Is There Anything Good About Melbourne?

[Parra]

Meanwhile, I've been in Victoria for over 30 hours and have yet to see the sun. :lol: Is this par for the course?

Turned up this arvo. Beautiful.

If they see blue sky two days in a row down here they feel that Gaia has been angered and they need to make amends.

As an outsider, the only road here that gives me grief is Punt Road. I'm sure there is a typo in that name. Avoid.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

As an outsider, the only road here that gives me grief is Punt Road. I'm sure there is a typo in that name. Avoid.

I C.

 

[Lambretta]

And your point is....

There are 10,000 better beers than Tooheys New at Dan Murphy's

If you're a lager man I would start drinking Pilsner
It's a more flavoursome and awesome version of the beer, but not so alien that you'll be put off

Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic is the original pilsner and among the best examples of the beer. Dan's sells that

Unfortunately the best Pilsner is Squires 4 Wives but Dan's doesn't stock that one

Australian Brewery "The Pilsner" is awesome, but it seems Dan's only sells that in cans. Still, I'd take a can of "The Pilsner" over Tooheys any day of the week.

Coopers do a Pilsner called 62 - it's probably closer to lager than most Pilsners, but that probably suits your tastes and is well worth checking out

But yeah - time to widen your horizon and try something else mate

 

[Lambretta]

Rowville

You will soon hate Springvale Road and Canterbury Road.

He already hates Canterbury in Sydney, so I see a unifying theme

 

[veggiepatch1959]

Canterbury Road in Sydney back in the 80s was the pits.

Springvale Road in Melbourne in 2015 is no different, except maybe three lanes compared to two.

City drivers seem to have the attitude of "let's race to the next red light". Foot flat to the floor or hard on the brakes...nothing in between.

Footnote: Yet to see the sun...after 86 hours here.

 

[Lambretta]

City drivers seem to have the attitude of "let's race to the next red light". Foot flat to the floor or hard on the brakes...nothing in between.

Footnote: Yet to see the sun...after 86 hours here.

I knew there was something else I loved about Melbourne that I hadn't remembered before and you just named them

 

[GW.]

GW here,

Melbourne driving is pretty flimsy. Whilst its structured Griderically, its a nightmare.

Everyone has a car and the roads are clogged.
And Punt Rd, when I first moved here I was wtf.

Tram lanes just go into the road, yeah no worries.

Its like driving through Balmain to get into the city whilst battling trams seamlessly going onto the road.

Avoid.

 

[Bulldog Force]

GW here,

Melbourne driving is pretty flimsy. Whilst its structured Griderically, its a nightmare.

Everyone has a car and the roads are clogged.
And Punt Rd, when I first moved here I was wtf.

Tram lanes just go into the road, yeah no worries.

Its like driving through Balmain to get into the city whilst battling trams seamlessly going onto the road.

Avoid.

One thing I've always said about the tram network in Melbourne (possibly other cities too, I haven't tried the light rail in Sydney yet), is that all traffic on the road must make way for the tram, and vice versa. In Europe, Amsterdam for example, the tram system they have there is integrated so well that one set of traffic lights applies to both cars and trams. Here, while the novelty in Melbourne might be unique to our culture, it's not integrated very well. I mean, need I say the 4 letter "H" word again?

 

[SpaceMonkey]

GW here,

Melbourne driving is pretty flimsy. Whilst its structured Griderically,

dude, stop making words up.

 

[madunit]

the Tram system is very simple and easy to work around once you've dealt with them for a week here.

So long as you have common sense.

Besides, unlike Sydney, there are plenty of alternate routes you can take to avoid trams, heavy traffic etc.

Tailgating isn't as commonplace in Melbourne as it is Sydney.

And the drivers aren't as aggressive and angry as they are in Brisbane.

 

[GW.]

People are just more chilled out and happier here in general I have noticed.

That's why I get embarrassed when people on this forum trash AFL and Melbourne, whereas people here are fascinated by Rugby League and pretend to be interested. And are curious about Sydney.

But what is with these hook turns?
Just doing my head in. Will be the death of me.

 

[Bulldog Force]

People are just more chilled out and happier here in general I have noticed.

That's why I get embarrassed when people on this forum trash AFL and Melbourne, whereas people here are fascinated by Rugby League and pretend to be interested. And are curious about Sydney.

But what is with these hook turns?
Just doing my head in. Will be the death of me.

I was in a cab in Melbourne 2 years ago. The cab in front of us was waiting in the hook turn lane, and as I understand it, they turn when the light turns orange. It did just this, and a car came screaming through the orange light hoping to get through before it turned read. Let's just say if the car that came screaming through didn't have ABS breaks, that cab would've been t-boned and there would've been 1 less cab driver in Melbourne today!

 

[Surrogate]

People are just more chilled out and happier here in general I have noticed.

That's why I get embarrassed when people on this forum trash AFL and Melbourne, whereas people here are fascinated by Rugby League and pretend to be interested. And are curious about Sydney.

But what is with these hook turns?
Just doing my head in. Will be the death of me.

They only apply in the city. One easy way to remember is that they always run parallel to tram tracks. If you want to turn right, park yourself on the left to allow traffic behind you to pass, wait for the green light to turn into your street.

 

[Lambretta]

I was in a cab in Melbourne 2 years ago. The cab in front of us was waiting in the hook turn lane, and as I understand it, they turn when the light turns orange. It did just this, and a car came screaming through the orange light hoping to get through before it turned read. Let's just say if the car that came screaming through didn't have ABS breaks, that cab would've been t-boned and there would've been 1 less cab driver in Melbourne today!

The taxi driver went EARLY - he did not understand how they work

The idea is you only go when the traffic travelling in the direction you want to go in NEXT gets the green light

Heading North and then turning EAST, you wait on the left side until all the North South traffic are on red and the EAST WEST traffic is green - you then proceed

It's not a difficult concept

(edit - as per diagram above from Surrogate)

 

[veggiepatch1959]

My observations so far...

Petrol is about 18-20 cents/litre cheaper here than in Bundaberg.

The traffic is psycho, especially during peak hours.

Groceries (Woolies, Coles, Aldi) are on par with Bundaberg. The local Aldi on Wellington Road has a different choice of fresh veggies and fruit, understandably. At least I can go the back streets to get there.

Beer, wine and spirits prices seem on par at bottle shops. But $6 for a schooner of Carlton Draught at the Mulgrave Country Club is a bit steep. Get Tooheys New at Bundaberg for $4.40 or $3.50 on a Saturday arvo in the Sports Bar.

Tip prices....FMD!!! The Knox City transfer station charges $75 for a LEVEL box trailer load! Bundaberg Regional Council charges $10 for a box trailer load filled as high as you want.

You have to register cats?? We have two, as well as three dogs. What's next? Register goldfish, budgies and canaries? Must be the richest council in the country!!

I thought Queensland was backwards when it come to horseracing websites and venue operated consoles. I cannot find a way to research previous results....yet. At least setting up an online account seems easy enough. I might be a bit harsh but I suppose I'm used to things being easy.

People here seem generally friendly but there's some weird f**kers walking around here. Had some really dark African fellow walk towards me yesterday at Stud Park shops wearing a balaclava! He had the look of fear in his eyes. I said two words to him..."f**king terrorist!!" His look changed to absolute horror and scared. Suspicious looking is all I can say.

The weather. The cold I don't mind having lived on Jervis Bay NSW for over 20 years from 1989 to 2007. It's just this constant dampness...nothing ever dries out. Bring on Spring and Summer.

 

[veggiepatch1959]

A couple of things I forgot.

At least I can watch NRL on FTA Channel Nein Gem. Haven't installed Foxtel yet.

What's with these pissy little 120 litre Sulo bins for general rubbish? We have 240 litre ones for green waste and recycling but Knox City Council says to have the larger bin, the rates will increase. WTF!! We are actually renting at the moment for $565/week. Great house but the entry report will scare the real estate. I refuse to cook in the oven....it's an absolute mess. Thankfully I have a new beaut BBQ.

 

[madunit]

Summer is very very dry here. f**k all humidity compared to anything in qld.

 

[Parra]

Summer in Melbourne is great. Hook Turns are ridiculous. They were invented by someone who hates pedestrians, cyclists and moving traffic. Just how many cars did the genius think could fit across two lanes?

 

[Surrogate]

The Sudanese Africans are darker than the aborigines. They have a smooth velvety jet black complexion and because there are so few of them they tend to stand out. Don't judge a book by its cover.

 

[Jatz Crackers]

Lets introduce Brisbane to the equation, just to muddy the waters and diversify the debate.