JD Mower

Hello Guys

New to all this so please bear with me! I am looking for somewhere to stay in Melbourne from Aug 1st for about 5 months. Does anyone have any expereince of the company Australian Home Away? australianhomeaway.com.au
If not can anyone tell me anyhting about Richmond as they have an aprtment available here.

Thanks for any help

JD

busterboy

Very close to the city. Will you be working in the CBD?

Ozzidoc

I like Richmond - have friends and relatives there. It's close to the CBD, very well serviced by trams and trains. There are some secret little parks close by. The eating is divine....and cheap. The shopping is fab.

Dont know about the organisation you mentioned...... why 5 months?

Thegumtreedotcom has rooms available. If you PM me I may be able to help....one of my friends rents her room out from time-to-time....

Good luck - and enjoy thai tai 2 for me (it opened when I was living in the area......nothing like thai thai 1, which was a secret site just for the locals!

JD Mower

Will be on a Working Holiday Visa so looking for something close to the city that does not resemble the small Gloucestershire town I currently reside in!!!

busterboy

Believe me ...you will see a difference~!

JD Mower

My wife and I fancy spending a bit of time in the city before doing some travelling. 5 months takes us pretty much up to christmas. I am a teacher so will be looking for some casual relief teaching.

Thanks for the advice on food!! Can almost taste that Thai

busterboy

Do you know that there is a teaching thread on the main menu?...full of useful stuff.

JD Mower

Oh yes! That has been extremely useful over the past few months. Each time I read it I learn something else that scares me to death

busterboy

Yup....sometimes this csite can do more harm than good....

fnord

We used them for a stay in November last year in Doncaster East. Good value for money, I think. All arrangements made via e-mail with good response times.

There was one hiccup. The place we stayed at was a new property for them and the pool wasn't working properly. They made various attempts to fix it but in the end they gave up and refunded some of the accommodation cost.

I would use them again.

JD Mower

Thanks for the info. My only concern at the moment is that the apartment in Richmond looks a bit 'ropey' I think I need an expert who can tell me that it isn't!!!

OzTennis

I hope you like Vietnamese as well?

Richmond was an old inner industrial and working class suburb, close to the Yarra and named by some nostalgic person for its cousin which is close to the Thames. It is quite a large suburb and while the western end is close to the CBD and almost walking distance, the eastern end would require more than Shanks Pony. As said, excellent public transport by train, bus or tram into the city.

All sides of the 'burb have parkland, particularly the CBD side with 2 footy grounds (Richmond and MCG), Melbourne Park (tennis), Olympic Park (RL, aths, CFC etc nearby); nice walks along the river into 'town'.

The northern end in particular, like Footscray and a few other areas is very popular with the Vietnamese community and a walk or drive along Victoria St with all its restaurants, shops etc is like being in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon if you prefer. Great eating and very cosmopolitan.

Other parts are renowned for their shopping eg Swan St and Bridge Rd and are very popular with Melburnians, particularly at the weekends.

A daughter of a friend has lived in Richmond (nr RFC) and worked in the city for years and loves it. She even sold her car because she found she didn't need it most of the time.

As on many things, the Wiki entry is quite good:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Victoria

For me Richmond (and Melbourne) means just one thing - Paul Kelly's evocative song 'I'm high on the hill, looking over the bridge to the MCG and way up on high the clock on the silo says 11 degrees...... I remember, I remember' (Leaps and Bounds). The Nylex grain silo with its clock which also gives the temperature is a Melbourne institution.

Good luck with the work, brush up before-hand on some basic Viet phrases if you are working in Richmond schools.

Don't support Richmond Tigers either but a decent team like Western Bulldogs (Tigers recently handed out the equivalent of a soccer 10-0 thrashing)

OzTennis

Ozzidoc

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

It was Tho Tho 1 and Tho Tho 2 (not thai thai....).......I left Richmond in 1991......and my memory is failing me!!!

JD Mower

Thanks for all of the info Oz Tennis. It is very much appreciated. Thanks also for the football advice!! My football (well soccer) team had a bad night last night so I need to switch sports and support someone who wins!

The apartment I am looking at is right next to West Richmond railway Station. Do you know if this is a reasonable area of Richmond?

OzTennis

Ah, Southampton? My brother (Melbourne born and bred) is a Derby County supporter co-incidentally! I watched all last night's game (I'm in Scotland, married a Scot).

You are on the CBD side of Richmond and north of MCG/RFC there so property is generally going to be quite expensive and it will be popular with professional people. From memory it will be quite a good area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Ri...ion,_Melbourne

OzTennis