Budgeting!

In case you're figuring out your budget for the trip, some of this information might be helpful! Read on...

Here's an estimate of various grocery costs for Australia:
http://www.livingin-australia.com/prices-australia/

And general cost of living advice for Victoria (that's the state in which Melbourne is located):
http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/living-in-victoria/cost-of-living

And the exchange rates for 2009:
http://www.x-rates.com/d/AUD/USD/hist2009.html

And for 2010 so far:
http://www.x-rates.com/d/AUD/USD/hist2010.html

And then this is just for fun, and not really related to budgeting:
http://www.australiafacts.org/

Profiles of Melbourne!

Here are a few online profiles of Melbourne, so we can begin to get better acquainted from here. Of course, I reckon profiles usually tell us as much about the people writing them as they
do about the places they're writing about, so compare the following and see if you can triangulate some sort of picture of the city for yourself!

http://www.livingin-australia.com/melbourne-profile/

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/MelbourneProfile/Pages/MelbourneProfile.aspx

In contrast to the official profiles above, here's a blog by someone who lives in Melbourne. Of course, it bears the author's biases, so in this case it often revolves around shopping (which I don't do) and fine dining (which I can't afford), but it does cover a variety of things, from local music to restaurants to street art to trams (that's "cable car" or "light rail" to you); the entries below are specifically meant to introduce strangers to Melbourne characters:

http://ifoundyouinmelbourne.blogspot.com/search/label/melbourne%20dossier

And there are heaps more on the web. Of course, you can also just ask Emily and me. We'll tell you the most important thing you need to know: Melbourne is one of the greatest cities on earth!

Interesting Links - Media Sources

Major Melbourne Newspapers

Melbourne's broadsheet newspaper, The Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/

Melbourne's "tabloid" newspaper, the Herald Sun:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/

Australia's only national newspaper, The Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Some Television and Radio Stations

Australia's national broadcaster (television and radio), the ABC:
http://www.abc.net.au/

Australia's multicultural and multilingual broadcaster (television and radio), SBS: http://www.sbs.com.au/

Australia's new music radio station, TripleJ (part of the ABC):
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/

Melbourne's independent radio station, Triple R:
http://www.rrr.org.au/

A Few Magazines

A national, left-leaning monthly national magazine of Australian politics, society, and culture, The Monthly:
http://www.themonthly.com.au/

A monthly national magazine with a more conservative bent, Quadrant:
http://www.quadrant.org.au/pages/about-us

A Melbourne-based national quarterly magazine of arts and ideas, Meanjin:
http://meanjin.com.au/

Australia is renowned (reviled?) for its many gossip magazines (classified as "women's" magazines). For something at the better end of the scale - Australia's version of People, Who magazine:
http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/who/

Bicycling in Melbourne

Melbourne is a great city for cycling, with relatively broad, flat streets. For those of you who asked about bicycle hire in Melbourne, I have found out the following:

By the time we are there, Melbourne will have joined the ranks of cities including Paris, Amsterdam, and London that have public bicycle schemes. This will be an inexpensive option for short trips around town but, because it is designed for frequent, short-term use, it will be expensive for anything longer than an hour or two. Keep an eye on this link for developments (the bikes are currently being shipped from Montreal, and should arrive in Melbourne any day).
http://www.melbournebikeshare.com.au/

Other rental companies:
Rentabike @ Federation Square:Based right in the city. Rates include helmets (compulsory) and locks if required as well as a map and sunscreen, plus a handlebar bag with spare tube and pump. http://www.rentabike.net.au/

The Humble Vintage offers classic and vintage bikes, and convenient locations: http://www.thehumblevintage.com/info.html

Other information:
Bicycle Victoria, a community-based non-profit offers information and assistance, including cycling maps around Melbourne: http://www.bv.com.au/

We’ll let you know what we find out about bike co-ops and stores from our spies on the ground.

Bottom line: If you plan on riding often, it might be cheapest and easiest to bring your own helmet and pump and purchase a second-hand bike for the duration of your stay.