Hi Ho Hi Ho, It's off to work I go....

After a number of interview with recruiting agencies (which is how most employers hire staff) I found a job with a medical practice (without a recruiter).  It is a husband and wife practice, she is a neurologist and he is an endocrinologist. It's a super flexible job, in fact I was able to pick my start and end times so that was nice. One of the nice things about working in Australia is the "benefits" of the job. I say "benefits" because everyone who works get the same benefits, so in the Australian sense not really benefits but in the US sense we would consider them benefits.  My work hours are 8 to 4pm...with a lunch break and tea breaks (so I see that as 7 hours of work a day), there is 4 weeks of annual leave, 10 sick days and 10 public holidays and if that were not benefit enough, employers are required to contribute 9% of your base salary to superannuation (like 401k)! In the office that I work in, they close for 1 month at Christmas so they prefer that I take 2 weeks of my annual leave at Christmas time (ahhhh..no problem) and they ask that I take 1/2 day off per week or 1 full day after 19 days worked! I think I'm going to like this job! 

I have been told that in Australia they work to live, where in the US we live to work...so it will be interesting to see the differences in the work culture. I will post more as I observe things.  For now...I have to get out of here and catch a tram to work!

Apartment secured!!!

After many weeks of searching, applications and disappointments we finally have secured an apartment! The apartment rental market is very tight here in Melbourne. There are many more people looking for apartment than there are apartments available, therefore it becomes very competitive and the owners can get large amounts of money for their tiny 2 to 3 bedroom apartments.  In addition the process is very complicated. You inspect a property (in a 15 minute time frame along with everyone else interested in the apartment) then you submit an application along with a number of supporting documents (bank statements, passports, proof of employment, and previous rental history, in our case mortgage statement records) and you wait to see if the agent chooses you to rent the apartment.  So it's important that you are nice and personable with the agent as they have a say in who rents. Nic will tell you that I laid it on thick when there was a place that I liked. The average cost for a 3 bedroom apartment in the CBD (central business district) ranges anywhere from $750-$1100 per week! CRAZY! Our apartment is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment on Russell Street at Little Collins. It is right on the north end of the city, know as the Paris End. It is a half a block from the 5th Avenue or Michigan Ave of Melbourne CBD. I can see the Louis Vuitton and Gucci from our balcony! I'm very relieved to have found a place and now can get that off of my to do list! Now all I need is our container to arrive and to find a job! I'll post pictures soon!