Chris16

I lived in the Northern Beaches for the first 6 months of my stay here, the commute son lost its novelty to be honest. I loved it there, but unless people you work with live there (as mostly, that'll be where you meet new friends) then dont stay there. I've now moved to Paddington and it's ideal for me. Takes 15 minutes to get to a beach, 15 minutes to get to work and has Bondi Junction 5 minutes away for any longer commute I need for work, or for the Mrs to get a shopping fix.

I guess this is an extension to this thread, I couldn't find it mentioned anywhere else, and it may be a stupid question, but here goes... Myself and my partner are on a 457, we have medicare, however one of her colleagues was just hit with a $900 bill because they earned over a certain amount, and didn't have insurance. The government website didn't really clarify anything for me, so I thought I'd get a better handle on it by asking here, as people here seem to answer it with less jargon. Any help/advice would be great.

I was JoandJohn - Thanks! Yes, it would have easier to "Google it" but just knowing where a beach is, is fine, doesn't mean its a particularly fun place to be. Google searches don't make up for experience, and so far, I've found people here to be quite helpful.

Hey so I live in Paddington, Sydney. Have a pup, 14 weeks old and he's ready to play out. We want to take him to a dog friendly beach, but was just wondering whee the nearest ones to Sydney are? Or more importantly, the best ones around

Hey Paul. Absolutely!

I agree Jill. How do you know I hadn't been made redundant? or lost my job? Being a good citizen is to be empathetic and not so presumptuous towards others. I assure you, I work just as hard as you. I AM paying off my debt and I had a legitimate question/concern that could impact my future. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I wouldn't change what I've done. I'm paying off more of my debt with higher salary here. If I'd have taken your advice, I'd be slowly paying off my debt whilst struggling to find a job I'm over-qualified for, and I wouldn't have got the visa that originally got me here. Instead my debt's getting paid off faster and I'm loving my life... Time to step down Jill.

Goochie, Really appreciate the advice. Yeah Ive heard about this IP tracking, the swines. I'd use my Aus bank account for that anyway, I'm sure that's much harder to track me down! I'll only be visiting home maybe once every 18 months or so just didn't want to be stopped on my way back to Aus! Thanks again.

Hey Rob, sorry i should have specified! I'm in Sydney... Im good, I've played at a high level in the UK, but really Ive not played for a year now so want to ease myself into it and not take it too seriously anymore

A tad harsh. I had already explained that my UK bank had kind of screwed me over. I had spoken to them previous to my departure and informed them of the circumstance, THEY informed me that it would stick for 12 months, yet they cut it after five. When I came here I was kind of rushed, I had to come on a WHV before I became the big 3-0 and was no longer eligible. Since then my girlfriend has us sponsored, I'm having the time of my life and we are now settled in our life. We want to stay and will be applying for PR in around 9 months, I've already started to pay off the debt, but these things last a while on file and my major concern was not being able to reside here. Jill, I am vastly jealous that you have not made an error in your lifetime (except simple writing, it seems) and that you are able to look down on your pedestal and damn people who wish to better their lives. Laura - Thanks for that. Good to know, appreciate the help! Perthbum - When you say holiday, do you mean they can stop you coming back?

I'm quite unfit, a little overweight but miss playing pub football!! I live in Paddington, really looking for some low-level teams to play for, to get fitter and generally have a laugh. if you are in need of a capable, functioning player, let me know.

Oh no, I fully intend on paying it all back. 6 years is a long time to stay away for! My main worry is that one debt in particular has been unpaid for some time and has a CCJ, so my major worry was this affecting my application.

Thanks Jtrd, So this will have no affect what so ever in my application for PR? Even if, theoretically, I just stopped paying off my debt back home?

Hi Guys. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place! Me and the Mrs are applying for PR in the next year, We spent a year travelling Australia before getting our 457 (I am defacto) and in that time we (stupidly) left a sizable overdraft that was servicing our direct debits until we got our permanent jobs and start to send money back. However, we just checked and the OD was stopped months ago! We weren't told about this because we were travelling, and our mail isnt being re-directed. We are planning on paying this back and are making arrangements with the relevant companies. My question is whether our now really bad credit history will stop us getting our PR here?