A Guide to Moving to Sydney Australia

Voted the best city to live in in Australia, and the tenth in the world, it’s no surprise that Sydney is one of the most popular cities for oversea tourists to live in. Here is my guide to moving Sydney, from visas, to accommodation to finding a job.

VISA

The first thing you need to think about before moving to Australia is a visa that gives you the right to work. You can check out all of the available visas here.

I applied for the Working Holiday Visa two months before moving to Australia. This visa is for people aged from 18 and 30 years who want to work in Australia for up to one year. You can only work for six months with one employer with this visa. My visa took two weeks to be processed, and they say that 90% of applications are processed in 35 days

When applying for a visa make sure you have a passport that is valid for at least two years.

CHOOSING WHERE TO LIVE IN SYDNEY

Here are the most popular central Sydney suburbs to live in and their perks:

Bondi
-Right by the beach.
-30 to 40 minute bus ride to the centre.

Bondi Junction
-A big mall with plenty of shops.
-10 minute T4 train to the centre.
-30 minute walk or 15 minute bus to the beach.

Paddington
-Very central
-20 minute bus ride to the centre

Surry Hills
-5 to 10 minute train ride of the centre, either T1 or T2.
-Good mix of shops/restaurants

Newtown
-Trendy suburb with plenty of vegan restaurants
-20 minute T2 train to the centre

FINDING ACCOMMODATION

Once you have an idea of where you want to live it’s time to to find a home!

We booked a temporary airbnb whilst we were looking for a more permanent home, book through my link to get €25 off your first stay. Or book your accommodation via my Booking.com link and enjoy a $40 refund off your next stay! (you don’t need a new account!)

I set up an account on flatmates and also kept my eye open on various Facebook groups. On flatmates you can’t contact new adverts if you have a free account but they can contact, you so make sure you share your phone number.

MEDICAL CARE

You can get a Medicare card if you visit Australia from a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement country. This means that some of your costs for medical care in Australia may be covered.

You can apply for this free card if you are from Belgium, Finland,Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden or the UK. Just head to your local Medicare centre with your passport and visa information.

SETTING UP A BANK ACCOUNT

There are three main banks in Australia – Westpac, CBA and NAB. These are all easy to open and are free as long as you have a certain amount of income each month.

You can sign up online and then you will need to visit a branch to prove your identity with your passport.

They are all fairly similar, I personally signed up for Westpac as, at the time, they had a 50$ promotion running is you signed up online. I would recommend going onto each of their websites and having a look at what works best for you.

FINDING A JOB

There are plenty of temporary agencies in Sydney, most of them advertise on Seek. This is where I personally found my job. You should also check out Hays and Indeed.

Whilst job hunting you will come across a thing called ‘super’. Super is a pension plan that everyone pays. Make sure your salary is plus super, as when you leave Australia you will only get a tiny percentage of this back. If you salary is inclusive of super then you will have taxes and your pension deducted from your pay.

You will need to apply for a tax number in order to work in Australia. This is easy to do, you can apply online and then you just need to wait to receive your tax number in the mail.

All the best moving to Sydney! It is a beautiful and fun city to live in, with plenty of breathtaking coastline and national parks to explore.

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