My husband and I are moving to Australia later this year. I’ve already received my visa, though, and it has to be activated before May. I just have to enter the country, even if it’s only for one day, before the deadline.
Therefore - I’m going to Sydney!! By myself!! In a few weeks!!
Yay!
I’ll be there for 5 nights and one of the days will be spent dealing with the people at the immigration office. I’m staying right downtown (near the Rocks, on George Street).
Since I’ll only be there for a short time, and since this is really a utilitarian trip and I won’t be spending a lot of money, I’m looking for stuff to do.
Anyone have suggestions for cool, FREE stuff to do in Sydney??
People watching in Circular Quay is fun and free. And of course there’s always Bondi Beach which will just cost you bus fare if you’re not renting a car.
Yeah, I’ve done the flight before, only last time I had a 10 hour layover at LAX (and from 10 am to 8 pm, so I couldn’t even get a hotel room). I’d prefer to go for longer, but since I’m going by myself and I don’t want to spend really more than necessary, I’m keeping it short. Maybe if I stick to nightlife, I won’t go off my sleep schedule to much!
Do you all think the Botanical Gardens will be good that time of year (end of summer, I guess)? Probably not free, but something I’ll probably hit. My husband suggested a train ride out to the Blue Mountains - anyone done this?
Yeh, definitely do the botanical gardens - they’re right by Circular Quay, too!
The Art Gallery of NSW (I think it’s called) is very nice and I think that was free IIRC.
I didn’t take a train to the Blue Mountains, but I did take a tour bus which also made a stop at a wildlife reserve. It is definitely worth it - it’s beautiful there, but it isn’t free. I think it was around $80AU, but with the exchange rate it was almost half for me.
If you’re at the Rocks, a ferry to Manly is only a few bucks, and you can tie that in with a day at either a Harbour beach or a surf beach (the first is next to the wharf, the other’s a few hundred metres away across the penninsula).
Other than that, walks are good - the Botanic Gardens are, indeed, free. Depending on how fit you are you could walk across the Harbour Bridge and around the North Shore. Climbing the Bridge is a nice idea, but they charge pretty heftily.
If you’re willing to travel for an hour by train, there’s some very decent bushwalking in the Ku-Ring-Gai National Park or in the Blue Mountains.
I believe that the Australian Museum and the Art Gallery both charge, but have either discounted or free admission one day a week.
Again, charging but not too much, try a ferry across to Taronga Zoo - certainly worth a look.
Try taking the “tourist” bus, you pay once and it drives around Sydney and vicinity (out to Bondi), and you just get off when you want, then catch it later and go somewhere else. It wasn’t too expensive, but that was a few years ago.
I loved the Queen Vic building. It is basically a shopping/eating kind of place, but the interior is lovely. Kind of upscale, like a 19th century Nordstroms, with a man playing a grand piano.
Down by the Rocks, there are some little historical museums. You could spend a bit of time learning about the area, and then visit the shops in that area.
Circular Quay is definitely a great place to people watch. Grab a seafood cocktail and sit in the sun. Of course, it you haven’t already been on the tour of the Opera House, that’s a must do.
As as been said, unfortunately these days most organised tourist activities such as museums etc which were once free, now charge admission.
Some of the less expensive activities are listed below:
The Australian Museum at the corner of College and William Streets, charges A$8 admission for an adult.
Taronga Zoo is located in a spectacular harbour setting, and will cost you A$23 admission. You’ll need to catch a ferry to get there, but you can buy a combined ferry/admission ticket.
Sydney Ferries run harbour cruises at A$15-19 per adult, depending on the time of day. The famous Manly Ferry was A$10 return, last time I used it a year or two ago.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales, on Art Gallery Road at The Domain, has free general admission. There are charges to see certain special exibitions.
Other than that, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, and Chinatown are prime people watching locations. The Star City Casino near Darling Harbour is also worth a look. Hyde Park, Centennial Park, and the Royal Botanic Gardens are nice quiet escapes.
Don’t know if it’s still there but a lunch or dinner cruise on the Bounty is really cool. The Bounty is the actual ship used in filming Mel Gibson’s “Mutany on the Bounty.” It’s on Circular Quay. And it’s a short walk to the Gardens from there.
Did Australian immigration authorities really say all you have to do is arrive with your immigrant visa to be declared a landed immigrant, just so you can turn around, leave and come back later?
When I immigrated to Oz several years ago I was told I had to arrive before my immigrant visa expired, but once there, could not leave under any circumstances for at least 90 days. Even so, after my initial 90 days, any time I wanted to leave Australia I had to apply for an immigrant return visa just to get back into the country. Of course, the laws and rules may have changed since then.
Eventually, it made for sense to me to apply for citizenship and avoid all the immigrant/permanent resident rules when I wanted to travel in/out of the country.
I suggest you check this out long before you actually go, and don’t assume Australian immigration authorities will be completely forthcoming in information.
At the very least, sometime in those five days spend some time and:
Not only did they say it to me, I have it in writing (twice!)! It says that I can enter and leave the country as many times as I like between the time I make my initial entry and the time I get my permanent resident visa (which could take up to two years). In order to activate the visa I’ve been given at this time, I have to enter the country on or before the initial entry date, even if for only one day. (I don’t have the letter sitting right in front of me, but that’s almost word for word. I know this, because they actually sent me the same letter twice. I initially wanted to extend the date of initial entry and when I asked them how to do this, they sent me the same letter. Hmph.) After it’s been activated, I’m good to come and go. I’m planning on bringing all this correspondence with me, just in case. Worse comes to worse, I’ll bed down on our friends’ couch until I get everything straightened out.
I don’t know if it makes a difference, or what your visa “type” was, but I’m married to an Australian citizen and that’s how I applied for mine. Maybe because of that, they figure I’m not out to bilk the system in some way so they’re a little more lenient?? I know that my husband’s U.S. visa (through marriage) is a lot more flexible than the H1B visa he initially had when he moved to the U.S.
#1 I’ll check into. I don’t want to be liable for taxes on money I’m making in the U.S. right now, though, so I’ll have to investigate. #2 Already done (months ago - we did this electronically and with a little legwork from the in-laws) #3 Can’t be done until you’ve been in the country 10 days, which I won’t be this time. I’ll do this when we actually move. #4 Probably something I’ll wait on until we actually move, also.
Anyway, thank you very much for all advice. I really appreciate any and all information and suggestions for the whole “project”.
The Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo has a great collection of technology, and lots of interactive stuff. A$10 admission.
The Inner West suburb of Newtown is only five or ten minutes’ train ride from the city centre, and its famous King Street is another great people-watching place. Lots of cafes, bookstores, restaurants. It’s a mix of students, gay folk, and alternative types.
Oxford Street, Paddington is a shoppers’ paradise (trendy and expensive though). Bus 380 (Bondi Beach Route) from Circular Quay.
If you don’t mind a 50 minute train ride, you’ll find the outer suburb of Cabramatta (Sydney’s “Little Saigon”) an amazing and colourful place (lots of shopping bargains there too, especially on fabric and clothing). Make sure you have lunch at one of the many intimate pho restaurants along John Street.
If you’re staying at the Circular Quay end of George Street, after you’ve exhausted the activities around the Quay and The Rocks, you’ll find that the area of town you’re in is pretty much business-oriented, and doesn’t offer a great deal for the tourist. It’s worth jumping on a bus and heading downtown along George Street to its intersection with Market Street. This is more or less the centre of Sydney’s retail district, and you’ll be within a block or two of most major retailers, department stores, The Pitt St Mall, and the cinema area. A little further down George St past the cinemas, is where you will find quite a number of internet cafes. The hefty competition ensures they are dirt cheap.
That’s very valuable information. I had planned to search an internet cafe out in order to keep in daily touch with my husband (instead of calling every day), as international calls may get a bit expensive.
Great! And smart idea that you’ll have copies of your official documents with you. Better still, have a few photocopies in reserve, just in case.
I was “sponsored,” too, by my then Aussie fiancee. I know the laws and rules have changed quite a bit in that category.
Think hard before you ever acknowledge any income you may make now, or in the future in the USA, on your Australian tax return. You would open up a can of worms beyond your imagination. I am not advocating you break the law but look into this fully. I checked into this heavily when I lived in Australia. All of my USA-based IRA retirement funds would have been subject to Aussie taxes even though none of the money was earned in Oz, none of the money was in Oz and none of the money was/is subject to US taxes then or now.
When I was there the Australian government regularly ran ads in national newspapers offering to help new immigrants with transferring funds from the “old” country to Australia. The ads targetted retired immigrants. I checked into this with several immigration friends and was told the offers were indeed genuine, but the real motive was to tax overseas pensions. So even if you worked your life overseas, paid taxes and earned a pension, Australia wanted to tax that money, regardless if your “old” country was also taxing the money. I have a real problem with double taxation, especially when the tax is against money in one country which has nothing to do with the other country.
OTOH, I always reported my full Aussie income on my US taxes. After all, the first $78,000 (in US Dollars) in income is exempt from US taxes. At current exchange rates (US$0.5893/AUS$1.00), you would have to earn more than AUS$132,000 before your Australian income is subject to US taxes. (However, any self-employment income in Oz is subject to US Social Security tax.)
