All You Need to Know About Moving to Melbourne, Australia

Well, somehow it has been about two months since I landed in Melbourne after my 16 hour flight from Vancouver, Canada. I wanted to put together a comprehensive guide about everything you need to know about moving to Melbourne and Australia. It is a totally overwhelming experience, but hopefully these tips will have you feeling settled sooner.

I’d also just like to note that these tips are from a Canadian perspective, so some of the information might not be relevant to other nationalities.

1. Getting your Visa

The specific visa I applied for was the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417). It is specifically for 18-30 year old Canadians who want to work and travel in Australia.

Visit the website here to learn everything you need to know about applying. There is a questionnaire you need to do first that will let you know if this is the visa for you. The process is very simple, straightforward and easy to follow — promise. To apply, you must meet all requirements and it costs about $485 AUD.

2. Insurance

To enter Australia you may need to show proof of funds (about $3500 AUD) and that you have travel insurance for up to one year. My documents haven’t been checked, but don’t turn up without them, just in case.

The insurance company I used was Allianz Global and since I may not stay the full year, I only got about 8 months of travel insurance which cost about $515 CAD. Most insurance companies do not let you purchase more than a year of travel insurance but you may choose to extend or top up after a year, you just have to be in your home country or call over the phone. I bought my insurance the day I flew out of Vancouver because it takes into effect as soon as you’re outside of Canada.

3. Accomodation

When you first arrive

Moving to Melbourne, I was lucky enough to stay with family friends until I got settled into my place. I landed on August 23, 2019 and moved into my studio apartment on Sept 2, 2019. I’m still shocked at how fast I found a place to live and I’ll get into that in a sec but if you are moving to Melbourne and you don’t know anyone here I recommend using Airbnb or staying at a cheap hostel until you can find a permanent place. Try to avoid staying too long in paid accommodation because it can be financially challenging.

A permanent place to live

So in Vancouver, one of the best sources for rooms to rent in Vancouver is Craigslist. However, it is quite the opposite in Australia. Gumtree is the Australian equivalent to Craigslist. They actually have Craigslist to but it’s extremely sketchy so I wouldn’t waste your time using that. I will be honest, finding a place in Melbourne was challenging. The best sources for me when finding a place were: Realestate.com.au and domain.com.au.

I faced an uphill battle, as I was looking for a room for September 1, during this time lots of students were also looking for a place so it made it particularly challenging. Fortunately, I found a studio apartment for a very reasonable price and lucked out with the location. I got extremely lucky during an inspection because I made friends with a realtor. She helped me out so much and found me a place that is in a great location (readily accessible to transportation, near St Kilda beach and an easy commute to work). I learned how important it is to make connections and good impressions. The average cost of a place in Melbourne is about $250 – $350 per week.

Some things to also remember about renting places in Australia is that most apartments will not come with a fridge, washer, dryer or a bed and you usually have to make your own arrangements. You can find decent second hand stuff on Gumtree.

I also opted to living on my own but there are tons of options if you’re willing to share a house with a group of people. Useful resources are Facebook groups – Fairy Floss Realestate is one of them and Flatmates.com.au. You might pay an average of $200 per week if you share a house with roommates.

4. Transport

When I moved to Melbourne I didn’t even consider the option of a car. Since I knew I would be working in Melbourne’s CBD, I knew that there was no need to take a car. I was really impressed with Melbourne’s public transit system. They have free trams that operate within city lines which is amazing. Melbourne’s trains come quite often on weekdays, usually every 5-10 minutes depending on which lines you take. Just like Vancouver, Melbourne has a reloadable pass (called the Myki,) where you can load monthly passes and can ride the trams and trains unlimitedly for the month. It’s really great for someone who relies heavily on public transportation to get around. If you are taking transport daily, you will probably benefit from a monthly pass. However, you can just load any monetary amount too if you travel less frequently. There is also an app that provides you with the best possible route to take between train and tram lines. It also advises you on any delays or route changes during the week. Download the PTV (Public Transport Victoria) and Yarra Trams app to figure out how to best get around Melbourne.

5. Employment

Living, working and travelling abroad is something I have always wanted to do. Did I think I would end up doing it in Australia? I had no clue! This topic is one of my favourites to discuss because I somehow still can’t believe that the opportunity presented itself to me. This employment opportunity was one of those moments in your life where you know you have to trust the signs and just go for it. To give you some context, I worked in a law firm in downtown Vancouver for about 3.5 years and had significant experience in legal marketing, specifically Business Development, Marketing and Communications. At the end of June 2019, I was approached by an Australia law firm via LinkedIn. It was just a super casual proposition, followed by a call. At the time, I did not take it completely seriously and didn’t think much of it. But eventually, after the first call there were several others followed by Skype interviews and finally a offer of employment! It all happened so fast and the whole process felt surreal. Fast forward to two months later (since I started the contract at the end of August), I am employed on a 6 month contract for a major national Australia law firm. The visa stipulations also state that you may only work for one employer for 6 months.

6. Opening an Australian Bank Account

For your bank account, many banks have a “new to Australia” package. I am with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and have had no issues so far. But just like in Canada, there are so many big banks that all offer similar packages. I picked this one because a friend recommended it and they offer no fees for the first year if you are new to Australia. Just check out their websites and pick what suits you — I really don’t think there is a wrong answer.

The nice thing about Australian banks is that they have Visa debit cards whereas Canada mostly has debit cards, and not Visa debit cards. So it’s nice that you don’t need separate visa and debit card in Australia. The process a bit interesting because I applied for the Australian bank account about two weeks before I knew I was moving there. You also had to select an option to choose a branch where you bring your passport and pick up the card. It’s all a very simple process. Just make sure you bring your Visa grant and ID as well as your SIN. Click here to check out their page if you plan to move to Australia.

7. Phone

The cell provider I went with was Optus because they had the most reasonable data plan packages. I have a 12 month Sim with a data plan. If you’re like me and use a lot of data (because I chose to not get Wi-Fi at home to reduce some costs). I opted for a plan with more data so I was willing to pay more. It costs me about $49 for 30GB per month. They also have really great customer service. I also cancelled my plan and put my Canadian number on hold the day I left.

8. Exploring Melbourne

Making new friends in a big city is challenging! Everyone is so caught up in the busy city life but in my opinion Melbourne is a more vibrant, energetic and eventful city than Vancouver. I have tried to do some exploring on weekends as much as possible as I work most of the week. I’ve included some of my recommendations for you to check out!

best resources on figuring out what to do:

Check out the website – City of Melbourne | What’s On

Download the Meetup app where you join various groups and attend events that people have organized. Some are paid for and some are free

If you’re looking to have a few drinks and meet travellers and locals check out the Melbourne Pub Crawl

Facebook groups: New to Melbourne, Melbourne Pub Crawl

being a tourist in your own city:

Check out St Kilda – Esplanade Market, the beach, pier, botanic gardens, luna park and the penguins after sunset

Markets! – Melbourne has a ton of amazing markets to go to during weekends. Some of my favourites are: Queen Victoria Market, South Melbourne Market and Prahran Market

Brighton Beach – Brighton’s iconic bathing boxes are just a 40 minute train ride from Melbourne CBD

Phillip Island & Maru Animal Park – Phillip Island is home to over 30,000 penguins and Maru Animal park has a koala sanctuary and you can feed kangaroos

Plenty Gorge Park – you can see Kangaroos in the wild

Great Ocean Road – Victoria’s iconic coastal drive

Check out an Australian Rules Football game, also known as ‘Footy’. Sports are huge in Melbourne. We actually get to two public holidays dedicated to sports. One is the day before the footy finals in September and one in November for the Melbourne Cup horse races

Other cool stuff: the Melbourne Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Parliament square

Take it all in.

Just breathe.

Moving across the world is intense. You will feel nervous, unsettled and confused for quite awhile. But just know that the adventure you are going to have will make the sleepless nights worth it. Remember to breathe and have faith it will all work out as it should. Be determined and make the most of it while you can because there is no better time than right now.