Moving to Melbourne - but where in Melbourne? St.Kilda?

Hello, Julee. Msolga of Melbourne speaking!

To start with I'll post a link to a thread (if I can find it!) in which another person asked about moving to Melbourne. She was intending to live in the inner city & attend Melbourne University, however a lot of the information on the thread could address a number of your concerns. Give me a while to find it, though.

Feel free to post any further questions & I'll answer them if I can. So might other Oz A2Kers.

ps ... Should a person called Mr Stillwater have anything to say to you on the subject of Melbourne, take everything he says with a grain of salt! He is from Sydney & ....... well, if he responds, you'll see!

Here you go, Julee!:

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48521

Not exactly what you're after, but if you zip through the thread you'll find bits & pieces of information that could be useful.

A (touristy, sorry!) guide to St Kilda;

http://www.travelvictoria.com.au/stkilda/

Hello Msolga,

That was quick! Thanks so much! I just love message boards, they are so helpful - and it seems like this is a really nice one, without trolls and other meanies!

Seems like the Sydney vs. Melbourne discussion will never end, lol! I have never been to Melbourne before, because I flew directly to Sydney, so I can't really say anything about it yet... :wink: isn't that a diplomatic answer? I hope it keeps me out of trouble!

I'll check out the link now, thanks very much again!
Chat you soon!

Julie

Lonely Planet's guide to Melbourne:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/australasia/melbourne/

Regarding where to live: if you let me know a little of your interests, preferred lifestyle, how much you're able to spend on rent, etc., I can make some suggestions. Good luck!

One of the online real estate (including rental properties) sites:

http://www.domain.com.au/?s_rid=theage%3Alhsnav%3Arealestate

Ah, there you are, Julee!

Feel free to post specific questions. You haven't all that much time, I see!
A warning: St Kilda is great, but can be expensive. I can make other suggestions depending on your needs & wants.

While you're making your way through all those links, Julee, some advice I think you might find helpful: Melbourne is a big, sprawling city. If I was coming here to live & wanted to enjoy a good social life & meet new people (& didn't have a car) I'd live close to the CBD, very near good public transport. I'd probably choose something no more than 10 km (maybe closer, depending on finances) from the CBD. Let me know if you're a "house & yard" or an "apartment" person. I can advise further on suitable areas.

From the "other" thread, Julee, in case you missed it:

WRONG, Julee!!!!!
SOME of us are mad (Not mentioning any names, mind! ) But speaking for my own, good self ... I am perfectly sane! Absolutely!

Seriously, though, moving to Oz could, indeed, be a good place for a new start. I don't know which country you'd be moving from, but I think you'll find Melbourne pretty easy to live in & get used to.
Another thought: Why not try sharing a house as your first home? Lots of ads. for sharers at places like Readings Bookshop in Carlton, the real estate pages of the AGE newspaper, etc. A good way to get to know people & the city pretty quickly! And affordable, too, if you need to look for work.

You are so kind, Msolga!

You just love your Melbourne, dont you? :wink: Awww, it's going to be so thrilling to start a new live over there. Can't wait!

Well, I would like to live in a flatshare - (house or apartment doesn't really matter), with other nice and normal (more or less) people like me (ohhhhhh).

Yes, I would definitely like to live in an area with lots of cafes, pubs, restaurants, shops and close to public transport. I don't plan on getting a car (because I don't have a license, I am such a loser!). I am not really sure how much I can pay for a room - depends on my income really (well, I guess I will have a regular secretary income). But I'd say something around $100 - $120 a week.

It doesn't need to be a fancy area really - I am living in a quite trashy part of Frankfurt at the moment (mostly working class and immigrants - but a bit trendy because it is so multicultural), so I am used to my surrounding being a little rougher. And I don't get scared easy.

By the way - only kangaroos scare me - I got bitten by one at Steve "the crocodile hunter" Irwin's petting zoo for kids. And I didn't even touch it. Evil thing! Just snapped at me out of the blue! My friend Australian friend Jenna is still laughing at that story - she said, that I am probably the only person in Australian history that has been bitten by a kangaroo. That's what I got for visiting his zoo. Sorry, getting a bit off topic here.

Where did I stop? Ehmmm, yes, I found a nice little Aussie website called Gumtree.com.au with classifieds for flatshares (and lots of other useful stuff) and most of them sound really nice and are not too expensive. I am just not too sure about the areas. Maybe I should just take it slow, get there, recover from jet lag, stay at a hostel for a couple of days and then take a good look around.

But if you have any great suggestions - bring them on! :wink:

Julie

I will respond later, Julee. Right now I've gotta rush to get ready to out to get my eye brows waxed! (Oh, the pain, the pain! )

...says Felix the cat while he's blinking at me... :wink: rrrrright...perfectly sane, no doubt! Lol!

A brow wax? That's really brave (I am still using tweezers...such a chicken)!

" ...Maybe I should just take it slow, get there, recover from jet lag, stay at a hostel for a couple of days and then take a good look around. ..."

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. There are lots of hostels in the inner-city, St Kilda, the yWCA, even, right in the city, etc .... Why not take your time & choose carefully? It is so difficult to know what a place is like without actually being there.

Suggestions are plentiful! Anywhere from Fitzroy, Carlton, Parkville, Nth Melbourne, Brunwsick/Coburg (see the other thread), Prahran, Northcote ... etc, etc, etc ... But if you're going to share (& any of these areas would most likely suit your purposes pretty well) maybe the decision will depend on which people appeal to you when you meet them as much as the suburb?

I found a really nice looking hostel downtown Melbourne, called The Nunnery. It's a little pricey (30 bucks), but I rather invest a little bit more. I stayed at some really dodgy and cheap places last time I was in Oz, so I learned my lesson. :wink:

Yes, the decision is definitely based on how nice the people in the flat are - it's going to be so adventurous!

I had a dream a couple of nights ago. I dreamt about living in a nice house in St. Kilda, close to the beach, with two other girls. That's actually why I came up with the whole St. Kilda thing! Maybe I should just spend more time sleeping and saving some brain cells instead of spending long hours on my computer, researching about Melbourne!

Once again 3:45am over here and I am still up... And I am not even a computer geek!

I like the sound of that plan! A good one! Good luck!

... And feel free to post here if another Melbourne question pops into your head, OK?

... ps ... I like the sound of The Nunnery!

Sounds like a very safe girl place!

It sounds safe and it looks soooo nice!
The Nunnery

I read some really good critics about it on another website - backpackers who only wanted to stay for one night ended up staying three months because of the nice atmosphere.

Well, it's certainly very close to the city centre! Looks very nice, too!

Julee

This is what you'll find across the (very busy Nicholson St.) road from the Nunnery. The Royal Exhibition buildings. Lovely parklands there. Gorgeous, right now in Autumn. And a quick walk to the city centre.