h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello, Kea pointed me in your direction as someone who has moved from the UK to Australia - my family might have an opportunity to move to Melbourne (husband has got a chance of a job there) and I don't know what I need to know yet! Would appreciate a bit of help if you've got time to post about your experience?

What are the big things we need to think about/do if we decide to go ahead and move? We'll be moving with two small children - do you know anything about life for kids in Melbourne?

Hi Kelli,
I'm really sorry I didn't see your message until today. I'm in Sydney and so I don't know Melbourne (pronounced Melbun over here) very well. I have been there for a short stay and it's a lovely city. They reckon it is the most European of all aussie cities.
They have a tram system which is regular and reasonably priced and people love to find themselves living on a tram route.
Kids wise I'm not sure but the big change for them (apart from being on the other side of the world with the sun in the north, the moon being upside down and so waxing and waning in the opposite direction to the UK) the school year is also different. Here in Oz the beginning of the calendar year is also the beginning (more or less) of the school year.
When they break up for Christmas here they break up for their long summer break and go back at the beginning of Feb for the start of the next year.
A lot more people use private education out here than in England with all church schools are private.
Melbourne weather is OK (compared with the UK) but as it is at the South of Australia it is closer to the South Pole than Sydney and so it is cooler there than here. People do have overcoats and jumpers in their cupboards and as the autumn approaches they do get used. Melbourne (as with most major Aussie cities) is close to/on the coast.
Aussies use the word City in a different way to the UK, so if you lived in a London borough (e.g. Ealing) they would probably call it the City of Ealing. Using the same words for different things can be a bit confusing. In the UK a lounge is a room in a house, in Oz it's what you sit on, a settee.
I think if you tell me what you are curious about I could be of more use. One final good idea the aussies have is to pay people fortnightly rather than monthly. I love getting paid twice a month!
Cheers
Vestie