Talk to me about Melbourne

[windmill26]

Just that really. Do you like living in Melbourne ? What kind of wage do you need to have a good standard of life?

I live there and I love it. It’s a city of 5 million people, so there’s lots going on, good theatre, food, music and cultural scene. We have easy access to beautiful countryside, mountains (if you’re into hiking or snow sports), and although the beaches don’t rival most of the rest of Australia, I like them in the bay because the waves are more gentle ;). The only thing I’m not so keen on is the weather, but I think this winter has made me less tolerant than usual! Winters are usually cool, dry and sunny - this one has been horrible!
The wage question is tricky because it depends where you’d like to live, if you have children, what you like to do in your spare time etc. A bit like anywhere, I suppose.

I echo everything Eaglesqueak has said. Melbourne is a lovely city and the state of Victoria has an amazing range of landscapes, from desert to temperate rainforest.

As for the the wages needed for a comfortable lifestyle, more specific information would help.

What they said. I am now living in Brisbane but would move back to Melbourne in a heartbeat.

Yes, I like Melbourne.

Our winters are cool, but our houses make them feel colder! No double glazing, houses built to let air circulate, not heat up etc. Winters can be shit.

Again would need to know where you're thinking of living? If you say, close to the city and beach then you probably need $200k (each 🤐) for that lifestyle.

Thank you for the replies above.Nice to hear that all of enjoy living in Melbourne.
We are a family of 3 so we will be looking to buy an apartment or a townhouse. Ideally something that was recently built with double glazing . As much as we would love to live close enough to walk to the beach we are realistic and as a first step we are looking at areas like Footscray,Maribyrnong,Maidstone and surroundings. Wage wise we are talking $150.000 per year (maybe a bit more). We are thinking of coming over early next year for a couple of weeks to research the areas above plus for my husband to have a chat with a few agencies.The idea is that if we like what we see we can start putting the wheels in motion for a permanent move.We can live in Australia as my husband is a Kiwi.

I don’t live in Melbourne but my son and his family live on the outskirts. We visit when we can and we love it. They live just South of Melbourne- about a 35 minute train journey on the Frankston line, and can really recommend that area. The Mornington Peninsula is great.

At first we were thinking Cheltenham and surroundings but it looks like the housing budget would stretch slightly further a bit closer to the CBD in the areas I mentioned above (maybe not as pretty but hey what can you do!). We definitely will go down that way anyway just to have a look and to compare with the areas we have in mind. I think if we fall in love with a particular area we will have to cut our cloth accordingly😉.

our rent last year in Maribyrnong VIC was $2500 a week, 2 bed unit. A townhouse would be even more

We flooded in last years floods, water up to the ceilings so be wary of buying in a flood plane

I've lived all round the world, and Melbourne is far and away the best place I've ever called home. Been here seven years now and no intention to leave!
Melbourne feels like it has something for everyone. It's small enough for you to feel you know it, but big enough that it's not claustrophobic or insular. It's the only city in Australia that has a hint of Europe about it. The food is next level; you can't get a bad meal! I love the aesthetic of Melbourne's fashion; I can pick someone from Melbs a mile off when travelling; there's just something about the quirky confidence of the inner north designers.
Schools are generally good. There's one Ty to do in school holidays, and the weather isn't as bad as its reputation would have you believe!
The only thing I would say is that it's very pricy to live in the inner suburbs. You'd be wanting double your estimated income to live comfortably in a family home in the city, inner north, inner east, or inner south. West is a little cheaper, but I don't think 150K would be super easy. I'm guessing that's one salary? Is there the possibility of both of you working?

I’ll definitely be in the minority but I really don’t like Melbourne. I’ve told DH (who is transferred often for work) that we can live anywhere in Australia except Melbourne. I’m also going to point out that we’ve only ever done extended visits and never actually lived there before.

The city centre is nice enough. I like the older buildings, the culture and arts scene, good restaurants. It is probably the most European of Australian cities.

But…they have hook turns for fuck’s sake! And out of the city centre is just endless dismal suburbia. And it costs a bomb in tolls to drive around. And there are endless roadworks on the main motorway. And dismal suburbia. Four season in one day. Endless dismal suburbia.

I was like you, Difficult. I just didn’t ‘get’ Melbourne at all on our visits - the endless suburbia, the weather (which really isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. Obviously not like Perth or Brisbane though). CBD was nice enough, but I just didn’t get it.
Until we came to live here. Six years in and I absolutely love it. There’s so much to do and see and the countryside is beautiful. Safe beaches for families (and wimps like me), but surf beaches a bit further from the city. We have a great arts scene, the coffee is amazing (I never ever believed I’d become a coffee snob, but here we are) and it’s foodie paradise.
There’s a very relaxed vibe here - it’s not so ‘corporate’ as Sydney, which has the advantage of the stunning harbour, but never felt as comfortable as Melbourne does to me.
i agree re the hook turns though - I’ve never done one, just keep driving until I can avoid one. You can avoid the tolls easily enough if you plan, but yes, they’re not cheap.
I wasn’t so keen on moving here, but I’m so glad we have!

@Eaglesqueak maybe I should be more open minded?

Do you live in endless dismal suburbia or in the CBD?

DH has told me I can drive past the hook turns but I actually just refuse to drive in Melbourne and I think he is secretly happy about that! 😂

Lived there for a year, loved it but was in South Yarra and children on 105k a year for 2 adults. Was doable and I went out 4/5 nights a week. Weekend trips to Mornington for wineries. Down the great Ocean road to visit family. Flew a lot to other states relatively easily.

Now whenever I visit from Sydney I find it really cold and rundown. Ice (meth) feels like a much bigger issue, same with homelessness. Still heaps safer than London but as idyllic as I remember especially now I have kids. That said the people are so friendly.

Should've read childfree!

Difficult, I would say don’t dismiss the idea if your DH gets a fantastic offer to come - you might surprise yourself! 😄. I have friends who came for short contracts and have moved on. Mostly they still miss it and don’t hate it even though they were happy to move again. I have one friend who’s leaving by the end of the year and absolutely dreading it.
We do live in the suburbs, yes. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but it suits our needs at the moment. We can walk to the beach and have two train lines for easy access to the CBD (no hook turn driving needed 😁) and we have fabulous cafes and restaurants within walking distance too.
Its really not that bad!

Eagle, I’m hoping our next transfer will be back to Sydney or Darwin.

We are near Canberra at the moment which has been really great. I love driving in Canberra! Zero traffic! It is a much nicer city than everyone makes it out to be. And lovely museums and galleries around the lake.

Agree that Melbourne does have a large suburban sprawl - I guess I just never think of all of that suburbia as Melbourne! To me, Melbourne is the CBD and the gorgeous inner suburbs. I'm lucky in that I rarely leave inner Melbourne in my day-to-day life, and only pass through the suburban sprawl on my way to something like the Healesville sanctuary.
If the OP is still watching this thread: I would be hesitant about moving out here if you couldn't live in the city or inner suburbs, as that's where Melbourne's magic is.

I love it for a visit, and if I'd moved to Australia in my 20s, Melbourne would have been my choice. I wouldn't want to live there now though, it's bloody expensive and the weather is too cold for me ( I live in Perth). But I loved the food, the coffee, the culture and the Queen Vic market!. If I wanted to live in a big busy city I'd move there, but I'm in my 50s now so Perth suits me more.

Difficult, my DD may well be moving your way in the near future. She went up to Canberra for the interview, not expecting much, but she says it’s fab. If she does move, I’ll be making my way there to see for myself!

Just a quick update from my original post. We just came back from a fact finding holiday in Melbourne and we have decided to move there next year. We had a look at a few areas and have pinpointed Moonee Ponds and South Yarra as a first step (rentals) and as a potential area to settle as there are plenty of apartments ,shops, transport etc. We have completely discounted Footscray . Maribyrnong is OK for a rental but not to buy as we found it a bit soulless. Due to the increase in prices here I didn't find the food as expensive as a lot of people say. The quality and choice of food is excellent . We had a chat with a few recruiters and the wages that we can achieve are way better than we originally thought. @VegemiteSammich sorry to hear you were caught in the floods. I read about it in The Age. Definitely staying away from a flood plane! Are you still in the area or have you moved to another area?

Just came back and loved it! I underestimated the main wage,we are looking at $200 K plus which I think will cover a mortgage for an apartment plus allow us to live comfortably. Anything I will earn will be extra.@DifficultBloodyWoman and @Eaglesqueak ...no way I will move from Wandsworth to suburbia anywhere! We did that in Sydney and i can 100% say that the suburbs are definitely not for us !

South Yarra is fab but also super expensive. Just a flag. Prahan market has the best food though and it's so easy to get to aami park for nrl and mcg for cricket if you're into sport. And obviously the city.

Tbh, windmill our suburb isn’t so different from Wandsworth (I’ve lived there too!) in that it’s an older, established suburb, we have good public transport, a village feel with cafes, wine bars, 20 -25 mins to the cbd..

We looked at 150 houses (!) when we were looking to buy - we didn’t know which suburb we wanted to be in, what we could realistically afford and what kind of house we wanted. We still ended up with a head rather than heart buy, but it’s fine and housed four, sometimes five, of us quite amicably through the endless lockdowns! It’s close to where you were looking in Cheltenham.

Ive just seen that you’re looking at Moonee Ponds and South Yarra. South Yarra is a fab choice if you like a buzzy life and being close to the city. Good train links to everywhere too. We were very close to there when we first moved here - our adult kids loved it! I don’t know Moonee Ponds so well.

Another place I have friends is Port Melbourne. Lots of apartment living if that’s what you’re after and close to the water and trams (and lovely Albert Park). Might be worth looking at if you haven’t already, although I don’t know how expensive it is…

Good luck with your move - I hope you find exactly what you’re looking for and are very happy here.