Melbourne - An Introduction

Melbourne's population of 3.5 million enjoys a temperate climate and a healthy range of lifestyle and career opportunities.

Melbourne enjoys a thriving cafe culture along with rich dining and cultural opportunities. The shopping is the best anywhere in Australia and there are an enormous variety of parks and reserves around the city. Melbourne is the home of the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Tennis Open, and the Australian Golf Open.

In quality of life surveys, all major Australian cities compare well with cities in other countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Melbourne as Australia's best city and (equal with Vancouver and Vienna) as the best city in the world for livability.

Melbourne scored the highest possible mark for all categories, including:
  • access
  • climate
  • crime rate
  • culture
  • diversity
  • education
  • environmental focus
  • housing
  • infrastructure
Melbourne, despite a reputation within Australia for changeable weather, scored the highest climate mark of any Australian city, partly because its dry summer heat leads to fewer uncomfortably humid days than other contenders.

People
According to the Bureau of Statistics, one third of the people who now call Melbourne home were born overseas.

People from the UK are Melbourne's biggest migrant group, making up 5 percent of the population. The next biggest groups are Italians (2%), Vietnamese (2%) Greeks (2%), and New Zealanders (2%).

Living in Melbourne

Melbourne is often thought of as a city of two halves - the western half being "working class" while the eastern half is "manager class". Although there is a germ of truth in this, it is an oversimplification of the true situation.

Housing is more expensive in the southern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Houses in better areas are priced at over $500,000. The most sought after inner eastern suburbs can be particularly expensive. For example, Malvern has a median price of $750,000, while Brighton's median price is close to $1,000,000. Inner western suburbs - within half an hour's train ride of Melbourne's central business district (CBD) - are usually more affordable (median prices less than $300,000).

Where to Live in Melbourne

Melbourne's different suburbs are not equally desireable. There are enormous differences in quality of life, educational opportunties and crime rates, depending on the area you live in. Simply looking at house prices as a guide to the best place to live may not produce the results you hope for. Some areas of Melbourne - with high property prices - have higher than average crime rates, while others - with more modest house prices - have very low crime rates.

A train journey of one hour will take you into the CBD from all but the outermost suburbs.