Melbourne may be known for its fickle weather – the city has been described as having four seasons in one day – but it can still be enjoyed all year round. Plan ahead with this information on temperature and rainfall.

Summer (December – February)
Melbourne warms up in summer with mean temperatures between 14 – 25.3°C (57.2 – 77.5°F). These months are dry, with occasional hot spells that can last more than three days. Melbourne’s top temperatures are usually in January and February, when temperatures can occasionally soar past 30°C (86°F).

Autumn (March – May)
Autumn sees cooler weather with average temperatures ranging from 10.9 – 20.3°C (51.6 – 68.5°F). Morning fog usually clears to welcome fine, sunny days, however toward the end of the season there can be extended periods of light winds.

Winter (June – August)
In winter, average temperatures range from 6.5 – 14.2°C (43.7 – 57.6°F), and snow falls in the north-east of Victoria, known as High Country. The weather is frequently cold and cloudy, and nights can be accompanied by frosts. Heavy rain is rare at this time of year.

Spring (September – November)
During spring average temperatures range from 9.6 – 19.6°C (49.3 – 67.3°F). The season is known as the most variable of the year, when weather can quickly change from calm and sunny to cold and windy. Pack your umbrella – October is the wettest month with roughly 10 days of rainfall.

Melbourne is a great place to spend time in and as I spend more of my life travelling and living in different countries, I have only grown to love it more. When I meet people, a lot have never heard of Melbourne and aren’t able to place it on the map. Sydney is the face of Australia, and rightly so, but there’s something about Melbourne that is special and can only be experienced when you live within its boundaries.

Other parts of Australia love to take a dig at Melbournians because of their coffee-loving, sports-mad culture. Locals can come across as ‘holier-than-thou’ when talking about their lives in Melbourne, but their city pride is simply being mistaken for arrogance. What’s not to love about having public holidays for sporting events such as the AFL Grand Final and the Melbourne Cup?

It is easy to fall in love with the Melbourne lifestyle. It is the one major city (sorry Hobart) in Australia that actually experiences a pretty cold winter. This forces residents to embrace the events that happen throughout the year, to go all in on their local sports teams or head to a cozy pub for an evening with friends. A chilly day at the MCG in the dead of winter, watching your sports team get destroyed on the field, is a rite of passage for all Melbournians.

Australia is a multicultural nation and there is no bigger melting pot than Victoria’s capital. Like anywhere, there are rich and poor areas, but a stark divide is not noticeable in Melbourne. It allowed me to meet people from all walks of life and backgrounds, which not only helped to inspire my travels but made me appreciate the city even more.

Melbourne’s population has grown over the last decade to now comprise over five million people. This number is expected to continue to grow on the back of immigration and movement from interstate, with the expectation that Melbourne will soon overtake Sydney as the biggest city in the country.

But unlike other parts of Australia, Melbourne doesn’t have a range of amazing tourist attractions, such as the Sydney Harbour, the Great Barrier Reef and Bondi Beach to attract new residents. Likewise, the reason Melbourne has been voted as the world’s most liveable city so often, has nothing to do with being a tourist destination. Rather it is because of its local lifestyle, a lifestyle built by Melbourne’s diverse community.

Melbourne is home to the 10th largest immigrant population in the world, helping to fuel not only a growing economy but the city’s delectable dining scene. Over 200 countries and territories, along with 230 languages and dialects, are represented in Melbourne.

Melbournians are passionate about their city and that often rubs people from other states the wrong way. After all, how good can a city really be? But it is that sense of pride that makes promoters confident that no matter what event they bring to this city, locals will show up in great numbers.

People living in Melbourne are open and inclusive, which is represented by a simple walk along Elizabeth Street on a Saturday afternoon. Where suits, hipsters, and a slew of girls in activewear make their way to Flinders Street Station.

Freedom of expression is important and the ability to create street art, enjoy events, such as the Fringe Festival, and take part in the thriving music scene is important to all Melbournians.

On the flip side, although Australians love to travel overseas, they are less likely to move to other cities within the country upon their return. For this reason, locals who are born and raised in the cities are likely to have the same friendship group from high school through to the present.

This can make life difficult for newcomers, and digital nomads may note that Melbournians can be cliquey. Networking through cowork spaces and joining Meetup are two ways to break through this barrier.

Melbourne is an urban playground unlike any other city in Australia. Many travellers, however, begin their Australian adventure in Sydney, gawking at the beautiful beaches before venturing into the great Australian Outback. But overlooking Melbourne to the south, Australia’s second-most populous city is a mistake no digital nomad should make.

Melbourne has consistently been rated one of, if not the most, liveable city in the world. One aspect of this is Melbourne’s culture, which is considered more ‘European’ than other parts of the country.

The iconic laneways that permeate through Melbourne offer not only delightful cafés slinging a delicious brunch of smashed avo and feta but also eclectic street art and live music.

Melbourne remains an eccentric city with strong arts and theatre culture. For digital nomads who love to balance their life with galleries, live shows and underground arts, Melbourne provides a blank canvas for freedom of expression. As a result, nothing ever feels stale.

Victoria’s capital has largely been described as the ‘best student city’ in the country. A lot of these reasons, such as access to start-up grants, top-ranking universities and being a hotbed for entrepreneurial creativity also make the city perfect for long-term digital nomads.

Melbourne’s actual strength, however, is not within the city itself, but within the surrounding suburbs. Here you will find diverse communities offering a mix of international cuisine and culture. Down any random street could be an exciting ‘hotel’ serving pints of local beer and the best ‘parmi’ in the country. Or you could simply stumble upon a humble comedy club.

With great public transport, Melbourne makes it easy for digital nomads to live around the CBD. You can enjoy each unique suburb from grungy and hip Brunswick to the beautiful South Yarra, without giving up easy access to all that the inner-city offers.