Trixie Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Well as long as our X-rays come back ok that is.... fingers crossed. Our case officer said yesterday that everything else is fine and once he gets them he should be able to grant the 457 - Hurray!! Our X-rays are booked for 23rd December so it will be early Jan before the visa can be granted, then OH will hand in his notice and we'll be off. No re-location package is being given as we went through a recruitment agent and they have to pay his fees - booo hissss. Nevermind, we did say it wouldn't be a deal breaker if they didn't, we just really want to move out of where we are now (Sofia, Bulgaria). So we are now on the hunt for the most economical way of getting us and our stuff out there. We only have boxes of personal stuff no large items of furniture so that will help on shipping costs. Flights will cost about £700 pp. The big thing is temporary accommodation. I have been searching this morning and it seems that for a 15 day stay it is going to cost us anything between $2-3k. Does this sound right to you guys or can you give me any pointers of where to look in and around Canberra - commutable by public transport to Bentham Street Yarralumla -that maybe cheaper. I have looked at house sitting too as we are happy to look after pets etc as I won't be working the first few weeks... so if you know of anyone that needs anyone give me a shout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 About $1k per week is the going rate for short term accommodation especially towards the end of the holiday season so you are in the ball park there. Dont know if you have kids but if you do, then a heads up that ACT charges like a wounded bull for temporary residents using ACT gov schools unless your occupation is on SOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Thanks Quoll... no we don't have kids so at least that is one thing we don't have to think about just yet. I had a feeling we are going to have to pay through the nose for short term accom.... looks like I'll just have to be really on the ball about getting us somewhere decent to live asap.... along with all the others trying to do the same. Rubbish time of year by all accounts for getting rentals in Canberra with the influx of new people at that time of year. I'll get a pack together ready so if anything comes up we can apply there and then to make things as quick as possible. Any hints and tips from anyone as to what to provide... we are landlords ourselves, I've heard that this can stand in good stead with prospective landlords. We are renting too so I'll get a reference from our present landlord. I have rental receipts from our last landlord of 2 yrs to show we pay on time. Bank accounts were set up yesterday just need to be finished off once we arrive with ID. OH will obviously have a job. I can get mortgage statements from our mortgage companies to show both mortgages are up to date..... mmmmm what else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 It is a rubbish time of year TBH as you will be vying with the uni students, all of whom will have arrived in town the same time as you! You will be in a better position as you have a job to go to with a guaranteed income. Hope you havent got pets as they also make things difficult! With no kids you might be able to 'squat at the Formule 1 hotel ($90 a night) but you will need transport as it is in nether Watson and the buses arent too accommodating from there but you would probably be better trying to source something in Civic as the bus ride (or bike) is easier out to Yarralumla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matjones Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 We arrived on Jan 21st this year and had an awful time looking for rentals the first 3 weeks, with way too many applicants. However during our fourth week (right after school started) we had offers on 5 places that we applied for (and we have dogs). So, if you are arriving mid Feb you might be OK. The biggest pain in the butt is that the agents here are so slow at getting back to you. So, apply for multiple places. Don't sit around waiting for a response from 1 agent, it could take them a week, if they even get back to you at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Thanks for the heads up Matjones, that is useful to know... I will apply for everyone we like there an then LOL. Been looking a lot on AllHomes.com.au to see what is about. We just can't wait to get out there now as we are seeing houses and say oh that's nice, we'd like to live there knowing full well that it won't be available when we get there....frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunniecat Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 hey Trixie, when do you arrive? We're due into Canberra Feb 15th! You could try somewhere like airbnb.com or stayz.com for short-term accommodation, I know someone else around here managed to get one of the Kaleen cottages for $500/week when they booked it for a month... Good to hear from people saying they found rentals at that time of year, it's been my biggest worry - we have short term sorted (friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend) but I was worried about how long it might take us to find longer term. But we have landlord references too, so I think we will just follow the advice here, apply for everything we see that we like and cross our fingers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Hi there Sunnicat. We plan on arriving in Canberra a few days after you, on or around the 17th ish...it would be nice for OH to have a few days before starting work. Thanks for those websites, I'll check them out when we know our official dates. Long term accom worries me too... I don't want to stay in short term accom more than 2 weeks really due to cost. Plus it will be nice to be settled sooner rather than later. Luckily I won't be working initially so I can spend all my time finding us a home before job hunting... fingers crossed for both of us... we will probably unknowingly see each other at viewings :-) Maybe when we are both settled we can meet up for a beer and swap horror stories LOL. Take care, Happy Christmas and .... see you on the otherside!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest journeydownunder Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hi Guys, Good luck with your move. We used canberrafurnished.com. They have a range of budget to exec style apartments starting from $623 per week for a 2 week stay. So easy - no deposit required, everything is provided for you, easy enough to extend your stay if you can't find somewhere more long term straight away. They are very friendly and will also give you a rental reference which will really help when you come to find somewhere long term. They will also give you 'proof of address" so that you can get your drivers licences sorted straight away if you want to - although if you're on a 457 I don't think you can get them straight away - don't quote me on that though! We've been here six months now and generally have the lay of the land so feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions. Good Luck Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n30nra1n Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Best advise we got and used was to make up a pack for when you arrive to provide to the agents when you apply for a property, ours included a write up about us, bank statement showing we had funds (no jobs at the time), references from our neighbours and the estate agent in regard to our UK property etc. and pictures of our house so that the landlord could get a feel for who we are as obviously we could not provide Oz references etc. this seemed to work as we applied for five properties and got four of them and that was with two small dogs (they had their own profile write up). You will only be able to complete the front page of the rental application at a guess (contact details) the pack then substitutes for the rest which covers references and jobs etc. The more you put in the more chance you have of standing out over and above anyone else who applies for the property you want, sounds simple but so many people don't seem to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Thank you both for those hints and tips. I'll check out that website and get my rental pack together. We had our visa granted yesterday so it is all on!!! OH will hand in his notice on Monday when his boss is back.... it's all go now, can't wait!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunniecat Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Thank you both for those hints and tips. I'll check out that website and get my rental pack together. We had our visa granted yesterday so it is all on!!! OH will hand in his notice on Monday when his boss is back.... it's all go now, can't wait!! Congratulations!!! Maybe we'll see you out there in just a few weeks, then!! (Oh. My. Goodness. We are moving in 5 weeks!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Well, all go this week. OH handed in his notice yesterday. We booked our 1 way flights back to the UK. Booked out 1 way flights to Oz (14th Feb). Booked our short term accommodation and hire car for the 1st 2 weeks. The bank card has taken an almighty battering today I can tell you! Our New Sofa is ready to be delivered to be put straight into a shipping container... which I still need to book. I have had a quote from John Mason for £1200 and they will have the job as they are the cheapest. Do I need to get our medical records from our Dr's to take with us? Getting really excited now.... it's going to be so nice to live back in a country where I can speak to language and go to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunniecat Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 You'll be arriving just about when we do, Trixie! Where are you staying at the beginning? We're going to be in Kaleen. I've emailed our doc to ask about medical records, I'll let you know when I get an answer... looking forward to the sunshine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 No you dont need your medical records at all unless you have had some significant interventions for something quite esoteric. The only exception to this is your kids' vaccination records which will be essential (if you have kids of course) for enrolment into school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 You'll be arriving just about when we do, Trixie! Where are you staying at the beginning? We're going to be in Kaleen. I've emailed our doc to ask about medical records, I'll let you know when I get an answer... looking forward to the sunshine!! We are staying in Queanbeyan for the first 16 days as that was the cheapest I could find and it looks really nice too. Not ideal location but never mind... it was that or stay somewhere a bit grotty or pay for the moon. After those 16 days I am hoping to have found us a real house to live in. We don't have kids yet so I am free to stalk the streets (well drive them anyway as the money I saved I can hire a car for the whole time too) You never know we may be on the same flight! Ours in from LHR on Singapore Airlines on 14th Feb the night flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunniecat Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 we're driving down from Sydney on the 15th, we fly into Sydney over the weekend (leaving LHR late on the 11th) - we've got a flat in Kaleen for a month which we were lucky with cost-wise. I think we'll want to live in South Canberra though, so we'll have to spend some time exploring once we get there! Would be great to meet up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 I finally got back to the UK yesterday - and was glad to see the back of Bulgaria... Packing boxes arrived today so now the messy business of unpacking our boxes that have been in storage for 12 months and then re packing them to be collected by John Mason on 6th Feb! Still doesn't feel quite real yet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunniecat Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I finally got back to the UK yesterday - and was glad to see the back of Bulgaria... Packing boxes arrived today so now the messy business of unpacking our boxes that have been in storage for 12 months and then re packing them to be collected by John Mason on 6th Feb! Still doesn't feel quite real yet though. Is it feeling real yet? I'm thinking it will hit me when I start packing bags tomorrow ready for our packers to come on Wednesday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SandP Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Is it feeling real yet? I'm thinking it will hit me when I start packing bags tomorrow ready for our packers to come on Wednesday! Hi Sunnie Cat and Trixie, Be prepared as I don't think it hits youmtil you get to LHR - well that was when it got me. I had a dont want to get on the plane moment. But here we are nearly ten months later, we have bought a house, OH has good job, I work evenn to avoid childcare cost and the kids are happy in school. Oh and we got a dog too. I guess you could say we are settled!! It will be hard at first but Trixie I guess you know how it feels to start somewhere new. All teh Australians and fellow immigrants we have met have been great and are all willing to support you if you give it your best. Its a great adventure and I wis you all the very best with it.. Let us know if you need anything when you get here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trixie Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Hi No still doesn't feel real. We start he journey to Canberra a week today aaaahhhhh. John Mason took everything yesterday so that is one job out the way. OH finishes work tomorrow and comes back to England on Thurs (hopefully all the snow in Europe won't delay or stop him). It is all very exciting and we can't wait to get there now.... it is all so near yet so far too. Thanks SandP... good to hear you have settled so quickly. I hope we will be Ok as we have lived away from the UK for nearly 5 yrs now so at least we are used to not being so close (geographically) to friends and family. It will still be hard though I think as we can't just pop back for the weekend like we have been used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anotherfinemess Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Best of luck with the move. You'll be in a daze the first few weeks but it'll all settle down nicely after that then. Like everyone has been saying the people here are really nice so hopefully you'll settle quickly. Thats the way we found it anyway. Were starting to get out and meet people now and are enjoying Canberra more & more. Feel free to give us a shout if ye ever wanna grab a drink or anything Stephen & Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.