Monday and things to do, people to see.

What order do you start to organise things?

We picked up a hire car, so we can now drive around the suburbs and get a feel of the different areas of the city and surroundings.

We visited the bank and sorted out accounts that had been set up for us from London. The funds we’d transferred had arrived ok. We’ll have to call back in a few days for bank cards.

Our next task was to organise local sim cards for our phones. We had done our own survey since we arrived here, asking various people who was the best provider for Hobart. Our survey covered a wide demographic – 20 something male waiter – 50 something female sales assistant in Myers – 30 something male bank teller – 40 something female owner of motel. They all advised that Telstra had the best coverage.

We spent a while in Telstra. We wanted to get a contract but this proved to be impossible without an address and without any credit history in this country. We used the address of the motel, but still had to get a pre-paid card.

So we have Aus phone numbers now.

We visited an estate agent and arranged a couple of viewings. We gave them our new mobile number as a contact.

We can’t do much more until we have an address. We’ll need to register for Medicare, request tax file numbers. Everything requires a form to be completed and every form starts with name, then address.

So we’ll check rental properties online, contact estate agents and view those that appeal and hopefully find somewhere furnished for a six month lease. I’m not sure how difficult or easy this will be.

Things I have learned …

~ When applying for the mobile iPhone contract, or to transfer a driving licence, I wondered if a P O Box would be useful. It was pointed out to us that … “It must be a residential address. You don’t live in a P O Box.”