Nealmason1986

Can't seem to pm you. That weird. Maybe it's because your new on the forum. We should defo meet up and watch some football. Don't mind Chelsea myself. I am a bolton fan but I love football. Just dislike man city. Where abouts are you living? We are in waramanga in woden. Need more of a social life myself and a few lads nights out. My missus is driving me crazy. Haha (hope she doesn't read that) Are you on Facebook? Do you like poker? I am bursting for a lad poker night some some beer and football.

Sounds good. Will send you a pm

Hi, Back in England i enjoy a poker night with the lads and a few drinks. I am struggling to find any poker nights or places other then the casino which have poker tournaments. I just want a social night which does not have massive amounts of money involved but is kept interesting. Does anyone have any suggestions or anyone hold a poker night who fancies adding one more? Neal

How do people feel about sunday? This topic seemed to fizzle out a bit. Anyone still up for meeting.

Is this what you do? Would u recommend one even for a purchase from a dealer? If i go private i will defo give you a shout. How much does it cost and whats your contact details?

I am going to hopefully get a car this weekend. I have a contract and 2 pay slips so hoping that NAB will lend me some money like they said they would. I believe the finance rate is better with the dealers but i highly doubt they will give me a loan off 2 weekly payslips and a contract. Fingers crossed i find a gem!

Thats good to know Peach. Having a 10 month of crap weather between the UK autumn to canberras winter. But i cant wait for some sun as it will be much better once its here and it will be warmer for longer then the UK Bonus

If you want a cheap ish couch, desk, vibration fitness plate and a fan this unit will be a bargain. https://www.allbids.com.au/Buy/?T=Entire-Storage-Unit-Contents---Unit-873&ID=568283

I think we should aim for Sunday the 25th of August. I know a few familys on here will be over by then and there will be a good balance of old and new members. Is this date ok for most people? Meet up on the south side as that seems to be where most people are living?

I love it here. I think some home sickness will kick in soon but our shipping is only a maximum of 4 weeks away and when we have our own stuff here it will feel more like home. I think the fact i have missed a summer is also making it more difficult but i am sure the canberra weather will pick up soon and make me happy again. I love it here and i love how clean the place is and the fact its not as busy as places like manchester and people dont always seem in a rush. I feel happy here and the moment but i still dont know if i will be in canberra after my 2 years or move to somewhere like perth we will have to see.

I saw a salvation army shop today called salvo. Seemed decent

There are loads of real estate agents. Best to use allhomes for that. We only used seek.com.au there are loads of jobs on there. I saw about 8 I could apply for this week. Seems to be plenty on offer.

I have been here nearly 4 weeks without a car! I have used the bus sytem. I got a Mytrip card and put $50 on it! It works out miles cheaper then paying per trip as its probably about half the pirce with this card. They can be picked up almost anywhere. I got mine from a newsagent. I have a google map app on my android phone (can be downloaded on apple) If i want a bus i put in the neaest bus station or select "my location" i then put where i want to go and it tells me which bus to get at which time. The buses are not the best at weekend or after 6pm but i still manage. I would prefer a car because i have not properly explored every part of canberra especially the outer areas but i can do that when i get a car. I get a bus to work every day. They are always quicker then the times they quote as well. Taxi is expensive though but i have had to use them a few times. If you want a weekend to sydney you can get a coach for $15 from the centre of canberra and you get there in 3 hours ish. Easy peasy. Cant wait for a car though.

I have been told that you defo need to haggle here. I know its something which isnt done anymore in the UK even if you offer "cash" I keep my eye on gumtree but i will defo be buying my first from a dealer until i have time to learn a bit more about private selling! Someone send me this link about Stamp Duty. http://www.revenue.act.gov.au/duties/motor_vehicles http://www.revenue.act.gov.au/calculators/motor_vehicle_registration_duty_calculator

Because that was a question/comment made in the initial post which i was answering!

There are plenty of short term car lease companies like eurocar though!

I am in this possition right now. I had some money i could have got a banger. To many people put me off with the fact it needs to pass a test when you buy it if its over 8 years old. And there is stuff like stamp duty to pay on the car. I nearly shipped my mini cooper over to Australia but people told me it was not worth the hassle! Damn i wish i had not listened to them now. I got 6500 quid for a 08 mini which would be worth 21000+ here. I like the look of the kia sportage and i think that i might get one of them. The price isnt bad for a new ish car and i think parts will be cheap to find here. I am going to have a proper car search in fyshwick soon. My bank (NAB) have asked for 2 pay slips for me to get a loan. I get paid weekly so thats not a problem. I have tried to get credit and finance before i started work and thats a definite no! No matter what your British credit score is you wont get a loan here unless you have pay slips and a contract. I have been trying for 3 weeks!

Hahaha. I have already used debenhams and its good delivery prices to australia. We kept our accounts open for the same reason with a few hundred in each from presents etc. I did try to buy a modem router from amazon and get it posted here as it would have been cheaper but it would not post to Australia. Darn! I find paypal useful as well. I have it linked to my UK account and use it for ebay in Australia etc.

Strange you ask this question becasue i have just asked someone in work the same thing! He said fantastic furniture. I will probably use them for a bed for my spare room. However Gumtree is a good place to look. Much bigger in Australia then in the UK. I already got 2 perfect laptops and a Portable Air Con Unit. Cheap as chips. I also need patio furniture so will be keeping my eyes peeled.

Talking about credit reports. Get a free experian report and bring it with you. Probably good for applying for things over here to help reinforce your finances

Ok. So we looked at long term rentals and to be honest we spent to much. Where we are now is 125 a day but it's a fully furnished city centre apartment . We will be here 6 weeks and we got out place in waramanga. Neither had jobs before we got here. There are a few websites like seek.com. We both got a job in a week and very well paid ones. I was a cop in England and have gone into management at the moment. My girlfriend works with women who suffer from domestic violence. Jobs I think are easy to get if your a brit. For a long term rental I did prove employment but only my contract as in hadn't started. I put my police check, Pay slips from the uk, mortgage repayment from the uk etc together in a pack and was accepted in 24 hours. Its expensive here but the exchange rate is good. We have been lavish with buying nesspresso machines and expensive apartments but you can do it on the cheap. When you start earning it all becomes relative. I worried about a long term rental but the first we applied for we got and it's a spanking new town house.

When i told my RBS bank they were worried i would run up debt and leave the country. I suppose if you give a new address they might be ok with you spending loads on your bank cards. I didnt have a permanent address so couldn't dot his when i left. Same with nationwide credit card. They just closed my account. I stopped telling banks and credit cards after that. I still have a few current accounts i use for my mortgage in england etc and there is not a problem with them as they are just current accounts and not offering me credit.

If you want to use your card. Inform your bank your travelling! Don't say emigrating or they will poo there pants and close the account. That way they won't stop your card for fraudulent spending abroad. Not to sure on cheques.

We did this! We saw a lovely townhouse and it was a weekday lunch so no one turned up for the viewing. It was being opened again on the Saturday so i applied there and then. I even submitted stuff like my british credit check and my police check for my visa. It all adds to your character. We go the townhouse the next day so luckily it didnt open on the Saturday for viewings otherwise we would have had competition. It was a brand new house no one had ever lived in. Nicely furnished as well.

We move in on the 27th of August so its not to long away. We dont mind jumping on the us anyway. Sundays are great for us as well. Who else fancies it and when is good. I like the fact that waramanga is close to coolemans court etc.