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NEWS: My next IN destination is...
...Brisbane, Australia!!!!!
DBF is transferring through work and will start there on March 1st. That means we'll get to "Brizzy" sometime in February to get settled in.
This is exactly what we want and are beyond excited. Do we have anybody in Brisbane here? I know aMrs is in the wilds of QLD. I have a ton of questions about Australia in general so I hope somebody will volunteer to tell me all about how to get a cell phone and if Australian Target is like American Target (so pumped for that). Also, does anybody have experience with a 457 long term/temporary business visa?
Note: I strategically timed this post so the Aussie girls would have something new to start their day with. Now that I know how huge the time difference is (16 hours between eastern Oz and USA Central Time) I am much more sympathetic to you. Happy Friday, girls!
Re: NEWS: My next IN destination is...
Also for the girls Down Under, I found this picture online last week and thought it was pretty funny:
That's awesome! The time difference and plane ride are not, though. I'm still determined to get there some day.
Put another shrimp on that barbie.
2012 Reading Challenge
Now Nesting from Chicago, IL My nail blog:
As far as I can tell, Australian Target is nothing like American Target, but then I'm in rural Victoria and have a Target Country, so the big metropolitan Targets may be different.
I think there are a couple of girls in Brisbane. I was there for a flying visit in May to attend a wedding and I have to say the River Cat ferry system is the coolest thing ever! I so wish that NOLA would do something like that.
I can't help with the cell phone -- I have been here since January and still have my US AT&T phone (I have one of the last great unlimited calls/data plans and I do not want to give it up -- even my roaming charges are included).
WHOOO! Another Australian IN.
I know nothing about the 457 Visa except that now you have to score an average of 5 on each of the three English Tests, instead of an average of 5 across all three.
As for cell phones ... if you can avoid Telstra, do so. They are the devil in disguise. Well, I take that back, they don't even use a disguise. They suck, they know it and don't care enough to do anything about it. How bad are they? They make Comcast look like AAAA+ rated company.
If you are on any Rx meds, check to see if they are available here. My Rx allergy pills are not.
Cecilia arrived 12 October 2012
Love it, but FYI, we call them prawns
I am from Brisbane (my home town) currently living in Jakarta but I will help you out as much as possible, any ideas on where you want to live or preferences in that area? Also I will be coming home to give birth in April GBlake you and I must catch up! Good luck with the move, I may be biased but it is an awesome place to live.
Congrats on your new adventure!
I'm jealous of you INs who are close enough to have GTGs!
I know! It throws a wrench into my genius!
Thanks guys!
gblake I've added you to FB and I demand a GTG.
I know literally nobody else in town so if anybody has friends there (sushi, ahem) I wouldn't mind a PFT hook-up.
Luckily the 457 is being taken care of by DBF's company, I'm just interested to see how much "proof of relationship" we'll have to give since we're unmarried. We've got 7 years of documentation so I'm not worried, though.
Need more info on Australian Target, Oz ladies!
I'm not sure about the 457 requirements, but I know I had to have notarized Statutory Declarations from friends and family members who know both of us for my Spousal Visa Application even though we were legally married. I would assume the "proof of relationship" would be similar. I know that my Spousal Visa Application made no real distinction between a married relationship and a de facto one. We also needed copies of things sent to both of us, photographs of us in various locations with friends/family, etc. Basically it's anything that can prove other people view you and BF as a social unit.
Not in Australia, but I was for 5 years.
I had a spouse visa, but I remember there was a defacto visa, so you could probably do that being that you've been with your BF for a while. I remember doing declarations, but they had to be from only Australian citizens/PRs. I couldn't use any other citizens. I don't know if that is because I was sponsored or not? Also have lots of pics and save plane stubs from trips and any bills that you guys have in both your names. It's good evidence. I hope I'm giving good advice, as I did that about 5+ years ago, and I'm not sure if things changed.
Australian target is different.
I didn't have any problems getting a cell phone. I used Virgin and I walked in and got it with not many problems. I had pre-paid at first and all I needed was a landline number. I later switched to a contract (I think I might have done this with DHs name). What kind of problems did others have? Did things change?
Australia is a great place to live! I miss it sometimes, but I don't miss the distance or the bugs/spiders.
Also keep in mind that Australia (well Sydney was) is expensive $$$. I personally think Europe is cheaper for things like clothes and food (not counting the exchange rate).
No info on your visa type here. Sorry about that.
I would say that Aussie Target is more like a Kohls than an American Target.
As for cell phones (they are called mobiles here) we went with Virgin prepaid phones. Virgin uses the Optus network - Optus is also a good option. Not hard to get at all but you do have to show ID to get one for some reason.
Proof of relationship is not hard at all if you've been living together and have things like joint utility bills. If you haven't it can be bad, and I know someone who was denied because there was no paper trail for their living together, and because they were denied, getting married wouldn't solve it.
Is your excitement for Australian Target because you've been living somewhere without big box stores? If so, get excited, if not, it's not the same, but you'll be in a big enough city that you won't need it to be like US Target.
What makes getting a phone hard?
I find AUS target like US kmart and vice versa. Weird I know!
I had no prob getting a phone. I walked into the vodaphone store (with proper paperwork:bank acct info, visa info and housing info) and walked out with a spankin new iPhone without dropping any money. I was psyched.
good luck with the move
how exciting!!!!! the weather is nice here in Sydney but SO much warmed in Brizzy!
gblake is up there - jealous - you guys can have gtgs!
I hate to tell ya, Target here is not the same as in the US. Its actually a completely different company. The brand was just bought by a company here & they attempt to copy American target. BUT its still a decent store, I buy a lot of stuff there, its just not anywhere as nice as American targets.
like a PP said though - we also have Big W - which is good too! and of course there's costco - but only in Sydney & Melbourne so far I think - good reason for a trip down to see us?
You should be able to get a cell phone (mobile) through any carrier once you get here - you could get pay as you go if they won't do a contract for you yet (you usually need to have a credit historty to do that)
let me know if you're ever in sydney for a gtg !!!
No, I think Australian Target and Kmart are much more like each other than the American versions. At least where I've lived, US Target is middle class, Kmart is working class. In Australia they're both equal, with Kmart being more for homey stuff and Target more for clothes (both owned by the same company). And then BigW being the competitor for both.
and K-mart here is NOT nice, I go there for cheap cheap stuff though - they do cheap well! it reminds me a LOT of the US k-mart
I do love Big W
but its still not as nice as American Target IMO
We only have a Target Country in my little town, ad it's nothing like US Targets, but I do find the linens nicer at Target than at Big W. I keep calling Big W Wal-Mart because it's very much like a standard (non-Super) Wal-Mart to me. I've only been in a K-Mart for a quick visit, but I found it very much like the K-Marts in the US.
I really haven't found all that many great stores here and have really only gotten basics for my house. And I was just thinking that I have been here nearly a year now and have not been clothes shopping once. In fact the only new clothes I have gotten here have been socks. I am really not impressed with the shopping options here.
Ditto this. Up here they seem to have forgotten there is a market in between 22 yrs old and Matron.
Oh, and Wise Rita, here are two examples from yesterday about how expensive it is here when we say it's "more expensive". Limes are 2/$3.00 or $1.69 each. And I had been checking out a Seiko watch, so I went to the store to see what it looked like on me. While it does look very nice, Amazon has it for $189. the store I was at is selling it for $595. He!!, H can get the men version and we can pay for shipping and we'd still be saving money.
That's cheap for limes! My Woolies has them for between $14.99 and $17.99/kilo. I stopped using limes for things and use only lemons, which I can get free from my in-laws tree.