Coppock

Hi everyone, i've had my heart set on Brisbane/Gold Coast for years now, we've visted on holiday and loved it. However, work and schooling looks like it might be better for us in Melbourne and I have to try and reach a decision...

To help I was wondering if people could kindly list what they love about melbourne/victoria, and what they dislike there?

If it helps - my Oh and I have two daughters (3 and 1), we want more of the outdoors, we are snowboarders, but want to give surfing/kite surfing a try...
are there many good surf beaches?

I guess i'm a bit worried it would be too cool in melbourne, assumingly it's warmer than the uk! I was looking forward to very hot days and torrential rain in Queensland, and am worried Melbourne will be too cold - what's everyone think?

Thanks
Jen

BadgeIsBack

Melbourne is cold in the winter. It won't feel warm at all for well over 3 months.

No disaster though. Unless you are in the tropics it will be the same everywhere in the south and including Brisbane - (subtropics).

The only consideration is that Brisbane, Sydney and Perth have a lot of winter sun which sends the mercury 3-6 degrees higher on the way to the short-lived daily maximum and makes you feel better. It makes a difference, make no mistake.

LIKE
Variety. Country/city. Snow/mountains/forests. Culture (rah rah rah). Food and drink. The whole infrastructure of Melbourne around a good CBD.

Long summer evenings.

Other likes are specific to the way I live, and not relevant to others.

DISLIKE
Not many to really effect. By the last week of August I'm glad spring is around the corner. But by then the days are also already getting noticeably longer.

Big city issues - none of which effect me.

ozzieeagle

We've just had the coldest June day for years, so its ironic that you should ask this question today.

Even I felt the cold today, and it generally doesn't bother me.

Re Surfing I believe that Bells Beach, off the Great Ocean Rd is supposedly the premier beach for Surfing in Aus.... not sure why that is, someone that is into surfing may give some more information on that. The good snow is around 150 mins away at this time of year.


Pro's There aren't that many Cities around the world that can give as good a Lifestyle as you get in Melbourne.... Something for everyone in other words and it does the whole lot really well. City living apparently doesn't come much better than what Melbourne can provide.

Cons The Coldest mainland City in Aus.... Although that is relative. It usually doesnt feel cold to me.

Another less known con from my own point of view... is visiting anywhere else can be really disappointing after living here... you tend to see faults in other Cities really easily. I dont like to put that point of view forwards, but it really happens to me nowadays.









.

Reedy

The climate is drier than QLD which has balmy nights and sticky days.... I don't like QLD in the summer but in the springtime think it is lovely.

It doesn't rain much here, summer temperatures vary between 20 - 45 degrees and winter temps between 8-20 in the daytime.... I like the fact that we have proper seasons as it just seems natural.

I love the city, it is cosmopolitan, cultural and in my opinion the state has everything on offer...... Great beaches, mountains, great food, art, theatre, etc there is something here for everyone.

The City is rapidly expanding with rumours that it will be bigger than Sydney within 20 years - whether this is a good or bad thing is subjective however there is no shortage of investment which in turn means there is no shortage of jobs.

The cons:
- Real Estate Costs
- Poor insulation in houses which makes the winter feel colder - walking on tile floors in the winter with bare feet is a definite no-no!!!
- Lack of water means we are on water restrictions but they aren't as strict as you would expect
- Rush hour traffic travelling into the City which is the same as an other city including Brisbane and Sydney

Rossi

Totally agree with Reedy
As snowboarders you really shouldn't consider anywhere else than Melbourne.... you can be in the snowfields in less than 2 hours ( if you live Nth of the city ) and as parents of 2 nippers under school age how much time do you really think you'll get to go surfing

Insulation is non existent & is well worth the investment after buying your own place as is solar hot water and double glazing (a new concept here!!)
I'm still tring to decide if solar electricity is worth the installation expense - bearing in mind most panels only have a 15 year life span.

In my short 7 years here I have had the opportunity of working all over Australia and I have to say that we made the right choice in living in Melbourne, admittedly only for a week or two at a time but in brief I found the following

Adelaide - too slow, almost a Lincolnshire feel to the place
Sydney - too much traffic & too many toll roads
Perth - too far from anything else & shops close too early
Gold Coast/Brisbane - holiday feel (a bit like Skegness with sun)
Canberra/ACT - What do people do after 9PM there ???
Northern Territories - Too sweaty to work, too many flies trying to get in your eyes whilst working

Buzzy--Bee

Jen, you have made the right decision realising that a great holiday destination is not necessarily going to make a great place to live.

Have a look at my Melbourne reccie report and my Melbourne 3 year update, they give lots of info. We also have 2 kids under school age.

3 year update - http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=673936

Reccie - http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413388

Please PM me if you would like any help or advice.

BB

Coppock

Thanks everyone, looks like i'm sold!

Re: Badgeisback, Thanks I guess you get used to the new climate and most places in the world will feel cold in their winter if you live there long enough! The long summer evenings sound good
I do love the mountains, but I love the beach too, and at least having an office in melbourne wouldn't mean a long commute like a gold coast - brisbane one would!
At least the winter only lasts about 3 months. I love winter here... up until December and then I can't wait until April! I love those brisk days in October and November where it's almost at freezing point but the sun is out... everyone used to think I was mad because i'd still wear a tshirt and sunglasses!

Re: Ozzieeagle. I hope it wasn't too cold for you! Feels strange to be talking to people in the middle of their winter when we have a heat wave here... well we were - it's now overcast and drizzling, but it's watering my plants so I can't complain! It's nice to have cooled down for a bit at least. Thanks for the surfing tips - i'm going to look into them! When you say the "good snow" - is that just to the snow or the resorts? I'm not a big lover of trekking back up a hill for an hour when it only takes 5 mins to come down on a board, so would need a lift or two

Its funny since starting this thread I've spoken with two friends and both of them have been to melbourne in the past and they both absolutely loved it... other than the fact it's a bit chilly and the usual city issues - nobody seems to have had a bad thing to say about it!

Re: Reedy, my OH hates balmy nights - so that's a very good point I hadn't really considered about queensland! The rapid expansion sounds like it's full of prospects. We deal business2business and we target businesses looking to grow, so the work prospects are definately in Melbourne for us. What is the real estate like? We'd be planning on renting initially whilst we get ourselves settled, we have a really nice 3 bed detached house here that we're renting for just £550pm - i'm guessing it's going to be hard to get something similar in size etc (and i've promised my daughter a pool!), we'd be looking at an outer suburb, preferably 30 min commute to the city either by car or train, can anyone recommend a good site for rental properties? Or any ideas on how much a 3 bed house with pool would probably be to rent would be a great starting point for us to work with

Re: Rossi, very true - i doubt there's going to much time for surfing! although I wonder how much time there will be for snowboarding too lol. I've always wanted solar heating, I guess there's a lot of business opportunities over there for double glazers!!! ACT and NT have never appealed to me, Sydney i'd love to visit, but really don't see myself living there! I have family in Perth, theyve been there for 20 years and keep threatening to return for good... my cousin who has just hit early 20s gets very bored there now. Adelaide was on my list, but I don't think the work prospects are there, and I want somewhere a bit busier and faster paced for the girls, brisbane and gold coast - we loved... but I wonder once you've spent a year or two doing all the touristy stuff, how much novelty is lost? We can always fly up for a holiday each year after all!

Re: Buzzy-bee. Thanks, ive had a quick look through the links - i will have to get a cuppa and have a full read Maybe you can help re:the rental costs from your signature! It would be great to connect with some families with young kids before we go! I've still not heard back from the agent... but i'm not too worried, I've checked the visa criteria and think that we should be able to meet it with some good hard graft and a sound business plan... got a 12 month deadline so we can be there for next christmas!

All exciting!!!! I can finally start making some massive progress for my 7 year dream

Thank you everyone!

BadgeIsBack

The long summer nights rival those in many a country when you consider that other countries with equivalent or longer summer nights have far colder winters. I can forgo 45mins from say 8.45pm to 9.30pm for a gain ~7 degrees in the winter.

It would be in my Top 2 of 'Why Melbourne' over another city.

1. Melbourne's Mix - lifestyle - city/country/arts/sport
2. Summer nights

Buzzy--Bee

ahem.... "Summer days, drifting away, but ooooh, those summer niii-iiiigts (tell me more tell me mooooooooooorrrrrre)"

applause, exit stage left.

BB

BadgeIsBack

Fast exit - assisted by a boot applied to your backside!

Coppock

Geez - didn't realise you could hear me from Oz....
it's just finishing raining

Laights

Hi,

We live about 1 hour 15 south of melbourne and have been here for about 21 months. I love the changing seasons and that we don't have months of really high temperatures although sometimes it does get a little bit hot but its usually only for a couple of days. I find that the people here are very friendly and will take the time to speak to you.

Some of the best surfing beaches are down here, Bells Beach, Jan Juc, Torquay, Ocean Grove, 13th Beach to name a few, my sons often go in the summer.

The snow fields are proper ski resorts with ski lifts etc so I am told, haven't got there yet.

A good site to look at for rentals is realestate.com.au they are one of the biggest sites over here, it will give you a good idea of whats available within your budget, oh one thing you don't pay rates on a rental its all part of the rent.

The housing market where we are is booming, new builds going up everywhere and land being released for housing at an astonishing rate, in the short time that we have been here new estates have sprung up overnight.

Lisa

ozzieeagle

Re my Snow comments..... Thats the Good Resorts Like Mount Hotham.

http://www.mthotham.com.au/

Buzzy--Bee

Ha ha that conjures up the image of going to bed at night, waking up in the morning and there is a new field full of Porter Davis's outside your window!

BB

Zambia

You would not be wrong. Its more metricon fileds near me.