- I spent eight years living in Melbourne, which ranks among the best cities to live in.
- I loved Melbourne's diversity, cuisine, green spaces, and incredible shopping scene.
- But I struggled with its unpredictable weather and our high cost of living there.
I grew up on the Gold Coast on Australia's east coast and loved it.
But after living overseas for three years in Canada and London, my husband and I wanted to settle somewhere new when we returned to Australia.
Eventually, we moved to Melbourne in the southeastern state of Victoria. Melbourne consistently ranks among the world's top cities to live in based on things like healthcare, infrastructure, culture, and education.
Although I loved a lot about my life in Melbourne, it wasn't a perfect place for my family. Here's what I loved about living there — plus, a few parts I didn't care for.
Its cultural diversity has many perks
Melbourne is known for being one of the most multicultural cities in the world, and with that comes a whole lot of perks. I think the best one is the diversity of the food.
You can find just about any cuisine in Melbourne. If you want to eat Ethiopian cuisine one night, Afghani the next, and Cambodian the night after that, it's all there on your doorstep.
The city is surrounded by top-notch wineries, too, so it's also easy to access mind-blowing libations.
Its arts and sports scenes are outstanding
Melbourne is home to so many different galleries and theaters that it feels like the city has something for everyone.
In my opinion, its arts offerings are second to none. You could watch an opera, ballet, world-class comedy show, and live jazz performance all in one week.
Likewise, if you're into sports, Melbourne is the place to be. The city hosts many world-class sporting events, from the Australian Open to major cricket matches.
Melbourne has so much great shopping
Its central business district is filled with hidden laneway boutiques, historic arcades, and quirky stores you'll find nowhere else.
If you want to visit mainstream and big-name stores, Melbourne's bigger shopping centers have everything you need. Plus, there are open-air markets and farmers markets in most municipalities.
The inner fashionista in me also loved the city's secondhand-shopping scene. When we lived in Melbourne, I'd often spend weekends taking myself to one of the area's many vintage markets in search of treasures.
The green parks and leisure opportunities feel endless
Melbourne is dotted with beautiful parks in the heart of the central business district and surrounding areas.
I always enjoyed wandering the tree-lined pathways through the Fitzroy Gardens or walking around the Royal Botanic Gardens.
It felt special to be able to reconnect with nature amid the buzz of the cityscape.
On the other hand, I could never get used to the weather
Melbourne is known for its unpredictable climate — so much so that its frequent "four seasons in one day" even inspired a song.
It's not uncommon to experience drastic weather changes in the span of 24 hours — a warm, sunny morning could turn into a cloudy, cold, and windy afternoon.
One year, we had our heater running right up until mid-November — only a few weeks out from summer in Melbourne.
The urban sprawl took its toll on us
Living in Melbourne, we had to get used to driving long distances across the huge city. The Greater Melbourne area is over 3,800 square miles — for context, that's about 12 ½ New York Citys.
Many of its suburbs are pretty spaced out, and it can be time-consuming to visit friends and family just a few neighborhoods over.
Our house was on the south side and my sister lived in a leafy inner suburb called Elwood. A trip to see her and my niece often took us up to an hour in the car, so each visit felt like quite a time commitment.
We often struggled with the cost of living
Melbourne is not as expensive as Sydney, but I still found its cost of living to be quite high.
It's one of Australia's most expensive cities and placed in the top 50 most expensive cities in the world, based on Numbeo's most recent cost of living index.
Melbourne is also among the least affordable cities in the world for housing, based on Demographia's latest report assessing housing affordability in 94 major markets.
Although the property values dropped slightly earlier this year, the homes are still unaffordable for many.
We couldn't afford a home in Melbourne unless we moved far from the city center and deep into the suburbs, which wasn't our ideal location.
We enjoyed living in Melbourne — but it wasn't right for us in the long term
I'm so glad we had our time in Melbourne. We had two of our three kids there, met incredible people, and made lasting memories.
However, it wasn't right for us in the long run. We ended up moving to the small town of Bright, located in the foothills of the Australian Alps.
I miss the food, culture, and shopping in Melbourne, but life is a lot easier and cheaper for us in our small town.