The end of my time in Melbourne draws ever closer. As of next week I have to commit to spending my time out of work looking for regional farm work so that I can get that sweet, sweet second year visa. More on that soon I hope. For now, it’s just a little update as I’ve had a bit or a scenery rearrangement.

The so called Cityview Gardens, which only had one real view of the city as you came up the stairs into the complex, have been my home for the last six months in Melbourne. In a perfect location twenty minutes from the beach and ten minutes from the city with Clarendon Street shopping precinct just a short walk away, I still feel like I’d had an incredible stroke of luck to end up in the suburb of Southbank. Moving in with total strangers for the first time since starting University was a breeze and good housemates helped me to enjoy my time there.

Unfortunately, such a prime piece of real estate comes with a price and it became more and more apparent to me that said price was not truly affordable. With uncertainty ahead I decided that it would be necessary to start putting more of my earnings into savings than I was into accommodation. In terms of life experience, living beyond my means for a few months offered me some vital lessons. I’ve been able to develop a fairly strict budget; figuring out a way to continue eating healthily whilst still enjoying the finer things in life got me living incredibly frugally from paycheck to paycheck.

My last weeks in Melbourne are going to be spent in the inner Eastern suburb of Richmond. I’ve replaced Clarendon Street with Bridge Road and increased my travelling time to both the beach and the city. What with it being autumn and all that, I’m not really too fussed about the beach and I figure the increased distance in my walk to work can only be good for me.

I’ve traded my housemates in for some shiny new ones; notable characters include Poppy and Marty, the household pets. I’ve already developed an on-off friendship with Poppy depending almost entirely on how tolerant I’m feeling. Marty’s been a little more challenging, he’s not too happy with invasions of his personal space.

Moving turned out to be an incredibly simple process, something which benefited hugely from my backpacker lifestyle. Alongside my frugal habits, I’ve found that I’ve naturally become significantly more minimal than I was while living in the UK. Money is spent on necessities; food, drink and experiences. The only ‘things’ I’ve spent money on have been the occasional book and clothes when required. I haven’t build up a collection of personal belongings or enhanced my CD collection and so I didn’t really have a lot to transport across the town.

Here’s hoping that my final weeks in Melbourne continue to be nothing but the best and that somethings fall in to place so that I can enjoy a peace of mind knowing that I’ll have no trouble when I come to apply for year two!