Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
#16
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 2,442
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Hi everyone, i've had my heart set on Brisbane/Gold Coast for years now, we've visted on holiday and loved it. However, work and schooling looks like it might be better for us in Melbourne and I have to try and reach a decision...
To help I was wondering if people could kindly list what they love about melbourne/victoria, and what they dislike there?
If it helps - my Oh and I have two daughters (3 and 1), we want more of the outdoors, we are snowboarders, but want to give surfing/kite surfing a try...
are there many good surf beaches?
I guess i'm a bit worried it would be too cool in melbourne, assumingly it's warmer than the uk! I was looking forward to very hot days and torrential rain in Queensland, and am worried Melbourne will be too cold - what's everyone think?
Thanks
Jen
To help I was wondering if people could kindly list what they love about melbourne/victoria, and what they dislike there?
If it helps - my Oh and I have two daughters (3 and 1), we want more of the outdoors, we are snowboarders, but want to give surfing/kite surfing a try...
are there many good surf beaches?
I guess i'm a bit worried it would be too cool in melbourne, assumingly it's warmer than the uk! I was looking forward to very hot days and torrential rain in Queensland, and am worried Melbourne will be too cold - what's everyone think?
Thanks
Jen
I have loads of friends from Brisbane. They all live in Melbourne.
#18
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
BB
#19
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Pro's -
Nice climate
Con's -
Shite housing.piss poor build quality ... This makes the winter nights/early mornings bloody hard work
Shite Woking conditions and pay lower than the UK
Real estate costs
Cost of living going thru' the roof
If you want a better climate than the UK then pop over to Melbourne but thats about it really
Last edited by stuckinblighty; Jul 2nd 2010 at 10:25 pm.
#20
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Compared to the UK the vast majority of Aus IS definately more boring than the UK,Unless you live with a short stroll of Melly CBD forget having an active social life.The locals lock themselves away in their houses and dont tend to socialise.......their home is their castle type thing.
If you want a better climate than the UK then pop over to Melbourne but thats about it really
If you want a better climate than the UK then pop over to Melbourne but thats about it really
We are also lucky that many of the locals do not lock themselves away - but maybe that's the beauty of living in an established village.
#21
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Completely disagree, even around where I live there is heaps to do - never a dull moment. I am happy to travel up to an hour for events/activities too - so that gives me the CBD, Yarra Valley, Dandenongs (on my doorstep of course), the alpine areas and the beach (fab walks there in winter too) and numerous interesting suburbs to explore. I'm always constantly reminded of how much more choice I have here than I had in Bristol - so I'm very happy
We are also lucky that many of the locals do not lock themselves away - but maybe that's the beauty of living in an established village.
We are also lucky that many of the locals do not lock themselves away - but maybe that's the beauty of living in an established village.
Do you also completely disagree with my list of cons ?
#22
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
The lack of insulation, double glazing and most important thermal mass mean the houses are colder. You can get round this though - I built my own house to overcome this issue instead of complaining about it.
Then change jobs. I have better working conditions and better pay than my last job in England and the conditions there weren't too shabby.
Mate, stop whinging and try and change the things in your life you're not happy with - it can be done, even in "boring" Melbourne.
BB
#23
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Just because i dont try to sell Aus on every post doesnt make my comments whinging.I could quite easily say "mate stop bullshitting about how fantastic Australia is" when,quite frankly, it aint no great shakes !
We simply have 2 different takes on the same place
Last edited by stuckinblighty; Jul 2nd 2010 at 11:03 pm.
#24
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
I don't disagree with all your cons - our house is cold in the mornings - but I grew up in a house without central heating - I don't find it that traumatic - for me it's a small price to pay.
We get better pay and less hours - so we're happy on that front too.
I do actually have sympathy for you - it must be awful to be living somewhere you don't want to be - life is short. Your situation is made worse of course as your family are enjoying life here. I do hope you can work something out.
And, yes, it's not cheap to live here - just spent $254 on two kid's dental check-ups and cleans!!
#25
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
But what are you missing from the UK to make it so boring here? That's what I'd be interested to know? Perhaps you don't enjoy the great outdoors or the cultural events/exhibitions Melbourne offers. You are right, you might find my interests completely boring too
I don't disagree with all your cons - our house is cold in the mornings - but I grew up in a house without central heating - I don't find it that traumatic - for me it's a small price to pay.
We get better pay and less hours - so we're happy on that front too.
I do actually have sympathy for you - it must be awful to be living somewhere you don't want to be - life is short. Your situation is made worse of course as your family are enjoying life here. I do hope you can work something out.
And, yes, it's not cheap to live here - just spent $254 on two kid's dental check-ups and cleans!!
I don't disagree with all your cons - our house is cold in the mornings - but I grew up in a house without central heating - I don't find it that traumatic - for me it's a small price to pay.
We get better pay and less hours - so we're happy on that front too.
I do actually have sympathy for you - it must be awful to be living somewhere you don't want to be - life is short. Your situation is made worse of course as your family are enjoying life here. I do hope you can work something out.
And, yes, it's not cheap to live here - just spent $254 on two kid's dental check-ups and cleans!!
I'm on substantially less money than i was on in the UK.We both work full time to make the same money i was making back home...not good.
I've tried,i dont like and i wanna go home ! simple as that really
#26
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Please note that the OP wanted to know about potential CONS aswell as pro's...trying reading the thread title please .
Just because i dont try to sell Aus on every post doesnt make my comments whinging.I could quite easily say "mate stop bullshitting about how fantastic Australia is" when,quite frankly, it aint no great shakes !
We simply have 2 different takes on the same place
Just because i dont try to sell Aus on every post doesnt make my comments whinging.I could quite easily say "mate stop bullshitting about how fantastic Australia is" when,quite frankly, it aint no great shakes !
We simply have 2 different takes on the same place
A poor job or suburb can bring the whole thing crashing down.
I was in the pub after work last night in the city and I looked at the array of faces around me and suddenly had a realisation that about 80pc of complainants don't even get to meet these sort of people. Ever. Just by the work they do. Just where they live.
Australia can be very marked demographically. It's no secret. So I think I can understand where you come from.
Cons - Melbourne can be very isolating for people marginalised or demographically disadvantaged or not liking suburbia. Every state capital.
#27
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Of course that's true. But the message I get over and over again from your posts is that anyone that gives Aus a 'fair go' couldn't fail to prefer it to any life they had elsewhere before. And that I think is utter nonsense. This comes from someone who is more than happy with their lot, has no desire to move back to the UK but can at least keep an open mind to other people's situations & state of mind.
#28
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
Please note that the OP wanted to know about potential CONS aswell as pro's...trying reading the thread title please .
Just because i dont try to sell Aus on every post doesnt make my comments whinging.I could quite easily say "mate stop bullshitting about how fantastic Australia is" when,quite frankly, it aint no great shakes !
We simply have 2 different takes on the same place
Just because i dont try to sell Aus on every post doesnt make my comments whinging.I could quite easily say "mate stop bullshitting about how fantastic Australia is" when,quite frankly, it aint no great shakes !
We simply have 2 different takes on the same place
Your wrong about the Wages.
Although most of this is helped by the Exchange rate. I'm not sure how you can make a statement like this.
Damn this thread is going to descend now, but I couldn't let this one go. Agreed with most other peoples percerptions as being relevant to them. Whereas the Wages thing is definitely incorrect. If you were to say things are more expensive here and you dont get so much for your money, then you could have a point.
From memory, circa 4 months ago, and this chestnut comes up all the time.... Average wage in Aus is now circa 65,000Aud and in the UK circa 25,000 pounds. I'm not going to bother looking it up this time around, As it's so skewed in Aussies favour at present because of the exchange rate that I know I'm definitely right.
Got to say this thread has some interesting perceptions in it, and although they may reflect how people see their lives in Aus, another person may see it differently.
Couldnt let this one go though.
#29
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
People are talking about their life in Australia and I can give some very specific, and marked advice on why things are going wrong without pulling punches. People tend to ignore these problems and pretend they don't exist.
Life in parts of Australia is shocking for people raised in a better life (for them) in the UK.
I was going to start a new post the other day. The sweet spot in Australian life - from the point of view of a British migrant - can be completely different from the sweet spot in the UK. It's a very big hole and many fall into it.
There is a huge dip on the graph around the median in Australian lifestyle.
What I mean by that is that the average Australian lives in ways which confound the average Brit. They confound me too!
Last edited by BadgeIsBack; Jul 3rd 2010 at 12:09 am.
#30
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2005
Location: Mornington
Posts: 1,650
Re: Pros & Cons of Melbourne...?
I have never intended to say that. I have never talked in terms of giving it a fair go. I talk in terms of common pitfalls and resources that might be required. I don't choose to consider their previous life to be honest. That is their right and choice to go back to, and probably should. I know nothing of their previous life and can't discuss what I don't know. In any case, the situation in Australia might be fixable. Don't forget - people wanted a happy outcome here or they wouldn't have bothered.
People are talking about their life in Australia and I can give some very specific, and marked advice on why things are going wrong without pulling punches. People tend to ignore these problems and pretend they don't exist.
Life in parts of Australia is shocking for people raised in a better life (for them) in the UK.
I was going to start a new post the other day. The sweet spot in Australian life - from the point of view of a British migrant - can be completely different from the sweet spot in the UK. It's a very big hole and many fall into it.
There is a huge dip on the graph around the median in Australian lifestyle.
What I mean by that is that the average Australian lives in ways which confound the average Brit. They confound me too!
People are talking about their life in Australia and I can give some very specific, and marked advice on why things are going wrong without pulling punches. People tend to ignore these problems and pretend they don't exist.
Life in parts of Australia is shocking for people raised in a better life (for them) in the UK.
I was going to start a new post the other day. The sweet spot in Australian life - from the point of view of a British migrant - can be completely different from the sweet spot in the UK. It's a very big hole and many fall into it.
There is a huge dip on the graph around the median in Australian lifestyle.
What I mean by that is that the average Australian lives in ways which confound the average Brit. They confound me too!
Probably true.
If I understood one word of it