Re: Australia
A great deal of it is about where you go. There's one Hungry Jack's (Burger King) where there has been four stabbings this year alone. Knife crime is a problem in Melbourne, but unfortunately the government is focussing their police efforts on things like cracking down on ecstasy and weed. It's the result of an inept government's failed attempts at crime prevention. I'd say our police force is okay, active and present, but all resources are being misplaced.
With regards to safety in numbers, don't be so sure. Because oftentimes, their numbers are greater.
Another thing about Melbourne: our public transport system is horrible. I've compared it to those of London, Paris, New York, San Francisco and Calgary, and Melbourne fails every time. They operate on two ticketing systems for metropolitan transport: the older Metcards, which were working fine, and myki. God, how I hate myki. In theory, it should work like the ticketing systems in London and Singapore: you put money on it, and deduct it as you travel. However, it's taken years and billions of dollars to get it into place, and a large number of buses still have ones that don't work.
I'm sticking with the Metcard as long as I can. Metcard goes across two zones. One, which is the city and the inner suburbs, and two, which goes out to the outer suburbs. Any further, say to Ballarat, requires a V/Line ticket. More expensive, but compared to the cost of getting between London and Manchester, it's minuscule.
There are a few different kinds of Metcard; the two most common being a daily and 2-hour. Daily is self-explanatory: it is valid for the entirety of the day you validate it* (with an exception, see below). 2-hour will last for two hours from the next hour after you validate it. So if you validate at 1:30, it will roll over and be valid until 4. If you can validate right after the hour, you essentially get a three hour ticket.
After 6 PM, 2-hour tickets change to last until 3 AM. So obviously, when traveling after 6, always get the 2-hour. *Also, because of this system that the day lasts until 3 AM, never validate a daily ticket between midnight and 3 AM. Because their 'day' lasts until 3 AM, your daily ticket will have expired yesterday. I shit you not.
Do international folks get concession entitlement? I need to look into that. Effectively, it means you get some things cheaper. Sorry about all the rambling about public transport; as you can tell, I use it very often.
Originally Posted by Oslo
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