Profile of Melbourne, Victoria
Melbourne’s Migrants | What’s it Like Living in Melbourne?
Melbourne’s population of 3.5 million enjoys a temperate climate and an abundance of economic and lifestyle opportunities.
Melbourne has traditionally rivalled Sydney as Australia’s premier city.
From the outsider’s point of view, it’s fair to say this is a competition Sydney has won. You would not want to mention this in Melbourne though!
In quality of life surveys, Australian cities score strongly compared with cities in other countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Melbourne as Australia’s best city. As you might expect, any city rated as Australia’s best will also be one of the world’s best. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Melbourne (along with Vancouver and Vienna) as the world’s best cities to live in.
Melbourne scored the highest possible mark for all categories, including infrastructure, housing, education, access, environmental focus, crime rate, culture and cultural events, diversity and climate.
Although Melbourne’s weather can be changeable, it scored the highest climate mark of any Australian city, partly because of its dry summer heat. Melbourne has a thriving cafe culture and offers its residents virtually unlimited dining and cultural opportunities. The shopping certainly rivals Sydney’s and there are a huge number of parks and gardens around the city. Melbourne also plays host to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Australian Tennis Open, and, in Golf, the Heineken Classic and Australian Open.
People
According to the Bureau of Statistics, around one third of Melbourne’s residents were born overseas.
People from the UK are Melbourne’s biggest migrant group, making up 5 percent of the population. The next biggest groups are Italians (2%), Vietnamese (2%) Greeks (2%), and New Zealanders (2%).
Around 7% of Melbourne’s population came from Asian countries and 2% come from the Middle East or North Africa. Aboriginal Australians represent less than 0.5% of Melbourne’s population.
