So, you may remember me talking about 'The Village' in my earlier post. The Village if you've never seen it, or would like a quick reminder, is cult movie that was originally made in the 1960s and recently re-made and aired. Anyway, it's about a place called 'The Village' where everything is harmonious and people are lovely to each other. However, the catch is - no-one can get out of The Village.
Now, I'm talking about The Village, because that's how I think Perth is like. It's a really nice place, lovely weather (when it's not cold and wet); by the sea (which also also where the The Village is located incidentally), people are generally nice (also just like The Village) - do you see where I'm leading to next? Ok - we seem to be stuck - we can't get out!
Perth, as you may already know, is the most remote city in the world. Well, we were fully aware of this before coming over. However, it is so remote, it has it's own way of doing things. Take day-light saving hours for example - whislt the rest of Australia has signed up to this - Perth (or Western Australia) has their own time zone.
Flights for coming back to the UK - whilst this would cost about £800 for a return from London to Perth - it almost works out to be twice as much to get from Perth to London!
Ah - and it wasn't until recently until the freeways were built, the most popular holiday destination for locals was to Rottnest Island which is half an hour's drive away!
So, you see the resembalance to The Village?..
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Misconceptions
We spoke to a customer service person in Westpac today, and it's been raining and cold. As you do - in England at least - you talk about the weather. Now the customer service guy said to us 'yes, this is what English Summers are like'. Now how does he know what English weathers are like if he's never been to England (so he tells us)? So, I thought I'd write a blog on misconceptions.
1. Australian Winters are not like British Summers!
We've been walking around with big coats and umbrellas since we've landed. Ok - the temperature does go up to 21 degrees C, but it also gets as cold as 7 degree C especially in the mornings. So remember to pack your woolies if you come out during 'Stralia Winter time - and don't forget to pack your trusted umbrella - it's been raining the whole time we've been here!
2. It's cheap to live in Australia - it most certainly isn't!
Ok - the weak £ may have contributed to this, but still, take a pint of beer for example - that'll set you back $10 for a pint. Put it this way, I've never seen Chris so sober in my life...
3. Everything ends with an 'O'
So, the seaside town of Freemantle is called "Freo"; if your name is Steve, you'll be called "Steve'O". But don't make the mistake of calling Aboriginals "Abo" - that's the equivalent of calling Black people the 'N' word - so that's what we found out when we went to a party and started talking about Aboriginals as "Abos" - not a great way to start making friends if you're new to a place...
1. Australian Winters are not like British Summers!
We've been walking around with big coats and umbrellas since we've landed. Ok - the temperature does go up to 21 degrees C, but it also gets as cold as 7 degree C especially in the mornings. So remember to pack your woolies if you come out during 'Stralia Winter time - and don't forget to pack your trusted umbrella - it's been raining the whole time we've been here!
2. It's cheap to live in Australia - it most certainly isn't!
Ok - the weak £ may have contributed to this, but still, take a pint of beer for example - that'll set you back $10 for a pint. Put it this way, I've never seen Chris so sober in my life...
3. Everything ends with an 'O'
So, the seaside town of Freemantle is called "Freo"; if your name is Steve, you'll be called "Steve'O". But don't make the mistake of calling Aboriginals "Abo" - that's the equivalent of calling Black people the 'N' word - so that's what we found out when we went to a party and started talking about Aboriginals as "Abos" - not a great way to start making friends if you're new to a place...
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Twelve
Now, if you have been watching the re-make of the 1960s cult movie 'The Village' - you would have been sucked into the number/name calling of '2', '6', '313', '11-12' of the lead characters. Who is '2', who is '6', where do they come from?...
We came across a phrase 'twelve' in Perth. Now, I'm not convinced that the term 'twelve' refers to '12 years old' when talking about a person.
The first encounter was on a bus going to view a rental apartment. We got on the bus, and a lady and her daughter were in front of us. Now they seemed to be quite new to Perth, as they were fumbling around and looking unsure of things. I overheard the lady ask the bus driver for 1 adult and 1 concession ticket. Now concessions, as you can gather, are for students or for OAPS. The bus driver looked at her daughter - now I would have done as well, as the daughter was dressed in a thin white t-shirt with a conspicuous red bra underneath, with a low slung hipster mini skirt on. Seeing the bus driver double checking the age of the daughter, the lady replied 'she's twelve'. Now what mother would allow her 12 year old daughter to dress like that?!
The other encounter was on the train going to Freemantle. There were a group of girls who looked between 14-16 years old. They were talking really loudly and we couldn't help but overhear what they were talking about. As young girls they were talking about fashion, bitching about other girls, and of course, boys. On the topic of boys, one of the girls was talking about fancying a guy in the SAS, and he said he'd go out with her when she turns 12. Now, am I showing my age, or is 12 too young an age to be going out with someone?...
Surely '12' does not mean '12 years old'? So the question, is who or what is 12?....
We came across a phrase 'twelve' in Perth. Now, I'm not convinced that the term 'twelve' refers to '12 years old' when talking about a person.
The first encounter was on a bus going to view a rental apartment. We got on the bus, and a lady and her daughter were in front of us. Now they seemed to be quite new to Perth, as they were fumbling around and looking unsure of things. I overheard the lady ask the bus driver for 1 adult and 1 concession ticket. Now concessions, as you can gather, are for students or for OAPS. The bus driver looked at her daughter - now I would have done as well, as the daughter was dressed in a thin white t-shirt with a conspicuous red bra underneath, with a low slung hipster mini skirt on. Seeing the bus driver double checking the age of the daughter, the lady replied 'she's twelve'. Now what mother would allow her 12 year old daughter to dress like that?!
The other encounter was on the train going to Freemantle. There were a group of girls who looked between 14-16 years old. They were talking really loudly and we couldn't help but overhear what they were talking about. As young girls they were talking about fashion, bitching about other girls, and of course, boys. On the topic of boys, one of the girls was talking about fancying a guy in the SAS, and he said he'd go out with her when she turns 12. Now, am I showing my age, or is 12 too young an age to be going out with someone?...
Surely '12' does not mean '12 years old'? So the question, is who or what is 12?....
Northbridge
There's any area in Perth known as Northbridge. Now as newcomers to Perth, we have been checking areas where we can rent for a few years. Having done some online research back in the UK, we shortlisted Northbridge as potential area to live as it was relatively central, had some new build swanky apartments at relatively good rental rates.
Now, it seems that 'locals' have a different view about Northbridge. I want to put my thoughts down about Northbridge before I live here long enough to become a 'local' and hold the same 'local' views.
Our first encounter that Northbridge is a 'no no' area was with the taxi driver the first night we landed in Perth. As you do with taxi drivers, you have a general conversation with them. Asking the taxi driver what he thought of Northbridge as an area to live, he first evaded answering the question, and later when pursued with the same question - he politely mentioned that that was a place of 'partying'. Now we didn't realise how bad a reputation Northbridge had, as we later realised that the taxi driver was not simply being polite, but actually turning his nose up on this by not even wanting to discuss this topic.
So the reputation for Northbridge is not just a party area where everything kicks off at closing time, but also a socially deprived area where the working class and Maoris live, where drugs are prolifertate - ok this being Perth, we are talking about Crystal Meth here.
However, Chris and I have walked through Northbridge quite a few times now, and we absolutely love Northbridge - ok not enough as a place to live - granted, this is the loci where pubs and clubs congregate, but there is a real vibe to the area.
Our first encounter to Northbridge was on our first evening in Perth. As mentioned before, Northbridge is very close to the Central Business District, so it's not hard to find yourself wandering into Northbridge if you're exploring Perth for the first time.
On entering Northbridge, we found this to be a young, quite hippy area, where you can imagine back packers coming here, or arty students. Now, if Chris and I were 5 - 10 years younger, we would have loved this place. Being in our mid 30s where we don't fall into the too young, nor too old camps - we actually loved the vibe of the area.
You'll also find Chinatown in Northbridge where there are a lot of Chinese/Japanese/Korean and other oriental restaurants and shops. If you wander pass Roe Street, you'll see a hawkers market where there are lots of food stalls selling anything from Chinese to Indian food, and you can get a good meal here for a little over $10.
Further along, you'll pass a few pizza, pasta (Western) food places and a few good bars and pubs - not to forget a good Irish bar whereever you go - Rose O'Grady's. There's also a square with a big plasma TV where people congregate to watch the latest footie match outside.
Now, it seems that 'locals' have a different view about Northbridge. I want to put my thoughts down about Northbridge before I live here long enough to become a 'local' and hold the same 'local' views.
Our first encounter that Northbridge is a 'no no' area was with the taxi driver the first night we landed in Perth. As you do with taxi drivers, you have a general conversation with them. Asking the taxi driver what he thought of Northbridge as an area to live, he first evaded answering the question, and later when pursued with the same question - he politely mentioned that that was a place of 'partying'. Now we didn't realise how bad a reputation Northbridge had, as we later realised that the taxi driver was not simply being polite, but actually turning his nose up on this by not even wanting to discuss this topic.
So the reputation for Northbridge is not just a party area where everything kicks off at closing time, but also a socially deprived area where the working class and Maoris live, where drugs are prolifertate - ok this being Perth, we are talking about Crystal Meth here.
However, Chris and I have walked through Northbridge quite a few times now, and we absolutely love Northbridge - ok not enough as a place to live - granted, this is the loci where pubs and clubs congregate, but there is a real vibe to the area.
Our first encounter to Northbridge was on our first evening in Perth. As mentioned before, Northbridge is very close to the Central Business District, so it's not hard to find yourself wandering into Northbridge if you're exploring Perth for the first time.
On entering Northbridge, we found this to be a young, quite hippy area, where you can imagine back packers coming here, or arty students. Now, if Chris and I were 5 - 10 years younger, we would have loved this place. Being in our mid 30s where we don't fall into the too young, nor too old camps - we actually loved the vibe of the area.
You'll also find Chinatown in Northbridge where there are a lot of Chinese/Japanese/Korean and other oriental restaurants and shops. If you wander pass Roe Street, you'll see a hawkers market where there are lots of food stalls selling anything from Chinese to Indian food, and you can get a good meal here for a little over $10.
Further along, you'll pass a few pizza, pasta (Western) food places and a few good bars and pubs - not to forget a good Irish bar whereever you go - Rose O'Grady's. There's also a square with a big plasma TV where people congregate to watch the latest footie match outside.
Public Transport
I must confess, we have been very impressed with the public transport here.
First, there is the CAT system, which stands for Central Area Transport system. These are basically free buses which you can hop on and off as many times as you like when the buses are running. Granted, this being Perth - the buses run every 10 mins mon-friday during your typical working hours; and every 30 mins on weekends and evenings. However, if you hop on any other bus which runs through the central business district, you can also travel for free as well, and there are always plenty of buses going pass the central business district. We haven't worked out how bus drivers know whether you are going for a short ride or a long ride - short ride being within the central area - as typically you have to tag on and off with a Smartrider card (which is similar to an Oyster card you get in London).
Then, there is the train/underground system. There are 5 lines which all start and meet at Perth Central, taking you to different suburbs in Greater Perth. The furthest point (to Mandurah) takes 1 hour, but the other lines typically take 30 mins the most to get the the end of the train line.
We went to Freemantle on Saturday just gone - it's on the Freemantle line, and the last stop is Freemantle (surprise surprise); this took about 30 mins from Perth Central, which is brilliant, as this is a seaside/beach town - and only half an hour away from Perth Central! After having fresh BBQ squid at Freemantle for dinner, we took the train back to Perth Central. By this time, it was getting to be 'party hour'. There were a lot of young'uns getting on the train going into Perth Central, all dressed up and super hyped up for a night out on the town.
Now you're approaching anything like my age (mid 30s), then the thought of super-hyped up kids going into town whilst you're about to hit the sack does not sound enticing; and paranoia kicks in where you start to think you can be attacked by one of these kids.However, we were pleasantly surprised and reassured to see some Officers on the train making sure that these kids were behaving themselves. Now these Officers double up as ticket inspectors as well, as we recognized them from our earlier trip out to Freemantle where they were checking our tickets.
The added bonus as well, was that these Officers were the type you did not want to mess around with, unlike the Underground Angels we used to get on the London Underground or the Community Officers we get in London where they have no legal jurisdiction over you, nor look like the type that can help you if you were set upon by any drunken hooligan.
First, there is the CAT system, which stands for Central Area Transport system. These are basically free buses which you can hop on and off as many times as you like when the buses are running. Granted, this being Perth - the buses run every 10 mins mon-friday during your typical working hours; and every 30 mins on weekends and evenings. However, if you hop on any other bus which runs through the central business district, you can also travel for free as well, and there are always plenty of buses going pass the central business district. We haven't worked out how bus drivers know whether you are going for a short ride or a long ride - short ride being within the central area - as typically you have to tag on and off with a Smartrider card (which is similar to an Oyster card you get in London).
Then, there is the train/underground system. There are 5 lines which all start and meet at Perth Central, taking you to different suburbs in Greater Perth. The furthest point (to Mandurah) takes 1 hour, but the other lines typically take 30 mins the most to get the the end of the train line.
We went to Freemantle on Saturday just gone - it's on the Freemantle line, and the last stop is Freemantle (surprise surprise); this took about 30 mins from Perth Central, which is brilliant, as this is a seaside/beach town - and only half an hour away from Perth Central! After having fresh BBQ squid at Freemantle for dinner, we took the train back to Perth Central. By this time, it was getting to be 'party hour'. There were a lot of young'uns getting on the train going into Perth Central, all dressed up and super hyped up for a night out on the town.
Now you're approaching anything like my age (mid 30s), then the thought of super-hyped up kids going into town whilst you're about to hit the sack does not sound enticing; and paranoia kicks in where you start to think you can be attacked by one of these kids.However, we were pleasantly surprised and reassured to see some Officers on the train making sure that these kids were behaving themselves. Now these Officers double up as ticket inspectors as well, as we recognized them from our earlier trip out to Freemantle where they were checking our tickets.
The added bonus as well, was that these Officers were the type you did not want to mess around with, unlike the Underground Angels we used to get on the London Underground or the Community Officers we get in London where they have no legal jurisdiction over you, nor look like the type that can help you if you were set upon by any drunken hooligan.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Estate agents
A quick update on our experience with estate agents in Perth
1. Customer service and estate agents do not go together.
Working hours are typically 9-5pm, Mon-Friday. Now if you are working and house hunting at the same time, make sure your boss is very understanding if you have to pop in and out of the office to view properties.
When viewing properties, make sure you allow yourself plenty of time. Arrive early, because if you are late, don't expect them to hang around for you. However, if they are late, do expect that you should hang around for them.
2. How many estate agent personnel does it take to show a property? Answer: more than necessary.
So, you get a property manager who is assigned to a property. So, if you want to view a particular property, you have to get through to the right property manager, then find out when he/she is available before arranging a viewing.Then revert to Point 1, making sure you can take time out mon-fri 9-5pm.
3. Open house viewings
So there are 'open house viewings' which basically means that certain properties are open for viewing at a certain times. We've been turning up to a few of these, which has been great as we have been able to view properties at a short notice because of these open viewings. However, we've also noticed that these open viewings are open regardless if anyone turns up or not - no wonder we've been finding it difficult to get hold of property managers, because they're always out showing at properties whether anyone shows up or not...
CAMP SHANE
We've been viewing a few properties now with the same estate agent and have been meeting the same property manager - Camp Shane (he's called Shane, and either very camp or very gay). Bearing in mind points 1 and 2 of the above, we've been meeting Camp Shane more by accident than by design through the open house viewings. We've turned up to a few open house viewings which Camp Shane is responsible for.
Now, Camp Shane seems always to be in a rush. We have not figured out why he is always in a rush. Take the last viewing we went to with Camp Shane.We saw 2 apartments with him at 12.50pm in the same apartment block. The next viewing was at 1.30pm which Camp Shane is also responsible for. Camp Shane suddenly disappeared and returned 10 mins later all huffing and puffing - why - we're not sure, as the next viewing was literally the block opposite and we had been sitting outside for 10 mins...
1. Customer service and estate agents do not go together.
Working hours are typically 9-5pm, Mon-Friday. Now if you are working and house hunting at the same time, make sure your boss is very understanding if you have to pop in and out of the office to view properties.
When viewing properties, make sure you allow yourself plenty of time. Arrive early, because if you are late, don't expect them to hang around for you. However, if they are late, do expect that you should hang around for them.
2. How many estate agent personnel does it take to show a property? Answer: more than necessary.
So, you get a property manager who is assigned to a property. So, if you want to view a particular property, you have to get through to the right property manager, then find out when he/she is available before arranging a viewing.Then revert to Point 1, making sure you can take time out mon-fri 9-5pm.
3. Open house viewings
So there are 'open house viewings' which basically means that certain properties are open for viewing at a certain times. We've been turning up to a few of these, which has been great as we have been able to view properties at a short notice because of these open viewings. However, we've also noticed that these open viewings are open regardless if anyone turns up or not - no wonder we've been finding it difficult to get hold of property managers, because they're always out showing at properties whether anyone shows up or not...
CAMP SHANE
We've been viewing a few properties now with the same estate agent and have been meeting the same property manager - Camp Shane (he's called Shane, and either very camp or very gay). Bearing in mind points 1 and 2 of the above, we've been meeting Camp Shane more by accident than by design through the open house viewings. We've turned up to a few open house viewings which Camp Shane is responsible for.
Now, Camp Shane seems always to be in a rush. We have not figured out why he is always in a rush. Take the last viewing we went to with Camp Shane.We saw 2 apartments with him at 12.50pm in the same apartment block. The next viewing was at 1.30pm which Camp Shane is also responsible for. Camp Shane suddenly disappeared and returned 10 mins later all huffing and puffing - why - we're not sure, as the next viewing was literally the block opposite and we had been sitting outside for 10 mins...
Blogging from the hotel!
Ok - so it's 11pm in the evening at the moment, and I'm blogging from the hotel. 3 days trotting backwards and forwards to McDonalds has been taking its toll on us - and I must confess, I am an internet addict. I suddenly feel really alive now that we have internet connection in the hotel room. The TV is on in the background - but that's more background noise more than anything.
So, I've just been surfing to find out how to unlock my mobile phone, but I'm not having much luck there. I may have to drag myself around a mobile unlock shop tomorrow to see if someone can unlock my phone for me. We've just bought a Pre-Paid sim card from the local Woolworths, so we can leave a contact number for estate agents to contact us on.
We've been calling estate agents from the hotel room or from public telephones (because its cheaper than calling from the hotel!), but each time they ask us for a contact number, we have been saying that we'll call them back or to email us. Of course emailing us is no good, as we have to keep dragging oursleves to McDonalds to get free wifi connection. So, we've decided to get a pre-paid sim card from Woolworths so estate agents can have a contact number to call us back on.
Anyway, you may have noticed that I've just mentioned Woolworths - yes Woolworths! You may have thought that all Woolworths have shut down now (as we did), but Woolworths is actually a supermarket over here. And you can't get any booze from Woolworths - so we've - or at least Chris has - been pretty tee-total so far.
Before I forget, I thought I'd tell you about the telephone system over here - it really feels like England 10 years ago here - you get charged a connection fee whenever you make a call - yes, a connection fee - how backwards is that?! Anyway, Perth estate agents seem quick laid back here - you wouldn't believe the number of times we've got through to an answer phone - the trick is to hang up just before you get put through to an answer phone, or else you get charged for both a connection fee and a machine!
So, I've just been surfing to find out how to unlock my mobile phone, but I'm not having much luck there. I may have to drag myself around a mobile unlock shop tomorrow to see if someone can unlock my phone for me. We've just bought a Pre-Paid sim card from the local Woolworths, so we can leave a contact number for estate agents to contact us on.
We've been calling estate agents from the hotel room or from public telephones (because its cheaper than calling from the hotel!), but each time they ask us for a contact number, we have been saying that we'll call them back or to email us. Of course emailing us is no good, as we have to keep dragging oursleves to McDonalds to get free wifi connection. So, we've decided to get a pre-paid sim card from Woolworths so estate agents can have a contact number to call us back on.
Anyway, you may have noticed that I've just mentioned Woolworths - yes Woolworths! You may have thought that all Woolworths have shut down now (as we did), but Woolworths is actually a supermarket over here. And you can't get any booze from Woolworths - so we've - or at least Chris has - been pretty tee-total so far.
Before I forget, I thought I'd tell you about the telephone system over here - it really feels like England 10 years ago here - you get charged a connection fee whenever you make a call - yes, a connection fee - how backwards is that?! Anyway, Perth estate agents seem quick laid back here - you wouldn't believe the number of times we've got through to an answer phone - the trick is to hang up just before you get put through to an answer phone, or else you get charged for both a connection fee and a machine!
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
McDonalds
Ok - we're now into the 3rd day off landing in Perth. With no free wifi access in the hotel we're staying at, we've had to resign to the local McDonalds to get free internet access.
We can seriously consider ourselves as part of the McDonald's fixtures. That's including Speedy Gonzalez (not) - who is a lady in her 50s, serving us coffee behind the McCafe counter. Bless her she's a lovely lady, but MEGA slow! There's also the Chavtastic Five as well - a group of five chaves who permanently hang out outside and inside this particular McDonalds. I'm blogging from McDonalds at the moment, and yes, we have been served by Speedy and also encountered Chavtastic Five. We have both our laptops and our iPad, and Chavtastic Five has been coming in and out of McDonalds passing my way - I've had to be on the alert in case they pounce on any of our laptops.
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I thought I'd come back and update this section on Chavtastic Five. As we were about to leave McDonalds, we saw Chavtastic Red handcuffed and taken into a police car. Chavtastic Red wears a red hoody and has red hair to go with his red hoody. Speedy tells us that Chavtatistic Red has been threatening a kid with a knife outside McDonalds earlier today, and also as the kid came out of McDonalds, Chavtastic Red went to punch the kid in the stomach. Well - they're not called Chavtatsic for no reason.
And we're really excited and exasperated at the same time to find out that Speedy has a son who is just as speedy as her..Speedy Junior.. - we were served a cup of hot chocolate by Speedy Junior one evening, and it took what felt like half an hour to be served a drink in the McCafe!
We can seriously consider ourselves as part of the McDonald's fixtures. That's including Speedy Gonzalez (not) - who is a lady in her 50s, serving us coffee behind the McCafe counter. Bless her she's a lovely lady, but MEGA slow! There's also the Chavtastic Five as well - a group of five chaves who permanently hang out outside and inside this particular McDonalds. I'm blogging from McDonalds at the moment, and yes, we have been served by Speedy and also encountered Chavtastic Five. We have both our laptops and our iPad, and Chavtastic Five has been coming in and out of McDonalds passing my way - I've had to be on the alert in case they pounce on any of our laptops.
---
I thought I'd come back and update this section on Chavtastic Five. As we were about to leave McDonalds, we saw Chavtastic Red handcuffed and taken into a police car. Chavtastic Red wears a red hoody and has red hair to go with his red hoody. Speedy tells us that Chavtatistic Red has been threatening a kid with a knife outside McDonalds earlier today, and also as the kid came out of McDonalds, Chavtastic Red went to punch the kid in the stomach. Well - they're not called Chavtatsic for no reason.
And we're really excited and exasperated at the same time to find out that Speedy has a son who is just as speedy as her..Speedy Junior.. - we were served a cup of hot chocolate by Speedy Junior one evening, and it took what felt like half an hour to be served a drink in the McCafe!
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Making our way
After having sold the flat, we have literally been living out of our suitcases for the past four weeks. We're now finally making our way to Perth. Last UK destination was Liverpool to see the in-laws. So now begins our epic journey from Liverpool to Perth with a 2 hr train journey from Liverpool Lime St to London Euston. My folks will be meeting me at Euston train station to see me and Chris off, so a quick stop there, followed by trying to navigate the tube system to Victoria station. Lucky Euston to Victoria are both on the same Victoria line, or else it would be a bit of a nightmare.
Then hopping onto the Gatwick Express to the north terminal. I've never really found Gatwick easy to get to, so this will be interesting.
From there, we'll be flying with Emirates to Dubai (6.5 hrs flight), with a 3 hr stop over, and then another 10 hrs. So we'll finally arrive in Perth on Tuesday morning, after travelling for 2 days.
I'm actually writing this blog on a Virgin train at the moment, as we're making our way from Liverpool to London. So, we (Chris is sitting opposite me at the moment) have just spotted the trolley lady coming along with food and drinks. Just to put this in context, we usually travel economy when we do go on the trains.
In this particular case, as Chris is a bit of a snob and also for reasons of security - we have our life belongings on on us - we have ended up travelling first class. So we travelled up on fist class on the way up to Liverpool (yesterday - which was a Saturday), and also first class today going back down to London.
Typically on first class carriages, they offer you free food and drinks. So, yesterday, we saved our stomachs for the food and drink in our first class carriage, only to be offered cold coffee by a very disgruntled looking trolley man. Obviously, being still hungry and thirsty, we decided to get some more food and drink from the shop, only to notice that other first class passengers were getting coffees, crisps and biscuits - per person!
So, now we see the trolley lady coming along, we're ready to grab everything on offer off the trolley (even though we've both just had a massive roast lunch..).
Then hopping onto the Gatwick Express to the north terminal. I've never really found Gatwick easy to get to, so this will be interesting.
From there, we'll be flying with Emirates to Dubai (6.5 hrs flight), with a 3 hr stop over, and then another 10 hrs. So we'll finally arrive in Perth on Tuesday morning, after travelling for 2 days.
I'm actually writing this blog on a Virgin train at the moment, as we're making our way from Liverpool to London. So, we (Chris is sitting opposite me at the moment) have just spotted the trolley lady coming along with food and drinks. Just to put this in context, we usually travel economy when we do go on the trains.
In this particular case, as Chris is a bit of a snob and also for reasons of security - we have our life belongings on on us - we have ended up travelling first class. So we travelled up on fist class on the way up to Liverpool (yesterday - which was a Saturday), and also first class today going back down to London.
Typically on first class carriages, they offer you free food and drinks. So, yesterday, we saved our stomachs for the food and drink in our first class carriage, only to be offered cold coffee by a very disgruntled looking trolley man. Obviously, being still hungry and thirsty, we decided to get some more food and drink from the shop, only to notice that other first class passengers were getting coffees, crisps and biscuits - per person!
So, now we see the trolley lady coming along, we're ready to grab everything on offer off the trolley (even though we've both just had a massive roast lunch..).
Friday, 11 June 2010
UK savings tax exemption
If you still have bank accounts in the UK, then you should be entitled to tax exemptions from any interest you've earned.
The form to fill in is R105. Banks are a little funny here, some recognise and accept R105 forms, some don't. As with banks, you'll be offered different information from different people, so do ask around.
If you've tried different avenues, and still having no luck, then there is a P85 form you can fill in. This is a general form which you send to the Inland Revenue to tell them that you have left the country. You can then claim any tax back from them afterwards.
The form to fill in is R105. Banks are a little funny here, some recognise and accept R105 forms, some don't. As with banks, you'll be offered different information from different people, so do ask around.
If you've tried different avenues, and still having no luck, then there is a P85 form you can fill in. This is a general form which you send to the Inland Revenue to tell them that you have left the country. You can then claim any tax back from them afterwards.
Open Aussie bank account
We've managed to open a bank account with WestPac from the UK.
The beauty of this, is that all IDs have been checked - no need to do this over in Oz, making it slightly easier.
Also, by opening this in the UK, we can transfer money over to a Oz bank account and have some money ready for us to use once we're over there.
There is a Westpac branch in London, where I went to open my account.
All Ozzie banks charge you approx $5 for for simply having a current account. With the Westpac account, this $5 is waived for the first 6 months, and after that this is also waived, if you have $2k+ coming in from your monthly salary.
The e-saver is also very good, offering 6% interest rate which is calculated and paid on a monthly basis. To access the money from this, you would have to transfer your money from the e-saver to your current account.
The beauty of this, is that all IDs have been checked - no need to do this over in Oz, making it slightly easier.
Also, by opening this in the UK, we can transfer money over to a Oz bank account and have some money ready for us to use once we're over there.
There is a Westpac branch in London, where I went to open my account.
All Ozzie banks charge you approx $5 for for simply having a current account. With the Westpac account, this $5 is waived for the first 6 months, and after that this is also waived, if you have $2k+ coming in from your monthly salary.
The e-saver is also very good, offering 6% interest rate which is calculated and paid on a monthly basis. To access the money from this, you would have to transfer your money from the e-saver to your current account.
Currency Exchange
I've just had some friends ask me about best ways to transfer money from UK to Oz, so thought I'd quickly post this up as well.
I'm using either http://www.xe.com/ or http://www.hifx.co.uk/.
I've had friends use both services (different friends using different services), and they were happy with the services from either of these two currency exchangers.
The exchange rate is more competitive than going to a bank. If you use electronic transfer (bank account-bank account, or debit/credit card) - there is no transfer fee. xe.com and hifx both make their money from volume trading.
Xe.com is based in Canada. The beauty of this is that trading is open 24/7.
Hifix.co.uk only opens for trading UK times ie mon-sat 8am-6pm, and closes on public holidays.
Xe.com however, only allows you to trade up to a maximum amount in any one transaction (about £5k).
Hifix.co.uk allows you to trade up to £50k in any one transaction.
In terms of competitiveness, I have found xe.com exchange rates more competitive, but I always compare the two services side by side just in case.
Don't wire money across, or use drafts as this is both slow and expensive.
Any further questions, let me know, and I hope I can answer.
I'm using either http://www.xe.com/ or http://www.hifx.co.uk/.
I've had friends use both services (different friends using different services), and they were happy with the services from either of these two currency exchangers.
The exchange rate is more competitive than going to a bank. If you use electronic transfer (bank account-bank account, or debit/credit card) - there is no transfer fee. xe.com and hifx both make their money from volume trading.
Xe.com is based in Canada. The beauty of this is that trading is open 24/7.
Hifix.co.uk only opens for trading UK times ie mon-sat 8am-6pm, and closes on public holidays.
Xe.com however, only allows you to trade up to a maximum amount in any one transaction (about £5k).
Hifix.co.uk allows you to trade up to £50k in any one transaction.
In terms of competitiveness, I have found xe.com exchange rates more competitive, but I always compare the two services side by side just in case.
Don't wire money across, or use drafts as this is both slow and expensive.
Any further questions, let me know, and I hope I can answer.
Flights
We're flying out with Emirates, as they allow you to take up to 30kg of baggage allowance.
Singpore Airlines also allow you to carry up to 30kg of checked-in baggage.
Other airlines typically allow you to take 20kg.
Also, we've booked flights with Flight Centre. We've had good experiences with them in the past, and they always try to beat any cheaper price you find elsewhere - ok, this may only be £1 cheaper, but at least you have someone to talk to you, if you have any questions.
Singpore Airlines also allow you to carry up to 30kg of checked-in baggage.
Other airlines typically allow you to take 20kg.
Also, we've booked flights with Flight Centre. We've had good experiences with them in the past, and they always try to beat any cheaper price you find elsewhere - ok, this may only be £1 cheaper, but at least you have someone to talk to you, if you have any questions.
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