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My travel thread


Quokka2005

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I was thinking exactly the same this morning, in fact I made a promise to myself to stop giving her advise.

 

I think we are all getting her in more of a spin and especially those of us a bit older that have 'been there, done that' should take a step back and let her do it more herself.

 

Different if she asks for factual info or is really in some kind of trouble but decisions like 'should I go to Melbourne or stay in Sydney' are hers and hers alone to make and there is no right answer.

 

Just my opinion of course but I think we should all back off and let her find her way, otherwise it won't be her journey. As I said to her not so long ago some of my most treasured memories come from my worst mistakes so she should be allowed to make some!

 

I nearly wrote the same earlier

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Everybody here seems to be running off to places like Byron bay and cairns

 

I feel bad because I know you've read my posts (and others) about hating the heat and I think it's made you more worried about that than you need to be.

 

The heat gets wearing if you're living with it year after year - if I had friends in Cairns who invited me to stay, I wouldn't hesitate to visit them even in the height of summer - I know I can cope for a few weeks. Especially if they're close to the coast so you can get some cooling breezes.

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I grew up in Coogee, well Randwick up the road (the tall brick building you can see from the beach). But the area hasn't changed much - home to the world's young travelers. I enjoyed the vibe growing up there so much, but at 21 decided to become a backpacker myself and headed for Greece. Eight years later and with a degree from Southampton, I returned to Oz.

 

The area you're in is really special and I hope you find your way and that people are being helpful and nice. I'm sure you have a battle plan and that all things will fall into place.

 

For my money I reckon Byron or south of Sydney, like Eden, or even Freo in W.A. Or hey, you could even try Adelaide. GASP!

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I did NOT tell Stacey to "skip" anything - I put the word PRIORITIES in capitals for a reason.

When my niece came on her WHV, she started out in Sydney, got a good contact in an events company and got lots of work, and made a group of friends. She was so busy having a good time (and spending all her money doing it), that she never got around to travelling - until about three months before she was due to go home. So she set off to explore the rest of the country, and when she got to Queensland she was REALLY upset that she'd left it so late, because there were so many things she wanted to do, and places she would've liked to stay for longer. She didn't even make it to the Northern Territory.

 

However she did better than her Canadian friend, who also lingered in Sydney too long, and just when she was about to join my niece on her trip, she had to go back home early for some family emergency - so she never saw the rest of Australia at all.

 

So, that's why I think when you're on a WHV, you should complete this sentence:

 

"I'll be really upset if I go back home without seeing ......"

 

Whatever sights or places you tag on to the end of that sentence, I think that's where you should go first - because even though you think you've got a whole year to get there, things happen. Stacey could run out of money, or break the other ankle, or get swept off her feet by a gorgeous Scottish hunk who's about to go home.

 

Once you know you've got the most important things done, you can always go back and check out the things people say you've missed.

 

That's one way of looking at it, but perhaps your niece might have had more of an Aussie experience staying in Sydney, maybe meeting plenty of Aussies, as opposed to seeing more of Australia, but in the company of other overseas backpackers. So, when someone in GB says to her "You mean you went all the way to Australia, and you didn't go to..........", she might reply, "I stayed in Sydney for longer than I planned but I made many Aussie friends which I would not have made had I spent more time travelling."

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That's one way of looking at it, but perhaps your niece might have had more of an Aussie experience staying in Sydney, maybe meeting plenty of Aussies, as opposed to seeing more of Australia, but in the company of other overseas backpackers. So, when someone in GB says to her "You mean you went all the way to Australia, and you didn't go to..........", she might reply, "I stayed in Sydney for longer than I planned but I made many Aussie friends which I would not have made had I spent more time travelling."

 

I've never understood why some backpackers seem to get stuck in Sydney and never see anywhere else ............ some of them worked as casuals in my workplace and had absolutely no get up and go. Might as well just have stayed at home in the UK.

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I think I'm going to move to a new hostel for my second week and then just stay in Sydney for the second week like planned but job hunt and go around different areas away from the CBD that i might like better. Then if I'm not liking it by end of my second week then I'll definitely move on if I think I'm as likely to find a job in Melbourne or somewhere like that

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That's one way of looking at it, but perhaps your niece might have had more of an Aussie experience staying in Sydney, maybe meeting plenty of Aussies, as opposed to seeing more of Australia, but in the company of other overseas backpackers.

 

She did have a good time - but the point is, SHE regretted it in the end, because she felt she had to rush through other places that, in hindsight, she would've liked to stay in for much longer.

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I think I'm going to move to a new hostel for my second week and then just stay in Sydney for the second week like planned but job hunt and go around different areas away from the CBD that i might like better. Then if I'm not liking it by end of my second week then I'll definitely move on if I think I'm as likely to find a job in Melbourne or somewhere like that

 

If you think the CBD is like Manchester, I'm afraid you won't be that impressed by most of the suburbs either - they're just family suburbs like anywhere else, on the whole. The Eastern Suburbs is where most of the backpackers and WHV holders congregate because they're the lively, fun suburbs, but they are also by far the most expensive to live in so that's your dilemma.

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In fairness, it is difficult to not offer advice when Stacey has asked us what colour suitcase to buy and wether to take a beach towel ... I agree with LR though, it's her journey and we're all going to have to step back and let her find her own way - I'm sure she'll be fine

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In fairness, it is difficult to not offer advice when Stacey has asked us what colour suitcase to buy and wether to take a beach towel ... I agree with LR though, it's her journey and we're all going to have to step back and let her find her own way - I'm sure she'll be fine

 

She's only been here nearly a week. Once she's recovered from jet lag and her foot is feeling better she'll decide what she's doing and where she's going. Won't you Stacey? :cute:

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In fairness, it is difficult to not offer advice when Stacey has asked us what colour suitcase to buy and wether to take a beach towel ... I agree with LR though, it's her journey and we're all going to have to step back and let her find her own way - I'm sure she'll be fine

Haha! Exactly! She doesn't listen anyway she thinks out loud like a lot of us then does her own thing! she's a big girl and we love sharing her ups and downs and offering our take on things.

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I think we're all living vicariously through Stacey.

 

We know she'll just follow the cutest boy.

 

:wub:

 

Exactly - I reckon all us middle aged women mothering her just wish we were out there again doing it ourselves!

 

Including meeting the cutest guys :)

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Haha the cutest boy!! There's a cute guy in my group, he's from Canada. He said I didn't sound that Scottish lol I wasn't sure how to respond to that!

 

Im off to port Stephens tomorrow for a few days. I'm looking forward to that, it'll be interesting to see how I feel being away from the city. I get to meet my first kangaroo too although she's a tame one called Josie. They said she was on the news! Apparently we'll see koalas and possums too. Then next week at some point im going to do a trip to the blue mountains because I've wanted to go for ages and I might suss out if there's any jobs in katoomba

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I think I'm going to move to a new hostel for my second week and then just stay in Sydney for the second week like planned but job hunt and go around different areas away from the CBD that i might like better. Then if I'm not liking it by end of my second week then I'll definitely move on if I think I'm as likely to find a job in Melbourne or somewhere like that

Aren't you liking it here so far? If so it might be the effects of jet lag which have not worn off yet, added to the disorientation of uprooting yourself from home to come to another country.

 

Quiz night at Strawberry Hills hotel 7 30 Wed if you fancy coming.

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