Hi my lovelies,
This blogpost details the exact steps I took to get me from behind an office desk to a beach far away!
I hope it helps any of you who are considering or are in the process of the big move.
GemKen x
Why Travel?
Niall and I always talked about traveling , we were both in agreement that it was something we needed to do as soon as we had our degrees behind us.
Our reasonings for travelling? To culture and educate ourselves from something other than a book. To experience life, see the world and embrace the endless opportunities and new friendships. To see what the amazing change of lifestyle had to offer, to learn about ourselves as individuals and about our relationship.
And i mean, who doesn’t want to live by the beach?
Deciding To Go
An easy decision to make- right? So many people talk about it, dream about it and wish about it. Anyone you talk to encourages you to fly the nest and see what’s out there, what it’s all about.
For me it wasn’t deciding to go that was difficult, it was when. When is the right time?
Honestly there is no ‘right’ time. You’ll forever wait if you keep passing up your travels because of events; weddings, birthdays, a lads/girls holiday.
The truth is there is no time like the present, book it, do it, go, go, go.
Book your trip based on when you want to go, don’t book it around suiting other people.
We all have a tendancy to be ‘people pleasers’ and have serious fear of missing out on occasions when the realtiy is there will be plenty more in the future. Whether it’s a few months, a year or a few years longer, with the help of God our friends and family will have many more celebrations to come.
Tip: When booking your trip be sure to set a realistic time frame you feel is comfortable to save your funds.
Applying for a Visa
The very first thing we did was book our Visa. We completed our applications online and the next morning we had confirmation back of acceptance. The application took approximately 30 minutes to complete and by doing it yourself through the Australian Government Website you can save £70 per person.
The visa we are here on is the Working Holiday Visa 417. They cost $440 per person- (£275 approx depending on exchange rate). Australia has recently made changes to the visa meaning its may be slightly more difficult to get one granted depending on your job sector as they are now skilled visas. Be sure to do your research on the visa changes and restrictions.
Booking the flight
We booked our flights in February 2017 to leave in the July. Seemed like ages away at the time but the weeks and months soon rolled in and it was no time to we were boarding the flight.
We booked through STA Travel to a cost of £580 per person. We chose to stop of in Dubai for a few days as the flights were super long.
We flew with Emirates who have a 30kg baggage allowance, maximum weight they will allow is 32kg.
Be sure to research how much weight each airline will give you to get more bang for your buck. Our friends recently flew here with Qantas who have a baggage allowance of 2x 23kg checked on bags per person (46kg!).
Temporary Accommodation
We booked to stay in an Airbnb because I couldn’t face staying in a Hostel with all my life belongings! It would be different if I was backpacking, but we had so many valuables I didn’t want to risk getting anything nicked. We booked the Airbnb for 2 weeks so we would have enough time to look for new places. The Airbnb also worked out $2 cheaper per night than what you would pay in a hostel.
Join Social Media Groups
Utilize social media, the Irish Around Sydney Group is incredible for jobs, housing, furniture, cars etc.
There are so many Facebook Groups and depending on which area you are going to there is a specific group you can join. (Irish Around Brisbane, Irish Around Perth, Irish Around Melbourne, Irish Around Darwin)
My Australian To-Do List Before Leaving Home
- Give Notice To Workplace
- Create a ‘Travel Folder’ to keep all your documentation together
- Update CV for Australian Market (Resume)
- Gather up any doctor, dentist & optician files
- Notify Bank
- Appoint a trusted Power of Attorney so they can access and control your funds at home.
- Cancel Outgoing Bills
- Car insurance
- Car Tax
- Gym membership
- Automated payments/direct debits
- Pay off phone contract
- Pay off any debits (Student Overdraft)
- Compile important documents and make photocopies
- Passport
- Visa Confirmation
- Birth Certificate
- Driving Licence
- Qualifications
- Employment References
- Bank Statement
- P60 from Employer
- Travel & Health Insurance
- Print a hardcopy of hotel/ Airbnb bookings and any transportation confirmation.
The remainder of the things listed were completed when we arrived in Sydney.
Sim Cards
We bought pay-as-you-go sim cards and topped them up with $40. We chose ‘BOOST’ network as it had the best offering on Data.
Bank Account
We made our way to the ANZ Bank and set ourselves up with individual accounts, a joint bank account and our Superannuation. Our reasoning behind the joint bank account is due to sponsorship. We have no idea if we want to stay a second year yet but we are keeping our options open and if one of us gets sponsored, the other can go De Facto (basically means a couple can use the same sponsorship). In order to do so you need to prove a genuine relationship, therefor opening the joint bank account would strengthen our proof of relationship.
Tip: Be sure to bring your passport to open your account.
Tax File Number
We applied for our Tax File Numbers online as soon as we arrived using our Airbnb’s address. It took one week to arrive.
Tip: When filling out your TFN form with your new employer, the answer to the “Are you a resident for tax purposes?”question is ‘Yes’. Answering ‘No’will result in higher taxes and you are not breaking any rules by selecting ‘Yes’, so you may as well avail of a lower tax rate.
Transport
You will need to get an Opal card. It makes getting around super easy and cheap. You simply tap-on and tap-off public transport with a pre-loaded card. You can purchase the cards for $2 in most shops and then you top it up. You can download the app and register your card, if you ever lose it your balance will be transferred to a new card. The app also allows you to top up your card and set up a direct debit meaning no more queuing at peak times to top it up in the stations.
When on a working holiday visa you can drive on a full driving license until your 12 months runs out, I have heard a few people say its only 3 months, but according to the government website legally you can drive until you get residency.
Medicare
We went to the Medicare Centre and filled out the forms, presenting our passports, visas and utility bills with home addresses.
We are both holders of Irish Passports but we technically reside in the UK so we do qualify for MediCare. All we had to do was prove that we resided in the UK with letters stating our home address (utility bills, counterpart of driving licence).
Tip: Bring a few different letters with your home address along with your passport and visa.
Transferring Money
We used an app called TransferWise to get our cash from our Home accounts to our OZ accounts. Our banks were giving us crappy exchange rates and charging fees for international transfers.
Tip- Be sure to bring your card reader if your bank has issued you one, otherwise its impossible to make large transfers to TransferWise.
Getting a House
We got our house through the ‘Irish Around Sydney’ Facebook group. In Australia you pay a bond which is similar to a security deposit. Our rental bond was $1950 so you do need to factor this into your budget.
Rent is shown per week. Make sure you consider the monthly rent, which is the price per week times 52 weeks divided by 12 months. (i.e. our rent is $500 per week which actually works out at $2167 per month, so its really over $500 per week).
Equipping Our Room
Thankfully our house was fully furnished except for a bed. We ordered our bed from Tommy Swiss which is a relatively cheap website. We got our King Size bed frame and mattress delivered for just under $500.
As for all our other pieces; candles, photo frames, mats, towels, bed sheets, quilt, pillows, makeup organisers etc we bought them all from KMart for around $350.
Uber
If you haven’t already got it, download the Uber app for Taxi journeys.
Shopping
We generally do our groceries in Coles as it is cheaper than the majority of the other supermarkets.
I definitely recommend picking up a few bits in Primark before you leave (especially underwear and swimwear) because even the cheap underwear here isn’t that cheap & it’s not overly cute.
Oh, and teabags- take your fave. My mummy packed me some Punjana and there is nothing quite like a tea from home.
I hope this blogpost helps anyone who is buying a one-way-ticket! If you are moving soon check out my stages of emotion blog, maybe you will be able to relate! I will have future blog posts soon on recommendations on what to do, where to go & where to eat around Sydney!
Shoot me a message if you have any further questions and I will be happy to help.
Lots of love,
GemKen x