New phone here or Australia

spicyayam

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Jan 12, 2009
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I am moving back to Australia (rather sadly) and looking to get a new phone (Android based).

It's been a long time since I have lived in Australia, so quite out of touch with life there.

Does anyone know if it would be better (and cheaper) to get a new phone here before I leave or buy one in Australia? I guess in Australia it is mostly monthly plans.
 

SamD

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Sep 7, 2006
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Seminyak
I am moving back to Australia (rather sadly) and looking to get a new phone (Android based).

It's been a long time since I have lived in Australia, so quite out of touch with life there.

Does anyone know if it would be better (and cheaper) to get a new phone here before I leave or buy one in Australia? I guess in Australia it is mostly monthly plans.
If I was you I would buy in Australia just from the warranty angle. I don't think you will find much difference in base price for high end Samsung Android phones. If you are looking for cheap, then you can find here in Bali but.... Caveat Emptor.

And yes, in Australia you can make the decision to go with a plan or buy your phone and go prepaid. If you buy here, you don't have that option.
 
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Markit

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Sep 3, 2007
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I am moving back to Australia (rather sadly) and looking to get a new phone (Android based).

It's been a long time since I have lived in Australia, so quite out of touch with life there.

Does anyone know if it would be better (and cheaper) to get a new phone here before I leave or buy one in Australia? I guess in Australia it is mostly monthly plans.

Care to share with us why you are headed back?

Just curious since your life has been here for so long and your kids were born here too.

None of my goddamned business I know but if you don't ask you don't get?!
 

PERtoDPS

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Dec 31, 2018
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I moved back to Sydney in February and a lot of things I like better than Bali, however everyone here is still very much in the lockdown cooking at home mode, IMO this is remanence of the lockdowns and also just the price, when I came here I started eating out but it's an Indo habit that died hard and fast
I am moving back to Australia (rather sadly) and looking to get a new phone (Android based).

It's been a long time since I have lived in Australia, so quite out of touch with life there.

Does anyone know if it would be better (and cheaper) to get a new phone here before I leave or buy one in Australia? I guess in Australia it is mostly monthly plans.

I have bought phones for myself and mrs several times, almost always slightly cheaper and easier to get stock in Australia.

Maybe you'll like it here? I've been in Sydney since February other than the fact it's rained 90% of the time (locals tell me freak year for weather?) and you HAVE TO COOK because eating out like in Bali is insanely expensive there is a lot of things I like better. Though cost of living is an election issue now and it's gotten pretty bad unfortunately you have to be pretty smart with your money.
 
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spicyayam

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Care to share with us why you are headed back?

I think a number of reasons. One reason for me, even though I love living here I would like a change of scenery. Also my family are all in Australia and I think in the long run it will be better for my kids education wise.

I think as I get older it will be easier to move back to Indonesia from Australia and harder to move from Indonesia to Australia if ever I need to, if that makes sense.

I have met some expats here that no longer even have the option to move back to their own country because they don't have the financial means, which is a situation I would not long to face. Also, our kids have dual citizenship up until they are 18, so I think they should have the chance to experience more of Australia.

A friend's son is facing deportation, so even though our kids are still young, it seems better to think about now.

I could go into it more, but I think you get the idea!
 
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Markit

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I have a friend who is/was married to a local girl and that didn't work out (surprise!!!) but the young son he has from the marriage he also wanted to take back to Oz with him permanently away from the mother.

We discussed it over beers (as usual) and I didn't wax diplomatic (as usual) and pointed out that his small brown son would just be another "darky" over there but here was half bule with some status from that not to mention more money. My friend eventually agreed and his son is very happy here and for a local good sized - he'd just be small and brown in Oz and that's not an advantage IMHO.

Hope I'm wrong mate.
 

PERtoDPS

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Dec 31, 2018
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I have a friend who is/was married to a local girl and that didn't work out (surprise!!!) but the young son he has from the marriage he also wanted to take back to Oz with him permanently away from the mother.

We discussed it over beers (as usual) and I didn't wax diplomatic (as usual) and pointed out that his small brown son would just be another "darky" over there but here was half bule with some status from that not to mention more money. My friend eventually agreed and his son is very happy here and for a local good sized - he'd just be small and brown in Oz and that's not an advantage IMHO.

Hope I'm wrong mate.

Australia is incredibly multicultural these days, kind of get where you're going but I don't think your skin tone is going to make much difference, many Asian, Africa. Europeans and everything else, it's not really just the Brits here these days far from it. Literally people from all over the world in Sydney and I suspect most likely other cities too.

Education and medical is far superior here, though I've heard so many times where people who grew up in Indonesia came to Australia and did not like it, at least not to live permanently. It's a very different diet too, feels like a everything comes of a packet or a cardboard box here these days, though you have great organic stores though pricy.
 

Balifrog

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Dec 30, 2017
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I have a friend who is/was married to a local girl and that didn't work out (surprise!!!) but the young son he has from the marriage he also wanted to take back to Oz with him permanently away from the mother.

We discussed it over beers (as usual) and I didn't wax diplomatic (as usual) and pointed out that his small brown son would just be another "darky" over there but here was half bule with some status from that not to mention more money. My friend eventually agreed and his son is very happy here and for a local good sized - he'd just be small and brown in Oz and that's not an advantage IMHO.

Hope I'm wrong mate.
Interesting view, even I don't agree with it.
I have 3 kids with my ex Thai wife (I worked 10 y over there in the 90's).
We moved back to France in 99 and stayed there 9 years. Kids went to school, never had a problem. Note that we always educated them as French, and they all have French names.
Note also they have all very light skin, but clearly mixed Asian features.
In fact they had more problems when in 2008 we moved back to Thailand, at that time they were 13, 9 and 8 y old.
Nowadays the eldest son (27) has moved back to France and joined the army.
Daugther (22) is running a on line food business in BKK
Son #2 (23) is at University in Thailand studying computer science.
They are all perfectly at ease with both cultures (and know how to play them...), speak / write perfect French, English and Thai. Definitively and advantage.
Funny thing, during our stay in France, we lived 1 year in Martinique (French Carribeans) and except for the weather and the water temperature, they all (included the Mom) hated the place.
Budhism and rasta culture obviously don't mix well...
A bit same for me, mainly because of the racism by the locals, even they being French, and a French territory.

Just my personal experience, it can work. And as mentionned, education wise when young, kids sure are better of in the West, avoiding all the Asian and religious brainwashining.
 
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spicyayam

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Jan 12, 2009
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Thanks for sharing. My family live in Melbourne which is where we are heading. I would prefer warmer weather. Melbourne is very multi-cultural, so I don't think that will be an issue.

The kids and my wife are excited for the move, so we will see how it goes.
 
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PERtoDPS

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Thanks for sharing. My family live in Melbourne which is where we are heading. I would prefer warmer weather. Melbourne is very multi-cultural, so I don't think that will be an issue.

The kids and my wife are excited for the move, so we will see how it goes.
I haven't set foot in Melbourne for many years now, Sydney is the same with the multiculturalism I think you'll be fine. While the "easy laid back life" is mostly gone there is a lot of nicer things in Australia too, I'll list some:

Some welcome relief from the heat, fantastic public transport, free Medicare is fast becoming a myth around these parts most charge a GAP these days but if you really hunt you'll find a bulk billing GP, awesome food portions sizes (though not USA sized), roads and infrastructure are obviously way better, I actually see heaps of Indo style scooters on the roads here like Nmax etc, deliveroo, uber eats and menulogs even milk run coming to Victoria soon. Like i said in a previous post the lockdowns scarred NSW and I'm guessing VIC is same, people are shopping a lot more and doing things at home, I heard on a tv show a while ago a restaurant complaining "people are more likely to grab a chook at Coles, bread rolls and wine and head to the beach" that's about right due to the insane prices to eat out. The gap is closing though, Bali certainly isn't as cheap as it once was either. A trip to Jakarta last year set that in stone for me.

Anyway good luck spicy, I really liked it here, after 1 and 1/2 years in Bali it was actually a bit of a culture shock but I think you'll do fine. I'd go as far as to say currently I prefer it here.
 

PERtoDPS

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"The kids and my wife are excited for the move, so we will see how it goes."
A month in Melbourne will knock that out of them.

If I could give an expat about to leave Indonesia any significant advice on returning to Australia would be this, in your mind you remember the internet, power, fuel and food prices of 2 or 3 years ago, so your worst case scenario budget, double or triple it. But you'll eventually return to cooking and find the decent Aldi stores, Australia needs some skilled navigation but we have 500 beers and a decent range of spirits to choose from it's definitely not all bad. Getting my Indonesian Mrs here is just a dream so far, the visas are not easy to get, personally think the wife and kids will have a blast! My circumstances are a bit different to yours I'm sure, partner waiting for Agriculture visa for Australia to re-open and doesn't want to come as just a visitor as not economically viable.
 

gtrken

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Nov 4, 2007
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Ahh Melbourne...
The place where you need sunscreen, a hat, an umbrella, a raincoat , thongs and shoes
All in one day...

Me, I prefer to live in the worlds most isolated capital city ( Perth ) . Not sure why , just do.
I would RATHER live in Bali but family, work , Kids Uni all gets in the way.

Cheers
Morose Ken