Originally Posted by touchingcloth

Just look at how many people choose Perth for the weather.
and then look at how many people choose Melbourne INSPITE of the weather.

This should give you a serious hint about what each city has to offer.

TC

Originally Posted by touchingcloth

I'll therefore be willing to give Melbourne a go!

Originally Posted by Bordy

No don't do it, we all hate Melbourne. Bugger off to Perth.

Originally Posted by Bordy

No don't do it, we all hate Melbourne. Bugger off to Perth.

Originally Posted by Lord Pom Percy

Wrong, Housing is cheaper in Perth , much more expensive in melbourne,
Melbourne is much bigger then Perth, 3 times the population, more cosmotpolitan, multicultural, weather is alot cooler, wet and freezing cold in winter, snows on hills on outskirts.

Originally Posted by Auzangel

Help please
We are going out of our mind here, we are wanting to travel over in July but have still not decided where we want to live.
We first chose Melbourne, then decided on Perth, then we said we would definitely go to Melbourne then Tuesday we changed back to Perth and now yesterday we thought Melbourne again H E L P I am going dizzy with all this, I need a stiff drink
We want to go to Perth but OH has family in Melbourne and as he is in IT (Mainframe Analyst) people have said he would struggle to find a job in Perth but lots of chances in Melbourne.
I know you cant make our minds up for us, but any help would be most appreciated

Originally Posted by Auzangel

Hi
I haven't been to either but I am quite easy at settling down somewhere. OH has spent 6 weeks in Melbourne but that was a few years ago now.
We did think about having a holiday rental in Perth for a month and then one in Melbourne and then compare the two. I am struggling to find short term accommodation though all the sites I find are for property rentals for 6 months. I found a gorgeous house which was a holiday let but they didn't have availability

Originally Posted by thebears

We are in Malvern which is nice and central for us. Having only been here for a few weeks I cannot comment on other suburbs but there are alot of us here in Melbourne and at some point putting in an area of interest will flag up a "local" to give you more insight. Guess areas to avoid could also be taken for areas with poor transport links not just high crime rates?

What I can mention is driving around has been dead easy - no need for GPS system. The locals are friendly (based on the ones I have met and had dealings with).

I guess after coming up with a realistic budget you will get alot of house price info from the domain web site. Would strongly suggest you rent first to get a better feel for the area and until you establish your social network.

Alot of folks have relocated down the Mornington way and seem to be enjoying it - (are you? let Auzangel know )- we will be venturing further out for tiki tours over the coming weeks but still intend to reside closer to the CBD.

Price seems to be high closer to the CBD (for obvious reasons) and the closer you are to the beach. Both private and public schools are good here as well.

PM if you have any thoughts or worries - ie while the recent move is fresh in our minds.

Kiwi

Originally Posted by Auzangel

Hi All
And thank you for your advice, well we have now decided on Melbourne, just trying to sort out some accommodation/book flights before we change our minds again
Can anyone advise how far from Mount Martha/Mount Eliza to Melbourne CBD, is there a train or does it mean driving direct and how long would this take at peak times?
Thank you again, we are getting very excited now.

Originally Posted by movetoperth

no don't come to Perth, it's a bloody good job there is nothing to do because we can't afford to do anything anyway, what with the price of houses and the low wages, plus it's going to rain solidly for the nect 12 weeks.......



Lynn

Originally Posted by hevs

But thats all true isn't it

Who said it snows on the out skirts of Melbourne. A pile of crap You would need to be at LEAST 2 hours out of the CBD. We live at the edge of the foothills and never even saw a frost last year However we can go sledging about and hour 15 min away, hooray

Originally Posted by Paul and Chloe

From an employment perspective there should be no problem finding work as a mainframe developer in Perth as there are still loads of companies using mainframes here. Other than that it depends on what you are looking for, we have two young kids and hence Perth suits us very well at the moment. I lived in Melbourne 10 years ago pre-children and loved it then for our lifestyle at that time, i.e. pubs, clubs, eating out etc etc

Originally Posted by hoofie2002

I'll second this. I'm a J2EE developer and found contract work within a week of registering with an agency here. There are mainframe users here in Perth so the work should be available - I would recommend People in Computers specifically, or try Candle recruitment.

We have a 4 year old daughter and Perth is lovely for us [OK, I'd be bored silly if I was single]. Be warned though - house prices are rocketing and unless you want to live a LONG way from the city centre [that's where the jobs will be] you will pay $400k plus for a good size house. If you won't earn a lot of money [although mainframe contracting I think you can easily assume $100k plus per year] or aren't bringing over a big money pot, go somewhere else.

p.s. I've been informed on more than one occasion that employers are suspicious of IT people from the UK as they dissapear in the middle of a contract. You may have to take a less lucrative contract for a while to establish a track record.