Moving to Sydney for I year
 

My daughter is moving to Sydney for a year through a student program. She will be given some assistance during first few days after arrival but then she's on her own.I of course am concerned about risk, whereas she wants to have a "life experience". Anyhow, she needs a job and a place to live. Any ideas on where she should start? Maybe some advice on where not to go/what not to do?! She will be out there next week (February 9). Your assistance is much appreciated. Thanks.

dusty, can you let us know how old she is and where she will be a student and we can maybe help you more then.

Hi, dusty55.

Have the people organising the student program not provided any advice in regard to work permits and residential options? Surely they have? Sorry to sound negative, but it's somewhat late in the piece to start addressing fundamentals like living arrangements and earning a living! Anyway, Peteralan is right - more info will produce more useable input.

Sydney is a comparatively safe place providing simple common sense is applied, but of course any big city presents a range of interesting opportunities to get oneself into trouble. Much will depend on your daughter's age/maturity/street-smarts, which will influence her selection of friends. She should have a great life experience, really, but obviously some basics need to be addressed in a BIG hurry.

Hi
thanks for being so thoughtful all.
She is 18 just.. completed high school here in Canada.
The student program has provided a working visa, a couple of days in a hostel, some advice about banking etc. She will be in the eastern area of Sydney. She has street smarts somewhat...lived in Toronto but Toronto is not an international port like Sydney. It appears she has to find her own job and place to live after the hostel time is up. She has worked in film (production assistant, actress)and as a waitress. Ideas?Thanks for all your help.

No particular knowledge here, but film work might be a possibility. Sydney is a very busy film-making centre, with (like Canada) many Hollywood productions outsourced to Australian production houses (eg the Matrix series). You could start with Fox Studios - check http://www.foxstudiosaustralia.com/p...?e_page=618378

In the meantime, your daughter should have no problem getting waitressing work in Sydney - best idea would be for her to print a stack of copies of her resume and just hit restaurants and cafes in any busy inner-city location with virtually wall-to-wall eateries, like Darlinghurst, Glebe, Newtown, Surry Hills.

Someone else may care to comment on the accommodation issue. Whatever she does she'll need a cash float to pay refundable rental bond (as much as a month's rent) and maybe the first two weeks' rent in advance. Young Australians in your daughter's position usually apply for a spare slot in a "group house", sharing rent and utilities. It would take some time though for her to trawl through ads and make appointments.

An option might be to try accessing the "roommate wanted" ads on university campuses - don't have any precise directions, though. Maybe some Sydney Fodorites can help?

She'll probably want to get a room in a shared house. Opinions will vary on where is the best place to live - near the beach, near the city ... Best to live close or close-ish to where you work I reckon for obvious reasons.

So bearing that in mind - best places to look for rooms in shared houses? The customer notice board in the local Woolies or Coles (supermarkets) - stuck to lamp-posts in places like Glebe and Balmain (old established inner west suburbs within 5km of the CBD) or St Leonards (apartment land north of the harbour). I guess Paddington and Darlinghurst and Surry Hills too (long established inner east suburbs) would be the same. And really anywhere that a lot of young WHV folk congregate - Bondi, Manly.

Another place to look would be the rentals section of the SMH. It's on line too at domain.com but I honestly don't know if the shared accommodation part makes it there from print.

I'm sure she will have a fabulous time - Sydney is a fascinating city and I've never felt unsafe here.

Hey all.
I hadn’t been on this Forum for so long that I forgot my passwords and had to re-register. I came to Sydney as a student myself and been here for over a year now. There are loads of other Canadian and Foreign exchange students that your daughter will feel very much at home here. Since you mentioned the eastern suburbs I presume she is coming to UNSW ? :)
I’m sure the study abroad office had already given her most of the standard information, but most of us ending up learning the useful stuff from the other students who are already here. Finding accommodation isn’t usually too hard for a Canadian since there will be a lot other Canadians and Europeans who arrive just as she did and will be looking to get together to find a flat or house to share. The housing office at the University offers a lot of advice, but sometimes a good place can be hard to find if you don’t come at least 2 weeks prior to the start of semester.
Jobs can be a bit harder to find, but once again she has to settle down, get familiar with the area and know where to look and what to expect. As hard as all this might sound it all happens quickly once you arrive and start living among similar minded people.
Sydney is relatively a very safe place with very friendly people. It’s a big city with a lot of fascinating sights and things to do, every Canadian friend I have absolutely love this place. There are lot of questions you and your daughter might have and I would love to answer them as all, so please do not hesitate to ask or mail me

thank you.
this is the 'daughter' speaking.
I do have a few questions, about more intriquet things that i should know about.
I am not going to be a student, my mother said that because i am going with SWAP (student work abroad program), but it doesn;t mean I'll be a student. however, that may be an option, to live around them... cheap accomodation.
anyways... .hit me back on my email?
[email protected].
just so i know you got this.
and we can talk more in depth about stuff.
thanks for your help,
s.f.

I would certainly prefer the university notice board option, especially if you have any intention to study. Or notice boards of places that reflect your interest eg Sports club, hobbies....I said this partly because of our own experiences as university students rooming with others. This is not the forum to relate stories of housemates from hell, so I won't labor the point. Sydney is a safe city, but excercise common sense.
I once worked in an office on Crown Street, Surry Hills. That area has s number of nice restaurants, but having an appropriate resume would give you a better chance to work in a nice establishment. In my student days I have tried walking into hotels and asking for jobs - once getting a favourable response from Kables of Regent Hotel.
But if you really wish to explore the film industry - I was just chatting with a friend who works in film production - the advice is to develop contacts within that industry. The place to begin is to google 'Portfolio and Reel'. It will help put you in contact with the right people. But it would take perseverence on you side.

Look at http://sydney.craigslist.org/

WK