Living in CBD/Docklands

image: Courtesy of Google images

rent is expensive in the city. Image: courtesy of Google images

This area is so close to RMIT City campuses that it is just easy to walk and not spend a cent of public transport unless you are really lazy or need to get to somewhere outside of the city.
Lots and lots of coffee shops live here. Also there is Chinatown and lots of Chinese, Malaysian and Japanese places. Not so much Indian or Italian places. All the Italian places here are expensive as. There is a Greek Precinct full of cheap and expensive Greek eats.
There's lots of free events almost every weekend in the city whether it would be shopping, dining or at Federation Square. Also Melbourne Musuem and Art Gallery are free for students to enter and wander around. There is the Sunday Art Markets on every Sunday.
Docklands is a nice area to walk around in and relax and dine in but that is about it. Unless of course you count Harbour town shopping center which looks really isolated. That and the unfinished Southern star wheel. It is easy to get to on the free city circle tram which services Docklands and NewQuay. There are a few events going on in Docklands

The pros:
Getting to Uni is a breeze. No more excuses for being late to class
Queen Victoria Market is a short walk away and you can buy all of your foodstuffs for dirt cheap prices on the days that they are opened
Lots of activity
Lots of boats in Docklands and nice areas to relax in.

The cons:
Living in the city and NewQuay is really expensive and part time jobs might not be able to cover all of the rent.
Some of the cheaper places like UniLodge have really bad security there. I have had a friend whose stuff got stolen from her room. I have once lost a key.
There is a few Greek places in the city, but not as many as the Asian places in the city.
Dining in Docklands is really expensive, but in the city it is cheap.

Phone plans and which ones are good for you

image: Courtesy of Google images

Students its so easy to spend a lot of money on a phone without realising it. The best way to go is to get a pre paid phone where there are no monthly bills, no contracts etc. Another advantage is that you can bring your mobile handset from home and just buy a SIM for $2 and you can easily buy recharges in $30, $50, $100. Some atms also sell recharges, hence it is easy to recharge your phone. Some department stores do have specials if you buy your recharges from them.

1) Telstra- wide coverage and cheap rates. they do have international calling rates from as little as $0.15 per minute. They also have great broadband too

2) Optus- they don't have great coverage in regional areas but they do have some good caps if you live in the CBD area with 500 mb of data. And they always have freebies for their customers if you recharge

3) vodaphone= no good. People have complained of the bad coverage and the very expensive calls. On really hot days their coverage completely blacks out.

4) 3- they are just as bad as vodaphone

5) Dodo- I have two free giveways sims. Leave a comment below and we'll draw the two winners at the end of the month. The recipients must be new International students who will study at RMIT in Melbourne

A culinary tour of Melbourne

Hey students, did you know that Melbourne has so much to choose from? Yes there is heaps to choose from so you really don't need to bring a lot of food into Melbourne. Here's the lowdown.

image: Courtesy of Google images

 

image: Courtesy of Google images

Italian:
Lygon st has a lot of good places but the one that I've found so far which has the best pasta is Donellis. They do their pasta handmade so you pay for the ambiance of being in real Italy and for the food.
French- there's a fair few options in the city but they are all pretty pricey for small serves.

Indian- quite a few options in the city, but there are much better options in places like Dandenong and Springvale.

Vietnamese- there isn't a lot of that in the city, but there are heaps and heaps of good places in Richmond and Footscray.

Greek- Lonsdale st has a lot of greek food there. Here they are pretty pricey and are only to be enjoyed on special occasions ie: birthday.
But Stalactites is worth mentioning for their Souvlakis and their late night suppers.

Chinese- There's so many to choose from but what I liked is Shanghai dumpling house. Almost all the Chinese Restaurants are in Chinatown in the city.
In the suburbs it would have to be Box Hill and Richmond.

Taiwanese- Dessert story has the best desserts in Melbourne.

Malaysian- Chillipadi Mamak Kopitiam has the best cendol and roti. They even showed everyone how to make roti at one of the Malaysia festivals.
There's heaps of Malaysian places in Melbourne all of which cater for students.

Japanese- I'm yet to find the best one... but the ones that I went to are just ok.

Turkish- there isn't much options in the city but there are heaps of options in Brunswick and Coburg. The Borek Bakehouse and Queen Victoria market has some good Turkish food.

Lebanese- the only Lebanese place that I have found is in Brunswick and Coburg

Moving houses- your first time in Australia and what to expect.

So you have done almost all the paperwork, paid the bond, had your interviews and mainly got yourself a place. But now here's the other part: you need to move in. But what do you need to do to settle into your new place?

1) The legalities between you and your landlord.
1a) The condition report- this is a legal document which the landlord must hand you and you fill this out and return it to them. Answer everything truthfully or otherwise later on they might claim that you damaged their stuff when you did not (it was there in the first place). Its a good idea to take photographs of everything as this will assist you in filling out the report.

1b) The renters guide and the house keys. The landlord must give you these or otherwise there is a $500 fine if you didn't receive it from them. The renters guide explains your rights and responsibilities as a tenant

2) Meet up with your flatmates.
You could go out for coffee somewhere. The idea for this meeting is to have a friendly chat about them and you. You get to see what they are really like.
Some questions to ask them are:
1) What is your study habits like?
2) What sort of a person are you?
3) What are the house rules?
4) How are the bills paid?
5) What sort of things apart from clothes do I need to bring?
6) Are the meals shared? Or do I just cook my own?
7) Is there a house kitty where people contribute for items like milk and bread and cleaning things?

Tell them a bit about yourself too (if you can).

3) What to bring
Bring your clothes, passport (and other documents that you need), study materials (not textbooks but stationery), calendar, sheets, towels, shoes, personal things and maybe things for the kitchen (if you need them- but just check first).

4) Connecting utilities
 A good question to ask your flatmates is: are the utilities connected? If not you'll have to arrange to have them connected. The water, gas, electricity and telephone companies all charge a fee to have the utilities connected. This can take days for it to be connected.

I hope that this article helps. Good luck in moving into a house for the first time in Melbourne.
 

Eating our way around the city

Picture of Degraves st in the city where some of the fun happens

Love to explore the city? Then here are a few good dining options that won't break the bank
1) Chinatown- love or hate it this is one of the best places to have cheap meals. There is always something to satisfy everyone's cravings. And you'll feel really full for a cheap price.

2) Swanston st- here it has a lot of cheap eats some of which are good and some of which are not so good.

3) Hardware lane
It is here in the city that offers fine Italian dining and in a lovely al fresco setting. Most options veer around the $20 mark, but if you come for lunch it is cheaper. I love Campari house.

4) South Wharf and Crown casino
Crown casino and that part of town is pretty pricey and this is where all the fine dining action happens from Koko to Nobu at Crown. Hence this really only is for special occassions such as New Years eve.
We love the The Wharf hotel which is just on the banks of the Yarra river. It is here that they have $15 lunch deals as well asmonthly members parties

5) Fed Square and Southgate.
Southgate has plenty of decemt options for lunch and dinner, but make sure that you avoid La camera and the food court. Miyako has decent Japanese far but not at student friendly prices. Its more geared towards the fine dining end. But its good for special occassions like New year's eve or a birthday. On New Year's eve there are many dining specials here and you get to see the fireworks for free.

Othello is not too bad though for greek.
There are always events almost every weekend at Fed Square. Fed square doesn't have a lot of dining options but They do have a lovely little beer garden.

6) Degraves lane- it may look creepy but surprisngly it has some of the cheapest options for dining. I love gazing at the artwork in the lane.
I love Roule Galette and all the cheap dining options in the lane.

7) The Vic Markets- its cheap but really good. Everything here is homemade. You can definately buy meals for under $10 and its really close to RMIT

Got a favourite place to eat? Tell us below.