Ten step guide for people migrating worldwide to Sydney, Australia.

Hi,
Let me first introduce myself. I am Rajeev Saini (rsaini77@gmail.com) working as an engineer in Siemens in sydney.
From linkedin groups , I see that many people are migrating from USA/Europe/Russia to sydney and they have many questions, therefore thought of writing an informative article about this place.
No doubt, sydney is a great place to work and stay. It has got almost everything, let me list down some of its characteristics:-
- Pleasant weather, no extremes.
- Beaches
- Mountains
- Great city life.


Now for the people that are migrating here, sydney can be divided into the following:-
Pls open up google maps http://www.google.com.au/maps and type sydney into it.
- East sydney, with suburbs like rockdale, padington, bondi,etc
- North sydney, with suburbs like  hornsby, chatswood.
- West sydney, with suburbs like parramatta, blacktown
- South sydney, with suburbs like ingleburn, liverpool.
- Inner sydney, with suburbs like strathfield, burwood etc.

Hope you have found these suburbs on the map by now, therefore if you are planning to come here, the following is the general guideline of each part of sydney
East sydney - this area is regarded as the most expensive and fit for the affluent people.
It is close to the beaches and linked by buses to central part of sydney.
North sydney - this area is also close to the beaches and most of the computing jobs are concentrated in this area, with major companies having offices in chatswood, st leonards, noth ryde etc.
West sydney - it is generally regarded as the crime capital of sydney, it is linked to the central sydney by train network, has lot of asian population and caters to the needs of the people from asian countries.
South sydney - Generally not very well connected to central sydney, but can cater to the needs of the people who are low on budget . you can find cheaper accomodation and low rentals in this part of sydney.
Inner sydney - Is the place where most of the migrants land up, it is high in rental and is the most connected part of sydney, therefore if you get an interview call, you can generally be ready and can reach the interview place within 20 minutes.

For the people coming from USA, the major difference that you will find here is that train journey is given utmost importance here in sydney.People in USA generally go by car and consider 30 km to be a close enough area. Therefore they need to get out of this mindset after coming here, you will see that some rental accommodations in the same suburb fetch more rental income (or you need to pay more rent) if they are next to train station. And by the way 30 kms either way of central sydney is either forest or deep water, therefore donn't consider 30 km to be close enough.
People coming from europe will find that the train network is same as that of there home country.

The other difference is that sydney is much more expensive than compared to USA. I have realised that it is due to less competition in any chosen field. Therefore a person residing in USA will laugh if i him the following-
1) There are only 2 major superstores here, namely woolworths and coles.
2) There are only 4 major banks here, though none collapsed during GFC.
3) Ginger in sydney is about 15 AUD per kg. Therefore pls bring some ginger alongwith from your home country.
4) Banks charge 5 AUD a month to keep your money.
5) Home loan rate is about 7%.
6) Bread cost is about 5 AUD per bread.
7) Rental is about 400 AUD per week.
8) There are 3 major job search sites and 3 major car buying sites.
9) Train journey is expensive, a peak hour ticket can cost you about 10  AUD  a journey from say parramatta to north sydney.
10) Leather goods cost a lot here, therefore buy your leather jackets before coming.

There are many other points, therefore if you like this article, i will come up with more info in my next article.
To summarise some more points:-
If you land up as a permanent resident there, there are loads of things to do in first month:-
1) Apply for medicare card, so that you can go to a GP doctor without any charges.
2) Go to centrelink office, to get some financial assistance if you are eligible.
3) Find a rental accomodation depending upon where you want to live.
4) Make a monthly or quaterly rail pass.
5) Register with the job agents.
6) Get a tax file number.
7) Apply for a learner driving test or find out whether your home country license is valid here.
8) Prepare to say mite, slang for mate.
9) Find cheaper chinese shops in your local area so that you get used to chinese stuff as it will become part of your life.
10) Open a bank account and deposit your cheques or cash that you have brought alongwith from your home country. It is no brainer, there are only 4 banks here and they rip you off in similar way.

Please let me know if you like this article. Click on like button, share on your facebook, send me email or any other form of appreciation.
Enjoy!!!!!!!And welcome to sydney.