subdividedyoghurt Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Hi, just wanted to introduce myself to this specific section of the forum, having decided to upgrade myself from the 'Migration Issues' section. Am arriving early next week and then promptly starting work. I visited Melbourne once before a couple of years ago in the middle of winter, so am looking forward to this arriving at this time of year. We'll be another couple looking at exploring different suburbs over time, trying out different places to live in the future. Having already done a lot of research so far, I am somewhat intimidated by the house prices and wonder if I'll even be able to buy at all, being a first time buyer and all that. In the meantime will be looking for our own place to rent from the end of November. Anyway, still have some packing to do right now. Thanks : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzukiscottie Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Greetings! Its raining today. Warm rain. [emoji3] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdividedyoghurt Posted October 31, 2015 Author Share Posted October 31, 2015 Greetings to you too! Warm rain sounds good to me for October/ November. Looking forward to it : ) Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Hi and welcome. What suburbs have you narrowed it down to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phprocker Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Best of luck with your move! Have you figured out which side of the town you are interested in more? Initially before landing here, I liked the eastern suburbs more but ended up living in the west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdividedyoghurt Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Hi there, I've arrived! Most likely will end up east, or perhaps south east. My work is in the inner east area. We've not done any narrowing down yet, but we will start with the names that pop up a lot. Probably our ideals are the same as for many people- within the public transport range, reachable to some nice walking/ nature areas, or the beach.. For now we don't have our own transport so right now my mission is simply to find our first rental accommodation so I can access work ok. From there and once we're both more settled we'll start exploring further. I haven't considered the west at all yet, though I've read various discussions about it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phprocker Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Welcome!! The exploring bit is a lot of fun, good plan to stick close to the city in the beginning. I opted for a bit further from the city but with bigger backyard for the kiddies and new construction. As an aside, the difference between the construction in Europe and Australia is huge, I was totally caught off-guard about it. Check this article out. Anyway kick back and relax for a bit before your next big step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdividedyoghurt Posted November 5, 2015 Author Share Posted November 5, 2015 Thanks phprocker, and interesting link. I thought I was being a bit of a pansy when I was cold staying in a rented room a couple of years ago. It was an old style house, and cold. I never expected to be so cold going to work in the morning. One morning on the way to work, passing by a radio I heard it say it was 2 degrees which surprised me, and for some reason I still find it hard to believe. 'Does not compute' comes to mind. I had come dressed for summer, meaning, I thought Melbourne winter would be like UK summer (on a good day). Anyway, back to your other point, yes, I like to wander around too. I've been to a few house property viewings already, and more than anything I am shocked at how doctored the estate agent's photos are! We had a load of online favourites to inspect, and I started with what looked to be the best two. What the hell? A bright lovely new looking spacious apartment in reality was a gloomy, dirty, pokey squelchhole (compared to the photo). And that was the best one. Our next suspected favourite I saw today, even worse. They've got their fisheye lens, photoshopping and creative writing mastered, reading like the back of some forgotten film overselling itself and full of exclamation marks at the end of every sentence (!). Drenched in copious amounts of natural sunlight my ****. Except they don't use exclamation marks I've noticed. Anyway, I now know to be prepared to be disappointed. If the good ones are not good, then I don't want to imagine what the average to not-so-nice adverts are like in reality, so I feel like I can save my time and not bother with those at all. On the plus side, I feel I've learned two things already: one is that I will aim to look for new build/ apartments in new buildings (yet to be proved right about this, but will see one tomorrow all going well), and the second thing, is if I see anything that I consider acceptable and alright, then it must be good, and I should jump at it. Unfortunately I don't have time to be picky now, as I have just a few weeks to find somewhere. There are new places about. Looking back, on the first day or two, I cancelled a viewing due to timeclash of a brand new unit in the city centre for the first place I saw, which was a mistake, but I fell for the now obviously misleading photos. The second new unit I was to see today but was snapped up before anyone could see it, so I assume private lease. So I feel like I must be on to the right track now with what's worth looking for. If it still doesn't work out I either pay more, or move further out. And I guess this is how the buying market plays out also? Just on a more expensive scale. It's weird as I walk past various roads and so many houses look so nice. Anyway, I've got a weekend ahead to look up more places, and go wandering around. I've been reading up and have my extra up-front rental prepared, 'no pets/ non smoker' stamp, work reference etc etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest90395 Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Thanks phprocker, and interesting link. I thought I was being a bit of a pansy when I was cold staying in a rented room a couple of years ago. It was an old style house, and cold. I never expected to be so cold going to work in the morning. One morning on the way to work, passing by a radio I heard it say it was 2 degrees which surprised me, and for some reason I still find it hard to believe. 'Does not compute' comes to mind. I had come dressed for summer, meaning, I thought Melbourne winter would be like UK summer (on a good day). Anyway, back to your other point, yes, I like to wander around too. I've been to a few house property viewings already, and more than anything I am shocked at how doctored the estate agent's photos are! We had a load of online favourites to inspect, and I started with what looked to be the best two. What the hell? A bright lovely new looking spacious apartment in reality was a gloomy, dirty, pokey squelchhole (compared to the photo). And that was the best one. Our next suspected favourite I saw today, even worse. They've got their fisheye lens, photoshopping and creative writing mastered, reading like the back of some forgotten film overselling itself and full of exclamation marks at the end of every sentence (!). Drenched in copious amounts of natural sunlight my ****. Except they don't use exclamation marks I've noticed. Anyway, I now know to be prepared to be disappointed. If the good ones are not good, then I don't want to imagine what the average to not-so-nice adverts are like in reality, so I feel like I can save my time and not bother with those at all. On the plus side, I feel I've learned two things already: one is that I will aim to look for new build/ apartments in new buildings (yet to be proved right about this, but will see one tomorrow all going well), and the second thing, is if I see anything that I consider acceptable and alright, then it must be good, and I should jump at it. Unfortunately I don't have time to be picky now, as I have just a few weeks to find somewhere. There are new places about. Looking back, on the first day or two, I cancelled a viewing due to timeclash of a brand new unit in the city centre for the first place I saw, which was a mistake, but I fell for the now obviously misleading photos. The second new unit I was to see today but was snapped up before anyone could see it, so I assume private lease. So I feel like I must be on to the right track now with what's worth looking for. If it still doesn't work out I either pay more, or move further out. And I guess this is how the buying market plays out also? Just on a more expensive scale. It's weird as I walk past various roads and so many houses look so nice. Anyway, I've got a weekend ahead to look up more places, and go wandering around. I've been reading up and have my extra up-front rental prepared, 'no pets/ non smoker' stamp, work reference etc etc.. Hi, That all sounds very familiar, we were shocked by the condition of some of the places we saw! We realised we needed to go smaller to get better quality within our budget and we ended up in a lovely little Victorian cottage in Hawthorn, where we have been for the past 2 years. We couldn't believe we got it as the viewers were queued up the street when we came to view it! It was definitely a case of yes, that'll do, quick let's apply -and there are lots of things we'd improve in the house if it was ours but we love the area and our neighbours so have no real motivation to go through the whole search and move process again! Which suburbs have you been looking at so far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdividedyoghurt Posted November 5, 2015 Author Share Posted November 5, 2015 Hi Jahooliab, I think one of our problems is our budget. We are near, if not at, the bottom end. It's only me working for now, but when my partner arrives and if they find work soon then we will have more options. I'm nearly at looking at Hawthorn. I started in Richmond as that was where I was familiar with, but even now, something doesn't feel right. South Yarra looked nice when I walked about on my previous trip, but the houses looked very large and expensive, so probably not much for me there. The last couple of days I'm now been searching in Abbotsford, and viewing one tomorrow. After that, the next stop is probably Hawthorn and one place seen an advert for there, but felt it was a tad too far for now so disregarded it. But now I look at the map, in fact I could do it, as my ideal limit is not more than 45 minutes walking, and with the tram an option, it might be seriously worth considering in fact. I;ve never even visited those neighbourhoods, so I might well do that on this weekend : ) Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 When we first arrived in Sydney (34 years ago) and were looking for a decent rental, I too was shocked at the rubbish places we looked at. In the end I told the agent to stop mucking us around and show us a nice clean place. In the interim we were renting a small but very clean flat in Neutral Bay so I wasn't prepared to put up with the horrible places shown to us. In the end we rented a lovely old semi-detached house in Fairlight - up the hill from Manly. It was very clean - well decorated and comfortable. Decent places are around but hard to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I've been to a few house property viewings already, and more than anything I am shocked at how doctored the estate agent's photos are! ... They've got their fisheye lens, photoshopping and creative writing mastered. Yes, and it's the same when buying too. We sold our townhouse in Sydney, and I hardly recognised it from the photos on domain.com.au! The one thing I didn't like about the place was the small, dark lounge - but thanks to a fisheye lens and a huge spotlight, it looked big and bright on the website. They took the photos on a dull, rainy day and then pasted blue sky in all the windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graemsay Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Also consider Carlton and Brunswick (particularly Brunswick East). Carlton is the university precinct. Brunswick is slightly further out, but is roughly where the hipsters who were displaced from Fitzroy ended up. It's a bit cheaper than somewhere like Richmond, but has the eclectic coffee shops and the like. The advantage of these suburbs is that they are wired with the NBN, which means you can get a better Internet connection. Useful if you're a nerd. I'm currently living at the bottom end of Richmond. I'm in a new development, so an NBN connection, walking distance to the CBD, and on rail and tram lines. The downsides are that there isn't much in the way of insulation (or central heating), so it's not that comfortable in winter, and the railway line is probably 100 metres outside of my apartment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phprocker Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I understand your frustration, we are moving house right now and seems like much hasn't changed since we did it 3.5 years ago. Same glossy ads for shitty homes. It was a shocker when I moved into my first property here that it didn't have a phone line connected and the agents don't tell you about it. You have to pay $300 to get Telstra to make the connection and the landlord/property agent plainly refused to reimburse for that saying "I don't need a telephone line at my place". Shouldn't a problem with established properties. I agree with Graemsay above and really like the culture in Brunswick and Fitzroy. Recently a colleague bought a place in Ascot vale and is very happy with the purchase and the facilities in the area. It looks very good on paper too. Also make sure to look at consumer affairs victoria. I have heard that you can pay the deposit bond in instalments or get them to return it if you renting for the first time and are under financial stress. I didn't know about that at the time, every bit counts when you are just starting out in a new country, so maybe look into that too. Best of luck with everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdividedyoghurt Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hmm, interesting thoughts. I walked around Fitzroy or Calrton (can't remember which) when I first visited, but they didn't appeal to me, atleast the bits I saw anyway. I saw more places on the weekend, including some seemingly bonzai apartments which made me feel nearly a giant. Although having nearly the pick of the entire building, the location wasn't great so I left it behind. But, I did come across the first place I would actually consider renting, edge of Richmond and Abbotsford and have just this evening submitted my application. Agents so far have been a mix of pleasant and receptive, to completely indifferent and seemingly oblivious to my enquiries and attempts at communicating with them. Let's just say they are busy too. Thanks for the heads up about the bond instalments. I've caught glimpses of banners mentioning such things as I've been browsing properties online, but was just ignoring without reading thinking they were just ads (which they are I guess). Probably a lot of paperwork involved though! I did conclude I need to up my budget, to even see things which I consider acceptable. That much is certain. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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