3.91/5
786 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
57 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

4 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

6 years ago

Expensive, but possibly the most amazing city on earth.

7 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 now

✅ 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

❌ Very expensive

❌ Gets cold in the summer

❌ 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

1661°
cool

1457°
cool

1355°
cool

1152°
cool

1355°
cool

1661°
cool

2170°
mild

Real (median)

2272°
mild

1966°
mild

1661°
cool

1457°
cool

1456°
cool

1254°
cool

1456°
cool

1660°
cool

1661°
cool

2068°
mild

Humidity

nice
66%

nice
64%

nice
70%

nice
68%

nice
69%

damp
76%

damp
74%

nice
70%

nice
69%

nice
66%

nice
68%

nice
64%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
52mm

dry
27mm

dry
45mm

dry
34mm

rainy
53mm

rainy
61mm

rainy
56mm

dry
37mm

rainy
65mm

rainy
64mm

dry
29mm

Cloud

pockets
42%

pockets
40%

pockets
44%

pockets
39%

pockets
40%

pockets
49%

pockets
46%

pockets
45%

pockets
44%

pockets
45%

pockets
47%

pockets
37%

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
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

Remote workers

3,624 people

4,533 people

3,933 people

3,338 people

3,000 people

2,337 people

2,118 people

2,663 people

2,862 people

2,788 people

3,667 people

4,309 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

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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9pts

7pts

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518pts

89pts

83pts

61pts

58pts

56pts

39pts

35pts

32pts

31pts

30pts

27pts

8pts

7pts

6pts

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460pts

86pts

82pts

60pts

57pts

56pts

55pts

37pts

35pts

31pts

30pts

28pts

11pts

7pts

6pts

5pts

Canberra

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 12

✈️37min

$6,256 / mo

19 Mbps

Hobart

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 13° 55° 13° 56°

✈️48min

$3,920 / mo

19 Mbps

Wollongong

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 24° 75° 24° 75° AQI 49

✈️52min

$4,314 / mo

21 Mbps

Adelaide

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 25

✈️52min

$6,281 / mo

19 Mbps

Sydney

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 32° 90° 27° 80° 🥵 AQI 32

✈️57min

$4,332 / mo

19 Mbps

Byron Bay

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 25° 77° 25° 78°

✈️2h

$7,079 / mo

19 Mbps

Gold Coast

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 29° 84° 26° 79° AQI 26

✈️2h

$6,061 / mo

19 Mbps

Brisbane

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 31° 88° 27° 81° 🥵 AQI 30

✈️2h

$4,477 / mo

21 Mbps

Queenstown

New Zealand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 21° 70° 20° 69°

✈️3h

$4,856 / mo

31 Mbps

Wanaka

New Zealand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 60° AQI 7

✈️3h

$6,589 / mo

23 Mbps

Dunedin

New Zealand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 21° 70° 20° 68° AQI 14

✈️3h

$4,866 / mo

24 Mbps

Cairns

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84° 🥵

✈️3h

$3,869 / mo

21 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 9° 48° 10° 50° AQI 38

✈️23h

$5,690 / mo

23 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 39° 102° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 68 😷

✈️10h

$1,597 / mo

24 Mbps

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 111 😷

✈️11h

$1,269 / mo

20 Mbps

Sydney

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 32° 90° 27° 80° 🥵 AQI 32

✈️57min

$4,332 / mo

19 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 109 😷

✈️21h

$4,061 / mo

28 Mbps

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 37° 99° 30° 85° 🥵

✈️8h

$4,378 / mo

149 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 5° 41° 6° 43°

✈️22h

$7,114 / mo

29 Mbps

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 10° 50° 11° 51° AQI 102 😷

✈️22h

$6,447 / mo

21 Mbps

Canggu, Bali

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 37° 99° 30° 87° 🥵 AQI 177 😷

✈️6h

$1,879 / mo

24 Mbps

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 25° 77° 25° 78° AQI 65 😷

✈️16h

$3,661 / mo

10 Mbps

San Francisco, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 20° 68° 19° 66°

✈️17h

$5,620 / mo

84 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 42° 108° 32° 89° 🥵

✈️8h

$1,610 / mo

19 Mbps

Sydney

Australia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 32° 90° 27° 80° 🥵 AQI 32

✈️57min

$4,332 / mo

🌇 Also went here397 people

Canggu, Bali

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 37° 99° 30° 87° 🥵 AQI 177 😷

✈️6h

$1,879 / mo

🌇 Also went here215 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 37° 99° 30° 85° 🥵

✈️8h

$4,378 / mo

🌇 Also went here309 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 42° 108° 32° 89° 🥵

✈️8h

$1,610 / mo

🌇 Also went here240 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 39° 102° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 68 😷

✈️10h

$1,597 / mo

🌇 Also went here374 people

Hong Kong

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°

✈️10h

$2,775 / mo

🌇 Also went here210 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 111 😷

✈️11h

$1,269 / mo

🌇 Also went here271 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 61 😷

✈️11h

$3,302 / mo

🌇 Also went here245 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 109 😷

✈️21h

$4,061 / mo

🌇 Also went here253 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 10° 50° 11° 51° AQI 102 😷

✈️22h

$6,447 / mo

🌇 Also went here265 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 5° 41° 6° 43°

✈️22h

$7,114 / mo

🌇 Also went here261 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61° AQI 96 😷

✈️22h

$5,352 / mo

🌇 Also went here282 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 14° 57° 14° 56° AQI 59 😷

✈️22h

$4,666 / mo

🌇 Also went here272 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 9° 48° 10° 50° AQI 38

✈️23h

$5,690 / mo

🌇 Also went here338 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 13° 55° 14° 57° AQI 33

✈️24h

$3,874 / mo

🌇 Also went here256 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™	3.91/5 (Rank #6) 786 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍12 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Great
👶 Family score	Great
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,819 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 19 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 20°C67°F (feels 21°C70°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 72%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😊 High: 67%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 31 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 25 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
👩 Safe for women	Great
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Very high
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very high: $4,506 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Great
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Good
🏥 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)	19 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌫 20°C 67°F + 😊 Comfy (72%) = feels 21°C 70°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 31 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 25 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 AUD in USD	USD 7.04
🏧 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
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,782,700 visitors
📸 Tourists now	53,330 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	4,200,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$54,069 / 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	$3,819 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,763 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$6,184 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,767 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,487 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$3,115 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,408 / month
🏠 Median home price	$633,330
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$70 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$102 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$387 / month
🍛 Dinner	$14
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$7
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$4
👩‍🏫 International school	$22,378 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$47 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$8 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$9,580
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$27,512
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$91,425