Moving to Melbourne is exciting, but getting used to a new city can take time. From finding your way around and understanding the job market to discovering where to eat, study and spend your weekends, there is a lot to figure out.
To help make the transition a little easier, we have put together a selection of Melbourne-based creators who share practical insights into migration, international student life, careers, lifestyle, food and travel. Each creator offers a different perspective, giving newcomers a more realistic picture of what everyday life in Melbourne and Australia is actually like.
1. Aneel Khowaja
For anyone trying to understand Australian migration, Aneel Khowaja shares practical content around the questions migrants and international students often face.
Aneel is the CEO and Co-Founder of Think Higher Consultants and a Registered Migration Agent with OMARA, MARN 1571699. His work spans Australian migration and international education, and he regularly discusses visa options, migration pathways and common questions through immigration-focused Q&A content.
His content is particularly useful for people whose plans go beyond simply settling into Melbourne and involve decisions about visas, skilled migration, study pathways or building a longer-term future in Australia.
2. Sonia Aneel
Sonia Aneel brings a more personal and lifestyle-focused perspective to the list. Her social media content blends everyday life, personal growth and brand collaborations, while her professional work keeps her closely connected with international education and Australian migration services. This gives her audience a mix of lifestyle content and a more relatable view of life in Melbourne.
Sonia is also the Co-Founder and General Manager of Think Higher Consultants, where she is involved in operational leadership, team development and service delivery.
For people starting a new chapter in Australia, her content offers a broader perspective by bringing together lifestyle, education and migration guidance in one place.
3. Bianca Ling
When you are new to Melbourne, finding good places to eat, visit or explore can quickly turn into hours of scrolling through Google and TikTok. Bianca Ling, known as Bianca in Melbourne, makes that search much easier.
She creates content around Melbourne’s food, local experiences, people and places worth discovering, and is also part of Lonely Planet’s correspondent network for Melbourne.
Her content is especially useful if you want to look beyond the major tourist attractions and discover more of what locals actually enjoy.
From cafés and restaurants to events, neighbourhood spots and weekend ideas, her content can help you start exploring Melbourne like a local.
4. Nathan Sawaya
Australia has much more to explore beyond the suburb you live, work or study in, and Nathan Sawaya is a great creator to follow when you want to see more of the country.
Nathan is a Melbourne-based travel photographer and the creator behind Nathsway. He started the account in 2020 and left his marketing career in 2022 to focus more seriously on travel and content creation. His work features Australian destinations, road trips, hiking, landscapes and outdoor experiences.
For newcomers to Melbourne, his content is especially useful when you have a free weekend or a few days off and want ideas for places to explore beyond the CBD.
5. Claire
Melbourne is famous for its food culture, and Claire from eatswithclaire is a useful creator to follow if you want to explore it properly.
Her content covers food and travel across Melbourne and Sydney, including new restaurant openings, popular cafés, desserts, local favourites and places getting attention online. She also works with brands, with public campaign records showing collaborations with companies such as Coca-Cola Australia.
For students and migrants who are new to Melbourne, food content can be a simple way to discover the city. Following restaurant recommendations can lead you into new suburbs, introduce you to different communities and give you easy ideas for places to catch up with friends.
6. Stephanie Xanthopoulos
Stephanie Xanthopoulos is a Melbourne-based travel and lifestyle creator who has been sharing her experiences since 2013. Her content focuses on exploring Melbourne and destinations across Australia, with plenty of hidden gems, food spots and memorable local experiences.
She has also worked on a range of brand and tourism-related collaborations across travel, hospitality, entertainment and lifestyle, with public creator profiles highlighting food, luxury and travel as some of her key areas.
For someone new to Australia, Stephanie’s content is a useful source of inspiration for day trips, weekend plans and places beyond the usual tourist attractions. It can help you discover more of Melbourne while also giving you ideas for exploring other parts of Australia.
7. Steph
Steph, whose full name is Stephanie Rose Didolis, is a Melbourne-based food, travel and lifestyle creator behind Girl About Melbourne. Her content focuses on Melbourne restaurants, hotels, attractions and local experiences.
She has also worked with brands through sponsored collaborations, including campaigns with Chobani, while continuing to share her own opinions and recommendations with a predominantly Australian audience.
For someone new to Melbourne, Steph’s content can be useful for finding places to eat, things to do, weekend activities, hotels and local experiences without having to discover everything from scratch.
8. Pallavi Bhimte
Pallavi Bhimte is one of the creators on this list whose experience connects particularly well with international students.
She is based in Melbourne and works professionally in data and machine learning. Her creator profile describes her content as helping students and early-career professionals move into AI and develop careers in Australia, while also sharing her own journey from international student to Australian permanent resident.
For students who are already thinking about what happens after graduation, her career-focused content adds something different to the usual lifestyle feed.
9. Connie
If Melbourne food has become part of your weekend plans, Connie from Foodie or Fatty deserves a place in your feed too.
Connie is a Melbourne-based creator and full-time doctor whose content focuses on food, reviews and lifestyle. She has been active in Melbourne's food-content scene for years and covers everything from popular restaurants to less obvious local finds.
Her feed is another easy way for newcomers to discover Melbourne one restaurant — and one suburb — at a time.
10. Mrinaal Datt
Moving to a new country is not only about visas, work and paperwork. For many people, one of the biggest challenges is finding a sense of belonging.
Mrinaal Datt is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and creator who founded Indian Women Abroad, a platform sharing stories of Indian women building lives outside India. The project grew from conversations within the Indian diaspora in Melbourne and explores topics such as identity, careers, culture and belonging.
For migrants balancing connections to home with the life they are building in Australia, her content offers a thoughtful and relatable perspective on that experience.
What Can These Melbourne Creators Actually Help You With?
Following a mix of creators can make the transition to Melbourne easier because each one offers a different kind of perspective. Instead of relying on one source for everything, newcomers can follow people who match the part of Australian life they want to understand better.
Some useful areas include:
- Migration and education: Aneel Khowaja shares professional information relevant to students and migrants.
- Careers after study: Pallavi Bhimte brings first-hand experience of moving from international student life into a professional career in Australia.
- Exploring Melbourne: Bianca Ling, Stephanie Xanthopoulos and Steph from Girl About Melbourne share local places, activities and experiences around the city.
- Travel and outdoor life: Nathan Sawaya offers ideas for exploring Victoria and other parts of Australia.
- Food and local culture: Claire and Connie help followers discover restaurants, cafés and different parts of Melbourne through food.
- Long-term settlement and identity: Kartik Sangani and Mrinaal Datt cover themes such as property, lifestyle, culture, careers and belonging.
Together, these creators can give newcomers a broader understanding of life in Australia beyond visas and study, including how to explore the city, build a career, connect with local culture and gradually settle into everyday life.
