What do I need to know about Australia?

[Mr. Morden]

OK, those of you with really long memories may recall that last year, I mentioned here that I was thinking about applying for a job that would take me to South Africa for ~2 years or so.  Well, I ended up not applying for that job, as I got an offer out here in Washington state.  However, the funding for my current position dried up earlier than expected, so I had to look for work somewhere else.  Well, I've now found it.  I've got a three year fellowship in Australia (in the Sydney metro area) that'll start in a few months....basically, as soon as I can sort  out the paperwork, and organize the move.

So, is there anything that I need to know about Australia before I move there (I've never been there; I've been to the UK though, is Aus. any more different from the US than the UK is?)?  Does anyone have any advice on any aspect of moving across the ocean?

[Mr. Morden]

Well, thank you all for the info and opinions, but there is roughly zero chance of me relocating to Melbourne.  I'll be working for the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Epping (a Sydney suburb), and they don't have any alternative location in Melbourne.

[Mr. Morden]

Epping is a nice area, I grew up about 15 mins down the road.

Cool.  I don't suppose you have any specific recommendations on places to live in that area?  I'm going to have to find an apartment there, and I don't know where to start looking.  None of the websites that I would go to to look for apartments in the US cover Australia.  If you don't know of a specific location, any ideas on where to go on the web to look?

[Mr. Morden]

Epping is a nice area, I grew up about 15 mins down the road.

Cool.  I don't suppose you have any specific recommendations on places to live in that area?  I'm going to have to find an apartment there, and I don't know where to start looking.  None of the websites that I would go to to look for apartments in the US cover Australia.  If you don't know of a specific location, any ideas on where to go on the web to look?

www.realestate.com.au
www.flatmates.com.au

Epping itself, there's Eastwood, Marsfield. Given Epping is on the major northern train line you can look a little further afield (like 10-15 commute) - Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, Hornsby (the main major shopping area... where I'll in fact be going in about 30 mins).

Thanks.  OK, I have a rather odd question.  Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I've never traveled outside of North America or Europe:

It looks like it might be cheapest (by quite a bit) to book an itinerary that has a layover in Fiji.  Is there any reason to avoid Fiji, even if I'm only going to be there for a few hours?  The State Department says this:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1114.html

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...which doesn't sound terribly encouraging, but again, I'd only be there for a few hours, and the State Department could very well just be overdramatizing things so that people play it safe.

[Mr. Morden]

OK, update.  I've been here about a month now (as you might tell from my avatar).  No, I didn't end up going on that itinerary with a layover in Fiji (which also would have included a layover in Los Angeles).  I went on one with a layover in Auckland.  It wasn't that much more expensive, and it shaved a good 6 hours or so over the total travel time.  I wasn't sure if I could handle an itinerary in which I don't arrive at my destination until nearly 24 hours after I left.

I do have a place now, in North Ryde.  Here's my question of the moment though: Does this country have laundromats?  That is, places where you can insert money into washers and dryers so you can do your laundry?  Yes, I've done my laundry since I've gotten here, but that was when I was either at a serviced apartment (where they had such facilities in the building) or out of town (where they had such facilities in the building).  I now have my own apartment, but no washer or dryer.  I could buy a washer and dryer, but, I'd really like to do laundry tomorrow, and when I use the Google, I only find info on "drycleaners" in the area, which I assume means they do it all for you.

Aren't there any such places where you can go to do your own laundry, and you only pay for the use of the machine?  I would think that, with all the students around on the Macquarie U. campus, there would be a market for such a thing, no?

[Mr. Morden]

I did ultimately find a laundromat, though I guess they're more commonly called "laundrettes" here.  However, they don't seem to be so common here.  The one that I found is kind of far away, and overly expensive.  I'm buying a washing machine, as I don't think this laundrette is going to be a long term solution.  Seems like a bit of a waste, to buy a washing machine for just one person, but it's you Australians' fault for not making more laundromats.  What, do washing machines grow on trees here, or something? 

[Mr. Morden]

I've got a three year fellowship in Australia (in the Sydney metro area) that'll start in a few months....basically, as soon as I can sort  out the paperwork, and organize the move.

*bump*

Well, I was planning on being in Australia for three years, but it ended up being about eight years.  (Anything interesting happen in the Obama administration while I was gone?)  I'm back in the US now, presumably for good.  Currently in MN, but that's just temporary, and I'll likely move somewhere else within the borders of this country within the next few months.

[Mr. Morden]

I've got a three year fellowship in Australia (in the Sydney metro area) that'll start in a few months....basically, as soon as I can sort  out the paperwork, and organize the move.

*bump*

Well, I was planning on being in Australia for three years, but it ended up being about eight years.  (Anything interesting happen in the Obama administration while I was gone?)  I'm back in the US now, presumably for good.  Currently in MN, but that's just temporary, and I'll likely move somewhere else within the borders of this country within the next few months.

So....where in Minnesota?

Bloomington.  In honor of Bushie, I'm staying with my mother for a while while I sort out my employment situation.

[Mr. Morden]

Wtf

TIL that Morden isn't actually Australian.

Ditto. I never would have guessed.

I mean, it's not like I haven't been open about it in the past.  Aside from this thread, I've made numerous references over the years to growing up in the US.  (For example, I'm sure I mentioned it when there were FC polls about things like "Did your high school have a swimming pool?")  And I just googled Mr. Morden + uselectionatlas.org + "I'm American", and got multiple hits:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=201388.msg4355594#msg4355594

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=204289.msg4421255#msg4421255

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=232537.msg4981596#msg4981596

And then, of course, I've always used American spellings for everything, so that should have been a hint....

EDIT: Oh, and I had a Washington state avatar in 2008, which is where I lived before moving to Oz.  At that time, I think some folks confused me with Alcon.

[Mr. Morden]

This is what you need to know about Australia:

Don't knock it.  After that fence was built, not a single refugee managed to walk across the border from Slovenia to Australia.  It was quite effective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVqLHghLpw

[Mr. Morden]

So, other than what you were told in this thread, what did you need to know about Australia?

Good question.  It wasn't that hard to figure out how things worked over there, though I guess one of the trickier things was indeed covered in this thread: the crazy system by which one hunts for apartments.  Also, not really specific to Australia, but to international moves in general...I hadn't really thought through the fact that there really is no good way to transfer all my money at once.  When I did find an apartment and had to put down a deposit, the best solution I had was to simply withdraw the max amount of $ from my US bank account at an ATM three days in a row.

Other than that, I didn't really have any problems.