As an expat be prepared to hear “this is normal in Georgia” every time something goes wrong. No one is in a hurry to fix anything - from broken lift in the building (I even got stuck once on a Sunday night and was told “maybe someone will come tomorrow to free you”! - had to break out myself) to your wifi (stopped working for almost 2 weeks, not until we threatened to change companies that they decided to send a technician). We didn’t find it very friendly. People don’t smile, staff in stores are surly and unhelpful. The taxi drivers are the worst in the world (including Uber). Utter maniacs. The cost of living has risen steeply because of inflation. People also constantly thought we were Russian and we got yelled at several times by locals who don’t want Russians around (for obvious reasons). Overall, it’s not the most pleasant place to be an expat. However, the food is delicious (if heavy), the scenery is gorgeous. The mobile data is cheap, but groceries ans eating out is more expensive than we expected. I’d recommend it for a month or two, but no more.
Pros and Cons of Living in Melbourne, Australia
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Pros of Living in Melbourne
Very safe Fast internet Lots of fun stuff to do Warm in the spring Good air quality on average Nomad List members liked going here a lot Many Nomad List members here all year round Spacious and not crowded Very easy to do business High quality of education Great hospitals Roads are very safe Great freedom of speech Democratic Everyone speaks English Very safe for women Very family friendly Very friendly to LGBTQ+ Not many people smoke tobacco
Cons of Living in Melbourne
Way too expensive Cold now Gets cold in the summer Very damp now Difficult to make friends -
Melbourne is a fun and cute compact city. There are so many fun things to do here such as visit is beaches go to its theme parks out of the CBD area. Its city CBD is so much fun as well. You can visit the Queen Victoria market which is the largest outdoors market in the world! You can also visit Federation Square which is a beautiful park on the edge of the CBD, and you can visit the Eureka Skydeck and Australia 108 which are the tallest buildings in Australia if you exclude the antenna from the Gold Coast's Q1 tower. If you are into surfing, there are surf beaches about a 1-2 hour drive out of the Melbourne area at the nearest. Melbourne is a really good city to reside in if you like fun, but of course it does come with a cost. Melbourne is the 6th most expensive city in the world according to recent reports. Overall, an awesome city
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Not cheap but you get what you're paying for. Really nice, comfortable city, not too dirty or crowded, awesome food, and lots to do
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Expensive but possibly the most amazing city on earth.
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Nomaded here for 2 weeks in September 2018. It was really good! It's definitely not cheap (on par with Singapore/Paris/etc) but it has everything needed for nomads: coworking spaces, 4g, lots of cafes with good wifi. The food is really good, there are many things to do. I didn't have any issues with my Ru debit card anywhere. I'd say it's a good destination.
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