Moving to Sydney from Kentucky USA in June/July

Kinda hard to give advice when we don't know what you're looking for. Are both of you here on a Work Visa or the Work and Holiday Visa?

Have you:
* Found a place to live or oriented yourself with the neighborhoods?
* Set up a bank account?
* Applied for a Tax File Number?
* Found a job for yourself?
* Familiarized yourself with the cost of living?

The Life in Australia guide is a good starting point.

Duh... Oh yeah, welcome to the forum

Sorry - I gues I wasn't very clear on what i was hoping to hear

We will both be coming on a 457 work visa - we are moving to take a job that my husband was offered so that's taken care of.  I haven't found a job yet because I don't know if I want to work or not.  I might do something part time once we get settled.

* Found a place to live or oriented yourself with the neighborhoods?
- No, I was told it was a bad idea to rent anything over the internet.  My husband's company is putting us up in a hotel for 3 weeks so I will need to find an apartment in that time frame - I have gotten a general idea of the suburbs I like so I'll be starting my looking there. I also have a contact there who is a friend of a friend deal who said that she would drive me around to the different suburbs and help me find a place.

* Set up a bank account?
- No, can someone tell me which the best one is?

* Applied for a Tax File Number?
- I have the application printed out; but I need to fill that out.
* Found a job for yourself?
- See above

* Familiarized yourself with the cost of living?
- Well, I know it is crazy expensize there; and I used to live in New York so I know what we are getting into; but I think the initial sticker shock is going to be awful. 

So, I guess the advice I'm looking for is:

What is a good bank to use?

What are good suburbs for a young married couple with no kids?
- Has to be close to the train
- Walking distance to shops etc...
- Relatively close to the water
- In an area where there is a lot to do
- Not too expensive and pretentious

What should I bring that I might not think of?

Thanks for the help so far!

~Mimi

Banks: Personally, I signed up with ANZ bank. I didn't to thorough research, but I had gotten a few personal recommendations from fellow travelers and holiday makers. The banks here are a little different than they were in the US. You have an "every day" account and a savings account. The every day account is $5/month and accrues no interest. The savings account I was looking at only accrues interest if you deposit only $10 and make no withdrawals for a month. The bank I had only had a minimum deposit and accrued interest regardless of transactions. I used to belong to a credit union, so this may not be new to you.

Money: Try not to bring too much money with you. I found out after the fact that it costs $7-8 to change cash and traveler's checks and you get billed separately. I brought $50 in cash and $250 in checks and ended up shelling out $15 just to change it. Maybe you should change your money before leaving the US.

Tax File Number: I was able to apply for the Tax File Number online. See if you can do it, too. Less hassle that way.

Cost of Living: I lived in New Jersey and went to Manhattan a lot. Believe me, the cost of some things will shock you. It's mostly the food & drink that got to me: bottled water - $3, candy - $2, lunch - $10-15, dinner $15-20. Luckily, there's no tipping. Also, if you take the train out of the airport, there's a $10 surcharge because the airport stations are privately owned. It cost me $15 to get from the airport to Central Station.

Where to live: You would want to start around the central business district (CBD) and radiate out from there. Most of the cheaper suburbs extend W by NW out of Sydney towards the Blue Mountains. Try to stay south of the harbor, as the North Shore is notorious for being upper crust. You might want to look around the South Shore east of the CBD, but stay away from King's Cross. That's the red light district, so a lot of backpackers and shady people. Take a look at this guide: livingin-australia.com/where-to-live-in-sydney/

Well crap!  I really like the North Shore - especially the Mosman area...  I guess I'll have to get used to people being uppity

Thanks for the rest of your recommendations - I'm off to look at banks!

Hi~

I lived in Sydney for a while, after moving from NC. Check out my tips and experiences on my blog:

http://www.gritandglamour.com/expat-stuff/

I lived in the Sutherland Shire, in Cronulla. The beaches there are lovely, and it's about a 45 minute train ride to the CBD. There stations in Woolooware and Cronulla that are very easy to get to. The people are nice...certainly not as hoity toity as the northern beaches supposed are. My husband works in that area and the people are indeed demanding and can be quite difficult.

Feel free to send me any questions you may have. It's a HUGE cultural shift for Southern-based Americans, though most Aussies are lovely and helpful. You'll see what I'm talking about on my blog.

Good luck!
~V

Thanks V,

I'm not really Southern as I've only lived in northern Kentucky for three years.  I'm originally from up north and spent a few years living on LI outside of New York City.  I can handle me some cold & uppity

I was shocked how much of a cultural difference there was just moving into Kentucky.  My husband, a good southern boy, had to train me out of my evil cold shouldered/sarcastic ways.  I was offending his family!! 

I'm not too worried about the type of people in Northern Sydney - I figure I can handle them either way   I loved you site and I bookmarked your blog so I can shamelessly troll it for ideas of what life will be like there!

Thanks again!!

Mimi

Glad to help!

The people will not be an issue, and maybe not even the cost of living. What's going to shock you is the diminished variety in grocery stores; the lack of widespread modern conveniences; contract-laden services and utilities (and how damn expensive they are); that everything is paid WEEKLY except natural gas, which is paid quarterly; the size of the spiders (God help you if you get a Huntsman in the house); and that Target in Oz is nothing like Target in the U.S.A. even though at first glance they seem the same.

What you'll probably love: Aussie slang and abbreviations (arvo, brekkie, rego, etc.); Aussie fashion/style (it's pretty cool, even if a lot of the girls over-do the short skirts); the foliage, birds, and beaches; the Bronte-to-Bondi walk; the gorgeous Opera House, Harbor Bridge, and Circular Quay; the Blue Mountains; and the sheer number of things to do on any given day.

Hey V,

Yeah, I made my husband promise that we would not rent ANYWHERE that did not have screens.  I also made him promise that we would have an exterminator come and create an unfriendly enviroment for spiders.  Ugh!

I've been skulking around blogs and sites ever since my husband had his first interview and we started to realize that a move could happen so I've been trying to mentally prepare myself for the things that you mentioned. i.e weekly amounts, drying clothes on lines etc...

So far, what seems to annoy me the most is how slow everyone is about responding etc... I know the lifestyle is super laidback and I am uber-type A so I am going to need to pull the stick out of you-know-where and finally learn how to relax!

Luckily, I am not a Target shopper so I won't even know what i am missing!  I love to cook so I know that the first few trips to the grocery store are going to be absolutely terrifying with missing ingredients and new weird ones to learn.  I think the food shopping is what will bring on my homesickness the fastest

I'm not too into fashion; but I do like to look nice.  I'm plus size so I have already resigned myself to not really being able to buy much clothing there.  From what I've heard, Australia doesn't really cater to that market.  I'm only a couple sizes away from regular sizes though and slowly on my way down so, you never know, I may get skinny from all the walking and get to buy a new wardrobe (if that happens I'm calling you to help me - I loved what I saw of your style on your blog)...

I'm not looking forward to (but I am expecting)the homesickness and the feeling of being out of my element...

~Mimi

I think you're going to be so much better prepared than I was. For some reason, I guess I thought everything would be about the same.

So a couple other thoughts:

1. Stuff to take or ship if you use them: dryer sheets (Bounce); Amercian mayo; aspirin and Alleve (no Alleve there); shave gel (it's $6 a can!); ditto for razors and your favorite toiletries like toothpaste (dismal selection), sunscreen, mascara, lipsticks, nail polish, etc. And Q-Tips. They don't have "Q-Tips" brand there, and what they have sucks.

2. If you're a mayo user/lover, when you get there, do NOT buy regular mayo. It's SWEET! Blech! Make sure you buy "whole egg" mayo. That's the closest to American.

3. They have Heinz ketchup, thank goodness. And it's the only one called "ketchup." The Aussie versions (which are totally gross) are called "tomato sauce." Don't know what they call what we consider tomato sauce there.

4. A rule of thumb: whatever you pay for something here, it is double there, except for wine, which is good, cheap, and plentiful. Aussies rock the wine and champers!!! But if you like liquor of any sort, pick up your faves at the duty-free before you fly out of the U.S. I think you can only take two bottles. It's crazy expensive there.

Finally, thanks for your kind words about my blog. It allows me to channel my creative side, that's for sure.

Trust me - thinking about the amount of wine I can drink there is the only thing keeping me going some days
I found an online shop in Australia with free shipping where you can get a dozen bottles for $80 or so.  I already told my husband that I am going to force him to love wine while we are there

I've been stocking up on toiletries - I spent a small fortune on Bath & Body Works stuff already!  I had also heard somewhere that you need a prescription for a Neosporin equivalent?  Crazy! Thanks for the tip on the Q-Tips & Bounce, I would have been crushed!  I love Q-Tips (and only the Q-Tips brand) with an unholy obsession...

FYI - I am having quite a lovely time chatting with you (if you don't mind me saying)

Thanks!

~Mimi

On a completely weird and cool note - I am skulking on your blog right now, reading the archives as I am already completely checked out at my job....

Anywho - my husband is taking a job with Different in Sydney which is a UX firm.  You all are in the same career field - WhoHoo!!

~Mimi

Cool that he's in the same field. Yeah, I'm kind of a Web geek.

Yes...Neosporin (also a fave of mine) doesn't exist OTC. Probably should stock up on it too. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know...am enjoying the convo (ha!) with you as well!

I love that the Aussies shorten all of their words!!

Are you still living in Sydney?

~Mimi