Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Hi all,
My husband and I (we have a 21 month old daughter too) have been granted state sponsorship to Melbourne. Husband is in IT.
Long (very long) story short, it's taken us 4 years to get to this point and 4 years is a long time to put a place under the microscope. What I'm increasingly seeing on forums etc is that Melbourne is host to cold, wet Winters, high cost of living, high housing cost and a lot of people seem to leave Melbourne to move elsewhere in Australia.
We are fortunate enough to be able to choose between living in Canada and living in Melbourne and now it's decision time because we'll be granted a case officer any day and need to decide in what direction we're going. I was hoping to try get as many people's opinions, experiences etc to help in making our decision.
Thank-you in advance.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Hi,

Congratulations on the sponsorship! I can only provide a limited POV, never having even been to Canada, never mind lived there but I will say that I think Melbourne is a great place to live. We were here for 13 years initially, then went back to NZ (I'm a Kiwi and OH is a Brit), got earthquaked-out of Christchurch and came back to Melbourne earlier this year. There are plenty of us on here who love living here, but I'm sure there are just as many who love living in Canada. At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, it really comes down to what you want and what kind of things you like to do.

Here we have the choice of beaches, mountains, the city and country all within a fairly easy drive, great food, good shopping.

If you want to know anything in particular, please feel free to ask.

BTW, OH (who has been to Canada) advises that Melbourne is about 6 degrees warmer year round than Fleet, and how the heck can you look at Canada if you think Melbourne winters are cold (!).:rofl:

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

BTW, OH (who has been to Canada) advises that Melbourne is about 6 degrees warmer year round than Fleet, and how the heck can you look at Canada if you think Melbourne winters are cold (!).:rofl:[/QUOTE]

We were considering Canada because we never thought Oz would actually happen. I don't think Melbourne looks particularly cold, but does look very wet. Going by Wikipedia (yes, I know it's not always 100%) it seems that Melbourne has on average 40 extra days a year rain compared to SE England. Do you find that to be an accurate estimation and does it limit what you can get out and do?
How do you find the cost of living / housing vs salaries? Housing looks very expensive there which is putting me off somewhat.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Best source for weather info
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averag...w_086071.shtml

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Thanks for that. So it's not as wet as Wiki was showing which is a plus.
Any comments on the cost of living / house etc? I've had a look on a few real estate sites and housing seems shockingly high.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Hi Bluesteel

We've been in Melbourne for 11 months now. We moved from the UK, lived in Scotland worked in London. Melbourne is a fabulous place for a family, we looked at Canada before coming to Melbourne.
You are right, it's not sunshine all year round, Melbourne has 4 seasons which I like. The summer is fantastic up to around 30 degrees, the winters get down to 4 or 5 degrees. Much much much less rain than the UK all year round.

Housing is ridiculously expensive as is the cost of living generally, but my experience is that the salaries are higher, so it's all relative. Despite the cost of living, on balance I think we are better off here than at home.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Thanks so much for that. The housing thing is so scary. I'm so worried about moving over and taking 10 steps backward.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

As far as I can make out, a first home buyers place in Fleet is about the 300,000 GBP level, which compares to the First Home buyers level here in Melbourne of $500,000 quite equitably.
So compared to deepest darkest Hampshire, the Melbourne house prices are not too scary. also, wouldn't you be renting until your PR comes through and you would probably get more for your money in the rental market in Melbourne, by the time you look to buy you will probably be in the groove of thinking in AUD and not GBP.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

I do like melbourne, have only visited a few other states in aus, and still prefer melbourne, however I do feel like we have taken 10 steps back re:housing.
In Scotland we did own our home, we still had a mortgage of about 10 year to go, albeit a small house, it was a small mortgage. By the time we moved , set up, came across unexpected hitches and learning curves, our funds were very much down. I doubt we will ever be able to afford a mortgage in Melbourne, we are both 48, and although we have the 20% deposit, the payments for us with 2 children still at home (event though one is 21:blink:, but she is at uni), we would struggle with the repayments. I suppose we were spoiled in Scotland with houses being so cheap (all comes with a price though, cheap housing, no work!).

Goodluck, this is our best year yet (year 5), dont really have any complaints..............today!!, lol!!

Most of my whinges are based on homesickness, not the place.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Melbourne will be what you make it, like anywhere else. Housing is very expensive in Australia, but no more so than Hampshire, really. Canada and Australia are similar nations, and you will have a very interesting and fun time in whichever one you choose - you're right - you are fortunate.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

From experience, I can say that Melbourne weather (post drought) is still more like the south of France than anywhere in England! That means seasons, hot summers (anything between 25°C and 40°C on any given day) with daylight until about 9pm, mild winters (rarely goes under 8°C in the daytime but can get windy) with daylight until about 5.30pm. We have had more rain in the last 2 years than in the previous 8 years put together :blink: but it still feels like less than what we used to get in the Midlands!

Lifestyle in Melbourne is what you make of it. If you want to move to Australia under the assumption that you can get bigger and better for the same money in England, then you are about 8 years too late (Not saying that is what you want, just setting the record straight ;))
If you come over to experience a different lifestyle/culture and have no expectations of a better/higher standard of living, but rather of a similar one, then you should be OK. Yes housing is expensive, but again, it is all relative and not everyone wants/needs to live in Brighton, Toorak or Camberwell (suburbs of Melbourne) in a 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom house with a swimming pool. There are still some areas of Melbourne where you can rent a decent 3-bedroom house for under $400/week.

Then again, if coming to Australia means your standard of living will take a step back and you will have to start from scratch, now is certainly not the best time to come...

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Me again.
It's been almost 4 years to the day, but we finally got a CO today (originally 176 Family Sponsored and changed to 176 SS - Victoria in April)

It's been an absolute rollercoaster getting to this point. So much has changed since we first applied and we are now wondering if a move to Oz is still for us. We have a moral obligation to live in Victoria for 2 years but the cost of housing/living really scares us. We dont want to blow our life savings on rent and then not be able to afford to buy a decent house due to the cost. I dont want to commute an hour each way (i already do that) just to be afford something decent.
We've managed to save enough money to afford a mortgage on a nice 4 bedroom house in the UK and we're wondering if that's the route that we should just go with.
What we're craving is a more outdoor lifestyle, especially for our 2yr old. Some better weather. More open spaces. Basically, a life closer to what we grew up with in South Africa. Not sure if we'll get anything close to this in Melbourne.

I'm sure many of you are shouting at the screen wondering how we can not be excited about finally getting a CO. Four years is long time and we've moved on a lot in our lives since we first decided to emigrate. We also harbour a lot of anger towards Australia for forcing such an emotional rollercoaster on us. Can we ever forgive Australia for that? Can we learn to love the country after the way so many of us have been treated in the immigration process.

So, I guess i'm just reaching out again to those who took the plunge and moved to Melbourne and hoping for a bit of positive, and even negative, feedback.

Is australia (Melbourne in particular) really the land of plenty? Or is it just not worth it?

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Not worth it. Stay where you are!!!


How can you really expect us to answer that question for you. It depends on lots of things - where door live in the UK, what is your budget. Are you very close to family etc etc. you don't know until you try!

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

I'm not trying to get somebody to answer anything FOR me, I'm just trying to get perspective of other people's experiences.
In terms of family, all of our family live in South Africa so we said our goodbyes 10 years ago. We have no family if we stay in the UK, or move to Oz.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

I think the question to ask is: In 15 years (or any amount of time) will you look back and say What if? I wish we had....? When my Mum knew she was at the palliative care stage, she told us all the great things she had done in her life and was so content that she had no regrets, even though she was young. I am trying to live like that. Life is too short!

We had to take a big hit on our house sale in the UK, and are still renting/about to build here. The house prices are expensive. But then my husband is earning a lot more than he did in the UK for the same job.

If you come with an open mind and look upon it as an adventure of a lifetime, then you will be fine.

I just had coffee with my husband today and he said "Just think, if we had sold up a year earlier, we'd have had nearly double the cash to build with now etc etc." We laughed but there's no bad feeling, we're pretty fatalistic about it. We are still living a much happier life than we had in the UK and we're content.

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

I'm genuinely not sure if the bit about anger is tongue in cheek.

We took the plunge about 5.5 years ago but in very different circumstances to you, we were early 20s, no kids, no mortgage, just starting out in careers. Melbourne has been very kind to us, we have a substantial sum of money behind us after renovating and selling a house, we have good friends here and have learnt a lot. We would not be in the financial position we're in had we stayed in the UK, but then we're very lucky that the AUD is so high against the pound, which is a major part of how we are in this position.

We're going back to the UK in 6 weeks for no reason other than we've got itchy feet. There's nothing about Melbourne that is causing us to leave, it's just time to move on. I am an expat brat from birth and think I'll always be a bit of a wanderer.

Melbourne/Australia are categorically not the land of plenty. Nowhere is. Don't move looking for utopia, you won't find it. Move to experience living in a different country, meet new people, gain experience in a job or just for the sheer hell of it. It's a great city and a great country, like so many others around the world. It has problems, like every other city around the world. There are things that will compare unfavourably to the UK, and things which will be much much better than the UK.

I'd say if you're thinking about it, go for it, but I don't have kids and never will so any choices I/we make affect only me and my partner and you might choose to listen to someone who does have kids and is a little more considered in their decision making :D

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

It's been a long time since I replied to a post on Expats but clearly you are in a difficult situation so I'll see if I can help.

We moved (from Hampshire) to Melbourne 7 years ago. I had previously visited Aus and liked it but had no real plans to move here. My wife on the other hand had been several times and was desperate to emigrate. A job offer came out of the blue from a former boss and friend. We accepted it (despite never having been to Melbourne) and moved about 10 weeks after I accepted the job.

Our kids were 3 and 5 at this point. We had a mortgage free house in a well to do village so we were very fortunate to have a good pot of cash. I was excited to leave, not too bothered about friends or family (small and not close). My wife on the other hand had many good/close friends, was incredibly close to her parents and had a good, established business (self employed marketing/business development consultant).

The move was all arranged for us by my work, which helped enormously. Back then the pound bought 2.6 dollars as well and LAFHA provided additional money whilst we rented (not cheap).

All in all, we found the move quite easy - from a logistics perspective. It wasn't without challenges though. It was way more expensive than we anticipated. It is certainly NOT England with sunshine. This is a different country, lifestyle, culture etc. Attitudes, tv, newspapers, radio etc is all different. We missed home incredibly, we missed the familiarity (watching tv or reading a paper we didn't know anyone !), we missed Tescos (!) and decent shops with quality items at good prices. We missed family and friends and at times wondered what the hell we had done.

However, we quickly told ourselves to make the most of it and get exploring. We spent every single weekend wandering around Victoria, which has many stunning and interesting places. The weather was sooooo much better than at home (we arrived during the drought which helped) and we felt comfortable planning things knowing it wouldn't rain. We started driving long distances to see places (Lakes Entrance, Falls Creek, Adelaide, Bendigo etc). We took the ferry (and car) to Tasmania. We regularly went to the Mornington Peninsula or along the Great Ocean Road. Melbourne itself is wonderful to wander around and so much for the kids to do and just so easy.

Holidays in Fiji, Bali, New Zealand, Queensland, Hong Kong, Sydney etc etc. The kids have had an awesome experience - quad biked, swum with dolphins, snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef etc.

The kids regularly play soccer, tennis and golf. My 12 year old is about to start wind surfing and this weekend we're all off on kayaks around a part of the bay. I cycle to work every day (55km round trip) and generally we are far more active and healthier than I would have been in the UK.

The drought is over so the weather is (I'm assured) back to the way Melbourne used to be - chilly in Winter (rarely less than 6 degrees), rains more than we would like (but way less than the UK) and Summer is a mix but generally averaging above 20 degrees for 6 months.

We've made some great friends, mostly Brits it has to be said (bit of a village like atmosphere, very sociable and everyone helps out) but a good mix of aussies and others. It took time to settle but we are happy and content.

This is a wonderful city in a wonderful country but it is not for everyone. Believe me it has its faults - tv, newspapers, education, lack of history, drivers (!!), cost and distance - but show me anywhere that doesn't. I'm not sure what the future holds for us, my wife increasingly misses her parents and annual trips home and Skype cannot compensate. I suspect that at some point in the future we may return to the UK but I also suspect we would instantly miss Australia.

We came here knowing it would be a challenge but promised to stay for a minimum of 3 years and regardless of how happy/unhappy we were we said we would make the most of it and see as much as possible. We treated it like a three year adventure and a chance for the kids to experience something new.

Now, to finish on a negative (I'm afraid) the big, big difference from when we came out is the current cost of living and the exchange rate. I'm sure we would have still come over but it would be impossible to live where we are and it may not have been as easy as it was then. I have five friends who came out in the last four years, all on a range of salaries and with little equity from the UK. Two have settled and ended up buying in areas that are not as nice as they would have liked but are absolutely fine. One continues to rent and one is undecided, renting but thinking buying (scared to do so). The fifth one left last week for the UK. A combination of unhappiness with his job, a job offer in London and the cost of housing here. It will be interesting to see how they settle as she loved it here.

Spend some time on realestate.com.au to assess house prices. Rent for a period to see what areas you like and can afford to live in. Ask as many questions as you can on this Forum to help make up your mind. If you can cope with the financial impact for the first few years and you come with a positive attitude then you will enjoy this place and it certainly should be a better quality of life whilst the kids are young.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions - your concerns and questions are absolutely appropriate as this is a huge change you are considering.

Cheers
Col

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

[QUOTE=haggis supper;10348644]It's been a long time since I replied to a post on Expats but clearly you are in a difficult situation so I'll see if I can help.

Thanks very much. Your post was really helpful :thumbsup:

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Good post

Re: Possibly Moving to Melbourne
 

Geez, I live 10k NE of Melbourne CBD and that seems like an utter rubbish statistic. Sydney gets more rain than we do.
We constantly have to water the garden to keep the sucker from drying out completely. Have been here 10 years, having moved from Ireland, and it is a rare day I have to bring an umbrella with me for the trip to from work.