Living in Melbourne, Victoria

MELBOURNE

Melbourne was foundered in 1835 on the Yarra River and is the Capital City of Victoria with a population of approximately 3.8M people. It is a multi cultural city with large communities of Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, New Zealand, India and Chinese Australians. There is always a friendly rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney in all walks of life. Victoria, but in particular Melbourne, has a reputation of being sport fanatics. It has facilities catering for all sports, which were enhanced only recently because of the Olympic Games. Melbourne is built around Port Phillip Bay, spreading South around both sides of the bay as well as all other directions. Surrounding Melbourne are some of the best wine growing facilities with a world famous reputation.

Temperatures range between an average low of 6 to and average high of 26 degrees with the occasional burst of up to 35 degrees during summer. During winter, ski fields are a short 2-3 hour drive, so many residents either own a lodge or holiday on the slopes as well as weekends skiing.

The diversity of occupations is the same as with any major city worldwide. As well as being Australia’s busiest port, Melbourne manufactures cars by Ford and Toyota as well as engines for Holden (General Motors). It is a major hub for business, banking and financial arenas. Due to the skilled shortage in so many occupations, opportunities exist for the Accountant, Doctor, Registered Nurse, Teacher, Electrician, Mechanic, Carpenter, Plumber, Welder, and Sheet Metal Worker. The list is endless.

Melbourne has been voted one of the world’s most liveable cities on several occasions. Housing prices are currently growing at a meagre 1.5% which is less than the majority of Capital Cities (Hobart 3.8%, Brisbane 2.9%, Darwin 2.8%), with units for $250,000 and houses from $350,000. These prices will be for suburbs in the outer circle, while houses on Port Phillip Bay and inner suburbs at $3-5M plus.

The Education system has Public (Government run) and Private (Fees paid by parents) schools. There are a large number of Child Care facilities (0-5yrs), Pre-school (4-5yrs), some Pre-Prep (4-5yrs) and then years 1-12. There are many Private Colleges (girls only, boys only as well as mixed), TAFE Colleges, Universities, Museums, Art Galleries, Performing Arts, Live Theatre and Music Academy.

Sports are too numerous to mention, but include Cricket, Soccer, Rugby (both codes), AFL (similar to Gallic football), Swimming, Surfing, Sailing, Tennis, Horse Racing, Harness Racing, Basketball and Netball.