3.92/5
831 reviews
Photo by Denise Jans via Unsplash

Melbourne

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good

fun

cbd

beaches

market

expensive

awesome

cheap

food

Melbourne is a highly enjoyable city with a wide range of attractions and activities. Visitors and digital nomads consistently highlight that there’s plenty to do, from vibrant urban experiences in the CBD to day trips out to beaches and theme parks. The food scene is widely praised, offering a variety of excellent dining options. Internet access is reliable, with plentiful coworking spaces and cafes supporting strong connections, which makes the city workable for remote professionals.

However, a prominent downside noted across reviews is the cost. Melbourne ranks among the most expensive cities globally, and visitors repeatedly comment on its high prices. Whether it's accommodation, dining, or everyday expenses, it tends to be on par with other major metropolitan areas like Singapore or Paris. Despite the high cost, many still feel the city offers good value due to the quality of life and overall livability.

In summary, Melbourne is a great option for those looking to experience a vibrant, activity-rich city with strong infrastructure for digital work—but you'll need a healthy budget to enjoy it fully.

AI-generated summary of reviews
2 years ago

Melbourne is a fun and cute compact city. There are so many fun things to do here such as visit is beaches, go to its theme parks out of the CBD area. Its city CBD is so much fun as well. You can visit the Queen Victoria market which is the largest outdoors market in the world! You can also visit Federation Square which is a beautiful park on the edge of the CBD, and you can visit the Eureka Skydeck and Australia 108 which are the tallest buildings in Australia if you exclude the antenna from the Gold Coast's Q1 tower. If you are into surfing, there are surf beaches about a 1-2 hour drive out of the Melbourne area at the nearest.
Melbourne is a really good city to reside in if you like fun, but of course it does come with a cost. Melbourne is the 6th most expensive city in the world according to recent reports.
Overall, an awesome city

5 years ago

Not cheap, but you get what you're paying for. Really nice, comfortable city, not too dirty or crowded, awesome food, and lots to do

7 years ago

Expensive, but possibly the most amazing city on earth.

8 years ago

Nomaded here for 2 weeks in September 2018. It was really good! It's definitely not cheap (on par with Singapore/Paris/etc), but it has everything needed for nomads: coworking spaces, 4g, lots of cafes with good wifi. The food is really good, there are many things to do. I didn't have any issues with my Ru debit card anywhere. I'd say it's a good destination.

8 years ago

✅ Lots to do

✅ Good food

✅ Fast internet

✅ Very safe

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm in the spring

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Very family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Expensive

❌ Extremely expensive

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets cold in the summer

❌ Very damp now

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

2272°
mild

2068°
mild

1763°
cool

1457°
cool

1355°
cool

1152°
cool

1355°
cool

1559°
cool

1661°
cool

2170°
mild

Real (median)

2272°
mild

1966°
mild

1762°
cool

1457°
cool

1456°
cool

1254°
cool

1456°
cool

1660°
cool

1661°
cool

2068°
mild

Humidity

nice
65%

nice
66%

nice
69%

damp
70%

damp
74%

damp
80%

damp
79%

damp
76%

damp
73%

nice
69%

nice
65%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
52mm

dry
28mm

dry
45mm

dry
34mm

rainy
53mm

rainy
61mm

rainy
56mm

dry
37mm

rainy
65mm

dry
29mm

Cloud

cloudy
57%

cloudy
52%

cloudy
57%

cloudy
61%

cloudy
68%

cloudy
67%

cloudy
64%

cloudy
66%

cloudy
56%

Air quality

clean
36 US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
32 US AQI

clean
28 US AQI

clean
34 US AQI

clean
22 US AQI

clean
20 US AQI

clean
21 US AQI

clean
25 US AQI

clean
29 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

Remote workers

3,715 people

4,516 people

4,011 people

3,032 people

3,360 people

2,257 people

2,133 people

2,682 people

3,129 people

2,867 people

3,663 people

4,500 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Melbourne's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Melbourne and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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65pts

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512pts

86pts

83pts

62pts

58pts

56pts

47pts

35pts

32pts

31pts

28pts

11pts

8pts

7pts

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Canberra

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 58° AQI 12

✈️37min

$5,879 / mo

23 Mbps

Hobart

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 10° 50° 11° 53° AQI 12

✈️48min

$5,737 / mo

23 Mbps

Wollongong

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 13° 55° 15° 59° AQI 28

✈️52min

$5,676 / mo

28 Mbps

Adelaide

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 23

✈️52min

$5,794 / mo

23 Mbps

Sydney

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 16° 61° AQI 34

✈️57min

$6,485 / mo

26 Mbps

Byron Bay

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70° AQI 17

✈️2h

$6,563 / mo

26 Mbps

Gold Coast

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 24

✈️2h

$7,841 / mo

21 Mbps

Brisbane

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 24° 75° 24° 75° AQI 20

✈️2h

$5,818 / mo

25 Mbps

Queenstown

New Zealand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 15° 59° 14° 58°

✈️3h

$5,890 / mo

35 Mbps

Wanaka

New Zealand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 13° 56° AQI 21

✈️3h

$7,139 / mo

35 Mbps

Dunedin

New Zealand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 12° 54° 14° 57° AQI 30

✈️3h

$4,303 / mo

24 Mbps

Cairns

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 29° 84° 26° 79° Has AC AQI 12

✈️3h

$5,298 / mo

28 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 53 😷

✈️10h

$1,634 / mo

32 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 58° AQI 62 😷

✈️23h

$8,144 / mo

23 Mbps

Sydney

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 16° 61° AQI 34

✈️57min

$6,485 / mo

26 Mbps

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 33° 91° 28° 82° Has AC AQI 20

✈️11h

$1,607 / mo

25 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 19° 66° AQI 65 😷

✈️21h

$5,034 / mo

32 Mbps

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 89° Has AC AQI 146 😷

✈️8h

$5,517 / mo

101 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 27

✈️11h

$4,345 / mo

25 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 16° 62° AQI 12

✈️22h

$8,657 / mo

26 Mbps

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 19° 66° 19° 65° AQI 79 😷

✈️22h

$8,070 / mo

15 Mbps

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 45° 113° 38° 101° Has AC AQI 183 😷

✈️16h

$7,020 / mo

15 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 42° 108° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 167 😷

✈️8h

$1,820 / mo

53 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 60 😷

✈️22h

$6,424 / mo

39 Mbps

Sydney

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 16° 61° AQI 34

✈️57min

$6,485 / mo

🌇 Also went here421 people

Canggu, Bali

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 171 😷

✈️6h

$3,422 / mo

🌇 Also went here232 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 89° Has AC AQI 146 😷

✈️8h

$5,517 / mo

🌇 Also went here328 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 42° 108° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 167 😷

✈️8h

$1,820 / mo

🌇 Also went here257 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 53 😷

✈️10h

$1,634 / mo

🌇 Also went here393 people

Hong Kong

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 27° 81° 26° 79° Has AC AQI 39

✈️10h

$3,010 / mo

🌇 Also went here223 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 33° 91° 28° 82° Has AC AQI 20

✈️11h

$1,607 / mo

🌇 Also went here286 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 27

✈️11h

$4,345 / mo

🌇 Also went here267 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 19° 66° AQI 65 😷

✈️21h

$5,034 / mo

🌇 Also went here270 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 19° 66° 19° 65° AQI 79 😷

✈️22h

$8,070 / mo

🌇 Also went here280 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 16° 62° AQI 12

✈️22h

$8,657 / mo

🌇 Also went here271 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 19° 66° 19° 66° AQI 53 😷

✈️22h

$6,610 / mo

🌇 Also went here297 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 60 😷

✈️22h

$6,424 / mo

🌇 Also went here287 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 58° AQI 62 😷

✈️23h

$8,144 / mo

🌇 Also went here355 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 38

✈️24h

$4,783 / mo

🌇 Also went here272 people

4,800 remote workers in Melbourne now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.92/5 (Rank #34) 831 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍13 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😳 Extremely expensive: $5,332 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 26 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 14°C57°F (feels 13°C55°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 77%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😊 High: 67%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 31 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 25 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Very high
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very rich: $5,428 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Great
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Good
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Oceania
🚩 Country	Australia
🗓️ Average trip length	16 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	26 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 14°C 57°F + 💦 Damp (77%) = feels 13°C 55°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 31 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 25 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Fairfield
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Ivanhoe
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 AUD in USD	USD 6.96
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	AUD 100 = USD 70
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Hub Australia
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Electron Workshop
☕️ Best coffee place	1000 Pound Bend
☕️ Best alt. coffee place	Penny Farthing Espresso
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Cat Cafe
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
🦷 Fluoride added	💧 Yes, fluoridated
🪨 Water hardness	Soft · 19 mg/L
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,782,700 visitors
📸 Tourists now	53,330 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	3,600,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$65,130 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 48% 👱‍♀️ 52%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 54% 👱‍♀️ 46%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 78% 👱‍♀️ 22%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Kogan
🏠 Apartment listings	GumTree
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Jetstar
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Qantas
🏥 Best hospital	Melbourne Private Hospital

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$5,332 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$4,282 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$7,577 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$2,165 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,332 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$7,271 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,695 / month
🏠 Median home price	$628,229
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$62 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$238 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$383 / month
🍛 Dinner	$17
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$3
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$10
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$4
👩‍🏫 International school	$30,915 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$5 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$9,580
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$27,512
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$91,425

Melbourne

4,800 remote workers in Melbourne now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

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