2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
May 17th 2007, 4:46 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2007
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 2
2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Hello,
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
May 17th 2007, 5:01 am
#2
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Good post, thanks.
Good tip about Equifax.
Buzzy
Good tip about Equifax.
Buzzy
May 17th 2007, 5:19 am
#3
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: at the bottom of a wine glass
Posts: 28,176
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Hello, welcome to BE and to Adelaide 
There's a few of us having coffee tomorrow morning if you want to come along, we'll be outside starbucks in the city centre (opposite the Myer centre on Rundal Mall) at 12:30pm.
It would be nice to meet you if you have the time.
There's a few of us having coffee tomorrow morning if you want to come along, we'll be outside starbucks in the city centre (opposite the Myer centre on Rundal Mall) at 12:30pm.
It would be nice to meet you if you have the time.
May 17th 2007, 5:52 am
#4
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Oz -> UK -> San Diego
Posts: 9,912
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Have a hot choccy for me pls.OP: Welcome to BE - hope that you stick around, and do take Wendy up on her offer if you can!
May 17th 2007, 5:56 am
#5
Loving it in SA
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Seaford.....South Australia
Posts: 1,759
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Hello,
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
Hopefully should be us later on this year, enjoy .
May 17th 2007, 6:36 pm
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 51
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Hello,
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
I'm fairly new to this site but hoping to get to Adelaide mid 2008. Our visa application sent off this week so long wait ahead. It was so good to read your information and just what I needed as beginning to have doubts about whether we should all uproot and move so far away. However, from what I read on this site. these mood swings seem to be the norm. Anyway, once again thanks for an interesting and informative read.
Suuz xx
May 17th 2007, 10:35 pm
#7
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2007
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 2
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Thanks for the invite to coffee today - will definitely try to be there.
Hopefully see you later
May 20th 2007, 12:44 pm
#8
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 317
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Great post
Hoping to move to Adelaide, mid/late 08, so always good to hear how people have got on
Hoping to move to Adelaide, mid/late 08, so always good to hear how people have got on
May 21st 2007, 9:20 am
#9
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2003
Location: Away with the Fairies!!
Posts: 349
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Great Post, its great to hear other peoples stories and how they are getting on. Keep us updated after a few more months have pasted. Good luck with all the settling in and the tea crates!
May 21st 2007, 9:26 am
#10
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2007
Location: Bourenmouth, Dorset.
Posts: 1,029
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Hello,
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
Great post and lots of usefull info.
It's nice to hear some positive info from Adelaide as most of the posts are for elsewhere.
Like Suuz and Pomgrrl we hope to be in Adelaide mid 2008 as we have just instructed an agency to get the applications started so we'll see you there!
Try this link for local Aussie radio - 'http://www.1radio.com.au/' - and select the area, then the radio station. 102.3 fm is a local radio station you can listen to with internet explorer and get a feel for what happens down under.
It's a bit weird listening to the following mornings breakfast show at 11 o'clock at night though!
See you there
Johnnyyt
May 21st 2007, 10:51 am
#11
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 317
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Hi ganglygirl,
Great post and lots of usefull info.
It's nice to hear some positive info from Adelaide as most of the posts are for elsewhere.
Like Suuz and Pomgrrl we hope to be in Adelaide mid 2008 as we have just instructed an agency to get the applications started so we'll see you there!
Try this link for local Aussie radio - 'http://www.1radio.com.au/' - and select the area, then the radio station. 102.3 fm is a local radio station you can listen to with internet explorer and get a feel for what happens down under.
It's a bit weird listening to the following mornings breakfast show at 11 o'clock at night though!
See you there
Johnnyyt
Great post and lots of usefull info.
It's nice to hear some positive info from Adelaide as most of the posts are for elsewhere.
Like Suuz and Pomgrrl we hope to be in Adelaide mid 2008 as we have just instructed an agency to get the applications started so we'll see you there!
Try this link for local Aussie radio - 'http://www.1radio.com.au/' - and select the area, then the radio station. 102.3 fm is a local radio station you can listen to with internet explorer and get a feel for what happens down under.
It's a bit weird listening to the following mornings breakfast show at 11 o'clock at night though!
See you there
Johnnyyt
good luck to all
sounds like a meet up some time in 08??
May 21st 2007, 11:27 am
#12
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2007
Location: Bourenmouth, Dorset.
Posts: 1,029
May 21st 2007, 12:07 pm
#14
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2007
Location: Bourenmouth, Dorset.
Posts: 1,029
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
the Wirral is probably a bit far for a meet up.
Don't know where yet in Adelaide or SA. My trade/skill is telecomms/cable tv so I will have to be where I can get work so will probly end up in Adelaide suburbs. I hear that the Adelaide hills area is really nice, the house prices i have seen have been on the higher side though. Check out www.brockharcourts.com.au for house listings. I found them easier to search for houses in Adelaide.
Johnnyyt
May 21st 2007, 12:08 pm
#15
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2007
Location: Bourenmouth, Dorset.
Posts: 1,029
Re: 2 Months in Adelaide - We're getting there !
Hello,
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
This is my first post (so apologies if it's not quite right !) but we've learnt so much from people popping info up on here, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour.
We've been in Adelaide for two months now and so far so good !
Think this is going to be a bit of long one - but hopefully something might be useful to someone somewhere !!
We got our visa's granted at the end of Sept 06 (we applied in Nov 05, got police check requests in July, Meds in Aug) We're lucky enough to have PR, cos hubby is a electronics engineer and we've both got degrees and stuff.
Left the UK on 6th March - after a long weekend of goodbyes which wasn't quite as bad as I imagined but never the less pretty tough. We actually completely banned anyone coming to the airport to wave us off -cos that would have just been too much for me. We stopped in Hong Kong for a few days on the way over (fabulous place) before landing in Sydney.
Since hubby had already managed to get a job in Adelaide, we spent a week getting from Sydney to Adelaide (overnight train to Melbourne, drove great ocean road, wine regions etc into SA.)
From research before we left we thought we'd like to rent in Glenelg - which is 30mins from Adelaide CBD on the tram, on the the beach. It's an expensive place to live compared to other areas, but is really lovely with loads of cafe's etc and of course the gorgeous sunsets over the beach. We arrived on the Monday and had the keys to the flat by the Friday. Renting is quite competitive at the lower end of the market here (approx less than $250 a week) but other than that there seems to be plenty around and we had no problems.
Before we left we did get copies of our credit ratings from Equifax, just the basic ones, think the cost about £4 each. Most Aussies don't know what they are, but they do show that you've had a mortgage, credit cards etc and so we included them in our application for the rental and when we asked for credit cards. Think they are worth getting just in case, since the basic ones are so cheap.
We bought a new car - cos it just seemed to be better value, as secondhand cars hold their value so much here. We were told you have to have an Aussie license before you can register a new car here (easier in SA where you don't need to take a test if you have a full UK license) but I think there is a way round it somehow and anyway we got our license numbers issued after about 10 mins in the SA Government service centre !
The key to getting alot of stuff sorted seemed to be having a permanent address, once we had that, drivers licenses, TFN's, medicare etc all seemed to come through fairly quickly.
We set up the Westpac account before we left and just took our ID into the Sydney branch when we got there to activate the account. They sent the cash cards to the branch in Glenelg (a debit mastercard is handy - it's like Switch) and after about a month we took in evidence of hubby's salary, showed the money we get from renting the UK house out and they got us some credit cards sorted. So all in all, Westpac have been quite good to us - sorry to everyone who's had a bad experience with them.
Our broadband & phone are with Optus, which was OK, took a bit to set up. We're using vodafone pre-paid sims in our (unlocked !) UK handsets which seems to work OK. The Voda lady said we might have to wait up to 3 months to get a phone contract just cos of the lack of credit rating.
Adelaide is a really stunning place, it is getting a bit quieter now cos of the time of year and there aren't perhaps the job / salary opportunities as in the other state capitals, but as a place to live its really easy with loads of bbeautifulscenery really close by and the wine is fantastic.
We've both been a bit homesick at times and we're still feeling very unsettled about everything. We have huge mood swings - usually in opposite directions !! But we're here for an adventure - so onward and upward !! and we're determined to make it work for a good few years yet.
The next milestone will be our tea crates arriving - with all our warm clothes in ! - looking forward to seeing our stuff !
Anyway - hope that helps somebody somewhere. I've popped a list of people we used down below too.
Take Care and thanks for all the help and advice we get from here.
Bank: Westpac, set up account from UK
Shipping: Only shipped tea crates cos left UK house furnished but used Excess Baggage - so far so good, although not arrived yet !
Medicals: Bridge Clinic - Maidenhead
Expat Travel Insurance - 17 days expat cover including HK stopover GoWalkabout (UK website)
Money Exchange - Used Ozforex to send our lump sum over - got better exchange rates
didn't mean to highjack you message thread.
Johnnyyt