Australia Reccy Trip - Part One
Nov 7th 2004, 9:17 am
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: wolverhampton
Posts: 71
Australia Reccy Trip - Part One
We have just returned from our reccy trip to Australia so I thought I'd start to put our experiences on the Forum.
My wife and three children all under 6 were not sure between Adelaide or Sydney. The points change (we had our skills assessed and all the forms filled in but did not realise the change was immenant as my father passed away during this time) meant that it was SIR or employer sponsored. I applied for some jobs (I am an Architect) in Sydney but also arranged a visit to Adelaide.
We flew with Malaysia Airlines, who were great on the way out but not so great on our trip back. We decided to fly straight out with only a two hour stop in KL. Our kids were briliant sleeping when they were meant to and behaving when they were awake. We had a good supply of drawing books, dot to dots, paints, reading books etc.
We arrived in Sydney to rain and once we picked up the hire car drove to our pre - booked apartment in Crows Nest. We decided we wanted to "live with the locals and booked through www.apartmentservice.com.au. The apartment was clean and exactly as shown on the web site. I would use them again and recommend to others.
The first few days were taken up with some sightseeing, catching up with friends and job interviews. To cut a long story short I now have a job with an employer willing to sponsor me which is great. The job will stsrt around June, July which gives us time to get our life in order and decide wether it is for us.
We absolutely loved Sydney and it was everything we remember it to be from our backpacking 12 years ago. People kept mentioning the cost of housing etc but compared to a London or even Birmingham if you choose suburbs carefully it is only high from Aussie standards. Sydney is also noted as being just like London. I disagree on a number of issues.
We really noticed the cleanliness (we noticed the opposite on our return to the UK), Aussie flags everywhere (pride in their country?) and the friendliness of people. A few times we were at circular Quay or Town Hall Train station at rush hour with two prams and one walking child and did not feel intimidated, found space on the trains easily and was helped by the Sydneysiders. The cost of eating out and living generally is cheaper than the UK, but higher than elsewhere in Oz.
We did all the usual things that tourists do, Zoo, Manly Ferry, Aquarium, Sydney Tower and our children loved it all. We enjoyed meeting up with friends (previous migrants) and getting to know their thoughts on Sydney(and Adelaide) and chated to locals we met asking various things about schools etc. We went to a Crows Nest Church Fete for twenty minutes or so and people were very friendly and wanted to chat to us and let us know about Sydney and what it was like for them.
We searched out local areas - my new job is in Crows Nest so decided on areas like Chatswood, St Ives, Forestville or Frenches Forest which are Norh Shore family suburbs with rental values of around $450 - $700 per week upwards. These areas are very leafy with good connections and close to the northerm beaches, which we loved, and have local centres and schools which suit us. Some of our friends are single or with no kids and live either in the city or eastern suburbs but this is not for us with our children.
The weather was not great during our stay which was unfortunate but also good! If you can like a place when it is wet and not summer sunny then when it is sunny it can only be better. WE had five days of holiday in Maly - syated at the Manly Pacific which was luxurious and had an Ocean view room. The weather was hot and sunny for this which was really nice.
Some other observations on Sydney:
- kids having beach volleyball lessons at school - Manly
- kids being given surf aware lessons and surfing lessons - again Manly. We were there for 5 days and every day schools would arrive for these "lessons"
- apart from one bad experience on the Manly ferry where a fat Aussie bloke complained loudly down his mobile about the " f***ing whinging pommie kids" - I was taking photos at the time or there may have been an arguement, my wife just moved away - we found Sydneysiders open and friendly.
- the beauty of the city, harbour and beaches - awesome
- the transport system and infrastructure being pretty good
Anyway thats about it for Sydney. As you can guess we loved it and found it spectacular and beautiful and we are sure we could be happy there.
Sorry for going on for so long - there is just so much to tell and I am sure I have missed out loads but hope it is of interest, I'll post about Adelaide seperately.
Cam
My wife and three children all under 6 were not sure between Adelaide or Sydney. The points change (we had our skills assessed and all the forms filled in but did not realise the change was immenant as my father passed away during this time) meant that it was SIR or employer sponsored. I applied for some jobs (I am an Architect) in Sydney but also arranged a visit to Adelaide.
We flew with Malaysia Airlines, who were great on the way out but not so great on our trip back. We decided to fly straight out with only a two hour stop in KL. Our kids were briliant sleeping when they were meant to and behaving when they were awake. We had a good supply of drawing books, dot to dots, paints, reading books etc.
We arrived in Sydney to rain and once we picked up the hire car drove to our pre - booked apartment in Crows Nest. We decided we wanted to "live with the locals and booked through www.apartmentservice.com.au. The apartment was clean and exactly as shown on the web site. I would use them again and recommend to others.
The first few days were taken up with some sightseeing, catching up with friends and job interviews. To cut a long story short I now have a job with an employer willing to sponsor me which is great. The job will stsrt around June, July which gives us time to get our life in order and decide wether it is for us.
We absolutely loved Sydney and it was everything we remember it to be from our backpacking 12 years ago. People kept mentioning the cost of housing etc but compared to a London or even Birmingham if you choose suburbs carefully it is only high from Aussie standards. Sydney is also noted as being just like London. I disagree on a number of issues.
We really noticed the cleanliness (we noticed the opposite on our return to the UK), Aussie flags everywhere (pride in their country?) and the friendliness of people. A few times we were at circular Quay or Town Hall Train station at rush hour with two prams and one walking child and did not feel intimidated, found space on the trains easily and was helped by the Sydneysiders. The cost of eating out and living generally is cheaper than the UK, but higher than elsewhere in Oz.
We did all the usual things that tourists do, Zoo, Manly Ferry, Aquarium, Sydney Tower and our children loved it all. We enjoyed meeting up with friends (previous migrants) and getting to know their thoughts on Sydney(and Adelaide) and chated to locals we met asking various things about schools etc. We went to a Crows Nest Church Fete for twenty minutes or so and people were very friendly and wanted to chat to us and let us know about Sydney and what it was like for them.
We searched out local areas - my new job is in Crows Nest so decided on areas like Chatswood, St Ives, Forestville or Frenches Forest which are Norh Shore family suburbs with rental values of around $450 - $700 per week upwards. These areas are very leafy with good connections and close to the northerm beaches, which we loved, and have local centres and schools which suit us. Some of our friends are single or with no kids and live either in the city or eastern suburbs but this is not for us with our children.
The weather was not great during our stay which was unfortunate but also good! If you can like a place when it is wet and not summer sunny then when it is sunny it can only be better. WE had five days of holiday in Maly - syated at the Manly Pacific which was luxurious and had an Ocean view room. The weather was hot and sunny for this which was really nice.
Some other observations on Sydney:
- kids having beach volleyball lessons at school - Manly
- kids being given surf aware lessons and surfing lessons - again Manly. We were there for 5 days and every day schools would arrive for these "lessons"
- apart from one bad experience on the Manly ferry where a fat Aussie bloke complained loudly down his mobile about the " f***ing whinging pommie kids" - I was taking photos at the time or there may have been an arguement, my wife just moved away - we found Sydneysiders open and friendly.
- the beauty of the city, harbour and beaches - awesome
- the transport system and infrastructure being pretty good
Anyway thats about it for Sydney. As you can guess we loved it and found it spectacular and beautiful and we are sure we could be happy there.
Sorry for going on for so long - there is just so much to tell and I am sure I have missed out loads but hope it is of interest, I'll post about Adelaide seperately.
Cam
Nov 7th 2004, 1:02 pm
#2
Phil is NOT a bloke!!!!
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: Woonona, NSW.(just South of Sydney!!)
Posts: 466
Re: Australia Reccy Trip - Part One
Originally Posted by cammym
We have just returned from our reccy trip to Australia so I thought I'd start to put our experiences on the Forum.
My wife and three children all under 6 were not sure between Adelaide or Sydney. The points change (we had our skills assessed and all the forms filled in but did not realise the change was immenant as my father passed away during this time) meant that it was SIR or employer sponsored. I applied for some jobs (I am an Architect) in Sydney but also arranged a visit to Adelaide.
We flew with Malaysia Airlines, who were great on the way out but not so great on our trip back. We decided to fly straight out with only a two hour stop in KL. Our kids were briliant sleeping when they were meant to and behaving when they were awake. We had a good supply of drawing books, dot to dots, paints, reading books etc.
We arrived in Sydney to rain and once we picked up the hire car drove to our pre - booked apartment in Crows Nest. We decided we wanted to "live with the locals and booked through www.apartmentservice.com.au. The apartment was clean and exactly as shown on the web site. I would use them again and recommend to others.
The first few days were taken up with some sightseeing, catching up with friends and job interviews. To cut a long story short I now have a job with an employer willing to sponsor me which is great. The job will stsrt around June, July which gives us time to get our life in order and decide wether it is for us.
We absolutely loved Sydney and it was everything we remember it to be from our backpacking 12 years ago. People kept mentioning the cost of housing etc but compared to a London or even Birmingham if you choose suburbs carefully it is only high from Aussie standards. Sydney is also noted as being just like London. I disagree on a number of issues.
We really noticed the cleanliness (we noticed the opposite on our return to the UK), Aussie flags everywhere (pride in their country?) and the friendliness of people. A few times we were at circular Quay or Town Hall Train station at rush hour with two prams and one walking child and did not feel intimidated, found space on the trains easily and was helped by the Sydneysiders. The cost of eating out and living generally is cheaper than the UK, but higher than elsewhere in Oz.
We did all the usual things that tourists do, Zoo, Manly Ferry, Aquarium, Sydney Tower and our children loved it all. We enjoyed meeting up with friends (previous migrants) and getting to know their thoughts on Sydney(and Adelaide) and chated to locals we met asking various things about schools etc. We went to a Crows Nest Church Fete for twenty minutes or so and people were very friendly and wanted to chat to us and let us know about Sydney and what it was like for them.
We searched out local areas - my new job is in Crows Nest so decided on areas like Chatswood, St Ives, Forestville or Frenches Forest which are Norh Shore family suburbs with rental values of around $450 - $700 per week upwards. These areas are very leafy with good connections and close to the northerm beaches, which we loved, and have local centres and schools which suit us. Some of our friends are single or with no kids and live either in the city or eastern suburbs but this is not for us with our children.
The weather was not great during our stay which was unfortunate but also good! If you can like a place when it is wet and not summer sunny then when it is sunny it can only be better. WE had five days of holiday in Maly - syated at the Manly Pacific which was luxurious and had an Ocean view room. The weather was hot and sunny for this which was really nice.
Some other observations on Sydney:
- kids having beach volleyball lessons at school - Manly
- kids being given surf aware lessons and surfing lessons - again Manly. We were there for 5 days and every day schools would arrive for these "lessons"
- apart from one bad experience on the Manly ferry where a fat Aussie bloke complained loudly down his mobile about the " f***ing whinging pommie kids" - I was taking photos at the time or there may have been an arguement, my wife just moved away - we found Sydneysiders open and friendly.
- the beauty of the city, harbour and beaches - awesome
- the transport system and infrastructure being pretty good
Anyway thats about it for Sydney. As you can guess we loved it and found it spectacular and beautiful and we are sure we could be happy there.
Sorry for going on for so long - there is just so much to tell and I am sure I have missed out loads but hope it is of interest, I'll post about Adelaide seperately.
Cam
My wife and three children all under 6 were not sure between Adelaide or Sydney. The points change (we had our skills assessed and all the forms filled in but did not realise the change was immenant as my father passed away during this time) meant that it was SIR or employer sponsored. I applied for some jobs (I am an Architect) in Sydney but also arranged a visit to Adelaide.
We flew with Malaysia Airlines, who were great on the way out but not so great on our trip back. We decided to fly straight out with only a two hour stop in KL. Our kids were briliant sleeping when they were meant to and behaving when they were awake. We had a good supply of drawing books, dot to dots, paints, reading books etc.
We arrived in Sydney to rain and once we picked up the hire car drove to our pre - booked apartment in Crows Nest. We decided we wanted to "live with the locals and booked through www.apartmentservice.com.au. The apartment was clean and exactly as shown on the web site. I would use them again and recommend to others.
The first few days were taken up with some sightseeing, catching up with friends and job interviews. To cut a long story short I now have a job with an employer willing to sponsor me which is great. The job will stsrt around June, July which gives us time to get our life in order and decide wether it is for us.
We absolutely loved Sydney and it was everything we remember it to be from our backpacking 12 years ago. People kept mentioning the cost of housing etc but compared to a London or even Birmingham if you choose suburbs carefully it is only high from Aussie standards. Sydney is also noted as being just like London. I disagree on a number of issues.
We really noticed the cleanliness (we noticed the opposite on our return to the UK), Aussie flags everywhere (pride in their country?) and the friendliness of people. A few times we were at circular Quay or Town Hall Train station at rush hour with two prams and one walking child and did not feel intimidated, found space on the trains easily and was helped by the Sydneysiders. The cost of eating out and living generally is cheaper than the UK, but higher than elsewhere in Oz.
We did all the usual things that tourists do, Zoo, Manly Ferry, Aquarium, Sydney Tower and our children loved it all. We enjoyed meeting up with friends (previous migrants) and getting to know their thoughts on Sydney(and Adelaide) and chated to locals we met asking various things about schools etc. We went to a Crows Nest Church Fete for twenty minutes or so and people were very friendly and wanted to chat to us and let us know about Sydney and what it was like for them.
We searched out local areas - my new job is in Crows Nest so decided on areas like Chatswood, St Ives, Forestville or Frenches Forest which are Norh Shore family suburbs with rental values of around $450 - $700 per week upwards. These areas are very leafy with good connections and close to the northerm beaches, which we loved, and have local centres and schools which suit us. Some of our friends are single or with no kids and live either in the city or eastern suburbs but this is not for us with our children.
The weather was not great during our stay which was unfortunate but also good! If you can like a place when it is wet and not summer sunny then when it is sunny it can only be better. WE had five days of holiday in Maly - syated at the Manly Pacific which was luxurious and had an Ocean view room. The weather was hot and sunny for this which was really nice.
Some other observations on Sydney:
- kids having beach volleyball lessons at school - Manly
- kids being given surf aware lessons and surfing lessons - again Manly. We were there for 5 days and every day schools would arrive for these "lessons"
- apart from one bad experience on the Manly ferry where a fat Aussie bloke complained loudly down his mobile about the " f***ing whinging pommie kids" - I was taking photos at the time or there may have been an arguement, my wife just moved away - we found Sydneysiders open and friendly.
- the beauty of the city, harbour and beaches - awesome
- the transport system and infrastructure being pretty good
Anyway thats about it for Sydney. As you can guess we loved it and found it spectacular and beautiful and we are sure we could be happy there.
Sorry for going on for so long - there is just so much to tell and I am sure I have missed out loads but hope it is of interest, I'll post about Adelaide seperately.
Cam
Best of luck with everything,
Phil x
Nov 7th 2004, 5:33 pm
#3
Birds of a feather . . .
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: In my own home! Northern Beaches, Sydney
Posts: 1,788
Re: Australia Reccy Trip - Part One
Hi Cam
Good to hear of your experience. My husband and I did our reccy the last two weeks of October (minus the kids aged 3, 5 and 6). We are looking to move out in about April, depending on how long it takes to sell the house!?! Well done for starting this thread - should have done it myself really but all my thoughts only mirror your own.
Good luck over the next few months - it's a lot for us all to take in with kids but there is plenty of advice on this forum.
Bindy
Good to hear of your experience. My husband and I did our reccy the last two weeks of October (minus the kids aged 3, 5 and 6). We are looking to move out in about April, depending on how long it takes to sell the house!?! Well done for starting this thread - should have done it myself really but all my thoughts only mirror your own.
Good luck over the next few months - it's a lot for us all to take in with kids but there is plenty of advice on this forum.
Bindy
Nov 7th 2004, 6:41 pm
#4
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Perth
Posts: 471
Re: Australia Reccy Trip - Part One
Thanks for a really useful, interestimg post. We also have 3 kids (6, 4 and 11mths) so it's good to know that the travelling and getting around with them wasn't too bad. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on Adelaide.
Yv
Yv
Nov 15th 2004, 8:52 pm
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Australia Reccy Trip - Part One
In article <[email protected]> ,
member27303@british_expats.com (cammym) wrote:
> our pre - booked apartment in Crows Nest. We decided we wanted to "live
> with the locals and booked through www.apartmentservice.com.au. The
> apartment was clean and exactly as shown on the web site. I would use
> them again and recommend to others.
Thanks for the link, looks very useful - I think I would choose somewhere
like that over a hostel before I find somewhere more permanent.
> to the UK), Aussie flags everywhere (pride in their country?) and the
It's something sad about England - pride in your country/flag is so often
mistaken as a sign of prejudice or the National Front.
(i've got to say though - surely the kids did *something* to catch the eye
of the fat aussie? I know things your kids do are always delightful but
for others it's not always the same..)
--
Paul
http://www.labrose.com
member27303@british_expats.com (cammym) wrote:
> our pre - booked apartment in Crows Nest. We decided we wanted to "live
> with the locals and booked through www.apartmentservice.com.au. The
> apartment was clean and exactly as shown on the web site. I would use
> them again and recommend to others.
Thanks for the link, looks very useful - I think I would choose somewhere
like that over a hostel before I find somewhere more permanent.
> to the UK), Aussie flags everywhere (pride in their country?) and the
It's something sad about England - pride in your country/flag is so often
mistaken as a sign of prejudice or the National Front.
(i've got to say though - surely the kids did *something* to catch the eye
of the fat aussie? I know things your kids do are always delightful but
for others it's not always the same..)
--
Paul
http://www.labrose.com
Nov 16th 2004, 8:02 am
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: in shock!
Posts: 290
Re: Australia Reccy Trip - Part One
My wife and three children all under 6 - is this legal? Sorry, couldn't resist!!
Great post, sounds like your trip was very successful and congrats on the job offer, wouldn't worry too much about the blokes comments on the ferry, you get that everywhere.
Best of luck with the rest of your plans,
CK
Great post, sounds like your trip was very successful and congrats on the job offer, wouldn't worry too much about the blokes comments on the ferry, you get that everywhere.
Best of luck with the rest of your plans,
CK
