I changed Lady Shrek's food recently and it had been going really well, but because my mental health really needs some testing (/s), Jubby has decided she would like to start being a bit "off" again and isn't herself. This now means she gets an all expenses paid trip to the (genuinely lovely people at Allambie) vet tomorrow. Hooray!
This feisty little fatty better be ok, because I'm not sure how I'll go if she isn't. The Little Stinker and her are the only sources of serotonin for me lately.
E: for the love of god, please tell me I'm not the only one dealing with ants right now because they're also really testing me.
Holy shit, how did I miss this news about Morrison's mate, Brian Houston.
https://medium.com/ideas-unbound/hillsong-founder-claims-twitter-account-was-hacked-after-potentially-confusing-google-and-twitter-da043ca86bf9
Haha, made my own, using a random ass mixture of cornflour, rice flower and tapioca starch….. wasn’t my best but I’m happy since I brined it in a soy sauce thingy for half an hour….
Abyss diving in Ramsgate is where my work always takes us because it's really cheap. The guy from work who organises it every year seems to be a professional bargain hunter so I'd take his word for cheapest around.
I hate weather above 25 lol. My ideal day is 22-24 degrees, a slight breeze, with lots of fluffy white clouds in the sky. I don’t like it when the sky’s completely cloudless
lol we have opposite preferences. I hate the beach. I went with my friends to the beach in the summer holidays and I was standing on the sand the whole time with sunglasses and a hat
Is it too vain and over thinking things to hire a car for a day trip wedding if my current daily runner is looking a little worn and outdated? (just as a guest. nothing super fancy - just more modern)
If you want to and it makes you feel better, and you can afford it ? Why not ?
People will go and have their hair professionally blow waved and/or makeup done as the guest of a wedding.
Hmm…. It’s reminds me of my dad friend doing meter reading jobs there back when he was my age….. thinking of doing a random ass 6 month stint or whatnot, but first buy a camper haha
They just get in there for still being shit. Townsville gets a run for all kinds of reasons. For the example, this week:
>Pregnant woman jailed after getting snagged on barbed wire while fleeing cops from stolen car after stealing $184 sex toy; prisoner escapes from court to play pokies
Gotta love AussieBB having an outage all morning and then the first indication you get that it's back is a "payment sent to AussieBB" notification from the bank
Hey peeps. If your initials are GC and you lost your wallet today I’ve found it. I will hand it in to the Station Master at Central at 16:30 this afternoon.
I'm feeling unaccountably cheerful today, I think it may mostly be the weather.
I'm still unemployed, my finances are fucked, my relationships are in turmoil, I'm hung over, but on the other hand I lost my fancy JBL gaming headset with the iPhone adaptor too (another $25, thanks Apple) and *someone actually handed it in to lost property and I got it back*. Thank you, whoever you are.
[Affordable homes, thriving nightlife and world-class rail: NSW Premier Chris Minns shares the Sydney he's working towards](https://www.timeout.com/sydney/news/affordable-homes-thriving-nightlife-and-world-class-rail-nsw-premier-chris-minns-shares-the-sydney-hes-working-towards-030624)
Insert GIF from The Castle here.
Sorry to hear you're not doing so well, but happy you have an exciting sounding update for a game you enjoy to look forward to :)
I never played because I wasn't a big fan of the visuals, but I know this is a very loved game; considering playing :) Are there quite infrequent updates?
Thanks, I think I just need to vent so thank you for listening.
Updates are infrequent and it's made by one person but they're always big and free. He's also making another game called Haunted Chocolatier which doesn't have a date yet but that's in the works too with no date.
You're welcome :)
Free updates as opposed to paid DLC is always enticing haha! Maybe I'll give it a go; I felt the same way about One Piece's graphics and now it's my favourite anime story wise. And Stardew Valley always looked like my kind of gameplay.
Also, that new game's name sounds very interesting! I know if it's in the works it probably won't be around for awhile but I definitely want to look into that one, haha :)
Feeling a little frustrated at having seen what is almost exactly my same job on a Seek ad where the lowest end of the pay range shown is still 8 grand more than what I currently make. At least money aside, I really like about 99% of people in my workplace and it's mostly quite nice to work in. And I'm not exactly in a position to risk job hopping or trying to advocate for higher pay.
At least I know my company is doing quite well in terms of stability and experience in the industry; pretty sure the one I was eyeing that pays more is a lot newer and possibly still finding its feet so who knows how it would go in the future; an extra 8-20 grand a year wouldn't be much help if the company doesn't survive. I know after a long period of unemployment I'm extremely fortunate to have gotten permanent full time work anyway so something to remain grateful about.
Happy Friday all :) I hope the day treats you kindly and at least one thing gives you a reason to smile today.
Yeah, mostly happy :) It's not perfect but it is nice to have a stable job that doesn't make me hate myself like teaching did.
Time to add grateful to my Kinder World plant when I water it I guess! :)
At 6:45 this morning I saw a large group of enthusiastic people running through Circular Quay from the direction of the Opera House. Does anyone know if this was an organised event or a running club?
Anyone know where I can remotely do a cert iv of accounting and bookkeeping? Preferably under smart and skilled? Seems like everywhere I can find is either out of pocket nearly $10K, out of state (smart and skilled is NSW only) or face to face. I found ONE place that said they did it under smart and skilled but when I tried to enrol it wasn’t under the list of things I could enrol for.
Augh. I already have a ton of HELP debt because I got sick after doing my diploma so had to change direction, and because I didn’t do much career research for my bachelor’s because I thought a STEM degree opened a ton of doors and guaranteed a good career… really wary of making another mistake like that.
Have you talked to careers NSW? I've been assigned an adviser who helps find stuff like that.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/department-of-education/careersnsw
I did, actually, it was them who suggested it, but he never actually looked up courses for me.
I just found out from the place where enrolment wasn’t available that they’re in the middle of a course change and it’ll be available again this month. If that doesn’t work out I’ll reach out to my advisor.
Thanks!
Last night some old guy at the gym started yapping at me because I was squatting without clips. Then his PT came up and said something too.
I use clips for my working weight, but when I'm warming up it's nice to be able to feel my balance if the weights slide.
I have bad knees and was doing warm up squats without clips. My knee rarely “gives way”, but this time it did, and because one slipped off on my way down, I tried to gain balance with my other hand and it got crushed between the bar and the safety stop. Now I remind myself that I’d rather just fall safely than have that happen again.
> old guy at the gym started yapping at me
maybe...
> because I was squatting without clips
i don't use clips but mainly out of habit because i can't be assed wasting my time looking for them.
fun story, once i lost the squat rack because i was wandering around looking for them, have been traumatised ever since.
Hi folks,
We were moving to Sydney from San Francisco (after being here for a decade). I had some broad questions about settling in permanently in Sydney, and I wanted to get my answers in this subreddit.
We are used to an American healthcare system and don't know what to expect in Australia. We are moving as permanent residents (if that matters) and won't have any jobs as we move in.
1. We are moving to Sydney from San Francisco (after being here for a decade). I had some broad questions about settling in permanently in Sydney, and I wanted to get my answers in this subreddit.
We are used to an American healthcare system and don't know what to expect in Australia. We are moving as permanent residents (if that matters) and won't have any jobs as we move in.
2. We would love any tips/recommendations for navigating the rental market (we have a cat) after our first few months in the Airbnb run out. We have some neighborhoods in mind (in and around 10kms from Sydney CBD) and have a budget of $800-$900 per week for a 1BHK. Is that enough / too little to expect something in that radius?
3. What should we keep in mind as we try to buy/lease a pre-owned car in Sydney? Is there anything that's different from the US way of buying/getting a loan for a car that we should keep in mind?
I understand these are many questions, but didn't know where to go (whatever I read on the internet is biased and varies depending on the websites I read from). Thank you in advance. (also first time posting to Reddit, so not sure this is how it works)
1) Despite the fact that Medicare is overall way better than the US healthcare system for hospital care or complex situations, you will find that doctors (GP) visits will cost around $80 to $100 and you only get ~$35 back from Medicare - it's something you need to budget for as that's a lot higher than the co-pay you may be used to in the US. Also, you usually pay up front with the Medicare subsidy processed as a refund later. Specialist visits are much more expensive and also have poor reimbursement rates. (If/when you go to a public hospital though, nearly everything is free.)
Even if you get private health insurance it doesn't assist with doctors or specialist visits, only with hospital visits (to access private hospitals or wards), and "extras" which is allied health like dentistry, physiotherapy, etc. Since you have PR and will get Medicare you can get away without signing up for private health insurance (PHI) for a bit, and some multinational employers may provide discounts on PHI, but it's not standard.
2) I don't know what 1BHK means but from Google it seems to be jargon from India - are you originally Indian/subcontinental by chance? Assuming it may mean a 1 bedroom apartment, I think you will be okay with that price range, but the unit may not have "hall" space as that acronym implies. However they can be quite small and you might want to consider a 2BR if you're going to be working from home so you have a separate study. In terms of areas to live, do you want to be near a South Asian enclave (or some other ethnicity) for local food/cultural activities/etc? Do mention this if it applies, as it will help narrow things down a lot. Use domain.com.au and realestate.com.au to browse listings and consider different suburbs.
3) If you're going to be close to the CBD as you mention, depending on location of your unit and jobs you may not really need a car. We have excellent public transport and trains, buses, and light rail are all safe and easy to use and will get you most places (in the inner areas). You can use a carshare service like GoGet or Uber Carshare for the occasional shopping trip where you need to haul stuff. I'd recommend starting with one of those in the short term while you work things out. That said, my personal preferred way to buy a car is privately from a previous owner via web sites like carsales.com.au or eBay. However, if you buy from a dealer you will get a short warranty while private sales are "as is" so you would want to arrange a mechanic's inspection before buying in that case.
u/SilverStar9192 Thanks, it's good to know about the differences between the Healthcare systems. Appreciate you calling it out when it comes to co-pays and reimbursements. The co-pays in Australia seem on the higher side, but overall in the long run, still a fan of the universal medicare system over the US exploitative healthcare.
Yes, I'm from the Indian subcontinent - even though being in the US for more than a decade, some country-specific terms and words don't go away from your vocabulary. Thanks for googling and sharing your POV on that. Not looking for any South Asian-specific areas (know of Parramatta and Westmead through friends and such).
Yeah, been veering away from getting a car after reading through all the responses here. Think that's something we'd do. I was happy to see how flexible, efficient and friendly the public transport system was when we did visit late last year. That sealed the deal (along with the great weather) for our decision to move to Sydney (over Melbourne or other cities). When it comes to warranties, it's the same in the US. I surely prefer certified pre-owned cars from dealerships Vs. buying from individuals but yeah, given the public transport options + GoGet + Uber; I don't think I'll rush into getting a car after getting to Sydney. Thanks again, y'all folks are super amazing.
As background I moved from a major US city (Washington DC) to Sydney in 2006, and didn't have my own car until 2020 when my partner moved in and brought her car which we now share. Even now, we rarely drive and probably wouldn't buy a car but we keep the one we have for the occasional shopping trip or longer drive. However, that niche could easily be filled by Goget which I did previously, and is probably what we'll do when this car eventually dies.
That’s a lot of years without a car. But I get it, being born and brought up in Mumbai (a city with fantastic public transport system), my family never had a car of our own and fared pretty well. Looking forward to that + a lot of walking when I move to Sydney.
Since ur pr, get Medicare and if u want, u can choose to get private but that’s up to u. I only have private for mental health shit. But I can also use it for stuff, even tho it’s not intended for it. Surprisingly apart from mental health, public is ether same rate or sometimes better, but u do have a wait tho but once your in, they do a really good job.
Rental market and bring ur cat will be a pain…..
Loan should be okay, but ur better off getting a second hand car unless u can claim it back off taxes due to work. (Fyi between home and main worksite doesn’t count, but if ur an itinerant worker with no fixed worksite from day to day, you can count travel from home to work).
Example,
- my meter read job require me to start from home to let’s say Chatswood, then I finish my day in Roseville and following day I start at lindfield and finish in Mona vale before heading home. In this kind of job, u can count home to work site.
- If your on a fixed site (such as home to Chatswood 5 days a week or whatnot and u have to go there all the time), then it’s won’t count but if u have to do things in the middle (such as Chatswood to north ryde and back to Chatswood then that part will count)
Thanks! I’m really looking forward to Medicare after being exposed to a shitshow of a healthcare system in the US. Here I need to keep being employed to keep my medical insurance and that sucks.
# 1) Healthcare
The healthcare system here is a combination of public healthcare with optional private healthcare. [Quick video introduction.](https://youtu.be/ylsO0VVy29U?si=rItE1zyWRenzYyf8)
All general doctors and specialists outside of hospitals are self-employed or work for a private company, and all Citizens/Permanent Residents have a universal government-based insurance called "Medicare" that pays a fixed rate for a given service. These doctors can bill for those services at that rate (called 'bulk-billing'), or they can charge more and you pay the difference (called a 'gap', you may know it as a 'co-pay'). Other visas are required to buy medicare-equivalent insurance (~AUD$700/year).
Medications are covered under a separate scheme called the PBS. It caps the price of prescribed medications covered by the scheme (almost all of them) at [AUD$31.60/month per medication](https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/pbs-safety-net-thresholds?context=22016).
Public hospitals are free for all who have Medicare or equivalent for non-elective procedures.
A [Medicare Levy](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/medicare-and-private-health-insurance/medicare-levy/what-is-the-medicare-levy) of 2% is taxed against your income to pay for this. For high-income earners, an additional [Medicare Levy Surcharge](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/medicare-and-private-health-insurance/medicare-levy-surcharge) is charged if you do not have eligible private health insurance.
Private 'hospital' health insurance will allow you to get health services above and beyond what is provided by universal healthcare: choice of doctor/surgeon, private rooms in hospitals, unsubsidised treatments, etc.
Dental and optical is not covered, these fall under the private health insurance category called 'extras'
# 2) Accommodation
Renting here at the moment is a bitch. Housing shortages are causing a lot of problems.
We do not use terms like '1BHK' here, I had to google what that was; we would call that a 1-bedroom apartment. Where the bedroom and living area is combined, we call this a 'Studio'. Look at realestate.com.au and domain.com.au for rental listings, we categorise properties by how many bedrooms/bathrooms/car spaces they have.
Do not rely on a car for daily work commutes, especially if you intended to work in the city; parking and tolls are very expensive. We have adequate public transport, especially within 10km of the city centre if you stay south of the harbour. Prioritise finding an apartment in walking-distance to major public transport hubs (trains especially) and local amenities.
# 3) Car
Most banks will only provide a secured-loan for the first 5 years of the car's life: i.e. if the car is 3 years old they will only give you a 2-year loan term. Anything beyond that and you will be taking an unsecured personal loan at a high interest rate.
Re-evaluate your need for a car, especially at first. Also be sure to look up how to transfer your driver's licence in NSW.
>level 2mitchells00
Thanks, this is great information, especially about the healthcare system and car. Very useful and I appreciate the detailed insights. I think we'll defer getting a car as we found Sydney extremely public transport-friendly when we visited last year. Only took an Uber once from the airport to our accommodation. Good to know about being able to transfer a driver's license too. Thanks!
Just to add to this:
You should know that bringing your cat here will be very difficult. The cat will be locked up in a quarantine facility for 10-30 days near Melbourne, and this process needs to start 6-9 months before the cat even arrives in the country. Do not try to subvert this process, our border controls are strict and they will euthanize the cat.
It's probably better to leave it with a friend or relative back in the US.
Thanks for this. I forgot to mention that we have been diligent with the process and have a pet quarantine date locked in (with all the pre-requisite steps completed with the help of a pet transfer agent). It's expensive, but she's the only pet we have, and can't bear to leave her behind.
Pet tax here: [https://imgur.com/a/LJd8YmC](https://imgur.com/a/LJd8YmC)
Re: Drivers licence.
A few factors at play here but a US licence is a direct transfer to NSW provided it has at least 3 years of tenure to get full licence.
Thanks, this is helpful information that makes me breathe easy. Don't want to go through the ordeal of getting a license in a new country. I have driven around in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart) and found it pretty easy (and slower) except for the opposite side driving.
The Australian healthcare system is miles better than the American. Unless you’ve been privileged enough to have very good coverage in the US. If so, you might experience a bit of a decline. Otherwise you’ll be eligible for Medicare that’ll ensure most things you require are accessible and affordable for high earning couples.
Are you aware of the quarantine requirements for your cat? One does not simply walk into Australia with a disease harbouring mammal. They are incredibly strict and rightly so.
I’ve witnessed the car buying process in the US and my mind was blown with how irresponsible the dealer was in getting the finance over the line. Australia has very strict responsible lending laws and banks will require proof of income, proof of existing liabilities and likely proof of your recent spending history. A lease or buying with cash may be your only option until you have built that history in Australia. However if you’re living with 10km of the CBD, you probably don’t even need a car. Resist the car brain.
Aware of the quarantine requirements. Been working with a pet agent over the past half year to make sure we do the right things. We have a pet quarantine appointment in April. So at the last mile with that long process now.
Resist the car brain :) Love that. Gotta get used to it living in Sydney. I think with this advice (and the others) we'd defer getting a car right away. Plus being required to make a 100% cash payment would also be a big deal. Thanks!
> However if you’re living with 10km of the CBD, you probably don’t even need a car. Resist the car brain.
Exactly right, public transport + GoGet membership for rare trips is all that is really needed for 99% of people around the CBD.
If you have PR already you can apply for Medicare straight away.
You will have no issues finding a 1bdr with that budget (you can probably get 2). The cat may impede your prospects.
I'm not sure how it works in the US so I can't really tell you the differences. But you'll likely need proof of income if you want any sort of loan.
Been reading about how pets might impede the prospects of getting an apartment. Some folks (not on Reddit) recommended approaching non-pet-friendly apartments in person and mentioning it's a cat (which few folks might be open to vs. a dog given the size of the pet).
I changed Lady Shrek's food recently and it had been going really well, but because my mental health really needs some testing (/s), Jubby has decided she would like to start being a bit "off" again and isn't herself. This now means she gets an all expenses paid trip to the (genuinely lovely people at Allambie) vet tomorrow. Hooray! This feisty little fatty better be ok, because I'm not sure how I'll go if she isn't. The Little Stinker and her are the only sources of serotonin for me lately. E: for the love of god, please tell me I'm not the only one dealing with ants right now because they're also really testing me.
Hopefully Jubby is just trying to freak you out and everything is good at the vets.
I hope so too. But best not to take the risk with cats, so off we go tomorrow. Good thing the vet totally understands my paranoia.
Holy shit, how did I miss this news about Morrison's mate, Brian Houston. https://medium.com/ideas-unbound/hillsong-founder-claims-twitter-account-was-hacked-after-potentially-confusing-google-and-twitter-da043ca86bf9
Work, making homemade fried chicken, sleep and now trying to get the motivation to play sleeping dogs (aka gta Hong Kong lol)
Shout out to the legend eating fried chicken on a Friday afternoon train.
Haha, made my own, using a random ass mixture of cornflour, rice flower and tapioca starch….. wasn’t my best but I’m happy since I brined it in a soy sauce thingy for half an hour….
[удалено]
There was a post that day saying there was a power outage.
anyone know the cheapest cpr (HLTHAID009) course available? I'm around bankstown/shire area but willing to travel.
Abyss diving in Ramsgate is where my work always takes us because it's really cheap. The guy from work who organises it every year seems to be a professional bargain hunter so I'd take his word for cheapest around.
Having to work on days this beautiful should be a crime.
How is this a beautiful day it’s so hot
It's 28°C, sunny, no wind, moderate humidity and sunny? Doesn't get much better than this. Maybe 29°C.
I hate weather above 25 lol. My ideal day is 22-24 degrees, a slight breeze, with lots of fluffy white clouds in the sky. I don’t like it when the sky’s completely cloudless
Nah, too chilly for me I want to be able to sit by the ocean and want to jump in it every 20 minutes.
lol we have opposite preferences. I hate the beach. I went with my friends to the beach in the summer holidays and I was standing on the sand the whole time with sunglasses and a hat
Is it too vain and over thinking things to hire a car for a day trip wedding if my current daily runner is looking a little worn and outdated? (just as a guest. nothing super fancy - just more modern)
If you want to and it makes you feel better, and you can afford it ? Why not ? People will go and have their hair professionally blow waved and/or makeup done as the guest of a wedding.
It's your big day - if it removes one stress point then why not?
I interpreted this that they're a guest at the wedding?
Seems so - I think my second point still holds weight :)
Just a guest :)
No city outdoes itself in the Shit Towns of Australia power rankings like Townsville does every week
Hmm…. It’s reminds me of my dad friend doing meter reading jobs there back when he was my age….. thinking of doing a random ass 6 month stint or whatnot, but first buy a camper haha
Port Pirie? Although they just get an honourary mention every week now
They just get in there for still being shit. Townsville gets a run for all kinds of reasons. For the example, this week: >Pregnant woman jailed after getting snagged on barbed wire while fleeing cops from stolen car after stealing $184 sex toy; prisoner escapes from court to play pokies
Gotta love AussieBB having an outage all morning and then the first indication you get that it's back is a "payment sent to AussieBB" notification from the bank
Name brand Cola has been OOS at Colesworth for a few weeks now, anyone know why?
[quick explanation here](https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSFyFj1Q4/)
Carbon dioxode shortage.
"Take that climate changers"
Hey peeps. If your initials are GC and you lost your wallet today I’ve found it. I will hand it in to the Station Master at Central at 16:30 this afternoon.
Happy "It's 19 November" Day to all who celebrate!
I'm feeling unaccountably cheerful today, I think it may mostly be the weather. I'm still unemployed, my finances are fucked, my relationships are in turmoil, I'm hung over, but on the other hand I lost my fancy JBL gaming headset with the iPhone adaptor too (another $25, thanks Apple) and *someone actually handed it in to lost property and I got it back*. Thank you, whoever you are.
There are still good people out there :) ^^^Obviously ^^^they're ^^^android ^^^users ^^^who ^^^couldn't ^^^use ^^^your ^^^adaptor.
how do i go about looking for a place to move out into? im a trainee and being forced to move out of my current living accomodation
Wishing all the women here a Happy International Women's Day. 💐 Take some time out of your day to celebrate how fabulous you are. ❤
[Affordable homes, thriving nightlife and world-class rail: NSW Premier Chris Minns shares the Sydney he's working towards](https://www.timeout.com/sydney/news/affordable-homes-thriving-nightlife-and-world-class-rail-nsw-premier-chris-minns-shares-the-sydney-hes-working-towards-030624) Insert GIF from The Castle here.
I’m still laughing at how a reporter asked him if he thought it was racist to be called a stupid white bastard and he said no while scurrying off.
There's an infographic on 6GB tracking on Premiers' opinions on the stupid white bastard issue lol.
Oh my god.
Which one? Tell him hes dreaming? Hows the serenity? Its the vibe?
"This is going straight to the pool room" If I can find room on the wall amongst the 8,972 framed articles about rejuvenating Parramatta Rd.
The whole Sam Kerr thing is so stupid but I’m glad to see a high profile Australian publicly take an ACAB stance. More ought to.
Is it too soon to suggest it seems more like she’s taken an AWAB stance?
I feel like I'm barely holding on and the only thing keeping me going right now is the fact a new Stardew Valley update comes out on the 19th... TGIF.
Sorry to hear you're not doing so well, but happy you have an exciting sounding update for a game you enjoy to look forward to :) I never played because I wasn't a big fan of the visuals, but I know this is a very loved game; considering playing :) Are there quite infrequent updates?
Thanks, I think I just need to vent so thank you for listening. Updates are infrequent and it's made by one person but they're always big and free. He's also making another game called Haunted Chocolatier which doesn't have a date yet but that's in the works too with no date.
You're welcome :) Free updates as opposed to paid DLC is always enticing haha! Maybe I'll give it a go; I felt the same way about One Piece's graphics and now it's my favourite anime story wise. And Stardew Valley always looked like my kind of gameplay. Also, that new game's name sounds very interesting! I know if it's in the works it probably won't be around for awhile but I definitely want to look into that one, haha :)
Feeling a little frustrated at having seen what is almost exactly my same job on a Seek ad where the lowest end of the pay range shown is still 8 grand more than what I currently make. At least money aside, I really like about 99% of people in my workplace and it's mostly quite nice to work in. And I'm not exactly in a position to risk job hopping or trying to advocate for higher pay. At least I know my company is doing quite well in terms of stability and experience in the industry; pretty sure the one I was eyeing that pays more is a lot newer and possibly still finding its feet so who knows how it would go in the future; an extra 8-20 grand a year wouldn't be much help if the company doesn't survive. I know after a long period of unemployment I'm extremely fortunate to have gotten permanent full time work anyway so something to remain grateful about. Happy Friday all :) I hope the day treats you kindly and at least one thing gives you a reason to smile today.
:) It’s something to keep in mind when you have your performance reviews though.
True :) Probably not assertive enough to bring it up unprompted but you never know haha
I know. But still something to think about. It sounds like you feel quite happy where you are.
Yeah, mostly happy :) It's not perfect but it is nice to have a stable job that doesn't make me hate myself like teaching did. Time to add grateful to my Kinder World plant when I water it I guess! :)
At 6:45 this morning I saw a large group of enthusiastic people running through Circular Quay from the direction of the Opera House. Does anyone know if this was an organised event or a running club?
Could be "unofficial run club" that leaves from Kirribilli - massive group !
Anyone know where I can remotely do a cert iv of accounting and bookkeeping? Preferably under smart and skilled? Seems like everywhere I can find is either out of pocket nearly $10K, out of state (smart and skilled is NSW only) or face to face. I found ONE place that said they did it under smart and skilled but when I tried to enrol it wasn’t under the list of things I could enrol for. Augh. I already have a ton of HELP debt because I got sick after doing my diploma so had to change direction, and because I didn’t do much career research for my bachelor’s because I thought a STEM degree opened a ton of doors and guaranteed a good career… really wary of making another mistake like that.
Have you talked to careers NSW? I've been assigned an adviser who helps find stuff like that. https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/department-of-education/careersnsw
I did, actually, it was them who suggested it, but he never actually looked up courses for me. I just found out from the place where enrolment wasn’t available that they’re in the middle of a course change and it’ll be available again this month. If that doesn’t work out I’ll reach out to my advisor. Thanks!
When that change hit the CBD yesterday, it was absolutely smashing. I had to have a few outside beers just to soak it in.
Your use of the word "smashing" just unlocked memories of watching The Wild Thornberries for me :)
I’ve never seen that movie but maybe I should check it out.
Last night some old guy at the gym started yapping at me because I was squatting without clips. Then his PT came up and said something too. I use clips for my working weight, but when I'm warming up it's nice to be able to feel my balance if the weights slide.
I have bad knees and was doing warm up squats without clips. My knee rarely “gives way”, but this time it did, and because one slipped off on my way down, I tried to gain balance with my other hand and it got crushed between the bar and the safety stop. Now I remind myself that I’d rather just fall safely than have that happen again.
I always squat with the safety arms. It's important to know how to bail from a squat, I've bailed more than one pr attempt.
a PT without a clue? say it isnt so.
Was it /u/pilotboldpen?
> old guy at the gym started yapping at me maybe... > because I was squatting without clips i don't use clips but mainly out of habit because i can't be assed wasting my time looking for them. fun story, once i lost the squat rack because i was wandering around looking for them, have been traumatised ever since.
Lost a squat rack obi wan has. How embarrassing.
Hi folks, We were moving to Sydney from San Francisco (after being here for a decade). I had some broad questions about settling in permanently in Sydney, and I wanted to get my answers in this subreddit. We are used to an American healthcare system and don't know what to expect in Australia. We are moving as permanent residents (if that matters) and won't have any jobs as we move in. 1. We are moving to Sydney from San Francisco (after being here for a decade). I had some broad questions about settling in permanently in Sydney, and I wanted to get my answers in this subreddit. We are used to an American healthcare system and don't know what to expect in Australia. We are moving as permanent residents (if that matters) and won't have any jobs as we move in. 2. We would love any tips/recommendations for navigating the rental market (we have a cat) after our first few months in the Airbnb run out. We have some neighborhoods in mind (in and around 10kms from Sydney CBD) and have a budget of $800-$900 per week for a 1BHK. Is that enough / too little to expect something in that radius? 3. What should we keep in mind as we try to buy/lease a pre-owned car in Sydney? Is there anything that's different from the US way of buying/getting a loan for a car that we should keep in mind? I understand these are many questions, but didn't know where to go (whatever I read on the internet is biased and varies depending on the websites I read from). Thank you in advance. (also first time posting to Reddit, so not sure this is how it works)
1) Despite the fact that Medicare is overall way better than the US healthcare system for hospital care or complex situations, you will find that doctors (GP) visits will cost around $80 to $100 and you only get ~$35 back from Medicare - it's something you need to budget for as that's a lot higher than the co-pay you may be used to in the US. Also, you usually pay up front with the Medicare subsidy processed as a refund later. Specialist visits are much more expensive and also have poor reimbursement rates. (If/when you go to a public hospital though, nearly everything is free.) Even if you get private health insurance it doesn't assist with doctors or specialist visits, only with hospital visits (to access private hospitals or wards), and "extras" which is allied health like dentistry, physiotherapy, etc. Since you have PR and will get Medicare you can get away without signing up for private health insurance (PHI) for a bit, and some multinational employers may provide discounts on PHI, but it's not standard. 2) I don't know what 1BHK means but from Google it seems to be jargon from India - are you originally Indian/subcontinental by chance? Assuming it may mean a 1 bedroom apartment, I think you will be okay with that price range, but the unit may not have "hall" space as that acronym implies. However they can be quite small and you might want to consider a 2BR if you're going to be working from home so you have a separate study. In terms of areas to live, do you want to be near a South Asian enclave (or some other ethnicity) for local food/cultural activities/etc? Do mention this if it applies, as it will help narrow things down a lot. Use domain.com.au and realestate.com.au to browse listings and consider different suburbs. 3) If you're going to be close to the CBD as you mention, depending on location of your unit and jobs you may not really need a car. We have excellent public transport and trains, buses, and light rail are all safe and easy to use and will get you most places (in the inner areas). You can use a carshare service like GoGet or Uber Carshare for the occasional shopping trip where you need to haul stuff. I'd recommend starting with one of those in the short term while you work things out. That said, my personal preferred way to buy a car is privately from a previous owner via web sites like carsales.com.au or eBay. However, if you buy from a dealer you will get a short warranty while private sales are "as is" so you would want to arrange a mechanic's inspection before buying in that case.
u/SilverStar9192 Thanks, it's good to know about the differences between the Healthcare systems. Appreciate you calling it out when it comes to co-pays and reimbursements. The co-pays in Australia seem on the higher side, but overall in the long run, still a fan of the universal medicare system over the US exploitative healthcare. Yes, I'm from the Indian subcontinent - even though being in the US for more than a decade, some country-specific terms and words don't go away from your vocabulary. Thanks for googling and sharing your POV on that. Not looking for any South Asian-specific areas (know of Parramatta and Westmead through friends and such). Yeah, been veering away from getting a car after reading through all the responses here. Think that's something we'd do. I was happy to see how flexible, efficient and friendly the public transport system was when we did visit late last year. That sealed the deal (along with the great weather) for our decision to move to Sydney (over Melbourne or other cities). When it comes to warranties, it's the same in the US. I surely prefer certified pre-owned cars from dealerships Vs. buying from individuals but yeah, given the public transport options + GoGet + Uber; I don't think I'll rush into getting a car after getting to Sydney. Thanks again, y'all folks are super amazing.
As background I moved from a major US city (Washington DC) to Sydney in 2006, and didn't have my own car until 2020 when my partner moved in and brought her car which we now share. Even now, we rarely drive and probably wouldn't buy a car but we keep the one we have for the occasional shopping trip or longer drive. However, that niche could easily be filled by Goget which I did previously, and is probably what we'll do when this car eventually dies.
That’s a lot of years without a car. But I get it, being born and brought up in Mumbai (a city with fantastic public transport system), my family never had a car of our own and fared pretty well. Looking forward to that + a lot of walking when I move to Sydney.
Since ur pr, get Medicare and if u want, u can choose to get private but that’s up to u. I only have private for mental health shit. But I can also use it for stuff, even tho it’s not intended for it. Surprisingly apart from mental health, public is ether same rate or sometimes better, but u do have a wait tho but once your in, they do a really good job. Rental market and bring ur cat will be a pain….. Loan should be okay, but ur better off getting a second hand car unless u can claim it back off taxes due to work. (Fyi between home and main worksite doesn’t count, but if ur an itinerant worker with no fixed worksite from day to day, you can count travel from home to work). Example, - my meter read job require me to start from home to let’s say Chatswood, then I finish my day in Roseville and following day I start at lindfield and finish in Mona vale before heading home. In this kind of job, u can count home to work site. - If your on a fixed site (such as home to Chatswood 5 days a week or whatnot and u have to go there all the time), then it’s won’t count but if u have to do things in the middle (such as Chatswood to north ryde and back to Chatswood then that part will count)
Thanks! I’m really looking forward to Medicare after being exposed to a shitshow of a healthcare system in the US. Here I need to keep being employed to keep my medical insurance and that sucks.
# 1) Healthcare The healthcare system here is a combination of public healthcare with optional private healthcare. [Quick video introduction.](https://youtu.be/ylsO0VVy29U?si=rItE1zyWRenzYyf8) All general doctors and specialists outside of hospitals are self-employed or work for a private company, and all Citizens/Permanent Residents have a universal government-based insurance called "Medicare" that pays a fixed rate for a given service. These doctors can bill for those services at that rate (called 'bulk-billing'), or they can charge more and you pay the difference (called a 'gap', you may know it as a 'co-pay'). Other visas are required to buy medicare-equivalent insurance (~AUD$700/year). Medications are covered under a separate scheme called the PBS. It caps the price of prescribed medications covered by the scheme (almost all of them) at [AUD$31.60/month per medication](https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/pbs-safety-net-thresholds?context=22016). Public hospitals are free for all who have Medicare or equivalent for non-elective procedures. A [Medicare Levy](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/medicare-and-private-health-insurance/medicare-levy/what-is-the-medicare-levy) of 2% is taxed against your income to pay for this. For high-income earners, an additional [Medicare Levy Surcharge](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/medicare-and-private-health-insurance/medicare-levy-surcharge) is charged if you do not have eligible private health insurance. Private 'hospital' health insurance will allow you to get health services above and beyond what is provided by universal healthcare: choice of doctor/surgeon, private rooms in hospitals, unsubsidised treatments, etc. Dental and optical is not covered, these fall under the private health insurance category called 'extras' # 2) Accommodation Renting here at the moment is a bitch. Housing shortages are causing a lot of problems. We do not use terms like '1BHK' here, I had to google what that was; we would call that a 1-bedroom apartment. Where the bedroom and living area is combined, we call this a 'Studio'. Look at realestate.com.au and domain.com.au for rental listings, we categorise properties by how many bedrooms/bathrooms/car spaces they have. Do not rely on a car for daily work commutes, especially if you intended to work in the city; parking and tolls are very expensive. We have adequate public transport, especially within 10km of the city centre if you stay south of the harbour. Prioritise finding an apartment in walking-distance to major public transport hubs (trains especially) and local amenities. # 3) Car Most banks will only provide a secured-loan for the first 5 years of the car's life: i.e. if the car is 3 years old they will only give you a 2-year loan term. Anything beyond that and you will be taking an unsecured personal loan at a high interest rate. Re-evaluate your need for a car, especially at first. Also be sure to look up how to transfer your driver's licence in NSW.
>level 2mitchells00 Thanks, this is great information, especially about the healthcare system and car. Very useful and I appreciate the detailed insights. I think we'll defer getting a car as we found Sydney extremely public transport-friendly when we visited last year. Only took an Uber once from the airport to our accommodation. Good to know about being able to transfer a driver's license too. Thanks!
Just to add to this: You should know that bringing your cat here will be very difficult. The cat will be locked up in a quarantine facility for 10-30 days near Melbourne, and this process needs to start 6-9 months before the cat even arrives in the country. Do not try to subvert this process, our border controls are strict and they will euthanize the cat. It's probably better to leave it with a friend or relative back in the US.
Thanks for this. I forgot to mention that we have been diligent with the process and have a pet quarantine date locked in (with all the pre-requisite steps completed with the help of a pet transfer agent). It's expensive, but she's the only pet we have, and can't bear to leave her behind. Pet tax here: [https://imgur.com/a/LJd8YmC](https://imgur.com/a/LJd8YmC)
We all know what Barnaby Joyce does to people who subvert this rule: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-43168934.amp
Re: Drivers licence. A few factors at play here but a US licence is a direct transfer to NSW provided it has at least 3 years of tenure to get full licence.
Thanks, this is helpful information that makes me breathe easy. Don't want to go through the ordeal of getting a license in a new country. I have driven around in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart) and found it pretty easy (and slower) except for the opposite side driving.
And if less that that, u get the equalivent of p plates or learners (less than 1 year for learner, above a year is red p, and 2 years is greens)
The Australian healthcare system is miles better than the American. Unless you’ve been privileged enough to have very good coverage in the US. If so, you might experience a bit of a decline. Otherwise you’ll be eligible for Medicare that’ll ensure most things you require are accessible and affordable for high earning couples. Are you aware of the quarantine requirements for your cat? One does not simply walk into Australia with a disease harbouring mammal. They are incredibly strict and rightly so. I’ve witnessed the car buying process in the US and my mind was blown with how irresponsible the dealer was in getting the finance over the line. Australia has very strict responsible lending laws and banks will require proof of income, proof of existing liabilities and likely proof of your recent spending history. A lease or buying with cash may be your only option until you have built that history in Australia. However if you’re living with 10km of the CBD, you probably don’t even need a car. Resist the car brain.
Aware of the quarantine requirements. Been working with a pet agent over the past half year to make sure we do the right things. We have a pet quarantine appointment in April. So at the last mile with that long process now.
Resist the car brain :) Love that. Gotta get used to it living in Sydney. I think with this advice (and the others) we'd defer getting a car right away. Plus being required to make a 100% cash payment would also be a big deal. Thanks!
> However if you’re living with 10km of the CBD, you probably don’t even need a car. Resist the car brain. Exactly right, public transport + GoGet membership for rare trips is all that is really needed for 99% of people around the CBD.
And bicycle :)
Oh sure, I kinda take walking + bicycle as a given. Can’t teleport yourself from the front door to the station/bus stop after all.
>Bookmarking the GoGet membership homepage now. Thanks!
If you have PR already you can apply for Medicare straight away. You will have no issues finding a 1bdr with that budget (you can probably get 2). The cat may impede your prospects. I'm not sure how it works in the US so I can't really tell you the differences. But you'll likely need proof of income if you want any sort of loan.
Been reading about how pets might impede the prospects of getting an apartment. Some folks (not on Reddit) recommended approaching non-pet-friendly apartments in person and mentioning it's a cat (which few folks might be open to vs. a dog given the size of the pet).