Ready, set, go....Checklist!

melonstar

Hi all,
So I have been sponsored on a 457 visa and have accepted a job in Melbourne! Wahooo Visa application is being processes at the moment and should be back in a matter of weeks!! So, I should be moving over in early June. I have spent a lot of time looking, rather that posting on this forum and have found it very helpful. I have compiled a short list of things I need to do and get set up before I go and while I am over there. I am not sure if I have covered everything here so if I have left anything out I'd appreciate some help and advice. Thanks.

Before I go:
Set up bank account. (do all banks allow accounts to be set up from abroad)?. I was thinking of Westpac.
Transfer money using Currencyfair
Health Insurance with VHI. I know I dont need insurance for the 457 visa but i'd like to keep it going. The Medicare link for Ireland in the FAQ seems to be re-routed so I cant see what the coverage is on it.

Over there
Tax file number (think i need to have a permanent address for this?)
Phone and sim card.

I have a serviced apartment for 4 weeks as part of my package so that's something I don't need to worry about.

I have been looking on Gumtree and Domain and I think I should make appointments before I go over to see rooms in my preferred areas. That should give me 3-4 weeks to find a room. I know places are unfurnished but I have $3000 from the company to get myself set up, so I should be ok on that front.

If anyone any any advice or if I have forgotten anything please let me know.


Melbourne, here I come

Coileach dearg

Congrats on the job!
Do not and I mean DO NOT use gumtree for accommodation. There are people making a living on rent scams on there.

melonstar

Thanks for that. There doesn't seem to be a lot on RealEsate or Domain compared to Gumtree.

jackbhoy

melonstar wrote: »

Thanks for that. There doesn't seem to be a lot on RealEsate or Domain compared to Gumtree.

I know a few people who have used http://www.flatmatefinders.com.au/ to find house shares with great success, might be worth checking out.

melonstar

Cheers, Ill look in to that!

Pugins

Not sure if it applies if just renting a room/house share but we found it handy when renting a house to have -

-written reference form Irish landlord
-Copy of work contract
-letter of support from Australian boss
-ref from Melbourne based friend


I used these websites to search for houses:
//www.realestate.com.au/
/www.myhome.com.au/
www.property.com.au
They let you set up alerts on available properties.

Some useful websites and apps:
Tramtracker
www.visitvictoria.com.au
13Cabs

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/ - Tax info
To work in Australia, you’ll need a Tax File Number (TFN) or you will pay tax at the emergency rate of 48%.Applying online means you will not need to provide physical documentation as proof of identity.


Organise a Myki card when you get there which you use for travelling on buses, trams and trains

Take the free circle line tram to familiarise yourself with Melbourne when you arrive

Finally choose your AFL team wisely as you will be asked who you barrack for and the wrong answer (Collingwood!) will be noted. They are obsessed here. It's just easier to pick a team








stefan idiot jones

Hello, well done in getting your sponsorship. My partner got sponsored as a nurse last year and we (myself, herself and our daughter) have been here since mid November. We got a lot of great information from Pomsinoz website, and 99% of the information and feedback we had proved accurate.
We, through Pomsinoz registered with NAB bank as they give great service to immigrants, when we arrived here all our funds were in our new account, all we did is go to the branch coolect our new cards and away we went, they were really helpful.
We exchanged our money through Moneycorp who once again were recommended by the Pomsinoz website and everything ran smoothly. We transferred our euros to them. they exchanged it and sent them directly to our new NAB account. They gave us a far better rate of exchange than all of the high street banks would have done. We gained a couple of thousand dollars on just thirty thousand euros !!!!
When we arrived we had a couple of weeks accommodation sorted for us so we dealt with renting here. A great bit of advice that worked for us is, you have to sell yourself to the landlord/letters so bring as much reference material as you can including bank statements (new and old), renting references from previous landlords, visa details, job details or in our case as we had not previously rented we took photographs of our house to show them that we had a high standard and looked after our property. Basically get yourself a c.v. together just for renting with a cover letter to get you ahead of the next person and to impress the people who matter that you are the right person for that property. We had to put up a big bond first which is held by an official bond holder not some idiot landlord so that is above board.
You get your tax file no sent to you after you present yourself to the local government office with all your details etc. It took us about a week.
Your Irish mobile is probably locked but buying one here is easy, they go from $35 dollars and you can pick up a sim card from $1 from Coles supermarket or loads of other places. There are as in Ireland lots of providers, we got an Amaysim card for a dollar pay as you go, bought $10 credit (called a recharge) then phoned Amaysim to register the phone with passport details and away we went. If you go to a phone shop and act daft they might be helpful and do it for you !!!
We moved into a great house but unlike renting in Ireland, unfurnished really means unfurnished. We had to buy new matresses, beds, fridge, settees the whole lot.
We were amazed at how expensive things appeared to be at first sight, but that really is not the case. There is a massive difference in prices between stores so it REALLY pays to shop around for nearly everything. Even groceries are different prices in the same supermarket depending what part of the city you are.
You will not be able to get a Medicare card if you are from the republic with an Irish passport. I got one because I have a U.K. passport but my partner and daughter tried twice but failed because of their passport as Ireland and Australia do not share the same agreement as the U.K.
We shipped all our stuff over which took a couple of months but my advice is bring/ship all you can as you will only have to buy it again here but be very careful with the cleanliness/organic material.
Good luck and be as prepared as much as you can to be ahead of everyone else when renting. I don't think that one bank is better than the other really but we have no complaints with ours at all. Everyone is friendly, the weather is great, people have money, the cars are big, the streets are spotless, the birds are noisy and colourful and everything is on your doorstep.
Stefan. Queensland. With a tan and a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slidey

I have recommended currencyfair and have used them a lot myself. It's part Irish owned too so good to support the locals.

On accommodation I used easyroommate.com

There is less messers on it as you have to pay to use it but the two places I have gotten off it were good. Current house I am in, the owner approached me to come and view it. The place was 3 weeks old and is a $14 taxi ride from the airport so that suits me too.

Cars are shockingly expensive here (well in WA anyway) so unless you are planning on going by shank's pony or public transport prepare yourself.

melonstar

Pugins wrote: »

Not sure if it applies if just renting a room/house share but we found it handy when renting a house to have -

-written reference form Irish landlord
-Copy of work contract
-letter of support from Australian boss
-ref from Melbourne based friend


I used these websites to search for houses:
//www.realestate.com.au/
/www.myhome.com.au/
www.property.com.au
They let you set up alerts on available properties.

Some useful websites and apps:
Tramtracker
www.visitvictoria.com.au
13Cabs

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/ - Tax info
To work in Australia, you’ll need a Tax File Number (TFN) or you will pay tax at the emergency rate of 48%.Applying online means you will not need to provide physical documentation as proof of identity.


Organise a Myki card when you get there which you use for travelling on buses, trams and trains

Take the free circle line tram to familiarise yourself with Melbourne when you arrive

Finally choose your AFL team wisely as you will be asked who you barrack for and the wrong answer (Collingwood!) will be noted. They are obsessed here. It's just easier to pick a team








Thanks for this information - I'll get my tax file number sorted before I head over.

melonstar

stefan idiot jones wrote: »

When we arrived we had a couple of weeks accommodation sorted for us so we dealt with renting here. A great bit of advice that worked for us is, you have to sell yourself to the landlord/letters so bring as much reference material as you can including bank statements (new and old), renting references from previous landlords, visa details, job details or in our case as we had not previously rented we took photographs of our house to show them that we had a high standard and looked after our property. Basically get yourself a c.v. together just for renting with a cover letter to get you ahead of the next person and to impress the people who matter that you are the right person for that property. We had to put up a big bond first which is held by an official bond holder not some idiot landlord so that is above board.

Thanks for this information. I'll start getting my renting cv together soon

oz2013

Congrats on the job and best of luck with the move!

My wife and I are also moving over to Melbourne in June. We aim to bring a container of our belongings with us. If you need anything brought over, we would consider sharing. We are based in Limerick. All the best with your endeavours!

Pugins

oz2013 wrote: »

My wife and I are also moving over to Melbourne in June. We aim to bring a container of our belongings with us.

Good advice we got on shipping is that it is much easier to borrow what you need in Ireland where you have friends and family than when you arrive in a new country. So send your stuff out early to arrive shortly after you and borrow what you need here.

Zambia

Is the job in Melbourne CBD or a suburb OP?

What are the areas you are considering? Believe me you can go wrong in suburb choice. Out of everything this is the one thing to be sure of and research.

melonstar

oz2013 wrote: »

Congrats on the job and best of luck with the move!

My wife and I are also moving over to Melbourne in June. We aim to bring a container of our belongings with us. If you need anything brought over, we would consider sharing. We are based in Limerick. All the best with your endeavours!

I am based in Limerick too. I wont be shipping anything over. I'll bring an extra few bags of clothes. My new employer is giving money towards buying furniture etc..
Thanks for the offer and best of luck with the move.

melonstar

Zambia wrote: »

Is the job in Melbourne CBD or a suburb OP?

What are the areas you are considering? Believe me you can go wrong in suburb choice. Out of everything this is the one thing to be sure of and research.

I will be working in Collins Street. I have one month of accommodation paid for by the employer so I plan on going to see lots of different areas. I was thinking about Richmond/South Yarra/Prahan but need to see what these areas look like and see will I fit in

Zambia

melonstar wrote: »

I will be working in Collins Street. I have one month of accommodation paid for by the employer so I plan on going to see lots of different areas. I was thinking about Richmond/South Yarra/Prahan but need to see what these areas look like and see will I fit in

You have picked some of the richest areas in Melbourne right there.

Try Moonee Ponds

Bit further Northcote

Look up the Melbourne Suburbs thread for run downs on some suburbs.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72661522

melonstar

Zambia wrote: »

You have picked some of the richest areas in Melbourne right there.

Try Moonee Ponds

Bit further Northcote

Look up the Melbourne Suburbs thread for run downs on some suburbs.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72661522

Thanks Zambia! I have looked at that thread before and it has so much information. I might need to rethink the suburbs alright
I have a months accomodation paid for by the company so plan on looking at lots of places in that time. Have signed up to flatmatefinders and it looks really good. Lots of accom out there to choose between.
Visa came through this morning so just need to hand in my notice and get flights booked!
Can't wait for my new adventure!

oz2013

@ Melonstar, there are some very cheap flights available via Malaysian Airlines at the moment. We booked ours last week via Abbey Travel in Dublin. Return for €850 which I thought was very reasonable. Best of luck with everything!

melonstar

oz2013 wrote: »

@ Melonstar, there are some very cheap flights available via Malaysian Airlines at the moment. We booked ours last week via Abbey Travel in Dublin. Return for €850 which I thought was very reasonable. Best of luck with everything!

Thanks! The company I am going over to are paying for my flights so I am very lucky

HillFarmer

Hi melonstar,

Best of luck to you.

I'm heading on Saturday to Sydney, pretty much same setup as you, company paying for transfer.

My wife and kids will follow me over.
Can't add anything, I think you've got everyhting sussed.

melonstar

HillFarmer wrote: »

Hi melonstar,

Best of luck to you.

I'm heading on Saturday to Sydney, pretty much same setup as you, company paying for transfer.

My wife and kids will follow me over.
Can't add anything, I think you've got everyhting sussed.

Hope all goes well for you and your family too. It's an exciting move!