#Melbourne crew, I’ve been a wreck for 48 hours but I’m starting to respond to messages.

Adrianna Tan

@hacks4pancakes @joannaholman get a Google fi SIM card for now so you have internet while you’re there. Then find an Aussie SIM card when you arrive. It’ll work for at least 30 days from leaving the US (google fi has international data but you can’t use it for too long)

Peter

@hacks4pancakes @joannaholman @skinnylatte to quote Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction… they got all the same stuff it’s just little different.
I think the main things you need to sort is accommodation so either find a long term airbnb or serviced apartment for the first month. Then hire a reasonable sized car so you can move mid sized stuff and get the rest delivered. Facebook marketplace is amazing for cheap furniture as is gumtree (I hear)

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

@plambrechtsen @joannaholman @skinnylatte that’s an interesting tactic!

Peter

@hacks4pancakes @joannaholman @skinnylatte when I moved to NL that’s what I did. I think day one get a local mobile number and perhaps a pobox or a friend to deliver mail to. Then get a bank account as they are all the same and have AML checks that might be a pain. Then I would focus on public transport from work. And find a place to live along that route as then you have that option.

Peter

@hacks4pancakes @joannaholman @skinnylatte if you can find a place 5 min walk from home to tram and 5 min from tram to work. And it’s a 30 minute commute and in budget.. just take it

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

@plambrechtsen @joannaholman @skinnylatte I don’t have to work from office. My work is consulting so it’s more getting to the airport routinely, and the CBD.

Peter

@hacks4pancakes @joannaholman @skinnylatte so find a well connected place to get you into the city. I always find Americans don’t even consider public transport is a thing but I always take it into consideration even if I don’t plan to use it daily. Closer to the airport IMHO isn’t so important as you can expense that. But daily commute you’re on your own coin.

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

A lot of people say “get an Airbnb or extended stay first to apartment hunt” but I do not understand how that works with shipping belongings and selling my house.

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

Home bar sold. No more gin until Australia. Australia or bust.

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

Oh good… I plead with the universe for any ACS member who can zoom.

sabik

@plambrechtsen @hacks4pancakes @joannaholman @skinnylatte
Melbourne doesn't have an airport rail link, so options for getting to and from the airport are basically car, shuttle bus, taxi...

(They may be building one, but even if they are, it won't open for a decade, so it's not relevant for planning now)

Joanna Holman

@sabik @hacks4pancakes there’s also the much cheaper option of train to Broadmeadows and public bus from there. Not super complicated and worth learning eventually but probably not worth the effort when just arrived

Adrianna Tan

@joannaholman @sabik @hacks4pancakes the bus is pretty good!

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

The wait for IELTS is currently a month, so if you are waffling on this you might want to start checking those boxes - IELTS, very old tax statements and paystubs (I had to go back to 2008), apostille transcripts, birth certificate, and diplomas. Identity History Summary (there's a wait at the post office for that, too). My university made ordering that stuff very easy online, but a lot of the other stuff I am very fortunate to live in a big city for - a lot of you may need to plan significant travel to Chicago, DC, etc.

Anne at Millrace

@hacks4pancakes English language test?? Or does it mean something else in US?

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

@annehargreaves Yes, that is a worldwide standard english language exam. You can be exempted from taking it in Commonwealth countries, but they then give you a low score (less points).

Anne at Millrace

@hacks4pancakes How odd. I can't imagine why you would need it. I hope it's not like the Life in Britain test for citizenship in UK which is impossible to pass if you have lived here all your life.
Good luck with it anyway.

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

@annehargreaves I am old and lose points for it. I need every single path and edge I can possibly get. No, I think this is pretty much speaking and writing.

Anne at Millrace

@hacks4pancakes "Old" being relative

Lesley Carhart :unverified:

@annehargreaves Yes, relative to immigration. A desirable skills immigrant is 25-32. I am 41 years old.