i chance upon ur blog while google-ing about how life would be like in Perth. i applied kinda late for my application to a university in Perth and i am currently in trouble, big trouble(according to my mom). i have settled my school admission stuff and dealing with find accommodation and desperately confuse of which banks to choose( West Pac, Commonwealth, BankWest or ANZ ect.) unlike most of my friends who choose to head over to 'less boring cities' like Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland, i decided on between Canberra and Perth. Perth was the final choice as it allow me to start school in spring.
this email is a like a desperate, quick fix attempt to find advise for my accommodation and bank issues. i understand thast you and your family uses BankWest, but which bank has the highest ATM density in Perth? and how were you able to find accommodation prior to your departed date?( i tried contacting those from gumtree and several agents, but all required me to pay a house visit D:)
sorry for the proofing this email.
all the best for your family and Albany to be a happy kid.
best regards,
kanjiong student
******
Hi Kanjiong student,
Looks like you are in big big trouble.
I stayed at my wife's friend place for a while before moving away. It was agreed as a temporary measure until we find a more permanent place to stay. When exactly are you starting school? Spring is vague because it is a good 3 months. I can ask around for you if you want but you gotta tell me what are your criteria
******
hi Nix,
Many thanks for the reply. i am really grateful that your are willing to help a random reader of yours. i am starting school in 30 july but need to attend the school orientation on the 20 july. i will be attending school at UWA doing a double major in a science degree( biomedical and microbiology/immunology). i am a graduate from one of the worst poly in SG, but luckily i am good enough for UWA but am not good enough for NTU. i would be saying my goodbyes to my teenage days this year thus turning 20. i am heading to Perth for 3 main reason, for my education, emotional baggage in SG( that is a long story), i just dont want to have a FT as boss( another long story on my brief working exp).
my rent range per week would be around 130 to 200 which largely depends of the suburbs, how fast i can reach school from the rental place.
In short, my name is SH, 20 this year, a graduate for RP with a Diploma of Biotechnolgy. i am more than willing to put down deposit for rent, i need help to getting to my rental place from the airport. someone nice enough to let me cook. i dont mind calling the rental person or skype. additionally, i hope they don't mind me staying during school breaks as i will working during that period of time.
guess i got lucky and responded to my email. you don't know how grateful i am.
best regards,
kanjiong student
Many thanks for the reply. i am really grateful that your are willing to help a random reader of yours. i am starting school in 30 july but need to attend the school orientation on the 20 july. i will be attending school at UWA doing a double major in a science degree( biomedical and microbiology/immunology). i am a graduate from one of the worst poly in SG, but luckily i am good enough for UWA but am not good enough for NTU. i would be saying my goodbyes to my teenage days this year thus turning 20. i am heading to Perth for 3 main reason, for my education, emotional baggage in SG( that is a long story), i just dont want to have a FT as boss( another long story on my brief working exp).
my rent range per week would be around 130 to 200 which largely depends of the suburbs, how fast i can reach school from the rental place.
In short, my name is SH, 20 this year, a graduate for RP with a Diploma of Biotechnolgy. i am more than willing to put down deposit for rent, i need help to getting to my rental place from the airport. someone nice enough to let me cook. i dont mind calling the rental person or skype. additionally, i hope they don't mind me staying during school breaks as i will working during that period of time.
guess i got lucky and responded to my email. you don't know how grateful i am.
best regards,
kanjiong student
******
Firstly, SH. Sorry for publishing your email without your permission. I don't have the time and you'll see why. I have a solution in mind but I'll like to ask around for a better one.
Dear Readers,
If you can help me out one last time, please kindly advise this fellow young lady which bank should she consider taking up.
The 2nd and bigger favour will be her lodgings. She has about 1 month to settle this, though it isn't that tight, it would soon be if things don't work out. If you have any or know anyone sub letting their room in a location that suits her travel to UWA, please email me at asingaporeanson@gmail.com
If I can may a suggestion - I opened a migrant banking account with NAB. So far, I see their ATMs all over and quite convenient.
ReplyDeleteThere aren't any charges for banking or using the ATM, and they give a relatively high interest on deposits: >5%
You can open an account from Singapore and transfer money over before you come over.
Sorry, don't have an answer yet about lodgings for now.
Both Karing n I recommend to search gumtree, look for near nedlands or west Perth. She will need to email or call people quick as it takes time though. Transport shd be ok around those areas. It may be a bit of culture shock to live with Aussies though!
ReplyDeleteApologies. Realized she has approached gumtree n agents before. We will do some searching hopefully can help. Ala Singapore serf, worse come to worse just come a week or do earlier, stay at a backpacker's like Townshend lodge, then do house visits. When there is a will there is a way!
DeleteDear Kanjiong student,
ReplyDeleteFrom my pass experience, I think if you are heading to Perth Bankwest or ANZ or Commonwealth is the best but I think you can choose the bank that have branch at your Uni and this you make you more convenience. For the accommodation, if you dont mind paying, probably staying at the university hostel is the best choice and this as well the university will provide the student service for your once you reach Perth.
At least that time when I was still studying in Curtin the Student council did provide this kind of service and there is a lot of share property around university area. You can actually just make a call of drop email to your university side to gain more information. Unless you are planning to rent the whole property. Nothing to be really too worry, as long as you got your offering letter, I think university side will provide airport fetch and other service to help you. ( Not sure whether Uni side will charged or not). If you have friend that can help will be great or else contacting the University side is the best way to get the access to everything.
Hope this helps you a bit, this come from my experience.
UWA International Centre. check: http://www.international.uwa.edu.au
DeleteHope this helps.
I would suggest bankwest as you can open a student account foc but money deposited in there will be without interest. But at the same time you can open another account named netsaver which must be done in the internet. You can transfer any additional money from the student to this account. There is interest for this account.
ReplyDeleteSame time you can apply a student credit card through bankwest as well. They may only allow like $800 to $19000 credit limit but I guess its good enough.
Atms are everywhere but of course aussie is totally different from spore which you can find atm underneath HDB blocks. You can actually withdraw money when you purchase grocery in supermarkets. I personally find it unnecessary worrying about the atms density but instead worry about the hidden charges.
If she has a driving licence, I suggest buying a used car is as important as finding accomodation.
Sorry I cant help on the accomodation issue. By the way spring is almost 3 months away.
sorry credit limits should be written as $800 - $1000 for a start.
DeleteTry Currie Hall - UWA's dormitory equivalent. That would be a good start and first step. Once you are more familiar with the surroundings and bearings, made some friends... Then, look for housemates to share a place. There are some apartments in Nedlands but rental market is tight now.
ReplyDeleteHttp://www.currie.uwa.edu.au
Hope this helps.
Sorry, another one to look at is St Thomas More College. Both Currie Hall and STMC are right across from UWA Nedlands campus.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stmc.uwa.edu.au
I hope the two halls have vacancy for winter intake.
I suggest Commbank instead of Bankwest. I started off with a Bankwest Student account when I got here last February but subsequently opened a Commbank account. With Commbank's Complete Access account, I don't earn any interest but I've an online savings account that's linked to it. It earned me 6.25% interest pa for the first four months and I'm now earning 5.85% interest pa, which is rather significant as compared to Singapore's shitty interest rates. Commbank also provides a Mastercard with the chip when you sign up. They've also got really good customer service and Commbank allows you to withdraw from Bankwest ATMs without an extra charge. Bankwest to Commbank is like POSB to DBS.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently living in Curtin's student housing, which is more reasonably-priced than UWA's. I would suggest living in one of UWA's colleges (dorms) for convenience purposes and also for safety purposes seeing as to how she's never been to Perth before. However, given her current budget for rental, it's impossible because UWA's colleges charge at least $300/week although food is included.
From what I do know, unis don't provide transport from the airport to their accommodation. Assuming she manages to find accommodation by then. I don't have a room to let, but if need be, I wouldn't mind picking her up at the airport so that she can save on the $50 she'd spend cabbing to anywhere near UWA. I understand what it's like to be 20 and alone in a foreign land.
I hope this helps.
May I suggest this site as well, can get some good advice and help here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/groups/singaporeclubau/?bookmark_t=group
Many thanks for the advise from you guys. at least now, i know what to deal the bank issue. :D
ReplyDeleteps. got the season wrong(sorry abt that)
best regards,
SH
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI believe Currie Hall may be difficult to get at the last minute. I had the same problems myself. My stay at St Thomas More was a very pleasant and memorable one. You may wish to contact them : http://www.stmc.uwa.edu.au/how-to-apply/
As you are quite unfamiliar with the place maybe just one semester in a residential college may be a great idea. then you can start looking around if you still feel like leaving the residential college. It may be a bit costly but meals are taken care of and you just cross the road to UWA. I stayed all the way at the college as it was a nice and friendly place to stay. but i had many friends who left after a semester.
And yes you ask them to arrange for transport from the airport. Otherwise a taxi from the airport could get you there but it is quite costly about $50 - 60 AUD.
ReplyDeleteHi SH, I might have found a room to let in Murdoch suburb. Its not that near to UWA but is just a train and bus ride away - not that difficult actually. the landlord is malaysian and a Singaporean Murdoch student I know is currently renting a room in that house. can you email me and I will pass you the landlord's phone no. and you can call him directly and discuss. My email is grace_seah@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteHow is SH gonna get to the train station? There's no feeder or shuttle bus here. Murdoch is a long way off from Nedlands. Winter time is worse, rain and windy or hail... And getting up extra early to make the distance to get to Uni is a struggle. Even if she were to drive, battling with the morning traffic from kwinana freeway towards the city will drive her nuts. Imagine during exam period. Not to mention, the need to stay back at library to do research... using public transport here at night is not advisable. One more thing to add, catching a public bus here is unlike in Singapore. It goes by the time schedule. Depending on frequency, it could take up to an hour for next bus if you miss the one you meant to catch.
DeleteThere are about 6 student accomodations across the road from UWA Nedlands campus. I was in Kingswood College about 15 years ago and enjoyed my stay there. The student administration can arrange to pick you up from the airport.
ReplyDeleteHi kind souls,
ReplyDeletemany thanks for help given here and via emails( via Nix).
regarding staying with school colleges:
most kid doing mid year intake may find it hard to get accommodation in school hostel esp since most students fill up the spots available
i guess i will get a taxi to my accommodation
regarding bank issues:
I have a brief idea on what to do and in good progress :D
you guys are awesome :D
Best regards,
SH
Hi SH,
ReplyDeleteI was in a similar situation -- 2 weeks left to pack and all, and only managed to find a temporary place to stay just one day before heading to Perth.
If you're in a big, big rush, forget about working out which bank gives the highest interest rate etc for now. You can easily bank hop when you're physically here. You might want to have an account with CitiBank -- which was what i did. Cos CB allows international fund transfer at no charge, and also ATM withdrawals at no charge as selected partner banks ATMs.
One option i'm about to suggest -- which i think many would disagree with -- is to settle for a temporary place (say, for 2-3 weeks), and hunt for something better when you are physically in Perth. This means paying more for the temporary stay -- i paid 250 a week, including meals, laundry etc. But it takes your mind off the house-hunt. And the landlord can pick you up at the airport as part of the deal. It's totally necessary to view the room before you commit to it long-term; it's hard for your friends to view the room on your behalf . . . not good if there are mismatched expectations. once you are physically in Perth, you can easily find a room. UWA's notice boards would have plenty of ads and that would be a good place to start.
We've still got a room available in my sharehouse, but that's in fremantle and might be too far from UWA. My previous landlord -- the one who hosted me for 2 weeks -- stays in Leeming. In any case, if you would like a back-up, for just those couple of weeks, let me know.
YC
Hi SH,
ReplyDeleteyou can also consider Westpac for your banking needs since there is actually a westpac located in the student guild area at UWA. That really helps if you need access to the bank often for transfers. Westpac also has student account options so you don't get charged bank fees, free ATM withdrawals etc. There is also a westpac ATM located in the student guild.
With regards to housing, you may want to just settle for temp accommodation at the moment if you can't find any or you can check out this database https://findhousing.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/Default.aspx
It is is database compiled by UWA student services. Alternatively, like YC mentioned, there are always heaps of posters at the student guild advertising for housemates :)
Good luck and all the best!
I just opened NAB account. There's no minimum fee and charges and whatnot. You can consider this
ReplyDeleteFor temp accommodation, try the "Cheviot Lodge" in Perth, there's good reviews for it and the boss is a friendly asian lady. Then subsequently look for budget unit/apartment upon arrival.