It has been two months since I updated the blog. So many exciting things - a surprise short trip to India, a dream date, few temples etc had kept us busy.Wishing everyone a happy prosperous 2015 :)
Now, back to our migration journey.My previous post was about what we did before our first landing. Here is the continuation.
You can read the other parts of our migration experiences here.
Things we did DURING our first landing:
-----------------------------------------------------
1)Finish everything in our TO-DO List:
------------------------------------------------
This was a cakewalk. Once a plan is ready, following the plan is no big a deal. With everything accomplished, the satisfaction and the peace it gives is truly enormous.
2) Buy MYKI Cards:
--------------------------
MYKI is a smart card which serves as ticket to ride on the public transport in Melbourne. It is just as same as eZlink in Singapore or Octopus in HongKong or T-Money in Korea, except that the fare calculation was not that easy. You are charged according to different zones, tap-in tap-out types etc. The recent updated news is that the CBD area is fare-free zone (only for trams, though!)
3) Explore the departmental stores:
---------------------------------------------
Just like NTUC Fairprice in Singapore, Melbourne has three big super market chains. For some reasons, I have always preferred a departmental store over a local market. It's an all in one place. The veggies are fresh and then there are promotions, discounts now and then, membership privileges and what not. When it's a market I spend little here, little there and lose track of the money I spend and eventually end up spending more. Buying stuffs at markets occasionally is fine though.
To even summarize the comparisons we made between Sg and Melbourne would take a separate post. Bottom line is that it was all just what we wanted.
4) Drink all the coffee in Melbourne:
------------------------------------------------
Forget all the awesome things of Melbourne - The trams, the sporting capital, the parks, the alleys, lanes, arcades, the coastal drives, the fed-square, the cosmopolitan feel, the museums, the Italian restaurants in Lyson Street or the Vietnamese food, the considerate people, the country feel, the top of the list for me is Coffee and the Melbourne styled artisan cafes. And what more does a coffee addict want? I had 32 coffees in 7 days and it does not include Arvind's .Those are the Best coffees I ever had.
5) Meet Recruiters:
--------------------------
The second goal of the trip. If being a foreigner and securing a job in Australia is almost impossible (Hello Bankers, not you!) getting a PR made it bit easy. Though we had few Skype and phone interviews from Singapore, for recruiters, potential candidates were those who reside there and could join immediately. So all we could do was to meet them and drop the resumes and register our faces. Overall, I would say LinkedIn helped us more than what Seek did.
6) Great Ocean Road:
------------------------------
Visiting 12 Apostles was one of my fantasies for few years recently, more like paradise falls for Carl and Ellie. So no matter how short or long the trip was, we planned to accomplish this GOR drive. And we are glad we did. The pictures speak for themselves. It is the first, best and most beautiful coastal drive we ever did together.
7) Explore the local area:
--------------------------------
Want to become a pro in exploring routes, people, prices? The best way is to choose one area at a time - walk up, down, left, right for days and voila, now I know where I could get cheap or expensive ugg boots, leather jackets or cardigans, food, wine, coffee or any other products for that matters in Swanston street. It is big, but it is fascinating on what you can know, if you can walk for 8 days in an area. Though it is going to be our home, we did not want to miss the touristy look on us. We went almost to all the attractions including fed-square, MCG, Victoria market, Yarra river and many more. The best part was that we walked everywhere.
Things we did AFTER the First Landing:
---------------------------------------------------
1)Thank you/ Follow up Email:
-----------------------------------------
Networks/Contacts/Making friends- The most important part. So never forget to drop a follow-up email or a thank you note for all the times people have helped. Get in touch and get started immediately.
You don't build life. You build people and the people build your life, as someone rightly said.
2) Start planning Phase 2:
--------------------------------
Again major part of it involves research and planning. Things like packing, shipping, finding accommodation, sorting out the finances, temporary service apartments, terminating the existing contracts in Singapore etc. Change does not happen overnight. Unless and until you plan for it.
Stay tuned for Part 6 - Our Melbourne Experiences.
Now, back to our migration journey.My previous post was about what we did before our first landing. Here is the continuation.
You can read the other parts of our migration experiences here.
Things we did DURING our first landing:
-----------------------------------------------------
1)Finish everything in our TO-DO List:
------------------------------------------------
This was a cakewalk. Once a plan is ready, following the plan is no big a deal. With everything accomplished, the satisfaction and the peace it gives is truly enormous.
2) Buy MYKI Cards:
--------------------------
MYKI is a smart card which serves as ticket to ride on the public transport in Melbourne. It is just as same as eZlink in Singapore or Octopus in HongKong or T-Money in Korea, except that the fare calculation was not that easy. You are charged according to different zones, tap-in tap-out types etc. The recent updated news is that the CBD area is fare-free zone (only for trams, though!)
3) Explore the departmental stores:
---------------------------------------------
Just like NTUC Fairprice in Singapore, Melbourne has three big super market chains. For some reasons, I have always preferred a departmental store over a local market. It's an all in one place. The veggies are fresh and then there are promotions, discounts now and then, membership privileges and what not. When it's a market I spend little here, little there and lose track of the money I spend and eventually end up spending more. Buying stuffs at markets occasionally is fine though.
To even summarize the comparisons we made between Sg and Melbourne would take a separate post. Bottom line is that it was all just what we wanted.
4) Drink all the coffee in Melbourne:
------------------------------------------------
Forget all the awesome things of Melbourne - The trams, the sporting capital, the parks, the alleys, lanes, arcades, the coastal drives, the fed-square, the cosmopolitan feel, the museums, the Italian restaurants in Lyson Street or the Vietnamese food, the considerate people, the country feel, the top of the list for me is Coffee and the Melbourne styled artisan cafes. And what more does a coffee addict want? I had 32 coffees in 7 days and it does not include Arvind's .Those are the Best coffees I ever had.
5) Meet Recruiters:
--------------------------
The second goal of the trip. If being a foreigner and securing a job in Australia is almost impossible (Hello Bankers, not you!) getting a PR made it bit easy. Though we had few Skype and phone interviews from Singapore, for recruiters, potential candidates were those who reside there and could join immediately. So all we could do was to meet them and drop the resumes and register our faces. Overall, I would say LinkedIn helped us more than what Seek did.
6) Great Ocean Road:
------------------------------
Visiting 12 Apostles was one of my fantasies for few years recently, more like paradise falls for Carl and Ellie. So no matter how short or long the trip was, we planned to accomplish this GOR drive. And we are glad we did. The pictures speak for themselves. It is the first, best and most beautiful coastal drive we ever did together.
7) Explore the local area:
--------------------------------
Want to become a pro in exploring routes, people, prices? The best way is to choose one area at a time - walk up, down, left, right for days and voila, now I know where I could get cheap or expensive ugg boots, leather jackets or cardigans, food, wine, coffee or any other products for that matters in Swanston street. It is big, but it is fascinating on what you can know, if you can walk for 8 days in an area. Though it is going to be our home, we did not want to miss the touristy look on us. We went almost to all the attractions including fed-square, MCG, Victoria market, Yarra river and many more. The best part was that we walked everywhere.
Things we did AFTER the First Landing:
---------------------------------------------------
1)Thank you/ Follow up Email:
-----------------------------------------
Networks/Contacts/Making friends- The most important part. So never forget to drop a follow-up email or a thank you note for all the times people have helped. Get in touch and get started immediately.
You don't build life. You build people and the people build your life, as someone rightly said.
2) Start planning Phase 2:
--------------------------------
Again major part of it involves research and planning. Things like packing, shipping, finding accommodation, sorting out the finances, temporary service apartments, terminating the existing contracts in Singapore etc. Change does not happen overnight. Unless and until you plan for it.
Stay tuned for Part 6 - Our Melbourne Experiences.
