Stressed Eric

OK, lovely peeps,

I read a lot of bad stuff about Perth and Melbourne seems almost perfect , so ... let's turn it around;

Tell us what you like about living in Perth and what really drags you down in Melbourne

Looking at the figures Perth is still the No.1 destination for UK immigrants - but is this likely to change?

Or .... Is Perth soooo gooood & it's all a bluff to keep us future migrants away, over to you.

jad n rich

Melbourne on a grey damp day can look like a very run down bit of the UK. Can remember first impressions on arrival - deffo rough bit of UK. Yet you can fly down in a mild spring to PIL house in a V well to do bayside suburb and wish you could justify the price to buy there. I hate the hairdryer heatwaves of summer, bushfires seem worse than anywhere in OZ and the flies, which I didnt realise were so bad there, we lived there in winter, december was a shock. Some of the obsession with sport got boring, like at times the entire city revolved around a ball game Last visit we thought the inner city must win the hobo award, bums everywhere, begging evertime you walked up the street, plenty of drugs around too by the look of some of the late night crowd. Melb also seems to win the crime and violent crime award from the aussie media, some 'orrible stuff the past year, one weekend we were down the headlines were 5 murders this weekend, needless to say we got back safe but its got the the daily mail factor at times.

Hey and before anyone starts whingin, the OP ASKED for the bad bits.

Like anywhere then good and bad.

Could never live in perth it just wasnt for me, could see I would be bored mental in weeks, was asking where else do you go/do by a week. Felt like a fish in a bowl and was only there a fortnight.

elice_in_oz

True
Yep
At least in the last couple of years
Depends where you are. Very bad in the country, not too bad in the city from my experience.
I guess AFL is a bit like a religion down here
A bit OTT but definitely true in some areas of the city and some suburbs.
Media does seem to relish reporting violence. Don't think it's worse than any large city, but it's definitely over reported and debated.



We've been in Melbourne 7 years and yes, the weather can get depressing in winter, especially since most houses don't have central heating, which means freezing indoors and outdoors.
When we lived in St Kilda, I got a bit tired of the drug-addicts and prostitutes leaving syringes in the plant pots.
Some people don't like the fact that Melbourne has no ocean beaches. Doesn't bother me, I don't like the beach
Traffic can be a drag. Government is blah . House prices are ridiculous
Trying very hard but can't think of much else...
All in all, just like everywhere, there's good and not so good. I still love it though!

dave99

ok you wanted good bits only about perth..

Its got a nice spread out design with large shopping centers all over so you hardly ever need to go to the city

The working life is one of the most relaxed I have ever known, theres less pressure

Employers tend to provide free beer on friday afternoons, several companies I have worked at have done this, one even used to bring a trolley to your desk so you could drink beer while still working all afternoon

People seem to be more positive and happy about their lives in general

The roads are excellent, dual carriageways almost everywhere

Lots of beaches that havent been developed much, theres laws against big buildings on the coast

It doesnt have the big city feel, its easy to get away from the city and get some nice peace and quiet

Houses are a good size and people tend to leave you alone if thats what you want, so less hassles

jimbo_d

I've lived in both, so if you just want good things about Perth and bad about Melbourne here you go....

Perth is great if you're at the end of your 20s like I was when I came here, it's got everything you need, great weather most of the year, good enough nightlife to still have fun, very good employment prospects if you're anything to do with mining/engineering, very good infrastructure due to the mining royalties, great public transport that's almost as reliable as a Swiss train, most people are happy and will say hello to you in the Street. I love it here.

Melbourne, well it's too much like England for my liking, a lot like London in many ways, same late 19th early 20th centuary architecture, which is great, but no different than what I was used to. The weather also sucks apart from summers are a bit better than UK, but it does tend to either be crap like UK, or so hot the place is on fire. There's a lot of homeless, crime and anything else that goes along with a big city.

I'd say it depends where you are in your life as to where you'd go to live. If I was in my early 20s I wouldn't like Perth as much as I do now, however the high crime and big city stuff of Melbourne is a turn off for me now.

salopian

This is a trick question right?

The only good thing about Perth is it is thousands of kilometres from anywhere.

Melbourne has LIFE. Good and bad, but at least it's alive.

Shellfish

Could have written this post myself - also been here 7 years and lived in St Kilda for a while (moved pretty quickly though). Except the bit about the beach - love the ocean beach but the GOR and Portsea make up for the lack of ocean beach near the city - beautiful .

bcworld

If you're looking for negatives then for many I suppose the number 1 would be weather - for 6 months of the year the average maximum temp is below 20C -if this isn't your Australian dream then look elsewhere.

Despite the headlines I think the transport system is pretty good - again looking for negatives the trains can be among the filthiest I've seen anywhere.

I also think the violent crime issue is real & IS worse than elsewhere in Aus - that being said many suburbs have almost non existant crime rates. I'd say violent crime is concentrated in certain suburbs, communities & even streets - places you're likely to spend little if any time in.

Hmmm, I'm also not a fan of the CBD - I think it lacks any sort of wow factor you might find in other cities - my Melbourne is all about the inner suburbs and the CBD is just somewhere I pass through.

I've never been to Perth - I know enough about it to know it would drive me bonkers though!

JoeBlogsOfOz

Lived in Sydney for many years (and visited Melbourne many times) before moving to Perth five years ago. I must admit I could not go back to live in either Sydney or Melbourne.
For starters, Melbourne weather as everybody else suggested, and lately, I am not sure if anybody noticed, if you go to Melbourne, especially CBD, it feels like you have stepped in India (no offence to Indians). I dont have any problem with any particular race, it is just that lately there are so many of them it seems hard to realise you are in Melbourne.

Perth, yes it is isolated and that adds to its beatuy IMO. Its a different world in its own right. It's closer to Asia and mostly its cheaper to travel to Asia than eastern Australia. Perth has a feeling of a country town yet it has everything that one would expect from a large city. Perth has no toll roads, compared it to nearly ten tolls in Sydney and Melbourne each. I personally think violence in Perth is overreported but the ratio of safe suburbs to not so safe is , IMO, much better than Melbourne.

mohogony

They all seem to be cooking and hairdressing students and driving Taxis. They started moving to Melbounre in large numbers around 10 years ago when the goverment created a loophole in the immigration system allowing foreigners who do voactional courses to Get P/R, large numbers of Inidans then enroled in these often dodgy colleges mostly in Melbourne.

bcworld

It depends if you're take on the world is formed entirely from stories you read on news.com.au.

Most of the Indians I know in Melbourne came to Australia on PR visas based on their I.T. skills...rather like a lot of people who post on this site.

Many of the part time taxi drivers I talk to are also I.T. students studying for a second degree in Australia...they could be making it up but they seem to know what they're talking about.

If the CBD is dominated by any race of people though it's people from SE Asia, not India. Regardless I'm, sure it won't make it onto everyone's 'negative' list.

donki

We have been living in Perth for just over six months...good points....Beaches well they are just beautiful and if you have to drive 20 mins to get to one you would be in the minority, its a very clean city pristine infact there does seem to be a great supply of jobs the weather is great and so is the general overall standard of living, as far as safety goes i took three teenage girls to the Lady Gaga concert we went by train and can say i could not have felt any safer the trains are excellent we went into the city from warnbro and changed onto Burswood as far as major cities in the world are concerned i can't imagine there are many where you see nothing but happy people enjoying themselves no fighting etc etc etc

Stressed Eric

Well, thank-you you lovely peeps - very interesting. Well, it's sunny here in the UK today (for once) so were off to a barby - got to do it while you can

dave99

you actually paid money to see that crap? wow

Petals

Melbourne downside

Too many people
Trains do not run on time
Supermarkets are open till midnight and some all night
Pubs and Clubs are open all the time
Lots of little bars which only a few people can get in
Lots of different food produce due to the diverse population
Close to all the other eastern States so too many visitors from interstate
Ball is an icon and people who play ball and bat games are gods
Too many things to do

Perth upside

Long way away from the Eastern States so too dear to travel and visit
Lovely layout
Beaches wonderful, even the sand does not bother
Peaceful
Lots of people from the UK
Freemantle doctor