Kiwikaye

Hi, in Melbourne the cut off for school ages is April, so for kids who started this year, the youngest starting in February would have had their birthday at the end of March. My LO has a birthday at the end of February so he is one of the youngest in his year. On the other hand daughter has her birthday in November so she is kind of in the middle age-wise. Hope that helps.

I don't know anything about Fitzroy High (although I do know the suburb), but i know that most of the Coburg primaries are well thought-of. Have you checked www.bettereducation.com.au or www.myschool.edu.au? They will give you some stats on the schools, although I think you really need to visit to get a feel for the area and the school before deciding.

FloralJane

Thank you kiwikaye that really helps and is very good news for my son- i think he'd benefit hugely from having younger kids in the year! (my second child could be the youngest and it wouldn't bother her!) i will check out those websites- and totally agree with you: def best to visit an area/school before making any big decisions!

dave99

Just thought I would jump in here to offer my perspective.
I literally just moved to Melbourne in the last few weeks and it wasnt what I was expecting at all. To me it doesnt feel like an australian city in the same way Perth is. Perth to me is what I imagined aussie citys looking like.
Melbourne is like a cross between london and new york, if you like either of those you will like melb.
There is a lot of people here, a hell of a lot. This means being crammed in on trams every morning and evening to commute home if you work in the city. Most jobs seem to be city based, or city fringe so far as I have seen. Picture being in london and cramming into a subway car, its similar here.

The beach pictures posted earlier look nice, but chances are you wont be living near the beach. You will instead be commuting in and standing in line at the supermarkets and food courts like everyone else.

There are of course upsides to all these people. Theres is lots to see and do here so you wont get bored, lots of shows and tiny shops to explore which can be great fun. But the reason theres so much going on is just due to the sheer amount of people.
The weather since I arrived has been rubbish but it is winter, its rained almost everyday and is dark and cloudy again now.
In short if you like london/new york you will like melb, if you dont, then stay away

bcworld

LOL...that 'rubbish' weather was our warmest July on record!

So far August has been more of a taster of what winter is normally like.

FloralJane

firstly, apologies to Nomad for hijacking your thread- i need to become forum-literate enough to start my own!
Thanks Dave and bcworld for your input- it's definitely good to get a variety of perspectives and, if nothing else, i'm prepared for poor weather in melbourne so any sunshine will be a bonus! i am a bit of a city girl in all honesty so reckon melb could do nicely!

Buzzy--Bee

I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Melbourne is considerably sunnier than a lot of people make out.

BB

BadgeIsBack

Actually, its true!

Buzzy--Bee

Duh! Everything I say is true.

BB

jad n rich

Just got back from melb, probably the 20th time, and I have to say it does seem very congested, people and traffic. Worst I have ever noticed, partner from melb even commented on it.

Weather was varied, sunny afternoon, but the morning chucked down some very windy rain that had small hail in it so it felt like sleet. It was 10 - 15ish at the time but felt much much colder.

We had just take a relocation campervan back out past footscray way, Tottenham station, loaded with bags and the sleet but hells bells there are some very grotty suburbs out that way Awful and that is the most graffiti I have seen anywhere.

Cant say I have ever thought melb like New york but some parts of manchester/london when the weather is grey.

We had visited relatives in Canberra, and I was quite impressed with what was on. The sunny clear days, easy driving and lack of traffic. Its overlooked by migrants but it has to be one of OZ's better cities.

Also went to Gundagai at lunch at the RSL, really funny, the chook raffles, which all seemed to be won by relatives of the announcer, just when you think everyone is related, you order lunch and non english speaking chinese chefs are running the food counter and everyones tucking into sweet and sour pork. If anyone ever goes there, the museum is one of the best ever!!, totally full of stuff from the pioneers settlers and gold prospectors etc, most of it 1800's or early 1900's $3 to get in. History is hard to find in OZ but that place is bloody amazing, and credit to the old boys who volunteer to run it.

sr71

That's a very interesting viewpoint, one that I also have to some degree.

I lived in Melbourne from 1996 to 2001, back then it felt like a big Australian city was not particularly overcrowded, property prices were reasonable and the large mass of immigration was only really just starting. Infrastructure was pretty good and overall it was an extremely pleasant place to live. Easy to see why it came tops in liveability surveys.

Fast forward to 2009, when I came back, and I think most things in Melbourne have changed for the worse. Basically an extra 1,000,000 people since the mid 90's with little change in infrastructure. Melbourne was always very multicultural - Greeks, Italians, Chinese, Vietnamese etc, so I don't necessarily think the population growth has benefitted in that regard. So if you can live in one of the nice villagey type places within 10km of the city, then it can still be a good lifestyle, but otherwise I don't get why people still think it's such a great place. I certainly regret not buying the 3 bedroom house in South Yarra (yes, a detached house) for $350,000 back in 1999 that I was renting.

The weather is nowhere near as bad as people say/think, I really like the dryness of the climate here. Not a big fan of humidity (Sydney) or dampness (Auckland)

But just to make it clear to others - Melbourne is not like New York, nowhere near it, despite the sad marketing of some apartment developers (Manhattan style, SoHo style etc) and a far cry from London. I mean when I live in Hove I think Brighton probably had more going on than Melbourne.

CosmicBertie

Yes, its very congested. Think of London in rush hour, its getting that way.

Its winter. You should be happy that it was sunny in the afternoon. Try walking around the UK in the middle of winter and complain about how cold it is

Yeah, theres a high proportion of poorer immigrants/asylum seekers out Footscray way. Can be quite a notorious place. On the flip side, if you like South East Asian food, the markets there are fantastic, its not called Little Saigon for nothing!
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Its nothing like New York. London, maybe, with some of its run-down bits. Melbourne is a lot smaller than both places, you can walk through the CBD in less than an hour

Was it winter in Canberra when you went? I think you'd be complaining at the 'below freezing' temperatures that it gets to.

The lack of traffic? Dont go during rush hour then, it was bedlam when we did.

A lot of the country towns are very oldy-worldy. Meat raffles, community notice boards, church hall events. To be honest, I love it. We've just moved to Gisborne, out past the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The pace of life is slower, but it feels safer and the people are a lot more friendly. Things are cheaper too, though not much.

Personally, suburbs make me want to scream. Melbourne is a nice enough place, but if you have to live in the suburbs, well, the public transport can be a bit of a nightmare and travelling by car too.

Oh, and if you've never lived in a house with no mains water or gas, it makes for fun and exciting times!

sr71

An hour? 10 minutes more like.

BadgeIsBack

Been there - funny old town.
As for the rain, yes, I got caught in a shower when I left for a run at lunch. We have had a bit of rain especially last week but we've had a sunny and perhaps dry winter overall. The problem is - people will take their one day of a visit and not take into account what the locals have experienced for months.

What is interesting about all these city debates is that Melbourne variously tends to get comparisons depending on what point a poster might want to make.

So no, it's not a world city - like London or New York - (and people will underline this point) but then people say it's congested.

The reality is that it is Australia's 2nd biggest city - and that it has a rush hour. It is nowhere near as big a city as some world cities - it just has huge suburbs: but it is bigger or as big as most UK cities bar London.

I'd say it does feel less like Australia - to a tourist - or a new arrival - when it is raining. Live here and yes, it's Australia.

I don't find it that congested, because I am from London - I still have yet to get caught in a manic crowd that could bouy me from gate to gate - like a cork in a rough sea even in rush hour, it's still not quite so manic.

I find there is enough to do - but then I am not a 'live' event sort of person - I would rather go to my own clubs and trusted venues that I know and frequent with my people.

Buzzy--Bee

It takes me 30 - 40 mins to drive to/from the CBD in the morning and evening and I live 25kms out. Most of the way I am doing the maximum speed limit.

The traffic here is a piece of piss compared with London.

BB

jad n rich

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Its nothing like New York. London, maybe, with some of its run-down bits. Melbourne is a lot smaller than both places, you can walk through the CBD in less than an hour



Was it winter in Canberra when you went?

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Yes, in winter, but a very mild one. Seen canberra in minus 5 too, sun and wind and rain in one day in melb seemed normal to me, I love that variety.

The fog outside of canberra was the best bit, weather really adds to a the scenery, one minute sun, then early morning fog drifting over the hills and farms.

I guess anywhere has bad rush hour traffic, but obviously canberras roads seem so easy compared to melbournes monday lunchtime madness.

Agree totally nothing at all like New York, you would feel very let down if arriving expecting melb to be new york LOL.