Gaskit Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Hello, I thought I'll do one of those arrival reports as I found reading them so useful when still in the UK. Hopefully others will find it useful too. Anyway we flew Singapore Airline back in June with a 4 days stopover in Singapore as we thought it would be our last holidays for a little while (we are here on OH 457 visa so will take him a little while to build up annual leave). Singapore was nice , we visited the zoo, markets etc. 4 days is plenty to see the main tourist attractions. We then flew to Melbourne (each flight was an overnight flight as easier for the 3yrs old daughter). Going through customs at 7am took ages (1hr), then got the shuttle bus to our hotel in the CBD. OH started work within a week of arriving and the hunt for a rental then started. The whole rental process is really not a pleasant experience and is very very time consuming. We also probably made the mistake of trying to do everything by public transport which is possible but it would be much more efficient with a car to drive around places first. Anyway as others said on here have all your paperwork for the application scanned and printed (passport, birth certificate, bank statement etc and an introduction letter). At the end we got really tight for time with our container about to arrive so took the next property that we did not dislike too much !! But we have really seen some horrors! We just thought we will stay here for 12 months and then we will have a much better feel for the areas we want to live in. Container was delivered within 2 weeks of arriving in Melbourne - custom inspection was done within a week but we then had to wait a week for them to issue the paperwork to release the container. Anyway we are quite happy where we are. We found a nice nursery for the little one - they seem to be having so many activities planned there : music , sport and various visits (fire station last week !). Now with regards to cost of life here, I think it's pretty much as we expected reading other posts on here. Some stuff are more expensive and others cheaper! Transport is particularly cheap : petrol is cheap, you can park free in most places (except obviously in melbourne CBD) and the train/tram/bus is only $3 for the day at weekend ! a bit of a shock compared to london ! In any case you have to shop around for things to get the best prices. I'm now going to be testing the whole Medicare system as I found out I was pregnant just as we arrived and all private health insurance have a 12 months waiting period before you can get cover for antenatal care. The money you get back from the rebate seems to be quite variable so far. I can't say we have seen much of Melbourne yet as we have been too busy trying to settle in. But now that spring has arrived, it feels the right time to start exploring what Melbourne has to offer! :yes: Anyway no regret so far ... even the little one keeps saying 'it's beautiful here!!' when she sees colourful parrots flying off in the garden ! and the 100's of playgrounds available here are helping too !! Good luck to all of you who are about to do the trip - it's 6 months of hard work but hopefully worth it ! Happy to help with any questions :cute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Hi Gaskit Thanks for posting your update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Welcome ! Hopefully some sun will come out next week, the rain and hail has been bad today. Don't worry too much about the public hospital system, some of them are fine, don't know which area you are in, but there are some nice birthing units around - "Birralee" at Box Hill Hospital, and at the Women's Hospital in the city I can think of, and there are others. Ask your GP. Good luck with everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaskit Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks Olly. Funny you mentioneed Birralee as it's where I have an appointment with a midwife and Doc next week! But I was high risk before so not sure I'll be able to go to a birthing centre - I might have to stay with hospital. We live in Glen Iris so I think they might send me to Monash hospital if I'm high risk again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajs604 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 So glad you settled in well. Melbourne is a pritty likeable place. I love all the parks, trams and the fact that we are close to some great beaches in Toriquay, Anglesea all within a couple of hours of the CBC. Are you going for PR. I also came on a 457 then swaped over to a 176 PR as soon as I could! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaskit Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 We will probably look for PR - but because OH gets LAFHA we have to look at all the details because there are some good tax benefit with the 457. How quickly did you apply for PR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajs604 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Hi I applied after 2 wks lol. I have been backwards and forwards for a while and decided thats it I wanted to stay. Met a nice girl here ect. I have no desire to go back to the UK and wont even go for a visit not for at least 10 years. I live in The Western suburbs and work as a Podiatrist. Love it here, shame about the weather today its freezing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaskit Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 I did not know you could apply so quickly ! Sounds like you have made up your mind of where you want to live. Hope it carries on going well for you. Yes today is pretty rough here - but hey it's still early spring and we had beautiful days last weekend. It would be boring if it was always the same weather ! :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajs604 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Yeah there is no restirction to how quick you can apply providing your on the skills list. Have you been or are you planning a visit back to the UK? I think it could be years before I visit lol so much to see and do here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks Olly. Funny you mentioneed Birralee as it's where I have an appointment with a midwife and Doc next week! But I was high risk before so not sure I'll be able to go to a birthing centre - I might have to stay with hospital. We live in Glen Iris so I think they might send me to Monash hospital if I'm high risk again. Best of luck with it Gaskit, my friends kids' were born at Jessie Macpherson there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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