Climate and Melbourne

Hi BunnyM

Sorry I can't help you with the weather in Melbourne, as I have never been there. I live in Sydney and understand that the climate in Melbourne is a little colder and more changeable.

The year-round weather in Sydney is definitely different from what I expected. The summer is generally quite warm - 25-30 degrees C most days, although it can go up to 40 and down to 20.

In the winter, temperatures are lower than I expected but still higher than in the UK. They are probably around 10-15 degrees C during the day, dropping to around 5-8 at night. So, you do need to bring your jumpers with you!

When there is a cold wind blowing from Antarctica, it can be bitterly cold (something I did not expect!). Also, Australian houses tend not to be well insulated against the cold and there is no central heating. The first house we lived in had air vents in some of the bricks. While that helps to keep the house cool in the summer, it makes it freezing in the winter, especially at night, as there is no way to stop the cold air from coming in.

The autumn and spring is very changeable - varying from very hot to quite cold. Sometimes you can have extremes of temperature in the same day. I always take a jacket with me if I'm going to be out in the early evening as it can quickly become colder.

Personally, I like the climate in Sydney - it is not too hot and not too cold. It's nice that there are four seasons.

If you are looking for somewhere that is hot all year round, I would recommend Queensland or Western Australia, but, for me, those places would be too hot.

If you are interested, I have written more about the weather and other aspects of life in Australia on my blog.

Good luck with the move and feel free to contact me with any other questions. Sydney is a great place to live and I would definitely recommend it.

Roz
http://lifeinaustralia.today.com

Sydney has worse weather than Melbourne – regardless of what the Sydney tourism board would like you to believe.

Melbourne's weather is unpredictable, but their summers are also warmer than Sydney's.

Sydney has more rain than London, and this summer has been the coldest of any of the capitals in the country. It is often windy and overcast.

Melbourne's changeable weather means it might be forty degrees one day and twenty the next.

Sydney and Melbourne are such completely different cities that a few changes in the weather shouldn't send you off to the other. As a rule, people in the rest of Australia dislike Sydney for its brashness and arrogance. Sydney is called the Los Angeles of Australia, and Melbourne the New York. You cannot compare.

Lol - some people say there could be four seasons of the year in one day in Melbourne
If you're looking for "good moderate weather", you should consider east coast between Coffs Harbour and Hervey Bay. Further north could be a "bit hot" in summer.
Some general info about the weather in Australia here.