ChrisV Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 (edited) Hi AllMy wife and I are coming to visit (LSD) from 29th April to 13th May. Is there any place nice and cheap (B& close to public transport in Melbourne we can stay?Any help will be appreciated.ThanksChris Edited April 19, 2006 by ChrisV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 (edited) Check out the Hotel Y. It is cheap, clean and just north of the centre of Melbourne. - Near the Queen Vic Market! Public transport is within easy reach... as are just about all the interesting bith of central Melbourne.The Hotel Y used to be the YWCA, but has now gone commercial.Oops! I notice that their prices have gone up too! Never mind...... Take a look at Wotif Edited April 19, 2006 by Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisV Posted April 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Check out the Hotel Y. It is cheap, clean and just north of the centre of Melbourne. - Near the Queen Vic Market! Public transport is within easy reach... as are just about all the interesting bith of central Melbourne.The Hotel Y used to be the YWCA, but has now gone commercial.Oops! I notice that their prices have gone up too! Never mind...... Take a look at WotifThanks Larry I will have a look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisV Posted May 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 Hi AllSo we went saw and conquered Sorry for the short summary but it’s like a bad house @ work today!!!Bad things in Melbourne: (what I could see) 1) Coin system. If you get $1,50 change in 50c you don’t space left for any other change HUGH coins 2) The shopping trolleys is 4 WD bad (The thing has a mind of its own BUT they work and are NOT dilapidated )3) Not sure if this is a good or Bad thing : Max speed on any road in Aus is 100 km/h4) Vehicle license is $550 a year … very expensive 5) Weather not nice but its winter so you cant expect much. ( Was not that bad anyway) Sorry but that all the bad things I can think of.Good things: 1) Well we met very nice people (all ex SA Mara/Lovell and Heidi Fourie) 2) What impressed me the most was that everything seemed to work, processes that were in place. Road work, public transport, kids facilities … etc 3) Public transport was good (busses was some times late but not by hours)4) Aus/MelB people were very friendly. We were lost the first day and did not know where to get the 301 bus back home and asked the tram driver … after phoning (with no result) he stopped the tram and run across the road to ask a bus driver. That to me was very nice and I don’t want to be negative but this would not have happened in SA. 5) Buying a car, you can phone the previous owner … 6) There school system is VERY impressive. We visited some schools and went to a open night and it was very informative. If you ha boughts about the english schools with afrikaans kids DONT they will be fine.There a lots of examples like above …(Good things) From my experience I will definitely like to stay in Melbourne Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 Well Chris, I am glad that Melbourne was a positive experience for you, we aim to please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZHigh Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 I Chris V. Great to know the experience was worth it, I noted your observations. Good.I noticed you had a few concerns about Afr kids in English schools. I didn't answer any of your queries directly but to confirm what you said. The kids generally don't have a problem with the language, regardless of age, it's normally the parents that take a while to climatise languagewise. I am referring to language not other issues.As for the expensive car licence. It may be expensive even here in Auckland (not quite as expensive as you quoted though) but I am happy to pay knowing what is covered by that licence/ tax. The money actually goes somewhere where it is used to the users' advantage eg emergency/ accident medical assistance here in NZ, and it is effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisV Posted May 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 As for the expensive car licence. It may be expensive even here in Auckland (not quite as expensive as you quoted though) but I am happy to pay knowing what is covered by that licence/ tax. The money actually goes somewhere where it is used to the users' advantage eg emergency/ accident medical assistance here in NZ, and it is effective.Well I'm not sure what the cost is in Auckland but I went to a Holden Dealer and he assured me that was the cost The money actually goes somewhere where it is used to the users' advantage eg emergency/ accident medical assistanceAgree totally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZHigh Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 Yep, I meant to say what you quoted for Melbourne vs Auckland. . In Auckland it is approx. (don't have the exact figure here) NZ$200 per annum. The Melbourne licence I assume will include a whole bunch of other stuff to the benefit of the road users.I recall that the ACC component (Accident part) of our car licences were reduced last year because of a reduction in accident claims. Personally I would like to pay less but if I consider how many times one seeks medical advice over the years (because of an accident) it is money well invested. An example: A few years ago my daughter got a splinter in her hand while playing with sticks and stuff on the beach. It was way too deep and big for me to remove so I took her to the closest ER. They had to cut and remove and apply 2 stitches and a few other things. All in all the total amounted to approx $150. I sighed and asked if they accepted a Credit Card. She just smiled and reminded me that depite them being a private ER it was all covered under ACC and $0 for me. The ACC component of the car licence for one year covered that cost. As medical systems go, it is not perfect but I am fairly happy. In SA we had excellent Medical Aid, but it cost an arm and a leg. Here it is recommended but not absolutely essential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisV Posted May 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 (edited) They had to cut and remove and apply 2 stitches and a few other things. All in all the total amounted to approx $150. I sighed and asked if they accepted a Credit Card. She just smiled and reminded me that depite them being a private ER it was all covered under ACC and $0 for me. The ACC component of the car licence for one year covered that cost. As medical systems go, it is not perfect but I am fairly happy. In SA we had excellent Medical Aid, but it cost an arm and a leg. Here it is recommended but not absolutely essential.Always good to know Edited May 29, 2006 by ChrisV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.