we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Aug 31st 2004, 3:11 pm
#1
Gary / Terri
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Castle Hill Sydney
Posts: 96
we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Dear all
not sure if many of you remember us but we have arrived in Sydney 2 months ago after 18 months of hard work getting the PR visa. This is only a quick post for now as it is late...for me any how....but I wanted to shoot some of the myths that I read on this site and heard of before I arrived here in Sydney.
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK
2) you don't need all the proof of no claims for your insurance, we did Car fully comp, home contents and building insurance but no proof was required
3) things not to bring...don't bring portable TV's and buy the cheap video player to make it work...a TV and video built in is about $150 thats £60uk so why bother, UK phones from the house ( green sticker ones) work fine with the small $2 adaptor, if you can get a good price for any item of furniture, hi tech item or white good before you leave take the money as you will find you can get new for a similar price.
4) a motgage is easy to get, job or no job, if you had one in the UK you can get the same here with Commonwealth Bank, HSBC or ING Bank.
5) Credit is easy to get again if you had a card in the UK , I have store cards for Myres, David Jones and HSBC I have no intention of using them at this time but it does help to build a credit history.
6) you don't need to pay in advance for any utility I have Elec, Water and Telephone connection no up front payments.
7) Every local I have met is exceptionally friendly and realy want us to settle in and go out of thier way to help this happen
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
9) The winter here is 19 degrees during the day and the sky is always blue and the sun always shining...I know Sydney needs some rain to fill the reserves of water...early mornings are cold though nd you will ned a coat
10) The trains are as good as the UK but they do go so slow...Price wise they are great off peak in the UK for the same lenght of journey was £13.50 in the UK I am paying Equiv to £2.10 and they seem to run on time
Only drawbacks I can find are the speed limits on the roads are set too low in my opinion, you pay taxes fo everything and the banks are crap...they charge for everything as well, why do the Aussies let them get away with this????
I will be back, its now 1am in the morning and I have to wake the kids in 6 hours for school
Gary ad Terri
if letters are missing above sorry but the net is really slow and I type faster than the letters appear
not sure if many of you remember us but we have arrived in Sydney 2 months ago after 18 months of hard work getting the PR visa. This is only a quick post for now as it is late...for me any how....but I wanted to shoot some of the myths that I read on this site and heard of before I arrived here in Sydney.
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK
2) you don't need all the proof of no claims for your insurance, we did Car fully comp, home contents and building insurance but no proof was required
3) things not to bring...don't bring portable TV's and buy the cheap video player to make it work...a TV and video built in is about $150 thats £60uk so why bother, UK phones from the house ( green sticker ones) work fine with the small $2 adaptor, if you can get a good price for any item of furniture, hi tech item or white good before you leave take the money as you will find you can get new for a similar price.
4) a motgage is easy to get, job or no job, if you had one in the UK you can get the same here with Commonwealth Bank, HSBC or ING Bank.
5) Credit is easy to get again if you had a card in the UK , I have store cards for Myres, David Jones and HSBC I have no intention of using them at this time but it does help to build a credit history.
6) you don't need to pay in advance for any utility I have Elec, Water and Telephone connection no up front payments.
7) Every local I have met is exceptionally friendly and realy want us to settle in and go out of thier way to help this happen
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
9) The winter here is 19 degrees during the day and the sky is always blue and the sun always shining...I know Sydney needs some rain to fill the reserves of water...early mornings are cold though nd you will ned a coat
10) The trains are as good as the UK but they do go so slow...Price wise they are great off peak in the UK for the same lenght of journey was £13.50 in the UK I am paying Equiv to £2.10 and they seem to run on time
Only drawbacks I can find are the speed limits on the roads are set too low in my opinion, you pay taxes fo everything and the banks are crap...they charge for everything as well, why do the Aussies let them get away with this????
I will be back, its now 1am in the morning and I have to wake the kids in 6 hours for school
Gary ad Terri
if letters are missing above sorry but the net is really slow and I type faster than the letters appear
Aug 31st 2004, 4:04 pm
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Manchester UK to Sydney, then decided Gold Coast, stayed there for 8 months and now back in sydney
Posts: 486
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Hi there Gary/Terri,
I found your post really interesting to read. I plan on moving to sydney next year, so keep us all updated on how u r getting on. where r u in sydney? Have you found a place to live and was it easy? What about work? What work do you both do? I lived in manly in sydney in 98/99 and loved it and now can't wait to get back. Keep us posted.
cheers for now.
I found your post really interesting to read. I plan on moving to sydney next year, so keep us all updated on how u r getting on. where r u in sydney? Have you found a place to live and was it easy? What about work? What work do you both do? I lived in manly in sydney in 98/99 and loved it and now can't wait to get back. Keep us posted.
cheers for now.
Originally Posted by Gary / Terri
Dear all
not sure if many of you remember us but we have arrived in Sydney 2 months ago after 18 months of hard work getting the PR visa. This is only a quick post for now as it is late...for me any how....but I wanted to shoot some of the myths that I read on this site and heard of before I arrived here in Sydney.
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK
2) you don't need all the proof of no claims for your insurance, we did Car fully comp, home contents and building insurance but no proof was required
3) things not to bring...don't bring portable TV's and buy the cheap video player to make it work...a TV and video built in is about $150 thats £60uk so why bother, UK phones from the house ( green sticker ones) work fine with the small $2 adaptor, if you can get a good price for any item of furniture, hi tech item or white good before you leave take the money as you will find you can get new for a similar price.
4) a motgage is easy to get, job or no job, if you had one in the UK you can get the same here with Commonwealth Bank, HSBC or ING Bank.
5) Credit is easy to get again if you had a card in the UK , I have store cards for Myres, David Jones and HSBC I have no intention of using them at this time but it does help to build a credit history.
6) you don't need to pay in advance for any utility I have Elec, Water and Telephone connection no up front payments.
7) Every local I have met is exceptionally friendly and realy want us to settle in and go out of thier way to help this happen
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
9) The winter here is 19 degrees during the day and the sky is always blue and the sun always shining...I know Sydney needs some rain to fill the reserves of water...early mornings are cold though nd you will ned a coat
10) The trains are as good as the UK but they do go so slow...Price wise they are great off peak in the UK for the same lenght of journey was £13.50 in the UK I am paying Equiv to £2.10 and they seem to run on time
Only drawbacks I can find are the speed limits on the roads are set too low in my opinion, you pay taxes fo everything and the banks are crap...they charge for everything as well, why do the Aussies let them get away with this????
I will be back, its now 1am in the morning and I have to wake the kids in 6 hours for school
Gary ad Terri
if letters are missing above sorry but the net is really slow and I type faster than the letters appear
not sure if many of you remember us but we have arrived in Sydney 2 months ago after 18 months of hard work getting the PR visa. This is only a quick post for now as it is late...for me any how....but I wanted to shoot some of the myths that I read on this site and heard of before I arrived here in Sydney.
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK
2) you don't need all the proof of no claims for your insurance, we did Car fully comp, home contents and building insurance but no proof was required
3) things not to bring...don't bring portable TV's and buy the cheap video player to make it work...a TV and video built in is about $150 thats £60uk so why bother, UK phones from the house ( green sticker ones) work fine with the small $2 adaptor, if you can get a good price for any item of furniture, hi tech item or white good before you leave take the money as you will find you can get new for a similar price.
4) a motgage is easy to get, job or no job, if you had one in the UK you can get the same here with Commonwealth Bank, HSBC or ING Bank.
5) Credit is easy to get again if you had a card in the UK , I have store cards for Myres, David Jones and HSBC I have no intention of using them at this time but it does help to build a credit history.
6) you don't need to pay in advance for any utility I have Elec, Water and Telephone connection no up front payments.
7) Every local I have met is exceptionally friendly and realy want us to settle in and go out of thier way to help this happen
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
9) The winter here is 19 degrees during the day and the sky is always blue and the sun always shining...I know Sydney needs some rain to fill the reserves of water...early mornings are cold though nd you will ned a coat
10) The trains are as good as the UK but they do go so slow...Price wise they are great off peak in the UK for the same lenght of journey was £13.50 in the UK I am paying Equiv to £2.10 and they seem to run on time
Only drawbacks I can find are the speed limits on the roads are set too low in my opinion, you pay taxes fo everything and the banks are crap...they charge for everything as well, why do the Aussies let them get away with this????
I will be back, its now 1am in the morning and I have to wake the kids in 6 hours for school
Gary ad Terri
if letters are missing above sorry but the net is really slow and I type faster than the letters appear
Aug 31st 2004, 4:42 pm
#3
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Far away from canned Oz
Posts: 1,833
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by Gary / Terri
Dear all
not sure if many of you remember us but we have arrived in Sydney 2 months ago after 18 months of hard work getting the PR visa. This is only a quick post for now as it is late...for me any how....but I wanted to shoot some of the myths that I read on this site and heard of before I arrived here in Sydney.
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK...
6) you don't need to pay in advance for any utility I have Elec, Water and Telephone connection no up front payments.
7) Every local I have met is exceptionally friendly and realy want us to settle in and go out of thier way to help this happen
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
9) The winter here is 19 degrees during the day and the sky is always blue and the sun always shining...I know Sydney needs some rain to fill the reserves of water...early mornings are cold though nd you will ned a coat
10) The trains are as good as the UK but they do go so slow...Price wise they are great off peak in the UK for the same lenght of journey was £13.50 in the UK I am paying Equiv to £2.10 and they seem to run on time
Only drawbacks I can find are the speed limits on the roads are set too low in my opinion, you pay taxes fo everything and the banks are crap...they charge for everything as well, why do the Aussies let them get away with this????
I will be back, its now 1am in the morning and I have to wake the kids in 6 hours for school
Gary ad Terri
if letters are missing above sorry but the net is really slow and I type faster than the letters appear
not sure if many of you remember us but we have arrived in Sydney 2 months ago after 18 months of hard work getting the PR visa. This is only a quick post for now as it is late...for me any how....but I wanted to shoot some of the myths that I read on this site and heard of before I arrived here in Sydney.
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK...
6) you don't need to pay in advance for any utility I have Elec, Water and Telephone connection no up front payments.
7) Every local I have met is exceptionally friendly and realy want us to settle in and go out of thier way to help this happen
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
9) The winter here is 19 degrees during the day and the sky is always blue and the sun always shining...I know Sydney needs some rain to fill the reserves of water...early mornings are cold though nd you will ned a coat
10) The trains are as good as the UK but they do go so slow...Price wise they are great off peak in the UK for the same lenght of journey was £13.50 in the UK I am paying Equiv to £2.10 and they seem to run on time
Only drawbacks I can find are the speed limits on the roads are set too low in my opinion, you pay taxes fo everything and the banks are crap...they charge for everything as well, why do the Aussies let them get away with this????
I will be back, its now 1am in the morning and I have to wake the kids in 6 hours for school
Gary ad Terri
if letters are missing above sorry but the net is really slow and I type faster than the letters appear
I know I only lived in Sydney for 12 years
but:i) there is NO way that Coles is better than Tescos. Supermarkets in Oz are at least 5-10 years behind the UK (as are most countries - UK is renowned for having some of the most sophisticated retailing in the world). Yes, some Oz supermarkets are better than others (eg better in Warringah Mall), but they lack the range of anything but the smallest Tescos. As for 30% cheaper, it depends what you buy. Overall, it's much of a muchness
ii) people that rent often have to pay a deposit to Telstra (this may have now been removed)
iii) 2 months is hardly long enough to get a feel of the weather. Yes, of course - very hot days aside - it's better than the UK. But, on the subject of rain, Sydney receives 50% more rain than London
iv) every local is exceptionally friendly? Some of us just see it as more superficial than the UK...
If you're going to shoot myths, please don't replace them with others...
Last edited by MikeStanton; Aug 31st 2004 at 6:21 pm.
Aug 31st 2004, 5:06 pm
#4
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,235
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by MikeStanton
But, on the subject of rain, Sydney receives 50% more rain than London
Sydneys 50% more rain probably falls within a few weeks, rather than spread over the 12 months in the UK....
I know what I would prefer...
Aug 31st 2004, 9:41 pm
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by Gary / Terri
.
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK
Coles/Wollies/Frankins offer an extremely limited selection compared to Sainsburys/Tesco etc.
The foods I purchase most are vegetarian so I found the Oz superamarkets to be lacking somewhat. Virtually nothing in the way of vege foods and no decent ready made meals. I should add that I hardly ever eat ready made food, but sometimes after a long day I could not be arsed to make a meal from scrach. In Uk I could choose from a wide variety of vege options, in Oz baked beans. The few vege items on offer were almost double the UK price, bread,beans,heinz soup also all very pricey(poor quality to boot)
The layout and choice of food on offer reminded me of UK supermarkets in the late eighties at best.
Dispel myths? pah.
Aug 31st 2004, 9:42 pm
#6
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 512
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Yes - I should ask my husband for verification of the number of different products since he's in that business - but Tesco's is a benchmark for the rest of the "supermarket world". Tesco's will be one of the companies Coles should be looking at for innovations.
.....and the people are all friendly ? yes people are friendly and service is good - but I don't think significantly more so than areas I have been to in the UK.
Bank and insurance stuff - I agree with.
Rain....haven't seen much.
Liked your list though.
.....and the people are all friendly ? yes people are friendly and service is good - but I don't think significantly more so than areas I have been to in the UK.
Bank and insurance stuff - I agree with.
Rain....haven't seen much.
Liked your list though.
Aug 31st 2004, 9:53 pm
#7
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Mike and Kong - stop being trolls - oh sorry my mistake. Surely Gary/Terri are/is entitled to their opinion. If that's how it is for them, I don't think you can call them liars 
Gary/Terri - keep posting about your new life - most of us are interested.
Gary/Terri - keep posting about your new life - most of us are interested.
Aug 31st 2004, 9:57 pm
#8
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,149
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
I prefer Tescos to Coles but I prefer my local shops for fruit veg and meat to both.
This winter has been one of the warmest/driest on record so it has been great but not for farmers and the water supply.
Cityrail has some severe driver shortages and has cut back off peak and weekend services to make up for it. Where it goes the service is good however there are a lot of public transport blackspots.
Where I work there is no train (they are building a new railway) so the journey by bus is crap.
Every local friendly. PMSL. On first impressions people are friendlier but statements like that are rediculous.
On the utility bills I don't pay up front because I pay by direct debit. No direct debit then you have to pay up front.
This winter has been one of the warmest/driest on record so it has been great but not for farmers and the water supply.
Cityrail has some severe driver shortages and has cut back off peak and weekend services to make up for it. Where it goes the service is good however there are a lot of public transport blackspots.
Where I work there is no train (they are building a new railway) so the journey by bus is crap.
Every local friendly. PMSL. On first impressions people are friendlier but statements like that are rediculous.
On the utility bills I don't pay up front because I pay by direct debit. No direct debit then you have to pay up front.
Aug 31st 2004, 9:58 pm
#9
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,233
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by MikeStanton
i) there is NO way that Coles is better than Tescos. Supermarkets in Oz are at least 5-10 years behind the UK
Originally Posted by MikeStanton
Yes, some Oz supermarkets are better than others (eg better in Warringah Mall)
There must be some mistake. The supermarkets at WM are as bad as the rest. Stick with independant stores is my advice.GnT, nice work on the list. Don't worry about MS, he's always like that.
Aug 31st 2004, 10:01 pm
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by moneypen20
Mike and Kong - stop being trolls - oh sorry my mistake. Surely Gary/Terri are/is entitled to their opinion. If that's how it is for them, I don't think you can call them liars
Gary/Terri - keep posting about your new life - most of us are interested.
Gary/Terri - keep posting about your new life - most of us are interested.
Mike and I have both lived in Sydney and used the Aus supermarkets, have you? I believe that if you had you may well of reacted in a similar fashion to such false statements.
Yet more Aus thought policing methinks, get a grip
Aug 31st 2004, 10:19 pm
#11
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 38
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by Gary / Terri
the banks are crap...they charge for everything as well, why do the Aussies let them get away with this????
Aug 31st 2004, 10:26 pm
#12
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,814
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by Gary / Terri
1) Coles is as good as Tesco, if not better as it sells food from all over the world in one place and it is about 30% cheaper than the UK
4) a motgage is easy to get, job or no job, if you had one in the UK you can get the same here with Commonwealth Bank, HSBC or ING Bank.
5) Credit is easy to get again if you had a card in the UK , I have store cards for Myres, David Jones and HSBC I have no intention of using them at this time but it does help to build a credit history.
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
4) a motgage is easy to get, job or no job, if you had one in the UK you can get the same here with Commonwealth Bank, HSBC or ING Bank.
5) Credit is easy to get again if you had a card in the UK , I have store cards for Myres, David Jones and HSBC I have no intention of using them at this time but it does help to build a credit history.
8) Bunnings has got to be one of the best DIY stores in the world for price and choice.
Personally I don't think Coles is a patch on Tescos, or even on a good Sainsburys - less choice. Maybe you have a particularly good one?
We can't get a mortgage, because I'm only on the temp part of a spouse visa, so to get a mortgage we need at least a 20% deposit - yeah, right! On our wages! Forget it.
Credit? Again I can't get credit, they won't touch me for a credit card at the bank till I'm PR or been depositing wages for 2 years. Haven't tried for storecards, but even with cards in the UK I just get refusals here for credit cards.
Bunnings? The Bloke is in stitches! Think he fell in love with B&Q last year.
However, I'm not rubbishing your opinions, just offering a comparison. Certainly agree about the banks being useless!
Aug 31st 2004, 10:31 pm
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Far away from canned Oz
Posts: 1,833
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by moneypen20
Mike and Kong - stop being trolls - oh sorry my mistake. Surely Gary/Terri are/is entitled to their opinion. If that's how it is for them, I don't think you can call them liars
Gary/Terri - keep posting about your new life - most of us are interested.
Gary/Terri - keep posting about your new life - most of us are interested.
If you want only positive spin, I suggest you stick to reading you star sign in a mag.
Aug 31st 2004, 10:40 pm
#14
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Originally Posted by MikeStanton
If you want only positive spin, I suggest you stick to reading you star sign in a mag.
Aug 31st 2004, 10:52 pm
#15
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: we are here in Sydney, Myth shooting
Thank you for your contribution. There are a few surprises in there..
Goes without saying. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Whilst we are taking about facts, I think it is a fact that I prefer 'no ''ready meals'', also a fact that 20 things in a supermarket does not a life make when there are thousands who barely have fresh water. There are no police here.
.
Theres no need to be patronising. Come on Mike..Kong.
Originally Posted by MikeStanton
Of course they are entitled to their opinion - but, the areas we commented on are not areas of opinion (aside from Oz friendliness) but fact. Eg Their opinion may be they prefer Coles to Tescos.
Goes without saying. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Whilst we are taking about facts, I think it is a fact that I prefer 'no ''ready meals'', also a fact that 20 things in a supermarket does not a life make when there are thousands who barely have fresh water. There are no police here.
If you want only positive spin, I suggest you stick to reading you star sign in a mag.
Theres no need to be patronising. Come on Mike..Kong.
Last edited by Badge; Aug 31st 2004 at 11:03 pm.