What do I need to know about Australia?

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

One thing... practical.

Sydney is expensive, especially if you want to live near anything... nice.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Melbourne of course being founded by uptight, self-righteous windbags.

You want to have fun, stay in Sydney. You want to feel superior (or at least try) go to Melbourne.

Oh and for the LOVE OF GOD! do not support Manly?!

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Melbourne of course being founded by uptight, self-righteous windbags.

With a perchant for easy-to-navigate street layouts and sewage.

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If you want to have fun, go to Sydney...for a weekend. If you want to have fun, go to Melbourne for a weekend.

If you want to have a better lifestyle in a nicer city with deeper cultural and sporting heritage, a booming city with a great economy, go to Melbourne...unless you prefer hyper-expensive, poseur cities in which if you don't live on the water you aren't even a consideration. Then, go for Sydney, just make sure those sunglasses cost at least $350.

That makes my over-generalisation of Melbourne look reasonable.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Well, thank you all for the info and opinions, but there is roughly zero chance of me relocating to Melbourne.  I'll be working for the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Epping (a Sydney suburb), and they don't have any alternative location in Melbourne.

Epping is a nice area, I grew up about 15 mins down the road.

A lot of students due to Macquarie Uni - shouldn't be too difficult a place to live. Plus you can get the express trains into the City.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Epping is a nice area, I grew up about 15 mins down the road.

Cool.  I don't suppose you have any specific recommendations on places to live in that area?  I'm going to have to find an apartment there, and I don't know where to start looking.  None of the websites that I would go to to look for apartments in the US cover Australia.  If you don't know of a specific location, any ideas on where to go on the web to look?

www.realestate.com.au
www.flatmates.com.au

Epping itself, there's Eastwood, Marsfield. Given Epping is on the major northern train line you can look a little further afield (like 10-15 commute) - Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, Hornsby (the main major shopping area... where I'll in fact be going in about 30 mins).

It's Sydney - so finding a place on your own might be expensive - finding a place to share should be pretty economical. Perhaps where you're getting the fellowship might have people there who need house/flat mates.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Fiji lives and breathes for tourism - no matter how Bat-s**t insane some of those military leaders are - they aren't going to touch an airport.

Did you check through studentuniverse.com I always managed to ger really good flights - and found a flight for a friend to get back to the UK for christmas for $700