Australia, any input?

[fairytink]

I was in Melbourne and Sydney two weeks ago. I so love the weather! Sa Melbourne nga lang eh super unpredictable ng panahon, uulan-aaraw-lalamig, pero that's Melbourne ika nga nila  Mas nakasundo ko ang metro train sa Melbourne compare sa SG, Hongkong at Japan, and I love Myki, super convenient gamitin. Nagpunta kami sa Great Ocean Road, super layo pero worth naman puntahan. Sa sydney, Blue Mountains lang kami and nakakalungkot na di namin nasilayan ang 3 sisters dahil sa kapal ng fog 

Tama kayo, super expensive sa Australia kaya di ko na kinaya mamili pa ng pasalubong.  Ang shirts 2 for $25! ahahay! keychain at ref magnet na lang 

Sana makabalik ako, pero mega ipon na naman yun for sure. According sa Brazilian na nakasabay namin sa tour, who studies in Perth, dun daw ang pinakamaganda.

Pero so far, sa 2 city na napuntahan ko recently. Mag ginusto ko ang MELBOURNE...

[freeswan]

^ sis according to Huffington post, Melbourne is the most liveable city in the world.

[igenna]

i'll be in sydney next year to study (late january to late december). of these things, ano po ang mas murang bilhin sa pilipinas kesa sa sydney -- laptop, smart phone, digital camera, winter clothes? kasi sabi nila kapag laptop, almost the same lang naman daw ang presyo. sa phone and camera, no idea. sa winter clothes, we were advised not to pack for winter since we'll be arriving summer. may mga nagsabing may areas naman daw sa sydney na cheap mamili, like chinatown and discount stores.

i was also looking for possible apartments/houses for rent. sa adelaide daw kasi, average is AUD200 per week, tapos 3 bedrooms na yun. but when i checked sa suburbs near unisyd, pinakamura na yata is around AUD315 per week, at 2-bedroom pa lang (e.g. campsie, strathfield). any advise? i'll be on scholarship kasi, meaning limited funds, so i'm kinda nervous about the expenses.

also, any tips on what to expect sa sydney? like, how is it living there, generally? although masaya ang adventure, it also doesn't hurt to manage expectations a bit. hehe. TIA! 

[akthung]

it would be better if someone from Sydney would answer your questions. It would be best if he/she is currently an overseas student. I can only share in general lang kasi hindi ako taga east coast.

one thing i've learned is leave your clothes in the Philippines. LOL. You'll probably see and buy better clothes. magiging problema mo lang how to dispose the clothes you brought from the Philippines. Just bring enough to help you get started.

I'll assume you'll be working part time, many students do that unless rich kids sila. So for laptops, phones and digital camera, since you'll be earning in dollars, you might end up buying something you can afford with your work here.

 there will be better choices definitely but don't think US prices. always compare the prices you see with pinas prices or US prices and then decide if it is really best to buy it in aus.

pag nag sale naman sila mabababa din minsan ang inaabot so hindi lang chinatown and discount stores ang mamatahan mo.

hintayin mo yung end of financial year sale (june). maraming discount/sale periods every year pero pinaka matindi is during June. some can drop up to 60% off. (or even 70 if you're a member) if winter concerns you, just buy. bagay pa sa klema. you may want to browse winter wear when you arrive. kasi mura sila pag summer. and mag mamahal during winter.

sa Uni ka ba mag aaral? if so, they are always up to date with computer technology.
you can buy original MS office (and other programs) cheaply as a student. pinagkaiba lang usually ng student version is you can only use it for one computer. Teachers/schools will most often use the latest version(s).

be careful with your calls (local carriers) sobrang laki ng penalty kapag lumagpas ka sa limit mo, a friend of mine reached 3,000 dollars. ako, i reached 1,400. madaling makalimot. hindi parang pinas ang mga yan.

im sure you'll be able to find your way. common practice talaga is for a group of students to rent a house. share the chores and payment. makakakita ka ng vacancies sa Uni or thru the paper or word of mouth.

join ka ng Guild or the student council group. usually nagkaka discount ang mga members sa food sa school. minsan mas malaki ang makukuha mong cut if you sell thru the secondhand book shop. speaking of second hand book shop, baka makakita ka ng mga books na kailangan mo doon. or even special instruments or tutorial guides. may mga students na piniprint and bind ang mga lecture notes / tutorial notes. these notes they sell din minsan sa second hand book shop. it will save you paper and printing costs. 

kilalanin mo din yung library niyo. ang students kasi may alloted na GB na free internet. minsan meron talagang free internet sa library (hindi ma affect yung allotment sa iyo).

minsan maganda din collection ng library ng DVD/Blu Ray movies. hehe maganda din kilalanin mo ang public library.

you may also want to participate in school activities. pwede maging helpful sila later.

i dont know paano ang public transpo doon. but sa state ko, i used to pay 0.50 cents lang for the first few kilometers. so kung meron kang concession card from the public transpo company, get it.

your school ID will be very useful. discounts sa movie house, museums etc etc. itanong mo lagi. kapag inunahan ka ng tanong, ask if they honor student id. LOL noong nag canada ako, pinakita ko school ID ko, naka kuha pa din ako ng discounts sa museums and parks. iba talaga pag galing first world.

you can drive with your pinas license. if you're eyeing to stay after your studies, find ways to drive and practice. kasi pag permanent resident ka na, you only have 3 months to get a license.

[recently engaged]

igenna: i'm in syd. i'll try to answer some of your questions. i'm not a student kasi, we came here on pr visas in 2008.

i agree with akthung re: clothes. pabigat lang sa luggage. hehe. pag sale 'mura' din naman. but then again relative naman ang 'mura'. nung bago kami dito di maiwasan iconvert sa peso lahat ng ginagastos. haha!

sa rent naman, since sydney uni is in the city mahal talaga. just to give you an idea: my husband and i lived in dulwich hill in 2009. malapit ito sa city, one bus ride away. studio lang yun na maliit ha. we had a double bed, table and chairs. ni wala kaming closet dahil hindi na kakasya. we paid $250/week. marami ako nakikita sa city na ads na naghahanap ng kashare sa house. kung ok ka sa idea na yun i think it would be your best option. mas ok kung furnished/semi-furnished na para din di mo na kailangan bumili ng gamit. lahat dito mahal. hehe.

sa transportation, walang concession for international students. it's just for locals. so don't try it na. mahal ang fine kung mahuli ka ng transport police.


yan muna naisip ko for now. if you have any more questions post lang here. i'll try to answer as best i can.

[freeswan]

mga sis, my visa got approved! I'm so happy! Hopefully I can leave in 2 weeks. I will stay with my boyfriend in Sydney then we will spend Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years with his family in Geelong, Victoria. Then we will be back in Sydney in time for New Years. Tapos Big Day Out on January 18 then Swisse Colour run on Feb 10. We are so happy! Anybody who wants to do a meet-up?

By the way, we submitted 67 pages worth of documents. 0_0

[igenna]

thanks akthung and recently engaged  actually i need the laptop right away because i'll be using it for my studies. i'm canvassing now here in the phils, but im just wondering if it would be better to buy in oz na lang once i arrive para di na rin abala pagbitbit. re: the electrical output, what should i keep in mind? kasi yung friend ko who went to adelaide, she brought her laptop from pinas tapos nasira yung power cord. and she advised me to just buy there, AUD1,300 lang daw ang mac.

about the phone, my galaxy s2 recently got stolen kasi. i have an old nokia phone naman, but i need separate units diba, 1 for local calls and 1 for calls/texts to pinas. baka wala na rin akong pambili dito (hehe) so kung hindi naman masyadong malaki ang price diff, i'm thinking to just buy in oz when i get my allowance.

re: concession card, sabi ausaid students daw are entitled. what can i use for discounts to cinemas, the concession or my student ID?

thanks akthung for the tip on secondhand book shops. excited nako sa june sale! i think i'll find your tip on DVD copies in the library the most useful. haha. mahilig kasi ako magdownload ng movies through bittorrent. eh balita ko mahal ang internet dyan, bytes ang binibilang. dito kasi sa pinas mura lang unli broadband.

sis recently engaged, onga mahal talaga. iniisip ko tuloy parang mas mura na kung tutuusin to live in campus housing. tipid sa pamasahe tapos unlimited pa ang internet and other utilities. hindi ko masyadong feel yung house share kasi makikisama ka pa dun sa may-ari nung apartment. syempre may sarili yung house rules, quirks, etc.

goal ko talaga is tipid tipid tipid. kasi kung anuman sosobra sa allowance ko at kikitain ko from part-time, maiuuwi ko sa pinas, then i can buy a car (kahit 2nd hand lang) and start with family life. hihi. tsaka i plan to have my parents visit me, siguro sa 2nd semester, sayang din andun na ko eh. so i need money to shoulder their plane tickets and accommodation during their stay.

keep the tips coming

[akthung]

Ausaid ka pala sis. may friend ako sa pinas na nag Ausaid. nasa Canada na ngayon nagtratrabaho (likes it better there than Aus)

well mukhang desidido kang bumili ng laptop, so why not sa aus na lang at marami pang choices. maganda pa customer service sa aus kesa sa pinas na para kang pulubi once nabili mo na yung item. some say Apple products are cheaper here than in their countries.

kung masira power cord mo mo im sure there will be a good solution here.

as for calls, may prepaid sims na mura ang international calls/msg and local calls.

concession card mo yung ID mo sis. usually ganun. ibrief ka naman ng Uni mo eh. hindi kita papayuhan na gumawa ng mali. basta remember sis, inquire inquire inquire. sa first world country like Aus, hindi uubra yung hiya hiya ng culturang pinoy. huwag kang mahihiya mag tanong. basta magalang ka. Nung nasa canada ako, kung hindi ako nag tanong, eh di hindi ko na avail yung discount. sinigurado ko pa ang tanong ko at sinabi ko na australian student ako, no problem daw.

yes. bytes ang binibilang. pero mabilis naman. sa pinas kasi unlimited pero nagpapakyawan naman sa bandwith.

as for housing, siguro naman makakapa mo kung san ka talaga bagay. there's also a reason why lots of students share houses.

iba talaga yung sarili mo yung bahay. kung kaya mo naman. nothing wrong.

goal ko talaga is tipid tipid tipid. kasi kung anuman sosobra sa allowance ko at kikitain ko from part-time, maiuuwi ko sa pinas, then i can buy a car (kahit 2nd hand lang) and start with family life. hihi. tsaka i plan to have my parents visit me, siguro sa 2nd semester, sayang din andun na ko eh. so i need money to shoulder their plane tickets and accommodation during their stay.

keep the tips coming

just don't over commit. stick to your goals. dami ko nang nakita na sobrang daming part time jobs, na bagsak bagsak naman sa school. lol yung mga ganun hindi tinutulungan ng kapwa studyante. iba ang sense of fairness and justice dito.

[gorgeousmama]

this is my next country to visit next year

hopefully matuloy kami

[igenna]

^thanks akthung. "don't overcommit" -- just what i needed. i'll keep that in mind 

[pinklilac]

mga sis, my visa got approved! I'm so happy! Hopefully I can leave in 2 weeks. I will stay with my boyfriend in Sydney then we will spend Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years with his family in Geelong, Victoria. Then we will be back in Sydney in time for New Years. Tapos Big Day Out on January 18 then Swisse Colour run on Feb 10. We are so happy! Anybody who wants to do a meet-up?

By the way, we submitted 67 pages worth of documents. 0_0

wow sis..congrats! TV ka ba?  share ka naman ng experience mo sa pag a apply. gano katagal bago lumabas visa mo?
tia

[freeswan]

hi sis! yep, TV ako. this is me second application cos my first one got refused for a non-genuine visit daw. sobrang busy kasi ako sa work nun kaya half hearted ako nag asikaso nung papers.

my first application, eto mga pinrepare ko:
itr
payslip
bank statement
letter from my boss na approve yung 2 weeks leave ko
invitation from my bf
photocopy of his passport
coe niya

after 4 days, i got a rejection letter. i felt sad kasi umiyak talaga bf ko and i really felt bad. nagconsult siya ng immigration lawyer sa Sydney and sinabi sa amin na kung ano yung kaya naming ibigay, ibigay na. sumulat din daw kami sa embassy and be honest.

so second application ko eto yung mga sinubmit namin:
itr
coe
bank statement
letter from the president of the homeowners association kasi bumili ako ng lupa pero d pa tapos yung payment so certificate of acquisition lang muna
letter from my lawyer that I will have my court appearance for my annulment in late Feb 2013
my itinerary for my Bali trip coming from Philippines on Feb 20
photocopy of my driver's license, atm and HMO card
my 4 page letter to the australian embassy
my bf's invitation/ letter to the australian embassy
his sister and her husband's invitation letter (they both work in the federal government)
his mum's invitation letter (handwritten
photocopy of his passport with entry stamps during his visits in the philippines
coe
payslip
itinerary
screenshot of her sister's fb messages to me
10 page - random chat logs in whatsapp
35 photos of our vacation

a total of 67 pages worth of documents lahat yun on top of the application form.

it took me a month to prepare all those. advise kasi sa kanya ng immigration lawyer, we need to establish our ties/relationship lalo na that we have plans of settling there next year. tapos at the same time, since TV lang inapplyan ko, kelangan din strong ang ties ko dito sa pilipinas and may dahilan talaga ako ng pagbalik. take note, i didn't give an approved letter from my boss for my 2 month vacation but i submitted the letter from my lawyer and Bali itinerary instead. sabi din ng immi lawyer, it's better to declare our status of our marriages now kasi pag nag apply daw ng prospective marriage visa, at least masisilip daw sa history na nagdeclare kami sa previous application ko. also what we wrote to the embassy is that we will honour the conditions of the visa and breaching those will compromise our future. basta iassure mo lang sila na d ka magooverstay. i lodged my docs at VIA Monday afternoon, I got a message from the embassy acknowledging my application on Tuesday. Saturday morning, I got na my visa grant notice.

[eischied_21]

^ wow, ang hirap pala magapply ng TV. Mas simple pa pala magapply na lang ng PR visa kesa TV hehe

[.Carrie]

Hi. Paano ang tax dyan sa australia? Katulad ba dito sa pinas na malaki ang kaltas? Thank you.

[freeswan]

^^ sis, case to case basis ata eh. pero kasi sa TV kelangan mo iestablish na kilala mo yung bibisitahin mo at kelangan ma prove mo rin na babalik ka dito.

^ yes, malaki sis.

[pinklilac]

sis freeswan, thank u so much for sharing. buti naman at 2nd time around eh na approve na visa mo. first time ko  kase mag apply ng TV.
 4 yrs na kame ng bf ko. ang pinaka worry lang ako eh ma establish na babalik ako dito since unemployed ako.
kinakabahan talaga ako.
makatulong kaya yung strong family ties na part na lang like my anak ako na need ko talaga balikan..God willing makaalis ako ng January need ko rin talaga bumalik kase graduating ang anak ko at bandang march or april yun. makatulong kaya ito?
isa pa wala sa plan namin ang manirahan sa OZ..dito talaga kame sa Pinas mag stay.
sis, pls bigyan mo naman ako ng idea. salamat

[rocky]

bro akthung, ask ko lang kung pwedeng magdala ng dried mango sa oz? ito lang kasi naiisip kong ipasalubong sa mga relatives ni bf pagbalik nya sa oz. TIA

[akthung]

sis pag dating sa ganyan, the immigration officer plays a big part as to whether you can bring the item in or not. kesa gawa pa yan ng multinational company or hindi (strict global standards), nasa officer na humawak sa iyo.

kung understanding yung officer pwede. kung hindi at stricto or by the book, hindi pwede.

basta food, kailangan i declare. pag nahanapan ka nila na may food at hindi mo na declare, pwede kang ma penalize.

ang alam ko sa mga ganyan pwede. at uulitin ko, basta i declare.

you MAY, as in MAY lang, to reconsider what to bring. dami na kasing dried mango sa aus, hindi lang pinas ang nagdridried mango kundi pati Thailand na. (mas mura pa ata)

[bluegintonic]

bro akthung, ask ko lang kung pwedeng magdala ng dried mango sa oz? ito lang kasi naiisip kong ipasalubong sa mga relatives ni bf pagbalik nya sa oz. TIA

In my experience, basta may food kang dala,ide-declare mo lang at pagsama-samahin mo sa isang bag para pag sinabi ng officer na patingin, madali ilabas at isang bag lang bubuksan mo, wala naman naging issue.Napag-pasok ako ng cake (slices),de-lata from pinas,chichirya,pasok naman.Basta processed lang at hindi hilaw (super particular lang sila sa RAW form).Hubby ko napagpasok ng arabic sweets,arabic coffee na vacuum packed,ok din pasok din basta DECLARE mo lang talaga at ipapakita mo ito sa kanila.Tinanong pa ako ng officer na pabiro, "you're from Philippines, right? You have polvoron?" sabi ko lang wala...kilala na nila siguro sa dami ng nagdadala ng food products kung alin ang galing saan

[freeswan]

sis freeswan, thank u so much for sharing. buti naman at 2nd time around eh na approve na visa mo. first time ko  kase mag apply ng TV.
 4 yrs na kame ng bf ko. ang pinaka worry lang ako eh ma establish na babalik ako dito since unemployed ako.
kinakabahan talaga ako.
makatulong kaya yung strong family ties na part na lang like my anak ako na need ko talaga balikan..God willing makaalis ako ng January need ko rin talaga bumalik kase graduating ang anak ko at bandang march or april yun. makatulong kaya ito?
isa pa wala sa plan namin ang manirahan sa OZ..dito talaga kame sa Pinas mag stay.
sis, pls bigyan mo naman ako ng idea. salamat

sis yung graduation ng anak mo pwedeng mong gamitin. pwede ka magrequest sa adviser or principal ng school ng gumawa sila ng letter sa embassy para sabihin gagaraduate ang anak mo at babalik ka to attend the graduation.