Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

Hi,

I have so many questions I don't know where to start!!

We currently live in Scotland however my husband has the opportunity of a job in Melbourne, earning around $160,000 per annum. At home we have a decent standard of living and a nice home which we own. We have 4 kids, three daughters aged 11, 10 and 14 months and an 8wks old son who would of course be making the move with us.

My questions are:

1) I can see that Melbourne is an expensive place to live - which communtable areas do you recommend we look for rentals? There also needs to be good schools near by for our girls. We would need af least a 4 bed and ideally it would be closeish to a beach (my eldest daughters wishes). My husband will get a car with the job, do we need to buy me a car? Or will I get by in the week without one?

2) we don't intend for me to work until our youngest two are at school is my husbands wage (which has the ability to increase with him being able to further his career in oz) be enough for us to enjoy a decent standard to living over there?

3) what are the schools like? Well the education system in general? My girls are happy and confident, they have lots of friends here, is melbourne a good place to make friends? They both love the outdoors!

4) for me as a stay at home mum, does anyone have any experience of baby groups/toddler groups are there such things over there?

5) what's the weather like in Melbourne I keep seeing conflicting information about the amount of rain and sun! Remember we are in Scotland renouned for being wet and cold!!!

6) food shopping, how much more expensive is it and realistically how much more do you spend per week on food and toiletries? We will have nappies to factor in and formula milk for my son.

I have tons more but I don't want to bombard you all!!

He has also been offered similar in Auckland. The salary is less there however, nz is where I would love to try, but I do want to be practical and so what's best for us as a family.

Thanks so much for reading and for any replies, it will really be appreciated :)

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

Auckland is boring. Melbourne definately over Auckland.

1. Domain.com.au

2. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

3. Schools are fine

4. My wife finds them on facebook.

5. Fine. It gets seasons. Bit chilly in winter, bit warm in summer. A good all rounder.

6. See 2.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

160000 will be about 1800 a cwee after tax. Not bad but rent on a 4 bed house near beach could be 650 skywards you could easily pay 1000 in top suburbs. I would say 300 for food for 6 inc bubs stuff. Think u need a car with 4 kids. Melb can be 4 or 44 degrees. Winds make extremes But generally between 15 to 25 so ok. Suburbs around 300 of them. The ones that always get mentioned are generally top shelf house price. The south east might suit and how far you go down will become cheaper. Look on realestate.com but realistically allow a good 20% over the guide ha ha price.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

What visa will you be on? This is important.

The salary package is fine. I would recommend a car for you.

Melbourne over Auckland, definitely. Lots of reasons why.

The education system, if your children are self-starters and independent, they will power through OK. Australian schools don't really crack the whip on kids and so if they are not self-motivated, there is a risk of aimless drift and so you will need to monitor the situation and possibly supplement their education with tutors etc as needed.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

Do you have a permanent visa for Australia or will this be on a temporary visa? Remember that there is no guarantee that a 457 visa will become permanent so you could be returning with just 60 days notice if things don't quite work out. There are other downsides to a 457 visa too - no benefits such as support with child care for example. At the moment Vic don't charge school fees for 457 visa holders but as other states have suddenly introduced fees of around $4-5k pa per child, I wouldn't be surprised if a cash strapped Victoria doesn't follow suit at some point. The dependents of 457 visa holders find it more difficult to get jobs especially in a career field (as they can leave at the drop of a hat).

Usual rule of thumb is that schools reflect the suburbs you are in, so if you wouldn't want to live in a suburb you wouldn't want your kids in school there. The nice beach suburbs are going to cost you much more than the inland suburbs. You'll want to pick somewhere that will give your DH a reasonable run into work, that's the usual first factor to work out.

Yes, you'll need a car, trekking kids around on public transport isn't much fun.

There will be social groups for mums but there aren't that many SAHMs these days as meeting rent/mortgage payments is more often a 2 income necessity.

Weather? Melburnians always say they can have 4 seasons in one day. It doesn't snow but I've never been quite so cold as standing on Flinders St station in mid winter with the wind whipping up from the South Pole. The dust storms that roll in from the West in the summer heat are pretty spectacular too.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

Scottishedo . . . have you any idea where your husband could work in Melbourne? It covers a large area compared with British cities, so this would need to be taken into consideration when seeking a place to live and schools. Even though the tram system is very good, you would certainly need a car.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

Thank you all for your responses!

It's a work to residence visa we would be coming out on and hoping to apply for pr after 2 years, does anyone know on this type of visa would we have to pay the school fees mentioned earlier until we hopefully got PR?

Thanks again

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

Yes I'm now definitely thinking a car for me is a must!

Yes we need to look at more specific areas.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

Thats more of a New Zealand visa term than an Australian one, but I suspect its a 457.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

No school fees at the moment but who knows in the longer term. Full payment of any childcare fees with no supporting benefits on that visa.

You might want to check out the new changes to temporary visas - not necessarily the process that you may be expecting. Remember that PR is not guaranteed.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

I would not be locating a family of six to Australia on a temp visa, unless maybe I had plenty of money and were up for a little adventure. Housing in Melbourne has become horribly expensive compared to wages. Fine for those already in the market but not so for newcomers.

If the employers want your OH they should be able to sponsor him for PR from the get go. I would spend some time looking at how you might qualify for PR either without an employers sponsorship or with it. It might be possible to launch a PR visa at the same time as the 457. The 457 will get you there quicker but you won't be in limbo hoping for PR down the line.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

www.realestate.com.au

Generally houses in the suburbs are 4 bed, but sometimes they aren't spacious. Some people will push you to the eastern suburbs, but I think you get more to the west. To give you an idea, this house would cost you roughly $30k or £18k pa. and is in a good school zone. Cheaper 4 beds are available (down to ~$20k).

4 Yellowbox Drive Point Cook Vic 3030 - House for Rent #421347882 - realestate.com.au

There are beachside properties, but they tend to be expensive, and given it's the bay, many melburnians don't really give it too much thought. I wouldn't personally get fixated on it.

Working out where you'd be working and picking appropriately is a smart move.

I'd say yes, but it does depend on what you call decent.

Not my ballpark, but I'd say OK. Friends is the same everywhere. Plenty of outdoors to be going on with (and many of the new estates purposely put in green areas in addition). School uniforms is a thing here.

No idea.

OK, general climate of Melbourne is akin to the south of france/Ibiza. Lowest yearly temp is about -2C, which it hits for about 4h in total during the year. Usual winter max temp is 15C, and in the summer it can get up to over 40C. As far as rainfall is concerned, its not dry, but it has less rainfall and more sunny days that the UK. Here's how the rainfall varies over Melbourne.

https://www.melbournewater.com.au/Pl...-_Dec_2010.jpg

You often get the '4 seasons in one day' line trotted out. Basically the temps etc. get driven by the wind direction - from the centre of Australia, or coming up from Antarctica. So particularly on summer days, if a front comes through and the wind shifts, you can drop 20C in 20mins (I'm not joking). Keeps you on your toes.

More expensive than the UK, but shouldn't be a major issue. Lots of chinese buying up all the milk formula they can.

I have tons more but I don't want to bombard you all!!

Be aware that NZ house prices are higher than AU - and no, I've no idea why.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

That is dirt cheap. What's the catch? Location?

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

That's not atypical - it was pretty much picked at random.

Here you go, here's another one nearby, overlooking the water, 5 bed, similar price.

http://www.realestate.com.au/propert...akes-420954286

Point is the eastern suburbs are well overpriced, but the western aren't. And since the houses are newer, the insulation standards are better too.

Re: Questions, questions - Melbourne
 

But that's OK if you don't leave the house. What if you want to go for a walk, nip down the road for a coffee or fry up, hit the local pub for a footy game.

Any good in the west?