Melbourne is often regarded as an artistic city that’s filled with captivating contradictions and endless opportunities. This eclectic city is decorated with an array of cafes, restaurants, bars and museums. Melbourne is also a melting pot of various cultures. Walking through the streets of the Melbourne CBD, you can expect to see faces from all over the world, on top of a wide range of different cultural and artistic events all throughout the year.
Melbourne also happens to be one of the most sought-after destinations for international students in Australia. For those of you who are thinking of studying in Melbourne, you’ll be happy to hear that spending a year here can be an unforgettable experience, filled with enriching opportunities for personal growth and exploration.
Before you visit Australia’s Garden City, however, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that you’re prepared for the adventures ahead.
Plan your year wisely
First and foremost, you want to make sure that you’ll be making the absolute most of your year abroad in Melbourne. This means planning ahead – ideally with an intuitive personal planner like a Saint Belford 2024 diary. Starting your year abroad strong with an annual diary can help you stay on top of Melbourne’s rich events calendar.
As we mentioned, Melbourne is renowned for all of its various cultural and arts events, festivals, and sports activities, all of which are organised year-round. If you are planning to live in Victoria for a year, you’ll want to have a look at what’s on in Melbourne during your stay. Doing so can help ensure you don’t end up with a serious case of FOMO during your busy study schedule.
Seasons are inverted, and weather is unpredictable
Melbourne is a temperate city and as such, has four seasons in a one-year cycle just like most cities across Australia’s southern and eastern coasts. But unlike the northern hemisphere, Australian summers fall in December – not July. Melbourne has summers from December to February, gets a temporary respite from March to May, cools down from June to August, and welcomes spring in September. Imagine celebrating Christmas without snow!
But Melbourne is also notorious for its dramatic weather patterns, with veteran Melburnians asserting that the city can experience all four seasons in the span of one day. The weather can get particularly nippy in winter and spring, with increased rainfall and even hail or frost (but thankfully, never snow!).
With that, it’s recommended that you stock up on winter clothing, outerwear, and plenty of layers before making your move down to Melbourne.
Take public transport
The public transport system in Melbourne is well-developed, intricately connected, commodious and convenient to use. It can be a great way to get around and see so much more of the city than you could hope to see from the window of a taxi or an Uber.
We strongly recommend that new residents take buses, trains, and trams whenever the opportunity presents itself. That way, you can start to familiarise yourself with the grid layout of the Melbourne CBD as well as the other suburbs and regions that make up the wider metro Melbourne area.
The official public transport service provider for the state of Victoria is PTV or Public Transport Victoria. You can purchase Myki travel cards that can be topped up with money to pay for your bus, train, or tram fares. Remember to always keep your Myki card topped up as there are penalties for travelling without having paid your Myki fare. Myki cards can also be used for VLine or regional train services across Victoria, except for specialty services to the state’s outer regional townships. For these destinations, a pre-paid paper ticket with a higher fare may be required.
Engage with Melbourne’s Indigenous history
Another great way to enrich your Melbourne experience is to learn a little bit more about the region’s rich Indigenous history. Although Melbourne’s colonial history has been marred with conflict like many other nations across the globe, there has been a cultural shift amidst young Melburnians that has inspired them to reconnect with local Indigenous stories and history.
International citizens who are looking to rest their hat in Melbourne for a while are encouraged to engage with the region’s ancient Aboriginal or Indigenous history and participate in this cultural shift. Learn the Indigenous place names for all the Melbourne suburbs you work, study, or live in. And while you’re at it, why not learn some Indigenous words? ‘Wominjeka’ means ‘welcome’, and you’re likely to see it upon landing at the Melbourne airport.
Engaging with Indigenous history can not only help you feel more connected to your fellow Melburnians – it can also help you feel connected to the land you’re currently living on. And isn’t that the whole point of taking a year abroad?
Secure health insurance
If you are travelling to Melbourne for almost a year, it’s better to get your health insurance sorted as soon as possible. For instance, you can opt for Overseas Visitors Health Cover. OVHC is a health insurance provided by the Australian Government that is designed specifically for visitors to Australia who aren’t eligible to receive public healthcare services in Australia (i.e. Medicare).
Securing OVHC is vital to ensuring that you will be able to receive affordable medical treatment in the event that you fall ill or accrue an injury during your time living in Melbourne. Be sure to organise your OVHC alongside finalising your VISA.
Get a grasp of Melbourne road safety rules
Finally, if you’re looking to do any driving while you’re in Melbourne, it’s imperative that you start engaging with Victorian road safety rules as soon as possible. Remember that Australians drive on the left-hand side of the road and that all cars that you rent are likely to be right-hand drive vehicles. If you’re more familiar with sitting in the driver’s seat on the left-hand side, then it’s vital that you familiarise yourself with the flipped controls (i.e. windscreen wiper and indicator/blinker controls) before you start driving in busy traffic.
If you feel like you may need some driving assistance or even just some lessons before you hit the open road in a hire car, then consider securing driving sessions with a dedicated instructor before your first great Aussie road trip. And believe me, you’ll want to embark on your own road trip adventure in time. There’s just so much to see and do in regional Victoria, but also across Australia’s other states as well. And this island continent also happens to have an expansive network of regional highways to explore.
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The tips provided above can assist you in navigating the various eccentricities of Melbourne and experiencing every quirk that this city has to offer. Melbourne is an amazing amalgamation of modernisation, nature and urban wildlife. So don’t shy away from exploring this multicultural metropolis – try to immerse yourself in everything that makes Melbourne so unique. Be sure to check out our Melbourne travel ideas and recommendations.
