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Is Australia really all that?? 2-May-2007 At 10:36:01 PM JamesMc

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Cammaniac,
From what I can tell as an engineer who lives in Melbourne & occasionally visits Michigan, cost of living is slightly higher here than in America. Housing is significantly more expensive here if you want to live right in the city. The inner city areas here are expensive, but popular with young proffesional types with no kids (typical of a lot of climbers). We gave up talking in miles here 35 years ago, Grampians are about 200 to 300 kilometres from Melbourne. 2.5 to 4 hours drive depending on what side of Melbourne you are on, and what side of the Grampians you are going to, what time of day etc.

Local crags are not up to much - we only climb there because they're local.

For climate, check out www.bom.gov.au. We've had a drought for the last few years, but it appears to be ending (damn).

Skiing's fair, can't comment on MTB, surfing etc

Our freeway system is pathetic by US standards, so traffic in town is pretty congested.

It's safe to walk around at night without carrying a gun as long as you make sure people know you didn't vote for George Bush. Gasoline is a lot more expensive than you're used to.

And there's a lot of other great places around, like you'll want to visit the other states and New Zealand while you're here.

JamesMc