First impressions of Sydney
 

Well we took the plunge and left Leicester on 9th May and headed for London to stay with OH brother for night. It was against my judgement and was terrified of the leaving as he had been hostile to us leaving, but in the end it proved ok and i am pleased we were able to see him and the family one last time.
The flight with Singapore Air was great, or at least as great as long haul economy ever can be, but there was plenty to watch and do and the chairs were ok. We arrived in Singapore on the 11th May and were whisked to our hotel the Singapore Ritz - it cost the grand total of just over 20 pounds each and all i can say is WOW. - We have stayed in some 5* places but this is something special.
We spent the day lazing around, went to Raffles for a Singapore Sling then we both jumped into the huge bath with full window view from the bath of the marina and city scape with a bottle of bubbly. Next day we went for a river cruise and had a walk and have to say what a stunnbing place Singapore is and look forward to a visit again.
That night we were back at the airport for th overnight to Singapore, and the airport really putts Heathrow to shame. The flight, another on tha A380, was good, as was the food and the drinks flowed.
Arrived in Sydney and the immigration was ok and the people were very friendly - not like the USA.
It felt very sureal to get the cab across the harbour bridge and get our first look at the opera house, and it is even more stunning than the pictures show.
The first day was a bit of a haze, though the company i am comming to work for took us out to arrange bank accounts and things.
The next day we pretty much took it easy, with a walk around circular key and popped into Doyles Sea food restraunt to make a reservation for that night. We mentioned it was a special occaision as we had just moved to Oz.
Well we arrived for our meal at 8.30 and the the waiter was asked to show us to table xx. He looked puzzled and asked how we had managed to get the table and didnt really know what he was talking about - then we saw it. There is a small area of the upstairs restraunt that juts out into the harbour with the bridge on the left and the opera house on the right - the best view you can imagine. Well after the a great sea food dinner of lobster, crab, oysters, and lots more, we toasted our new life with a glass of champgne, then at that moment there must have been something on at the opera house and the fireworkd went off - what a moment i will remember for ever.
The rest of the time we have been looking for an appartment and have finaly found a lovelly place in Breafast Point, which i am hoping the pics below come out for you to see. Have been looking for furniture and things as well and find that things are about the same to slightly cheaper than the UK. Some a bit more and some less. For example i had always wanted a big US style double fridge with drinks dispenser, (dont ask why i know its sad), and it was about half the UK price, while we found irons and small things more expensive. Any one on here who says you cant get bedding out here, which we were told on here i feel sorry that your flight was diverted to the planet Zorb, but in Sydney bedding is great quality and cheap.
The company have been great and i am looking forward to my first stint in the bush for two weeks from Monday. Havent really had a chance to do any of the tourist stuff yet, but thats ok as will do it in a couple of weeks on my first break from work. Good look to all those planning the move - it really is worth it!!!

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Brilliant! Sounds excellent - think I may go to singapore and maybe try chatting up the reservation people at Doyle's too!

Glad you're enjoying it!

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Glad to hear you're doing ok, stormy, as are we. I had my wedding lunch at Doyles, albeit at Watsons Bay. :D

You fared a lot better than us a couple of years ago - we were in Sydney on Valentine's Day and my husband booked a table at Quay, thinking we'd have a lovely view of the Opera House and memories of our wedding very close to it. Got there to find there was a bloody great cruise ship moored right outside, and all we could see was the side of it and the crew taking sneaky smoke breaks. :rofl:

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Hi Seasider.
Great to hear from you. How are things and where are you living?
Only problem we have is $$$ as the bankers draft we brought with us for the sale of our house, we discovered cant be cashed here, so have had to send it back to the UK for the bank to cancel it and send the funds electronically. How are things for you guys - have you been / dont much?

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Buying warm clothes and trips to Ikea, Howards Storage and Bunnings, mostly. :D It's not really a "new" place to us although of course living here is very different from visiting; having friends here is helping a lot.

The Geek has been working since 5th and knew a lot of his colleagues already so is pretty settled, I think. Our furniture is being delivered this Tuesday and we pick up our cats a week today, so I will start to feel more at home then. Nesting, as it were. The paperwork for the car is going through too.

I'm visiting Chatswood a lot for my fix of Asia. :D

Your place looks lovely! Miles different from our tiny 1930s cottage. (It's very deep and has a lovely patio and garden out back. We have possums and birds - until we get the cats at least...)

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Were (hoepfully!) going to be out of Leicester soon as well!
Loved the pictures and really nice to read a positive update, the restaurant sounds AMAZING.

Take care
Laura

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Sounds like you are settling in well and starting to find your feet. Nice to hear such a positive update too. We are coming out to Sydney in August on a 457 and I am very apprehensive - but keep the 'Sydney' updates coming!

We are from Kent btw!

Take care,

Jo

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Wow, that apartment is stunning!!! Glad it's all going so well for you! What do you do for a living?

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Hi Jo

I know im abit behind but only just read the thread!... weve just moved to sydney (been here a month) and we are from Kent too - Rochester.

We are loving it :-)

Neet neet

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Couldn't resist dropping by the Oz forum to see how you're getting on - well, you may have a small cottage but I bet it'd cost a king's ransom in Singapore. Possums look kind of cute - all we're getting here is 3 foot pit vipers :(

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

Hi Neet Neet,

We are from Shorne, just outside of Rochester. Glad you are enjoying it. We are getting very excited now.

Jo

Re: First impressions of Sydney
 

From Geylang to one of the most expensive areas in Sydney, Karen :rofl:

The house is a third of the size of our shophouse, and I was loathe to leave any decent furniture behind so it's a tad crowded and the cats are bouncing off the walls. Thankfully we're having a catflap installed tomorrow.