James Hammond (00:00)

Hello and welcome to this week's episode. This is seven months in Melbourne, when I lived there in 2013, going into 2014, and I thought I'd share my experiences there in terms of some stories, Now let me get started with the story I've told many a time. On the east coast in Cairns, I arrive with barely any money.

And I just about had enough to book our East Coast trip for five to six weeks. But it was coming to an end because I had literally had no money. And I met someone on the way down in magnetic island who gave me a number for a job in Melbourne. And she said it would be admin, doing odd jobs They had a big project going on and it will pay between twenty five and thirty dollars an hour.

Australian.

I was like, right, that sounds great. So I grabbed a number, rang them on a payphone. Yes, a payphone back in those days. Managed to get through to someone at the front desk who basically said, Yep,

we've got a job. Just come through on Monday and we'll get you started. Easy as that.

James Hammond (00:53)

Welcome to the Winging It Travel podcast, your weekly ticket to the world hosted by me, James Hammond, proudly part of the Voyascape Network.

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James Hammond (02:11)

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It is part of the Voyescape Network and you can check all the podcasts out on the network at voyescape.com. There's so many great hosts, great podcasts and many, many great travel tips. Honestly, it's one of the best resources out there for travel and it will inspire you to get out there to see the world. Head to voyescape.com for more great content.

James Hammond (02:30)

So let's dive straight in.

James Hammond (02:32)

So that phone call was actually in Noosa. So I held on to the number for a while down the East Coast. Got to Noosa. obviously I got there and thought, do you know what? I cannot hang on any longer. And we had other bits of the trip booked in, but I just couldn't do it. Had literally no money. So I had to ring this number up on the Friday. And on the Monday, I had to get down to Melbourne. So on a Sunday, I flew from Brisbane down to Melbourne. And I had to spend my last bit of money on some work clothes and some shoes. And I was into the job on Monday.

trying to catch up on the all the money that I've spent in the last six months, which was around six to six and a half thousand pounds. you're probably thinking, that's quite a good deal. It was back in those days. That could last you six months doing all the activities in Southeast Asia, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. And we did book some stuff before we went. So that lasted quite well. But I got to the end and then I was starting this job.

So Melbourne it was. I think I always had Melbourne in my mind to be a place to base myself for at least half of my working visa anyway in Australia. And this would have been

Around June landing in Melbourne, ready to work the rest of the year, and then I'll see in the new year where what to go.

of course the ashes were there at the end of year. So where do I live? Well, I had some friends that I met from Southeast Asia in Laos, and they let me stay in their house on the sofa for three or four nights just to get me started in Melbourne. bit chaotic in the house, wasn't totally comfortable.

It's just bit weird living in someone's house, isn't it, downstairs? So I moved into Urban Central Hostel in South Melbourne. Now I managed to

drum up enough cash to pay for a week then agree to pay cash for the remaining weeks in the distance because I was getting paid for my job. They're very kind to do that for me. And I was a bit more of a medium long term stayer, so not just someone coming and going. So built up that rapport with someone at the front desk called Pete. He let me stay and we had this agreement going forward, but he really helped me out early doors because I literally could not go anywhere else.

and this was a five-minute walk from my workplace. And this is based in South Melbourne. I'll come to South Melbourne as an area in a bit. But Urban Central Hostel is one of the busier hostels in Melbourne. It's on City Road and it's opposite of McDonald's. And it's right by South Melbourne and by the Yara River, which has the Crown Casino, some bars, and all the bridges that walk across to the central part of.

Melbourne, which is obviously the Flinders station going into the C B D. Urban Central as a hostel, they did free things like free pasta, free rice, had a good kitchen, and they had really cheap meals

for people staying there for certain days in the week. So I settled into hostel life as a long termer, And I had a four bed dorm that I stayed in with some regulars there.

And we had a nice little agreement going that we're all working. the weekends, partying is fine, but during the week we need a bit of peace and quiet for work. And it worked out really well. And I was starting to get to know some other people there down in the hostel bar, playing poker every Monday night, watching the football at the weekends. all these characters in that hostel coming and going.

Alongside the characters that stay in there. I remember a guy called Les, a Scottish guy who was working as well in Melbourne, and we got on really well. He supported Rangers. The funniest thing is that his friend, can't remember his name, maybe someone called Sean, can't quite remember, had all this money saved up for this six month trip in Australia and around the world, and he ended up staying in Urban Central for six months and spent all his money at that hostel bar. What on earth was he doing?

Unbelievable. So not seeing the world, just seeing the hostel bar at Urban Central. I mean it's a good bar, But six months and spending all your money. What a lunatic. I lasted three months in Urban Central because it just got too much for me. I was probably a bit fed up with the noise. I'm a bit of a light sleeper, so probably didn't sleep that well. I didn't have earplugs back in those days.

And the lack of space. I mean, it is quite a spacious hostel, but there's also loads of other people there. It's always booked out. Every weekend when there's a game, like an AFL game, it gets booked out because it's one of the cheaper places to stay at that time, rather than hotels or Airbnbs.

So for me, three months, I was done, I loved it, but it's time to move out. I did move out to an apartment with someone at work in the Kensington area, which is near the race course where they have the Melbourne Cup. was literally opposite that, right near the Metro station, and I used to commute back into Melbourne to South Melbourne every morning for the last four months in Melbourne of my stay. Which was absolutely fine.

And it worked well because the apartment is really nice and a really good deal.

Urban Central is also known for their nightclub, which is underground, under the hostel. So luckily our four bed dorm was right at the top or near the top. So didn't quite hear that on the weekend. But as you can imagine, very busy all the time. And I had this little triangle. I had the hostel, work, and McDonald's. That was the triangle. If you want to make it a square, chuck in the casino.

And if want to make it a Pentagon, you can chuck in Albert Park in South Melbourne. I did manage to recover my budget from starting work to about the seven-month mark where I left. And that was absolutely crucial for me carrying on travelling for the rest of my visa in Australia and South America afterwards. So from naught and probably a bit of minus in there.

I managed to get back up to twelve to fourteen thousand Australian dollars in six to seven months. Not bad going. And I was living and doing stuff at the same time. And it's the first time at my job, where I was like a resources coordinator, if you want to call it that, where I earned proper money. Now, when I got there, this project that they had was working every day. So I literally went from no working for six months.

To working every day, six, seven, eight, nine, ten hour shifts. And I was paid by the hour.

I was getting lots of money coming in the early days of that job, the first two months, shall we say. Then it went down to a normal Monday to Friday and that weekend living, if you like, in Melbourne. And the budget did recover. Couldn't believe it. And also at the same time, I got a credit card offered to me by my bank, which is Commonwealth Bank. And that helped.

Also the travels in the future as well. But I'll leave that and that story for another time. I managed to get my first iPhone in the seven months in Melbourne, which was the iPhone 5C. Did that start to change travel? It's a huge topic. And suddenly on my phone, I could access Instagram, Spotify.

take photos, have videos, all this stuff, Facebook as well, which was only available on a laptop, which I didn't have. So it wasn't really online that much. I didn't have a laptop. I didn't have a smartphone. I just had a page ago phone to text and call. So I really was living in this triangle in this little bubble in South Melbourne with no real access to the outside world apart from I guess my laptop at work.

So there I was with my iPhone five C and things start to change from there in terms of being connected to the outside world, also to family at home and friends, and things start to become easier.

I were to go somewhere in Melbourne, I could research it on the internet, on Google. So things start to change in Melbourne for sure.

So the job that I had did pay thirty Australian dollars an hour. And it was a full time contract job, ongoing. Now, technically in in Australia, I'm not sure if it's the same rule now, you can only work for one company for six months or less on your work permit. Now you can get extensions for your second and third year. So I'm not sure how strict they are on that. Let's just say that my company were not too bothered by that rule. So I did stay seven months.

After the initial first few months where I tried to recover my budget, work as many days and shifts as possible, I then started to rotate into usual work schedule of Monday to Friday, nine to five, and branch out into Melbourne as a city during the weekends and the stat days. I had a friend at work called Rory, he was an Irish guy. Me and him used to go to the Crown Casino probably

Once or twice every week. It's a ten minute walk. It's too easy. We'll have twenty, thirty dollars on the roulette table, which was a one dollar table in those days. And we usually used to lose all of our money every week. So that was a nice little introduction into the casino culture in Melbourne. And that place is a great place to stay. It's right on the river. It's got a huge food court. Obviously the casino is there and easily accessible to Flinders train station.

I also got into AFL. So AFL is Australian Football League. It's quite unique. It's not really like anything else. It's like a mix between, I guess, American football, bit of rugby and

And the home games in Melbourne are normally played at the MCG, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, is a huge stadium that can hold ninety plus thousand people. And obviously they played cricket there, which I've seen a couple of times watching England in the ashes, but also the AFL gets played there, it's on the same pitch. And they used to be magnificent games, not too expensive, thirty or forty dollars.

watching the best teams in the league and I tried to get a handle on the game. And it's the closest game in Australia in terms of an atmosphere to UK football. So like the Premier League. So that kind of atmosphere was very similar. And the AFL League is quite popular in Melbourne because it's a Victorian game. So Melbourne's in Victoria. So it's huge here. They've got eight to ten teams, probably more now. I don't know the full count.

And my team was called Richmond, who were absolutely toilet at the time. But I picked them because I was going to move to Richmond initially, but I changed my mind. So I committed, you pick your team, you stay loyal, even though I had no loyalty to this team whatsoever. And I stayed with them through thick and thin. most of my team members at work supported the Hawks, who were really good at the time winning championships. So we had that bit of banter going on.

It's great have four or five of us at work, go and watch the AFL.

James Hammond (11:54)

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James Hammond (12:38)

So these are like a little collection of stories, really. for my time in Melbourne? had a great director and boss called Amanda. She gave me loads of work, obviously paid me really well.

And I played guitar for her wedding, which was like the secret garden wedding in Dalesford, which was about a two to two and a half hour drive from there.

Kinda felt a little bit out of place, wasn't really invited to the wedding itself, but I was there as a guest to play the guitar. Obviously, they paid for me to stay there and have all the food, etc.

And I sat in the corner by the bushes with the guitar, playing a little setless that she gave me, and that was really, really nice. Just noodling away, no singing, just a nice little atmosphere and a great day and great weather as well for the wedding.

But do remember practicing in the hostel dorm room, trying to get up to speed from having six months of no playing and trying to learn these songs. I was really nervous about the day, but actually it turned out really good. and she was really happy with it. So

Got paid really well for that. Loved the experience. A great day out and a great venue. But at the same time, what I do remember from that night is having the most horrendous gum infection. Now, at the time of my time in Melbourne, for the majority of it, I was

Hampered by this ear and gum infection. It was so bad one night in the hostel that I had to go to AE. And it was absolutely painful, like ridiculously painful, on the right hand side, both ear and teeth. So I did go to the doctor in the end to get my ear infection sorted out, which was antibiotics. That's fine, that cleared up. But the gum infection still carried on.

but the hospital gave me something called endone, which is like a really strong painkiller, almost like morphine. And when it got that bad, I used to take one of these because I couldn't deal with the pain. And that used to knock me out for the night. It was completely off the limit. And when I told my doctor that they gave me this, he couldn't believe it because it had street value, it's worth something, and it's really strong.

But for some reason I still don't know why I just did not go to a dentist. I don't know why. I have no idea what was going on. And how that ended is I actually left Melbourne to go to Margaret River in the new year and remember eating a steak, I think, and it just fell out my tooth and the pain went. There we go. Grim.

So all the while I'm in this very trendy South Melbourne area. Now, South Melbourne is one of the most expensive areas to stay in if you want to rent close to the city centre.

so, as I said before, it's about a 10-minute walk to the CBD. It's a mix of that Victorian architecture and modern buildings going up. very spacious roads, just south of the Yara River, and it leads all the way to Albert Park. It really is a dream area. Trendy little cafes in the streets, great little restaurants, supermarkets as well, and little independent shops and businesses.

in each of the roads.

It almost gives like a village feel actually, and that's why I loved it so much. And I had, as I said, that triangle of the hostel, work, and McDonald's. But added into that at work, we used to go for PT sessions at Albert Park, free of charge for me. So we used to drive down to Albert Park, park the car up and do a session, or do a run around the park, which was 5k around the lake.

And as you come around the lake, you see the view of the Melbourne skyline. it's glorious. I got really fit at the time. I was like doing three, five Ks a week. I was losing a bit of weight. wasn't eating loads because I didn't have much money, or it's just really hard to cook in the hostel kitchen when there's everyone in there. So personally, I felt quite fit, quite good, mentally in a great place. I recovered

From my travels the last six months, where I finally got into some routine, seen friends outside of work. Work was going well, earning some money,

it got to the point where I started to really enjoy the South Melbourne area and check out all the trendy calfs. One of my favourite calfs in the area is St. Arlie. Absolutely loved their coffee. And I started to have a little taste of it in Melbourne. I wasn't totally into it because I was a bit more of a basic.

coffee drinker in those days, but I started to get into that coffee culture, if you like, from work, because we used to go for a twenty minute break at the cafe for a quick coffee and then come back. So I started to get a little feel for it then.

Albert Park is an absolute dream. It's spacious, it's green, it's got the lake in the middle, it's just an awesome little area to hang out, to do some exercise or have a picnic, or hang out with friends.

In this area in South Melbourne, you have the South Melbourne Market on Coventry Street. That has been operating since 1867, so it's very historic for Australia. It's the heartbeat of the community. Great stores there to get your fresh fruit and veg. You're supporting local economies there as well. On a weekend, the energy is pretty happening, and you're getting some great dim sim, fresh oysters, you get some artisan sourdough, of course.

And of course some of the best speciality coffee in the world, like St. Ali or Padre.

And alongside this area, I was working on Clarendon Street, and that street, along with Cecil Street, is kind of packed with converted warehouses and co working spaces. So it has that new sort of techie vibe, creative agencies, architecture firms, that sort of vibe in the area. Loved it.

Ultimately the area I think for a central location has that rare mix of happening but also quite spacious, you know, leafy tree lined streets. There's a tram going through the middle on the main road, but obviously it doesn't feel too clogged up all the way down to Albert Park. It really is the dream area. And if I was to go back to Melbourne to live for a little bit, that is the area I'm staying in hundred percent. and I would highly recommend you to check that area out if you're going to visit Melbourne.

And if you have the lucky chance to stay there, you'll absolutely love it, I guarantee

But that only lasted three or four months. Then I moved to Kensington, which was a completely different vibe, more suburbia, and quite a way out of the C B D.

So I felt like I was growing up a little bit actually from my travels. This is where I started to turn maybe from

sort of post teenage, early twenties, living it up, solo, freeloading.

Not care in the world, that sort of mentality. Where now I was like, I'm actually earning decent money for once. That's the first time that's ever happened. I'm enjoying having a nice job. The job was actually okay. I didn't mind doing it. Great people to work with. Lots of activities going on during the week, but also at the weekend. And I had a nice little life of a mix between doing a lot of fitness, going to a lot of sporting events. Lunches and breakfasts at work were normally free.

That helps as well. Going to Albert Park to hang out and also having hostile friends at Urban Central and doing the poker nights on the Monday. That was my life in Melbourne. Loved it. And it's a completely different vibe from when I was travelling around for the last six months.

Around Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Fiji, and even the East Coast in Australia. The only thing that felt a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth at the end of my work stint at that company was that everyone got given a bonus for the project that was completed. And I know I was a temporary person coming in little bit later on the project, but not too late. They all got ten thousand dollars and I didn't get it and I missed out on that. And I was at

Absolutely devastated and a little bit angry actually.

I was thinking if I had that alongside my savings, I am well set for South America. And if I don't manage to work for the rest of the year or get enough work doing the vineyards or whatever it is, I still have enough in the bank to go and travel. That would have been well nice. But unfortunately, I did not get it, missed out on it.

And I was absolutely fuming leaving that job, At the end of the year.

So that was a very unfortunate incident, but no dramas. I left on good terms and it was a full circle moment actually because I met my friend Tichell, who was with me in Finland just recently on the Lakelands and Estonia trip. and we went to the Ashes, which was four years later from when I first went.

in twenty ten, where it all changed for me, I feel like, when I woke up and I started to have some goals in life, etc. And we're there watching the cricket. Just us two this time. Not much of a bigger group. there was a couple of people added on for one of the tests in Melbourne, but just a full circle moment. I had a plan at the end of the

ashes in twenty ten, eleven when I came back. And I have fulfilled that plan

For the first year of this two year trip and I was really happy with where I was at. I had some money in the bank. I was going to enjoy the cricket and I had a rough plan of what I was doing for the rest of my working visa in Australia. And I had booked in Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup. So everything was going to plan.

So I want to leave you with my lasting impression of the South Melbourne area. Because I love the area so much. So I mentioned St. Arlie coffee roasters. They are an absolute must for great coffee. Award winning baristas there. For a bakery, I've got a gath pâtisserie. I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing that right.

They are located in South Melbourne Market and it's renowned for their French pastries. I mean, why wouldn't you want that? It absolutely loved them. I used to go there on lunchtime and get my stuff. For supermarkets, they have Coles and Woolworths in their local area. So there are lunch options there, of course, if you need from work and if you want a bit of a cheaper option, if you're staying at the hostel. you want a classic pub, maybe the Emerald Hotel, we went there a few times. That's towards Albert Park Lake.

that's like a long standing favourite amongst locals on Clarendon Street.

Things to do, I've mentioned them already, that is South Melbourne Market.

It's just the cultural hub of the area. Albert Park is an absolute must. I mean, I love that place. I haven't been back for bloody years. I need to go back. and if you want to get there from the Melbourne CBD area the tram Route 1 travels down Swanston Street and through South Melbourne, run along Park Street towards the South Melbourne Beach. Tram Route 12, the parts Codin Street in CBD and cuts straight through

along Clarendon Street and Tram Route fifty eight connects William Street in the C B D directly to the western edge of South Melbourne and the Market Precinct.

So that's South Melbourne, but Melbourne as a whole, in terms of the city, so much to see and do. You've got the Eureka Tower, you've got all the sports stadiums walking distance from the CBD, and that includes tennis, AFL, football, rugby, everything is there. the CBD has got stuff going on, of course. The train station is in there on Flinders Street.

And that's where we went to occasionally for a night out or for some other restaurants. But mostly we stayed sort of south of the river towards Albert Park and in the South Melbourne area.

What's interesting is I've probably forgotten a lot of the stuff I did in South Melbourne in terms of the little quirky lunch places, cafes that I went to, petisseries, because it's such a long time ago, and I never used to record anything in those days in terms of a podcast or write anything down. There's the odd Facebook update, but not very reliable, I must admit. But that means I need to go back to South Melbourne to relive those days, relive those streets, and see all the things I saw back there when I was twenty three, going on twenty four.

and kinda have a different perspective later in life in terms of being in my late thirties.

But loved the job. I love the hostel. I love my new apartment that I went to by Kingsington. loved earning good money. loved losing money at Crown Casino. Not. Regular visits to watch sport were great as well, which includes AFL, but also the cricket at the end, though England lost five nil in the Ashes series.

think we watched twenty to twenty five sessions England won maybe one or two of those. So it was absolutely character building.

But it was worth it in the end for that experience. And after Melbourne, I travelled down the Great Ocean Road between Melbourne and Adelaide. We drove that, stayed four nights along that route in different places like Robe, that was awesome, and got to see that amazing coastline as we drove down there on our road trip.

So overall that first seven months, eight months of the East Coast and Melbourne, and then going on to my next chapter in the new year, which would be Margaret River for my vineyard experience was an absolutely awesome time. Lots of changes for me, lots of things I learned in life, and just had a great experience on the work visa in Melbourne. And I would highly recommend if you're young enough to get a work permit for Australia.

Melbourne's a great city to start with. Sydney is great as well. If you want a different lifestyle, Perth is your place. If you want the cheapest place, Cairns is up there. And Brisbane is a mix of all those put together.

So that wraps up my collection of stories and the odd bit of tips and tricks there for South Melbourne and Melbourne in general, in terms of the city, and hopefully it'll inspire you to go and stay there yourself. If you have any recommendations for me when I next go, let me know. I didn't give too much information on prices because these prices that I was paying in 2013 going to 2014 are way different to now, 13 years later, whatever it is.

There's no great value in telling you the prices I mean, all those places I mentioned, you could probably Google now and see how much things are, like coffees, or the weekly rate at Urban Central, or the nightly rate there, or how much wages are now for temp jobs in Melbourne, or rental prices in South Melbourne as well.

I'm sure they've all been updated online using Google or AI, if that is your jam. That wraps up, I think, Australia for on the podcast. I think I have talked about it to death.

I've done all of that year and the other trips there before and after. And the next time I talk about that myself will be the next time I go there, I think. So no more to say about Australia. Loved it, talked about it, wrapped it up, summarised it. Always a place that I love and want to go back to. And now it's time to move on to my other travels as I carry on wrapping up all my previous travels from those times.

So I'll catch you at the next episode on Winginit Travel Podcast. And if you'd like to rate and review the podcast on your podcast app, five stars is greatly appreciated. of the podcast apps, it really helps. Spotify and Apple are the main ones, of course. A written review is great as well. And if you like to donate towards the podcast production costs for five dollars, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com forward slash winginit. That's awesome too. and please spread the

podcast word of mouth to your friends and family. Hopefully they come in for one episode. Like it and stay for more. Cheers for tuning in. I'll see you at the next episode. Ciao.

James Hammond (25:43)

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