Coogee Here We Come

After putting in the 3 application for apartments in Coogee we nervously waited to see whether any had been accepted or whether it would be back to slog of going round all the open houses again.

As we’d already been turned down on our first application, we weren’t sure what the outcome would be, but to our upmost surprise, low and behold we received 3 calls saying that we’d been accepted for all 3 apartments!!! Crikey!!!!

Now we had a whole new predicament altogether, we had to choose which one we would like to live in for the next 12 months. What a great position to be in, we were so chuffed to have the choice and soon began narrowing down our exciting options.

We quickly narrowed it down to 2 apartments but deciding between these proved to be difficult. In the end we have chosen a great, modern, top floor, 2 bedroom apartment with a lockup garage (for the car, bike and surfboard) and an awesome balcony overlooking the district, just what we had dreamed of when we were planning our trip here and it’s only a short walk to the beach as well.

After paying the bond, month’s rental up front and signing the contracts we picked up the keys to our beachside apartment in Coogee yesterday!!!! We are actually moving to Coogee!!!

Our balcony (unfortunately this furniture wasn't included)

Front of our building, our apartment is round left side

So, all we needed to do now is get ourselves sorted for all our furniture and appliances, except for a cooker, dryer and a dishwasher (they are mad for dishwashers over here). Luckily there’s a massive Ikea near the airport so off we headed this morning to find our cheap sofa, beds, mattress, tables, chairs, duvets, pillows etc.

Just trying out the beds

We had great fun and games trying to load all our purchases on the trolleys, but we managed it and now the major things are sorted we can go out and celebrate getting our keys to our fantastic new apartment.

Charlotte with all our purchases



Gotta love Ikea for cheap stuff

So tonight we are out in Coogee for the first night time with a few of the other crew who have also just rented apartments in Coogee, so I guess this is the start of the Coogee gang shenanigans!! Its only week 2, so let the fun begin……..

G'Day Mick!

As Charlotte was busy with her first week of training, I decided to go on my first walkabout and see our close friends Mike and Leigh Henry (and for the first time their little-un Aiden) down in Canberra.

We haven’t got our car sorted yet and Charlotte’s Virgin Australia flight concessions haven’t kicked in either so I just grabbed a bag and headed for the bus station for my 3 and half hour journey down to Canberra….no worries!

I made sure my Kindle and I-pod were charged up and ready to go for the bus journey down to Canberra. It was an easy journey down….too easy mate!! One straight road all the way down.

Mike was at the bus station waiting to greet me and we soon headed off for some beer and pizza, followed by more beer.

It was good to meet up with Oz Mick again, as it had been at least a couple of years since we last met and at that time we weren’t sure when we’d meet up again so was great to get the opportunity to catch up.

We made a quick stop at the bottle shop on way back to Mickey’s place to pick up some more tinnies and I was also ‘stoked’ to find Charlotte’s favourite drink – Malibu and Coke in a can, which will earn me a few brownie points and keep the missus happy. We’d been looking everywhere in Sydney for Malibu and Coke in a can but had thus far drawn a blank.

The Aussies are very particular over the places you can buy and do stuff over here it’s kind of back to the traditional ways. If you want to buy some deodorant or headache tablets you go to a pharmacy (not supermarket), you can’t gamble in bars/pubs, you have to go to a separate room or place altogether (this includes fruit machines) and if you want to buy booze you can’t go to any shop you have to go to a dedicated bottle shop. It takes a bit of getting used to but I’m sure I’ll get my head round it, especially as there are quite a few drive-thru bottle shops around here, yep you just drive up, throw some booze in the motor and drive away…what a great idea!!! Once I get our car sorted I’m sure I’ll be frequenting these fairly often so I’ll get some pictures and post them for you.

Mickey lives in the Canberra suburb of Kaleen and has a really nice house. For those of you wanting to picture their lovely abode then just cast you mind back to Ramsey Street (Neighbours) and in particular Mrs Mangle’s house, it’s just like that ha ha.

I got to meet their 10 month old son, Aiden for the first time and what a little cutie he is. Such a little bundle of energy and happiness and quite clearly gonna be a little heart breaker when he get older.

I had a cracking time catching up with Mike, Leigh and Aiden over some good food, wine and beer and I’m sure Charlotte and I will be seeing a lot of the Henry clan over the next 12 months….good times.

……and our decision is…….BEACH LIFE!!!!

After much thought, deliberation and a few beers we have decided that it will be the beach life for us.

Although we love the buzz of the city, it is the sunny beaches and chilled living that caught our imagination. Even when we first found out we’d be coming over our first thoughts were about living by the beach so it had to be beachside.

It then came down to Bondi or Coogee! Although Bondi is a good surf beach and Coogee not so much, it is a very touristy area and expensive for what you get.

We have just fallen in love with the atmosphere of Coogee and from what we have seen we can get a nice apartment close to the beach for our money, plus Coogee sits right in the middle of good surfing spots such as Maroubra (6 minute drive) and Bondi (10 minute drive). Another bonus for us is that a few of the other UK crew have decided to live in Coogee as well.

Deciding to focus our efforts on just one area did mean that it kind of narrowed our search, but there was still no end to the mad dashing about trying to look at possible apartments. After the first glut of viewings we found a nice, modern, one bedroom apartment with a large balcony and decided to make our first offer….how exciting!!!

We knew competition was fierce for this apartment as we counted at least 10 other people at the open house viewing and after we submitted our application along with a mass of references we waited nervously to find out whether we were successful or not.

Unfortunately, on this occasion we didn’t get it. But I’m a great believer in fate and what will be, will be, so onwards and upwards and continue with the search.

Over the course of the next few days between us we visited about 12 different properties, some awful and some which we quite liked. We also discovered that the letting agents down here are a wiz with Photoshop, as the advertised photo’s quite clearly had been doctored to enhance the property.

Now we had decided on Coogee, we wanted to make sure it would happen, so decided to play the numbers game and make offers on 3 apartments. Hopefully at least one of them would be accepted; otherwise it would be back to the drawing board and we’d have to start preparing for all the new viewings on Wednesday.

We’ll let you know if we had any luck soon (hopefully)……………..

Aussie Fish and Chips

After a hectic day once again dragging ourselves round the various open house’s at break neck speed we retreated back to our wonderful little bayside apartment for a bit of R&R. It’s such a nice chilled out apartment with wonderful views, you cannot help but to relax and unwind in the blissful surroundings.

As we were both knackered from our apartment hunting we decided that we’d just pop out for food to a fish and chip place we’d spotted on our travels earlier.

On our way up to Maclaey Street from the apartment in Elizabeth Bay we spotted a cheeky little short-cut stairway which would take us virtually straight to our destination cutting at least 10 minutes off our journey….awesome!!

To our surprise what we had originally thought would be a run of the mill fish and chip place was in fact a vibrant classic seaside shabby-fishy-chic shack buzzing and bustling with people. Despite being busy we managed to squeeze on the end of a table and check out the wonderful menu (which came in the form of a newspaper titled 'Reel News'). Charlotte opted for the classic fish and chips, whilst I went for a poached snapper and capers washed down with my favourite beer – Birra Moretti.

The cool menu

The food was amazing and I would highly recommend The Fish Shop, Challis Avenue, Potts Point, people! If you’re ever in Sydney, check it out. http://merivale.com.au/thefishshop/

City or Beach?

Upon arrival in Sydney and after Charlotte’s induction/orientation day it was straight down to the task of finding somewhere to live, no time for touristy excursions for us.

After our stay in the accommodation laid on for us in Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, we are now staying in a friend of a friend’s apartment in Elizabeth Bay. It is a lovely art deco apartment situated in a quiet location right on the Bay. The balcony (and whole main room in fact) boasts amazing views straight out onto the water across the bay and it great to just sit and gaze out for ages. This truly was a great stroke of luck thanks to the many contacts that our friend Sarah has around the world.

View of Elizabeth Bay from the balcony

A key quandary for us this past week has been just where we want to live for the next 12 months!

Although we have visited Sydney on many occasions, it has always been as tourists doing the touristy thing (i.e. Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Bondi, Manly etc etc) and we have just really been based in the CBD (Central Business District) and not really spent a significant amount of time in the many suburbs Sydney houses.  So when it comes to actually looking and deciding where we want to live on a day-to-day basis, all manner of things are thrown into the equation.

Sydney is a vast city with a lot of suburbs and a great mix of lifestyle options, from vibrant, fast-paced city life and leafy suburbs to chilled beachside living.

Where to live?

Did we want to be close to all the action in the city? the many funky bars, restaurants and iconic sights coupled with easy transport links for Charlotte to work (plenty of trains to the airport or free crew bus), but equally more difficult for me to get to work (my work is going be out of the city) or do we go for a place close to the beach? where we can enjoy a more chilled way of life. Or even half way between at a place like Bondi Junction?

This quandary of not really knowing the vast areas of Sydney coupled with no real idea of where we would like to live ensured that our urgent search for accommodation would be a difficult one.

We had been informed of how tough and competitive the rental/housing market is over here but boy did we underestimate it!!!

There’s no casually browsing through the rental agents portfolio, booking an appointment, viewing the property, sign a bit of paperwork and hey presto you’re in. Not only is it very strict in terms of providing heap loads of references, utility bills, proof of identity and filling out a huge application form, properties can only be viewed during designated ‘open houses’ whereby each property will be open for viewing (to anyone who wishes to rock up) for approximately 15 minutes. These open days are generally on designated days (Wednesday and Saturday) and more often than not all at either the same time or close together. So if you wanted to view multiple properties you either had to be Usan Bolt, carefully select the properties you wanted to see or split up….over the course of the week we have attempted all 3 options!

It is after the actual viewing that it gets tougher, if you like a property, you need to immediately gather and complete all your paperwork and get it to the letting agents office. Even after you’ve submitted the paperwork, the letting agent will vet the applications and send a selection to the landlord who will then make his own decision on who will be successful. Phew!!

Our first open house was in the lovely little beachside suburb of Coogee, which boasts a great beach, beachside bars, quirky little cafes and a nice chilled atmosphere. We followed this up with a viewing of a very modern mid-floor apartment in Bondi Junction which had a gym and swimming pool in the block and then many others around Potts Point, Paddington, Bondi, Surry Hills and the impressively named Woolloomooloo (not sure how I’d get on with directing a taxi driver to an address there after a few sherbets).

Over the course of a few days we have visited a lot of properties and covered a lot of ground. The search goes on…………

Touching down in a land Down Under

After my epic 26 hour flying time and completely losing Sunday to the national date line, I landed into Sydney!

As I joined the passport control queue ( in the express lane of course) I looked over to the never ending line of passengers in the normal queue and realised that Carl was right next to me!

Despite leaving 7 hours after me we had arrived at exactly the same time.

Kat, my new manager was waiting to welcome the crew of the 2012 exchange at the airport. She very kindly took Carl's surf board from me and manged to walk in her sky high heels complete with surfboard in one hand and coffee in the other.

Virgin crew and all their cases arrive in Sydney

Our accommodation for week one is at The 150 Apartments in Darlinghurst.  Our apartment is amazing, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and two balconies! Carl couldn't have been happier to find a bottle shop right next to the entrance and quickly proceeded to purchase his VB beers.

Downstairs of our 150 Apartment viewed from balcony

Tuesday was my first day at Virgin Australia. Wow what an organised company! They not only fitted all our uniforms and had them ready for us to take, they had printed out all documents we need to rent an apartment and the bank manager came into see us with our bank cards ready to go! I don't think I've ever met a bank manager before! Let alone them come to visit me! this would never happen in the UK.

My drugs and alcohol testing was very formal! I felt that i had been charged with possession of a class A drug. I got taken into a bathroom with a nurse who taped the water tap up so I couldn't ruin it. My bag, jacket and scarf was taken away from me and I was told to wee into a pot and not wash my hands till she came back in!  I passed, as did all of us but it was a very funny experience. This can be done at any time while I am in uniform!

After all our paperwork had been completed and the wee samples taken, we headed off with managers in tow to a bar free bar for one hour courtesy of Virgin Australia. I already like the way they conduct their business. They even invited Carl along to join us, mind you he's never one to miss the opportunity of a free bar. 

Since then our days have been taken up by apartment hunting and trying to reacquaint ourselves with Sydney and its many suburbs. 

So long for now ......

Lets Rendezvous Down Under

Excitement is now at fever pitch as Charlotte and I start our journeys to circumnavigate the globe and rendezvous in Sydney. Charlotte will be travelling west via Los Angeles whilst I will be travelling east via Hong Kong. So this marks an exciting start to our adventure already as we depart separately to next meet in Australia!

Thanks to the Virgin staff concessions we are allowed to take 3 pieces of luggage each and luckily for me one additional piece of sports equipment each...free!!! which is a massive bonus!!! So Charlotte has been entrusted with my surf board and I'll be taking my mountain bike. It was quite a sight this morning as we gathered our stuff for our journey: plenty of bags, surf board and bike.

Travelling light!

After an emotional goodbye to the parents we set off for Heathrow in Rob and Hannah's bingo bus, they'd even managed to clean it especially for us. The bingo bus did us proud though as not only was it a nice smooth journey up, all our stuff comfortably fitted in.

At Heathrow, after a little bit of drama checking in, we'd developed a thirst due to the hot weather  so headed straight for the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class lounge for a well deserved beer and moijito (or 2). We also met up with all the other crew on the exchange in the lounge and started to get to know each other. They all seem like a nice crowd.

This will now be our surrogate family for the next 12 months, as Charlotte will training with them for the next 7 weeks, whilst I'll be forced to tag along to all the social gatherings in and around the pubs and clubs of Sydney (oh! if i have to!!!).

After a spot of lunch (washed down with more beer and moijito's) it was time for me to say goodbye to Charlotte as she headed off to board her plane to Los Angleses. Thankfully she managed to get a seat in Upper Class, so that should be a nice flight for her. The next time we see each other it'll be in Sydney.

So now I just had to keep myself occupied for approximately 7 hours before my flight to Hong Kong.Thankfully though, it wouldn't be as hard as you might think, what with a free bar, waiter service, comfortable lounge chairs and a pretty impressive TV wall (yes! a wall) showing the F1 (and a pretty spectacular crash strewn GP2), England v W. Indies cricket and Ireland v Bosnia footy, plus the England game on later.

Impressive TV wall in the lounge

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"Garçon !!! one more glass of your finest champagne please!!!"

Next stop Sydney........................