The Darkly Dreaming Melbourne

If you ask me to describe Melbourne in three words, they would be COLD, WET, and GLOOMY. The weather here is absolutely unpredictable. The phrase “four seasons in one day” is part of pop culture and observed by many visitors to the city (particularly me) . Winter in the morning when it is extremely wet and cold, then becomes real hot at noon and windy in the evening. The reason because Melbourne has a moderate oceanic climate and its location is on the boundary of the very hot inland areas and the cold southern ocean. Therefore, Melbourne is vulnerable to all sorts of severe weather hazards from thunderstorms, heavy rain to hail.







Melbourne might has the worst weather but don't think for one second that it is a boring place. Melbourne is the capital and the largest city of the state of Victoria, and the 2nd most populous city in Australia where 4.137 million of people are resided. Melbourne was ranked as the world's most liveable city in the World's Most Livable Cities ratings by the Economist Group's Intelligence Unit in August, 2011. It was also ranked in the top ten Global University Cities by RMIT's Global University Cities Index, and the top 20 Global Innovation Cities by the Global Innovation Agency (since 2007). The metropolis is also home to the world's largest tram network. The urban architecture of this city is very rich of diversity and a fantastic melting pot of various architectural backgrounds. It is obvious to observe the old Victorian buildings to modern and environmental friendly new buildings where photovoltaics are proliferating on roofs.

I have been to San Francisco a few years ago and Melbourne really reminds me of the beloved Frisco. It's Melbourne's architectural, urban life, climate, tram system (or cable car) and its unique high elevation roads make the similitudes between the two cities becomes more obvious. There is no doubt that San Fran also has an oceanic climate and is home to the melting pot of various architectural styles. However, the most significant similarities are the public transport system and the amazing urban life. In San Francisco, you can travel around the city by the cable cars those run along very steep boulevards and so does Melbourne's. The City Circle in Melbourne is free and a little bit more modern than the one in San Francisco. In addition, Melbourne and San Francisco both have very good university neighborhood where you can find prestigious universities such as Melbourne Uni, and Monash (in Melbourne) or UCB, UCSF (in San Francisco). The last but not the least - urban life. Not far away from the metropolis there are Fritzroy and Brunswick St where a lot of bars and clubs situated. You can find the same place with the same characteristics named Castro in Frisco, however Castro Town is famous for its LGBT community.







San Francisco City Hall





Royal Exhibition Building (where I usually sit for exams)






Cable Car in San Francisco





Tram in Melbourne

In the next couple of days, my new university experience will start and sure there is much more thing for me to talk about in this blog.