LIVING AND WORKING IN MELBOURNE (Part 2)

5. Cost of Living

 

Not only is Melbourne a great place to live and work, it is also relatively affordable.

 

The 2006 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, ranked Melbourne 74^th from a list of 144 cities ordered from most expensive to least expensive.

 

Other business centres in the region, including Seoul (ranked second) and Hong Kong (ranked fourth), and even Sydney (ranked nineteenth) were considerably more expensive than Melbourne. The most expensive city was Moscow.

 

The survey is based on the cost of a basket of over 200 standard goods & services, representing expatriate spending habits.

 

These goods and services are classified into the following categories: food at home, household supplies, health and personal care, clothing and footwear, domestic services, utilities, food away from home, transportation, sports and leisure, alcohol and tobacco.

 

2006 Worldwide Cost of Living (selected cities):

 

City	Ranking	Index
Moscow	1st	123.9
Seoul	2nd	121.7
Tokyo	3rd	119.1
London	5th	110.6
New York	10th	100
Beijing	14th	94.9
Singapore	17th	92
Sydney	19th	91.3
Dubai	25th	87.8
Rio de Janeiro	40th	83.5
Melbourne	74th	78.8
Auckland	100th	72.9

 

Currency

The lower cost of living in Australia compensates for lower $AUD wages. On a purchasing power parity basis (adjusting for differences in price levels), Australia's GDP per capita is level with Japan and higher than that of Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

 

You can use the Ozforex currency converter to get an idea of the cost of everyday living in your country's currency.

 

Groceries

Australia is famous for its high-quality, well-priced food products, and its abundance of fresh local produce including meat, fish and vegetables.

 

The following Grocery websites will give you an idea of the cost of your weekly food bill:

• Woolworths (Nationwide Supermarket / Retailer)
• Coles (Nationwide Supermarket / Retailer)
• GreenGrocer.com.au (online supermarket service)  

Department Stores

To get an idea of the cost of items such as towels, sheets, kitchenware, toiletries, men's and women's wear visit either David Jones or Myer websites. Both are large, national chains of department stores and the prices should be indicative of general prices in Australia.

 

Petrol

The Australian Automobile Association compiles figures on petrol prices and updates them regularly. Prices are downloadable in a document from the AAA website.

 

Education

Private schools are competitively priced when compared to schools in Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. An ECA Asia Pacific survey of day school tuition fees charged by schools where expatriate professional and management staff send their children found that Australia was fifth lowest in cost out of a field of 16.

 

Annual tuition fees for students in private secondary education in Melbourne are less than half of those in Japan, China, the US and the United Kingdom.

 

6. Getting Around

 

Driving in Victoria

Getting around Victoria is easy by road - there are excellent freeways between major centres and scenic routes are often sign-posted to encourage picturesque detours. If you have a four-wheel drive vehicle you can travel off-road in some areas for truly scenic adventures.

 

For car owners, registration generally costs between $500 and $600 per annum.

 

For information on Victorian Road Rules, please visit the Vic Roads website.

 

Public Transport

Public transport is an easy, cheap and efficient way to get around Melbourne.  The Metropolitan area has an extensive integrated network of trains, trams and buses.  Tickets allowing travel across all services can be purchased from vending machines at train stations or on trams and buses, or pre-purchased at selected newsagents and milk bars.

 

Melbourne’s efficient train system covers city and suburban areas, and the city’s famous trams travel along most of Melbourne’s major thoroughfares.

 

Flights Around Australia

Major airports are located in Australia’s capital cities: Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide and Perth.  The main airport in Melbourne, Tullamarine, is located approximately 30 minutes from the city centre.

 

Flights between these centres are readily available and serviced by Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Blue.

 

7. Tourist Information

 

Victoria

The whole region of Victoria is wealth of diverse landscapes and attractions; from sweeping coastline and pristine beaches to national parks and forests teeming with wildlife to wineries, lakes and mountains offering skiing, climbing and hiking.

 

The state of Victoria certainly has something for everyone.  Best of all, many of Victoria's unique and varied landscapes are easily accessible as day trips from Melbourne.

 

For more information on the attractions and events in Victoria, visit: www.visitvictoria.com

 

Melbourne

Melbourne is a lively, sophisticated city filled with shops, restaurants, bars and cafés in wide, leafy boulevards and tiny, atmospheric laneways.  Melbourne is a melting pot of cultures, reflected in its cuisine, its parks and gardens, its arts festivals and its sporting events.

 

The city has an amazing range of attractions and activities to keep you entertained all year round.

 

For more information on attractions and events in Melbourne, visit: www.thatsmelbourne.com.au.

 

8. Melbourne Weather

 

The old axiom goes: “if you don’t like the weather in Melbourne, wait five minutesâ€?.  However, despite its sometimes-fickle conditions, the city actually enjoys relatively temperate weather all year round; hot but manageable Summers, glorious Springs, mild Autumns and crisp Winters.

 

Melbourne’s warmest months are generally January and February, which are often dry and prone to hot spells, although some respite is provided by the cooling sea breezes of Port Phillip Bay.  June and July are the coldest months, while October is the wettest – (good for the farmers though!).  The annual average rainfall for Melbourne is around 600mm, which is substantially less rain than Sydney receives.

 

For detailed information on specific locations in Victoria, visit the Bureau of Meteorology website, where you’ll find detailed weather charts that include temperatures, rainfall, average wind speeds, humidity and hours of sunshine.

 

Seasons

Summer:	December to February
Autumn:	March to May
Winter:	June to August
Spring:	September to November

 

Slip, Slop, Slap!

This is an expression you are likely to hear while you’re in Melbourne… This is a sun safety message, and it encourages people to “slipâ€? on a t-shirt, “slopâ€? on some sunscreen, and “slapâ€? on a hat when they are out in the sun.  It is advisable to stay out of the Australian sun between the hours of 11am and 3pm in the summer months, as this is when the sun is at its hottest.