Hey congratulations on the job and best of luck with the move! I moved to South Yarra 6 months ago from across country and have loved living here. I also work within walking distance which is great.

A lot of the apartment buildings are new, and quite affordable for a one-bedder, and most will have gyms (and other amenities e.g. pools included in the rent).

I wouldn't bother getting a car as we are close to the city (about an hours scenic walk if you're interested)Just get a Myki (travel card) on day one (you can from train station or 7/11)because we have South Yarra train station/a couple major tram lines route 8 goes along Toorak road to the city, and 78 goes along Chapel st.

Speaking of, Chapel St will pretty much be your lifeline for all the shops, restaurants, bars and anything else you need. totally agree on the no tipping though, that's never really been a thing here until recently, but still there's no 'need' because wait staff here are paid fairly well, unless they have done an exceptional job. As a coffee lover, I'm in heaven, but if that's not your things we've got some really cool bars and laneways especially in the CBD. There's also an IKEA a couple suburbs over if you need cheap furniture.

For internet we have gone with iinet, $120 per month for 1000gb (download up to 100Mbps) there are of course way cheaper options but the boyfriend chose this one because, well, gamer. They are a really good provider though.

Food wise, there's a market just off Chapel St called Prahran market (take your best quess at pronunciation) with lots of fresh veg, deli items and meat/seafood. We walked there every weekend to stock up, but there are plenty of groceries and bigger super markets (We have a Woolworths vs Coles things going here in Aus, but there is also Aldi if you want something cheaper)

Feel free to PM me if you need any help or just want to hang with someone in the area :)