Author Topic: Melbourne!  (Read 6714 times)

cbr shadow

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Melbourne!
« on: August 11, 2014, 12:18:07 PM »
My wife and I are moving from Chicago to Melbourne Australia very soon for her job. We'll be there for two years. Originally we were moving to Sydney, but her employer switched plans and is putting us in Melbourne. I'm wondering if anyone here is from Melbourne and if they can give me any advice/information about the city. Is there a strong cycling culture? I love cycling and hope to do some nice coastal cycling routes while I live there.

What else can you tell me about Melbourne? I believe we'll be living in St. Kilda. I appreciate any info.

-Ryan

oldtoyota

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2014, 12:48:29 PM »
I can tell you that houses are very, very expensive. $1MM is not uncommon for an average house. Get ready for sticker shock. That said, the nature areas seem amazing.

My friends live there and so I've gotten the scoop. =-)

bretty72

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2014, 05:25:42 PM »
Hi cbr shadow!!
Only discovered MMM recently and this is my first post.
I live in Melbourne and can definately confirm it is a biking-freindly city.
There are bike lanes and tracks everywhere and the city is very accepting and tolerant of the bike riding community. There was even something on the news last night about a cycling bridge being built somewhere here.
St. Kilda is now a trendy and expensive suburb, but was very rough and poor up until probably 20 years ago. If you are working in Melbourne city you can actually cycle most of the way from St Kilda along the beach, or on the roads which mostly have bike lanes.
Make sure to brush up on some Australian culture as well- especially AFL football. St Kilda has it's own team and you will more than likely support them if you live there.
I'm actually very excited for you!!!

loft

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2014, 06:54:51 PM »
I live in Melbourne. As previous posters have said it is very bike friendly if you live quite close to the city. It is also a very flat city so quite easy to ride long distances. Its also serviced by a very good public transport system (Trains, Trams, Buses).
If you are living in St Kilda then you should be fine without a car. Housing is very expensive!!! Hopefully your wife's employer will be paying for that.

theconcierge

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2014, 07:24:59 PM »
Hi Ryan

St Kilda is a great part of Melbourne (much better than Sydney in my eyes ). You can do without a car no doubt just use bikes and trams.

Melbourne is the cycling hub for australia that is fore sure.


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« Last Edit: August 11, 2014, 07:27:57 PM by theconcierge »

agent_clone

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2014, 02:12:25 AM »
I can tell you that houses are very, very expensive. $1MM is not uncommon for an average house. Get ready for sticker shock. That said, the nature areas seem amazing.

My friends live there and so I've gotten the scoop. =-)

Sure its not uncommon, but at the same time you can find houses reasonably close to the city for less than $1MM, unlike Sydney (Note I am talking houses, not apartments here, apartments you can find for less than $1MM reasonably close to the city).  I don't think they are looking to buy there anyway his wife's contract I think is for 2 years.  Melbourne is also a lot cheaper than Sydney.

LonerMatt

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2014, 03:08:46 AM »
Melbourne is great. One of the world's great cities.

Let us know if you are feeling overwhelmed or lonely and I'll come show you around.

I live on the Great Ocean Road atm, so come visit and we can see beautiful scenery and eat cheese.

marty998

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2014, 03:37:29 AM »
My wife and I are moving from Chicago to Melbourne Australia very soon for her job. We'll be there for two years. Originally we were moving to Sydney, but her employer switched plans and is putting us in Melbourne. I'm wondering if anyone here is from Melbourne and if they can give me any advice/information about the city. Is there a strong cycling culture? I love cycling and hope to do some nice coastal cycling routes while I live there.

What else can you tell me about Melbourne? I believe we'll be living in St. Kilda. I appreciate any info.

-Ryan

Try not to get your hopes up if you are going to support the St Kilda AFL team.

kaetana

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2014, 04:02:55 AM »
I agree with all the posters who said Melbourne is very cycling friendly. It is! Along with some nice paths by the beach, we've also got great paths by the river. There's also an active cycling organisation here called Bicycle Network Victoria which has helped raise general awareness of cyclists' issues and safety.

If you compare Australian prices to American ones, you'll keel over in shock. Just remember that you'll also be earning in Australian dollars, which makes it better. It's actually entirely possible to live cheaply in Melbourne if you don't fall prey to consumerism.

One thing you could do to get a better idea of what to expect in Australia is to read some of the Australian journals on this forum. There's a growing number of them, and we're all a pretty friendly bunch.

Congratulations on the move!

cbr shadow

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2014, 08:21:09 AM »
Thanks everyone for the responses.  I'm happy to hear that Melbourne is friendly for cycling!  Also I know Australians have a reputation for being very friendly, but I'm still shocked at how open and friendly everyone has been with my wife who is already in Melbourne, and forum members here offering through PM to answer questions for show us around when I arrive.  This is something that would never happen here in Chicago.

My wife is currently looking for a place for us to rent.  We're looking for a house rather than an apartment because we have two dogs that are coming with.  I realize how much more difficult finding a place to rent is with two dogs.  We even made a "Pet Resume" to send with our application.  Hopefully by next week my wife has secured a house for us.

Thanks again for all of the information!

Also LonerMatt, I'm taking you up on the Ocean Road visit.

-Ryan

limeandpepper

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2014, 10:06:39 AM »
I just left Melbourne and I'm happy where I am right now, but I also miss it. There are so many great things about that city. And if you live in a good location you really don't need a car, I never drove for the 10+ years I spent there. I didn't cycle, but I walked and took public transport everywhere.

I'm not super familiar with St Kilda but the few times I have been, it was pretty nice. As it is a developed inner-city suburb, you should have all the necessary amenities within short distance, plus the fun stuff as well. Your two closest major markets will be Prahran Market and South Melbourne Market. Out of the two, South Melbourne Market is the cheaper one, from my experience. And there are usually bargains if you buy your produce just before they close. For supermarkets, Aldi is probably the best value, and there is probably one close to you.

Anyway I hope you enjoy Melbourne! :)

LonerMatt

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2014, 04:21:14 AM »
Also LonerMatt, I'm taking you up on the Ocean Road visit.

-Ryan

Good, make sure you come before the end of the year, cause I'm probably moving after that.

vjb

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #12 on: September 22, 2014, 06:19:13 PM »
CBR, I'm a St K resident and a cyclist with a dog, and I adore my home suburb.

....Having said that, please don't start barracking for St Kilda FC: they aren't going very well at the moment and you're unlikely to see a truly beautiful example of an AFL game watching them.... Sad but true!

Get in touch! I'd be happy to help however I can. I also make great coffee. :) (Though maybe if you're used to Starbucks style "coffee drinks" you may not think so? Melbourne is a coffee-mad town but more on the espresso/pourover/cold-drip/fancy-filter side of things.)

cbr shadow

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Re: Melbourne!
« Reply #13 on: September 23, 2014, 12:03:30 PM »
VJB, I'd love to get in touch and hear about the area!  My wife and I know we'll get the best of the experience by making friends, and both love coffee haha.
First thing I plan on doing when I get there is to buy another bike.  I've sold my bike in Chicago this past week and already miss being out on it.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!