Australia - New Zealand - aussie help needed!!

hey everyone (or should i say mates?),

i will be attending the university of melbourne this upcoming year and was wondering if anyone on these forums could offer me some help, since it's incredibly difficult to set up things like housing from here in the states.

i was hoping to look for a bike friendly neighborhood close to campus and think i might have found one option in Carlton, Victoria. does anyone on these forums know of that area? housing is going fast and im kind of in a crunch.

also, if anyone knows of anything for rent elsewhere around the university id greatly appreciate it. id be willing to pay anyone like 50 dollars or something if they could help me find something as well. alright thanks everyone.

-steve

Carlton is quite close to UniMelb and many students live there. It's one of those old, cramped, densely populated inner-suburbs that are full of over-packed terrace-houses. If you have dreadlocks, play accoustic guitar and ride a fixie, you'll fit right in ...

... yeah, I'm exaggerating a little; but not all that much. There are really nice parts of Carlton that property investors have bought and prettied up a lot, but unless you're coming to Melbourne to do your doctorate and are already rolling in the dough, I'd guess you're going to end up in a student share-house.

Providing you're not OCD, or averse to beer, you're going to have the time of your life. Get in fast on that housing though; as you'd expect, the nicer places go first.

A little bit further north is Brunswick, from which it is easy to get on the tram right to the door of Melbourne Uni. This is a bit more of an affordable area (or was when I was there). Also, it's possible to cycle across Royal Park and onto Royal Parade, right to Uni. Take a look at the link:

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?#t=l&map=-37.7913,144.96127|15|4&loc=AU:-37.76637:144.96127:14|brunswick|BRUNSWICK%20VIC

Suburbs you should be looking at include Carlton, Parkville, Brunswick, Fitzroy, North Fitzroy. Also North Melbourne and West Melbourne but these are less vibrant. Carlton and Parkville can be quite expensive, but not always. Go for a house close to Lygon St, Brunswick St (south of Alexandra Pde if possible); or Rathdowne St; or Sydney Road/Queens Pde. Also OK for transport is close to Flemington Rd if you go for the west side option (cheaper, less interesting, prob. nicer house for the money).

There is an oversupply of high rise appartments in the city and the Docklands area. Look at locations in the city as well. Again, prob. not as interesting as Carlton or Fitzroy.

Melbourne Uni has residential colleges you could look at (frat house equivalent, I guess) and also look at the Student Union to see what accommodation they can help you with. Do a search via the main university page.

www.realestate.com.au is a good site if looking for rental properties. It won't help you with share houses, though.

Melbourne is good to get around by bike especially in the area you are looking at. Bike security is a big issue in the city and on campus, don't ride anything too bling until you know your way around.