LeliaThomas.Com

Immigrating to Australia, Part II

This is the second part of my experience with immigrating to Australia on a student visa. If you’d like to go back and read the first part, click here. In this part, I discuss my arrival into Australia, as well as my experience with real estate here.

Arrival: Temporary Stay and Getting Around

Before you can get settled into an apartment or home, you’ll of course need somewhere to stay temporarily. If you know someone in Australia and can stay with them for a while, that’s great, and I would recommend it. Otherwise, check out hotels. In terms of hotels, you need to weigh the pros and cons in your head as to what will be most beneficial to you.

In the case of Melbourne–and as I hear it, Sydney–there is great public transport in the form of trams and trains, and in some locations, buses. There are also cabs for hire, if you’re willing to tolerate those fees. Hotels nearer to or within the city are going to cost more than those farther out; however, they will also be near central hubs of public transport, such as Flinders Street Station. If you aren’t driving while in Australia, this is a factor to consider.

• Helpful Tip: Be prepared to stay in a hotel or other accommodation for two to four weeks. Real estate here is handled differently than in a lot of countries, I’ve come to learn.
• Note: Your visa is invaluable. It’s what makes you stand out. It may not tell Australians that you’re a citizen, but it will tell them that you’re residing in the country for longer than a visitor visa allows (3 months). Provided you’ve done everything in a timely fashion, and no screw-ups have gone on on other ends (as they did for me!), you should have you electronic student visa before you land in Australia. You will need it. It’s part of what will enable you to make contractual agreements.

Wherever you plan to be, buy a map. Sydney and Melbourne are hotspots for visiting and more besides, and there are extensive street directories of these cities available, as well as for other places. You can find out about them on Ausway, or purchase one from a bookstore or Metshop when you arrive.

• Note: Fuel/petrol is high here, and as in most cities, parking is hard to find and often expensive. Public transport makes pretty good time, runs from early in the morning until midnight, and in the long run will cost you less than owning a car and dealing with its maintenance. If you’re headed to Melbourne, visit this page, which will give you fare information for Melbourne public transport.

Bank Accounts and Mobile Phones

It’s simple. You will need a bank account during your stay, be that a year abroad or for your full degree. Don’t just sign up with a bank, because you probably won’t get as many free services. Look for a credit union. Chances are you’ll still be able to use your card at major bank-owned ATMs, but you won’t get charged as much during a quarter.

• Helpful Tip: If you’re going on a student visa, like I have been, once you’re enrolled in school and shown to be going to class, you can soon apply for an amendment to your visa for permission to work. After applying for your permission to work, which costs $60AUD, you’ll also need to apply for a Tax File Number (TFN).

I suggest getting a cell (or mobile, as Australians are still calling them) phone early in your stay, as calling from a hotel is costly. At the time of my writing this, Australia’s mobile phone system is much like it was in the States about five or so years ago. Rates are pretty high for not too much. However, it’s obvious that already some additional competition is coming to play, and the infastructure is changing. Long story short, go with a prepay plan for now, rather than a contract you are bound to. Moreover, as far as I could see, there was little incentive to choose a contract over prepay in multiple companies.

I ended up going with Vodaphone, although many people swear by Optus. One person has told me the up and coming 3 Mobile has overloaded its system and is unable to send and receive text messages in good time because of it. And Telstra…well, go with Telstra if you have no heart and soul. At least, that’s my opinion. There are others, but I don’t know much about them. Ask around!

With Vodaphone, I currently purchase a $49 monthly cap, which gives me ultimately $230 monthly, as part of their prepay scheme. It didn’t last me the first month I was here, as I had so many calls to make, but it has done the trick so far for month number two.

Real Estate in Australia

Before you move to Australia, familiarize yourself with Real Estate Australia. Also get the names and numbers of the real estate companies that handle the areas you feel you’re interested in viewing. You’ll need all their names and numbers, because in Australia real estate companies do not share information. In other words, what one agency has, the other doesn’t necessarily.

• Helpful Tip: Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t readily helped. Because agencies work differently here, and because agents aren’t as worried about making a commission (since they’re already salaried), you may end up meeting some people who genuinely don’t care for your business. I know! It’s pretty weird to me too! Keep trying.

As with hotels, the closer to the city you are, the higher the prices of homes and apartments, no matter size. Your mode of transportation is a must for consideration again. Also take into consideration what you’re getting for your money. Location to shops and entertainment, safety, as well as if your apartment has any appliances already installed. Most all places I’ve seen here have washing and drying for $2AUD per each load (that’s $4 for each wash and drying load, when you get down to it).

• Note: There are very few furnished apartments, at least from what I have seen in Melbourne.

Finally Getting into a Place

When you find a place you like, you’ll need to put in an application for it. That’s right, an application. Unlike every other place that I know of, Australia doesn’t just take your money and put you in the place. No, no. You have to put in an application, which usually takes them a day or two to agree or disagree upon. Basically, it’s a legality, and it gives realtors time to decide whether or not they want to allow you in the apartment. Business wise, it’s a great idea. For you, as a consumer, it can be real hell on earth. Not much you can do about it.

• Helpful Tip: Australia has some great services through its business and government. Since your taxes or other dollars go to them somehow, utilize the ones that are worthwhile. One you will notice on your application is to easily and seamlessly connect you to all your utilities, and even internet and cable, if you desire. On the outside it looks good, and it’s not too bad. There’s not a fee to have them connect your services, but they will take your end-of-year rebate and other small things. Better to just sign up with the companies you like on your own.
• Helpful Tip: As said above, there are few furnished apartments. If you’re going to be in Melbourne, there’s one obvious place for fairly cheap start-out furniture, and that’s IKEA at the Victoria Gardens Mall. A lesser known one will require a trip to Essendon by train, and a little cab fare to the DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) mall. I got most of my kitchenware here at a very low price, and it’s of good quality.

In Closing

The hardest part about coming to Australia on a student visa will be settling everything with your visa. All the other stuff falls into place in time, as is the case with any large move. If you’re from America, one of the harder things you’ll have to get used to in regard to everything will be the slower pace. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just different.

Also, if anyone needs any help with information or other things about immigrating to Australia, feel free to contact me at leliathomas@gmail.com, and I’ll do whatever I can!

Comments ordered from oldest to newest.

Ren

Slow pace… and you’re in Melbourne. Thank goodness you didn’t go to Perth. Hehehe.

RisingSunofNihon

Hi, I came across your site while I was browsing through Technorati today. I just wanted to say that I was very impressed by the thoroughness of the information you presented here. I’m sure this post (as well as part 1) will be very helpful to anyone thinking about moving to Australia. I wish someone had taken the time to do something like this before I moved to Japan… things would have been infinitely easier for me!!!

Elise

Hello Lelia, it’s Elise, who lives near Kav, met you in the surf shop.
Anyway, glad to hear things are settling down to some extent! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you out. But being Australian it will probably take at least three weeks!
Take care!

Elizbaeth

Wish i would have read all this before i dealt with the same red tape back in Jan. if you ever want to vent, i’m here!! :)

Lelia

Elisa, thanks for your warm words. :) How’s nursing school going? (That’s what you’re doing, right? :))

Elizbaeth, thanks for the offer! I don’t need to vent yet…yet being the keyword! Are you finding most things fall into place now that you’ve been here for a while? Hope so! Things have fallen into place mostly for me now.

Elise

Nursing’s going rather well, thanks. Everyone loves learning about suppositries!

Lelia

Elise, of course! Who wouldn’t?

Elise

That was awesome! Some of the dummies we practice on a real tight-arses. Seriously, it’s a struggle for my tiny fingers…

Lelia

The mental image I just received…priceless.

Tori

Hey Leila, I can’t believe I didn’t see this post before… LOL.

Just to add a few things from my own experience when I was backpacking & working in Oz…

Youth hostels are good cheap solution for temporary accommodation once you arrive, and you can even get discounts for being a student. Just be careful because they’re not all created equal - I’ve stayed in some really horrid places and some really good ones. YHA hostels are usually nice & clean in that college dormitory way. Plus a great way to meet people!

Another thing to consider for long-term is shared accommodation. Meaning that you find a roommate (or group of roommates) and share a house or a flat together. You can find some good sites on a Google search, like flatmates.com.au.. or just in the classified ads of the newspaper. The advantages are that you’ll pay cheaper rent and don’t have to shell out for a lot of furniture. The one big disadvantage is if you & your roommates don’t get along…

Speaking of the classified ads, you can often find people renting out rooms to students or “granny flats” — little self-contained units attached to a private house. It may be easier than going through the application business with a real estate agent.

*Shop around*, *shop around*, *shop around* for a bank or credit union. I know there are relatively fewer choices, but the trick is finding an account that will work well for your needs. Same thing with prepaid mobile plans. They change constantly, which is a real big PITA. Don’t forget that even in the big cities, some providers have spotty coverage in some suburbs — another thing to consider.

:-)