Australia Melbourne - My City

**melrich** · 11-25-2008, 05:40 PM

So I thought I would throw up a description of where I live. Hopefully it will be of interest and may even inspire someone to visit one day.

Melbourne is located on Port Phillip Bay at the very south end of Australia, just above 40 degrees latitude so about the equivalent of New York in the Northern Hemisphere. In truth it is about as far from the rest of the world as you can get.

If you can imagine a horseshoe shaped bay, about 40 miles from the open end of the shoe to the opposite end and about 50 miles across at its widest point then you have a picture of Port Phillip Bay. The city of Melbourne wraps around the top half of the horseshoe. It is a big city, over 50 miles East to West and 30 miles North to South and accommodating around 3.5 million people.

Our climate is temperate in that we get all 4 seasons. Our winters are pretty mild (very, very rarely snows in Melbourne although it does on surrounding mountains to the North) but our summers can be extremely hot. Spring and Autumn are the most comfortable time of year.

The city itself is very well laid out, extremely clean, good roads, lots of parks and most streets are treelined. Any view you take in of Melbourne will have more green than anything else. A river runs through the middle of the city, roughly dividing East from West. At the city end of the river there are beautiful promenades lined with restaurants and various sculptures and points of interest.

The ethnic mix is vast and we have large Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese and African communities. It is an extremely integrated city with little or no racial conflict.

There are 3 major university campuses in the city and numerous art galleries, museums and cultural activities. Melbourne is renowned as the most cultural city in Australia and the most “European” city. In terms of American cities, I have heard it most compared to Boston.

Counterbalancing that, it is also a sport mad city with the focus our own home grown sport of Australian Rules Football. The sport precinct (MCG, Rod Laver Arena, Olympic Swimming Pool, The Football Dome, Soccer Dome) existing all within a mile or two of the central city (Downtown) is probably the finest in the world.

From an entertainment point of view, Melbourne is most famous for it’s restaurants, bars and live music. The city is riddled with groovy little out of the way bars and intimate venues where you can catch great live music.

Fringing the bay and separating the water from the city around the top of the horseshoe is about 60 miles of mainly sandy beaches and this is where most Melbournians play in summer.

Melbourne is a very safe place to be though there have been problems in the last 12 months with violence in the city centre late at night. As a rule it is a very safe place to get around but as with most places I suppose, there are some places it is best to avoid at certain times.

Melbourne has been voted either number 1, 2 or 3 “Most Liveable City in the World” in each of the past 5 years. This is on the back of it’s great culture, beaches, generally it’s weather, it’s beautiful streetscapes, it’s safety and career opportunities. Hope you can come and see us one day.

Crazyaboutdogs · 11-25-2008, 05:48 PM

Spent a day in Melbourne when I was travelling around Australia in 1989. I loved it and wish I could have seen more. I liked the green streetcars.

Scorpion Fury · 11-25-2008, 05:49 PM

Are there all kinds of weird spiders in Australia? I hate spiders they make me crazy

duppy_conqueror · 11-25-2008, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melrich

Our climate is temperate in that we get all 4 seasons. Our winters are pretty mild (very, very rarely snows in Melbourne although it does on surrounding mountains to the North) but our summers can be extremely hot. Spring and Autumn are the most comfortable time of year.

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aw thats sweet. im a melbournian too, although you could've said while we get four seasons, it all tends to happen in one day.

Lionel Hutz · 11-25-2008, 05:50 PM

Melbourne is definitely on my list of places to travel. Thanks Melrich! I learned alot from such a short post.

sophie274 · 11-25-2008, 05:54 PM

I would love to go to Australia, and when I do get the chance to go, Melbourne will definitely be on my list.

I really love Boston, so it sounds lovely!

Chillihead · 11-25-2008, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melrich

In truth it is about as far from the rest of the world as you can get.

Unless you live in New Zealand...

In all seriousness I came within inches of moving to Melbourne earlier this year, but then I split with my partner and that was that...

**melrich** · 11-25-2008, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Are there all kinds of weird spiders in Australia?

Unfortunately there are a lot a large, poisonous spiders in Australia. Fortunately, you don't see too many in the cities (although in parts of Sydney, Funnel Webs are a problem)

**melrich** · 11-25-2008, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Unless you live in New Zealand...

That is true. That is why Kiwis and Aussies are such great travellers.

**melrich** · 11-25-2008, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Spent a day in Melbourne when I was travelling around Australia in 1989.

Only a day!!... Hopefully you can get back one day. It has changed a lot since then.

11-25-2008, 05:40 PM	#1
melrich Offline Super Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Gender: Male Posts: 8,498	Melbourne - My City So I thought I would throw up a description of where I live. Hopefully it will be of interest and may even inspire someone to visit one day. Melbourne is located on Port Phillip Bay at the very south end of Australia, just above 40 degrees latitude so about the equivalent of New York in the Northern Hemisphere. In truth it is about as far from the rest of the world as you can get. If you can imagine a horseshoe shaped bay, about 40 miles from the open end of the shoe to the opposite end and about 50 miles across at its widest point then you have a picture of Port Phillip Bay. The city of Melbourne wraps around the top half of the horseshoe. It is a big city, over 50 miles East to West and 30 miles North to South and accommodating around 3.5 million people. Our climate is temperate in that we get all 4 seasons. Our winters are pretty mild (very, very rarely snows in Melbourne although it does on surrounding mountains to the North) but our summers can be extremely hot. Spring and Autumn are the most comfortable time of year. The city itself is very well laid out, extremely clean, good roads, lots of parks and most streets are treelined. Any view you take in of Melbourne will have more green than anything else. A river runs through the middle of the city, roughly dividing East from West. At the city end of the river there are beautiful promenades lined with restaurants and various sculptures and points of interest. The ethnic mix is vast and we have large Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese and African communities. It is an extremely integrated city with little or no racial conflict. There are 3 major university campuses in the city and numerous art galleries, museums and cultural activities. Melbourne is renowned as the most cultural city in Australia and the most “European” city. In terms of American cities, I have heard it most compared to Boston. Counterbalancing that, it is also a sport mad city with the focus our own home grown sport of Australian Rules Football. The sport precinct (MCG, Rod Laver Arena, Olympic Swimming Pool, The Football Dome, Soccer Dome) existing all within a mile or two of the central city (Downtown) is probably the finest in the world. From an entertainment point of view, Melbourne is most famous for it’s restaurants, bars and live music. The city is riddled with groovy little out of the way bars and intimate venues where you can catch great live music. Fringing the bay and separating the water from the city around the top of the horseshoe is about 60 miles of mainly sandy beaches and this is where most Melbournians play in summer. Melbourne is a very safe place to be though there have been problems in the last 12 months with violence in the city centre late at night. As a rule it is a very safe place to get around but as with most places I suppose, there are some places it is best to avoid at certain times. Melbourne has been voted either number 1, 2 or 3 “Most Liveable City in the World” in each of the past 5 years. This is on the back of it’s great culture, beaches, generally it’s weather, it’s beautiful streetscapes, it’s safety and career opportunities. Hope you can come and see us one day. Last edited by melrich; 11-25-2008 at 06:04 PM.

11-25-2008, 05:49 PM	#3
Scorpion Fury Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: The states Gender: Female Age: 26 Posts: 4,525	Are there all kinds of weird spiders in Australia? I hate spiders they make me crazy __________________ Your attitude determines your altitude.

11-25-2008, 05:50 PM	#5
Lionel Hutz Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: CrownTown Los Angeles Gender: Male Age: 100 Posts: 1,790	Melbourne is definitely on my list of places to travel. Thanks Melrich! I learned alot from such a short post. __________________ -KG "Wow! You guys look great. gets pervy thoughts out of head* LOL!"

11-25-2008, 05:48 PM	#2
Crazyaboutdogs Online Platinum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Canada Gender: Female Age: 46 Posts: 15,630	Spent a day in Melbourne when I was travelling around Australia in 1989. I loved it and wish I could have seen more. I liked the green streetcars.

11-25-2008, 05:54 PM	#6
sophie274 Online Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,064	I would love to go to Australia, and when I do get the chance to go, Melbourne will definitely be on my list. I really love Boston, so it sounds lovely!