It sure is, I pass the studios everyday on way to work. Kylies up there tonight for Rove McManus show. I'll tell her you were asking for her Oz.

Thanks for the welcome guys

My husband took me to the place where they film Neighbours and I was just beside myself with excitement!!!(Sad I know).

When I was touring the East Coast on my working holiday I persuaded the bus driver to do a detour to Palm Beach where they film Home & Away. It was great! I filled up some film canisters with Summer Bay Sand to take home to my equally sad yet easliy pleased mates!!

Hi Poppy - Melbourne is a lovely clean city with wide, open streets. I personally would like to move further out to a country town having come from a small village in Norfolk (Sporle, nr Swaffham??) But as a city goes it's great. It has a fantastic 'Cafe Culture' and a really colourful nightlife, (especially Brunswick Street). There is quite a lot of building going on in Melbourne at the mo with heaps of apartments going up, but I think that may slow down due to over-supply. Lots of people are renovating or subdividing though.
As for the weather, the saying goes down here "Four Seasons in One Day" so you often need to be prepared, but that's not a problem for us English folk!! It can get very hot in the summer & the sun has a fierce bit but it can also get quite cold in the winter, I actually had frost on my car one morning last week. Nothing to write home about though, I think last year it only happened about 3 times. Of course the high plains are about 2-3 hours drive from Melbourne if you need a dose of real snow or fancy some skiing.
That's one of the thing I love about Victoria, it's got a bit of everything.

The WHV seems more like the meet an Aussie partner visa. I met my now wife in 97 on a WHV. Glad you are getting into Australian life.

We took the Mother in Law to Neighbours street, was the highlight of her holiday getting her pic taken outside Harolds house.
Just happened to be a bus load of Poms there to & one of the guys who lives in the street was really p***ed off at people taken photos.

Welcome sparkles, please bring some on in here!
Alf Stewart (or Ray Meagher) from Home & Away can always be found in a particular restaurant here in Kirribilli. We sat on the table beside him the other night. Had to stop ourselves from staring at him.
Can't tell you which restaurant though. It's hard enough getting a table at the moment without all of Alf's fans turning up.

Hi Sparkles

Thanks for the reply, sounds great, can't wait to visit later in the year - we've got a couple of good books on Melbourne, but there's nothing better than getting a first hand view.

I think we can handle a bit of frost, as you say, nothing new to us poms and I think the rest will make up for the winter weather!

Thanks again and all the best! You never know, we might meet up at a future Expats meet if we settle in Melbourne.

All the best

Poppy

So Bordy, from Ferntree Gully you must go along the Burwood Hwy, turn right at the lights at Springvale Rd and by Ch 10, looking left to try and catch a glimpse of Kylie's, sorry Kylie.

'Ramsay Street' in the real world is Pin Oak Court, South Vermont. Bordy would turn left at the lights, left into Weedon Court and 2nd left into Pin Oak Court. Just down Weedon Court is the oval where they do a lot of filming.

Ian Smith (Harold Bishop) went to Williamstown High School, like myself (a bit before me) and I've spoken to him a few times at the 'footy'. He is a keen Williamstown supporter. The guy who used to play Philip Martin lives in Williamstown also.

The people who live in Pin Oak Court get paid to have their house exteriors filmed (and presumably to put up with the tourists taking photos). The interior shots, pub, coffee shop, hotel etc are done at the Ch 10 studios. Not that I watch the program.

OzTennis

2 years? Blimey, we've only been here 2 weeks and "home" is *here* already. (Melbourne, that is.) Pity we've got to go back to the UK in less than a week (we were only here validating our visas and doing local research), but it won't be for any longer than it has to be.

I'm happy to say that I wouldn't recognise any of these Aussie soap stars if they came up and shook me by the hand. So no trying to track down wherever-it-is street for me, then. (Lest anyone accuse me of national prejudice, I should say that I wouldn't recognise any English soap stars either. Real drama's quite interesting enough without wasting time over made-up drama!)

Welcome, o sparkly one. See you at some future Melbourne area get-together, no doubt.

Mark

Just thought I'd welcome you to the madhouse....hmmmm.....forum !!

Good to see you enjoying the Aussie life, can't wait til we get there.

Best wishes
Warren

Spot on Oz, I work in Nunawading, along Springvale rd as you say. And yes I had a look for her tonight but no sign

Yes Ian Smith goes to all the seagulls games. Toadie lives in FTG & also seen Kristy Venda going around.

Alf is a legend.............well I think so anyway!! Strike me roan!! (is that what he says? I've never been too sure of the last word or what it actually means)!!