Sausage

I've read several "thumbs down" threads about Melbourne. Are there any people who have migrated to Melbourne and are happy with their choice of destination?

I understand that the city itself is less desirable than the outer 'burbs, which is not surprising. I'd just like to know if people who have gone to Melbourne are content and feel they have made an improvement upon the UK.

Cheers...

Bordy

I moved to Melbourne from Scotland a few years ago & love it. Ive never felt unsafe in the city at night & feel a LOT better walking through Melbourne than some parts of Glasgow. I'm sure every city has its poorer areas, as Polly said Like Coburg area but the good areas sure outweigh any bad ones.
Each person is differant I guess, Ive been to Sydney four times & I found it fantastic for a visit but I couldn't live there or drive there for that matter
I'm more than happy with Melbourne.

Sausage

Thanks for that Bordy. It's good to get feedback

mozzie

I love Melbourne, but it's not for everybody. Heaps to do, plenty of great restaurants, theatres, nightlife, etc. But it does get pretty wet and chilly in winter (no snow though). It really depends what you want from life. Many Brits prefer the quieter cities of Perth and Adelaide, while others prefer the faster pace of Sydney or the year-round warm weather of Queensland. It's horses for courses.

Melbourne itself is a big city with plenty of good areas and some pretty awful. As Bordy says Coburg is pretty bad - home of the Coburg Hilton (Pentridge Prison, now thankfully closed). But most of the inner suburbs have been yuppified and are pretty good.

anya4oz

Actually I *like* the idea of having seasonal weather (i.e. cooler/cold winters & warm summers). When I lived in LA, I soon found that having the same weather 365 days a year got a bit boring.....

Anya.

anya4oz

Yeah, I know what you mean about Glasgow (pretty cool restaurants there these days, though, which helps).

All cities have bad areas, just like they have tw*ttish people. Sometimes the people in the bad areas are even polite - for example, one time when I was accidentally walking on the 'bad' side of Market St in SFO, a kindly mugger suggested I cross the road so he wouldn't have to mug me. He even pointed out a safe place to cross. What a dear.....

Anya.

mozzie

Totally agree Anya. Variety is the spice of life - even regarding weather. Still doesn't stop me from bitching on a cold wet morning.

anya4oz

I try to look at this way: a cold morning is a great opportunity for me to wear my fave fuschia pink cashmere sweater

(not that I'm vain or anything )

Anya.

Bordy

And what shoes go with that Anya

anya4oz

Gotta be the spike heel silver fake Minolo Blahniks with the oversized rhinestones, hasn't it? Slight problem though: I can only walk as far as the front door in them

Probably just as well, as the cops would probably arrest me for immoral activities if I walked (staggered) down the street in them

Cool shoes, though..... *sigh*

Anya.

dotty

I think its a very good job you are not coming to QLD

Boozy

Melbourne is the best place to live, the city is just fantastic at night especially by the casino .The night life is superb lots of bars and cafe's to eat at.
i cannot understand anyone giving it the thumbs down ,except queenslanders as they are not full shilings.
I would never move back to manchester....never,never,never !!!

Badge

I love the fact that Melbourne CBD is nice and small and compact. I can park in the casino for 8 bucks a night and be in the CBD in 5.

None of this traffic, noise and hoardes of tourists with brightly coloured rucksacks thronging down Oxford St, or Trafalgar Sq. Melbourne has bars and cafes, southbank as its focus, London gets a dirty column and a dirty statue and 100s of people all getting in the way. You have to go miles to get to other ''centres", whereas when you come out of Flinders or Spencer - that's it - you're in a great city. No mess, no fuss.

I like it. I'm a NSW boy at heart, I still love it, but Melbourne is fast growing on me.

yee ha

BM

young_lad

Immediately before arriving in Melbourne we visited Sydney. We thought Sydney was beautiful, the people were really friendly (for example we got a driven guided tour of the North Shore by a girl we just met on the beach), the only downside being the weather (it rained almost every evening).

Although we were there strictly as tourists, we got pretty worried that on arrival in Melbourne we'd be comparing it to Sydney.... and Melbourne would come off 2nd best. We had to keep telling ourselves to judge Melbourne on its own merits.

We've since arrived in Melbourne and .....well, Sydney is just a memory now and we've certainly no regrets. It's easy see why Melbourne alway scores so highly on 'world liveability' lists. An Aussie (taking a break in the Outback) once told me, 'Everything seems to just fit into place in Melbourne...'. I think I understand.

The gardens aroung the city are beautiful (check out the Royal Botanic Gardens...). The Southbank at night is a real experience (restaurants overlooking the river, street artists 'doing their thing') and it's all so clean. The city is so well laid out with wide tree-lined streets in the CBD and a decent public transport system (especially if you're used to the one in the UK). The people are even more friendly here. We live in the Bayside area, and when young_lass and I go running along the beach and esplanade (which are lovely) we see lots of families playing and spending time together there. As for the famous weather I don't think it's dropped below 19 deg c all year (and considering it's Autumn here that's not bad - it's also been positively hot too!) I could go on......

Do I want to live my life here? Crikey, I couldn't answer that after a few months let alone a week's visit like some people seemingly are able to do.

Ask me again in 2 years and I'll tell you then, but it's certainly started out on the right foot (we're struggling to think of negatives)

If I was to make judgements on a 10 day stay, I'd tell you it rains every evening in Sydney.....

bondipom

There are 2 main things that Melbourne has over Sydney

Affordability of housing

A more rounded cultural appreciation probably related to the cooler climate.

Sydney over Melbourne

Beaches, weather and better employment prospects although that does come down to field.

Other than that as a parochial Sydneysider it is my duty to say Melbourne is a rainy dump and that Victoria is on the move to Queensland.