melrich Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 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 accross 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. Link to comment
Crazyaboutdogs Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 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. Link to comment
Scorpion Fury Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Are there all kinds of weird spiders in Australia? I hate spiders they make me crazy Link to comment
duppy_conqueror Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 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. 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. Link to comment
Lionel Hutz Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Melbourne is definitely on my list of places to travel. Thanks Melrich! I learned alot from such a short post. Link to comment
sophie274 Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 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! Link to comment
Chillihead Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 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... Link to comment
melrich Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 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) Link to comment
melrich Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 Unless you live in New Zealand... That is true. That is why Kiwis and Aussies are such great travellers. Link to comment
melrich Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 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. Link to comment
sophie274 Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 I have to say, Australia in general has an excellent reputation, both as a place to live and a place to travel. Its image is fantastic - I would say Australia probably ranks in the top five of most of my friends' lists of places they would like to go. I'm not sure exactly why. Australia sounds like a wonderful place, but not many of us have that much info about it .. But that's my perception at least. Link to comment
melrich Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 I'm not sure exactly why. Probably because it is so far away and seems so exotic. I hope you can make it here one day. Link to comment
sophie274 Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Probably because it is so far away and seems so exotic. . Makes sense. A lot of my friends are really outdoorsy so there's that part too. And I know my girl friends imagine Australian men to be tall, blond, sun-tanned, and with sexy accents. Once I start working I imagine Australia might be where I spend one of my first vacations! Link to comment
melrich Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 And I know my girl friends imagine Australian men to be tall, blond, sun-tanned, and with sexy accents. They got that right!! Link to comment
Portage Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 So, i hear they sell Kangaroo in the grocery store right beside the beef. I just came back from the Toronto Zoo not long ago, we take pics. I'd lovvvveee to go, beautiful part of the world. Link to comment
melrich Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 So, i hear they sell Kangaroo in the grocery store right beside the beef. They do actually. I know it sounds terrible that we eat those cute animals but seriously, there are so many. I have a vineyard about 50 miles north of Melbourne. Wake up in the morning and look out over the fields and you will see maybe 100 kangaroos.....and that is in an area that is not really known for kangaroos. Link to comment
melrich Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 We almost immigrated there in 1979, but my mom thought we would never have seen our dad again, in hindsight it would have been a good move. Are you in Vancouver? I have a cousin who moved from Melbourne to Vancouver. He married one of the local TV newsreaders there. He loves the place. Link to comment
melrich Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Don't know too much about those places, I have never been to Canada but what I have seen it looks like a beautiful place to live. I often hear it said that Canadians and Australians are very similar. Link to comment
COtuner Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 My BF and I are planning a trip to Australia and Fiji within the next 5 years, and Melbourne was on the list. My company has a branch office there, too, so that always makes for good times. (I've met a couple of them on a recent trip here - I was given a 'roo Suncatcher to keep Australia on my mind each time I see it) Funny, I used to want to live in Australia, but I vascillated between east and west coasts... Surfer's Paradise sounded nice. Link to comment
melrich Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 It is a beautiful country. I have been accross the country about 20 times and I have enjoyed every province for its' own particular beauty. As once upon a time "colonials" I think we do. Why don't you start a thread with a similar piece about your city. If we got lots of city profiles it would be a great resource. Link to comment
melrich Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 but I vascillated between east and west coasts... Surfer's Paradise sounded nice. That would probably be North and South Coast. there is not much on the West coast besides Perth and 3000 miles of uninhabited coast line! Surfers is a strange place. Beautiful beaches but very developed in a 'consumer" sort of way. Think "slightly less out there" Venice Beach with lots of high rise.. Link to comment
Crazyaboutdogs Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Don't know too much about those places, I have never been to Canada but what I have seen it looks like a beautiful place to live. I often hear it said that Canadians and Australians are very similar. When I traveled around Australia I felt very comfortable...more so than when I am in the US (no offense to those of you South of the Border). I think the way of life is more similar between Canada and Australia than Canada and the US. Sure there are differences but the cities just felt like Canadian cities. Sydney, reminded me of Toronto in some respects...Canberra reminded me of Ottawa. I felt really at home and comfortable when I was traveling around Australia (well, except for the extra large insects in the Outback..and we don't have poisonous snakes here). Somebody I work closely with here is originally from Melbourne. Link to comment
annie24 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 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) melbourne is also inhabited by angry bananas who seem to think they own this place. Link to comment
Crazyaboutdogs Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 In the prairies we do, rattlers, I saw them all the time. Well, in Quebec the only snakes we have are the politicians! LOL. Link to comment
shikashika Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I spent about a week in Melbourne when I was living in Australia. I enjoyed a lot and maybe would have liked it more if I had the chance to live there. I loved living in Sydney and would go back in a heartbeat. Melbourne definitely had a different vibe to it and would love to go back and see it again. I don't think Australia is comparable to Canada though.. I think the people and the cities are completley different. Link to comment
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