Austrial

Hi Aksahdaks Are you coming on your own or will you be coming with family? Will you be staying in a unit / flat or house or are you okay to stay in shared accommodation - like backpackers hostels? As I said above, I am very new to Darwin, so if you give more information, others will come along and help you with your queries. If you want to stay in backpackers hostels - the Darwin Youth Hostel Association hostel in the city centre offers a single room with en-suite for under $40 per night (so under $300 per week) - it has an outdoor unheated pool, internet (wifi) access and is close to bus access. You may wish to look at other types of accommodation by going to http://www.realestate.com.au/rent Good luck with your visit to Darwin.

Hi! I had promised to post some thoughts after reaching Darwin. The posts others had put before on similar topics had helped me before moving from the UK, so hope this helps at least one person. Please note that the below thoughts are only my personal opinions / experiences and I am a novice in Darwin (one week old). I am writing this in good faith just to give a flavour. This is not meant to be specialist advice and I have no affiliation with any commercial company. Is Darwin a Sauna? I reached here on Aug 16 2014...it is very early days, but, so far I have found the weather to be very pleasant...it is warm but not humid. The locals tell me that from Late September, October the humidity will increase as will the heat and that it will become quite unpleasant till the wet season starts in December. How will children find Darwin? My children are yet to join me, but I have looked at some key things which I thought might be important. There are some good schools here, including Essington School in Nightcliff. If you and your children like spending time outdoors, then during the dry season (several months) they will be spoiled for choice...plenty of safe cycling / playing areas, three decent public swimming pools (including one at Nightcliff just beside the sea), parks and beaches (although it is not safe to swim in most beaches). People here are very friendly and society generally seems to give importance to family / child friendly lifestyle. Is Darwin very expensive? I was frightened when I had read about the cost of living (on forums and websites like Numbeo) in England. In terms of housing or accommodation, Darwin is certainly more expensive than most places in England (save for London)...there is no getting around that. Eating out seems to be more expensive too, but I'm sure locals will know good inexpensive places which I have yet to find. However, in terms of groceries if you are a little careful with your day to day shopping, it isn't that more expensive than England. I found Coles and K-Mart and Woolworths (the last one perhaps a little more expensive?). They have some decent reward cards here..from the outset you may wish to explore reward cards which suit you (e.g. rewards which can convert to cash [this may not translate so well in comparison to some other type of rewards]; link your points to Quantas / Singapore Airlines frequent flyer miles; Woolworths does everyday rewards [can link to Quantas miles], Coles and K-Mart do flybuys) Some credit cards have an annual fees; but they may still be worth having as they may be linked to good frequent flyer or reward schemes and the rewards earned may well exceed the annual fee. This will be particularly good value if you are able to pay the balance off in full. In terms of phone, I was advised to go with Telstra in the NT as it seems to have good reception even in more remote areas. However, in Darwin itself there are a range of providers with Optus being one of the popular ones. If you want to consider pay as you go mobile phone SIM card, then Lebera may be a helpful (and relatively economical) choice. I'm sure there are many other good choices or bundles (e.g. mobile, broadband and TV all provided by one provider - usually they require one and half to two year contracts). As I urgently wanted access to a mobile and internet, I got a pay as you go mobile SIM with Telstra and pay as you go mobile broadband with Optus. I bought an Optus SIM card for 5 GB (I used 3 GB in a week; lots of Skype to UK and abroad:)). The SIM cost me about 50 AUD. These pay as you go options are expensive and I am going to change them soon. As I am staying in an employer provided furnished serviced unit, I do not have to pay rent or utilities for now. I am told that for a furnished 3-4 bed unit in a good residential area (like Cullen Bay, Fannie Bay, Brinkin etc) [there are other good residential areas too] prices could range between 800 - 1200 AUD per week. All in all, so far, I'm lovin' it:cute:

@Melza, really sorry to hear about your loss. You have done everything you could during her final days, I'm sure you have made her proud. Take care.

@Cerberus' post - Whaaaaat? No Darwin in the list???:laugh: I know, I know...but am still lovin' it here.

Hi Jase, thanks for your wishes and advice. Did you not like it in Darwin or did you have to leave because of personal reasons? If i continue to feel how I'm feeling about Darwin now, I'm unlikely to leave for some time; but time changes our circumstances and our preferences, so I never say never.

Thanks Bob. If I only feed a barra (rather than feed on a barra or go fishing :smile:) would I still need a licence?

Thanks Jac2011. I intend to put some posts based on my experiences in Darwin, although I am a novice here.

Thanks Lucharmily. Times passes so quickly. It seems like it was only a couple of weeks ago you were off to see the Wiggles; when you later provided some helpful posts about Darwin. Hopefully, as I get to know Darwin better, I could post a few helpful posts too, so that future DarWINNERS can benefit too. Now, off to have a bite and then zzzz...before wakey wakey and another wonderful day!! Hope this enthusiasm doesn't wear off too soon, but hey, it is bound to when the newness wears off

I have reached Darwin and am 2 days old!! The weather is glorious (not too warm and certainly not humid...although I know the wet season is just round the corner); the people are very friendly and approachable; the restaurants (and shopping) are pretty expensive; the traffic is relatively light and it is a pleasure to drive here. All in all, I'm lovin' it...not McD..just D!! :laugh:

I am flying to Oz tomorrow with a one way ticket. Thanks to all at PIO for your helpful posts and for sharing information. It was really helpful during the prep before leaving. Good luck to everyone with their endeavours too.

Thanks Pumpkin, here are a few more details. I paid for door to door transportation of personal effects. The quote referred to professional packing at residence - transfer to container - processing through customs - delivery, unwrapping and removal of packing materials. It is option 3 costed at £5070 for 20 feet container. So I would expect that re-assembly at the point of delivery would be included as it was done at my residence in the UK.

Two days before PSS were due to remove our personal effects (sole use 20 feet container) I was advised by the company that I would have to dismantle wardrobes or other DIY assembled furniture (apart from beds and tables) as the removers would not do so. I was really worried and upset as I did not have either the time or help to dismantle wardrobes. I resigned myself to leaving them behind. The removals team however were brilliant. Without even asking, they dismantled and packed everything, including one DIY assembled PC trolley table. PSS told me that their Australian delivering counterpart (Kents) would only deliver and unwrap but not re-assemble. The removal staff however said Kents should reassemble all the furniture which has been shipped as part of the contract. I don't know what to expect as I will certainly not be able to reassemble all the furniture without help. Worse case scenario, I will have to try and find a handy man in Oz to reassemble! Thanks for your advice.

Hi Indi I have gone with PSS. They came yesterday and packed everything. They are going to load everything on to a 20 foot container today. So far, from quote to packing, they have been brilliant, very prompt and helpful with my numerous queries. Hope this continues here and at the delivery end in Oz.

Hi Lucy, I would recommend HiFx as suggested above, I found the rate to be better than money Corp, but HiFx does charge a transaction fee. You ilk get better rates for larger amounts with HiFx. I was surprised to see that Travelex compared relatively well for smaller amounts as they do not charge a fee - they do cash and a debit card too. As of yesterday HiFx was offering in the region of 1.789 to a pound. Hope this helps.

Hi Bowdonius I have heard Essington and Larrakeyah schools are good. The former usually has a waiting list. I have not been to Darwin, but am due to relocate there in a couple of weeks. I have heard the following suburbs are good: Fannie Bay, Cullen Bay, Brinkin, Leanyer, Nightcliff, Rosebery, Larrakeyah, the Gardens. There have been a few posts regarding your queries before, you may wish to search PIO for those threads. Good luck.

Thanks PQ, that is exactly what I did after reading some posts in this forum. I got a quote from Insure Your Move and went with that. PSS (the removalists who are doing the shipping) have sent a disclaimer form for me to sign and send back to them, which I will do. Do you or anyone have suggestions about Air cargo to send some boxes (may be 3 or 4) so that they will arrive soon after I reach Australia? Thanks for your tips.

Hi Blossom Thanks. I was advised by the immi advisor that I would not get my 457 visa without the appropriate insurance cover as only citizens and people with PR have access to full Medicare and that reciprocal cover is fairly limited. Btw, the income figure above is not mine (I was unsuccessful at copying and pasting a partial quote from TR above!)

Also, the joint income pre superannuation is $275k so I need to ensure we have cover that stops us paying the Medicare levy. Is anyone able to shed any light on the best way forward? Hi Thomas, I've got BUPA Australia Visitor Essential Plus and I pay a little extra for reciprocal cover which waives the Medicare Levi Surcharge. You could perhaps explore that option?

Hi Jj, I have taken out Visitor Essential Plus with BUPA Australia too (with reciprocal cover to waive Medicare Levy Surcharge). I was told that apart from pre-existing or maternity or psychiatric or cosmetic related treatment, I would be fully covered (like Australian citizens) for treatment under medi-care. I also had got the impression that we could choose our doctor and hospital and that BUPA would cover fees up to a tariff agreed for same treatment under Medi-care. So I am a little confused why they did not give the choice of private treatment with the option of you topping any excess if required in the private sector. Maybe I have misunderstood your above situation. Please clarify. Thanks for your advice.

Looks like imminently, I am going to have an ABCDE (Awsome But Costly Darwin Experience)..

Hi Sazm, thanks to people like you, taking the trouble to share (personal) information, people like me who are about to move to Darwin are able to get a more realistic picture of daily life. Once I get to Darwin, I intend to contribute similarly to assist others.

Hey Bob, where is the mozzie net? Remember, in your Darwin post (the one with important tips - e.g. ...do not get caught, and if you do find a good solicitor :biglaugh:) the pic had an impressive "four post" ingenious mozzie net!

Hi, I have booked a one way economy ticket from Manchester to Darwin (12 hour stop over in Singapor) in mid Aug. Cost me £585 inclusive of tax. I bought it directly from the airline, no agents. Hope this helps.

Hi, I am due to fly into Darwin NT in mid August. Next week, I am going to finalise my removals. My shortlist is PSS and Anglo Pacific. For a sole use 20 feet container, their prices are £5100 and £5600 (door to door - almost all inclusive) respectively. I felt the quotes were a little steep, but both companies attributed the extra costs to delivering to Darwin. As it will take about 9-12 weeks for my personal effects to arrive, I am considering sending across two cartons (each 25 kgs) of essential stuff by air cargo. I would be grateful for: your thoughts / advice on the two removal quotes (PSS and Anglo Pacific) and any recommendations for air freight. Thank you in advance.