philkef Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Guess we are all getting a little nervous given that we arrive with no jobs and a nice big mortgage however we have chosen to take the risk and I am optimistic that my wife will be able to support me whilst I play golf at the lovely Brookwater course - where we will be living! Kidding - as a secondary history (SOSE) teacherI am quite confident of supply over Term 4 and then, with the new Nat Curric kicking in for Jan, I am hoping that a permanent post will be found! Couple of questions/advice points - cars to buy - look pricey however Hyundai stacks up well and the prices compared to UK are solid - I am no car snob, A to B and reliability are the most important. TV/phone/mobile deals look astronomical - $200 with Telstra for phone, hdtv foxtel and broadband per month. Sky do similar for about £40! Shocking. Mobile pay as you go or contract? We are not big users and will text or call each other occasionally - living in Germany on Aldi pay as you go at 3cents per minute is great - much like Tesco i think. Grocery bills are allegedly horrific - how do you guys keep them down and where do savvy Auissies go shopping. Anytrhing else - advice etc will be gratefully received. Kids are 9 and 7 and are mega excited to be joining new soccer teams and playing cricket for the first time. Schools look ok to us. Excited by Dubai and Sing pore on the way over - the final splurge before 'austerity measures' kick in ..... Cheers Phil :biggrin: Kate:chatterbox: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Hi Phil and Kate Internet access is costly unfortunately and so are 2nd hand cars. In regards to shopping you will find that most Aussie don't do a big shop at Coles or Safeways, they use it to buy their essentials and then buy fruit from the grocer or farmers markets and meat from the wholesaler. To be honest, I never have time to go running around so do shop at Coles but I always feel daft when I have a trolley full and everyone else is carrying around a basket, we once got asked if we were stocking the freezer for winter, I didn't like to tell her it would probably only last 5 days in our house.:chatterbox: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Dunno, about "most Aussies" but around here most people shop up big at Coles and Woolies and Aldi and rarely can be bothered at the specialist shops unless they are within a few metres of the big supermarkets. We even have a load of dedicated people who pay through the nose for organic meats and veg at our one and only farmers' market. I think Aldi probably has it on the cheap stakes though. I have no idea where you are going to live but I would be a bit more circumspect about finding work as a teacher - even a secondary one, especially as you arent maths and science. Getting permanency and a permanent position in a place that you are happy to live in can be a bit of a challenge these days. You might have more luck outside the metropolitan areas but I doubt the national curriculum is going to generate any more positions. Phones are going to be expensive and unless you are out in the mulga where (mobile) coverage is ropey, you can (most certainly will) do better cost wise than Telstra. Good luck with the Austerity measures (you may want to economize by not taking on Foxtel for starters!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Hi Guys I think its quite normal to feel nervous just before you leave,,its a big change for you and your family. Cars - 2nd hand cars are more expensive over here,although they do hold their value more and people seem to hang onto cars for ages ,rather than up dating every couple of years. The car market is slow at the moment so you should be expecting to knock at least a $1000 off the price if your buying from a dealer. Dont forget you have to pay a 2 or 3% registration fee to the goverment when you transfer the vehicle into your name, so calculate for this in your budget. Groceries i think is swings and roundabouts, if im busy and do a full shop at Woolworths it costs me a bit more than it would if i bought my meat from the butchers,fruit & veg from the produce store etc etc. You get used to buying in bulk when the specials are on and its 3 for the price of 2 etc.(hence the huge pantry cupboards over here,lol). My average weekly shop for a family of 4 is around $250 so i don't think thats too bad. Telephone and internet is expensive and depending on the area you move to may not be availble to you straight away.Lots of newer estate like Brookwater,Springfiled Lakes, etc can be short of 'ports' so sometimes mobile interent is your only option until one becomes available. Telstra is the main provider over here and they leave alot to be desired,lol,, internet can be slow even on ADSL and most paclages give you a limited download useage. I currently pay around $200 pr month for my phone line and calls and (almost) unlimited internet. If your kids enjoy sport, they will not be bored here.Most suburbs have their own clubs/teams and almost every sport you can think of is availble. Schools are also big on sports and there seems to be lots of little inter school comps held too. Good Luck with everything and i hope this helps a bit Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufont Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 It is understandable that you are nervous, after all you are moving half way round the world. As regards to your questions: I don't find grocery shopping too expensive, there are four of us and I spend around $200 per week. We buy lots of fruit, vegetables and meat and do all our shop at the supermarket, generally Woolworths. Cars - as someone else has already said, second hand cars are expensive. We decided in the end to buy a new car, look after it and hope it lasts us a long time. You cannot tell the age of a car here by the number plate either. Mobile phones - we ended up changing providers a couple of times as our circumstances changed, we started out on prepaid but are now on contracts and find that it is fairly reasonable. Telstra seem to be by far the most expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathK Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Guess we are all getting a little nervous given that we arrive with no jobs and a nice big mortgage however we have chosen to take the risk and I am optimistic that my wife will be able to support me whilst I play golf at the lovely Brookwater course - where we will be living! Kidding - as a secondary history (SOSE) teacherI am quite confident of supply over Term 4 and then, with the new Nat Curric kicking in for Jan, I am hoping that a permanent post will be found!Kate:chatterbox: Are you coming to the Springfield Lakes area? If so would be happy to help with any questions. We've been here 1 yr & live on 'said' golf course! PM me if you want to meet up once you arrive. Know how hard it is to make new friends. And there's always loads of questions! PS there are 2 new schools in the SL area alone (one is a high school) opening for 2011 so work opportunities could be good for you Kathx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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