Hi hello I too am a Melbournian.
- Melbourne, like much of Australia, is pretty laid back. Don't be a dick, you'll be fine. It's much milder weather-wise than Sydney, and is famous for its weather changing in the blink of the eye.
- NRL is most popular north of a particular point in NSW. AFL reigns supreme in Vic, except amongst NZ and Polynesian migrants.
- Myki can be a little confusing early on. It's the ticketing system we use. I'll enclose more information about it in a spoiler, as it can get messy.
- You buy a card. This card contains information on an account.
- This card costs $6 for a Full Fare card, and $3 for a concession card.
- This price does not include travel credit.
- This card is reusable. You add money to it (either online automatically, or at ticket machines) which is deducted based on zones traveled and time spent.
- As a general rule, it is reasonably affordable. For people living in the outer suburbs, it is considerably cheaper to commute by train to the city than to drive in for work. It is very expensive for people in the inner burbs.
- The card is usable on all common forms of Melbournian public transport. Tram (only outside the Free Tram Zone, a region incorporating most of the CBD), Train, Bus, and V/Line (regional) train up to a point.
- Trains, trams, and buses all share fares. This way, you have a maximum spend per day (~$12ish for a day) which entitles you to use all public transport forms for that period. V/Line is slightly different; you can use myki but only up to specific rural stations.
- You must touch on to enter a station. This sets up your card so that it knows where you've started from, and what time.
- Upon exiting a station, you must touch off. This is the same motion, but it tells your card that you have ceased using PTV for now, and deducts the applicable fare. Even if you are swapping directly from a train to a bus, you must touch off at the train station, then on again at the bus. You cannot touch off on the bus from a train trip.
- There are numerous lovely places to visit just outside of the city. If you're into pleasant mountain hamlets, Belgrave and the other local towns (Olinda, Upwey, Monbulk) have a wealth of things to do and see, all nestled in rainforest terrain and reasonably accessible by public transport.
- There's heaps to do, quite a music scene (i believe that was part of the reason Yoink moved down here to begin with), plus like i said easy to access pleasant places to visit.
- Business culture is comparable to everywhere else. If you're a professional, you wear a suit and tie. If you're a tradie, it's considerably more lax, though you still must adhere to workplace safety laws (eg. no unclosed shoes).
- AFL is not an NRL variant. It is closest to a blend of the indigenous sport Marngrook and Irish Gaelic Football. It lends itself to lots of aerial back-and-forths and big leaps from the players, which looks visually pretty clean compared to the scrums that form in NRL. It is derisively called aerial ping-pong for this reason, sometimes.
- I wouldn't risk fare evading, the fines are punitive. While Yoink is right that the inspectors rarely check buses, drivers vary between entirely not giving a shit and ordering you off the bus if they notice your myki making the characteristic "donk donk donk" declined sound. Train inspectors are extremely common. Tram inspectors are common outside the CBD's "Free Tram Zone", who wait to pounce on any passengers who've failed to touch on before leaving the FTZ. Fines last I checked were $200+ for fare evading.
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Topic: Moving to Melbourne for studies, tips and tricks (Read 1930 times)