sunshine8state

Hey All!!

Thanks for reading my post first of all if you are

I am back in London (where I am originally from) after having spent 2.5 years in Sydney. I've been back for 6 months now and though enjoying it, am missing the relaxing way of life that I had in Sydney hard not to really!

But I find myself in a bit of a predicament and wanted to come to the forum with the hope that I might be able find out more about life in Melbourne. I have heard that what i am experiencing about wanting the two is not unusual where Brits make the move to Oz and after a while miss the Brit culture / sense of humour and come home, only to find they miss Oz it again

Am loving London, well especially the banter, proper chats and variety of places, but I am not liking at all how my quality of life just seems to have diminished so quickly! My commute is horrible (part of the reason I left) but because of this I am tired all the time (Clapham isn't that far!) have little time as a result and work / life balance is not as good, the weather now doesn't help! But the stress of it all has seemed to got to me again and i've only been back a few months...

So really my question, have any Londoners on here relocated from London to Melbourne? And have you found your appetite for things available in London, like diversity, arts etc, is good? I am hoping culture mix, with some european influences, i do love the Australian laid back lifestyle of course so it would have the two I hope!

Is is easy to make friends in Melbourne, as i find its very easy in London everyones so open and up for a laugh, so I'd want to feel comfortable that I could intrigrate quickly (i've read that it can be clicky, but in my experience of Sydney they aren't the friendliest) so thought Melbourne would be a good hybrid option....? Essentially I just looking for a better quality of life / work life balance, like the one that I had in Sydney, but with more diverse and friendlier people, plus since being back in London, I'm not half as healthy and much more stressed! and I miss the food in Oz!

Would appreciate your thoughts!! Sorry for the long post just friends and family don't seem to get the pros and cons unless one has lived in both

Also I am a single women in my 30's so its been a hard one, as I think that I thought I would maybe suit and english man, so would be good to hear any thoughts if its easy to meet other people in Melbourne, more importantly though interested to see if Melbourne is easy to live in, can meet friends and also has a good creative scene.

Hope to hear from you and your experiences!

Thank you so much would be a great help

old.sparkles

Hi there and welcome to BE

I've moved your post over to our Australia forum to help you get some answers. Do you currently have a PR visa for Australia?

sunshine8state

hey there, thanks for your reply, which section has it gone in, the melbourne section?

No i don't have PR but i have been advised that I can get a 457 which I have had before, and in my industry seems to be quite a demand for brits thx so much

ozzieeagle

I've been here too long to give any real meaningful feedback. However I would have fully fitted your criteria 30 years ago.. Being a Londoner born and bred and moving to Melbourne.

All I'll say is do not base Melbourne and nightlife on it's CBD.... The Melbourne your seeking is definitely about the innerburbs. So when you arrive check out as many inner suburbs as you can and then make up your mind where you want to live.

Buzzy--Bee

I moved from West London to Melbourne 6 years ago. I find Melbourne to have all the good things that I liked about London (cosmopolitan, great restaurants, nightlife, ambience, vibrancy, buzz, great variety of areas etc etc etc) and also many of the things that London would benefit from to make it perfect, such as much better weather, great beaches, very close access to stunning countryside, vineyards etc etc etc.

Melbourne also feels much more European than London in a good way, with the wide tree-lined streets, the fantastic trams and the ever-present pavement dining and coffee.

I'm actually back in England for Christmas right now, and I am seriously homesick for Melbourne!

BB

ozzieeagle

31C Tomo Xmas day BB.... Almost too hot to eat outside, we are debating whether to sit in with the air con or eat alfresco.... eating out was the original plan.

One thing only Melbournians really know... It gets better and deeper the longer you are here... Like the layers of an onion as often compared.... Defintely a City that grows on you rather than hits you in the face.

What your looking for is all here Sunshine... It just takes a while to find.

BadgeIsBack

agreed. If the Op can give it a go, it's all theirs for the taking.

sunshine8state

Hey! Thanksss so much for the reply! Its a really agonising choice that I feel I am making :P I LOVE london, but more particularly the people that its fun and the diversity, but I have to say that the lifestyle of the commute (I have been sick particularly non stop since I have been here 6 months) and the weather, not to mention the fact when it snows london just stops! The other thing is that whilst london has the most things to do everything is so far apart from each other... I am very much missing the relaxed pace of life I had in Sydney and how i very rarely felt stressed, whereas things are so much more stressful here (trying to find a place to live has been so difficult! I am still looking! I just feel that my quality of life is nothing in comparison to Oz all things considered... But I fear that I do not want to be a ping pong pom and go out again for another couple of years etc and miss the British culture and banter... so if I can get more of that in Melbourne, and meet a good community of Brits and europeans too, I am there!!!!? thank you!

sunshine8state

Hey, thanks so much! that makes me happy I really want to come out to Melbourne, just nervous.. I have lived in London all my life and have always to be honest found it a hard city to live in... Sydney was great! and loved the Oz lifestyle, but the diversity and people in london had me pining for home,,, but sometimes oz feels like home.. as I said i dont' want to be a ping pong pom - as I am getting older (37) and really feels like a perm decision needs to be made here... So the ideal of cosmopolitan life, interesting people and the beach sounds like perfection to me?!!

Bermudashorts

It seems to me that you do miss your way of life in Sydney. So I am puzzled as to why you are thinking of Melbourne now ... and not Sydney?

I don't think you are going to find one city has more "friendly people" than another, there will be a cross section as with all cities. Ultimately the ease of which anyone makes friends is down to them as an individual.

Did you spend much time in Melbourne when you lived in Australia last time?

BadgeIsBack

this is true but Melbourne is slightly less chaotic and has a couple of aspects that might suit the Op. As a 30 year old plus I preferred Melb over Sydney.


the reality is they have similar problems and both are big.

Melbourne easier to get around...
both have culture...in terms of checkbox culture.

We've played this game before.

Bermudashorts

I was just puzzled to be honest, OP misses her life in Sydney so is considering going to Melbourne... I don't get it is all.

BadgeIsBack

she's made it clear to me..

she likes aspects of London and Sydney...and doesn't like other aspects of both:

might it be that Melbourne is the answer?
Lots of Melbourne posters support that..
(but allow for in built bias).

Bermudashorts

Well i have lived in Sydney and London and visited Melbourne quite a few times and I just don't see any logic to that. I think OP should take care not to make assumptions..

BadgeIsBack

She's not: that's why she is asking. There might be something in it.

The only way she can find out is to visit and try.
There is no guarantee in this world.