Home, sweet home

Hello from Sydney... our home for the next couple of months. We arrived on Monday night and since then we have seen most of Sydney and phoned practically every possible lead on accommodation that we could find. We're exhausted! Yesterday we almost threw in the towel because we decided Sydney hated us. On Wednesday, we found a really cool room in a share house in Newtown (cool area) but when we said that we'd like to move in, the girls moving out said they hadn't started looking for anywhere else yet (they fancied a change for summer, maybe the beaches). So that was that really as we knew that when they started looking they'd realise that what they had already was a fab deal and would change their minds about moving out. Pete's still convinced it was because he mistook one of the girls as a boy (in his defence, she did look like a boy) when she was, in fact, the other girl's partner (Newtown is known for that kind of thing). So back to the adverts again. On Friday night we found a really really cool place - sharing with 2 lads but we had our own floor in the flat with a big double room with ensuite, a walk in wardrobe that was as big as another bedroom and a big private balcony with views of the CBD. Ecstatic we contacted the landlady to say we'd take it and to arrange to meet her on Sunday. Upon arriving back at the hostel we looked up the area (Redfern) in our guide book to see what joys awaited us, only to find that the only entry for Redfern was a little box explaining that it was "the closest Sydney has to a no-go area". Further investigation revealed that it was the site of Aboriginal riots 2 years ago and that the 6 storey police station on the road our flat was on had been built to address the crime rate in the area. We were gutted and torn - we were so tired of constant searching. But a trip to said police station made up our minds for us when the bobby said "if you want to enjoy my country, do yourself a favour and don't live here". Safety first and all so we sacked that flat off too. To quote Maria from the Sound of Music, "when God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window" and said window has come in the form of 92 Flinders Street ... a newly renovated share house (so new, we can't move in yet as they're finishing our room) right close to Oxford Street (fab cafes, bars, shops, restaurants, home to Mardi Gras). Our room has a brand new ensuite, a new big double bed, 2-seater sofa, TV, fridge and a big verandah which will be newly painted. A couple of friends we've made in our hostel have taken another room in the house too... we'll be sharing with 8 others... Party!! Can't wait to move in. We're now so excited about living in Sydney. It's going to be great. Now all we have to do is find jobs! Fingers crossed guys.