Melbourne - in general - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

shazbotus · 01-23-2006, 09:09 PM

So, I am actually finalizing the few things left before I leave for Australia on Feb 7th. My initial thread is http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=95591. Now, what are some general cool things about Melbourne. I'm sure people here know good places to eat/hang out/club. I am particularly looking for a good club that would play Trance and Electronica. Oh, I suppose I should say that I was accepted to the University of Melbourne, and I will be living in College Square on Lygon Street in Carlton. Heh, mainly I am just looking for some good discussion that will get me excited about the experience. Maybe I'll end up meeting some of you, which could be useful since I will know nobody. I'd tend to rather meet up with people around my age (21), though.

Oh, another thing...am I screwed when it comes to the Internet. I see that the University has some tight restrictions on bandwidth (about 50MB/week), though at my apartment I can pay for 100MB/$10. Still, that's tough to face when I am used to unlimited download and 5GB max upload/day. Then again, it would be good for me to be pulled from the Internet for a while.

Kostya · 01-24-2006, 02:43 AM

Congratulations!

I must say that I've only ever been to Melbourne once, in a whirlwind tour of sleep deprived cross continental roadtripping. It was by far my favourite city that I have been to in this fair country. I stayed in Fitzroy just off Brunswick Road, but I recall that Lygon Street is not too far away from there. I can't say I sampled many clubs and such, but Fitzroy seemed to be pumping every night with a relaxed indy kind of scene.
Melbourne has some great restaurants, and Lygon Street is where I am assured the best Italian food in the country can be found.
Um aside from that, there's a ton of cultural stuff and a beach and the Victoria Bitter brewery yeyyyyy.

I'm 21 myself, but I live in Brisbane which is farrrr north, but am thinking about moving down to Melbourne some time in the future if I can afford it.
What are you studying by the way?

shazbotus · 01-24-2006, 06:58 PM

Oh, indy scene sounds good. Well, I hope not entirely sure it will suit me very well. I'm sure I could find a Trance club somewhere in town. Mmmm, I'm looking forward to Victoria Bitter. In the US, I study Electrical and Computer Engineering / Computer Science (double major). At Melbourne, I am taking a Databases course, an intro Bio course, a Probability course, and an intro Sociology course.

Rlyss · 01-25-2006, 01:17 PM

Hi shazbotus. I'm from Melbourne. I went to high school in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and I did my degree at the University of Melbourne. I had an ex-girlfriend throughout university who lived just off Lygon St. Also, I like trance. Sounds a tiny bit like I could be of some help

Is your internet totally restricted by the uni? I know Australia is pretty far behind in telecommunications and our ISP charges are through the roof but I'm sure you can get better deals than 100MB per month. My old ISP was Optus and it was a 3GB limit for $50 or something like that. If you're able to get an ISP other than UniMelb then I'd say it would be well, well worth it.

Cool things about Melbourne:

Trams - they'll get you anywhere you want to go, they're clean, easy to use, bloody everywhere. Since you're going to UniMelb remember that ALL trams on Swanston St will get you between Flinders St and UniMelb, so if you're at one end and want to get to the other, or to the city centre, just jump on any tram and you'll get there.

Flinders Street Station - if anyone tells you to meet them at Flinders they mean the large front steps under the clocks. It's sort of an official meeting place for people on a night out.

The Lounge - an awesome bar/lounge/cafe on Swanston St between Lonsdale and Bourke. Downstairs is a cafe, upstairs is a restaurant/bar. Once of the classiest but student-friendly, chilled out places in all of Melbourne I think. After 10pm there's a cover charge and they play some awesome trance/house/drum and bass.

St Kilda and Brunswick St - the main indy areas. St Kilda's got the beach and the esplanade, during summer this place is truly heaven with the nightlife and the atmosphere. Brunswick St has a million and one cool bars and cafes and is quite trendy and hippy.

If you can get a few mates together in the few months after you get there, see if you can go to a suburb just east of Melbourne called Kew and to the boathouse there. You can rent canoes/kayaks and go all the way up the Yarra to an outer suburb called Warrandyte. It's almost an all day trip but you see some absolutely beautiful scenery.

Melb Uni is an awesome place and I loved every minute I was there. I'm not sure what the student bar is called these days, it went from the UBar to InnU or something ridiculous and they upped all their prices and put fishbowls in the walls. I don't remember many students going to InnU after that so they might've changed it back and it might now be cool agian.

Since you'll be on Lygon St you'll be like 2 mins' walk away from uni so you won't have to worry much about travel, since walking into city centre (Bourke St or Melbourne Central station) takes all of 10 minutes.

I haven't been back home in a year since I moved to the UK but saying all this makes me really miss it. I think Melbourne is a fantastic city and you'll have an awesome time at the university. If you've got any more questions let me know, I'll check back

Nimetic · 01-26-2006, 04:03 PM

Yup. Ditto most of that I think.

Definitely start with Lygon St, Brunswick St and Smith St. Brunswick St seems to be full of brand conscious funded teens these days. Smith St looks more grungy to the casual (occasional) observer.

But heck - I don't get into the area too often.

Melbourne is bloody hot right now also (it was 40-something Celsius yesterday) so bring hot weather clothes. And light jackets as our weather is fairly changeable. The heat sorta comes and goes.

Oh. Commonwealth games are on soon. And yeah... Formula One around Easter. I'm not a motorhead, but it's still sorta interesting.

Hmm. What else. Tennis is finishing. Football won't start for a bit. There're probably some surf events on. As I say, it's been hot. I'd get myself to the beach if possible.

If Melb uni is like Monash uni... they ought to have a surf club. Maybe they'll have transport. Worth checking out anyways.

Ella · 01-27-2006, 03:52 AM

Hell yeah...all of that Melbourne shit is making this BrisVegas gal very homesick!!

Yup...do the St Kilda, Fitzroy and Carlton thing, but also get out of town if you can. Make your way down to Portsea on the Mornington Pensinsula for some gorgeous surf beaches, or head to the Yarra Valley for some excellent and relatively cheap wineries and, again, gorgeous countryside.

shazbotus · 01-29-2006, 10:22 PM

Ah, man. I wanna see some Aussie Rules, too. When does all of that start? Also, what is typical fashion in Melbourne? What do college students wear? I suppose I might stand out as an American if I wear what I wear here, though then again, jeans and a t-shirt is probably commonplace there, too. I know its a general question, but I was just curious. I also really want to try to make it over to New Zealand at some point, if possible.

Kostya · 01-30-2006, 08:08 AM

I dunno why, but for some reason you American students just stick out.

There's just something about you guys, maybe it's the backpacks, I dunno, some x factor.

We used to play a lot of 'Spot the Yank' at UQ, you could pick em at around 200-300 paces pretty easy.

shazbotus · 01-30-2006, 11:05 AM

Haha, that sucks. Well, I'll definitely be getting some University of Melbourne shirts or something as keepsakes. Maybe wearing one of those would not make me stick out as much...though then again, maybe that would make me stick out even more. Also, what are some slang terms I should probably know about, especially, what are short names for the university? I've seen UniMelb, but maybe that's not actually used. Eh, whatever, these posts are getting too picky.

Latch · 01-30-2006, 07:01 PM

Yeah, wearing a uni shirt will probably make you stand out more

Short names? Everything's shortened.. afternoon is arvo.. sunglasses are sunnies.. surfers are surfies.. mcdonalds is maccas... university is uni.. there are a million. You'll pick them up. Good luck heh.

Meridae'n · 02-10-2006, 10:59 PM

...and for god's sake get out into the countryside if you can. In Melbourne there are thousands of tourists/students from around the world, so your accent probably wont go that far in getting you laid. Out in the smaller regional centres however, you hardly see any tourists (especially Americans, never see you guys out here) and with your accent you'd have to have a face like a bucket full of burnt lego to not get laid on a night out. The secret here is to not make reference to home unless asked directly, and just lie and say that everything is better over here. At uni I had 2 American mates, one from Anchorage and one from Nth Carolina. The Alaskan worked all this out very early and hooked up everytime he went out, whereas the other fella acted far too American for the first 6 months or so until he worked out how to pick up Aussie chicks.

Here are the main towns you should head to:

Bendigo: This is a must. Absolutely full of hot women, many of who would never have met an American, especially one their own age. You'll be a kid in a candy shop.

Geelong: Heard it's pretty much the same, probably more tourist-savvy though... ask Latch about this one.

Ballarat: Cold as fuck, but chock full of female goodness.

Falls Creek/Mount Hotham/Mount Buller: Skiing resorts that go right off during the winter. If you can actually ski you're set, but even if you can't just act like you can and bullshit about obscure American resorts that you're surprised they haven't heard of.

Albury/Wodonga: Ideal as it's on the Melbourne-Sydney train line, and because I live there so you have free accomodation. PM me if you feel like a cheap trip through the countryside, I guarrentee you a root, maybe two.

Shepparton: Do not go here under any circumstance. It's a hole.

God speed my septic friend, may your accent land you more flange than the front row of an Usher concert. Just remember the golden rule: Don't act arrogant (let the Canadians fall into that trap, and they do) and tell everyone that everything's better in Australia. Aussies love Americans, but we love Australia more.

frozenstellar · 02-12-2006, 01:34 PM

ok, you're here for o week. good. you now have no excuse not to go to:

SSS Pub Crawl: http://www.sssonline.org.au/v2event_pubcrawl.php

its easier to pickup there than shooting fish in a barrel, its a proven fact. Unfortunately, i wont be there, i'm away during o week, but trust me... go on this pub crawl.

cant tell ya shit about melbourne scene, i live in geelong and commute.

Either way, i'll make sure that we catch up at uni sometime. I'm probably there 3 days a week. When I know i'll let ya know.

until then, SSS PUB CRAWL!

01-23-2006, 09:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
shazbotus Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	Melbourne - in general So, I am actually finalizing the few things left before I leave for Australia on Feb 7th. My initial thread is http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=95591. Now, what are some general cool things about Melbourne. I'm sure people here know good places to eat/hang out/club. I am particularly looking for a good club that would play Trance and Electronica. Oh, I suppose I should say that I was accepted to the University of Melbourne, and I will be living in College Square on Lygon Street in Carlton. Heh, mainly I am just looking for some good discussion that will get me excited about the experience. Maybe I'll end up meeting some of you, which could be useful since I will know nobody. I'd tend to rather meet up with people around my age (21), though. Oh, another thing...am I screwed when it comes to the Internet. I see that the University has some tight restrictions on bandwidth (about 50MB/week), though at my apartment I can pay for 100MB/$10. Still, that's tough to face when I am used to unlimited download and 5GB max upload/day. Then again, it would be good for me to be pulled from the Internet for a while. Last edited by shazbotus; 01-23-2006 at 09:17 PM..

01-27-2006, 03:52 AM	#6 (permalink)
Ella Ella Bo Bella Location: Australia	Hell yeah...all of that Melbourne shit is making this BrisVegas gal very homesick!! Yup...do the St Kilda, Fitzroy and Carlton thing, but also get out of town if you can. Make your way down to Portsea on the Mornington Pensinsula for some gorgeous surf beaches, or head to the Yarra Valley for some excellent and relatively cheap wineries and, again, gorgeous countryside. __________________ "Afterwards, the universe will explode for your pleasure."

02-10-2006, 10:59 PM	#11 (permalink)
Meridae'n Loose Cunt Location: North Bondi RSL	...and for god's sake get out into the countryside if you can. In Melbourne there are thousands of tourists/students from around the world, so your accent probably wont go that far in getting you laid. Out in the smaller regional centres however, you hardly see any tourists (especially Americans, never see you guys out here) and with your accent you'd have to have a face like a bucket full of burnt lego to not get laid on a night out. The secret here is to not make reference to home unless asked directly, and just lie and say that everything is better over here. At uni I had 2 American mates, one from Anchorage and one from Nth Carolina. The Alaskan worked all this out very early and hooked up everytime he went out, whereas the other fella acted far too American for the first 6 months or so until he worked out how to pick up Aussie chicks. Here are the main towns you should head to: Bendigo: This is a must. Absolutely full of hot women, many of who would never have met an American, especially one their own age. You'll be a kid in a candy shop. Geelong: Heard it's pretty much the same, probably more tourist-savvy though... ask Latch about this one. Ballarat: Cold as fuck, but chock full of female goodness. Falls Creek/Mount Hotham/Mount Buller: Skiing resorts that go right off during the winter. If you can actually ski you're set, but even if you can't just act like you can and bullshit about obscure American resorts that you're surprised they haven't heard of. Albury/Wodonga: Ideal as it's on the Melbourne-Sydney train line, and because I live there so you have free accomodation. PM me if you feel like a cheap trip through the countryside, I guarrentee you a root, maybe two. Shepparton: Do not go here under any circumstance. It's a hole. God speed my septic friend, may your accent land you more flange than the front row of an Usher concert. Just remember the golden rule: Don't act arrogant (let the Canadians fall into that trap, and they do) and tell everyone that everything's better in Australia. Aussies love Americans, but we love Australia more. __________________ What's easier to believe: that a guy was born without sex in the manner of several Greek demigods and grew up to be able to transmute liquids and alter his body density yet couldn't escape government execution, or that three freemasons in a vehicle made with aluminum foil in an era before digital technology escaped our atmosphere, landing on the moon, broadcasted from there, and then flew back without burning up?

01-24-2006, 02:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
Kostya Little known... Location: Brisbane, Australia	Congratulations! I must say that I've only ever been to Melbourne once, in a whirlwind tour of sleep deprived cross continental roadtripping. It was by far my favourite city that I have been to in this fair country. I stayed in Fitzroy just off Brunswick Road, but I recall that Lygon Street is not too far away from there. I can't say I sampled many clubs and such, but Fitzroy seemed to be pumping every night with a relaxed indy kind of scene. Melbourne has some great restaurants, and Lygon Street is where I am assured the best Italian food in the country can be found. Um aside from that, there's a ton of cultural stuff and a beach and the Victoria Bitter brewery yeyyyyy. I'm 21 myself, but I live in Brisbane which is farrrr north, but am thinking about moving down to Melbourne some time in the future if I can afford it. What are you studying by the way?

01-24-2006, 06:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
shazbotus Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	Oh, indy scene sounds good. Well, I hope not entirely sure it will suit me very well. I'm sure I could find a Trance club somewhere in town. Mmmm, I'm looking forward to Victoria Bitter. In the US, I study Electrical and Computer Engineering / Computer Science (double major). At Melbourne, I am taking a Databases course, an intro Bio course, a Probability course, and an intro Sociology course.

01-25-2006, 01:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rlyss The Pusher Location: Edinburgh	Hi shazbotus. I'm from Melbourne. I went to high school in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and I did my degree at the University of Melbourne. I had an ex-girlfriend throughout university who lived just off Lygon St. Also, I like trance. Sounds a tiny bit like I could be of some help Is your internet totally restricted by the uni? I know Australia is pretty far behind in telecommunications and our ISP charges are through the roof but I'm sure you can get better deals than 100MB per month. My old ISP was Optus and it was a 3GB limit for $50 or something like that. If you're able to get an ISP other than UniMelb then I'd say it would be well, well worth it. Cool things about Melbourne: Trams - they'll get you anywhere you want to go, they're clean, easy to use, bloody everywhere. Since you're going to UniMelb remember that ALL trams on Swanston St will get you between Flinders St and UniMelb, so if you're at one end and want to get to the other, or to the city centre, just jump on any tram and you'll get there. Flinders Street Station - if anyone tells you to meet them at Flinders they mean the large front steps under the clocks. It's sort of an official meeting place for people on a night out. The Lounge - an awesome bar/lounge/cafe on Swanston St between Lonsdale and Bourke. Downstairs is a cafe, upstairs is a restaurant/bar. Once of the classiest but student-friendly, chilled out places in all of Melbourne I think. After 10pm there's a cover charge and they play some awesome trance/house/drum and bass. St Kilda and Brunswick St - the main indy areas. St Kilda's got the beach and the esplanade, during summer this place is truly heaven with the nightlife and the atmosphere. Brunswick St has a million and one cool bars and cafes and is quite trendy and hippy. If you can get a few mates together in the few months after you get there, see if you can go to a suburb just east of Melbourne called Kew and to the boathouse there. You can rent canoes/kayaks and go all the way up the Yarra to an outer suburb called Warrandyte. It's almost an all day trip but you see some absolutely beautiful scenery. Melb Uni is an awesome place and I loved every minute I was there. I'm not sure what the student bar is called these days, it went from the UBar to InnU or something ridiculous and they upped all their prices and put fishbowls in the walls. I don't remember many students going to InnU after that so they might've changed it back and it might now be cool agian. Since you'll be on Lygon St you'll be like 2 mins' walk away from uni so you won't have to worry much about travel, since walking into city centre (Bourke St or Melbourne Central station) takes all of 10 minutes. I haven't been back home in a year since I moved to the UK but saying all this makes me really miss it. I think Melbourne is a fantastic city and you'll have an awesome time at the university. If you've got any more questions let me know, I'll check back

01-26-2006, 04:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Nimetic Junkie Location: Melbourne, Australia	Yup. Ditto most of that I think. Definitely start with Lygon St, Brunswick St and Smith St. Brunswick St seems to be full of brand conscious funded teens these days. Smith St looks more grungy to the casual (occasional) observer. But heck - I don't get into the area too often. Melbourne is bloody hot right now also (it was 40-something Celsius yesterday) so bring hot weather clothes. And light jackets as our weather is fairly changeable. The heat sorta comes and goes. Oh. Commonwealth games are on soon. And yeah... Formula One around Easter. I'm not a motorhead, but it's still sorta interesting. Hmm. What else. Tennis is finishing. Football won't start for a bit. There're probably some surf events on. As I say, it's been hot. I'd get myself to the beach if possible. If Melb uni is like Monash uni... they ought to have a surf club. Maybe they'll have transport. Worth checking out anyways.

01-29-2006, 10:22 PM	#7 (permalink)
shazbotus Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	Ah, man. I wanna see some Aussie Rules, too. When does all of that start? Also, what is typical fashion in Melbourne? What do college students wear? I suppose I might stand out as an American if I wear what I wear here, though then again, jeans and a t-shirt is probably commonplace there, too. I know its a general question, but I was just curious. I also really want to try to make it over to New Zealand at some point, if possible.

01-30-2006, 08:08 AM	#8 (permalink)
Kostya Little known... Location: Brisbane, Australia	I dunno why, but for some reason you American students just stick out. There's just something about you guys, maybe it's the backpacks, I dunno, some x factor. We used to play a lot of 'Spot the Yank' at UQ, you could pick em at around 200-300 paces pretty easy.

01-30-2006, 11:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
shazbotus Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	Haha, that sucks. Well, I'll definitely be getting some University of Melbourne shirts or something as keepsakes. Maybe wearing one of those would not make me stick out as much...though then again, maybe that would make me stick out even more. Also, what are some slang terms I should probably know about, especially, what are short names for the university? I've seen UniMelb, but maybe that's not actually used. Eh, whatever, these posts are getting too picky.

01-30-2006, 07:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
Latch In Your Dreams Location: City of Lights	Yeah, wearing a uni shirt will probably make you stand out more Short names? Everything's shortened.. afternoon is arvo.. sunglasses are sunnies.. surfers are surfies.. mcdonalds is maccas... university is uni.. there are a million. You'll pick them up. Good luck heh.

02-12-2006, 01:34 PM	#12 (permalink)
frozenstellar Without Wings Location: Australia	ok, you're here for o week. good. you now have no excuse not to go to: SSS Pub Crawl: http://www.sssonline.org.au/v2event_pubcrawl.php its easier to pickup there than shooting fish in a barrel, its a proven fact. Unfortunately, i wont be there, i'm away during o week, but trust me... go on this pub crawl. cant tell ya shit about melbourne scene, i live in geelong and commute. Either way, i'll make sure that we catch up at uni sometime. I'm probably there 3 days a week. When I know i'll let ya know. until then, SSS PUB CRAWL!