Job Hunting in Melbourne

Ok, I haven’t written in a while so will do my best to keep it short! Arrived back from our East Coast trip and on a bit of a come down! Loved the freedom of the road and being by the coast all the time.....Colin went and stayed with his friend Sacha out in Werribee, while myself and Breen checked into a hostel.

Altogether for different reasons over the 2 months we moved 13 times!! Crazy but true. It was some experience……..

We started off in a hostel called Global and stayed just a few nights as it was fairly grotty and full of bed bugs. Then went to one called Elizabeth which was the worst place I have ever stayed in. Full of old men out of work that just hung around and smoked. The bed was so soft that our backs ached and twice when I was in the women’s shower strange men attempted to come in and use! That place totally freaked me out and I can’t believe we managed to stay there 3 nights! Also it was during the heat wave which was unbearable heat! It got up to 46C one day and this heat wave lasted about 4-5 days. We just had a fan in our small room but it did nothing, we couldn't sleep. I've never experienced heat like it. Also Melbourne is very windy and during this time it was hot air blowing in your face. I felt like my contacts were going to melt!

(Unfortunately this was also the time when the bushfires started and Black Saturday was during the heat wave. Hundreds lost their lives and thousands lost homes. It was unbelievably heartbreaking seeing the news. The damage was indescribable and probably wasn’t covered that much in England and Ireland)

Thankfully, we knew a girl who worked for a hotel group. We got in contact with her and she sorted us out a really sweet deal! She got us a room for a long weekend in a 4 start hotel and upgraded us to the executive suite!! It was just what we needed – air con! It was a welcome break to have a bit of luxury and we got it for cheaper than we would of a hostel.

We stayed there a few days then on to one called the Exford Hotel as our friend couldn't get us any more nights at the 4 star, but she could get us a week at a 3 star but we needed to just stay one night in another hostel. So after that night we stayed a week at the Kingsgate hotel and that was nice to stay in one place for a week!

After 2 weeks in Melbourne, James, Alana and Fiona were due to arrive in Melbourne, as they had been finishing off the East Coast. They arrived and we went to the hostel they were staying in (The Discovery) to save money we got a 4 bed dorm together as James was going to Brazil for 2 weeks and then coming back.

This hostel was ok but the kitchen was disgusting! .

Every day we would spend hours on the net looking for jobs, ringing agencies and going round places with out CV's. Little did we know it was the start of a very long job hunt! Our plan was also to get a house for all 6 of us. We viewed gorgeous ones but no luck. I think it was because we were backpackers, they didn't want to know!

Alana then decided she was going home! Her mum offered her a job back home in Ireland in her cafe and she went for it.

We then checked out of the Discovery for a weekend break to the coast! We went to one of my favourite places in Australia, Torquay and had a great weekend camping and surfing and chilling...perfect weather.

When we came back to Melbourne everywhere was booked out so we went to our trusty friend Krystel and she got us a deal for 2 nights in the Ibis which was a very nice hotel. We then had to decide where to go again!! wanted a really nice hostel (Urban Central) that we had heard about but was booked out until later that week so we went back to the Discovery again for 2 nights and then on to the nice hostel, Urban Central. It was the nicest hostel we have stayed in with a really nice kitchen to cook. At this stage we are pretty sick of moving around every few days!! Urban Central could only give us a week. During this time Alana left for South America where her boyfriend was staying on in and then she was heading on home. So now it was just myself Breen and Fiona left and with Colin still living with his friend! Plans were changing fast! For a while myself Fi Breen and Colin were looking for a 3 bed house together but that was at a loss to and we all slowly realised there wasn't a chance of getting a job let alone a house. Then went back to the Ibis for a week and then another week at the Kingsgate....... Colin was the only one of us that got a job. Actually 2! one as events waiter and another as a waiter in restaurant.

Job wise for myself and Breen – I got 3 days temping as a data entry clerk and 5 hours doing some envelope stuffing! And Breen got a few days moving furniture around a hotel. He was promised by the agency it would be 4 months work but that turned into 2 days a week which was such a blow, as we were so glad that at least one of us had found work.

Breen had SO many contacts it was ridiculous. Constantly having hopes brought up then come crashing down, I have lost count of how many times that has happened for both of us.

Anyway that was the run down of our moving about! As much as it was pretty depressing looking for work we did do some fun things! We went to the Australian Open which was cool. Saw an Ozzy rules match and met some really lovely people. Mostly through our friend Sacha. Had our first proper night out about a month into staying in Melbourne! We were trying to be good with money and not go out but we just had to when Ireland played in the rugby. It was a brilliant night stayed out till 7am and ended up in a Casino. Our bodies didn’t know what hit them the next morning!

On a whole, Melbourne is a seriously cool city. It has a lovely laid back vibe and loads of little coffee shops. Weathers a bit crazy! 4 seasons in one day but when we were first there it was lovely and hot. The people are really friendly and there are some gorgeous parks. Went to the Victoria Market every Wednesday where there was loads of food stalls of foods from around the world from African, French, Mexican etc… there were also great stalls with jewellery and clothes and other cool stuff. Then once we had eaten we all sat outside with a beer watching the bands that played. This food night only went on for a few months during the summer. Surfed in Torquay when ever we could get there, that was the best and I miss it. We went to the Sound Relief concert at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) where we saw the Kings of Leon and Jack Johnson!! also Crowded House played, they were surprise guests. The rest were Australian bands that we didn't know and I didnt think were any good...but all in the name of a good cause, a lot of money was raised for the Bushfire victims.

The day myself and Breen decided to go to Cairns for farm work, a huge weight was lifted. We just couldn't justify staying in Melbourne any longer. We had given it our all and money was very low. I really didn’t want to leave as really liked Melbourne but it had to be done.

Once we had made our decision and booked our flights we had a few things to see, things we were waiting to do once we were settled. We went to a surfing museum in Torquay which was really interesting, visited an old Jail where you are treated like a prisoner! Was really funny but the prison guard was really scary! It was also where Ned Kelly was hung.

We went up the Skytower, 940 foot high with the most amazing views of the city and a sunset.

Had a great day out on Philip Island, a 2 hour drive from city. We rented a car and drove down on a really sunny day. There is so much to see on this island. It has stunning coastal scenery, a Koala Sanctuary, which was so cute! And went to a Penguin centre, where we sat on the beach to watch tiny penguins come out of the sea at sunset and watch them waddle up to their burrows.

On our very last night in Melbourne, we had a night in the Hilton! A different friend who worked for a hotel who got us a good deal. The Hilton was opposite the airport so was very handy for us as we were getting up at 4.30am to get a flight to Cairns. So yea, you could say we did a bit of flashpacking!!

We are now up in Cairns in the middle of nowhere and working hard on a Banana Farm, watch this space, will try not to leave it so long to update the blog!!

Hope your all well. Can’t believe we are gone 6 months, time is flying......