young_lad

In recent months/years PB and Dotty pretty much covered Perth and Queensland between them.

I'm struggling to remember anybody having a good persistent whinge about Melbourne. So, any takers.....

And yes, I am serious.

If you cut thru' the crap PB and Dotty have posted (and then read the other 5%) there's been some good information to learn from.

So if you want to whinge about Melbourne, here's an invite. I think I'm getting pretty good at cutting through the crap (...the benefits of BritishExpats addiction....now there's a thread..), so whilst I expect unfounded whinges there's got to be some legitimate points to be made.

Anybody?

young_lad

Oh, and the one about the weather has been done.

dugongs

its not really a whinge and as a place to visit i really like melbourne.

but the big question for me if considering living there was whats the point. Its the most european of the oz cities and has a very familiar feel to it. The weather (oops had to mention it) is very european as well. the people well they are the most european of all the aussies - also the most balanced and friendly in my opinion.

my view if you are moving half way around the world to oz then maybe melbourne is not sufficiently different to make it all worth it.

Jaykay

Hi Young Lad

I've now returned home to Melbourne after living in the UK for the last 10 years.

I've been back nearly 2 weeks and I'm still not really sure how I feel about the place. Everything seems familiar (which I suppose it should as I lived here for 20 years before moving to the UK).

People in shops seem friendly enough. Always a smile and a hello.

Yes the weather is pretty average at the moment, but this is Melbourne and as everyone knows, you can get 4 seasons in one day.

Roads are good, parks and facilities are plenty, cars are priced the same as everywhere.

Can't really rave about the place as it's not all new to me, but I do feel comfortable here and I really do think it's an easy place to live.

Can't really think of much more to say.

Regards

RichS

Roads - if you aren't on a tollway then the roads are awful - try driving from the north to say Brighton, its an absolute mare. And whilst on the toll thing, thats confusing to the uninitiated, not to mention hook turns.

Melbournians are insular to the point of paranoia when it comes to sport. If its not AFL its rubbish, and under no account must we report on it in the press.

The weather was, well average I guess.

The actual city did less than nothing for me, in the same way that say Manchester does nothing for me.

Apart from that it was ok.

I guess I just found it dull and uninspiring.

bondipom

How far do they have to go for a surf?

dotty

Melbourne, My fave bit of OZ. Brilliant for a weeks holiday, few days in the city few days on the ocean road.

First visit was a bit of a shock tho, many parts are just as grotty, graffiti ish as UK cities. Main problem for UK immos would probably be high housing costs and long winter weather that is very similar to the UK.

Footy thing is quite annoying, too many seemed a bit obsessed with it bit weird, but plenty of arts theatre too.

Best range of ethnic food authentically cooked by its own people I have found in OZ.

Traffic, next question please.

Jaykay

Bondi

Depends where you live. Living where I do, and depending on where you want to go, on average it would take an hour to drive somewhere like Woolami, Flinders, Phillip Island, and about and hour and a half to drive down the west coast to Anglesea, Torquay, Bells Beach etc.

I used to be married to a surfer, so have visited most beaches in and around Melbourne at one time or other. Used to love watching when it was warm and sunny, used to hate it when it was cold and wet (caught up on sleep at these times).

Regards

tiredwithtwins

only stopped off for a couple of hours in melbourne when I was last in Oz and spent most of then in the loo (but thats another story).
I could only add - neighbours - usually the first question I was asked when I got back. not, 'did you enjoy ulhuru?', not 'was the great ocean road as wonderful as it is in the pictures?' no, it was did you go to the 'neighbours' set.
I ask you........

sue

unrefined_mind

Melbourne is a very nice place!

Could never ever ever live there though, The reason - can't turn right in the car at traffic lights.....
you may laugh - had to keep turning left at crossroads to get to where I wanted, never did get the hang of that hook right thing, and driving around the trams, thats another story..........

Badge

I am moving there to start with - jobs family members - but in my heart of hearts won't stay for good as I want to get to NSW eventually.

The fact that it is the most European city actually put me off a bit - I felt it was great as it was Australian - but it was too grey for me - even in summer - and at times I felt I was in the UK. Too "european" for my ideal tastes.

badge

bloody hell - first negative thing I've said all year!!

Goodpubmisser

A lot of Australians say "I don't like Melbourne!".

I have lived in Sydney and Melbourne for several years and am originally from England.

Melbourne has some good points compared with Sydney but you only appear to want to hear the bad so here goes:

The main thing that I did not like about Melbourne is that in essence it is only a big town with a big town atmosphere. I was called a Pom in an insulting way more times in Melbourne per year than I have ever been in Sydney.

I remember asking one guy at work once about the Melbourne Show - my question was if the children's show was on. The response I got back was along the lines of "What - you have never heard of t he Melbourne Show? It is only the biggest thing in Melbourne!!!!!". To which I replied " What is it , Prize Cows and and that sort of thing? We used to have an annual Flower Show in my home village".

In other words I found Melbourne to be a bit insular an non-cosmopolitan. I also found that it was about 6 years behind England where as Sydney is about 3 years behind England.

The pubs are better in Melbourne though mainly because the weather is worse. I found (I am an Engineer), that the companies in Melbourne were technologically about 10 years behind England.

Also I used to visit many different companies a week for one job that I did - during winter the factory workers huddle around wearing three jumpers while the wind howls through open doors.
I have seen better working conditions in Taiwan. At least in England they recognise that it gets cold so they heat the factories. In Sydney it is not so much of a problem mainly because the winters are warmer.

In Melbourne I also found that the people are generally more reserved than in any other place in Australia - a bit like the Southern Reserve in England (I am from the South East of England). In Sydney and Brisbane you can pretty much talk to anyone. In Melbourne you have to be introduced by at least two mutual friends first (an exaguration!).

Florida_03

I love Victorians...in Victoria...

The Victorians advertised their intentions when the motto for their number plates used to be:

"Victoria: On The Move"

On the move all right...straight to Queensland...when the bastards get there they whinge about how much better Victoria is. We Queenslanders got really quite sick of reminding them that they could move back to Victoria any time they liked.

The Government of Victoria must have got sensitive to the "On the move to Queensland" tag and changed the motto to:

"Victoria: The Place To Be"

Now is that desperation or what???

Florida_03

...

Andiii

Really? I find it to be completely the opposite.

I live in Melbourne. I love it. I can't really think of a bad thing to say about it, I even love the weather.

So, I'll adopt an outsider's perspective and contrast Melbourne and Sydney.

Melbourne seems more relaxed and confident than Sydney. It has a dark, gothic feel to the city, too, especially at night.

Sydney seems more conservative and urbanization is out of control. But I like Sydney's accessibility. In general, it seems easier and faster to get to the city. Having said that though, Sydney's public transport system "buy a different ticket for trains and buses" is a little prehistoric.

Sydney is more progressive than Melbourne, in regards to culture, art and business.

Melbourne has a great shopping centre culture. Also some fantastic sales after Christmas.

A Sydney friend said she found some Melbournians racist. While I didn't notice this, despite being with her at the alleged time, I'll take her word for it.

If you were to compare bondi beach to St. Kilda, St. Kilda beach is awful. But if you travelled out to Frankston or Rosebud, I'd have to conclude Melbourne's beach's are definitey better and safer.

I hear employment chances are better in Sydney than in Melbourne. But then again, house prices are expensive, just as they are in Melbourne.

I don't know. Eventually I want to leave Melbourne, not because it's a bad place but because I'd like to see what is out there. If not Europe, Syndney is probably where I'll be heading in the not too distant future.