The House

There's so many small titles i have in mind to write about especially on what we have encountered here in Adelaide.  But may be for a start, i'll write about the house first.   I hope this comes as useful for anyone who wants to come to Adelaide, of course tak laa macam student guides... Kita sedar kita baru 2 bulan jagung...

Undoubtedly, house rent is the biggest expense for any family settling in overseas.
So, i had been searching for the best houses since kat Malaysia lagi...kunun2 nak dapat the best deal.

For us, we only need a 2-bedroom house because the kids want to sleep together. But most agents will most likely reject if they see 4 kids + parents applying for a 2-bedroom. So we had to pick a 3-bedroom and that extra room is vacant.  It's waiting for Mujahid or any friends who want to come over!



Location is important and factor that in, the rent is not cheap. Since the speed limit is a strict 50 or 60kmph depending on the road, staying too far from your uni/workplace will make commuting stressful.  Since the parking in the city is expensive (like 5 dollars per hour), Abi takes the bus to work and although the hospital is only 7-8km away, that already takes him half an hour each trip. We also choose a place near the Islamic School, which is situated at Croydon suburb.  We wanted so much to find a house at Croydon but rumahnya lama2 and over-priced.  Kalau rumah tu ok, the agents/owners pulak yang choosy and lambat bagi feedback on our applications.

Kids on the way back from nearby playground...

Also, this particular suburb, Ferryden Park where we now stay, has a few malaysian families nearby. Conveniently too, our house is near an asian groceries store and Coles supermarket.

The place where i got my supplies of serai, pandan,
santan dlm tin, lengkuas dan bermacam2 lagi...

On whether you want to choose a location near malaysian communities or you want to survive as lone ranger, it is entirely up to one's choice.  Engaging with other families have monetary and non-monetary benefits.  Cuma ikhlaskan niat bersilaturrahim,  insya Allah, stress-free..

My new workplace.  Open-concept kitchen - kena laa kemas selalu...
keadaan di atas belum menepati piawai good housewife

Helping each other is part of the rukun tetangga and you certainly feel good after doing so as this is part of our fitrah...and also the kids will benefit as practising Islam is observed among themselves and seronok lah sikit kalau solat jamaah..mana yg malas tu malu alah..and join sekali,...lama2 jadi seronok... :) so, seperti hadith nabi, kambing yang sendirian lebih terdedah kepada bahaya serigala berbanding dengan kambing yang duduk dalam gerombolan...

Back to house search, i was lucky to have "experienced seniors" to assist during inspections as they can be the 'expert eyes' especially when my logics are being dominated by emotional attachment to any particular property.  We had k. Nana, k. Rin, bro Risman and bro Sayuti helping us scrutinize all factors including carpeting/flooring, built-in robes, kitchen top, gardens, wall types etc etc, during our first few visits. So, consequent visits dah pandai sikit tengok2 sendiri dengan Abi...

For all the above, alhamdulillah, after more than 8 house inspections and applications form submitted, we managed to find a decent house for 330 dollars per week.  that's like RM4k per month? (jgn convert, jgn convert...)

Also, it is good to search for the house at least 3-4 weeks before the Christmas week as searching process may take about 2 weeks or more.  Agents (and most working people too) will be off-work close to Christmas and relatively not as many adverts and other activities as you would expect. You may want to avoid February/March as this will be the time new students arrive on top of old students' previous contracts up for renewal/termination - hence, you will find yourselves with too much competition.

our dining area - masa first week.
nothing at the lounge - masih duduk di lantai...

Unlike UK, most houses are unfurnished so tenants have to find their own furniture & electrical appliances. I find this so leceh and bertambah kos nak membeli dan mengangkut. But it can be fun if you are lucky at garage sales or you receive furniture items being passed down by other families going back for good. Alhamdulillah, we got most of our stuff from this pak arab who sold us almost everything before he went back to his home country.  We bought his stuff for $700 for washing machine, fridge, dining table, microwave, tv, kettle, toaster, 2 queensize beds/1 single bed + mattresses, heater, fans, ironing board, dinnerware...long list. TQ to bro Azmi who introduced us to the kind pak arab..

Oh,...teringat landlord-ku di zaman undergrad... madam S, pakistani yang ramah mesra tetapi agak garang.... Rumah yang disewakan agak lengkap termasuklah mesin basuh yang pernah rosak tetapi kami pula dituduh membasuh dengan lebih muatan..huhu.  

Ketika itu, aku hanya perlu membeli sekeping bidai tingkap kecil berwarna putih dari Argos 

untuk melindungi bilik dari cahaya terik. K

adang-kadang, apabila mood down, sejambak bunga tulip hidup dibeli untuk menghiasi tepi katil sudah cukup menceriakan.. :)

Although i am really new, but i hope this will help anyone who needs info. Coz i didn't have this info on house searching prior to us coming here..dah sampai baru tau.