…about immigrating to Melbourne.
- Pronunciation: Mel-bin, not Mel-born or Mel-burn, Mel-bin. I guess they forgot that there is an “R” in the second syllable. We’re just going to roll with it, since we already stand out enough.
- Banking: The banks here charge for everything (making a deposit or withdrawal, talking to the teller, having not enough money in your account, using the ATM, everything!), except NAB, which is why we chose NAB. Apparently you can open your bank account online before you actually arrive, which I did not know. Had I known this, a Visa debit card would have been waiting for me upon arrival. Since I did not do this, I walked into a branch and opened my account on the spot with just my Passport and US Drivers License.
- Tax File Number: Everyone will tell you to go to the Post Office pick-up and file your TFN paperwork, so I did this. The Post Office employees told me to get the paperwork online, fill it out and bring it back to them. I live in a hotel, which means I don’t have a printer….Turns out, you can just file your TFN paperwork online without ever seeing the inside of the Post Office or figuring out what 100 points of identification means.
- Medicare: My employer told me to register for medicare, which is Australia’s social health program. Turns out that as a US Citizen on a Visa 457, I am not eligible because the US does not reciprocate.
- Driving: Everything is backwards. They drive on the left side of the road and sit on the right side of the car, which means your signal light is on the right side of the steering wheel and your wiper toggle is on the left. The first time you ride as a passenger in what should be the driver’s seat is weird! I kept feeling like I should be able to look in the rear view mirror and see what was happening behind.
- House Hunting: It’s quite interesting that everything is managed through real estate agents here. As we’re looking at apartments, we’re not talking directly with the owners, but rather talking to them through someone else. The laws are very tenant friendly, so the agents are given 15 minute windows by the tenant to show the apartment. If you see something that is open for 20 or 30 minutes, it must be brand new! Also, the bedrooms and closets are miniature here; I’ve taken to asking if the bedroom will fit a queen size bed and come to the realization that I’ve brought WAY too many clothes. Lastly, I have been told that they are pretty pet friendly, but have not yet experienced this. Ben and I applied for 2 apartments last weekend and didn’t get either because of our fur-babies. We’ll see how this weekend’s round of applications goes.
That’s what I have for now, but I’m learning as I go.
