walkermat

Now, while looking for accomodation in ACT - and we have had lots of help from folk, which has been very appreciated - my OH has kept muttering about a campervan (well, of sorts - see pic, more of a motorhome...). I have always dismissed it as a daft idea and argued in a male way that 'we have to stick with realily, this is not a holiday' and that was about it.

However, the more i look into it and think about it maybe its not so bad a suggestion so I thought I would throw it open to you folk. Why IS it not a good idea?

The ones i can think of are;

We need an address. However, will a PO Box do? Do some sites provide mail service (letting me use their address and taking deliveries)? Will my Visa (Class BN, Subclass 137) - Permanent Residency - let me do this?

What are the amenities and costs like for powered sites? I seem to remember from past visits that they tend to be quite good but cant remember costs (gonna look on inet as well)...

Summer is comming, i know it can get hot in the summer in ACT but is it oppresively hot or the dryer more comfortable kind?

Would i need a special driving license, or would my uk Car/Motorbike one be ok (until i did the Oz test)?

We have calculated that accomodation costs for a rental would probably be upwards of $450 pw, which over 12 weeks (our realistic minimum while looking to buy a house) is nearly $6000. If that van is $26000 and it was still worth over $20000 afterwards it could be quite a good idea. Whadaya reckon esteamed ones??

walkermat

Go on folk, i need some 'dont do it!!! Its a silly idea!!!' replies

Basicly I'm losing the argument (im on the 'dont, rent a place' side of the fence) as i cant think of any real reasons not to do it....

renth

Just like Max and Paddy's great adventure...

"and best of all you don't pay council tax!"

walkermat

You are not helping

sasbear

funnily enough I was watching that last night - came via a good bid on ebay.

Mat - you can always use our address as C/O

quercus

I think you should be really adventurous and give it a go! It will give you the opportunity to have a really good look round before you get established.

I expect it would be more comfortable to sleep in a little tent and only sleep in the van when it's wet or windy.

walkermat

Well, i phoned the seller last night (uk time) and made the first mistake. It was 4.30AM in Canbera!!!! I felt very silly. Usually i double check times but this time i didnt. Oooops!

Legit reasons for selling, has built most of it herself etc... However it needs a Road Worthness cert and reggio (about $1000) - not been got before as it has not been being used and so no point. The other part i'm concerned about is that it's a 5.6 litre V8 engine - could need shares in Opec to run it

Starting to put the Mr Sensible hat on and wondering about a 'normal' 'nissan' (or whatever) motorhome. Trubble is that half decent ones seem to start at $50k, could be a tad over our budget. Oh the times oh the worries


However, Pamela has been finding rents for $320ish per week (mostly the Belconnen area), but we dont know if there will be a minimum rental period as its the weekend and she hasnt got replies yet.

sasbear

Well you could always break the lease - they don't usually withhold the bond. You could come up with a good line of 'have to move back to the UK for emergency etc....' we broke our lease after 5 months - there wasn't much they could do. short term lease - 6 month or less are rare.

You could try the Canberra times online and try for a shared room in a house for 3 months??

walkermat

Interesting about the 6 month thing.

Shared... Hmmm. I'd say we are very difficult, and probably anoying, people to live with! Mainly due to very obscure and bizarre senses of humour that others would probably find quite odd! lol

Pamela hasnt had any responses yet, but it is the weekend so not really expecting any. Looks like the yellow bus will be not gone for. Should have phoned the owner last night but my mate brought the Absinth out last night and it all went wrong I'll let her know on monday when i get access to a phone again..

walkermat

OH says i should speak for myself and she is happy for a share.

carmele

Hi Mat and Pamela,

Almost here! Have you found any accommdation ? Campervan would be so fab, you could use it afterwards as well!

We've been here nearly 2 months and moved into our rental 3 weeks ago. Ended up staying in the pinnacle appartments in kingston and a place called yowani golf and country club (it was a motel! - and we're not even tarts! - is it just or does me or does that word sound sleazy?! blink:).

It was alright really it was kitted out not long ago and is really clean and only cost $100 per night! Funnily enough the Kingston ones were more than double that and not as nice! We survived in there with 2 under 6's in one big room for nearly 3 weeks!

Good luck !

Carmel and Chris!

sasbear

Hiya you.

Lisa got the job - wohooo she is now working in the pommie circle at Deakin

Mat - let me know if i can do anything re accommodation.

We have just signed up for:-
Pete's dad from 7th Nov till 5th Dec

Pete's ex wife (eek) and ex step daughter from 5th dec until 3 Jan and my best mate in Feb!!!!!

tom also supposed to be out in January

carmele

Oh thats great yeh

You'll be like the three degreesof Deakin!

Blimey, thats a busy visitor agenda! My mum will be here on sunday! Can't wait.......

Thanks for the info on coast properties will try it out!

oooops - a bit off the thread there!

Carmel
x

walkermat

OH says i've been off-thread for years!!!

We've gone boring - campervan would be fun but not that practical for the outlay. Once settled I want an outback Landcruiser (seen a good one for just $14000!), to go off walkabout so a big heavy non 4WD would not really suit.

We are gonna stay in Rydges (!) Lakeside for Friday night (arriving v late) then on the Saturday we are moving to Victor Lodge hostel for a week($79pn). During the week we will get a rental sorted out. Once exchange rate is better again we'll xfer and just have to pay the Tax (see the financial thread).

Sas offered us her front garden if we got a Caravan, but after the pictures and hearing of the hours of work we just couldnt trash it

Carmel - we are going to try and get a rental quickly (ie. within the week). You took a few weeks (if my calc's are right), is that through choice or were there obstacles? We are thinking of walking in to a rental place and putting two months rent, in cash, on the table. Judging by other posts and threads that seems to be a good way to do it?

Gosh, i'm hoping to be as much help to newcomers as we've experienced. Having friendly "we've been through it, so how can we help?" folk really takes a lot of stress away and kinda makes it fun again. Thanks guys!

carmele

Hi Mat,

We stayed in apartments / motel for about 5 weeks in total. We could have moved in sooner somewhere else but held out for a house near a school, turns out the school couldn't take our son in the end, whole different story

You should be able to find somewhere in the first week, I would recommend getting on the net as soon as you can to find out when the viewings are. If your driving around and see something thats suitable from the outside, be forceful when you call up if the viewing isn't for another 4 days, we did and more often than not they agreed to meet us that day if the property was empty

Where are you thinking of settling?

Carmel