I'm about to move and live in Sydney alone - leaving my husband in Seoul - for the next 6 months. I knew it 2 months ago, and have started preparing for Sydney life since then. I work for a global finance firm, and my company runs a global swap program for employees to get global experiences. I was lucky to be the first Seoul employee to go swap to Sydney office.
Swap to Sydney office is super prefered by my colleagues because Sydney office provides good work-life balance unlike Seoul office or any other offices around the globe.
So, I'm excited to have a hobby in Sydney. I didn't have a chance to have one in Seoul, but since I would be free every 7:30 pm - 9:00 am in weekdays, and 24 hours for weekends in Sydney, what else would I do if I don't have any hobby?
Ⅰ. Golf
Whenever I tell anyone that I'll be in Sydney for the next 6 months, most people say "It's a great place to play golf". Yet, it's been almost 10 years since I played golf in the actual field, so I have to start it from the begining. (My dad would be happy to see me play golf again)
I googled "Sydney Golf Lesson" and could find two places near my company's Sydney office.
Ⅰ - ⅰ. Golf in the City
Golf in the City is closer from our office and it also had some online reviews, so I clicked it.
Well, the picture from the website seems probes that it's very clean, fancy and looks like a.... kind of social club?
Website: http://www.golfinthecity.com.au/about-us/gallery/
(ehhh... Imagine a little asian girl who has no idea what she should do with the golf club going there alone...)
the prices are as below
- Introductory Lesson (30 minutes) $75
- Pack of 5 x 30 minute Golf Lessons $350
- Pack of 10 x 30 minute Golf Lessons $650
Well, it's way more expensive than I thought. In Korea, it only costs you around $20 to get a lesson. It's probably because Australia has higher standard of minimum wage than Korea. (Envy Aus!)
There might be some discounts if I purchase more than 10 times of classes.
Ⅰ - ⅱ. Cammeray Golf Club
Another option is Cammeray Golf Club, which is a bit far from my office, but still approachable.
If you see the website, it's a real outdoor golf course where you can play a round!!
Website: http://www.cammeraygolf.com.au/gallery
It looks like I can be a house member by paying a reasonable membership fee, and if you become a member, then you can play a round anytime with $7 per each. To date, I have only heard that a golf is a very general sports in Australia, but I neve thought that a golf course would be so close to a city's CBD with this reasonable prices. (Envy Aus again!)
There are lessons here as well,
- Individual lessons per hour $120
- Individual half hour lessons $65
It's even cheaper than Golf in the City, and I prefer outdoor golf lesson than indoor lessons, so I might chose Cammeray Golf Club as my hobby place in Sydney. Yet, I might end up visiting both places because both are very close from where I work and live.
Ⅱ. Pilates
Although I wrote about golf in the beginning, Pilates was the one that I first considered when I knew that I have to be in Sydney for a while. I was into Pilates even in Korea, as it is a perfect match for me, who loves ballet, stretching, yoga and dislike a too-hard-to-play-sports.
I looked up for ‘#SydneyPilates’ on my insagram and could find a fabulous pilates studio.
Barre Body
I didn't even searched any other option. Barre Body has diverse lessons such as Ballet class, Pilates class, Yoga class etc.
It has a few branches around Australia, and a few places are in Sydney. Instructors are as beautiful as the studio.
I will go to the CBD branch, which is in a walk-able distance from my office.
What's even better with this beautiful studio? It has very affordable programs.
If you are a new joiner, you can enhoy unlimited classes for two weeks by only paying for $50
After two weeks, price per class differs by how many times you pay at once. It varies from $12.5 to $25. Still very affordable, right?
If you want to enjoy more pictures about this studio, try the website here: https://barrebody.com.au
I'm also thinking about Surfing, but couldn't really looked up for it yet. It'd be helpful if any of you have some recommendation for me, a new joiner to Sydney.
Cheers!