Chapter 2

It took us a while to get here, but now we truly feel that we’ve come into our own – Sydneysiders living the Australian dream. Dave and I joke that we’re now in our second chapter of our life in Australia. Our first chapter included our exhausting and wallet depleting move from South Korea to Australia. The story continued with the craziness of trying to find an apartment, securing jobs and creating friendships.

Our lease was to end on January 15, six and a half months since we moved into 8/298 Victoria Street. In December, my nerves began to fill my stomach and my head just thinking about how hard it would be to find an apartment during the holidays when most people are not looking to move. So for the whole of December, I was on domain.com.au looking for places within our price range, which has gone up because you can’t fight the property industry in Sydney – everyone pays sickening prices per week. Very few places showed up with the criteria we wanted:

• 1 Bedroom
• Separate Bathroom, Living room, kitchen
• In the Eastern Suburbs
• Close to transport, shops and cafes
• Furnished with at least a bed
• And under most importantly $400 per week

Luckily, Dave took his birthday day off and looked at 3 places around Darlinghurst and Potts Point. Unfortunately, they were unfurnished and way too expensive for what they offer. Such a bust. So I went back to searching the website and emailed a lot of agents for inspection times. Luckily, one agent came back to me for an inspection on the morning of Christmas Eve. In Australia, the media shuts down from mid-December to mid-January. Therefore, as a PR professional, I got a lot of time off – perfect for apartment hunting. So while I was off, I went to the inspection while Dave was at work. I walked 15 minutes from our current apartment to 402/40 Macleay Street – just around the corner from Kings Cross. The building upon me was a serviced hotel converted into individual apartments. The agent was late, so I knocked on the door and was greeted by a lovely French couple here on a one year visa to casually work and travel. They said they use this apartment as a home base when they are travelling around Australia and Vanuatu – a French colony island where their families live. This was a great chance or me to ask the residents about the apartment directly without bias from the agent. They told me that this apartment was fantastic – quiet, clean, hot and strong water pressure, and all the furniture and appliances worked perfectly. Beyond the conversation, the apartment spoke for itself. On the fourth floor, it had a view of sail boats in Elizabeth Bay. Because it was a corner room, the huge windows revealed rooftops similarly fashioned to European skylines with terracotta rooftops. Listening to them describe the apartment, their words rang clear in my mind – we had to have this apartment.

Fifteen minutes later, the agent arrived with one other prospect. The agent was very matter of fact. He didn’t say much and was just there to show us the place within a 15 minute timeslot so he could go home. After all it was Christmas Eve! The other prospect seemed interested. He was a gay Filipino guy who was living in a studio in Elizabeth Bay area and wanted a larger apartment. Judging each other’s interest while remaining to look ambivalent, we asked each other if we were interested. We both said, “Yeah. It’s alright.” I asked the agent when he needed the paperwork and he said after Christmas or today by noon. I said, ok I’ll bring it next week after Christmas, hoping the other prospect would hear me and do the same.

Leaving the apartment, I called Dave frantic. This was a huge decision for two people and I was making it without Dave ever have seeing it! He assured me that if I liked it, then he would too. Plus, it had big windows and that’s all he really cared about. So in the next hour, I found our bank statements, printed receipts of our savings from an ATM, brought our pay slips and took out $400 for the deposit. At 11am, I returned to the agent’s office with all my paperwork and signed over my deposit. Even more lucky, the agent lowered the price to $390 per week because they were in the middle of selling it to a new investor and needed to show off the apartment twice a week. They would come in on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 12-1230pm. Once they sold the apartment, we would still get to pay the discounted rate! I left the office satisfied with the morning’s work. The deed was done and my search was over. I had anticipated a huge apartment hunt for the whole of my vacation, but now I had secured mine and Dave’s second chapter in Sydney.

 

Dumping the Luggage into the New Apartment

The Only Thing That Matters After 3 Hours of Moving

Absolutely Exhausted

A lot of Clothes to Put Away

So for 3 weeks, we waited in anticipation. We made it a point to walk around the building picturing our future selves taking our morning run from our new apartment, grabbing groceries across the street, and preparing for picnics to Elizabeth Bay or Rushcutters Bay. The night before we left our Victoria Street apartment, we cleaned it out for the next tenant and reminisced about all the times we had to eat on our bed because we had no table and laughed with delight because we would never have to share a kitchen again with people who never washed their dishes.

Moving day finally came on January 13th. Dave and I took off work early. We picked up the keys and walked over to our new home. I opened the door for Dave just watching his reaction. His face expressed quiet approval and content. Now was the hard part – moving all of our belongings.

Dave is never one to spend for cabs, moving trucks or anything that would expedite our moving trip if he can physically move it himself. So, despite my protests, we filled two rolling duffels and 2 rolling suitcases and walked our stuff from Victoria Street in Darlinghurst to Macleay Street in Potts Point – a 20 minute walk through the ‘red-light district’ of Sydney. Thankfully, this move consisted of only 2 trips with full luggage and 1 extra trip to grab the delicates like Dave’s guitar, lamps and the thing we looked most forward to – pizza and beer. Certainly a refreshing reward for a hard day’s work. We stayed up till midnight arranging our stuff to complement our new home and we rested like we had labored on a construction site.

View from Our Bedroom

 

New Plants to Bring Life into the Apartment
Lavender, Basil, Rosemary

Decorated like a Spa: Our Bedroom

 

Three Years without an Oven!

First Thing we made was Cupcakes

Living Room at Night

 

Resourceful Cooking: Makeshift Steamer

Continuuing the Tradition with Lamb: The First Meal we Made in Our First Apartment

 

Lamb, Salad and French Bread

White Fish, Jasmine Rice and Sauteed Pak Choy



Every morning when we wake to the sunrise over Elizabeth Bay we look at each other with thanks. We are so thankful for getting to this point in our journey of being together, making the move to a new country and new continent and establishing ourselves in a new city where we knew no one. This is the second chapter to the Shave story and we are so excited to experience whatever may come next.

Sydney Harbour by Staples Australia

This is an amazing ad by The Works agency to introduce Australia to Staples, the office supplies store well-known in the US.

The entire structure was made out of office supplies. The structure was created by artist Darcy Prendergast using 344 recycled sticky notes, 84 boxes of staples, 361 bulldog clips, 169 paperclips, 107 rubber bands and 132 coloured pencils.

Sometimes I wonder why I don't work for an ad agency and then I realise how insane that industry is with their long hours and constant rejection. Sounds like fashion huh? 

On a side note, I've been addicted to Mad Men, a TV drama about an advertising agency set on Madison Avenue in New York City in the 1960s where males dominated society - hence the name. Wouldn't want to be a woman working at Sterling Cooper! Bring on Season 2!

Oprah Down Under Airs!

A Channel Ten Preview Clip of Oprah's Great Australian Adventure

It's finally here! The Oprah Show aired last night featuring the first of four episodes of her Great Australian Adventure. The hour long episode featured the stunning Great Barrier Reef and Uluru, kangaroos, the hot Aussie chef Curtis Stone and many screaming fans.

Although the show seemed to be one grand promotional gesture for Tourism Australia, the show gave Dave and I a good look at the places we need to visit around Australia . We now know we have to see White Haven beaches and Hamilton Island for sure.

I have to say my favourite part of the show was her walking in Melbourne with Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Oprah was totally trying to avoid talking to her! I would too, who wants to listen to her annoying voice!

Although the build up and hype of the Oprah Show is displayed during the remorseful Queensland floods disaster, it was really nice to see Oprah give a call to action and shoutout for the victims and heroes around Australia supporting the relief efforts.

Her brand power is amazing! I can't wait to read the articles about the ROI that Tourism Australia is getting out of the huge publicity push.

Sydney Top 10 of 2010

2010 will definitely be one for the record books. A lot has happened this year and just as I've tried to do my entire life, I've lived 2010 with no regrets. There were some tough challenges and big choices made, but I'm extremely happy about how everything has turned out this year.

In January and February, Dave and I continued our backpacking adventures around Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. From February through May, we moved back to Seoul and picked up teaching again for one more term. In April, we began our paperwork to transition to Australia finally getting our visas in May. In June, we said our goodbye's and moved to Australia for the next big adventure. For June and July, we looked for a place to live and work. In August we both got jobs and started to concentrate on our social lives and exploration of Sydney. In September, we became full-time employees of Taurus Marketing and GFK Retail & Technology and found a group of American friends through The Sydney American Expat Meetup Group. In October, I celebrated my 25th birthday. In November, Dave and I went to the Philippines for a family reunion and I got a raise at work. In December, Dave celebrated his 25th birthday and got a raving 3 month review.

Now that 2010 is drawing to a close, I reflect back on the past 12 months astonished and thankful of all the wonderful people I've met and experiences I've had. For obvious reasons, I cannot express my love for Sydney. It would take me this blog and probably a novel to even recount just the plane ride here. As I hope most people do when they move to a new city, they encounter new friends, new loves and new favourites. In the fashion of any year's end re-cap, I will give you my Sydney Top 10 of 2010...in no particular order.

Inside Shady Pines Saloon, Surry Hills

My favourite bar is Shady Pines Saloon. I was introduced to this tucked away Surry Hills pub by my very good colleague and friend Ben Rousselot. He has lived in Sydney for 2 years and he has made it his mission to find the best bars in Sydney. Living only down the street, he invited Dave and me to meet him one Saturday night. Waiting on a sketchy side street outside of what looked like an apartment, we weren't sure this would be worth the 45 minute wait. Once in, we found ourselves transported to a saloon of yesteryear - carpeted floors, wood furniture and wall paneling, dimly lit chandeliers and music of 20th century past. Unfortunately, it closed an hour later at midnight. It's been voted Time Out Sydney 2010 Bar of the Year!

 Lord Nelson Hotel Brewery Three Sheets Beer

My favourite beer has to be Lord Nelson Three Sheets . I first drank it at Shady Pines. Walking into a bar that boasts of Aussie microbrewery selections, I went with what the bartender suggested. Is the saying '3 sheets to the wind' when referencing how drunk someone is? That's the only guess I have to account for the name. The beer is a nice pale ale with a golden colour. The taste is of honey, citrus and herbaceous hops. I highly recommend it to my ladies out there who aren't the biggest fans of beer. It's light and tastes like sweet honey on your lips.

Our First Cooked Meal in Our First Sydney Apartment

Lamb, Rice and Steamed Veggies

Lamb is everywhere and it's so cheap. It's the cheapest meat I've found at the grocery store. I can usually find a 6 pack of lamb quarters for $10! If you didn't know it already, Australia is the largest exporter of sheep in the world with 30% of the margin! There are 10 times as many sheep in Australia than people! With such abundance of sheep, lamb has become a regular meal - at least biweekly - for the Beliveau/ Lim residence. In fact, it was the first meal we cooked when we moved into our first Sydney apartment in Darlinghurst. On a side note, I really don't like Kangaroo meat. For 2011, I'll have to find a place that prepares it to my liking.

Standing tall on a cliff on the Bondi to Coogee Walk

Beach culture in Sydney is amazing. It's on everyone's mind during the week and on their agenda for the weekend. Living in Sydney, I've got beaches to the North, East and South. My favourite set of beaches are between Bondi and Coogee. The Bondi to Coogee Walk is a famous trail that will take your breath away. Overlooking the set of beaches and the vast Pacific Ocean, it is an unforgettable 2 hour hike. You'll see sunbathers, surfers, picnics, volleyball players, the famous Surf Life Savers and the occasional 'Will you marry me?' sky writing up above. From where I live, it's only a 30 minute bus ride or 2 stop train ride.

Fish and chips

*Courtesy of Time Out Sydney

Fish and chips is no stranger in these parts. With the British influence, Australia has taken the traditional pub fare into every upscale restaurant substituting plain white fish for barrumundi. I was a big fan of fish sticks as a kid and of course french fries, but here it's 2 large flaky pieces of fish with a side of chips for under $10 AUD. I'm addicted for life!

Walking around the bend of Mrs. Macquarie's Chair

The Domain Overlooking the Sydney CBD

Back in NYC, I had Central Park. Here, I have The Domain. It's the park overlooking the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, CBD and contains the Botanical Gardens and New South Wales Art Gallery. Never taking full advantage of Central Park, I've utilised this part of the city to the max. Most mornings, Dave and I wake up at 5:55am to run through Mrs. Macquarie's Chair and Botanical Gardens. On the weekends, we picnic and usually stroll through the long way to get to the CBD and Circular Quay. That's the awesome thing about Sydney - it's a walking city. So whenever I want, granted it's a gorgeous day, I'm luck enough to run through every morning and get to walk through this beautiful green patch of the city with it's spectacular view of the iconic Opera House.

The Aroma Festival, The Rocks

With nearly 30% tax, the city has to find ways to give back to its residents. As a new resident of Sydney, I have yet to find a dull moment because the City of Sydney holds event(s) all the time. Every weekend, there is something to do whether it's a food festival, boat show or random fireworks - and Sydney loves its fireworks displays. My favourite event Sydney has held so far is the Aroma Festival in The Rocks. It was a free event with tents lining Circular Quay and The Rocks of coffees, teas and chocolates. Through the Summer and Spring, Sydney allowed cultural groups to hold festivals celebrating their nation's food and culture. I got to experience the Nepal Festival with my intern Sangita, a native Nepalese university student, who introduced me to chicken momos! Look for events around Sydney at What's On - trust you'll find something to do!   

Bowl of Wedges with a Side of Chili Sauce & Sour Cream

Pub food is an absolute steal here. You can walk down George Street and find steak, chips and salad for $6! The variety is unbelievable. You can get salads, chicken parmesan and calamari all under one roof in less than 20 minutes! My absolute favourite is potato wedges with sour cream and chili sauce. Bizarre as it sounds, the combination of sour cream and chili sauce is a flavour explosion of deliciousness. It's like the compliment and cancel out the negative flavour of each. The chili sauce is spicy enough to work out the sourness of the sour cream, while the creaminess of the sour cream cools down the chili sauce spice. You haven't lived unless you've tried it. Aussies tell me this about Vegemite, but I'm still skeptical.

Taking in the Fresh Air

The Domain Viewing the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Living in the gray cloud that is Seoul, moving to Sydney was literally a breath of fresh air. Seoul had gray skies of pollution from the mass of cars and trucks driving on highways built next to parks. Sydney is busy too, but is such a green city. The city does a good job of keeping trees, parks and large green lawns in and around the city. One of my favourite things to do after a long day of work is to walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge from Milson's Point to The Rocks. Although you're walking alongside Northern and South bound trains, you aren't choked. You feel the cool harbour breeze and breathe in the clean air while taking in the sunset. No wonder Sydney has been voted by the UN as one of the top places in the world to live! 

The Taurus Marketing Team Enjoying Melbourne Cup at The Ivy

I have tried to stay true to the cliche 'your job doesn't define you', but my transition to Sydney wouldn't have been the same without Taurus Marketing.  The company was the first to interview me, offered me a casual job for a month and finally signed me on to become a full-time employee - even sponsoring me for a business visa. It's tough moving to another country without any job prospects. It's even tougher to enjoy the move when you see your money spiraling down as you find creative ways to exist without a job while avoiding bum status. Working at Taurus has made it possible for me to have a steady salary to enjoy all that Sydney has to offer. Primarily it has offered me the experience to learn and work with the Australian media and corporate landscape. I've learned so much about public relations, marketing and social media that I hope will take me back home to America in the near future. Moreover, I've gained invaluable relationships through my co-workers and their networks. It's no longer just me, Dave and Sydney. We've got friends and our circle just keeps on growing. I'm so thankful that I've found a job that will allow me to stay longer than a year and keeps me challenged. I'm so excited for 2011 and can't wait to see how Taurus will change my professional and personal life while living as a Sydney-sider.

*Courtesy of The Australian