Melbourne update

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Ellie and I are now in Melbourne and staying with Ellie's friend in the Collingwood area (home of the Collingwood Magpies if you are up on your Aussie Rules).

Melbourne is a great City and we definitely feel at home here. A lot of the Victorian architecture reminds us of London and Victoria Road (a main road near to wear we are staying) reminds me of Green Lanes (Haringey) because of the variety of restaurants/cafes/quirky grocery stores. Victoria Road is home to a lot of Asian communities and walking along the road each day, is making me want to sample some Vietnamese food! Apparently, decades ago, Victoria Road was first home to a lot of Italian communities (because of the vast amount of factory work available in the community) and after a while they gradually moved out and a lot of Greek/Turkish communities moved in and then they moved on to other areas of the City and now the road is home to a lot Asian communities who have settled. We found it interesting to learn the history of Victoria Road and the changes that have occurred and I think in a way, the road represents the overall underlying history that we need to discover for ourselves whilst in Melbourne.

Australia is obviously a very young country but we have found in Melbourne so far that there is a lot more to explore than what is just on the surface. When you go into an old pub here there are pictures on the walls showing the changes in the building/surrounding areas across the decades and I find this particularly interesting because there hasn't been so much of this further up the East Coast. Maybe Melbourne is prouder of its heritage and history than certain cities/towns up the East Coast...or we could have just gone into the wrong pubs up the Coast. Either/or, there appears to be so much to explore and we can't wait to get started.

However, we have now been here just over a week and we have done very little in-depth sightseeing. Unfortunately, job-hunting has taken over our lives and as we are looking to stay here until at least January next year, this is our main priority. On the up side, there appears to be a lot more jobs around in Melbourne than in Brisbane so that is definitely a good sign and also the recruitment agencies here seem to have their heads screwed on a bit more. I have managed to pick up a few days work (data-entry) at the (let me get this right) - Architects Registration Board of Victoria through my agency so hopefully there will be more to come from them in the coming weeks. Ellie had an interview yesterday for a Team Assistant position in the City and will hopefully hear back with good news by Tuesday next week.

This weekend we will take a break from job-hunting and get out into the City a bit. A British watercolour exhibition has just sorted at the main gallery here (National Gallery of Victoria) so we may take a wander down there (or via the unique tram system they have in place here). The gallery is located in one of the main squares in Melbourne so no doubt there will be plenty going on. I find that the best type of sightseeing at times is 'word-of-mouth sightseeing' where you hear from other people about certain hidden gems of places to go and see instead of having a regimented plan of 'I am going to see this then and this place this afternoon'. Sometimes, these places aren't even listed in the Information Centre and are best just to stumble upon when you are out and about.

However, we are in no rush at all to do the whole of the City in a weekend. We have four months or so (hopefully) of living in the City so there is plenty of time to see all the unique bits the City has to offer (including the Neighbour's set). No doubt I will keep you all updated with our job and sightseeing progress in the near future so watch this space...

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Comments

[Lisa Wood]

regards Melbourne
How Funny - i was in Melbourne for three days and two nights. I got back to the Sunshine Coast late yesterday! I loved the city of Melbourne, the restaurants, the life and the culture - enjoy your time :) Cheers Lisa