Shelley Cross Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Hey Everyone! I'm a 26 single girl who is heading out to live the (hopefully) good life in Melbourne on 11 June. I just have a couple of questions! I originally wanted to have $5000 but it's looking like I'll only have around $3000 plus my return flight home. I'm looking to do Melbourne's touristy bits for a couple of weeks and spend time with my friends but then I really want to be finding a job straight away. Will this $3000 be enough to keep me going for a month or so? My plan is to work (winter), do agricultural work (spring), travel (summer) and then work again (autumn) - Am I right in presuming there will be some sort of agricultural work year round, or will I need to swap this about a bit? How easy is it to find house shares? Do they require security deposits most of the time as I will need to take that into account with my money as well! Thanks for any help Shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britpop Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Have a look on gumtree at house shared to give you an idea. I would estimate £1000 a month if you're not going crazy but far cheaper if you can stay with friends. Start looking for work ASAP though as if it takes while you could come unstuck and if you get it straight away then do the touristy bits after rather than wait until you're ready to start work and not find it easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieren87 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Hi Shelley, I flew to Melbourne 2 months ago and stayed there for a month 2 weeks in cbd then 2 weeks in St Kida, Melbourne is a really cool city, $3000 will be more than enough for a month or so, just be careful with your money as its easy to spend it fast!! I'm having to work a lot sooner than I planned! I'm now in Perth I drove here with someone I met in a hostel in Melbourne, theres loads of work here in Perth, I'm now going to save up in winter then do my farm work and travel the east coast in the summer as Britpop said theres tonnes of house shares on Gumtree they sometimes work out cheaper than a hostel... but hostels are a great way of meeting people and making friends, not long until your trip begins hope you enjoy it sure you will!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingtongman Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 defo get a bit more money. Farm work is getting harder to get, esp good paying work, if you can't save any more, then just get 1-2 credit cards as a back up. Its never good to be away from home with no money. Don't mean to scare you and you'll prob be fine, but just get 1-2 cards as a back up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Cross Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 defo get a bit more money. Farm work is getting harder to get, esp good paying work, if you can't save any more, then just get 1-2 credit cards as a back up. Its never good to be away from home with no money. Don't mean to scare you and you'll prob be fine, but just get 1-2 cards as a back up Unfortunately I cannot get credit cards! I've been looking into tax things here and it looks like I will be entitled to a rebate on any tax I've paid since April so that's nearly £700 - I should get that back in a couple of months time so that'll help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozacw Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Hi! Im starting my WHV on the 16th of june and mainly staying around sydney. Ive found a house share in the outer surburbs of $130PW which im happy with. I was in Sydney in april for a month, as was surprised how quickly you can spend money if you dont budget so make sure you budget and stick to it! I'd say apply for jobs as soon as youre ready! but theres no harm in starting early, afterall some employers take up to 2 or more weeks to get in touch anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spleenus Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Hi Shelley, I flew to Melbourne 2 months ago and stayed there for a month 2 weeks in cbd then 2 weeks in St Kida, Melbourne is a really cool city, $3000 will be more than enough for a month or so, just be careful with your money as its easy to spend it fast!! I'm having to work a lot sooner than I planned! I'm now in Perth I drove here with someone I met in a hostel in Melbourne, theres loads of work here in Perth, I'm now going to save up in winter then do my farm work and travel the east coast in the summer as Britpop said theres tonnes of house shares on Gumtree they sometimes work out cheaper than a hostel... but hostels are a great way of meeting people and making friends, not long until your trip begins hope you enjoy it sure you will!! Quite reassuring to know Perth's the place to be for jobs, I'm arriving on the 20th June!!! Time, cannot come quick enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Cross Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Hi Guys! So I arrived into Melbourne yesterday morning (Friday) so thought I would update you with how my flights were and what I got up to in my first 24 hours! I arrived in at 6.30am and got through customs very quickly. As I have an e-passport, I just headed straight through the gate - I didn't speak to anyone and thus wasn't questioned by immigration about my WHV or funds. Once I had got to my friends house, I headed straight out to sort some bits out. First thing I did was get my pre-pay sim card from Optus. I paid $30 for the sim and with this you get unlimited data for social networks such as Facebook and Twitter (this was important to me as it's mainly how I contact my friends and family), unlimited texts and calls to Optus numbers, 250 mins to other numbers, 500mb data plus you keep your $30 credit. What an amazing deal hey?! I had applied for my bank account with NAB back in April, so they had already set it up for me then - I just had to go into the bank to show them my ID to activate the account and to order a card. This was so simple and I really recommend them - super friendly as well! Next on my list was to sort out a Myki card which is Melbourne's transport ticketing system. This cost $6 and I topped it up with $20 to get me going This works in the same way as an Oyster card so pretty simple. I've sorted out a houseshare with someone I knew from back in the UK - $150 a week just off of Acland Street so a great location and a great price on that. Not bad for 24 hours work! Any questions, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Sounds like you've been very busy! How long are you planning on staying in Melbourne for? I forgot about the e-passport, I've got one of them but last time it didn't seem to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spleenus Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Hi Guys! Once I had got to my friends house, I headed straight out to sort some bits out. First thing I did was get my pre-pay sim card from Optus. I paid $30 for the sim and with this you get unlimited data for social networks such as Facebook and Twitter (this was important to me as it's mainly how I contact my friends and family), unlimited texts and calls to Optus numbers, 250 mins to other numbers, 500mb data plus you keep your $30 credit. What an amazing deal hey?! I had applied for my bank account with NAB back in April, so they had already set it up for me then - I just had to go into the bank to show them my ID to activate the account and to order a card. This was so simple and I really recommend them - super friendly as well! Next on my list was to sort out a Myki card which is Melbourne's transport ticketing system. This cost $6 and I topped it up with $20 to get me going This works in the same way as an Oyster card so pretty simple. I've sorted out a houseshare with someone I knew from back in the UK - $150 a week just off of Acland Street so a great location and a great price on that. Not bad for 24 hours work! Any questions, let me know. That sounds almost the exact same plan/routine I'll be following when I land on Friday. I had intended to also go Optus for the social network free data as that is by far the easiest way to keep in contact with loads of people at the same time. How was your first night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reauwp Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Shelley, thanks for sharing this, giving a bit of an insight in what awaits! I'm really curious how life in Melbourne is, so if it's possible could you share a bit more stuff? I'm really interested to hear more personal experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Cross Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 I'm here for about 5/6 months then I'm going to be travelling. First week has been really good and busy - mainly getting over jetlag and settling in, finding my way around. The public transport here in Melbourne is pretty awesome and so easy to work out. I've visited the Aquarium this week and lots of restaurants and cafes - Chicken Parma is one of my new favourite foods! Other than that not too much to report. I start work next week and should start to get more of an idea of living/earning costs. Hope this helps, Shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spleenus Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I'm here for about 5/6 months then I'm going to be travelling. First week has been really good and busy - mainly getting over jetlag and settling in, finding my way around. The public transport here in Melbourne is pretty awesome and so easy to work out. I've visited the Aquarium this week and lots of restaurants and cafes - Chicken Parma is one of my new favourite foods! Other than that not too much to report. I start work next week and should start to get more of an idea of living/earning costs. Hope this helps, Shelley Now that's quick going finding work. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Cross Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 I'm heading to Perth next week with the same job agency! Better weather - it's so stormy in Melbourne right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I'm heading to Perth next week with the same job agency! Better weather - it's so stormy in Melbourne right now! Should come to Brissie! Best Capital city for weather in winter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.