# Travelling alone...



## stacyl85 (May 22, 2010)

Hey,

My name is Stacy, I'm 24 and currently living in China teaching English in a primary school.

I leave in August and am heading to Oz. I start out in Sydney....and that's about all I know really! I'm going alone which I am really nervous about, so if anyone is doing the same thing around the same time it would be good to hear from you! Also if anyone has any advice on finding jobs (I have a years visa)/places to live that would be great!

Planning on staying in hostels at first, but will be looking to find something a little more permanent as I want to stay in Sydney for a few months...is it easy to find people to maybe share an apartment with etc?

Thanks!


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

stacyl85 said:


> Hey,
> 
> My name is Stacy, I'm 24 and currently living in China teaching English in a primary school.
> 
> ...


If you've been able to handle China Stacy, you ought to find Oz a walk in the park and there's always so many travellers about, you'll find heaps of others about.

August wouldn't be my recommendation for starting time in Sydney weather wise for though worst of winter could be over by the end of the month, Spring can be wet and windy at times.
But if you do plan on staying there, Sleeping With The Enemy is a site that may be worth having a look at, Free Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Jobs, Property & More | Gumtree Sydney or Flatmates.com.au - Australia's biggest free site for flatmates, share house, share accommodation in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. re share accommodation and if no luck with any of those, Sydney Terraces and Classic Buildings :: Save money share townhouse for backpackers could be worth considering.

I reckon you'll get best value out of Australia by considering the weather and going where it would be best to some extent and if you want to think about a second WHV, look at doing some regional seasonal work or WWOOF Australia earlier, so a flight to Cairns or even Darwin in August would be good and then work your way south from there, there being a good possibility of work down along the east coast and you could plan on getting to Sydney for about Xmas/NY.
You can get a few flights sales on during the second half of the year so it may not cost too much to fly up north; check Cheap flights - Jetstar Airways and Virgin Blue Home or Cheap Flights & Airfares - Compare Domestic and International Airlines - Webjet.com.au scans all flights.

If you stay in Sydney until Xmas/NY or plan on getting back there, it would be a good idea to book some hostel accommodation about june/July for the Xmas/NY week as it books out extra quick.
BUG - the Backpackers' Ultimate guide to budget travel in Australia is a reasonable guide to hostels.

Also, with a longer stay and planning on staying in one spot a while you might want to look at doing that for a six month period to be classed as residential for taxation and big savings on tax payable - have a look at Australian Taxation Office Homepage under personal.

A few of those points mentioned on
http://www.australiaforum.com/travel-questions/4328-travelling-oz-sep-oct-anyone-else.html which may have other relevant info.


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## stacyl85 (May 22, 2010)

Thanks for the information!! Really helpful. Think I will start off in Cairns now, that way I can do the East coast in a more logical order! If I'm not that keen on doing seasonal work, is it possible to get other kinds of work in Cairns? That was the only reason I was going to start off in Sydney, I thought there would be more opportunity to find work, what with it being a big city and all!


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

stacyl85 said:


> Thanks for the information!! Really helpful. Think I will start off in Cairns now, that way I can do the East coast in a more logical order! If I'm not that keen on doing seasonal work, is it possible to get other kinds of work in Cairns? That was the only reason I was going to start off in Sydney, I thought there would be more opportunity to find work, what with it being a big city and all!


I put some info in for Beth about resorts/islands work that may be of use:
http://www.australiaforum.com/jobs-work/4382-canada-traveling-working-gold-coast.html
Without doing the seasonal work as such, with primary teaching experience you could even find people living on more remote farms etc. could be after nannies as well and both the wwoof and gumtree sites may be helpful.

Sure Sydney is big but it is also a magnet for huge numbers of travellers though August is a quieter time of the year for there and depending on what type of work you're looking for that could be an advantage.
I'd not say to write it off and if you fly in there and find a good job that'll suit you for six months and have accommodation too to cover the Xmas/NY period, all is fine and even weather wise for after six months there the weather will still be good for a few months to tour about down south before heading to the north for a few months after end of the wet season.
So that can work too, perhaps even better weatherwise.
But if you cannot get work, just don't get hung up there as it is Australia's most expensive place to live.

And finding work in Cairns may not be all that easy either for you'll be in the middle of peak tourism time for up there and a lot of tourist organisations will likely have already got any additional staff that they want on board.


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## smidsy (Apr 4, 2010)

Im in Cairns this week.

Its an employers market here, they can pick and choose from many candidates.

Unless you have experience in the hospitality industry, stay away from Cairns.

Also, locals have told us that Cairns is the worst hit city in the Global Financial Crisis.

Myself and my Wife are considering leaving, and heading to Darwin.


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