fnord

I started out this whole migration adventure with the best-laid plans: Let’s go to Melbourne as it sounds the perfect place after reading about the pros and cons of each of the big downunder cities. So all I needed to do was get visas, find out all about Melbourne, validate in Melbourne, sell the house, and then move. Easy, eh?

The visa was pretty straightforward, albeit time consuming and expensive. So I next set off doing loads of research into Melbourne suburbs and schools. Hurrah for the Internet.

Unfortunately the validation trip wasn’t quite as successful. My OH was not convinced about Melbourne at all, especially without any job lined up. If I had a decent job offer in my area of interest, she’d be happy to move.

I sent CVs for over a year or more. Mostly no responses, some recruitment chats but nothing more. I widened my criteria at one point and it got me some interviews but they weren’t really for me. So, after almost giving up I sent a few “what the hell” applications and I ended up with two “almosts” and two job offers (see here for more details). The “almosts” were in Brisbane and Auckland and the “offers” were Christchurch and Sydney. Nothing for Melbourne, you might note. Anyway, if I was going to do this migration thing, I had to accept either Sydney or Christchurch opportunities.

My main aim is to get closer to Mum and Dad. As long as the job was a good'n, I wasn't really too bothered about where, as each OZ/NZ city has pros and cons. The one advantage Sydney has, career wise, is I have a lot more options if I want to change job. Sydney 1, Chch 0

It is also important that once I get closer to my folks, I want the migration to be a success and not be running back to London in a year or less. I think that hinges on how the OH will settle, as she will be around home with the kids while I'm at work. She's always been a big city urban girl (Lima: 8 million, Madrid:6 million, London 7 million) and London has been her favourite city so far because its buzzy and cosmopolitan. She hates the cold which is alleviated in London with central heating, double glazing and duvets (even in summer). So Sydney is 4.3 million and warm, and Chch is 360,000 and not so warm. She also has a friend who as just moved to Sydney from London (after, funnily enough, starting in Melbourne). Sydney 1,000,000, Chch 0

So we’ve chosen Sydney. After all my research and planning on Melbourne, I’m going to Sydney.

I finish work here in London on the 31st July, we fly out on the 1st August, arrive at Sydney airport on the 3rd August and I start work on the 4th August

Oh, and the house isn’t selling so we’ll probably have to rent it out.

And, because I was so convinced there wouldn’t be the job opportunities down under for my specialist area, I had decided to do a few things that I’d previously put off like buying a new car and getting a new mobile phone :curse:. Anyone want to buy a new car or take on my mobile contract?

Sometimes you think you know what you should do and events just pick you up and point you in a different direction.

As I don’t know much about the place I moving to in about 4 weeks, what do Sydneysiders think are suitable suburbs to rent in? I’ll be working around the CBD and the company is based in Alexandria. We’re looking for something like a 3 or more bedroom house for <$800 a week for a young family of 5, 4 and 1. Here’s a shortlist I drew up:

Balgowlah, Bilgola, Chatswood, Cherrybrook, Crows Nest, Fairlight, Hornsby, Killarney Heights, Lane Cove, Middle Cove, Normanhurst, Pymble, Roseville, Seaforth, South Turramurra, Turramurra, Wahroonga, Warrawee, Willoughby

Maybe someone can comment on my concerns on some of these:

• Belgowlah and Seaforth might have commute issues due to the Spit bridge.
• Bilgola might be just too far (but the beach/cost might make up for it).
• Crows Nest might not be so family friendly as the others
• South Turramurra could be a bit of a bushfire risk

Any comments on these locations or some better ideas, would be very much appreciated.

Rainydaze

Hi there

Just had to google your thread title, didn't have a clue what it meant - excuse my ignorance!

So, it means "things go awry"...apparently. You learn something new every day!

Sorry I can't really offer you concrete help, despite the fact that I'm hoping to get to Sydney myself (!). But it seems like you've done quite a bit of homework already. Have you checked out the www.cityhobo.com site? It profiles the main Sydney suburbs and rates them on everything from proxmity to schools to parking availability. Worth checking out if you haven't already.

Good luck!

Buzzy--Bee

Hang on, this quote is from your Melbourne validation trip thread (http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=416483) -



You had a job offer in Melbourne with an immediate start??

Buzzy

paddyo

WRT your locations, by your wording I assume you are thinking of travelling by car? If you are working in the CBD it would be worth considering Public Transport, which then helps your options by looking at the train/bus/ferry routes.
For example, I live in Manly. Ferry takes 30 mins and JetCat takes 15 mins, both are non stop to Circular Quay, 5 mins from CBD centre. I then either get a bus or walk to my place of work in Woolloomooloo, overall, door to door takes me an hour and a pleasant one at that!
We have a brand new 2 bed renovated apartment on the waterfront and it costs $700 per week. I assume you would prefer a 3 bed, if you did not go for waterfront location then these are certainly available within your budget. One thing I will say, we had our mind set on Collaroy before we arrived but when we got here and travelled around a bit more and looked at the other suburbs we changed our mind, and as soon as my OH saw Manly that was it, she was hooked.
If your OH prefers a more hustle bustle area why not look around the riverfront places such as Drummoyne/Balmain etc or across the river to Neutral Bay/Mosman.
Sydney is a massive city and really expansive and just seems busy everywhere so I am sure you will find something to suit you both, but, please take my advice and have a good look around when you get here. Consider a short term rental for a month or two to give yourselves a better chance to look around.
Hope this helps!

fnord

Let's just say the offer was a little informal.

fnord

Thanks, that's useful stuff. I would actually prefer Public Transport if it is a practical option. Car or cycling or even combinations thereof are up for consideration.

We will be in temp accommodation for the first 4 weeks so we'll be scoping out a shortlist during that time. Not enough time to look around 600 suburbs, though .

Drummoyne is an interesting idea as my Mum used to live there and she loved it (but that was 40 years ago).

I got the idea that Manly was a bit "touristy" and not so family friendly (compared to other suburbs). Is this wrong? Is it easy to take a bicycle on the JetCat or is it easy and safe to leave a bicycle in Manly?

paddyo

It is very family friendly, as for touristy I would assume so in the summer but we like the fact that it has great beaches, good access to all routes and yes, you can take your bike on the ferry and jetcat, but, the jetcat is limited to 5 I think but there are bike stands along the ferry wharf. It is far more family friendly than most suburbs. Do what we did, have a look around then get the ferry over to Manly, as soon as you walk through the Corso and along the beach you will be hooked!!

bigAPE

From the hundreds of "trying to apply for jobs from the UK" stories I have heard very few worked out. It seems, unsurprisingly, that the employers here mostly want to see a commitment to Australia from the employees.

I'm not saying that Melbourne is an easy market to crack, it certainly seems that for the vast amount of people your UK skills and experience means squat here, but I would lay money on it being 20 times easier when you're here, eager to crack jokes about the Footy at the interview and able to "start on Monday".

I do however with you the best of luck in Sydney and hope that everything works out for you and your family. I know it's tough trying to please the girl that means the most to you in the entire world, they're tough buggers but we do love them. Good luck

fnord

This is absolutely true. I've moved to a country without even knowing the language and managed get work so I was quite confident of getting a job within a month or two of arriving on OZ.

The problem was, my OH was not keen on moving. I would be closer to my folks, but she wouldn't. I would even get closer to some old friends. She'd leave all hers behind. Even the probably benefits for the kids were not clear cut to her (and who knows how the kids will take to a new culture). Basically not much in it for her.

I hoped the Melbourne validation trip would make her more enthusiastic about moving. Dry, extreme heat (humidity suits her better), bushfires, flies, and most importantly the unpredictability of the weather, although not deal breakers in themselves, didn't encourage her to make the move at all.

If, however, I had a job to go to that offered more money, more opportunity, in an area of interest to me, she'd be swayed. Especially if the pain of the move could be eased by relocation expenses and accommodation assistance.

I could have forced the issue and said "Let's go, it'll be fine" but I think that would have set the whole migration off on the wrong foot.

Basically I had to have patience (which almost failed me) and wait for the opportunity. Then suddenly my niche market came to life. This, and other things, also demonstrated that Australasia is ahead of the UK in my field right now, which helped convince my OH.

Only time will tell if I've made the right choice.

OzSheila

Drummoyne & Hunters Hill are great with a young family. Good schools, nice parks, houses generally large, etc. Balmain - smaller houses on smaller blocks of land. Can get ferry to CBD from all 3 areas. Warning - they are all under the flight path tho so being woken at 6am (or earlier) can take some getting used to.

I personally prefer this area to Manly. Personal choice tho.

HTH