One week in Sydney

[Johan Swanepoel]

The one week feedback.

We have been in Sydney now for little over one week and this is a list of things that we have found good, bad, strange or odd.

Disclaimer. Bear in mind that this is personal oppinion.

Thanks, to all the people who have been helping us and to you guys for the support.

Here goes

Scenery:

The bit that we have seen of Aus is really beautiful. We drove to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, saw a lot of Sydney and went to some beach. People here talk of drought but everything is green.

The suburbs are mostly tree-lined and there are lots of national parks close to the suburbs in the North and North-West (I do not know about the other ones). The result of all the bushland is that you see lots of great bird life. Sitting on a friends “stoep” in the late afternoon ended up sounding more like we were in a bird-park.

The people here do not seem to be big on gardening. Most people will at least mow their lawns and make some effort to keep it clean. Every now and then you get gardens that are in a shocking condition.

Transport:

Public transport works and it is save.

I take the bus to work and back. It picks me up 5 minutes walk from where we stay (in Castle Hills) and takes about 45 minutes to get to Wynyard Station in Sydney CBD. Transport by bus is a tad expensive though.

We are far from a train station so we have not tried it yet. Trains are a lot cheaper.

We hope to get a car soon, it is more convenient especially for shopping. The big thing to get used to when driving is trusting the drivers around you. This rule is very important especially in when going into a round-about. When a person indicates you can be 99% sure that they will turn.

Also their system for fuel is different to what we are used to. The price varies, Thursdays seem to be the expensive day and then the price drops everyday until the next Thursday. You also get discount if you shop at partner stoors to the filling stations.

Shopping:

As far as shopping goes the key concepts are Choice and Shopping Around. Prices of goods can vary quite a bit. In the beginning shopping takes a bit of time. I think eventually we will learn were the to buy what.

The other rule that seems to apply is when you want something and it is not urgent, wait for a sales. Sales here are big and you get real savings.

You will also feel lost every now and then. Not knowing what to buy where and how to get to places. Help is always around the corner.

Money:

Culture shock might not be the only thing you experience when coming here, MONEY SHOCK.

Although this might be a bit unfair. Some things here are more expensive and some things are cheaper. Every now and then I multiply a price by 6 to get the a Rand figure and then almost suffer from heart attack. Other times when you do that, you will be pleasantly suprised.

Set-up costs are pretty high. There are things that require deposites and that money adds up. To be fair you get the deposit on your house (if you rent) and on electricity back (after a year of good behaviour).

People:

This one can be split into two, the people here and the people back in SA.

Lets start with the people here. The people here are fantastic.

It seems like the South Africans have formed a community here providing each other support and friendship. It is great to see that South Africans can actually stick together.

The Australians are mostly very nice. They are friendly and easy going. They make it really easy to fit in and make you feel welcome. They will often ask you what you think of Oz, I am sure it is not a great idea telling them that it is terrible (it is not). They seem very patriotic.

The best is when you phone customer services of any place. You generally get someone on the other side of the line that is capable and willing to help. What a pleasure!

Like any place in the world you get all different kinds of people and it is no different here. This is after all not Pleasantville.

The people back in South Africa, they are far away.

The reality hit home to my wife when we got here. So she skipped euphoria and went straight to some of the latter stages of culture shock. What really helps is that communication systems are really good nowadays.

You can buy a Shout Card to phone SA cheaply. $20 almost gets you 800 minutes to a land line.

We use, Skype, eMail and a website designed to keep in touch with our families. All of this helps.

The ability to pick up a phone and call someone on the other side makes the distance seem shorter.

Setting up house:

I have this as a seperate bit because it is a big step once you get here. For us getting our own place was major.

The rental market is a bit tough, but once you have an idea what you are looking for finding it should not be to tough.

Tips

Look on www.realestate.com.au, www.domain.com.au (there are probably many more).

Set-up eMail alerts on the property sites. This will notify you daily when a place matching you criteria comes in.

Get a reference letter form your employer saying that you are nice people, that your are responsible and took good care of your previous property.

Renting is not permanent so do not be overly fussy.

Set-up costs can be a bit expensive. The first time I set-up house back in Jo'burg, it cost a lot of money, the same kind of thing applies here. You need to get services connected, buy lots of groceries pay a 4 weeks rent as a deposit to the Rental Board, pay 2-4 weeks rent up front, ect.

Livestyle

The people here seem to think 8 is early to start working. The norm seems to be start at 9 work until 6. I would probably prefer to start at 7 and go home at 4, but it seems that the buildings do not open until much closer to 8.

There are lots of things to do on weekends and even after-hours (Although the sun sets a bit early in the winter). The mountains are close, there are lots of national parks, obviously beaches, picknick places ect.

Safety

In the Hills suburbs that we have been in no, kids walk to school old ladies walk in the morning and evening it is safe. You can walk around in town after dark.

People park their cars on the street overnight. They even park their boats on trailers in the street overnight. The amazing thing is that when they wake up the next morning the boat is still there and the trailer is not standing on bricks.

Was the move worth it?

Yes, I honestly believe it was. It does get tough sometimes but you just have to keep at it.

Regards

Johan Swanepoel

[Tania]

Uitstekende post, dankie Johan! Dit maak die prentjie in my kop beslis beter!

Groete van huis tot huis

Tania

[Rocky]

Dankie Johan. Dit is uitstekend om hierdie inligting te kry. Hou ons asb op datum met sulke verslae. Klein dingetjies maak 'n groot verskil van wat om te verwag.

Groetnis

Rocky

[kangaroo]

Dankie vir die fabulous post, Johan.

Met die voëllewe, strande en beautiful natuur klink dit asof julle baie nuwe interessante materiaal sal hê om af te neem, fotografie-gewys.

Dit help baie om te hoor hoe julle inskakel. Bly om te hoor julle voel overall dat die move sover 'n goeie een was. Ek glo ook dis 100% die moeite werd, al sal die velange soms onvermydelik aan mens vat.

STERKTE (en GENIET) intussen verder en hou ons asb op hoogte!

Groete daar!

[MANDYL]

Hi Johan, Thanks for the first week. Please let us know after the first month if all is still ok with you and your family and your daily excitement!

[R & E]

Johan, Baie goeie inligting stukkie. Neem nou 'n paar foto's van al die plekke en post dit. Dit sal lekker wees om daar te kom en nie regtig vreemd te voel nie, en ek glo die foto's sal die ding doen.

Groete vir Nakkie

Riaan

[australian]

Hi Johan

Thanks for the feedback....we will be in your shoes in a few months time!! We are also looking to rent in the Castle Hills. My husband has his medicals today, and then we have been told we should have his visa in a few weeks.

Good Luck and enjoy!!

Robyn

[sa2auz]

Hi Johan

Well done on a brilliant post. Funnily enough you seem to feel the same way we felt about everything and it was fun remembering back.

I have to agree the sales are great you don't shop unless on sale and there is always a sale. There is tons to do just wait for summer when we change our clocks and its light really late and you can have dinner on the beach or walk home from friends late at night.

Sounds like you will settle in fine, look forward to many more updates on the new chapter in your book.

Best of luck

[Johan Swanepoel]

Thanks ek sal weer so een oor `n maand doen.

Groete

Johan

[Donne']

Thank you Johan .

This sort of mail really helps those of us waiting to come over !

One question ...did you take your furniture etc or did you buy there ?

regards

Dee.

[Johan Swanepoel]

Hi

We took over all of Nadia's kitchen and a couple of other good wooden furniture pieces, as well as the dryer and washing machine. Then personel things, like books, dvds ect.

What we decided to do was leave things that we would need when we got here, for example a microwave, fridge ect.

Personally I think pack as much as you can. You loose out when selling your stuff on that side.

Hope this helps

Regards

Johan Swanepoel

[Riekie]

Great "post" Johan!! Beslis gesê net soos dit is! Snaaks hoe ons almal deur al hierdie "weird" en wonderlike fases en 'n hele ontdekkingsproses gaan. As ek terugdink aan toe ons net hier gekom het vs hoe ek dinge nou ervaar is daar 'n reuse verskil - in minder as 3 jaar is dit asof ons net nog altyd hier was. Al is alles aan die begin vreemd is dit eintlik deel van die "ervaring" en kan mens lekker vir jouself lag as jy later terugdink! Ek sien uit om jou volgende "update" te lees.

[CALIN]

Good description Johan

We,ve been in Sydney for nearly two months now and found our first couple of weeks to be very similar to yours. One of the big things for us has been the sense of freedom you have. I remember landing here and my wife the first evening evening wanting to go for a walk to see the Harbour Brigde at around 9pm (we were in Kirribilli) I told her she was crazy (still having the SA mindset). A few days later we went for that evening stroll. It has been a bit lonely though, the Aussies are very friendly and have a lot in common with South Africans but its not the same.

Cheers

Calin

[Geland]

Johan,

Skitterende stukkie inligting. As jy nou terug kyk, is daar iets wat jy defnitief sou saamgevat het wat julle dalk nie gedoen het nie - meubels ens?

kan jy dalk ook vir my meer vertel oor die medical - wat behels dit asb?

Oppad

[australian]

Good description Johan

We,ve been in Sydney for nearly two months now and found our first couple of weeks to be very similar to yours. One of the big things for us has been the sense of freedom you have. I remember landing here and my wife the first evening evening wanting to go for a walk to see the Harbour Brigde at around 9pm (we were in Kirribilli) I told her she was crazy (still having the SA mindset). A few days later we went for that evening stroll. It has been a bit lonely though, the Aussies are very friendly and have a lot in common with South Africans but its not the same.

Cheers

Calin

Hi Calin

I am so happy to find another Durbanite in Sydney!! We were beginning to think we were the only ones from Durban!! Where are you from in Durban, and how are you enjoying Sydney?? My husband lands in Sydney on 7 Oct...only three months to go!!

[CALIN]

Hi Calin

I am so happy to find another Durbanite in Sydney!! We were beginning to think we were the only ones from Durban!! Where are you from in Durban, and how are you enjoying Sydney?? My husband lands in Sydney on 7 Oct...only three months to go!!

We grew up in Queensburgh my wife and I, we later moved to Morningside, the rest of my immediate family and relatives currently live in Kloof and Hillcrest. Yes Durbanites in Sydney are few and far between in Sydney, generally speaking english speaking South Africans (or Saffers as the Aussies and Kiwi's call us) are few and far between. Sydney and in fact Australia has been great so far. Looking at the articles on this website you will note there is very little in the way of negativity about Aus and from my point of view I would certainly agree with that. Coming over here and not knowing a single person can be very daughting especially in a city the size of Sydney it reminds a lot of JHB (in size only nothing else!). My general impression of the city so far has been one of a safe, clean well organised place. You don't realise the stress you live under in SA until you leave it. On the downside it has been difficult to make new friends here, Aussie work colleagues while quick to go for a drink or two after work seem not to want to socialise on the weekends or beyond the drink or two after work.

[Doug]

Hi All

I may be relocating to Sydney - its such a big place , what are some possible areas / suburds to start looking , we have a 5 year old so we need something with schools. What is the equivalent of , Lonehill , Sunninghill , Paulshof that type of league.

Can somebody give a starting point. Aslo the time frame is around April / may / June 2008

Thanks

[JayJay]

Hallo Johan,

Dankie vir die inligting - vir ons aan diè kant, beteken dit verskriklik baie, want dis ons beurt okk sometime!!

Groete

JJ

[australian]

Hi All

I may be relocating to Sydney - its such a big place , what are some possible areas / suburds to start looking , we have a 5 year old so we need something with schools. What is the equivalent of , Lonehill , Sunninghill , Paulshof that type of league.

Can somebody give a starting point. Aslo the time frame is around April / may / June 2008

Thanks

Hi Doug

I don't know Jhb very well, so I can't compare to the ares you mention above. From our experience most people seem to look at the Hills (Castle Hills/Cherrybrook) or North Shore (St Ives ect). We are looking at Castle Hill/Cherrybrook, although we have never been to this area, I have heard good things about the schools there. The houses also seem to be within our price range!

Last year we went and looked at the North Shore. We also had a few interviews with some of the school there. I was very impressed with these schools and compare them to the "better" government school in our area (Kloof/Hillcrest) At all four schools we went to the principal and teachers took the time to show us around and answer all questions we had even though, at the time, we had no visa's

I have a 7 year old (in Grade 1) and 3 year old so schooling is the one thing we are looking at as well.

We will be there at the end of November, so let me know if you have any questions, and I will do my best to help you out!!

Good Luck!

Robyn

We grew up in Queensburgh my wife and I, we later moved to Morningside, the rest of my immediate family and relatives currently live in Kloof and Hillcrest. Yes Durbanites in Sydney are few and far between in Sydney, generally speaking english speaking South Africans (or Saffers as the Aussies and Kiwi's call us) are few and far between. Sydney and in fact Australia has been great so far. Looking at the articles on this website you will note there is very little in the way of negativity about Aus and from my point of view I would certainly agree with that. Coming over here and not knowing a single person can be very daughting especially in a city the size of Sydney it reminds a lot of JHB (in size only nothing else!). My general impression of the city so far has been one of a safe, clean well organised place. You don't realise the stress you live under in SA until you leave it. On the downside it has been difficult to make new friends here, Aussie work colleagues while quick to go for a drink or two after work seem not to want to socialise on the weekends or beyond the drink or two after work.

Hi Calin

We are from Kloof Hillcrest area....been here for the last 25 years so its basically all I've known!!

I am lucky enough to have my brother in Sydney, and through him I have met a few Australian couples, but I am expecting it to be hard to make other friends as well. These Australian couples have told us themselves that they don't go out of their way be friends with South Africans or other foreigners!

Will contact you once we arrive, will be nice to all get together for a drink or "braai"!!

Keep Well

Robyn

[sa2auz]

Hi Doug

We stayed in Paulshof then Sunninghill then Kyalami and I must say its difficult to compare. Without trying to sound snobby or anything because I am not I am just trying to be realistic the North shore in Sydney is the equivalent of living in the north of jhb, status wise, similarly the south of jhb vs the south of sydney.

The suburbs are difficult to compare because I have found that I am amazed everyday at the houses here. There is huge mix of old face brick 50's style older houses which have high ceilings etc but are not something you would look at from the outside. There are also lots of project homes (similar to desperate housewives) which are really lovely and the streets have a good mix of old vs new. Some parts of Wahroonga reminds me a bit of houghton with huge houses on large pieces of land. What has surprised me most is the vegetation and the amount of trees and parks etc. In someways the north shore reminds me a bit of the cape.

Some areas I would recommend Turramurra, Pymble, Warrawee, Wahroonga, St Ives, Gordon, Killara. Terrey Hills is about 10 minutes towards the coast and is a bit horsey like Kyalami was 20 years ago.

I can honestly say that as far as schools go I would send my kids to any of the public schools on the north shore they are all very good and have brilliant facilities. Some like the houses you shouldn't judge a book by the cover but once inside and you see the proximas and computer labs etc you can't believe they care goverment schools.

The preschools are also very good. The north shore has quite a good balance of old, middle-age and children. The north shore has alot of south africans which has helped us in initially settling. The North Shore is also sort after because of the proximity to the raillines which also believe it or not pushes prices up which is probably the biggest downfall as it is expensive and you would need to be carefully with money until you figure the whole thing out which takes a few years.

If you have any questions please feel free to pm me.

Best of luck, look forward to meeting you.

[SASydneysider]

Hi All

I may be relocating to Sydney - its such a big place , what are some possible areas / suburds to start looking , we have a 5 year old so we need something with schools. What is the equivalent of , Lonehill , Sunninghill , Paulshof that type of league.

Can somebody give a starting point. Aslo the time frame is around April / may / June 2008

Thanks

Hi Doug,

I come from Lonehill (left in 1999). I agree with sa2auz on the North Shore areas. I think you should look at these areas, but you should also look at the Hills area, which consists of serveral suburbs and is north west of Sydney. I live in a residential area in Dural, right next to Cherrybrook. The outskirts of Dural is very much the same as what Honeydew was in the early 1990s.

If you need more information, PM me.

SAS

[CALIN]

Hi Doug

I don't know Jhb very well, so I can't compare to the ares you mention above. From our experience most people seem to look at the Hills (Castle Hills/Cherrybrook) or North Shore (St Ives ect). We are looking at Castle Hill/Cherrybrook, although we have never been to this area, I have heard good things about the schools there. The houses also seem to be within our price range!

Last year we went and looked at the North Shore. We also had a few interviews with some of the school there. I was very impressed with these schools and compare them to the "better" government school in our area (Kloof/Hillcrest) At all four schools we went to the principal and teachers took the time to show us around and answer all questions we had even though, at the time, we had no visa's

I have a 7 year old (in Grade 1) and 3 year old so schooling is the one thing we are looking at as well.

We will be there at the end of November, so let me know if you have any questions, and I will do my best to help you out!!

Good Luck!

Robyn

Hi Calin

We are from Kloof Hillcrest area....been here for the last 25 years so its basically all I've known!!

I am lucky enough to have my brother in Sydney, and through him I have met a few Australian couples, but I am expecting it to be hard to make other friends as well. These Australian couples have told us themselves that they don't go out of their way be friends with South Africans or other foreigners!

Will contact you once we arrive, will be nice to all get together for a drink or "braai"!!

Keep Well

Robyn

Hi Robyn

Seems as though you could be right about the Aussies, the friends we have made so far have been ex-pats and British people who are married to South Africans. My brother is set to finally make the move to Aus, he is from Kloof and should be here in January next year. Feel free to let us know when you arrive it would be nice to get together for a braai.

Cheers

[Heather]

Hi Robyn

Seems as though you could be right about the Aussies, the friends we have made so far have been ex-pats and British people who are married to South Africans. My brother is set to finally make the move to Aus, he is from Kloof and should be here in January next year. Feel free to let us know when you arrive it would be nice to get together for a braai.

Cheers

we live on the Gold Coast and we have set up a ladies lunch once a month - you ladies should start something there. We meet at a different restaurant in a different suburb once a month and on a different day so those who work certain days can make the odd one. We have about 200 ladies on our database and probably have about 30 - 40 for lunch on the lunch days...It is purely a friendship thing - no business cards etc handed out and no business promotions... us olies (longer than 2 years in Oz) go to these lunches to support all the new girls and most of our friendship circles have resulted from friendships made in these lunches...We now have a girl from Austria, one from Holland, Mauritius,2 from England and tons of Zimbabweans that come to these lunches as they all experience the same problems when coming to Oz..

If anyone is keen on setting it up it is pretty easy - we started just with about 6 of us each bringing a friend the first time - then one person takes down everyones email addresses and the next time those 12 bring a friend etc etc...the hardest part is finding a restaurant that want soooo many for lunches, but generally we are well received and now have quite a good reputation with certain restaurants and frequent those.. You will be amazed at how far people will travel when they need to find friends...

PM me if anyone needs to know more.

[sa2auz]

Hi there Heather

Thanks for that, I agree its a brilliant idea and a great way to make friends. We started meeting once a month about 6 months ago and at our first tea there were just 4 of us. We now have about 20 of us sometimes even more and some great friendships have formed. With the amount of people moving over I think there is potential for many new friendships to form. I have found for most of us friends are our family as very few people are fortunate enough to have family in Australia.

If anyone in Sydney is interested in meeting up for a really good laugh (thanks Morne for providing the entertainment) please pm me and I will give you all the details.

Thanks Heather hope that if you ever visit Syndey you will join us for a cuppa.

Best wishes

S

[australian]

Hi there Heather

Thanks for that, I agree its a brilliant idea and a great way to make friends. We started meeting once a month about 6 months ago and at our first tea there were just 4 of us. We now have about 20 of us sometimes even more and some great friendships have formed. With the amount of people moving over I think there is potential for many new friendships to form. I have found for most of us friends are our family as very few people are fortunate enough to have family in Australia.

If anyone in Sydney is interested in meeting up for a really good laugh (thanks Morne for providing the entertainment) please pm me and I will give you all the details.

Thanks Heather hope that if you ever visit Syndey you will join us for a cuppa.

Best wishes

S

Hi S

I will definately be keen to join you. I still have a few weeks in SA, but I will PM you once I arrive!

Robyn