Moving to Oz!

Hey Y'all,

Arrived last Thursday after 9 fun days in Thailand. It's pretty chilly alright so I'm just glad I brought my favorite scarf! I've had it lucky, I've been crashing with friends for free and just found my self a room in an apartment owned by an Aussie guy of similar age in Elwood/St Kilda.. moving in later today actually :-)

Opening a Bank Account was so easy compared to the nightmare of London. Got 3 accounts set up with ANZ, a normal one, a saving one and a term deposit one as I am looking to stay here longer than my WHV (either through getting sponsored or going for the Skilled Worker Visa).

Anyway, great to be here, and even though I'm in St Kilda, all my friends are either Swedish or Aussie so to me it's not like what some people say.. although I walked by a new pub called 'The Craic' yesterday and walked in for the laugh and it was hillarious - guy playing Whiskey in the Jar and everyone gulping pints - in the middle of the arvo! :-) As long as I can watch a Dublin match in there it'll be grand though :-)

So, now to get a job...

oh, and anyone in St Kilda want to meet for a coffee? just pm me

Cheers

Hi folks, just seen the thread and thought i'd contribute something useless to it:D
just arrived a couple of weeks ago and melbourne has to be the most incredible city i've ever seen, and i'd consider myself very well travelled!
Congrats to anyone who took the plunge and made it over safely and to anyone else who is thinking about it -DO IT!!

A few tips for anyone coming out are to definitely pack a hoodie, not baltic conditions but pretty cold at night and days are akin to your average late spring day at home, nice when the sun comes out but stay out of the shade!! nighttime can be chilly too. Although some aussies tend to over exaggerate a bit by wearing ear-muffs, scarfs and leg warmers. I was happy enough walking around in tshirt and jeans although i was questioned by a few locals who thought i was insane!!

Transport around the city is second to none. so easy to navigate and use! No tips really here for that, even a boardsie could understand it!

There are a million things to do whether you are backpacking or moving with wife and kids etc and a huge Irish presence in st Kilda albeit most of them are young singletons living it up big time but its a great place to visit and get talking to "paddys" for plenty of advice on where to vist etc

Unless you are earning aus$ then drink can seem extortionate which may be why there isnt as huge a drinking culture as back home. $10 for a pint of guinness or beer!! Spirits are scarily priced too! although there are lots of places that do happy hours and deals on different nights of the weeks (hence why a fact-finding trip to the backpackers in st kilda pays dividends)


For anyone looking to stay long term and planning on long term rentals, my advice is to not expect too much too soon.I've been looking for months before we left and every day here, so finding a place could take a few weeks unless you get extremely lucky as the market is pretty cut throat due to demand exceeding supply. Also it can be pretty expensive to live inner city too and some of the properties look like they leapt from a time-warp from mid 80's, browny flowery walls and carpet and mahogony coloured wood everywhere although there are some nice new build and renovations popping up from time to time, Also photos can be very misleading- definitely wait to see a place in person before making any offers. i know of two people that put deposits on a house before they arrived and were horrified and disgusted at what the actual property looked like in real-life.

If anyone has any questions feel free to pm, also a boards.ie meet up would be pretty cool!

Great thread.

bigdogbarking, thanks for the useful info, will be arriving in Melbourne myself on 29th August. Have the hoodie ready to go in the rucksack

Have meeting lined up with an agency to do childcare work. Will be looking for a room in share house /apt. Hoping close to CBD but like you say depends on cost. Hope to god I can start work fairly fast, the crap euro exchange rate is worrying me a bit.

Would def be interested in a boards beers to help settle in!Jesus $10 for a beer! I actually hate beer, prefer wine, any chance that's cheap?!:p

Cupcake. wrote: »

Hello

I just received a large welcome pack with lots of info that would have been helpful to me a few weeks ago!....It may be of use to people moving over ....some of it is stating the very obvious..I've just put the renters section as a start.


Renter’s Checklist

1. Look through the popular rental property (domain.com.au and realestate.co.au) to see what properties are available in your price range
2. View properties
3. Carefully read your new lease, make sure Lease includes names and signatures of all tenants & the landlord. All parties should receive a copy.
4. If applicable ask your employer to take account of the rent in calculating you Living Away from Home allowance
5. Arrange utilities - telephone, electricity and gas – at your new property
6. Organise contents insurance to protect your personal belongings
7. Collect the keys to your new home. Make duplicates from the originals as needed
8. Check the new property’s condition report, noting any faults or pre-existing problems with the property, such as the condition of the carpets. This must be returned within 7 days
9. Find out when rubbish and recycling are collected.


For more rental tips, please see the following website:
• http://www.nsw.gov.au/moving.asp
• http://www.aussiemigrant.com

Arrange utilities

Electricity http://www.connectnow.com.au
Gas/electricity https://agl.com.au
Gas/electricity http://www.energy.com.au
Telephone http://www.telstra.com
Telephone http://optus.com.au

Furniture

Fantastic Furniture http://www.fantasticfurniture.com.au
Freedom http://www.freedom.com.au/
Harvey Norman http://www.harveynorman.com.au
Ikea http://www.ikea.com/

Electrical

Bing Lee http://www.binglee.com.au/
Harvey Norman http://www.harveynorman.com.au
Retravision http://www.retravision.com.au/

Good woman! I knew there was a reason I wait for updates from ya
6 Weeks til I'm on the way

bigdogbarking wrote: »

Cheap wine everywhere, you'll love it lol

The only reason i am heading back ,*Cough*

Great info guys,keep it coming....

Munster_Gal wrote: »

I have WAY too much stuff!!!!!
I need someone to pack my things for me and stop me from taking stuff that I really don't need!

That was me 2 weeks ago,i even managed to get the Christmas tree and the Frying pan in!
The removal guy just kept saying "Anymore?"
I just kept bringing it

Cupcake. wrote: »

Gregsor - Fair play haha love the christmas tree!!

Munster Gal - I was the same!! BUT Oz is a first world country so you'll be able to get stuff here even if it is a bit more expensive I always keep big items at the top of my suitcase and if needs be I'll wear them onto the plane!!...

An alternative would be to ship items...there's lots of threads on shipping...not sure how cost effective it is for small stuff...but worth a look maybe?

Did you get a job sorted Cupcake?
I'm trying to figure out what I need to bring with me for work wear!

Got my visa and my flights are booked- whooohoooo! How is everyone getting on???!

geminiii wrote: »

Got my visa and my flights are booked- whooohoooo! How is everyone getting on???!

Excitement!!! When are you travelling??

rightyabe wrote: »

Bags packed!!!

all set for wednesday night, leaving home at midnight for a 7:30 flight in Dublin.

Looking forward to it now but had a scare 2 weeks ago me girlfriend was in a fairly bad car accident, very lucky to still be alive! I'm starting to see things in a different light now, we're very lucky!!! Just going to treat it as an adventure now, as a trip in the back of a ambulance fairly gets your priorities in order!!!

Think we have friends picking us up at Perth airport when we land so feel better now and my dads cousin is meeting us the week after if we're still in the city:D

Looking forward to watching the Donegal game on the 28th, although I seen on Rosie O'Gradys website there now charging to get into watch GAA games due to demand:eek:

Jesus sorry to hear about the accident! Thank god ye're both ok! Best of luck with the trip! Make sure ya let us know how it all goes for ya

joanofarse wrote: »

Hi Guys, seen as ye are all almost ready to go, quick q for ye? Are any of ye heading to Australia on a 175 skilled visa? If so, did ye get a migration consultant to help with the getting of said visa? Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

IMO i think alot of people on this thread are on WHV's maybe i'm wrong. A migration consultant would be a good idea but I hear from other forums people also do it themselves and save a few €.

Try BritishExpats.com or Pomsinoz.com for more detail on Skilled visa's etc.

finishing work on friday and then have 2 weeks at home before setting off on the adventure...off to america roadtripping before hitting the north island for the end of the world cup and then onto Sydney...

am expecting to be pretty broke by the time i get there so all going well will pick up some work ok (in it/support...if anyone can advise it would be class!) but either way i seriously cant wait to get out there. i have talked about it for years and im 29 this year and just thought screw this lets get outta here for a while!!

whats peoples thoughts on settling in Sydney? was thinking (seeing as i will prob be broke) to settle for a few months there and then do the east coast and make a decision on doing the farm work for my second year visa...

either way its going to be epic i just want it to be 5pm on Friday!!

The new lonely planet east coast of Australia was released yesterday in case any of you are travelling the east coast. Extremely useful guide, I picked up a copy myself

13 days for me!!! :eek::D Thought I'd be more nervous by now, it'll probably hit me at the airport!!