Why would an international student choose to live in Melbourne?

Artists, Musicians, left-wing governments, street art, nightlife and parties. These are just a few of the things that Melbourne is known for. If you’re a creative or a party person, Melbourne could just be the city for you.

Melbourne is consistently rated amongst the most liveable cities in the world

Melbourne is rated the world’s most liveable city and is known for its cosmopolitan, multicultural communities and excellent cultural, food, fashion and entertainment activities and destinations. But ‘most liveable’ for whom?

Well, we’re glad you asked. Melbourne has once again been recognised as Australia’s best city for students and one of the best student cities globally in the QS Best Student Cities Ranking for 2022. The criteria included quality of living, reputation of the city’s universities, the student mix, employer activity, and affordability.

Melbourne is known as the creative hub and culture capital of Australia

Street art, Live music, wandering musicians, artists galore, book cafes, and vegan districts. If you have a penchant for creativity or, would like to have one. Melbourne will tantalise your creative tastebuds. Wander down alleyways filled with vivid street art, sip a world-standard coffee in a vegan cafe, spend the day getting lost in another world in a book cafe, Bring your guitar and join in an impromptu street jam, Grab your mates and attend one of the many open mics or simply join an art workshop. No matter your jam, you’re going to find it in Melbourne. To get your daily dose of culture, head to the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Get your fill of the Alternative and underground art movements in Melbourne too, with artist collectives, record stores, all types of dancing clubs (think swing, go go and K pop) and fairs. Not to mention the Melbourne Comedy festival which is one of the 3 biggest comedy festivals in the world.

PARTY PARTY PARTY

Melbourne is not subject to the same lock-out laws as Sydney and as such has not seen the same level of club closures as Sydney. In fact, many bars stay upon until between 1 am and 4 am, with some even being 24 hour party spots! Melbourne is the party capital of Aus, but just don’t expect it to keep up with other majour party cities such as Berlin (Germany) or Brighton (UK).

Melbourne has a cooler climate, and is famously known for having 4 seasons in a day

Situated on the Southern end of Australia. It doesn’t experience the searing heat seen in the red centre, the humidity of the northern regions or the wetness of Tasmania. The summers are generally milder than other places in Australia (although that doesn’t mean you won’t experience a scorching Australian heatwave of 40/42 degrees C!). The winters are much colder than the mainland (although they don’t last as long as the winters in Tasmania). Although in can certainly sometimes feel like it, typically weather during the winter will not go lower than zero degrees. Whatever the weather though, you can find it’ll be all over the place and you can experience what feels like four seasons in 1 day.

Melbourne’s evenings go on longer

Located closer to the pole than the rest of the Mainland, Melbourne’s evening light goes on about an hour later than Sydney’s. This often means that activities can go on later in Melbourne before it gets dark. As an example, The Sydney Botanic Gardens shut at 8pm during the summer whereas the Melbourne Gardens are open til dusk. It means that there is more opportunity to spend time outdoors in the evenings after work, think more BBQ dinners, after dinner walks or playing golf after work. As the mornings also start later than Sydney,it also makes it easier to catch a sunrise! Melbourne is also considered safe compared to other cities of its size. This is due to a higher-than-average minimum wage (making less opportunistic crimes) and the fact that guns are outlawed. This makes spending time outdoors in the evening safer than some cities around the world.

Wake up and smell the coffee

Thanks to Melbourne’s abundance of world-class baristas, it’s hipster cafe culture, its friendly neighbourhood vibe, Melbournians’ love for supporting small businesses and Australia’s love for a good brew, Melbourne enjoys some of the best coffee houses in Australia. If you love your caffeine hit, you won’t be left with something to be desired in Melbourne.

Entrepreneurs Ahoy!

The Victorian Government offers many small business grants to start ups and small businesses that centre around innovation, display creativity, can prove business readiness and show financial viability. Bonus points if your business benefits the city of Melbourne! If you are thinking of starting a small business, Melbourne may be for you.

Sports Central

Melbourne is BIIIIIIG on sports. Think, The Australian Tennis Open, Formula One Australian Grand Prix, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach (Surfing), AFL Grand Finals (Australian Football), the Boxing Day Test (Cricket) and The Melbourne Cup (Horse Racing). There are plenty of world class venues throughout the city and it’s a haven for golf, cycling, tennis, swimming, sailing, running, car and motorbike racing and baseball, just to name a few! But it’s not just known for mainstream sports either. It’s well reported that no matter which obscure national / underground / alternative sport you are into, you’re going to find people playing it in Melbourne.

Come and taste the cuisine

Melbourne enjoys a swathe of multiculturalism. There are restaurants for whichever cuisine and under whichever budget you’re looking for. Stroll down Melbourne’s laneways and you’d be hard pressed to not find the tantalizing scent of a restaurant’s speciality dish or cafe’s bargain breakfast to call you in. So whether you’re a scrimping bargain hunter or a seasoned michelin star aficionado, you’ll be spoilt for choice. There are many specialty restaurants and some Melbournian streets even conveniently place them all together; Looking for Spaghetti or gnocchi? Head to italian central; Lygon Street. Searching out a Bahn Mi or a Pho? Head to the Vietnamese hub of Victoria Street.

Pure Air and Clean Drinking Water

Melbourne has some of the highest-quality tap water in the world. Meaning that there is no need to filter your drinking water. It tastes fantastic straight from the tap. This is primarily due to Melbourne being one of only 2 cities globally where drinking water comes from protected catchments in the native Yarra Ranges Forests. Sponge-like soils offer superior water for 2 reasons; they filter the water as well as holding rainwater which is slowly released into water storage reservoirs. These reservoirs are restricted to the public, helping them to remain untouched and only in need of light disinfecting. Also known for its air quality. Melbourne’s air is ranked as ‘good’ by international standards, not bad for Australia’s second-largest city! This is in part due to the face that most Melbournian suburbs have wide streets with plenty of trees and the city is speckled with many public parks.

Research and Education

Victoria boasts a concentration of education and research infrastructure that is unrivaled in the region. Ten world-leading universities have cutting-edge facilities, academic staff with international experience, and outstanding student services. It has 5 of Australia’s top 20 universities, one of the world’s top 30, and 2 universities in the world’s top 100.

High quality vocational education and training institutions offer industry relevant, practical training and skills development in close connections with industry that ensures graduates have the skills demanded by employers. VET and university institutions also work together to create credit pathways that increase entry and exit points for students and have the advantage of dual qualifications and smoother transition into higher education studies.

What are the pros and cons of living in Melbourne?

Melbourne’s Pros:

Sporting capital of the world

Always plenty to do

Delicious food, plenty of restaurants and bars

Hip, cool and full of culture

Diverse population

Penguins on the beach

Close to Grampians & 12 Apostles

Good for night owls and those who like long evenings

Melbourne’s Cons:

Expensive!

Notoriously bad for traffic

Not as good for those who like long evenings