My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Feb 1st 2009, 6:17 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Bayside
Posts: 4
My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Hello everyone:
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing
), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.
Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!!
). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.
George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account
So my advice is get your money moved over early.
NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing
), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!!
). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account
So my advice is get your money moved over early.NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
Feb 1st 2009, 9:07 am
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 397
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Highett is lovely, I lived on Highett Road.
For great coffee go into sandy, in the shopping area there are a couple of great breakfast/coffee cafes going.
Hampton also has some great places like Brown Cow and a great cheap pizza and pasta place opposite Video Ezy I cant remember the name.
if you want any advice for good places to go out around Highett, Hampton, Brighton, Mentone, Elwood, St Kilda, Black Rock etc send me a PM. I just to sing in in an acoustic duo in bars and restaurants all over the bayside and know it really well from intimate bars and small places to eat right through to great breakies etc. I also played in bands all round town so know some great places to go for a noisier night out too.
Have fun it is a lovely spot and in my opinion the best in melb. The walks along beach road are inspired both directions.
For great coffee go into sandy, in the shopping area there are a couple of great breakfast/coffee cafes going.
Hampton also has some great places like Brown Cow and a great cheap pizza and pasta place opposite Video Ezy I cant remember the name.
if you want any advice for good places to go out around Highett, Hampton, Brighton, Mentone, Elwood, St Kilda, Black Rock etc send me a PM. I just to sing in in an acoustic duo in bars and restaurants all over the bayside and know it really well from intimate bars and small places to eat right through to great breakies etc. I also played in bands all round town so know some great places to go for a noisier night out too.
Have fun it is a lovely spot and in my opinion the best in melb. The walks along beach road are inspired both directions.
Feb 1st 2009, 9:42 am
#3
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 183
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Great post. Well done on the move.
Sounds like you encountered bed bugs, nasty buggers.
Peter Pans 461 Elizabeth Street used to do internet for $2 a hour or go to a local library and book in a hour for free
Head to the Vic Markets at weekends and you can get good deals on food (if you wait till near closing time, they will haggle).
There is a pub near the markets on Peel St called the The Drunken Poet and a lot of locals and expats hang out and you can pick up great info from them.
Disclosure : It was my local
Jobwise are accountancy practices looking at more contract roles or full time positions?
Hopefully the world will pick up by the time I make the move later this year.
Sounds like you encountered bed bugs, nasty buggers.
Peter Pans 461 Elizabeth Street used to do internet for $2 a hour or go to a local library and book in a hour for free
Head to the Vic Markets at weekends and you can get good deals on food (if you wait till near closing time, they will haggle).
There is a pub near the markets on Peel St called the The Drunken Poet and a lot of locals and expats hang out and you can pick up great info from them.
Disclosure : It was my local
Jobwise are accountancy practices looking at more contract roles or full time positions?
Hopefully the world will pick up by the time I make the move later this year.
Feb 1st 2009, 10:01 am
#4
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Bayside
Posts: 4
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
I think the Pizza/Pasta place you mention is Fazio's, and I agree its a great place to eat, and my little one loves it because she can draw on the tables , but I have found that you do have to book in advance to be assured of a table (partucularly at weekends).
Victoria market is great but I spend FAR to much money there. I also like the buzz of Prahran.
The Big 4 out here have a freeze on recruitement at the moment in Melbourne, but they have a tendency to still interview. I also know that Grant Thornton have laid staff off across oz but not sure of the numbers.
, but I have found that you do have to book in advance to be assured of a table (partucularly at weekends).Victoria market is great but I spend FAR to much money there. I also like the buzz of Prahran.
The Big 4 out here have a freeze on recruitement at the moment in Melbourne, but they have a tendency to still interview. I also know that Grant Thornton have laid staff off across oz but not sure of the numbers.
Feb 2nd 2009, 4:49 pm
#5
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 397
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
No it is Poci's thats where I used to go, and another hundred metres down is a really nice thai rest on same side of road opposite the chinese, it is unassuming but does a beautiful green curry.
Feb 3rd 2009, 11:10 am
#6
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Home!!!
Posts: 421
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Hello everyone:
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing ), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.
Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!! ). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.
George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account So my advice is get your money moved over early.
NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing
), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!!
). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account
So my advice is get your money moved over early.NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
We are visiting Melbourne later this year with a view to moving there (in Perth at the mo) so you have given us some good reading.
Good luck and hope you settle in well.
Feb 8th 2009, 4:11 pm
#7
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2008
Location: India
Posts: 584
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Hello everyone:
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing ), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.
Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!! ). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.
George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account So my advice is get your money moved over early.
NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing
), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!!
). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account
So my advice is get your money moved over early.NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
Thanks for such a nice and elaborative update. We are also thinking of moving to Melbourne directly, without visiting it. Right now we are not having any friends/relatives in Melbourne but I have heard that job possibilities are more here than in Perth/Adelaide/Brisbane. Sydney seems to a little expensive than Melbourne. Whats your experience and how much time do you think one will require to look for a decent job and what about part time job, which could offer you to earn for day to day expenses?? We are family of 4 (1daughter-13 years, 1 Son -5years, wife - teacher and I am an Environmental Engineer).I am planning to come alone first.
Regards
Sanjay
Feb 26th 2009, 7:18 am
#8
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 90
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Excellent post RT31 and thanks for taking the time to write it.
Enjoy your stay and good luck
Enjoy your stay and good luck
Apr 26th 2009, 11:52 am
#9
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Bayside
Posts: 4
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Thanks for all your comments.
As we push forward into May I thought I would update on developments.
About a month a go I had a rather arrogant and nasty experience with my letting agent. They 'notified' me that I had 70 days to move out as the landlord had sold the property with vacant possession, and under Victoria law they were required to help me find alternative accomadation and said 'to help you out' the landlord will pay all removal costs.
After I got over the shock and panic of having to move, I made a call to the Tenants Union of Victoria. They were excellent, and provided loads of hints and tips to go back to the letting agent with.
To cut a long story short I refused to move as I had a 12 month fixed term contract (with 8 months remaining), and said the landlord would have to issue a 60 day notice to vacate, and I would contest it. Surfice is to say attitudes changed and they started to grovel. I still refused. The landlord changed his mind (he had to I was going nowhere) and they have now taken the house off the market until I move.
So, if your going to rent out here, then make sure you read your tenacy agreement BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. The letting agent/Landlord are legally required to provide a copy BEFORE you sign on the dotted line, so make sure you ask at the point of agreeing to rent the property (take into account my comments about the speed of getting into a rental above), so you may need to get them to email/fax it to you, alternatively, when you go to sign do NOT take the kids (if you have any) and read the tenancy agreement TWICE. Make sure your happy with every clause, and be sure there is no 'early termination clause' that allows the landlord to provide you with xx days notice to vacate during the fixed term. I was lucky there was no such clause, but the Tenants Union say it is common practice to have such a clause. OK, they still will not be able to evict you but you will have to challenge the tenancy contract in a civil court in order to prove 'unfair contract', and it will really depend on what judge you get and what mood he is in!!!
I have heard from the Tenants Union that a lot of migrants would just agree with the letting agent and move into new accomadation. If your going to do that fair enough, but at least try and get commpensation.
Work is good but the economic downturn is seriously hitting the job market and they is talk of more redundancies at my company, there is also a recruitment freeze.
Although the above sounds a bit negative in fact I am still loving Melbourne and the lifestyle is ALOT better than the UK. Although the cost of living is more, there is a lot going on. I go to the Footy at the Telsra Dome (yes they have a new sponsor but everyone still knows it as the Telsra Dome) every week with my daughter (she is a bulldogs fan because she enjoys barking when they score a goal!!!), and up to this week I would hit Sandringham/Brighton Beach after work and at weekends (you get two free car park passes with your rates payment (a bit like council tax but alot cheaper)), and I have lost count at the number of times I've been to the theatre in the CBD and the movies at Southlands. In fact, my social life has never been so busy.
So if your thinking of a new life down under, then go for it. You know one person......ME
As we push forward into May I thought I would update on developments.
About a month a go I had a rather arrogant and nasty experience with my letting agent. They 'notified' me that I had 70 days to move out as the landlord had sold the property with vacant possession, and under Victoria law they were required to help me find alternative accomadation and said 'to help you out' the landlord will pay all removal costs.
After I got over the shock and panic of having to move, I made a call to the Tenants Union of Victoria. They were excellent, and provided loads of hints and tips to go back to the letting agent with.
To cut a long story short I refused to move as I had a 12 month fixed term contract (with 8 months remaining), and said the landlord would have to issue a 60 day notice to vacate, and I would contest it. Surfice is to say attitudes changed and they started to grovel. I still refused. The landlord changed his mind (he had to I was going nowhere) and they have now taken the house off the market until I move.
So, if your going to rent out here, then make sure you read your tenacy agreement BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. The letting agent/Landlord are legally required to provide a copy BEFORE you sign on the dotted line, so make sure you ask at the point of agreeing to rent the property (take into account my comments about the speed of getting into a rental above), so you may need to get them to email/fax it to you, alternatively, when you go to sign do NOT take the kids (if you have any) and read the tenancy agreement TWICE. Make sure your happy with every clause, and be sure there is no 'early termination clause' that allows the landlord to provide you with xx days notice to vacate during the fixed term. I was lucky there was no such clause, but the Tenants Union say it is common practice to have such a clause. OK, they still will not be able to evict you but you will have to challenge the tenancy contract in a civil court in order to prove 'unfair contract', and it will really depend on what judge you get and what mood he is in!!!
I have heard from the Tenants Union that a lot of migrants would just agree with the letting agent and move into new accomadation. If your going to do that fair enough, but at least try and get commpensation.
Work is good but the economic downturn is seriously hitting the job market and they is talk of more redundancies at my company, there is also a recruitment freeze.
Although the above sounds a bit negative in fact I am still loving Melbourne and the lifestyle is ALOT better than the UK. Although the cost of living is more, there is a lot going on. I go to the Footy at the Telsra Dome (yes they have a new sponsor but everyone still knows it as the Telsra Dome) every week with my daughter (she is a bulldogs fan because she enjoys barking when they score a goal!!!), and up to this week I would hit Sandringham/Brighton Beach after work and at weekends (you get two free car park passes with your rates payment (a bit like council tax but alot cheaper)), and I have lost count at the number of times I've been to the theatre in the CBD and the movies at Southlands. In fact, my social life has never been so busy.
So if your thinking of a new life down under, then go for it. You know one person......ME
Last edited by richtea31; Apr 26th 2009 at 12:23 pm. Reason: More information
Jun 2nd 2009, 7:58 am
#10
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 123
Re: My True Story - Move to Melbourne -
Hello everyone:
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing ), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.
Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!! ). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.
George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account So my advice is get your money moved over early.
NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
I thought I would put my experience of a move from the UK to Melbourne, warts and all, in some detail. So I'm sorry if this goes on a bit but it may nelp someone avoid the pitfalls I went through.
Employment:
I arrived in Melbourne at the end of November in the hope of gaining employement and starting a new life close to my daughter (she's 5). I had set up some meetings with recruitement agents and potential employers (I'm an ACA Accountant) before I left the UK.
My first experience was that very few employers/recruitement agents have very little time for you until you arrive in Oz, and ask for a resume and ask you to contact them on arrival, which I did. A lot of interviews later and I was lucky enough to get a position with one of the Big 4. I was struck by the attitude that many companies had was one of doom and gloom, that the world had collapsed and there was no way back, which having come from the UK was a surprise, and although they were polite most interviews were a waste of time as they had no vacancies anyway. But you just have to keep plugging away.
Accommodation:
This was a massive challenge as before I arrived I tried to find a long term temporary rental, but found them all to be to expensive on my budget or were already fully booked - in retrospect I should have tried harder because staying at hotels was even more expensive. So my advice to those thinking of moving here is to look really hard for a short term rental and look/book way in advance. There are some good value options but you do need to search and search some more.
However, I stayed in hotels as I thought it would give me an incentive to get into a rental as quickly as possible. Here's my thoughts on the places I stayed, with a best to worse list:
Quest on Jollimont -
I stayed here a few days just before I moved into a rental property and to be honest I wish I had found it earlier. The apartments were big spacious and very clean and modern, and there were nice park views from my room. There was free underground parking and the staff were really nice. Negative was there was no pool. But worth the money.
Mantra on Jollimont -
This was a good functional location with pool, gym and jacuzzi. The rooms were big but in need of modernisation and the staff were a little disinterested. Parking was expensive at $19.50 per night and the restaurant for dinner was poor, but good for breakfast. At the point when I stayed here I was still searching for jobs on the internet and it was a nightmare, it was a dial up connection and it took forever to download a page, and at $6 an hour, I soon gave up and sought an alternative (I'll return to this later). Overall good.
Quest East St Kilda
I liked this one as the apartments were two hotel rooms combined and a TV in each room. The kitchens had everything you needed and they were clean and modern. Staff were really friendly and worked hard to please (it must be a Quest thing
), there was a pool and jucuzzi. Strangely, the restaurant was not open to guests but seemed full every night with the local Jewish fraternity. Which means you have to eat out, buy Pizza, or have a car to do a grocery shop (my option). It was also some way from the CBD and required either a drive or a tram trip, which was no big deal. Overall worth a go.Mercure (Swanston) -
This was a large hotel and was packed when I stayed, the room was small and expensive and it was so noises, particularly at night (2-6am), but I got use to the constant banging of doors and the maids wanting to clean you room at 7am (an expletive worked best I found as 'no thank you' was taken as an invitation to empty the bin!!!!!
). However, right in the centre of the CBD and everything is on you door step. Overall - Give it a miss.George Powlett Apartment -
Where do I start? OK the good point, it was cheap ($77 a night). However, I had to move rooms because the first room was invested with Fleas. My second room had something living in the bed that decided to eat me each night and I would wake up with blood on the sheets and spots all over my shoulders and back. The rooms smelt of stale pee and they changed my sheets once in the 7 nights I stayed there (and that was because I asked), however, the maid would leave a clean towle each day without removing the old, I soon had a nice collection thrown in one corner. I also had an army of ants that decided the table was great place to visit 24/7 and I would have enjoyed there company if it was not for the fact that the table was broken.
Overall - avoid. Saving money is one thing but been eaton by the local insect population is just NOT worth it.
I also checked in the Herald Sun for short term accommodation and found a couple of adverts for 'resort accommodation from only $280 a week', this was at Bell City in Preston, and I must admit that it was very nice when I went and had a look around, but the price was actually $450+ per week and the application form required more information and references than the application for a rental, so why bother?
Banks:
I thought about openning an account when I was in the UK but decided to do it when I arrived. In fact it was an inspired idea, as in the UK you had to provide a mountain of documents to prove you name, address, date of birth and shoe size. Over here I walked into the Commonwelath Bank on Swanston street (next to the Mercure Hotel) and walked out 10 mins later with my bank account sorted. All I needed was my passport, and I used my daughters address to have my cards delivered, but could just as easy used the hotel address and collected my cards from the branch in 5-7 days. It was easy. I'm not going to go into which banks offer the best accounts because I think it is a personal thing. But just to add that both the Commonwealth and WestPac Banks have tried so hard to get me to take out a home loan or mortgage I am pretty confident that when I do decide to buy it will be no trouble at all.
Rental:
After finding a job this was going to be the next big challenge. However, despite all the remours that there were few rental properties out there I found one pretty quickly. I had decided that I wanted to be close enough to my daughters new school, a train station so i could get into the CBD, and a shopping centre so I could walk and get some groceries. That way I would not have to buy a car that soon and save money to buy furniture. Anyway, after looking around Brighton in bayside I decided they rentals there were overpriced and garbage, so I expanded my search area and found a 3 bed modern unit in Highett. I opted to be checky and bartered the price down by $20 a week, and submitted my application. It was approved 24 hours later (in fact all they did was confirm my salary with my employer and my start date). they didn't take up my personal references. Easy. I could have moved in then but my money had not arrived from the UK, so I had to wait a few days to pay the rent and bond. You also have to pay both with a bankers draft/cheque, so you do need a bank account
So my advice is get your money moved over early.NOTE: Over here they price rentals on a weekly basis, (say $400 a week), rather than on the PCM basis in the UK, also when it comes to paying the rent, some estate agents use a method (forget the name) where you divide the weekly rent by 7 and multiply by 365 then divide by 12 (so say $400/7 = $57.15 x 365 = $20857.15 / 12 = $1738), Which actually means you paying more than $400 a week, but paying the correct amount over the whole year(I hope that makes sense). So do check before you rent how the monthly rental payments are calculated, and ensure you have enough for the first payment and the Bond (which again is not always 4 weeks rent in advance, sometimes it can be more or less).
However, getting into a rental property was easy and as soon as you have employment get looking.
Internet:
After my expensive experience at the hotel I went looking for an alternative, and found it at Melbourne Central. There is an internet cafe on the second floor and it is fast speed broadband and pretty cheap at $4 an hour. You can also grab some food/coffee near by. Worth a look.
So far, I have started work and everyone is great and I am really enjoying my new life here.
That's my experience, what I can remember. But if you have an questions, let my know.
Thanks for the informative post!
I am also an ACCA qualified accountant migrating to Melbourne in September. I will have MNIA then but I think will have to do some CPA exams before I can get full CPA status.
Are there any hints or tips you could give me on finding employment- do you know whether the jobmarket for accountants has improved since your first arrival? Also, any recommendations of companies and/or agencies to approach would be much appreciated! I am also interested in contract work.
