kunjal and shamir

Well, here is our update!

we arrived here on a working holiday visa last Friday via a 3 night stopover in Hong Kong.
We have a short let in Dee Why till Jan 6th, so the pressure is on to find something more perm. We have fallen in love with Manly and have decided that we will push our rental budget so we can stay there - even if its only for a while... our logic has been that even if we dont get 457 sponsorship/decide to go home etc, at least we can say we lived on a fun beach for a while!

so, in the short time we have been here, we have managed to sort bank account, medicare and I have even been to see a very nice (?!) recruitment agent!

I managed to do a food shop in Woolworths while slightly jet lagged.... how randomly laid out are supermarkets here?! It looks like the plan to eat fresh food is not going to be as easy as I thought... its expensive and more limited than i thought it would be.

We are both being hit by waves of homesickness, but luckily at different times so the other one is always able to drag us back. For me, its in the mornings which is annoying cos I can't call my mum until later in the day by which time i feel ok again.

We really miss good indian food - but once we have our own place, I can get back in the kitchen and attempt some good indian cooking!!

We know we are very lucky to be here and are going to enjoy every single moment of it!

Syedney

Welcome to Sydney, mate

I think you should look at the Dee Why beach which we love. We were originally in love with Manly and its beach, but now realise for a family, Dee why is the better beach. It has rock pool, playgorund area and feels more secluded and less commercial. But of course, to each their own. I think you're lucky to be living in Dee why. We are right now trying to get a flat over there. My little one (9 years old) is in love with Dee Why Public school. We had a fruitful visit there and a very helpful lady there took us for a tour of the school and even handed us all the forms for the little one to enrol.

About the food, I am in disagreement with you. Sorry!
I think Australia has more varied fresh food than UK and there is always an endless of fruits/vegs/meats in almost every shop I have been. The supermarket layout are a bit...lopsided! And fresh food costs less than in UK. But true, everything else is on par with UK!:curse:


We've been busy eating thai food so not sure about indian food. Though I'd love a good curry, I am not craving it yet

Hope you find your accom in Manly, good luck mate

kunjal and shamir

We are enjoying Dee Why but we are a couple with no kids so the nightlife of Manly appeal at the moment... I can see us wanting to move to a quieter beach when we have kids though!

i think i just need to get used to the food shopping - and would like to find smaller more specialised stores for fresh stuff as woolies here seems to feel expensive... and not that fresh...

carolinephillips

Try Harris Farm Markets or small food outlets. We stayed in Manly for a month in Aug/Sept. The beach was nice, but it was incredibly noisy at night and it gets very crowded in summer. Beware the bin lorries which empty all the bottles noisily at 5 am- not good if you have been enjoying the nightlife which goes on till 2.

knockoff nige

If I could give you a piece of advice, dont rely on recruitment agencies based on how genuine and nice they seem.... they are all genuine and nice to you. Only a small few of them are good at what they do. I've met about 6 or 7 different consultants and felt positive about my chances after every meeting. But, the reality seems to be that they will have no problem with forgetting about you if they are distracted by a better offer. The better offer could be someone with more local experience than you but not necessarily better at the job. Dont leave your hopes in their hands, make it happen as much as you can yourself. Agencies often need someone to hold their hand and drag them through the process. Dont be afraid to do that.

tomar

Hi, can I ask how you sorted out medicare on a WHV? I thought you are only entitled to emergency care. Although there is reciprocal agreement between UK and Aus it appears you are only entitled to limited access. It seem quite clear when applying for the visa that you have to have travel insurance. Only interested because a family member (British citizen) is waiting on her visa and this could save her money. Thanks

kunjal and shamir

we got travel insurance as well.
medicare is basic care, but as we are hoping to get 457 sponsorship, we have got this for now and will get private medical cover once w start working... just to be on the safe side!

tomar

Thank you for the info on medicare. My daughter had her WHV granted yesterday. So looking forward to her joining us,

kunjal and shamir

I understand completely what you mean... I am definately going to be relying on her to do all the hard work for me!
on the other side though, I have been i touch with this agent since i was back in London and she has been quite helpful in giving us other pointers for settling in.
Agreed though - wont get sucked in!!!

Thanks

Syedney

Hey guys!
Just been to Dee Why for the whole day, flat hunting and also enjoying the sun (well was partly cloudy but the temp was 31 degrees!!!)

Anyway, on Oak Street (or avenue not sure) in Dee Why, there is a fresh produce market, where we bought a veg/fruits/meat all for less than $20! Everything was fresh.
Also, Dee Why beach was very busy: they were holding a boat race on their with cameras filming too...

kunjal and shamir

ohhhh how weird - i found that market yesterday too!!!!
we were probably there at the same time! haha