rob thomas at acer arena in sydney (17th feb 2010)

sydney event highlights

check out this website for upcoming events in sydney.

david gray in sydney (tue, 13th oct at the state theatre)

sydney's best rooftop bars

find a good and descriptive overview with links to the bar websites and their locations on google maps here: http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/barspubs/sydneys-best-rooftop-bars.aspx

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romancing royal randwick (sat 5 sept)

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visa options for australia

in the august issue of jobmap you'll find an informative article about visa options in australia. read more about:

- independent permanent migration
- sponsored permanent migration
- sponsored temporary
- student visa
- spouse visa
- extending working holiday visa

sydney fc home fixtures

sun, aug 16 vs. adelaide, 5pm
sun, aug 30 vs. wellington, 5pm
sat, sep 12 vs. north queensland, 7:30pm
sun, sep 20 vs. newcastle, 3pm
mon, oct 5 vs. central coast, 3pm
sun, oct 25 vs. brisbane, 5pm
sun, nov 1 vs. wellington, 5pm
sun, nov 29 vs. newcastle, 5pm
sat, dec 5 vs. north queensland, 7pm
wed, dec 23 vs. central coast, 7:30pm
sun, dec 27 vs. adelaide, 7pm
sun, jan 17 vs. gold coast, 5pm
sun, feb 7 vs. perth, 5pm
sun, feb 14 vs. melbourne, 5pm

pearl jam in sydney (nov 22nd)

green day (sat 12 dec - acer arena, sydney)

nickelback in sydney (13 nov)

accomodation

a short list of hostels in sydney central. from what i heard all these places are tidy and clean:


base backpackers (cbd, kent st)
wake up (cbd, pitt st)
youth hostel association (cbd, rawson place)

flat/room sharing

if you want to get out of the hostel dormitory and find your own flat or room share have a look at one of the numerous internet portals:



gumtree
share-accomodation
flatmate-finders
easy-roommates

clubbing in sydney

a friend of mine started a blog about sydney clubbing. sure he is writing about his personal impressions but the blog gives a good overview of clubs and bars in sydney. have a look here: http://jamestran.net/.

sydney's hot bars (part II)

world bar (king's cross, bayswater rd) - free entrance on thursdays. good music and booze out of teapots.
brooklyn hotel (cbd, george st) - two different areas: one mixed music zone inside and one electro music zone outside. starts not before 12pm
argyle (the rocks, argyle st) - very hip interior. a must see.
the gaff (darlinghurst, oxford st) - heaps of backpackers and bargain drinks if you show up early.
roof bar (cbd, castlereagh st) - have a stunning view over sydney cbd

to be continued...

hot bars in sydney

a list of bars, pubs and clubs i been to so far and regarded as being listed. this article will be definitely continued...


glenmore hotel (the rocks) - the best place when the sun is shining. you have a great look over circular quay
bar cleveland (surry hills) - nice place for good food and easy people
side bar (pitt st, central station)- a very well visited backpacker bar, good music and dancing all night through
scary canary (kent st, townhall) - also heaps of backpackers, menus for $10 until 9pm, different theme every day
shangri-la (the rocks) - there's a bar at the 36th floor. quite expensive but the best view over sydney. a must see!
fringe bar (oxford st) - good place for having some drinks and hot tunes. perfect combination of dancefloor and bar

where do you go for dancing, drinking or just meeting people?

maroubra beach

maroubra beach is the southest of the sydney beaches i have seen so far (manly - bondi - bronte - coogee - maroubra). like everywhere there are a lot of bbq's but that's quite it. there are no shops and nothing to attract people to go there. the waves were pretty high so i think this is not a beach for surf rookies.

bus: 376, 377, 395, 396 (bus map)
bbq: yes
food/drinks: only one café near to the beach
google maps

bronte beach

bronte might be my favourite beach because of its huge meadow and heaps of bbq places. you can spend the whole day with eating, drinking, playing ball games, taning and swimming. what do you want more?


bus: 378, bondi beach explorer (bus map)
bbq: yes
food/drinks: only a few (quite expensive) restaurants and cafés close to the beach
google maps

coogee beach

coogee beach is a very nice place if you want to chill and come down. it is not that crowded like bondi what doesn't mean that coogee beach is an empty place. a lot of nice clothes shops, cafés, restaurants and food stores surround the beach. there is a woolworths 7 minutes from the beach if you want to buy some stuff for the barbie.




bus: 313, 314, 370, 372, 373, 374 (bus map)
bbq: yes
food/drinks: lots of bars, restaurants and cafés very close to the beach
google maps

bondi beach

bondi is one of my favourite beaches. you can meet a lot of nice and beautiful people. it is a must see if you've never been there. if you prefer quite and calm beaches then this might be not your place. heaps of surf shops, clubs and bars all around bondi beach.


bus: 333, 361, 380, 381, 382 (bus map)
bbq: yes
food/drinks: lots of bars, restaurants and cafés very close to the beach
google maps

"bronson" - winner of sydney film festival 2009

the winner of this year`s sydney film festival is "bronson". watch the trailer on the sff website.

public holidays in nsw

2009/2010:
bank holiday 3 august
labour day 5 october
christmas day 25 december
boxing day 28 december
new year's day 1 january
australia day 26 january
good friday 2 april
easter saturday 3 april
easter monday 5 april
anzac day 26 april
queen's birthday 14 june

if you want to find out more about public holidays autralianwide have a look here.

concerts and all kinds of events

check online for upcoming concerts, theatre plays or sports events and subscribe for a personalized newsletter with all events soon to come to sydney:
ticketmaster online
ticketek australia

cinemas

dendy cinmas in newtown (king st) and opera quays (east circular quay)
ritz cinema randwick (st pauls st) - tuesday $7 tickets all day
imax theatre (darling harbour)
greater union (george st)

food courts and tasty food

paddy's market (chinatown) - open from thursday to sunday. this place is a real bargain for every kind of food especially fresh fruit and vegetables.
german bakery (townhall / queen elizabeth building) - very delicious. more than just white toast.
tropicana (coogee beach) - breakfast, salads & burgers. you have to try the chicken caesar salad.

daily/weekly food offers

all around sydney there are heaps of breakfast, lunch and dinner offers. here's what i found out so far. please feel free to enhance the list:

mon: $10 steak at glenmore hotel (the rocks)
tue: -
wed: $2 steak at palace hotel (coogee beach), $7 steak at rsl club (north bondi)
thu: $10 all you can eat pizza at fringe bar (oxford st)
fri: -
daily: $6 steak at scruffy's murphy (cbd), $1.20 sushi roll at wynyard station afternoon

sydney free wifi internet

in most cases there are unwired hotspots which you can use for free. the bandwidth is not very high but it's enough for sending emails and checking websites. find your unwired hotspot online. as far as i can remember there's a time limitation for using these hotspots (approx 9am-8pm). if you know any places where you can download with full bandwidth please let us know :-)

in every mcdonald's store (store finder) - only web and email
paddington arms (paddington, oxford st) - unwired
anise (newtown, king st)
tropicana café (coogee, coogee bay rd)
palace hotel (coogee, beach) - unwired
lounge 531 (cbd, george st)
there are 2 cafés on kent st (cbd, kent st)
one café around sussex / erskine st (cbd, erskine st)
teascape (randwick, perouse rd) - unwired
city tratt (cbd, castlereagh st)
cucinella (coogee, coogee bay rd)
apple flagship store (cbd, george st)
café at queen victoria building (cbd, qvb)

check out this link for free, full access wifi hotspots.

hospitals in sydney

just in case somebody needs a hospital or medical help have a look on this website. since i haven't been to a hospital in sydney yet i can't give any personal recommendation.

chill areas in sydney

darling harbour (map) - sitting and watching people, having good food and enjoy the stunning view
hyde park (map) - get a coffee from numerous shops around and listening to people making music
royal botanic garden (map) - a lot of different, colourful animals, don't forget to bring your camera
centennial parklands (map) - heaps of sports clubs and so much space for just hanging around

sydney universities

unsw (university of new south wales) -> scholarships
uts (university of technology sydney) -> scholarships
usyd (university of sydney) -> scholarships
uws (university of western sydney) -> scholarships
the university of notre dame - private uni

touristic places

taronga zoo (mosman)
opera house (circular quay)
sydney tower (cbd, market st)
sydney aquarium (cbd, darling harbour)
harbour bridge walk (cbd, the rocks)

get vouchers for discounts. you'll often find them in hostels or others backpacker places.

update: you find a 25% voucher for sydney aquarium, sydney tower and sydney wildlifeworld in wake up hostel (cbd, pitt st).

sydney museums and exhibitions

museum of contemporary art (cbd, the rocks)
museum of australian currency notes (cbd, martins place)
hyde park barracks museum (cbd, queens ct)


check out this link for more museums and exhibitions. what was your favourite museum? what exhibition do you recommend? are there any discounts for backpackers or students?

second hand book stores in sydney

berkelouw books (paddington, leichhardt)
t's bookshop (randwick)
booked out (randwick)
elizabeth's bookshop (cbd, pitt st) - second hand comics and free coffee

music stores in sydney

guitar crazy (coogee, arden st) - amps, basses and guitars for little money
allans music (cbd, pitt st) - huge store with a wide range of instruments and brands

cd/record stores

virgin megastore (cbd, george st) - heaps of cd's, dvd's of music and movies
repressed records (newtown, king st)
red eye record (cbd, king st)

i don't know if this store list is still up-to-date but it might be worth a look.

worthwhile shopping sites

one thing you can really do non-stop in sydney is spend your money for surfing clothes, eletronics and all kinds of fashion stuff. if you want to be sure to find something you're looking for try one of these places:


westfield mall (bondi junction) - the hugest mall in sydney. here you should find really everything you need.
newtown (king st)- very nice area for shopping. a lot of clothes shops and restaurants.
paddington/darlinghurst (oxford st) - shopping all along oxford st. take your time for having a coffee in one of the chilling cafés.
pitt street (cbd) - lots of shops and a huge mall. only if you like crowded places.
manly (the corso) - good spot if you are looking for surfing clothes.

where do you go shopping? what are your hip places for spending your time and money?

sydney swimming pools

olympic pool (milsons point)
ian thorpe aquatic centre (ultimo)
cook + philip park (cbd, college st)

usually there are swimming pools next to the beaches (e.g. bondi, clovelly bay)

tennis courts

kent street tennis court (kent st)
eastern suburbs tennis club (bream st)


there is a quite clearly arranged overview on the sydney city website but i think it isn't complete. if you know any other places feel free to post them here.

soccer clubs and pitches

if you like to play soccer yourself then you can check out these websites for clubs around your area:


southern suburbs football association
north suburban soccer assocation

a lot of motley teams play at domain car park. usually you can just stop by and join playing.

do you know other places for soccer, basketball or any kind of sports?

sport teams in sydney

afl: sydney swans (sydney cricket ground and anz stadium)
soccer: sydney fc (sydney football stadium)
cricket: sydney cricket club (sydney cricket ground)
nrl: sydney roosters (sydney football stadium)

what clubs and sports grounds do you know?

prolonging your working holiday visa

if you like to get a second working holiday visa check out the following website http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/visa-options.htm for prerequisites and all kind of questions concerning this issue.


if you like to work beyond 6 months for one employer have a look at this document.

work and travel tips

there are a lot of informative brochures and publications concerning work and travel in australia. have a look around hostels, bars and restaurants. "jobmap" is one example for an insightful magazin with heaps of tips for backpackers. main topics are how to get work, visa and what requirements are demanded for different kind of jobs. but don't take travellersxpress too serious. they want to sell their service. most things like requesting a tfn number or claiming your tax back you can do on your own without paying money for it!

get your tax back

claim your paid taxes back! you are entitled to do so when you leave the country or at the end of the financial year which is NOW (exactly end of june).

for detailled information you can have look here and if you like to lodge your tax return online go to the ato website and watch the online animated demonstration here.

workplace rights in australia

have a look here if you have questions concerning your workplace rights, e.g. minimum wages or tax deductions www.workplaceauthority.gov.au

certificates and job portals

certificates
rsa (responsible service of alcohol) - you need to have this certificate if you are going to work anywhere where alcohol is sold
rcg (responsible conduct of gambling) - you need to have this certificate if you are going to work anywhere that has in-house gambling.
oh&s (occupational health and safety construction) - you need to have this certificate if you are going to work on construction or building sites. there are different cards (green, red and blue) which represent the different states.



job portals
seek.com.au
jobmap.com.au
jobsearch.gov.au
www.travellersxpress.com
adecco.com.au
mycareer.com.au
www.taw.com.au
freespirit.com.au

what you get out of your earnings

earnings
% superannuation (9%)
% tax (tax tables)
= net income

when you leave australia you get almost everything of your superannuation payments (link) and taxes (link) back. that might be a nice amount of money to spend.

how to get eligible to work

if you have a visa which allows you to get employed all you have to do is:




1.) get a tax file number (tfn) => online application form
2.) open up a bank account, e.g. nab, westpac
2b) if you like you can open up a fund for your superannuation payments (9% of your earnings) with your favourite bank
3.) find work and spend money :-D