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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

best city to move to in australia

    living in sydney australia

    Living in Sydney (What It’s Like)

    by Nick & Raychel May 8, 2020
    In the past few years, we’ve been so lucky to live in different cities around the world like Toronto, Vancouver, Phnom Penh, the Okanagan and Sydney. Now, in a time of reflection, we are looking back on all these amazing places we’ve been so lucky to live. So alas, let’s talk about the pros & cons of living in Sydney.
     
    We moved to Sydney from Canada in 2018 on a Working Holiday Visa. Of course, everything in this article based on our opinions and experiences. We also believe it’s important to mention that we moved to Sydney after having lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for a year, as we believe that impacted our perspective. 
     
    Prefer to watch, not read? Find our YouTube channel here.
     

    High quality of life in Australia

    As you probably know, Australia is a country where people generally live high quality lives. Living in Sydney (or Australia in general) typically means reaping the benefits of a developed country.
     
    The drinking water is clean, the education system is fantastic, and the medical system is amazing. It’s all around a lovely, safe, clean place to live.
     
    Depending on what your circumstance is, if you’re thinking about moving abroad for the first time, Australia is a great choice. It’s well set-up, it’s safe, it’s clean, its beautiful. Many expats settle in well, since it’s not a hard country to adjust to.
     

    It’s easy to find an apartment in Sydney

     
    Because there are a lot of expats there, we found it very easy to find an apartment (multiple apartments) while living in Sydney. 
     
    There’s no shortage of finding a place to live, whether you want to live by yourself, whether you want to live with roommates, a place by the beach or something more expensive, or less expensive. There’s tons of options because there’s so many expats in and out of the city.
     
    It’s a traveler’s paradise, so there are a lot of options for places that you can just pick up a lease and live there.
     
    We found Sydney to be a really inviting city in general. It wasn’t very hard at all to find an apartment. It’s not very hard to make other friends that are expats. We lived in a house actually at one point that had a whole bunch of different travellers in it – and the city is full of those types of arrangements.
     

    There is a wide variety of really good food

    Because of the rich diversity in Sydney, there is no shortage of great food from all over the world.
     
    Like many big cities, there are a lot of food options in general! Cheap food, expensive food, street eats, anything! Seriously. Anything you are craving, you will be able to find. 
     
    And when it comes to living in Sydney- that is a huge pro in our books.
     

    Sydney offers an amazing mix of city and nature

    You never really feel like you’re in a big stinky city while living in Sydney, because you are surrounded by so much nature! Beautiful beaches, hikes, and parks – Sydney really has you covered when it comes to getting your nature fix.
     
    Within Sydney alone, there are well over 100 beaches, and you are always a bus/train ride away from beautiful destinations like the Blue Mountains or Kangaroo Valley.
     

    A fantastic transit system

    Some locals may laugh at us. I know some of my colleagues sure did when I *constantly* commented on how efficient the transit system is within Sydney.
     
    The transport system consists of trains, buses, ferries and the light rail – and they all work together to get you around (and out of!) the city as efficiently as possible. 
     

    The jobs pay well & the market is great

    Like finding an apartment, we found job hunting in Sydney pretty easy to do. There were a few things we wished we knew before moving there, but once we got the hang of the job market, we had jobs within 48 hours. 
     
    The pay in Australia in comparison to (especially) Canada or the US is really high. The pay is really high. The minimum wage alone is very high, and we found that actually many entry-level positions pay higher than minimum wage.
     
    For example, in Ontario (Canada), the minimum wage is $14 and MANY employers pay $14 an hour, a lot. In Sydney, the minimum wage is $19.49, but many employers are willing to pay more than that – even in coffee shops, restaurants, and other service positions.Of course, you have to take in consideration the conversion rate, but we think it’s important to mention.
     
    The best part is that we found jobs in our field – with ease – and high pay. Not much gets better than that.
     

    We can’t deny that Sydney is expensive 

    All that said about the wages, they do match how expensive the city is. Especially if you’re planning on going out and having drinks at the bar or just doing recreational activities that typically cost money.
     
    Sydney is expensive. We can’t deny that. We do believe our wages matched how expensive the city was, however, and we never struggled with money while living in Australia.
     
    Most employers understand that you’re in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
     
    Hey, if that’s our only downside (and it’s not really a downside since the wages are so good), we can’t complain.
     
    Have you ever lived in Sydney? Let us know what you thought about it!
     

    What about the nitty gritty stuff about moving to Australia? Find our article here.

    or read here: the SURPRISING costs of moving to Australia & everything we did wrong 

     


     
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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

Not Luxe

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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Instagram

  • Every choice comes with sacrifice. We chose to use our money that we work for to travel, and we continue to make that choice every day.

But making that choice means we haven’t been able to do other things that another 30 year old couple would maybe do. We sold our car, all of our things, we don’t have a stable place to live, we haven’t started a family, we don’t own a home.

We work overtime to afford our travels, and we have very little money for anything else. 

And of course, we must acknowledge that we have huge amounts of privilege to even be able to make that choice. Our strong passports allow us to see much of the world, we were born into a country where our currency is valued worldwide, and we always have a friend or family member’s couch to crash on if we need it.

So this post is not meant to complain, rather show: everything comes with a sacrifice - and if you’re considering giving up your stable life for full-time travel, there may be some things you have to leave behind.

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips  #girlslovetravel #travelgram #getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #canadiancreator #vancouverblogger #vanlifesociety #vanlifediaries #traveldiaries
  • We’ve lived on 3 continents by travelling slow and working when we end up 🫶🏼

& somehow our travels brought us back to our home city for the summer this year for the first time in 6 YEARS! Damn.

But we’ve said it once and we’ll say it a trillion times, we will do almost a n y t h I n g in the name of travel.

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips #gapyear #travelgirls #travelgirlsgo #girlslovetravel #travelgram #granolagirl#getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #vanlifeculture #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #tinyhome #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • If you want to live in a van in 2023/2024, here is our roadmap for getting started with van life. 

⇾ Embrace minimalism and downsize your possessions

⇾ Research different van options that fit your lifestyle and budget

⇾ Set a realistic budget for your van purchase or build

⇾ Plan your layout and storage needs

⇾ Learn about solar power and sustainability

⇾ Source materials and supplies for your build - you can learn on YouTube

⇾ Talk to insurance companies and classify your van as a motorhome

⇾ Download iOverlander and create a budget for your travels

⇾ Connect with the van life community and attend meetups

⇾ Hit the road and embrace the freedom of van life 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifemovement  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving #vanconversion #vanconversionideas #vanbuild #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #granolagirl #vandwellers #explorecanada #travelcanada #yvrcreators #canadiantravelbloggers #outdoorscreator
  • How much I spend in a day living *basically* rent-free in Vancouver 

As many of you know, we live in a van, but we also do housesitting with @trustedhousesitters 

Transit with a compass card is $2.50 which I use frequently - especially to visit my parents who also live in Vancouver 

This day we checked out To Live For Bakery @tolivefor.bakery which I highly, highly recommend to anyone who is cruising through the city and ends up on Nanaimo 

Also popped by @welksonmain for some N/A drinks from  @sobercarpenter & @getgruvi 

And our Trusted Housesitters membership is $11/mo totalling $0.38 for rent per day

& the one day total was $18.23 

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlifeculture  #traveldiaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vandwelling #discovercanada #vancitylife #bcadventure #canadiancreator #vancouverfoodie #veganfoodie #outdoorsycreator #minimalism #housesitting
  • Things we would have never done if we had listened to ✨ fear ✨(and these are just a few)

• quit our jobs to teach English in Asia
• sold everything we owned (twice) 
• moved to a country we’d never been to before (twice)
• converted an old ambulance into a tiny home with no experience
• drove from Canada to Mexico in our van 
• met up with people from the internet and became best friends 

But mostly, taken a chance on ourselves.

We do our best to not let fear or the opinions of others lead the way. 

Do you have any to add?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__ 

Tags: #notluxe #vanlifecouples #tinyhome #vanlifers #vanlifevirals #vanlifedistrict #vanlifeideas #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #travelgirlsgo #exploretocreate #travelcouple #traveltheworld#travelcreator #travelblogger #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • Is van life really cheaper than renting? Van life costs vs. monthly expenses living in an apartment.

Not to mention the average price in Vancouver now is $2,700 - so not sure where we’d find that $1,300 rental anymore.

Any questions about van life?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—

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