Random thoughts after 6 weeks here

[Guest Bronwyn]

Well we have been here for about 6 weeks now and what a roller coaster ride so far! I have tried to keep various things in mind to share with you all, and also made some notes, but it’s hard to capture the spirit of being here in writing. In the end I ‘organised’ my thoughts into topics, but they are really just that – thoughts – not to be taken too seriously! In random order:-

Entertainment- free TV is good, with lots of shows like The West Wing, Jack & Bobby, 70’s Show, Antiques Roadshow, Malcom in the Middle, CSI, Nip-Tuck, Simpsons…most were on pay channels in South Africa, so this is a bonus. However the adverts are really bad & annoying, you literally get shouted at. And EVERY night there is something on about Shane Warne. ‘The News’ is good, interesting & topical. (Everyone is very interested in politics here, and the people take the government to task on EVERYTHING). Going out to movies is very expensive, between $10 and $13 per person. DVD’s are about $4 per movie. A PSP game cost $74.27 (before Christmas) and a DVD $35.95. Top 10 CD’s cost $20.25 each. Everything went down by at least 10% after Christmas. Today we bought trainers for school, marked down to $20 per pair from $60. Sales are good here. Books are expensive at $25-$29 each. I’m talking fiction like Jodi Piccoult, Stephen King, etc. BUT the library is free & fun. Up to 20 items for 4 weeks for free. They have really good CD’s, DVD’s and great books!!!

Cars – Here in ADL there are about 30 for sale per day in the ‘Private Sale’ section alone (and hundreds at the dealers). The cheapest I saw was $780 for a 1988 Ford Lazer wagon (?) but there are mostly Commodores with 180,000kms on the clock, costing under $3,000. You can get a demo 2006 2-litre Ford Focus for $21,000 and a 1999 V6 Camry with 47,000kms and all the bells, for $12,000. Car Rego is expensive, about $550 per annum, must be included in your budget. Insurance on our 2002 Subaru is $516 per annum.

Life & money – Generally you can expect to pay $15 for a men’s/child’s haircut and between $70 and $170 for ladies hair, depending on how much you abuse your hair . Bank guaranteed cheques cost $10 but the ANZ monthly bank account fee is only $5! To have your photos put on a disk is $5, and you can expect to pay up to $12 to park in town for 3 or 4 hours in one of the big parking arcades. I have found food expensive (eg. $10 for a roasted chicken on sale at Woolworths), but as always if you are willing to choose your own fruit & veg, peel it & actually cook something on your stove, it can be done for quite a bit less! If you want to get takeaways like a coke, a burger & chips, budget about $7 per person. Eating in restaurants costs three times as much, plus drinks. A tiny glass of wine in a restaurant is about $6.50. It’s hard to justify the spend. For our family of 4, I used to roughly budget about R30 per night on meat in Pretoria, I have found it to be about double here. I know I’m not shopping in the right places yet, though…Cold drinks are strange. You can buy a huge box with 36 cans in it, averaging out at 48c per can, but a 600ml coke in a plastic bottle is $2.58. Economies of scale, I guess. A litre of milk can be had for close to $1.10 at a supermarket, petrol costs about the same. Funny thing, that.

Animals – Wow. We went to a wildlife park & saw a whole new world. Parrots, a lovely koala you could cuddle, huge bats, water dragons, and pelicans bigger than my 10-year old! Even a prehistoric Casawarie (spelling?) which is a giant bird that looks like it was an extra in Jurassic Park You can sometimes spot dolphins in the sea. There are poo-bags for the dog owners to use at the beach, in neat little holders. You take a bag and clean up after your dog does his thing. That’s why I had a cat…having said that, the dogs are ecstatic to be allowed to run on the beach (only until a certain time). The flies fly slowly and the ants run very fast here. I’m not sure why that is. Flies haven’t really bothered us so far.

Kids fun things – There are parks/ovals every few km’s. They have jungle gyms, slides, and the kids love them. The one near our house has clean ablutions with soap & toilet paper, and a free gas Barbie. This is very strange. You can go there, push a button and use it for free. It gets cleaned up for you afterwards. The only slight problem is that it doesn’t smell like a braai at all, because there is no smoke, or wood, or briquettes. Doesn’t seem the same, to be honest. But it works. Our kids attended ‘Vacswim’ recently for 9 mornings. Cost a total of $21 each, they had 45 minutes instruction each morning on the beach, in swimming & life-saving. It’s a Govt. initiative, and so subsidised. No questions asked. The absolutely loved it and made some new Aussie mates! One day there were dolphins swimming near them. The public pools near our house are heated to 26 degrees and cost $4.50 entrance, but we haven’t tried that yet. There are bike paths, skate parks, running paths, and countless things for kids to do here, not to mention the beautiful clean beaches. There are even beach cleaning machines, which come along and sift the sand and pick up litter. It’s a whole new world.

School – We are on a temporary visa but still only paying about $300 per year per child for school fees. I’m not sure why this is, as I’ve seen other people paying full fees on the forum…can it be because we are in South Australia? All the schools we saw quoted us between $250 and $350 per child per year. Uniforms set us back almost $300 for both kids. You can buy most of the golf shirts for school (called polo shirts) for between $5 and $15 at K-Mart or Target, you don’t have to buy the special school logo shirts of you don’t want to. We bought one logo shirt each & the rest cheapies.

Well, as they say in the classics, ‘Fluit Fluit, my storie is uit’. What I would also like to say is that we have been extremely fortunate to have had the support & help of other forumites here in ADL in our early days, it has made such a difference having a few people around who look out for you and invite you in! Thanks guys, you know who you are! Love, Bronwyn

[Pixi]

Bronwyn Thnx for your lenghty piece - especially the pricing. It gives me a good idea - seems I'll have to double up on meat while still in SA What is this compulsary car rego - and do you pay it per vehicle?

[Mara]

Hi Pixi

Yes, rego is basically your annual license fee for your car including third party and stamp duty!

[Bianca S]

thanks Bronwyn.

to other new members - remember to always convert your expenses as a % of salary, you'll then see that quite a lot of stuff are actually the same/less than in SA

Edited January 25, 2007 by Bianca.UK

[Johan Swanepoel]

This was a very interesting read. Thank you.

I agree with Bianca.UK, converting straight from AUD to ZAR might make it seem really expensive but as a percentage of salary it puts things into perspective nicely.

Thanks

Ps. It would be really cool to play with the Koala :-)

Edited January 25, 2007 by Johan Swanepoel

[JacoE]

Thanks for going to the trouble of penning (or is that typing?) this.

Appreciated.

Jaco

[W+R]

Hi Bronwyn,

Thanks for the update on your life in Adelaide!

We allways enjoy reading about Adelaide especially since we are going there and the little details are the things that one wants to know about.

Hope we can join you guys there before the end of the year!

Have fun!

W+R

[Swerwer]

Ek stem saam met Bianca.

Onthou jy leef van jou volle inkomste. As mens in Suid Afrika iets koop het jy al intuitief geleer hoeveel jy kan "spend" deur dit met jou inkomste te vergelyk. As jy byvoorbeeld sê maar R15000 per maand uitgekry het na al jou aftrekkings in Suid Afrika het jy dalk vir jouself besluit jy wil nie meer as R5000 aan verblyf betaal nie anders maak jy dit nie. Dit is dan R5000/R15000 = 1/3

As jy dan nou in Australie geld verdien het jy weereens net jou inkomste om van te leef. As dit op is, is dit op. So nou wonder jy dalk of jy 'n huis moet huur vir $500 per week. Is dit duur of goedkoop moet jy besluit...

As jy dieselfde breukdeel van jou inkomste afstaan aan die huur dan bly daar mos 'n soortgelyke breukdeel oor vir die res van jou uitgawes.

Sê maar jou Australiese inkomste is AU$85000 per jaar => AU$7083.33 per maand.

1/3 van dit is dan AU$2361 per maand => Au$550 per week.

Jy sal dus 'n soortgelyke persentasie (as in Suid Afrika) van jou inkomste aan huur betaal as jy 'n huis in Australie vir AU$550 per week sou huur.

Nêrens maak jy gebruik van die Rand/AU$ wisselkoers nie!! Deur hierdie manier te gebruik sorg jy eenvoudig dat jy soortgelyke breukdele van jou inkomste aan dieslfde goed spandeer.

Vat jou jaarlikse (na-belaste) inkomste in Suid Afrika en deel dit deur jou jaarlikse (na-belaste) inkomste in Oz:

12(R15000)/AU$85000 = 2.12 Rand/AU$

Dit beteken jy kan al die pryse in Oz met 2.12 maal om die bedrag in Rand te verkry wat sal verseker dat die persentasie van die uitgawe van jou Aussie inkomste dieselfde sal wees as die persentasie van jou Suid Afrikaanse inkomste waaraan jy gewoond is.

Noem dit maar JOU PERSOONLIKE WISSELKOERS.... Onthou dit en maak gebruik daarvan om te bepaal of iets duur of goedkoop is totdat jy gewoond is om in AU$ te werk.

So as dit AU$12 vir 'n fliek in Australie kos...dan is dit (2.12 x 12) = R25.41 vir jou. Presies waaraan jy gewoond is in SA. Dit is presies dieselfde breukdeel van jou inkomste in beide lande.

Moenie jou aan die wisselkoers steur nie...onthou jou eie faktor (sê maar 2) en bepaal op grond daarvan of iets vir jou duur of goedkoop is...dan kan jy sorg dat jy alles vergelyk met die inkomste wat jy kry.

Dis wat ek gaan doen....ek hoop dit verklaar dinge

[Sheila2oz]

Dankie julle vir die pryse en Swerwer vir jou uiteensetting, maak sin, sal dit ook so doen wanneer ons eendag daar kom.

Question to Bronwyn: We stay in Pta and i just want to know, how big is the differences between Pta and Adelaide? We are planning to move to Brisbane, but Adelaide looks so nice. I saw some beautiful photo's on this forum. Now i am confused, but i think Brisbane will be better for my husband's career, Airconditioning.

Ek sal dit waardeer as jy die verskille met my kan deel. Pta is sekerlik baie groter as Adelaide.

Groete

Sheila2oz

[Guest Bronwyn]

Hi Sheila

Nou vra jy my 'n ding. I'm not too sure of my facts regarding population here vs. Pretoria, so I have pulled out my "Lonely Planet guide to South Australia & Adelaide". I quote:

"The most recent census (2001) counted some 18,970,000 people in Australia. SA has less than 8% of that population - an estimated 1,527,000 in 2003. Among Australian states & territories, SA has the highest concentration of its population living in the capital city. The largest towns outside Adelaide are Whyalla & Mt. Gambier. Only around 1% of all Australians live in the dry outback, which makes up around 80% of the state's land area....Although less than in other states, 25% of the population in SA is foreign-born, with the majority coming from the UK (8,5%), Italy (1,7%), and Germany (0,9%). Other significant communities are from Greece & Asia. Around 1,6% identify as being of Aboriginal origin."

From the above I would deduce that a large percentage of 1,5 million people live in or near Adelaide. A quarter are not Australian born. The stats are old and a bit ambiguous though...

So it seems the population is of a similar size to Pretoria (Can anyone confirm how many people live in PTA, I don't know?).

The weather is also similar. I have often see the high & low temperatures being exactly the same recently, for eg. a high of 28 and a low of 18 degrees on many days...The difference is that the rainfall occurs here in winter, not summer, so although it is very hot in December, say, the wild grass is dry and brown, exactly like it would look in June on the Highveld. I've never been here in winter, so I will let you know what it looks like then... All the TV programs are the same.

These are the most obvious similarities. The differences are marked, though. After all, it is a whole different country.

Unemployment here is around 4%, vs. a hotly contested 30/40/45% in Pretoria (again - where are the stats?). There is obviously a sea here with lovely beaches - not so in Pretoria. There is far more to do here for families, I didn't find the statue of Chief Tshwane/Sammy Marks Museum/Paul Kruger's house/Church Square/The Voortrekker Monument/Union Buildings - all that enthralling in Pretoria. There is excellent public transport here. You wouldn't catch a train or a bus in Pretoria unless things were very dire indeed. You feel safe in public places here, in Pretoria we just avoided any sort of a public gathering because it would often become problematic. For example at New Year's Eve on the beaches here they held fireworks displays, but the beach becomes a 'Dry Zone' - so NO alcohol. Police everywhere. I believe it was still fun!!

Of course, there are some things I miss about South Africa/Pretoria. I miss the great sponteniety of the black people, the October Jacarandas, making eye-contact with strangers, and having a common history with the guy-next-door. Afrikaans is a unique language, and I miss being able to express myself and joke in Afrikaans too.

That's my take. I'd be interested to hear others repond to this one, though.

Bronwyn

[Dedrei]

However the adverts are really bad & annoying, you literally get shouted at.

Hubby and I are so totally over these ads and turn the TV mute when they come on, it's just ridiculous.

Thanks for sharing your personal experience. Really great reading it and give some insight into the first few weeks of arrival.

[christelle]

Hi all

if you want to see the beautiful Jacaranda's in Australia you should visit perth.everywhere you look you see the purpleflowers,and do check on the sidewalks they have little stop signs and give way signs for the push bikes !!!so cute

regards,christelle

[Annette]

LOL Bronwyn, reg, van nou af praat ons net Afrikaans!

I really enjoyed reading that - after so many years out of SA, I tend to forget how novel it is to someone who hasn't yet experienced living in a clean, well-run, first-world country. It's lovely to see. Just wait for October, you'll see plenty of Jacarandas here!

PS: South Australia does not charge Temporary visa holders more for school fees. We pay exactly the same as everyone else....

Sheila, I would add that the climate here is more like Cape Town than Pretoria, but without the wind and a lot hotter in summer. It's drier, whereas Pretoria is more humid, with very mild winters. The winters here can be lekker koud. There are a lot of different micro-climates around Adelaide and South Australia though, so there is something for everyone climate-wise if you know where to go

[Sage]

Annette - quick question ...

We've applied beginning of January for our skilled migrant visa and we are still unsure where to go i.e. Perth, Melbourne or Brisbane.

Can you possibly tell me what the climates are like in each of these?

We are currently in Cape Town and we love the wet mild winters and warm summers but we are really tired of the wind over here. So any wind-free spots over there?

Thanks,

Sage

[Bob]

State schools don't seem to charge any extra fees, as Annette has already mentioned, in South Australia, although I can't say the same for other States in Australia as I've heard temp visa holders being charged thousands each year for their kids to attend the local State school. In that case, it would be just as cheap to send them to a private school which if subsidised by the Commonwealth (Federal) gov't, as the State gov'ts in Australia obviously pay for their own school systems (with help from the Commonwealth gov't also).

Car rego in South Australia incorporates the motor tax (usage of public roads, etc) stamp duty of a few %, and compulsory third party (bodily injury) insurance.

As Mara has mentioned, third party (bodily injury) insurance is a legal minimum here in South Australia (and most other States), so the South Australian gov't won't even register a vehicle unless you cough up for third party (bodily injury) insurance in the total registration payment.

If you want third party (property) insurance . . . . in case you hit that Porsche! . . . . then you trot down to your local insurance broker and get cover there privately for your vehicle. My car costs about $100 a year to insure for banging into another vehicle. I tell my kids that if they can't afford at least third party (property) insurance, then they certainly can't afford to be driving on the roads!

The Royal Automobile Association (one of the world wide "AA" motoring associations) offer good premiums

Adelaide has a "Mediterranean" climate . . . i.e. warm / hot in summer-time with little to no rainfall, and cool / cold winters with rain. Wind is not much of an issue in Adelaide.

Perth is not unlike Adelaide in climate, but does get the "Fremantle Doctor" . . . a gentle breeze blowing off the ocean in the late afternoons to cool the city and suburbs down.

Melbourne has a cooler climate to Adelaide and not so hot in summer-time.

Brisbane is sub-tropical and not unlike Durban in that the climate is warm in summer with rainfall, making it humid and muggy while the winters are mild and drier.

Adelaide pictures often offer a cheap deal on Tuesdays. Ginnie and I trot off to see the movies at our local picture palace on Tuesdays and only pay $8 each whereas we'd pay $13 to $15 during the rest of the week. Last week was "Blood Diamond" set in West Africa and showed the diamond trade (Leonardo Di Caprio) Great movie! Last night was "The Queen" with the death of Diana and how the Royals were shown and dealt with the situation. Interesting!

Next week . . . . can't quite get my head around to going to see "Happy Feet" yet

It's little things like this that you get to pick up on and help to make life cheaper all round.

Ask . . . . and It Will Be Told!

[christelle]

Hi Sage

if you don't like wind,don't go to perth,they have a wind there they call "the freemantle doctor"

blowing everyday in the afternoon.

is't there a "kaapse doktor "as well??

regards,christelle

[Riekie]

Hey Bronwyn - just on your original post: I really enjoyed reading it. You always have a way of saying things just the way they are & as they come to mind, which makes it an even more "authentic" read! Your views are really interesting and reminds me a lot of how I felt in those early days. Enjoy the rest of the holiday - it never ends!!

[Pippa]

Hi Riekie,

Hey Bronwyn - just on your original post: I really enjoyed reading it. You always have a way of saying things just the way they are & as they come to mind, which makes it an even more "authentic" read! Your views are really interesting and reminds me a lot of how I felt in those early days. Enjoy the rest of the holiday - it never ends!!

Ek stem ! Bronwyn se dit net soos wat dit is en dit klink al te lekker !

Groete, Pippa! X

[Marius]

Bronwyn,

Yes thanks for the good post. We must catch up when I am back in Australia. I cant wait to get HOME to Australia after 2 weeks in Europe i can honestly say. And you will do well to break the convert mental calculator form ZAR to AUD we all arrive with, as someone mentioned as % of salary you will see it is actually the same or cheaper and yes you also learn where to shop in time. Govt. schools in South Australia cost about what you were quoted, temp or permanent resident. Be happy, it is less than in SA and far less than other states where TR 's pay even more than PR people.

Again, welcome to Adelaide.

[Guest Bronwyn]

Hi there - Sorry Bob & Annette I seem to have been confusing re. the school fees. I must admit this question still bothers me although I've been reading comments about school fees for months, I still don't pick up the answer .

This is my question: Why do I get charged only $300 per child on a temp visa, when Joe Soap in NSW pays $4,500 on a temp visa? Both State schools.

That's my question.

Anyone know? I know Barnone looked into this in detail recently....

I would love to clear this up once & for all, thanks! Bronwyn

Edited February 3, 2007 by Bronwyn

[Annette]

I suppose it's because each state makes their own rules, as the education systems are separate and administered by each state separately. Australia is a Federal government, which means that each state is sort of like a mini-country with it's own government, policies, laws, education systems etc., with the Federal government acting as a sort of "umbrella" organisation. (that's very simplistic) Each state decides independently what it will charge temporary visa holders and South Australia has decided not to discriminate.. I would guess it's one of the incentives it offers new migrants for settling here, as they do have very low population growth and the last thing they want to do it frighten people away from coming to live here. Of course, should the Liberal party win the next state election, they could decide to start charging higher fees to temporary visa holders...

[Bob]

Bron,

as Annette has mentioned, the States do their own thing in regard to their own education.

It all goes back in history.

Basically, the six British colonies in Australia decided to federate after 100 years of settlement in this part of the world.

Canada had federated in 1867, so Australia felt it could do so successfully as well.

Initially, New Zealand was invited to the Federation discussions between the different colonies, but chose to drop out in 1895 and go it alone.

On Jan 1st 1901, the first day of the 20th Century, the six colonies federated to become the "Commonwealth of Australia"

It was a grand affair, held in Melbourne, with all the dignitaries from around Australia there along with the Duke of York representing the dying Queen Victoria (she died three weeks later.)

The colonies became "States".

The States handed powers over the Commmonwealth on a number of issues, mainly relating to Australia as a whole . . . . . immigration, defence, post and telecommunications, overseas affairs.

The different colonies had had a history of jealousy among themselves (e.g Victoria saw New South Wales as an economic threat to its development) and kept as much power as was possible to keep whilst still allowing Australia to function as a country.

The States kept education, transport, health, housing and a number of other local powers to themselves, and that is why schools and hospitals, public housing and roads run by the States vary around Australia, depending on the individual State's needs and regulations.

Ironically, the different States used to levy their own income tax and dish out their own dole, pensions, etc. As a "temporary" War-time measure, in 1942, the Commonwealth agreed to take over the taxing of personal income (primary taxation) from all the States and administer all social security pensions, dole, etc.

That is why Australia all over has only one income tax rate and the pensions, etc are all the same no matter which part of Australia you choose to dwell in.

The States still don't have the power to levy their own income taxes and are still waiting for WW2 to end, as far as the "temporary" measures are concerned!!!

Hope this helps to explain the dilemma of which is State or Federal (Commonwealth)?

In your case the South Australian gov't hasn't deemed it fit or necessary to charge temp residents any more for the education of their kids than permanent resident kids.

You will also find NO road tolls on any South Australian road or highway, unlike Victoria or New South Wales roads, where tolls kick in on occasion when using a major highway.

[Riekie]

NSW is soos die Ou Transvaal: en betaal!

[JacoE]

NSW is soos die Ou Transvaal: en betaal!

Did you get that one Bob?

[SASydneysider]

Did you get that one Bob?

Translated for Bob ... "Sh!t & Pay is the Aussie Way"