Guest Dottielott Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Hi there I wonder if there is any single travellers with the sponsored 176 ACT visa hoping to go to Canberra in the near future? It would be great to hear from you and see if you are having the same dilemmas as me as one minute I'm ready to book a flight and then the next I've changed my mind again and then I'm on the roundabout wondering what to do for the best. I Look forward to hearing from anybody in the same boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RuandShi Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Hi there I wonder if there is any single travellers with the sponsored 176 ACT visa hoping to go to Canberra in the near future? It would be great to hear from you and see if you are having the same dilemmas as me as one minute I'm ready to book a flight and then the next I've changed my mind again and then I'm on the roundabout wondering what to do for the best. I Look forward to hearing from anybody in the same boat. Hello Dottielott, We are also in the same boat. We just got our visa granted and now trying to fix up a date to travel. We are a Sri Lankan family of four. My son is 10 yrs and daughter is 4. We are currently living in Kuwait as I am working there. The greatest fears for us are, * How to travel to Canberra.(From Sydney or from Melbourne) * Where to stay on our first arrival. * How long would it take to find an apartment or a unit? * What kind of settlement assistance can be expected from the ACT settlement service? * How to arrange for traveling to and from different places. (Can we hire a car or should we use the public transport) * How much would it cost to hire a car? * Am I able to drive a car with my Kuwait or Sri Lankan driver’s license? * How early should we be there in order to get admission for schools for my kids? (Especially for the elder one) * When is the best time to arrive there? (During Christmas or before?) * Will it be difficult to find houses and other necessities if we arrive during Christmas season as there will be holidays? Well, these are just a few of the issues that we are currently battling with to get cleared. What about you. Are you traveling alone? Which suburbs do you have in mind to be relocated? What kind of worries do you have about traveling to Canberra? Would be nice to see if there’s anything in common. Looking forward to hear from you,, Kind regards, Ruchira & Shiran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobandCatherine Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hi there, That time of year is very busy for the Canberra rental market but if you prepare yourself you'll get through it without too much grief, I've chopped your post up a bit to answer some of your questions - hope it still makes sense. ** How to travel to Canberra.(From Sydney or from Melbourne) * How to arrange for traveling to and from different places. (Can we hire a car or should we use the public transport) * Am I able to drive a car with my Kuwait or Sri Lankan driver’s license? Its 3 hours drive from Sydney or 7 from Melbourne, you will need a car to travel around the open homes anyway, I guess you could check with the rental companies as to cost & whether your licences are ok but here's a link to Canberra Connect as well http://www.rego.act.gov.au/licensing/licencemain.htm * When is the best time to arrive there? (During Christmas or before?) * Will it be difficult to find houses and other necessities if we arrive during Christmas season as there will be holidays? I guess if you arrive during Christmas but accept that other than registering for Medicare & bank accounts etc you will have to wait until January to start house hunting due to the holidays, see it as a chance to look around the place & have a bit of a break, you will probably need at least 4 weeks in short term accomodation while you look for a home. * What kind of settlement assistance can be expected from the ACT settlement service? Virtually none other than a reference for rental agencies, have a look at these old posts for info on the Canberra rentals market :- http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/northern-territory-tasmania-act/106437-renting-canberra.html * How early should we be there in order to get admission for schools for my kids? (Especially for the elder one) The schools we visited were all keen to get the kids started the next day. some links you may find useful :- http://www.allhomes.com.au/ http://the-riotact.com/ http://www.canberrafurnished.com.au/ Good luck with it... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobandCatherine Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Sorry Dottielot, I've just read the original post - it seems your thread has been hi-jacked, not much info from me about being a single traveller I'm afraid, there's plenty of worse places to be though... Hopefully someone will pop up & get it back on track soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dottielott Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hi RobandCatherine No problem your welcome on my thread anytime. Your information has been quite helpful anyway so thank you. I know you say the rental market is tough does this go for house sharing as well as I think thats the way forward for me being a single traveller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dottielott Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hello Dottielott,We are also in the same boat. We just got our visa granted and now trying to fix up a date to travel. We are a Sri Lankan family of four. My son is 10 yrs and daughter is 4. We are currently living in Kuwait as I am working there. The greatest fears for us are, * How to travel to Canberra.(From Sydney or from Melbourne) * Where to stay on our first arrival. * How long would it take to find an apartment or a unit? * What kind of settlement assistance can be expected from the ACT settlement service? * How to arrange for traveling to and from different places. (Can we hire a car or should we use the public transport) * How much would it cost to hire a car? * Am I able to drive a car with my Kuwait or Sri Lankan driver’s license? * How early should we be there in order to get admission for schools for my kids? (Especially for the elder one) * When is the best time to arrive there? (During Christmas or before?) * Will it be difficult to find houses and other necessities if we arrive during Christmas season as there will be holidays? Well, these are just a few of the issues that we are currently battling with to get cleared. What about you. Are you traveling alone? Which suburbs do you have in mind to be relocated? What kind of worries do you have about traveling to Canberra? Would be nice to see if there’s anything in common. Looking forward to hear from you,, Kind regards, Ruchira & Shiran Hi Ruandshi Its awful isn't it having all these questions flying round in your head. I'm also wondering when the best time to go would be. I'm thinking February time I'm also wondering how to get to Canberra from Sydney, I do have friends in Sydney so I could probably stay with them for a couple of days and then head down to Canberra, I believe there is a bus service and it costs about $15. Or then again do I hire a car? I have an English Licence and I think thats valid in Australia as long as you get it changed or swapped to an Australia Licence (mind you I'm not too sure on that) any help from other pio would be great on this topic. I believe the rental market is tough so thats something I'm not looking forward to. As I'm travelling alone though it would probably be wise to house share. That way I get to meet atleast one person in Canberra till I find my feet. Having visted Canberra last year for only a couple of days I didn't get to see most of the suburbs but two did stand out to me these being Manuka and Yarramula (i think thats how you spell it). I think these are quite pricey suburbs to live. I think the ACT sponsorship lets you live in Queanbeyan which is a little bit cheaper that the ACT suburbs to live (its actually in NSW) (again help on this subject would be helpful). So I think basically we have the same thoughts and dilemmas going round in our heads. It would be nice to hear how you get on with everything. Good luck with it all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobandCatherine Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 A friend of our daughters is moving from one share house to another in the next few weeks so I will pay a bit more attention than normal & report back on anything you may need to be wary of, there's a share section on Allhomes which seems pretty active so you should be ok. A UK licence is valid for 3 months after you arrive on a 176, exchanging it for an ACT one is fairly simple - fill in the form at a Canberra Connect Shop, have an eye test & photo taken and its printed there & then, can't remember how much though sorry, about $150 I think & takes about 20-30 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoot Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Space in share houses opens up all the time BUT space is at a premium when the universities go back, that means you are likely to find yourself in a bit of a bidding war and that the nice places get snapped up quickly. Check out gumtree, realestate.com and domain.com which all have a share accommodation section - that will give you an idea of cost, area and type of accommodation on offer. Some shared accommodation though is more like a boarding house so you may find you dont interact with your house mate which can be a problem when you are new to a country and trying to get on your feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dottielott Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Space in share houses opens up all the time BUT space is at a premium when the universities go back, that means you are likely to find yourself in a bit of a bidding war and that the nice places get snapped up quickly. Check out gumtree, realestate.com and domain.com which all have a share accommodation section - that will give you an idea of cost, area and type of accommodation on offer. Some shared accommodation though is more like a boarding house so you may find you dont interact with your house mate which can be a problem when you are new to a country and trying to get on your feet. Hey zoot Thanks for the advice not sure I like the idea about it being like a boarding house though. When do the universities go back? Is it January time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dottielott Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 A friend of our daughters is moving from one share house to another in the next few weeks so I will pay a bit more attention than normal & report back on anything you may need to be wary of, there's a share section on Allhomes which seems pretty active so you should be ok. A UK licence is valid for 3 months after you arrive on a 176, exchanging it for an ACT one is fairly simple - fill in the form at a Canberra Connect Shop, have an eye test & photo taken and its printed there & then, can't remember how much though sorry, about $150 I think & takes about 20-30 minutes. Hey Robandcatherine I thought it was about 3 months for the driving licence to be swapped over. Yes keep me posted on your friends daughters house share, it will be nice to know and hear how she gets on with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobandCatherine Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 You have 3 months to exchange it within - we waited until we had a permanent address before gettting ours, when you apply they fix it up there & then. If you change your address its just a phonecall & they post you a sticker. Hope that makes sense... Rob 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.