10 days in to life in melbourne :)

Hello,

Thought I would fill everyone in on our adventure so far. We arrived last Wednesday after an absolute mammoth journey. The cheapest flight is not always the best. I couldn't fault Singapore airlines, however we left the UK at 11.30am on Monday and then arrived in Singapore at 7.20am on Tuesday. We had a 16 hour stopover, and then the last bit to Melbourne, arriving at 10.00am on Wednesday. What made it hard was being awake all the time. My advice do not book the long part of your flight in the day time. It has taken me till today to properly feel over the jet lag. Singapore airlines were great. We had managed to increase the baggage to 30kg (already validated in April so couldnt get 40kg). Overall we were 3kg over on checked in baggage and I dread to think how much the hand luggage weighed.

We got the star bus in to the city. Sky bus for those of you who have used it is great, however star bus is even better because for a couple more dollars they deliver you anywhere in the city.

OH had managed to secure a job before we left the UK and they supplied 1 month accommodation in the city. Happy days! We checked in, chilled for a bit and spent the rest of the day sorting tax file numbers and getting some groceries, etc. I know melbourne fairly well as have been 4-5 times before and OH has been twice before.

The next 4 days were crazy for me - I had 3 interviews with agencies and a 2 day first aid course. Since then OH has started work and is loving it. Less stressful than back home and fewer hours. The pay is not as good, but if it means we actually see each other more than once a week its all good. Back home he was doing a lot of 12-14 hour days +.

The agencies have all been good, and on my first interview I got offered a permanent job. That has never happened in the UK so I was a bit taken aback. The pay was good but not amazing, so over the last couple of days the agency has negotiated. I am going to visit the class for a couple of hours early next week and then make my final decision. Everything seems to be falling into place.

We have managed to get short term accommodation for when we move out of the apartment we are in. It was a mission to find something with 4-6 months, but we got there in the end. It is a professional house share, so not everyone's cup of tea. But as long as we feel settled in 6 months we would like to find somewhere permanent on our own, which will be around the right time for our stuff coming out of storage and being shipped over here.

The next plan is to find a car, which i think we are going to look at this weekend. Its a bit tricky whilst we are still in the city as no parking, unless you pay car park charges or move the car every 1-2 hours in the free parking bays (which is what i have spent the whole day doing today with a hire care - joys!)

It is quite likely that we are going to live outside of the city. Near Frankston, Carrum etc.. We could probably afford a studio apartment in the city, but would like to get a 3 bedroom house so we have space for visitors. If anyone is around to meet up in the city or down in the suburbs over the next few days/weeks/months give us a shout. We are in our early 30's.

As for costs of things, I cant comment on much just yet. But groceries don't seem too bad. There are some pricey items, for example, pizzas. However you can get a lot of special offers. One thing I noticed on here the other day was make up being pricey and I can agree with that, definitely bring some over with you. I went to the Queen Vic market to get meat and veggies this week and spent about $80. I have enough meat to last us both 10 'good' meals and veggies the same. For anyone who is interested in sat navs as well. (I am seriously rubbish at directions) I got a basic one for $98. It does the job fine and I got virtually the same one in the UK for £99.

I am looking forward to the next few weeks, and meeting more people, starting work, and getting settled. Think we are going to like it here. :biggrin:

Great update, it sounds like you have hit the ground running, well done

Hi Gemstone

Ive been in Melbourne 8 weeks now - what you have achieved so far is fab!

If you are free tomorrow then Ive oganised a meet up tomorrow at Wilsons Botanical Park in Berwick.

Maybe you could come along and say hi and tie it in with maybe looking at some properties and the area out that way.

You can find all the details at

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/victoria/164841-life-victoria-east-south-east-melbourne-meet-up-sat-13th-oct.html

Again well done - getting jobs so fast is great and makes you even more employable in the long run.

L x

Brilliant update! :biggrin: Thanks for sharing.

Many congrats on the job!

Jxxxx

Great update. Hope things continue to go smoothly.

Hi Gemstone

It's lovely to hear a positive story and I hope things continue to go well for you. We are moving to Perth in January and your story has made me feel better about the move. I'm interested to know what you think has helped you settle in so quickly?

Happycat

Thanks for all the replies. We are pretty happy with how it's all going.

Munchkinpie - sorry we didn't make it to Berwick had so many bits to sort out yesterday.

Happycat - I guess the things that have made it easier for us is being here a few times before. We didn't have to fnd our feet this time, knew where things were, etc. Also we contacted agencies, did relevant assessments for work, before we came out. For us we only got in contact around August time, when we were arriving in October. I had completed all the skill things I needed to do for teaching so the agencies were happy to listen, and OH company knew he was coming soon so could make plans rather than being too far in advance. That's what worked for us, but I guess different things work for different people. We were very lucky to get month accommodation with company as that was getting a bit tricky near to moving out.

small update: now sorted medibank and bought a car :biggrin:

Hi Gemstone

Thanks for that information, it's been very helpful. If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering whether you have got your car on finance or paid with cash. The reason I ask is that I'd be interested to know what evidence you needed if you bought your car on finance and any criteria you had to meet. We would prefer to get a car on finance rather than use our savings.

Thanks

Happycat

Hi we didn't get the car on finance, but they did try and offer it. They said they needed proof of address: lease contract or utility bill; contracts for work to prove we could pay it back. Other things that have been popular forms of ID when getting post box, renting somewhere, buying a car and getting a phone have been passports, driving license, bank statements/bank details, proof of visa. Hope that helps. :biggrin:

Thanks for this update. Nice for those of us looking forward to being the in the same position in the near future ! Keep us posted