inozwriter

I would reccomend moving to bondi, Sydney there are heaps of expats living there same situation

Have a walk down to Kirribilli whilst your there, you'll find north sydney very empty and business like. Sprawling during the day and complete ghost town on weekends and after work hours.

2nds World have some great deals on appliances or I bought most of my second hand furniture from Gumtree

Try looking around the inner west there are heaps of nice houses. I used to love living in Five dock, great restaurants, leafy community, it is also between the west and only 10mins to the city. Balmain and Drummoyne are also nice, I found my place through the local real estate agent there http://www.wwre.com.au/

Try looking on flatmates or Gumtree for share accommodation.

You could get a one bedroom in Kirribilli right next to the harbour bridge from $550-600 easily. Secret Gem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirribilli,_New_South_Wales

You could get a one bedroom in Sydney for that price

Watch out I've seen most of the ones they sell at the supermarket contain radioactive materials. I bought these family friendly smoke alarms non radioactive ones from Bunnings.

The hardest process is probably getting your dog here. It took me 6 months and 10 thousand dollars later I had my dog transferred here. Its a lengthy process see the check list here http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-dogs but definitely worth it, as they are practically a family member.

There is a list of scams on the Gumtree Scams centre, sounds like the brand name spoofing/phishing scam. Watch out for these people! Best to meet face to face so you know the person your dealing with.

First make sure that the course is recognized by immigration, best to stick to TAFE or public universities for this.

getting a bank account should be easy, best to also prove with electricity/gas/water bills if you are living at the same address. these will help significantly. And if you get a drivers license both with the same address.