OKMorris

Hutt Street - Plympton Park - Modbury Heights dont hear as much about the north east on here but we love it and hubby gets on the Obahn straight to the city in 30min each day. I work at Norwood so don't have to navigate through or round the city like previously. lots of shops, restaurants and leafy suburbs and we found our dream house more affordable compared to what we could afford west of the city. i do sometimes miss the beach but have substituted with national parks, reserves and we can be in the Barossa in 40min, adelaide hills in about the same and semaphore in 20min so works for us i must say though we like to make the distinction between the north and the north east - call me snobby but it's definitely not the same thing!!!

hey - if you are flying with singapore airlines you may as well utilise their stopover programme. if you go into the manage your booking section and bring up your flight there is a button for Singapore Stopover. you can get a hotel, transfers and entrance to attractions etc for as little as $50 ish and then it simple. depending on your flight times some people book 2 nights so they can access the room strait away or have it all day before they leave late at night but this is much cheaper than anything you will get on booking.com etc. the other option is to book the ambassador transit hotel in the airport and you can do this on the website in 6 hour blocks. then you can get the bus into the city as suggested and do the sights and then come back to a room at the airport and utilise the pool etc - have fun!!

hi - sorry I drop in and out of the forum these days but my husband is a chef at Cos 18 Leigh and they are always looking for decent wait staff over the summer so feel free to pm me or even better pop into the restaurant with you resume and ask for Michael. now is the time to grab the summer hospitality work so they are trained in the menu before the Xmas rush so I would just drop into a few in the city with resumes and essentialy pound the streets!! waitstaff jobs done get advertised in seek as they are normally casual and go very quickly through friends of friends etc so no point paying for advertising. good luck and if I can offer any advice it would be to brush up on australian wine knowledge as this is essential for any decent restaurant jobs

sorry to hear that and such a shame. at the risk of going through what you have already thought of can you go on the 22nd when there is a flight? I would say 2 days unpaid leave from work is cheaper than rebooking another airline at a higher cost. Alternatively Malaysian have a flight leaving melbourne at 3:30 ish on the 24th which connects onto the same flight into London as you were on before and they will pay for the Qantas connection to melbourne. I think going via the eastern states is better than trying to rebook another airline now as it will be alot to more expensive let me know if you need assistance

well not exactly helpful or realistic but thank you for your opinion anyway....... at the end of the day it's still safer to fly than ride a bus or drive a car and they still offer an option out of adelaide unlike some of the other airlines who forget little old us. i completely understand people's apprehension on flying with them and the stigma will be with them for a while but only if people keep acting like you are not going to come back if you fly with them. here I am safe and sound and I wish them all the best after the things they have faced and still kept staff in jobs regardless it seems they have been very good with these changes and are offering free Qantas connections to melbourne to free up some seats so fingers crossed everyone is re booked successfully

I agree in some respects but I also think that nothing instils a little worry like a bargain cheap fare and the general consensus seems to be that by discounting there fares to a bargain basement price it almost acknowledges that you fly with them at your own risk and that there is a problem somewhere i went to one of there training updates not long ago and rhe business plan seems to be reduce the number of flights but maintain the normal practices they have always had of service, stability and being on time and to be in line with the likes of Singapore and Emirates as their competitors rather than being compared to an air Asia or Jetstar which you invariably get if you reduce the pricing to compete with them hopefull they can slowly build the brand back up and we will back back to daily flights in 5 or so years but I think it's a tough road ahead for them

hello if you haven't heard anything from Malaysian yet I would go online to the "manage my booking" section and see if they have got any notifications in the booking or any suggestions for what they are swapping you to. if not then you can either wait for them to email you as they will eventually get to you in the system or you can ring them and they will switch you to the next available option. you are probably looking at longer layovers but Malaysian did confirm before I left work today that they are doing hotels for anyone over a 6 hour wait and lounge passes for 3-6 hours but you have to ask for it!! if you need any specific help then feel free to pm me cheers

Hi all Just a quick update that Malaysian Airlines have released a statement today to say they are dropping the double daily flights from Adelaide and are now only flying 4 days a week Such a shame as they are a very good airline with great service but in light of events over the last 18 months it is not surprising They have dropped the following flights "Adelaide will be trimmed back to four flights a week with the cancellation of MH136 to Kuala Lumpur on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from August 10 and MH139 home to Adelaide on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays from August 9" If you are affected by the changes I would say jump online or speak to your travel agent to re confirm your alternative as there are going to be more people that need to change than there are seats available so could be a little chaotic If your layover ends up being more than 8 hours they will be offering a hotel at KL and if it is between 3-6 hours there is talk of them offering lounge passes but this bit is not confirmed as I think it depends on where/how you booked or the type of fare you have Cheers

we are still both working in the same occupation hubby came over as a chef and actually went into a higher role in the kitchen than he was in the UK - a good opportunity for a little embellishment here and there on the CV combined with them having no knowledge of the venues he worked at in the UK actually worked in our favour :-) i am am still working as a travel agent and went a little backwards as I used to be a manager in the UK but I am now back up in a management role over here and finally feel like I'm getting back to the level I left at so worked out well!

I have never posted an "update" as such as I am so busy taking it all for granted!! we came here 2.5 years ago now hubby a chef and me a travel agent and we landed with around 40k aud and not much else! in the first week we did all the usual stuff, bought a car, did Medicare, bank accounts and driving licences etc and stayed in a little studio unit on hurt street that I found on stayz.com i had organised an interview for a job from the UK and I did that by emailing and applying for all the jobs On seek that I was interested in 2 weeks prior to leaving - I did apply for a few prior to that but no luck as we were so far from arriving so once we got within a fortnight I got better responses and contacts. I was lucky that I got the job so it made everything easier in terms of buying a car and finding a tea tap as eknew we had an income found a rental in 3 weeks in plympton which is near the tram into the city and pretty central. made sure we had a low maintenance garden as it's totally not me and I didn't want to be worried about killing the garden in a rental while I try and sort out our new life!! it was a great location and and near then beach and city hubby found a job at cos restaurant about 2 weeks after landing and this was again by applying for everything on seek and also dropping resumes into restaurants - we planned our arrival around him as we knew that the start of summer and hiring of hospitality staff is around September so gave us the best chance of getting work even if it was just for the summer but as it turned out it was a permanent role which he loves!! this may be different for everyone but arriving dec - mar in my opinion is very hard as there is so much going on in adeaide that accomm is expensive and people are so busy with everything else's it seems quiet on the job front but that might be me we found making friends quite difficult as everyone always seemed to have there little groups and through no fault of there's they get stuck in a routine of hanging with there social groups and it can be difficult t break in but we mainly found friends through our work and also through this website (shout out to dan, Steph and the rest!!) now im so busy on the weekends with wine tours, outdoor cinemas, football, cricket, baseball and walks that I have no idea how I find time to work!! it took us a good 18 months to feel settled and to feel like "yes we made it" and start enjoying life and I will say the 6 month to 12 month mark was very hard and we had many a conversation of "are we doing then right thing" but we helped each other through amd r all the better for it 2.5 years on and 1 trip back to then uk which helped us appreciate how much better off we are and we love it!! I acknowledge we were extremely fortunate and lucky to have a relatively smooth sailing but I also think half of it is then postive attitude and the sheer re bloody mindness to make it work!! i also thank my lucky stars every day that I brought everything over on the container as life Is hard enough and I was comforted with my own mattress, bed, washing machine, sheets, table, sofas etc and it was all mismatched in the rental but it was a start!! now we have bought in modbury heights in the North East and we are gradually replacing everything to fit then new house and put down roots so it has worked well anyway that's us and hopefully some people may find it useful even if most think what a load of waffle!!!

hello i won't give a recommendation on insurance as everyone is different and it can be a minefield and I am not trained on all policies nor do I know ur entire situation so cannot give you a specific one to go with other than to say make sure the medical and cancellation costs are adequate and cover you from the time u book the trip not from the day you depart. also for the cruise even thought the ship is American you are not classed as being on "American soil" so you can insure yourself on a European policy or a UK policy (pick whichever region you are overall spending more time in) and this will be much cheaper than quoting a worldwide policy to include the U.S. which you do not need. quick tip if I am travelling through Europe as well as visiting the UK I always make sure, if feasible, the I am 1 extra day n the UK compared to elsewhere and then you can do a travel policy that covers the whole trip for all countries but specify "time most spent" as england and this will save up to $100 on the policy i have never come across a cruise ship where the medical treatment is free only ones where they will take the payment straight from the isurance company rather than u paying anything up front but even then this is rare so maybe your lady was a lucky one!!!

Hi all I use either driveaway.com.au or www.rentalcars.com if you don't care which car hire company you go with. I have used these guys twice now for the UK and basically they list all the different rentals and prices and if you are picking up from an airport as long as you go for one that says "On Airport Pickup" then you can go through and pay in full to get a cheaper rate and then once you get the voucher it will tell you which company it is - I have had Europcar both times now but it could be any of them. I have found they are normally $40 -$50 cheaper than booking direct with the car hire company and they charge in AUD and have an office in Australia. When you get the voucher it includes all of the compulsory insurances that all car hires do so technically you can just literally drive it away from the depot but if you want to add the extra insurances on then you do this direct with the car hire provider on arrival. I also had a ding on my last rental to the UK (totally my fault being in hysterics when leaving my mum and so clipping the wheel arch on there wall lol!!) and when you report the damage you are still dealing direct with the car hire provider and so really rentalcars.com are just a booking engine for a slightly cheaper price. The only flaw I could find is that if you want to amend the car hire then there are higher fees than normal to do this but aside from that all good. Also just as an FYI as we get this a lot from people who hire a car - you do not need to take any of the insurances etc that they try and flog you when you pick up the car as all car hires by law have to include the basic Collision Damage Waiver, 3rd party insurance, taxes and fees in the price you have originally agreed to. Most Travel Insurance providers will cover you for the excess that you pay if you damage a rental car (normally up to $4000 which is adequate) and so even though you pay this up front you claim it back easily when you get home (providing you weren't under the influence or being a total idiot in the car) Therefore sometimes its just a case of getting a decent Travel Insurance rather than being stung X amount a day for "extra" Insurance that is already covered under your Travel policy

pm you cheers

merry Christmas and happy new year to you guys too and special thanks for all your help in making our dream of owning a house in Australia come true!! I thoroughly recommend Andy and Stacey at Vista who went above and beyond to make a daunting process simple. All the best for 2015 x

Hello As above you unfortunately missed the earlybird window for Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian and Cathay etc (for future ref this is normally from around the 15th Sep to 31st Oct when you will get the best airfare for a trip for the following European summer) Emirates and Singapore Airlines tend to follow each other in that after the end of Oct they then start a 2nd and then subsequently a 3rd and 4th round of Earlybirds that get progressively slightly more expensive the closer you get to the departure. We are currently on round 3 of earlybirds so availability is really tight for the cheap fares and so if you can be flexible with dates then this may help. This round will end on the 23rd Dec and then after that they will go up by another increment. Earlybirds will finally finish up totally at the end of Feb and then you will pay whatever fare you can get which will be quite a bit higher than what you can get now London has very high taxes so have you looked at a return flight from Frankfurt and then a cheap low cost carrier to get you between Frankfurt and London or as I say just play around with your dates if you can. As others have said July is peak season so it may just be a case of taking what you can get now or going with the Malaysian option who despite the bad rep are still a very good airline PM me if you need help (see my signature) or as others have said I would get them booked ASAP if you definitely want to go Cheers

Flights have not been going out full at all and they flights between Xmas and NY due to lack of numbers so if you cant fill them at that time of year then there was never much hope! I dont think its anything to do with Malaysian - although they are the cheapest they have ever been for travel to Asia they are not exactly chocca block themselves Also might be something to do with the fact that the government subsidised the traffic rights and landing permits to encourage them in to Adelaide but they only do this for the first 18 months so if business isnt booming and then there operating costs go up they were never going to stay must say it makes my life a bit easier as they were always a little unpredictable!!!

hi my husband is a chef and that's how we got here - we went with the SA state sponsored visa which gives you PR straight away - he got max points for being under 30 at the time and have approx 9 years experience in the kitchen post apprenticeship which really helped. we did use an agent as we both worked full time and basically I didn't have time to trawl through it all and work out what I had to do so for us, yes it was more expensive to use an agent but worth it to know we had everything correct and we were good to go. he also gave us sample letters and references to go off that were specific to being a chef aso we could roughly advise people what to write!! if u r anything like most chefs including my hubby then he has had a few jobs over the years so we made sure we got back in touch with each one in preparation as we knew we would need references from them. make sure you have all your apprenticeship certificates to hand as u will need these for the application. unlike a lot of the struggles I read about hubby had no dramas getting a job and was in a good job within a week. there are consistently 2 or 3 chefs jobs a day coming up on seek and he is always being approached for work so adelaide is actually really buoyant and in demand for chefs. having said that sponsorship as a chef is unlikely as the restaurants are generally family run and not large enough to qualify for the business to be eligible to sponsor from overseas - plus to hire an apprentice or casual worker here is much cheaper for them than having to pay a higher salary to a sponsored migrant. to get sponsorship u r looking at having to go remote like Alice springs or resorts in the middle of nowhere - personally I would not rely on sponsorship if u qualify for a PR visa on your own anyway sorry for waffling on but if u have any questions maybe the first step would be to consult an agent on your visa options as most will do a free initial consultation to see if u qualify

hello as above they have quoted you the Singapore airlines stopover package with return airport transfers, discounts on some attractions and the hotel - category e sounds quite a high one though I usually put clients at the peninsula excelsior which is category b and then is adequate and is a central 3 star with a pool but it depends how central u want to be and what standard of hotel as I find this does the job for a good price but it will not wow you the swisshotel Stamford and swisshotel merchant court are nice for 3 people but again 4* so if u asked the agent for a nice 4.5* or 5* hotel then this may be why they have gone for one with a higher price the stopover package is really great but becomes less of a deal the nicer the hotel you want you will be paying a supplement for a triple as well as normally it is based on twin so bear this in mind have fun :-)

Hello As above I think you need 3 or 4 posts to be able to PM - nearly there! The rental is still available if you are interested. It is going on realestate.com this week and we vacate on the 16th Dec so if it is still available when you land feel free to contact me on here and we can organise a viewing Cheers

hello all we have recently bought a property and so will be breaking our lease on our rental its located in Plympton Park about a 2 min walk to the tram stop where it's 4 stops to glenelg beach or 25min into the city its 3 bedrooms with 1 walk in robe and 2 built ins, 2 bathrooms (1 ensuite), carport and roller door garage, low maintenance garden and decent sized kitchen etc currently $410 a week and will be available from mid dec landlord is great and neighbours are poms!! pm me if you are interested and I will try to work out photos if needed!!! cheers

hubby works at Cos on Leigh Street next door to Casa Bla Bla and it's a lovely and lively spot on a Saturday night - they specialise in good steaks and share plates and have a nice wine list - I may be slightly bias tho :-) you would need to book prett much anywhere u go as it's long weekend have fun

if you are wanting a stop in kl it's a good option as air Asia fly into a different terminal in kl to Malaysian so it involves a bus between terminals and collecting your luggage if you are trying to connect on so bit of a pain but with a stop in kl it can be worth it. it depends on the exchange rates at the time as the Malaysian flight from kl to uk will be converted from ringitt into aud through the website u book so this can cause fluctuations but again a good option if you are trying to save the only flaw flaw I can find is a long shot but if there was an ash cloud or the airline went bust then that flight from kl to uk is not covered under australian travel laws etc as it doesn't originate from here but really it's unlikely this would occur be interesting to see how much u wud actually save ?

i would tend to suggest that it's not emirates fault that he ended up in RAH and more that he would have got the blood clots on any flight with any airline if he was going to get one also flights to perth at the moment are around 400 plus return and u can only check your bags through to Europe if u fly Qantas on the domestic leg which is usually more also if u book the domestic leg on a different ticket and u r delayed and miss the connection to Garuda then u r stuffed so i agree it's a good deal but as with anything that is cheap it comes with caveats and consequences that people need to be aware of if it's the difference between being able to go or not budget wise then it's a good option but for me I would stick with a deal out of adelaide even if u pay 1800 ish - less hassle but that's just me

ps Claire and tel and I posted at the same time so just as an extra the taxes to come out of Athens are cheaper than London so u will prob find it is about the same price to go in to London and out of another location. normally as Claire and tel says it is cheaper to do a return flight unless London is the destination and then it changes things as heatrow and LGw have some of the highest landing taxes in the world therefore making it viable to come out of another location

hello sounds a great trip!!! my normal suggestion would be adelaide to LGW with emirates and then the cheapest flight u can get from LGW to Crete ie easy jet or woteva and then when u leave go Crete to Athens with Aegean or Olympic and then Athens to adelaide with emirates the adl - LGW route and the ath to adl route will all be on 1 ticket and will be cheaper to do this way and then On that emirates ticket see if you can include the leg from Crete to ath with Aegean as then each airlines will be responsible for you making your flight in Athens and the bags will interlink. this may not be an option depending on your emirates ticket so if this fails do it as a separate one but leave at least 4 hours in Athens - I no this seems ages but if you have to collect bags Athens is not all that easy!! most times I book people the flight before the one that connects perfectly as the amount of times the flights are delayed or cancelled off the islands is unreal!!! cheers