dave99

Hi
I have been in melbourne for only a few days now after a year in perth. I have been looking at lots of rentals in and a little ways out of the city. I am on the tram now heading to 4 more.

I cannot shake this feeling that melbourne is just like london
Its a copy of london with slightly more cheerful people.
The weathers bad, its rained everyday, its overcrowded and expensive. All the rentals are tiny, studios are insanely small, 1 beds are not much better
I am just wondering whever to stay or not. I really cannot decide.

Do people have much of a decent standard of living here, how can they live in such cramped conditions.
I am a single guy but I am wondering how people raise kids here, is there much of a future for them.

Am I right in thinking that to get any space you have to head out a long way and deal with a long commute packed into a cramped train everyday?

I have a week left on the hotel so I need to decide quickly, help!

old.sparkles

What prompted the move from Perth to Melbourne Dave?

Dorothy

Dave, it's winter in Australia. Of course it's wet and rainy and cold. The rents in any city's CBD and close surrounds are high - just like Perth. Yes, you're going to have to look further out from the city if you want space. Just like in Perth or London or any other big city in the world.

GarryP

It's a city, in a way that Perth isn't - with everything that goes with that.

Accommodation-wise it's actually cheaper than Perth, as is the general living costs, but you do have to expect to be living further out (4m people, natch). The 1 bed etc. stuff tends to be hipster and priced accordingly. You'll find things bigger tend not to be more expensive, provided you are further out.

Yes Melbourne has weather (it's one of the reasons people tend to come here), I wouldn't say Perth is much better (more blue skies maybe).

On the plus side, you will find much more to do here than you would in Perth. Melbourne takes much longer to exhaust of 'stuff to do'.

When one is tired of Perth, one has been there a month.

BadgeIsBack

You missed the best weather we had last week - cold and sunny. It hasn't even been that wet this winter - this week has been the wettest we've had all winter probably. This is the thing - look at the big picture!

The fact it's like London...well that has some advantages - remember that people who love London cite the fact it is big as an advantage. Melbourne is a compromise between Perth and London...also, it's quite a bit less busy than London, really. And seek out a scene which is you.

Some good points but I am biased.

Melbourne takes a bit more time, and actually once the honeymoon is over, it might have more longevity than the other capitals. It is the least attractive perhaps of the capitals on a wet day, but in spring and autumn it is 'lovely'.

I was in Perth in the week and they had some freaky winter weather - with the river sending spray and buffeting my car on the Mitchell...

Leave it a bit longer perhaps. PM me if you want any advice.

moneypenny20

An interstate move can often be more traumatic than an international one. Def look further afield and most definitely give it more time. A single guy should have a blast in Melbourne and when the weather's nice it's very very nice. Do you have a job in place?

Petals

It was 21 degrees and dry day before yesterday, we are glad of the rain in winter as we usually miss out for most of the summer and we need to get our storage up and our tanks filled.

If you want to live where the young people live its usually around the inner city and yes the places are small as so many people want to live there so they can walk to work, walk to the market and everything else the city has to offer.

My daughter lives in Brunswick in a small house with her oh and the rent is not cheap but the benefits of living where she lives are huge. They have no kids, the world is their oyster they are always eating out and about and doing stuff that is why its desirable and expensive.

More space comes in ordinary land where mum, dad and the kids live, doing what mum, dad and the kids do and I don't know if you are like I was when I was young and single it was not what I wanted to do.

Have a look around South Yarra, Prahran, St Kilda, Elwood and the other side, Collingwood, East Melbourne, Fitzroy, West Melbourne, North Melbourne, further out Ascot Vale.

quoll

It's a city and cities are like that. I think the inner suburbs are the place to go for a young chap on his own - the outer burbs would be deadly! You don't have to settle for ever and ever there, just have a bit of adventure and see if it floats your boat and, if not, move on. If I had money, South Yarra would do it for me.

Mike at Taree

For a single guy looking for cheaper accommodation, less crowding, better weather and things to do I'd suggest (despite economic downturn) Brisbane.

As you have discovered, Melbourne and Sydney were established at Mini-me Londons. Brisbane is different as it didn't get its legs till the late 19th Century so it could learn from the mistakes of the already huge Southern capitals.

For example to avoid the bubonic plague (that's right, Sydney had outbreaks) and other epidemics, Queensland passed the "Undue Subdivision of Land Prevention Act, 1885" which set the frontages of house blocks at 22 feet, thus preventing suburbs of terraced houses as found in Sydney and Melbourne.

Result is a less dense city but with new apartment blocks more recently built near the center, so the inner suburbs and less dense with cute little "dolls house" old houses where a lot of young people and students share, but with apartments if you wish.

No real winter either, it occasionally gets down to 14 degrees max to remind them of the time of year.

bcworld

So where have you been looking? We are considering a move from the St Kilda / Windsor are where we live now. Today we went for a look at a couple of houses in some of the inner northern suburbs...a lot of it is totally fugly to be honest! The weather didn't help.

Pollyana

We had some 4 degree nights this year, blissful
For the OP though - you get rain here too, chucked it down the last couple of days, under grey skies, and thats just winter showers not the deluges of summer....

RedDragon2008

What areas are you looking? and what is your budget?

Where in Melbourne would you be working?

dave99

Thanks for the posts, I have been to see some more cbd ones today, studios, so basically like hotel rooms. I ned to decide now what to do. I could put in an application and give it a try, or go back to perth, or the UK even.

Old.sparkles ‘What prompted the move from Perth to Melbourne Dave?’
I fancied a change, my job was rubbish and since I had heard so many good things about Melbourne I figured why not, I will give it a shot

Dorothy ‘Dave, it's winter in Australia. Of course it's wet and rainy and cold. The rents in any city's CBD and close surrounds are high - just like Perth’
Absolutely I understand, perhaps I am a little naive or have just avoided the city issues in the past. In the UK I lived in the midlands and never near a city center, I drove everywhere, as I did in perth. I had a 2 bed apartment in perth 10 mins from the city for less money than I am looking at for a studio room on the outskirts of melbournes cbd. I never would have lived in London in the UK, never. But now I have arrived I am a little surprised to find it so London like here

GarryP ‘It's a city, in a way that Perth isn't’
That’s true and I guess you get all the problems common to citys. Melb seems overcrowded and expensive to me. The thought of getting on the trams between 4-7pm turns me off to commuting.
Several times I have gone to get on a packed tram, looked at all the people, and though bugger this then walked off to a pub for a couple hours. I don’t want to e doing that dailey!

BadgeIsBack ‘seek out a scene which is you…..Leave it a bit longer perhaps’
Not sure on my scene, but it certainly wont be like the large amount of tattooed, pieced, green haired, or hipsters with funny hats on all of which seem to be trying way to hard to be cool and ‘alternative’. If everyones being so alternative I wonder if the alternative to alternative is just regular normal boring looking like me!.
Well your proberbly right, giving it longer is proberbly the right thing to do but that means comiting to a 12 month lease and a job. So if I give it longer I am in for a year for better or worse.

I don’t know really I don’t. Part of me says give it a go it might be a fun adventure, I might meet some great people, then the other part looks at the rain, the cold, the packed trams and tiny studio hotel room apartments and says run, run far away.

Pootle

We've lived in Melbourne for over 8 years now and I love it! Always something to do/see.
I am married with a family and live in 'suburbia' (only about 12k from the CBD) and it's so easy to go into the city to go to shows/concerts/museums etc.
Not hugely into sports, but Melbourne is the place to be if you are. Yes the weather is freezing at the moment, but it'll soon be spring and then it'll be beautiful.
I would have loved the opportunity to live here before having children, I think it has something for everyone.
I've not been to Perth so can't compare it, but I would encourage you to give it a while longer before you decide it's not for you.

asher

Have a look around port Melbourne or get on the train and look out a bit lots of lovely places. It took me about a year to feel settled after moving from Sydney but I love it now.