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Accomodation advice for soon to be Sydneysider


carlschutte

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Hi all

Phew... it all happened so quickly! Looks like I'm packing my things and heading to Sydney at the end of Jan; tentative date to touch down is 27 Jan.

I'm going to be working in North Sydney, so I've been looking at the surrounding suburbs and their property prices (to gauge how decent they are).

I'm will be looking at renting a place - just for 1 person. :)

Unfortunately all the suburbs and everything is just so confusing; it's near impossible to get a feel for all the areas.

Perhaps my bigger concern right now, is what the heck happens when I touch down... where am I going to live?!

All I'm going to have is some clothes, toiletries, an inflatable mattress and a sleeping bag - let's hope that all fits in my luggage.

What happens until my container arrives? Will I even be able to secure a rental from all the way over in Cape Town?

I've heard that you can rent furniture, but I'm more worried about pots, pans, kettle... I need to at least be able to cook.

What do most people do; find a fully furnished place for the first few weeks?

Please... in desperate need of advice. :(

Thanks!

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Have a look at couchsurfing website.

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wow, looks interesting... thanks!

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Hi all

Phew... it all happened so quickly! Looks like I'm packing my things and heading to Sydney at the end of Jan; tentative date to touch down is 27 Jan.

I'm going to be working in North Sydney, so I've been looking at the surrounding suburbs and their property prices (to gauge how decent they are).

I'm will be looking at renting a place - just for 1 person. :ilikeit:

Unfortunately all the suburbs and everything is just so confusing; it's near impossible to get a feel for all the areas.

Perhaps my bigger concern right now, is what the heck happens when I touch down... where am I going to live?!

All I'm going to have is some clothes, toiletries, an inflatable mattress and a sleeping bag - let's hope that all fits in my luggage.

What happens until my container arrives? Will I even be able to secure a rental from all the way over in Cape Town?

I've heard that you can rent furniture, but I'm more worried about pots, pans, kettle... I need to at least be able to cook.

What do most people do; find a fully furnished place for the first few weeks?

Please... in desperate need of advice. :ilikeit:

Hi

We live in Lane Cove, and honestly, on the North Shore not much can go wrong with location. Almost all the areas are pretty decent, and being close to public transport would probably be a big advantage if you work in North Sydney - parking very expensive, if you're lucky enough to find any.

If you're single, your options are plentifull - to be close to the beaches (Balmoral for instance) try Mosman, Neutral Bay, Cremorne, Kirribilli. If you'd like a more suburban feel - Waverton, Wollstonecraft, Greenwich might be the answer. To have cafe's and restaurants on your doorstep, Crows Nest or St Leonards may be good.

You should probably be looking for furnished short term accommodation to start with (that would be the only type of accommodation you'd be able to book from SA), and when you've opened a bank account and have a permanent address (PO Box), go to open houses (you are obliged to view an apartment which you intend to apply for) You can contact us when you're here and give our names up for reference (they will definitely ask for that and it will help your application pass)

We can also borrow you a couple of things to get you settled until your stuff arrive! If you arrive on a weekend, we can also pick you up at the airport - I have a RDO, usually on a thursday, so that might also be a possibility (but then your ticket is probably already booked!?)

Anyway,

Thanks!

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Perhaps my bigger concern right now, is what the heck happens when I touch down... where am I going to live?!

First thing to do...

1) Book a hotel for at least the 1st week... e.g. http://www.travelodge.com.au/travelodge-ma...ryde-hotel/home or rent an apartment http://www.apartmentsplus.com.au/gp/. Look for somewhere that gives you a good rate if you stay for more than a few days.

2) Figure out if you need to rent a car... most places on the north shore are not really accessible by public transport. Simply, go to http://www.cityrail.info/ and ask for your public transport options between your hotel and place of work. Google maps can also give you a guide on how far it is to walk around, e.g. find your hotel then search for supermarket and ask Google how long the walk is.

3) Once you are there ask your colleagues where they live. There is no cheap real estate in Sydney, but you do want to be in a neighborhood where people of similar professions live. i.e. you may not want to live next to the garbage man or your local plumber. I assume you got into the country because you are "highly skilled".

Also if your colleagues live near you, the rent shouldn't kill you. But read sites like http://experts.realestate.com.au/renting-sharing before you rent.

Lastly, when you fly over, make sure you have a guaranteed place to stay and you know how you are going to get there... even if that sets you back a lot. There is nothing worse than being jet lagged and having nowhere to stay.

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We got short term rental on net but miles away from Northern area we were looking at, but cheapest at $580pw, Parramatta....but is meca of 2nd hand car dealers :-) - we bought a car walking distance from where we stayed, it was sooo easy!

It was ok though. Look at some youth hostels as they have private rooms and dormitory type accommodation $33pn - $100 pn... collaroy has a nice one, but is right on the coast if you want to mix pleasure with finding your feet.

also, Terrey Hills has an inexpensive hotel, sorry I can't remember it's name.

If you dont have a hire car to collect on arrival, get a taxi and try rent on the trainline so that you can get around as easily as possible. Gumtree has lots of search criteria for shared accomodation and short term.

Good luck

Janne

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Hi guys

Since I'm going to be working in North Sydney, I used that as my starting point and started looking at surrounding suburbs.

Closest:

Crows nest, Cammeray, Waverton, Neutral Bay, Lavender Bay, McMahons Point, Milsons Point

Still Close:

St Leonards, Wollstonecraft, Naremburn, Willoughby, Cremorne, Greenwich, Northbridge, Kirribilli, Mosman, Cremorne Point

Little bit further:

Artarmon, Lane Cove, Chatswood, North Willoughby, Seaforth, Middle Cove, Northwood, Castlecrag, Clontarf, Longueville, Woolwich

I don't think I'm going to look much further out than that. The guys I know, live in Neutral Bay, St Leonards, Seaforth, Fairlight and Manly.

Do I just look on Domain.com.au? They don't seem to mention much about short term leases though.

I've just had a look on Apartments Plus and I can get a furnished place on High Street for about $560/week if I stay for 4 months.

Phew... that's not exactly cheap. :ilikeit: Although if I stay at Travelodge it'll come to $700/week.

It looks like the train only stops at Milsons Point, Waverton, Wollstonecraft, St Leonards, Artarmon and Chatswood from the suburbs I listed above.

I've tried to figure out the bus network, but it's all just lines and colours to me.

I'd say I'm a bit confused as to which site to use or who to contact.

All I have is a bank account in Aus.

I think I'm clear now that I need to look for short-term, furnished accommodation - where should I look for that?

On sites, should I contact agents? It seems that my options are very limited whilst I'm sitting in Cape Town.

You guys have been a great help so far... thanks!

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cheapest at $580pw, Parramatta....but is meca of 2nd hand car dealers

My 1 friend laughed when I mentioned Parramatta - he said all the bogans live there and I'd need to start drinking VB.

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Carl S - we were a bit shocked on arrival late a t night, but actually, it's close to a fab mall, and public transport, a wonderful public pool, so we made do the 2 weeks :-)

Someone said it's a good reflection of Australian Demographic.... together with your remark,,,,, a little worrying :-)

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Hi there

You are arriving at end Jan, which is when everyone goes back to school / work - so you might score a couple of good hotel deals (its the end of the vacation period)! Go and look at www.wotif.com for great rates on hotels, and also look at www.apartmentservice.com.au .

All the suburbs you have mentioned are good to go. Its worth finding out how the bus routes work - spend a little time working it out - as parking can be a nightmare and you are best off using public transport for your initial period. If you work in North Sydney, I would strongly recommmend you look at Cammeray (I have stayed there, its GREAT), Crows Nest (I work there), North Sydney itself, and anywhere from Wollstonecroft to Cremorne. All of these are more or less walkable to North Sydney. Go look at the map of North Sydney on Google maps.

Try to get close to a station, or a bus stop.

Dont worry too much about stuff like pots and pans and so on. If you rent furnished - like from Apartmentservice - its not needed. You can also buy the basics for a small outlay, if you do need it.

Get close in if you can - there a lot to see and do and enjoy in your first while here. The traffic and commute can really eat your time and stress you out ....

All the best!

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It looks like the train only stops at Milsons Point, Waverton, Wollstonecraft, St Leonards, Artarmon and Chatswood from the suburbs I listed above.

I've tried to figure out the bus network, but it's all just lines and colours to me.

trust me... http://www.cityrail.info/ will tell you what your public transport options are if you tell it where point A and point B is.. It will even give you bus numbers, times, etc..

You can even look at your ticket options... http://www.cityrail.info/tickets/which/

If you are going to use the public transport... go down to the bottom of Kingsford Smith Airport and ask at the train station about the my multi tickets... Its one ticket that will get you everywhere for a week. Its much easier than worrying about change or buying individual tickets ahead of time.

I'd say I'm a bit confused as to which site to use or who to contact.

Remember Carl, its a first world country... all of those sites are reputable. And as a general rule, you always save by doing things online. The fewer Aussies who need to be involved, the more you save. But be careful, that will sting you... they tend to assume you know whats going on... so read the site properly before you leave.

I think I'm clear now that I need to look for short-term, furnished accommodation - where should I look for that?

http://www.wotif.com/ is a good place.. but remember to check on cityrail.info and maps.google.com to see if your accommodation is far from the station. i.e. an extra 10mins on the train may save you 20mins of walking.

On sites, should I contact agents? It seems that my options are very limited whilst I'm sitting in Cape Town.

As I have said before, getting hold of assistance in Australia isn't easy. If you are in Australia, have had a look at a few places on their "open for inspection" times and know what you want and how much it costs... then an agent will help you close the deal. But you do need to be proactive. Wages are *very* high in Australia... all the agents need to close quite a few deals each month.

That's why everyone is telling you to stay in a hotel or short term apartment until you are sure of what you want to rent and have read all the sites about how to go about doing it...

Oh and one more piece of advice... buy a cheap phone with a battery that lasts... and when you land at Sydney Airport, walk just outside international arrivals and ask the Optus guys about the "International Calls 4 Less" prepaid package. http://personal.optus.com.au/web/ocaportal...p;site=personal

Remember, you have to load data with a separate airtime voucher or your airtime will just disappear.

Lastly, Sydney is *very* expensive. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses... if you had the time to do a lot of research, you could save quite a bit. But with your time scales, I would strongly recommend a budget hotel for the 1st few days and a "my multi" pass so you can get around easily on the public transport.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Do I just look on Domain.com.au? They don't seem to mention much about short term leases though.

Also try http://www.rent-a-home.com.au/ for short term rentals. The site is really good and I have used them twice before in North Sydney. Will work out a lot cheaper than a hotel.

Good Luck!

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Thanks all... things have been too hectic lately.

Trying to sort out movers, money matters, work, etc. madness!

I've managed to find a nice little guest lodge in Kirribili for my first 2 weeks.

I'm going to climb onto the rental site and start putting viewing dates into my diary for when I arrive.

Will let you know if I get confused again... things are slowly starting to feel better though.

Exciting times!

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Also check out www.realestate.com.au

I'm still in RSA, but also looking online so long. I'm starting in Sydney CBD at my new job on 21 Feb.

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