james & bev

Hi all, having used this forum alot before leaving for alot of very useful information I haven't really visited it much since we moved to sydney in september. I thought I should at least make a contribution giving our first impressions since arriving here.

We sold our house in the UK in august and went to sydney in sept deciding not to take furniture, against much of the advice on here to contrary. Whilst this probably wasn't our most sensible move we didn't want the aggravation and in truth needed alot of new stuff anyway.

We flew via the states for the 64kg luggage allowance with united with 4 year old in tow. Staff were rude and unhelpful otherwise flight was fine first leg with seat back tv's and disney but older plane second leg no seat back tv's and 4yr old became far more difficult. Also we went straight through with a 5 hour transfer as we wanted to get the flight out of the way this might of been a misjudgement. All in all though it was bearable but for the last couple of hours.

I have an aunt living in sydney who we initially stayed with for the first 6 weeks, which we were rather obliged to do. This wasn't ideal, as though she was very thoughtful and gave us our own space, it just for the most part didn't feel comfortable. We should of stayed 2 weeks and then gone into short term rental in hindsight. Also she lives in homebush which is sort of an inner west suburb and whist the house is nice, the area (bar olympic site) is not so great IMO. It was unfortunately really that my wifes first real view of sydney after departing the airport for my aunt's was the parramatta road (not sydney's best).

We intially hired a car with sat nav in which was really useful for finding houses and our way around generally. We have decided to rent for first 12 months and get our bearings properly before buying. Houses in sydney seem comparable in price to where we were in the midlands and renting is probably cheaper by comparision. Property generally seems I think to be starting to level out.

I have been to sydney twice before but only into the city never the suburbs, I was amazed at the number of trees and amount of bush and parks and TRAFFIC. I was also amazed at the hills and cliffs, we were looking at houses in an area called the northern beaches which streches up 20 miles or so north of sydney with houses perched in very strange positions with driveways with incredible inclines and back gardens that in some cases drop right away, not good when you have a little boy who climbs everything. My wifes (always unrealistic) dream of living somewhere walking distance to the beach was not reality, you might be 5 min walk or cycle to the beach from your house but you would need to be edmund hillary to get back up to it from the beach. Having said this lots of people seem to dream of having these houses set into cliffs and sea views here are as anywhere a massive premium. So having spent weeks looking at houses and suburbs we settled on one in a suburb called St.Ives which is classed as the north shore. Its about 15 mins to the northern beaches and 30-45 mins into the city. It a nice leafy suburb and similar to the type of area we were in at home as we are not really inner city people.

Jobs wise I was fortunate to get a job with the company I worked for in the UK tentatively lined up before I arrived and 6 interviews later i eventually got that all agreed, and started work 3 weeks ago. I'm a manager in big IT company and generally speaking my inital observations would be that the aussies do work at least as hard as the UK. I do generally 8 till 6 when in office and there are probably half my floor in before me and more than half still left when I leave. Generally people seem more positive than the UK workers though this is probably more the local company situation, relative to the UK which wasn't great. I think in IT generally jobs are tough which is the same globally more or less and I see lots of IT people on the forum who may need to broaden there horizons, I certainly was prepared to if this hadn't worked out, and at the end of the day the economy in Aus is doing very well if not booming and there are opportunities.

We have found the people very friendly and are starting to make some friends. Neighbours have been great and work collegues also. Shopping wise we have found clothes and food cheaper and food produce far better than the UK, lots of great deli's which are great though probably an expensive way to go for day to day stuff. Furniture, electrical seemed broadly similar to me in price though I haven't really studied this, we did though haggle on everything we bought over $1000 and pretty much got 20% of most stuff so its worth it. We spent roughly $75000 kitting our house our from scratch, which isn't really any sort of guide as you could do this for a lot less or alot more depending on your cirmcumstances.

I am fortunate in that I get a company car but prior to getting that I bought a van at auction (as bev is starting her own business in the new year). I have seen car auctions mentioned on the forum before but I would recommend people exploring this as a means of buying your car. Many come with the equivalent of an AA inspection (NRMA) so its not the massive gamble some make out. I bought a van cost $27k brand new that had 2k km's on the clock absolutely as new for 19k and was very pleased. This was our family transport for 3 weeks as it has 3 seats accross the front which was a bit different.

Our son has taken everything in his stride very well so far and is starting pre school end of jan which will be a good way to meet other children. He has met a number of the neighbours kids but its probably not good that he has had so much time exclusively with us and its hard to be to tough on him considering all the change. Bev has been a bit homesick from time to time but we phone home pretty much everyday using phone cards which are unbelievebly cheap, I think it works out about 3 cents a minute. Now we have our house sorted and relatives visiting in Jan we both feel very positve and really starting to enjoy things. The national parks around sydney are incredible and the beaches are pretty good too.

Weather was indifferent when we got here almost cold at times after the UK summer, but has improved now and getting warm, chrsitmas day was fantastic, but generally alot of days it seems warm but slightly overcast.

Our plan is to give this 2 years minimum and then take stock and either stay for longer, come back or move. So far so good but as I am sure many would tell us its VERY early days.

I read lots of the posts and moving is a big gamble. I am with I think the majority, in that I think you should go for it. As someone else said you rarely regret what you do, its what you don't do. Yes you need an amount of money to do this, and the job/income has to be a priority. But I think with a bit of dertermination and the right expectations, (as in their will be some very trying times) most people would enjoy the change and benefit from something slightly different.

Good luck to everyone, and thanks to you all and the forum for your insight, help and advice its been extremely useful.

James

Simone

Thanks for you post!
Even though we aren't going to Sydney, it's still 'fun' to read, and interesting. And I'm sure also very helpfull for lots of people!

Good luck in the future and have fun!

Jirrupin

Hello James & Bev,

I really enjoyed reading your detailed post, which highlights the positive aspects, i.e scenery, outdoor opportunities balanced with the reality of commuting time, traffic and long working hours.

It seems you are happy with the choices you have made so far and I hope you continue to be so. Good luck you and Bev with her Business venture in the New Year.


Donna

bondipom

Good accurate post. Sydney is not the easiest place to cycle around. It is flatter in the West but I am not a Westie nor do I intend on becoming a Westie. I will probably be up your way house hunting soon but I am in no rush.

I work near homebush so I can imagine your wifes horror at the Parra Road.

mrladyboy

Great post, James.

We're in a very similar position... we moved over in August, and settled in Mount Colah (near Hornsby). St. Ives is very nice, and popular for the reasons your quote (close to Northern Beaches and also the CBD).

Our experiences were very close to yours... we stayed with a cousin for 3 weeks, which was about right, then rented a house 50 yards away on a 6 month lease. We found that dealer prices for cars weren't actually very different from private sale prices, so ended up buying a car from the local Honda main dealer (who were crap, BTW... we got a free 10-CD changer because they hadn't bothered to look under the driver's seat and hence didn't know it was there!).

I'd have to disagree about the beaches... they're bloody superb! Skegness is "pretty good"... Manly and Avalon are world class!

Probably the biggest difference in our experiences are the amount spent on stuff (we came with cases too, but "only" spent about $50k, including $19k on a car and $5k on a motorbike).

Oh, and it took me a lot longer to find a job (and even then not an ideal job). I too work in I.T., and would recommend to others to avoid job hunting in December if at all possible. James, if you have any jobs going in your company for a network administrator, drop me a message!

But, on balance, we're delighted with our decision to move.

Good luck to all those making the decision now.

Gary

ABCDiamond

Just to emphasise BondiePoms point, I was a "Sydney Westie", hated the area, and moved !! Now happy in Brisbane area

The problem was that I hated it so much that I moved back to the UK first!!, before coming back to my senses and returning to OZ, but trying somewhere else. I learned the hard way that one should try more locations in the country, before going back "home".

bondipom

Were the Sydney Westie Mullets not up to the high standards in QLD ?

Western Sydney is hotter, more polluted, less green and has more crime. Plus it is a bugger to get to the beach. Cheap housing though.

More gang shootings around punchbowl again. Hopefully they will kill each other before they catch a bystander.

ABCDiamond

Hi Bondie

I never realised that it would feel cooler up in QLD !

Also when shootings happen up here they seem to be headline news.
Not like Sydney where they are so common, that they may be placed on page 33 of the local Sydney papers.

Housing in Sydney West isn't that cheap either these days. Our old "reasonable" house in St Clair is now selling for $480k, and for that price up here we get a really good "proper 2 storey" house 5 mins from the beach.

Is it obvious that I prefer QLD to NSW ?

Not sure what a Mullet is, but while looking I came across this site - westie

bondipom

You are right in that the Westie is getting priced further out to Penrith, Mt Druitt etc. Last time I went to Penrith Plaza I saw some good pigs tails. The shootings are still major news here. They do seem to becoming more frequent but Sydney has always had that seedy corrupt and violent underbelly. At least these days it isn't the cops.

kevmitch

James

great post, thanks for the info. We're arriving in Newport in January initially going into a furnished apartment until our stuff arrives. As my son starts on the 27th jan at Pittwater High (Mona Vale), we'll be looking to settle in the Mona Vale/Newport area, so not a million miles from you (we looked at St Ives, and I went into the high school in October), but we eventually decided the draw of the Northern Beaches/Pittwater was too strong (albeit more expensive). For those of us from Middle Earth (OK Worcestershire), being near the sea is something totally new.

Are you commuting into work. I would guess you're based somewhere in the Chatsworth/North Sydney area. If so, are you finding the drive easy?

Although we aren't expecting to buy vast amounts of new stuff, the info on the car and the fact you've haggled to get reduced prices on the bigger items is useful. I hadn't thought about the auctions, as I (wrongly) thought you'd get the same dodgy dealers flogging 'cut and shuts' you find in the UK. I'll check these out. Which one did you use?

Best wishes


Kev

scottm

So you tried every part of the UK, before coming back to oz


scottm

walaj

Thanks James for your findings so far.

If in 2 years we can post a silmilar post (especially if we can find a long lost Aunty to stay at) to yours then we would be very happy with that amount of progress in 3 mths.

How is Bev finding setting up a business there? Is it one that she is starting from scratch, or franchasie/purchase of business?

Hope you can both find time to update us on your progress

all the best
walaj

ABCDiamond

No, only Manchester, Cornwall, Birmingham and a long time in Kent. But the weather was much the same all over

ABCDiamond

Hi Scott
Seriously though, I do agree with your comment, but Australia is such a vast country compared to the UK that it is so easy to feel that different parts are different countries themselves.
After spending so much of my life in the UK, but also seeing many other countries, the vastness of Australia and its so different states is something really different.

You really must class each Australian State as an individual country, in the same way that Australian law does.

eg: you commit an offence in one state, and then dash for cover in another, and the police have to apply for extradition to get you back! I remember hearing that on the news one day, and was somewhat surprised.

Each state has its own driving licence and different test. Some states have L plates and P plates. others just have L plates.
In one state you need to get in the left lane to turn right at some junctions, (Melbourne, unless its now been changed ?), other states the right lane to turn right.
At least in England you know where you stand !

There are so many differences when compared to England, it can take years to find them. Because of previous work in the UK, I have probably been in or through almost every town in England, yet I probably havent been in more than 1% of this country yet.

But all in all, where I am now, is, in my small opinion, the best place overall that I have found. I also liked Spain when i was younger, but could never learn the language!

jeannie