Melbourne what's it like?
 

Hi,

I have state sponsorship to go to Victoria but still have to get the visa sorted. We have two young children. If anybody has recently gone to Melbourne from the UK, we were wondering what you think of it.
One pressing concern we have is what is the food like :-) We are hoping that you can get a decent selection of fresh veg and good quality meat, perhaps from smaller outlets or in a market rather than from supermarkets.
How have you found the schools, good or bad? We like the outdoors and sports like tennis, what are the facilities like?
If you travel to work then what is the daily commute like?
How have you found the natives, friendly or hostile :-)

Sorry if this is a bit of a vague selection of questions but any opinions would be helpful.

Thanks.

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

If you're Turkish, the Greeks won't like you, if you are Serbian the Croats won't like you.

I'll never forget the Belfast style murals on the houses too, it was quite a surprise to see that.

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

Hmmmm,

I hope the people in this forum aren't a a represenative sample because I'm starting to go off the whole idea of going to OZ.

Invest in airline tickets for your family. See the real thing, hard to believe that in the age of airline travel people immigrate without looking first. I am sure much useful advice can be gained from websites but its hardly the same as seeing for yourself.

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

Dear Bluebristolian

Despite the negativity from various posts (including some of mine!!!), I have to say that you must not be put off in the slightest. Oz is the most wonderful place in many, many ways. I spent five years there before returning back in 96 - a bit of homesickness as well as to earn dosh - its no secret professionals dont earn much down under. However we are re emigrating early next year. Its possible for a young family to have a fantastic time there in a way simply not possible here.
No place is perfect inc OZ so the negative stuff should not be a surprise!.

We hope to make our next home in the SE suburbs of Melb.
rajj

PS Let me remind you Greeks dont like turks, serbs & Croats, Scots & English etc in ALL places not just OZ!.

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

I have done a few negative posts recently. But I'm taking my family there in the new year as a migrant. It's a bloody brilliant country despite what some might try to tell you on this forum.

I've travelled extensively in Australia and love the place. You really ought to go and see for yourself.

Great country, great people.

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

Hi There,

We spent some time in Mel. earlier this year, on holiday and visiting family, and loved it!! So much so , that we knew after a few days that it was where we wanted to live the rest of our lives! so as soon as we returned to London, we started the ball rolling and now hope to be back there for good early next year!! [fingers and everything crossed!!]

I can only speak from our personal experiences, but i will say that all the people we came across, in shops, restaurants etc. were very friendly! and in a very genuine way! [not like the American "have a nice day!"Automated way!] [no offence to any americans on the forum!!]

Food: I am veggie, and was a bit worried about the food before i went, but was surprised and the amount of veggie food shops/restaurants etc. there was. My Partner, on the other hand is not!! and loves a nice bit of steak!! although he's well travelled, he had the best steak he'd ever eaten, in Mel.! The supermarkets werent quite as good as Tesco's/Sainsbury's etc. not as much choice, but the bigger ones like Coles were ok!
Vic Market i remember was a good place to get fresh meat and vegetables too!

Sport: It depends what you like, but Mel, caters for all kinds of sports, especially Tennis {Rod Laver Centre} and cricket obviously! Golf is huge as well, and a lot cheaper than here in uk. Martial arts, in particular, TaeKwondo are popular too! and of course water sports!

Commuting/Travel:

We found that compared to London, the travel was a doddle!! Driving anywhere is easy, as Mel. has a 'grid system' for the main roads. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you do, you'll find it is so quick to get anywhere!. You just have to learn to deal with the trams. The public transport system is really efficient too, unlike what we have to put up with here!

Anyway, ive rambled on long enough! As we havent any kids, i cant comment on schools, but to sum it all up, we wouldnt be leaving our families and friends if we didnt think we were doing the right thing! we know we will have a far better standard of living, and better lifestyle than we could ever hope for here! Yes, there are the negative posters here that say we are all 'dreamers' and see live in Oz through rose coloured glasses etc. but i just ignore them, and suggest you do the same.

There are loads of websites with great info on Oz, try www.lonelyplanet.com destination Melbourne, its very informative! and www.realestate.com.au is great to get ideas of property prices and locations. with profiles on the suburbs, just to name a few!

Anyway, Good luck and i hope this helps!

Cheers!:beer:

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

Thanks everybody,

It's nice to read something more positive, especially as I was on the point of tearing my visa application up !

I guess we'll keep going for it and see what happens. Perhaps we'll bump into some of you in melbourne someday, assuming you all make sure you wear your, poggle, renth and rajj badges once you get there :-)


Cheers !

P.S if anybody else want's to say something positive about Melbourne then I'd be very grateful!

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

Hi - what poggle had to say about Melbourne is true. We visited last year before we made up our minds about our application. We fell in love with the place and although we did go to Sydney, we decided that Melbourne was the place to be. We've got 2 young girls and they will start school in OZ next February. We chose a catholic school - so I cannot help you with schools in general, particularly if you're not catholic!
On the whole, life in Melb. was really relaxed and we loved it.

Good luck.

Re: Melbourne what's it like?
 

Hello fellow Bristolian !

We are off to Melb end of January. I was there for 6 months a couple of years ago and loved it.
People friendly
Food great, supermarkets are smaller, but good enough, with a lot more Asian(ie Thai, Chinese etc) food on offer. Even late at night, fresh fruit and veg displays fully stocked, unlike here ! Plenty of fresh produce in markets too.
Sport, loads of facilities, esp tennis, I played, and I never do here, people have courts in the garden ! (well it impressed me)
Driving was fine, I was apprehensive at first, but as it's the same side of the road, easy to get use to !

basically, agree with Poggle !

Jo

Melbourne is the place to be if you're into food!
There are loads of restraunts - pick any style of cuisine from around the world and I'll bet you find a restraunt that serves it. Try Lygon St. if you like Italian/Greek, it's a whole street with basically nothing but eateries.

Fresh food - Queen Victoria Markets in the city centre has all your fruit veg meat fish smallgoods and dairy.

I think, comparitively, it's much cheaper than the UK, especially eating out. You pay roughly in Aussie dollars what you would pay in pounds ( so it works out about one third ). eg pub meals - a steak in an average pub would cost between $7.00 and $14.00 for lunch.

Good entertainment for kids around Melbourne - excellent zoo, beaches, the Dandenongs ( mountain/rainforrest ) has Healsville Sanctuary - great if you like koalas - snow in the winter. Ballarat - an hour out of Melbourne, has Soveriegn Hill - an old gold mining town. Another hour and you've got the Grampians (mountain range) - top place for camping. There is a scenic drive along the coast from Melbourne called the Great Ocean Road - incredible scenery fishing, surfing, whale spotting etc.

As you can tell I love the place,
check out

http://www.visitvictoria.com/

There is a scenic drive along the coast from Melbourne called the Great Ocean Road - incredible scenery fishing, surfing, whale spotting etc.

As you can tell I love the place,
check out

http://www.visitvictoria.com/ [/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Dear Peewee13,

Can you tell me how good the beaches are in comparision to Queenslands beaches ie Gold & Sunshine coast??.

rajj

There are some excellent beaches, that do compare to Queensland’s but of course you don’t have the tropical weather –summer is great but winter can be freezing :

Phillip Island – swimming surfing
Bell’s Beach – one of the most famous surf beaches in the world near Torquay on the Great Ocean Road
Lakes Entrance & Mallacoota – on the eastern side
Ninety Mile beach – as the name implies
Wilson’s Promontory

Johanna – secluded, white sand, backs onto a rainforest, great fishing, surfing swimming, off the Great Ocean Road ( I’ve been there probably 20 times and saw other people once), in my opinion the best beach in the world.

That's it, we're going !

Thanks.

positives
 

my brother has been living in mel for 8 years, he used to be in st kilda now northcote which is a pretty suburb. the roads seem very wide to ours here. it is a great city to live in, lots of parks and great areas by the river in the city.
my gran lived in mel and married an aussie back in 1920 and they lived all around the area. it is the city which is most like the uk, 4 seasons, suits worn to the office, lots of theatres and festivals.
vic maket mentioned earlier is wonderful, besides the food (which seems to sell everything) it is massive.
good luck!:D