Moving Perth to Melbourne - Need advice!

Hey everyone :)
My husband and I are looking to move to Melbourne (from Perth) at the end of this year. However, after to speaking to some people, they have given us some worries in regards to the cost of living and that it is pretty radical. That its almost impossible to get ahead or buy property and just overall a very expensive life.
I am in Nursing and my husband in construction. We would love to live inner such as St Kilda, Port Melbourne etc to begin with. However, would be more than happy to live in a nice outer suburb 30-45 minutes out if it had great public transport to the CBD, as we'd love to have only 1 car for some time.
I guess my question/concerns, are is there places and ways to live in Melbourne affordably for a young married couple on middle range/normal incomes? Is it really such a massively expensive place to live? I guess its just making us question our decision to move.
Thanks everyone, look forward to all your advice :)