Tips and Tricks for Living and Working in Sydney
We asked one of our closest friends about what living and working in Sydney is really like. She gave advice on the best neighbourhoods to live, how to make friends, find a job and what you should not miss in this incredible city.
Of course, Sydney is one of the first stops on many people’s Australian trips. It’s a city that embellishes everything great about life down under. You can experience it all here, the sun, the sea and the easygoing lifestyle. The iconic Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous landmarks in the world and attracts millions to the city every year. The city certainly has a visual charm. But what is it actually like to live and work in Sydney?
Who is Louise?
Louise is an experienced traveller, Brentford supporter, brunch enthusiast and Geography graduate from London, UK. She started her mature ‘gap yah’, around Asia, before living and working in Australia on the 417 Visa. Louise travelled extensively around the country searching for the place she would like to live and work. Like other Brits and expats, she decided to live in the beautiful city of Sydney, but unlike others Louise travelled further afield, including to New Zealand and Fiji, taking advantage of the close proximity.
‘The vision of the Aussie sun, beach and chill’
How easy is it to find a job?
We had an interesting discussion about how easy it is for a British person to go to Australia. Not only is the language a huge benefit, but it’s a very easy process to get a working holiday visa, with many people’s applications being accepted in seconds. Then there’s ‘the vision of the Aussie sun, beach and chill and it does turn out to be how you imagined’.
‘Sydney or Melbourne?’ is one of the big questions that many travellers ask themselves. There’s a saying that goes, you’re either a Melbourne person or a Sydney person. After travelling to both, Louise decided on living and working on Sydney, (she preferred the aesthetics of the city) and was lucky enough to get a job relatively quickly.
‘It’s the biggest city, so that helps and the fact that I’m British helps’.
What neighbourhoods are the best to live in?
Louise lived in a few neighbourhoods in Sydney, St Ives on the North Shore, and Redfern in Surry Hills. However, she decided that she came to Sydney to be near the beach, so moved to Bondi Junction and then finally to Edgecliff (which was her favourite). She recommends this place in particular as being close to Bondi, but also near to other incredible beauty spots like Watson’s Bay and close to cafés in Paddington.
‘It seems smaller than London and I loved the proximity to the water, the beach and the harbour, I’ve always liked living close to water’.
Then our discussion moved to focus on the food scene in Sydney. Louise described some of the best Sydney spots to have brunch. Again, highlighting the rivalry of the two cities, she argues that Sydney is in fact better than Melbourne. If you’re a foodie, you shouldn’t miss trying some local spots. ‘Café culture, Australia does it so well’.
It’s not always sunshine and sand in Australia; you are so far away from home and if you don’t have a job, Sydney is expensive to live in. When you have a job though, ‘it’s great, as Australia has higher wages in general’. Another daunting factor is making friends, when you move to a new place, you don’t know anyone, and so you try to form a network of people.
How can you make friends living and working in Sydney?
We reflected on friendships formed abroad and how they are more likely to be other internationals, as you are in a similar situation. We agreed that Aussies are friendly people and that we couldn’t really blame them for not wanting to form strong friendships with people only staying for a year or two.
If you’re looking to make friends abroad, use your contacts, who do you know that lives in that place? Text them, maybe they want to meet up for a coffee? Or take the plunge and ask work friends if they want to go for a drink?
If you don’t know anyone, then there’s a free group you can join called Girl Gone International. They have over 500,000 members in over 160 cities in 55 countries. ‘ They organise meet ups through a Facebook group and people regularly post saying they are new to an area’. At first it seems a bit scary, but everyone is in the same position. Some people were actually meet up fanatics, who regularly used the app Meet Up to connect with people who share similar interests and this one is used by everyone.
‘You go there thinking you’re going to make friends from all over, but it’s funny, I made friends with people that live just down the road’. I guess this just shows us that the world’s a lot smaller than we think or that we are drawn to people similar to ourselves. Even though we might not want to admit that.
What is a stand out memory?
A stand out memory Louise discussed is from Christmas day. A group of like-minded travellers rented a boat to sail under the Harbour Bridge and to stop at numerous beaches. When you think of Australia, you do imagine the sea, the Opera House and the sun and so this epitomises the ‘Sydney Dream’ and it wasn’t as expensive as you think. There was an issue with some partying Brummies and they almost ended the experience for everyone, but they ‘convinced the captain of the bay to kick them off the boat’. I think the lesson here is to know your limits.
What is different about working in Sydney?
What’s interesting is that one of the main differences is ‘work life balance’. Having worked in Social Housing in London and Sydney, there’s a huge difference and I believe this is the same for other industries too. Maybe it’s the weather, or a desire to hit the beach after work, but Aussies really know when it’s time to go home ‘Even the managers, come 5 o’clock, they were out of the door’. It’s not that the Aussies don’t work hard, they just manage to separate work from home and they know when to take coffee breaks. If that’s something they could pass on to the UK that would be great.
If you’re considering the big move to Sydney ‘Just do it’ says Louise but make sure you see other places too. Remember Australia is big. If you’re nervous about travelling by yourself then there are always tour groups such as G Adventures. Join networking groups and utilise them. You can even find places to live on through Facebook groups such as Inner city Housemates, Bondi Loop’. Also ‘Irish around Sydney’ is a popular group, although I’m not sure whether you have to be Irish or not.
Louise’s top five places you can’t miss when visiting Sydney:
- Brunch @ The Depot in North Bondi for laid back, rustic vibes with great coffee and delicious food. Or if you’re in Paddington check out Ampersand which doubles as a bookshop haven selling over 30,000 used books.
- Hermitage Trail Coastal Walk. It goes from Rose Bay to Watson’s Bay through windy paths, beautiful houses and cute beaches. Including Louise’s favourite beach in Sydney ‘Milk Beach’.
- North Sydney Olympic Swimming Pool. You’ll never swim in a pool with a better view. It’s not expensive and you can spend the whole day there, sunbathing on the grass banks.
- The 10km Spit to Manly Walk to enjoy both bush and beach. Experience the rays over the sea as an alternative to the Bondi to Coogee walk.
- Blue Mountains for a day out of the city and to experience the ‘Great Outdoors’ that Australia has to offer.
Interested in living or visiting Sydney? Read about the top 10 things you can do for free in the city!
What are the visa requirements for living and working in Sydney?
If you are British, you must be aged between 18-30 and have no dependent children to go on the 417 visa. This visa lasts for a year from the date of entry and costs $485 AUD. This visa allows you to do any type of work but you can only work for one employer for 6 months. There is also the possibility to stay another year if you work 3 months of specified work.
‘Seeing people enjoying Sydney makes you enjoy it more’
Louise is now home in London for the foreseeable future, but hasn’t ruled out going back.
Photo Credit: Averagelives.com and Unslpash
What a lovely interview, filled with tips and recommendations. I loved the concept of workers leaving a workplace at the end of the day. The weather must have a lot to do with it, but my guess is that’s not the whole story. Thanks for the post.
We relocated to Melbourne from the UK in 2012 and I agree that in the beginning, work life balance was amazing for my DH (I wasn’t working as had young daughter) but as the years went on, it changed. Initially, the company was amazing and had fantastic leadership. As heads of companies changed, so does the style of management. He started leaving home earlier and coming home much later as did his colleagues, they were all stressed and fraught. Most of them were in a constant state of worry about loosing their jobs and their was a lot of in-house bullying. I think it’s important to give a balanced view as there is always going to be both post and negative wherever you go and to think otherwise is unrealistic.
Oh wow. Thanks for your comment!
Yes, of course it depends on where you work and it won’t be the same for everyone. This is just one person’s story. However, from personal experience and other expats still out there, there is a much better work life balance overall. For example, I am a secondary school teacher in the UK and when I did the same job in Queensland, it is a completely different experience. It was considered strange if you stayed 30-minutes after the school day had ended and the pressures were just not the same. Of course, they do not have Oftsed, which is probably the reason for this.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your experience. The grass is not always greener is it?