourne has several 'up there' symphonic orchestras and choruses, for example, whereas even proud cities in North America and Europe have less to name in their cities. It's a stat that surprised me.
On the right day, doing the right thing, it is a very special place. There are miles and miles of really very pleasant suburbs not so far from the city. The outer burbs are supposed to suck - but people I meet prefer the bigger houses and the 'space'. Personally I don't see a big house in an estate space.
Nov 4th 2015, 12:55 am
#36
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Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Epsom
Posts: 1,705
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
I'd say Melbourne would have more going for it possibly than a Birmingham or a Manchester. Melbourne prides itself on essentially being a nice place to live, a liveable place,if you're sorted, with sport, art and beaches, but I don't think it seriously thinks it's uber, uber up with world cities. It probably is up there with many smaller European cities and I'd say it was nicer than UK cities outside London.
In truth it is excellent, and in many regards beats Uk and European cities hands down, including London. Far better and more accessible restaurant and cafe scene for example. It also has some excellent festivals, the Comedy Festival would only be bettered by Edinburgh IMO. Excellent arts and sports facilities and events - again up there with major world cities and beaten only by 1-2. Of course the Uk is very different as you can have access to so much more due to its small size.
But yes, it lacks that X factor that world cities have, maybe because it's very parochial at times, or lacks any real tourist attractions or icons. It's also not a particularly attractive city, in terms of architecture and geography. Sadly the town in planners have let the public down badly over the last decade or so.
Nov 4th 2015, 4:06 am
#38
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Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
Try arguing with the average Melbournite, they'll swear AFL is the best game in the world
Personally I hate AFL with a passion, almost neurotically so. It's one thing that makes me not want to live there. The game as well as all the macho and boys club bull crap that goes with it, the never ending news stories even during off season and breaking news reports of tribunal outcomes. Seems like every day there was an article on Essendon and James Hird regarding drugs, drives me mad.
Personally I hate AFL with a passion, almost neurotically so. It's one thing that makes me not want to live there. The game as well as all the macho and boys club bull crap that goes with it, the never ending news stories even during off season and breaking news reports of tribunal outcomes. Seems like every day there was an article on Essendon and James Hird regarding drugs, drives me mad.
Nov 4th 2015, 5:28 am
#39
its only me..!
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: near Leamington Spa
Posts: 54
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
- Job / job market, how is it these days? ............try googling indeed.com.au, seek.com.au or careerone.com.au.......any of these will give you real time job info
- Internet.. is it fibre optic still not covered everywhere?..........generally crap compared to the UK, but getting better, mainly ADSL2 in outer suburbs, passable just about, but does tend to drop out ........skype n stuff works ok though.........youve just gotta put up with it, limited options
- what about shopping?............everything you could wish for and lots of stuff that you wouldnt wish for......overall not bad
- Weather (we have heard that Melbourne's weather can change quite a lot, how's overall?.............on the way into work 6.30 am crossing the Yarra from Flinders St station to Southbank on Southgate footbridge, looking at the sunrise over the river (MCG in the background).......beats Coventry on a wet day.
It rains here quite a bit, its sunny quite a bit, with other weather thrown in inbetween......Melbourne has weather and lots of it.......as the locals say if you dont like the weather at the moment, wait awhile!......it always changeable but in a nice way......but its never freezing your rocks off type weather that you get in the UK.
Essentially we're looking for a place that is family friendly, where we can settle down and that will give a decent life. We're fed up of people in London that are rushing everywhere, as if they're doing a marathon! Is there that kind of feeling in Melbourne?..............Child friendly and family orientated definitely, loads to do........still gotta work though, think...... same S**te, but a much much shinier bucket..........not so much a marathon in Melbourne CBD, again think maybe brisk a Sunday morning walk.
- Food...can you find good organic food in Melbourne? we're really into that...........anything you want pretty much when you want
- Apartments (how's the apartments scene? again London is too expensive for the square meters you get!........bad news here, expensive here too but the good news is you will almost definitely be earning more to help pay for it
- A classic one...how's the deadly animals side of things? i mean.. we've been to Sydney and well, and while we were there there was a "shark alert", seemed more of a normal event though but we were a bit shocked. is Melbourne on the same level? spiders & co?...........No sharks here!....the crocodiles have eaten them all.......just kidding the most likely thing to see is a spider thats larger than a house spider from the UK called a 'Huntsman' they wear size 11 hobnail boots (kidding!)......they wont bother you, most likely found in your shed/garage cocooning naughty children in their web....(joke)......Australian teenagers should perhaps be higher on your agenda with regards to pests (same the whole world over, you get the odd one thats a nuisance).....nothing like inner city Birmingham, London, Manchester though, usually just noisy b*ggers!
In a way i think we are used to London where you have pretty much everything, even though the price you pay is your "time". that's something we're completely sick of, that it takes ages to go from one place to another and time seems just to fly.....definitely more opportunity to 'fly through the ranks' here in almost any walk of life so the ladder upwards tends to much shorter with less people competing for 'a foot on your ladder' ......still gotta work though! and be good at what you do.
Hope it helps a little ( tongue in cheek answers) been here 18 months, its not going to be all rose tinted glasses stuff, be realistic about what you expect from Melbourne and with a bit of hard work, maybe a bit of luck and perseverance you will get what you want from the city.
- Internet.. is it fibre optic still not covered everywhere?..........generally crap compared to the UK, but getting better, mainly ADSL2 in outer suburbs, passable just about, but does tend to drop out ........skype n stuff works ok though.........youve just gotta put up with it, limited options
- what about shopping?............everything you could wish for and lots of stuff that you wouldnt wish for......overall not bad
- Weather (we have heard that Melbourne's weather can change quite a lot, how's overall?.............on the way into work 6.30 am crossing the Yarra from Flinders St station to Southbank on Southgate footbridge, looking at the sunrise over the river (MCG in the background).......beats Coventry on a wet day.
It rains here quite a bit, its sunny quite a bit, with other weather thrown in inbetween......Melbourne has weather and lots of it.......as the locals say if you dont like the weather at the moment, wait awhile!......it always changeable but in a nice way......but its never freezing your rocks off type weather that you get in the UK.
Essentially we're looking for a place that is family friendly, where we can settle down and that will give a decent life. We're fed up of people in London that are rushing everywhere, as if they're doing a marathon! Is there that kind of feeling in Melbourne?..............Child friendly and family orientated definitely, loads to do........still gotta work though, think...... same S**te, but a much much shinier bucket..........not so much a marathon in Melbourne CBD, again think maybe brisk a Sunday morning walk.
- Food...can you find good organic food in Melbourne? we're really into that...........anything you want pretty much when you want
- Apartments (how's the apartments scene? again London is too expensive for the square meters you get!........bad news here, expensive here too but the good news is you will almost definitely be earning more to help pay for it
- A classic one...how's the deadly animals side of things? i mean.. we've been to Sydney and well, and while we were there there was a "shark alert", seemed more of a normal event though but we were a bit shocked. is Melbourne on the same level? spiders & co?...........No sharks here!....the crocodiles have eaten them all.......just kidding the most likely thing to see is a spider thats larger than a house spider from the UK called a 'Huntsman' they wear size 11 hobnail boots (kidding!)......they wont bother you, most likely found in your shed/garage cocooning naughty children in their web....(joke)......Australian teenagers should perhaps be higher on your agenda with regards to pests (same the whole world over, you get the odd one thats a nuisance).....nothing like inner city Birmingham, London, Manchester though, usually just noisy b*ggers!
In a way i think we are used to London where you have pretty much everything, even though the price you pay is your "time". that's something we're completely sick of, that it takes ages to go from one place to another and time seems just to fly.....definitely more opportunity to 'fly through the ranks' here in almost any walk of life so the ladder upwards tends to much shorter with less people competing for 'a foot on your ladder' ......still gotta work though! and be good at what you do.
Hope it helps a little ( tongue in cheek answers) been here 18 months, its not going to be all rose tinted glasses stuff, be realistic about what you expect from Melbourne and with a bit of hard work, maybe a bit of luck and perseverance you will get what you want from the city.
Nov 4th 2015, 5:34 am
#40
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 14,040
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
Try arguing with the average Melbournite, they'll swear AFL is the best game in the world
Personally I hate AFL with a passion, almost neurotically so. It's one thing that makes me not want to live there. The game as well as all the macho and boys club bull crap that goes with it, the never ending news stories even during off season and breaking news reports of tribunal outcomes. Seems like every day there was an article on Essendon and James Hird regarding drugs, drives me mad.
Personally I hate AFL with a passion, almost neurotically so. It's one thing that makes me not want to live there. The game as well as all the macho and boys club bull crap that goes with it, the never ending news stories even during off season and breaking news reports of tribunal outcomes. Seems like every day there was an article on Essendon and James Hird regarding drugs, drives me mad.
Nov 5th 2015, 8:25 am
#43
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Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
Tell that to Melbournites, they genuinely carry on as if it's the best city in the world for good, coffee, sport, lifestyle etc.
In truth it is excellent, and in many regards beats Uk and European cities hands down, including London. Far better and more accessible restaurant and cafe scene for example. It also has some excellent festivals, the Comedy Festival would only be bettered by Edinburgh IMO. Excellent arts and sports facilities and events - again up there with major world cities and beaten only by 1-2. Of course the Uk is very different as you can have access to so much more due to its small size.
But yes, it lacks that X factor that world cities have, maybe because it's very parochial at times, or lacks any real tourist attractions or icons. It's also not a particularly attractive city, in terms of architecture and geography. Sadly the town in planners have let the public down badly over the last decade or so.
In truth it is excellent, and in many regards beats Uk and European cities hands down, including London. Far better and more accessible restaurant and cafe scene for example. It also has some excellent festivals, the Comedy Festival would only be bettered by Edinburgh IMO. Excellent arts and sports facilities and events - again up there with major world cities and beaten only by 1-2. Of course the Uk is very different as you can have access to so much more due to its small size.
But yes, it lacks that X factor that world cities have, maybe because it's very parochial at times, or lacks any real tourist attractions or icons. It's also not a particularly attractive city, in terms of architecture and geography. Sadly the town in planners have let the public down badly over the last decade or so.
Agree that Melbourne is not a very attractive city but that's the case all over the world. Recently spent some time in Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield and although they are all fun places with lots going on, they are all physically pretty grim - dirty with a lot of really ugly architecture
Nov 5th 2015, 9:36 am
#44
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Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Epsom
Posts: 1,705
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
Southern Hemisphere though you'd have to include São Paulo, 20 million and 10th richest city on earth.
Nov 5th 2015, 10:02 am
#45
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Location: Back home now in my home town in England U.K. after 36 years in U.S. now retired and loving it,
Posts: 3,208
Re: Moving to Melbourne from London... some questions...
hi there,
my husband has a possibility of a new job in Melbourne, Australia which we are seriously considering for moving from London, uk.
As this would be really a big move for us, we would like to ask someone that moved from UK about how's life there and if there are things which you miss....but can live without..
- Job / job market, how is it these days?
- Internet.. is it fibre optic still not covered everywhere?
- what about shopping?
- Weather (we have heard that Melbourne's weather can change quite a lot, how's overall?
Essentially we're looking for a place that is family friendly, where we can settle down and that will give a decent life. We're fed up of people in London that are rushing everywhere, as if they're doing a marathon! Is there that kind of feeling in Melbourne?
- Food...can you find good organic food in Melbourne? we're really into that
- Apartments (how's the apartments scene? again London is too expensive for the square meters you get!
- A classic one...how's the deadly animals side of things? i mean.. we've been to Sydney and well, and while we were there there was a "shark alert", seemed more of a normal event though but we were a bit shocked. is Melbourne on the same level? spiders & co?
In a way i think we are used to London where you have pretty much everything, even though the price you pay is your "time". that's something we're completely sick of, that it takes ages to go from one place to another and time seems just to fly.....
that was quite a lot, thanks to everyone that can give some info, even just some points would be great!
see ya
Lorraine
my husband has a possibility of a new job in Melbourne, Australia which we are seriously considering for moving from London, uk.
As this would be really a big move for us, we would like to ask someone that moved from UK about how's life there and if there are things which you miss....but can live without..
- Job / job market, how is it these days?
- Internet.. is it fibre optic still not covered everywhere?
- what about shopping?
- Weather (we have heard that Melbourne's weather can change quite a lot, how's overall?
Essentially we're looking for a place that is family friendly, where we can settle down and that will give a decent life. We're fed up of people in London that are rushing everywhere, as if they're doing a marathon! Is there that kind of feeling in Melbourne?
- Food...can you find good organic food in Melbourne? we're really into that
- Apartments (how's the apartments scene? again London is too expensive for the square meters you get!
- A classic one...how's the deadly animals side of things? i mean.. we've been to Sydney and well, and while we were there there was a "shark alert", seemed more of a normal event though but we were a bit shocked. is Melbourne on the same level? spiders & co?
In a way i think we are used to London where you have pretty much everything, even though the price you pay is your "time". that's something we're completely sick of, that it takes ages to go from one place to another and time seems just to fly.....
that was quite a lot, thanks to everyone that can give some info, even just some points would be great!
see ya
Lorraine
I Emigrated to Melbourne from the U.K.
Job --- I was sponsored by the firm that I worked for,
shopping --- about the same as England,
Weather ---- not unlike England really, lots of rain, but warmer,
People ---- very friendly,
Sharks --- not so many as in other parts of Oz, Prime minister Holt was eaten by a shark though,
Apartments ---- well all I paid was £5 per week (before decimal) for a nice basic room in a guest house, and that was for full board, two meals a day plus a packed lunch to take to work, ----- but then again my wages for a 40 hour week was only £21 per week, but even that little amount was three times more then I earned at the Portsmouth Dockyard way back then before I left!!!!
Internet ---- there was absolutely NO internet and only one TV channel,
Organic food ----- all food was organic, and at the same low price, but it was not called organic --- just food,
But then again when I Emigrated to Australia the year was 1965, and I was what was called a £10 Pom!!!!
Good Luck,
Take care,
Rodney.
PS I lived in Oz for four years, I was young, and had a great time there, of course way back then it was a much less complicated and more simple life then it is now,