Melbourne Biggies help!

Hey guys and gals,

I'm making the big move from London to Melbourne in a few months and was looking for some advice to a few questions I have.

Where is a good place to live and where should I avoid?

Good companies to go through for flats?

Just any other general advice you could give me would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks

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Duh

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Duh

Thats a pretty broad question. Melbourne is not a small city! Like when I first arrived, most backpackers end up in St Kilda, where I still live now and is a good starting point close to the city. Its a good place to meet people and your best bet is to move into an existing flat once your here, as no agent will consider you unless you have rental history and so on. If you have any other questions or can be a little more specific about what your after I'd be happy to help you, flick me a PM.

Where is a good place to live and where should I avoid?
There's a plethora of great places to live, all have their pluses and minuses, just comes down to how close to the city you wish to be really. Loads of nice apartments in the CBD or on Southbank and all the close lying suburbs, but you'd need to be a suburb or two out to get a house/flat. The North of the city (Brunswick, Fitzroy, Carlton, Collingwood) has a very student/alternative feel to it. Reminds me of Cuba St/Aro Valley in Wellington. The East and South of the city (Richmond, South Yarra, South Melbourne, East Melbourne, Prahran) are kinda ponsy, but have great shops and what not right at your door step...go a little further South to Windsor, Balaclava and St Kilda and it lax's out a little. Further South, Brighton, Sandringham etc and the rest of the shore lying area are great if you want to be close to the beach, a little "well to do" also. West of the city gets very industrial through the harbour, lots of oil companies, refineries and other industrial plants, then hits total suburbia after that really. Haven't been out there much, but Sunshine gets nicknamed SCUMshine...say no more, eh?

My girl and I, and a stack of our mates, all live around Prahran, with others around St Kilda, South Yarra etc, and fucking love it! Chapel St has everything from high end fashion at one end, through to the Windsor end where you get op shops and quirky little random stores. Stacks of great eateries and loads of bars and clubs (latest opening district for partying in all of Melbourne with Revolver opening on Saturday evening and not closing till Monday morning and Circus open till even later!)


Good companies to go through for flats?
We found our apartment of www.realestate.com.au, www.domain.com.au is the other good one. It's a hard market getting places here currently, you'd be looking at $250 at an absolute minimum for a 1 bedroom apartment in an area like Prahran, Richmond, South Yarra, possibly a little less in St Kilda, not sure. You may have trouble getting a place by yourself, you may not. We didn't, but I think that's because I've been a lease holder before in NZ, and the database agents check covers both NZ and Aus. Moving into an existing place would be a lot easier, for the furniture/flat set up shit too really.

IMO, the last thing you want to do is live in total suburbia, miles out of the city...might be a bit cheaper, but the trains aren't super reliable, the trams take ages and I reckon you just wouldn't enjoy Melbourne to its fullest living way out with the hicks near the sticks. hee hee

I'd recommend staying inside this area personally...

Hrmm although never lived there, I like, and would live in either Fitzroy, Carlton, Northcote and Williamstown.. although quite far away its pretty

Thanks so much guys