Augusta GA Regional Guide as at Nov 06 Regional Guide for Augusta, Georgia This regional guide is under development. Please submit any suggested changes to [email protected] ADS(W) Note: The information in the guide is strictly local. Any N. American general information has been removed and put into the G’Day guides for the benefit of people across N. America. None of the information in this regional guide is endorsed by ADS(W). Setting Up: Arrival & Temporary Accommodation Upon arrival, you should be greeted by your predecessor or nominated sponsor who will accompany you to your temporary accommodation. Ideally they will provide you with basic food items so that your first day in town won’t involve a hasty trip to the supermarket. You may be able to communicate any special needs (such as baby products) before you leave Australia. Once you’re settled, contact the administration office at your accommodation to see if you need to provide your credit card details in order to be able to access long distance and international calling from your apartment telephone. It can take a couple of days to authorise and if you are keen to call home or the Embassy in Washington, this can be frustrating. In the short term, you can buy international phone cards from any Walmart and almost all pharmacies. Social Security Number (SSN) You should consider applying for a Social Security Number (SSN). While not required for the set up of all utilities or services, some will not service customers who do not have a SSN. Almost all service providers, including doctors and dentists will ask for your SSN so life becomes a little easier once you have one. Your Admin Officer at the Embassy should be able to provide all paperwork for the Australian based staff member to get a SSN. You can also apply directly at the Augusta Social Security Office located at 2050 Walton Way – this will be the fastest approach. You will need 1 Augusta GA Regional Guide as at Nov 06 to take your passport and a copy of your posting order to demonstrate you will be resident for an extended period of time. Spouses cannot get a SSN until after they have been issued a work permit and this can be a lengthy process. In the interim, they may need to use their partner’s number if they cannot get away without quoting a SSN. Employment Authorisations Spouses must obtain their employment authorisation document before they can apply for a Social Security Number. Your admin officer will supply you with the necessary paperwork and the embassy will process the application. You must fill out the application exactly as directed (i.e. ink colour and dimensions of photo) or your application will be sent back to you. If your spouse is not an Australian citizen, you may need to go through the Embassy of their country of origin to obtain an employment authorization. Consult your admin officer for guidance on this issue. Finding a House (Which real estate agents have you enjoyed working with?) This section yet to be populated Buying & Registering a Car General Your biggest expense during your time in the US will be the purchase of motor vehicles, compounded by the loss on sale at the end of your posting. You should expect a 30% to 40% loss of your purchase price after two years. The most expensive mistake you can make is to buy a new car. The second most expensive one is to buy a US made vehicle that is more than about five or six years old because they are not designed to last as long as European of Asian made cars so you are likely to incur significant maintenance expenses. Married members, particularly those with children, posted to Augusta for more than six or seven months will find that owning two vehicles will make life much easier. The newer and more habitable areas of Augusta do not have footpaths or cycle paths and the city is very spread out. Vehicle ownership in the US is a high priority and therefore the southern towns and cities in particular are not generally disposed towards providing any services for pedestrians. Public transport is almost non‐ existent except along the major arterial route in the older part of the city and taxi services are virtually unobtainable unless you go to Bush Field airport to get one. Taxis will not come to your house to pick you up. The dominating factor in the decision process is that in Augusta it is impractical to walk anywhere beyond visual distance. It is also dangerous and ill advised in the older parts of the city, particularly after dark. 2 Augusta GA Regional Guide as at Nov 06 When searching for a car, you are strongly advised to take as much time as possible researching the local market before committing to a purchase because the Augusta market is flush with used cars and some very good deals can be had by shopping around. If you plan in advance to purchase two vehicles, you will fare much better if you can buy both from the same dealer. The best place to start looking is with the Saturday morning local paper. In the second half of the year, a number of dealers will ‘dump’ current models on the local market to clear them out for the newer models. As an example, 2005 Chrysler Town and Country base model vans retailed locally for approximately $19,500 at the Chrysler dealership. The following year a number of unsold 2005s were dumped for $9,500. Taylor Toyota/Hyundai/Dodge possibly has the largest presence in terms of the number of car yards in Augusta and would be a suitably reputable dealer to assist. While the South in not the best place for RV touring – primarily due to a lack of quality facilities (with the exception of Florida and other coastal areas) some may be interested in purchasing an RV. If you are looking for a camper van or small RV, you are strongly advised to go to Atlanta to look as the price competition in Atlanta will get you better value for money. The average US citizen drives 10,000 to 12,000 miles per year so be aware that purchasing a vehicle that has more than this average yearly distance on it will be the first thing a dealer seizes on when you want to sell the vehicle in two years time. Additionally, our perception is that US designed and manufactured vehicles appear to have a design life of about 5 ‐ 6 years, after which time mechanical failures increase faster than imports. US designed and manufactured vehicles are generally cheaper than imports but not as well built and generally not as reliable as Honda, Hyundai, BMW etc. As for RVs, you probably have little choice but to buy a US vehicle. Important: Don’t negotiate a final price on any vehicle without first checking the value against the Kellie Blue Book price on the internet. See www.kbb.com Sales tax Once you have purchased a vehicle, the agreed price will not include the sales tax. For a $10,000 vehicle, you will probably be looking at an additional $750 in sales tax (7.5% for Georgia) on top of the purchase price which will be added once get to the point of signing the paperwork. Ad valorem tax Important: Because you are a serving military member, you are entitled to exemption from the ad valorem taxes applied to the registration (see Tag Office below), provided you supply the Tag office with a letter from your CO. 3 Augusta GA Regional Guide as at Nov 06 The CO of the School or your unit will provide you with a suitably worded letter for the Tag office to exempt you from the ad valorem tax, which will bring your Tag fee down from about $120 to $20. For the CDID ED (former Battle Lab), the Colonel’s PA can provide you with the necessary letter. You will need a new letter each year to re‐ register your vehicle(s). Vehicle Insurance Make sure you arrange insurance before you drive the vehicle off the lot. Most companies will not insure you without a valid US driver’s license but you may not have time to get a local driver’s license and find a vehicle along with all the other distractions during your two week vehicle rental period. Progressive will insure you with an Australian driver’s license. The equivalent of full comprehensive cover will be about $1,200 per six months per vehicle, so you are looking at about $5,000 in insurance premiums over two years if you have two vehicles fully covered and do not have a local license. If you get short for time, go with Progressive then get a local license and negotiate a better rate with them for the next period or find another insurer and cancel your policy as soon as you can. Do not let your insurance lapse. If you do not pay your next premium before the day it is due, and attempt to renew even one day late, your history will be purged so you will be treated as a new policy holder and have to pay the full premium. I would also recommend you get someone to explain in detail the coverage options as they are considerably more complicated than in Australia because there are several tiers of protection against damages you can choose if an accident results in legal action. The question of ‘how much coverage is enough’ can be difficult to determine. Vehicle Tags After the yard (or seller) has signed over the vehicle title to you, you will have 30 days to get to the Tag office and pay the registration fee. The dealer will put a temporary sticker on the rear of the vehicle indicating the expiration date for the 30 days grace. The Tag office is located in Building B, 630 Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans. Vehicles in the US are tracked by Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) rather than by registration number as in Australia. Provided you have the VIN details, you can register on line or you can present in person to the Tag Office – which I recommend you do so that you have the new vehicle Title document and the vehicle tag when you walk out. The process only takes about five minutes. The registration fee should be about $120 which is comprised of approximately $20 for the Tag and the other $100 or so is the government ad valorem tax. You only get one vehicle tag and the Tag Office will type up a new Title document for you on the spot if you attend in person. Driver’s licenses 4 Augusta GA Regional Guide as at Nov 06 Georgia State law does not require you to hold a Georgia or even US driver’s license. Local law enforcement agencies don’t particularly care what country your license is for as long as you have one. However, if you do not have a Georgia license, it will limit your options for insurance cover and therefore cost you more because most insurance companies will not provide you cover if you do not have a valid US driver’s license. The license office is located 20 paces down the hall way from the Tag office in Building B on Ronald Reagan Drive, EVANS. You can get a free copy of the Georgia driving regulations from the license office or download a copy online if you prefer. There is a simple written test followed by a driving test 24+ hours later. The only down side to obtaining a Georgia license is that the licensing office will require you to surrender your Australian license so you may potentially need to sit another test when you return to Australia. In theory, the licensing office should send the license back to Australia via the Embassy so there is potential for the Embassy to intercept it and return it to you as the British Embassy does, but this may not always work. You may also be able to negotiate with the office and have them hold it for you until you are ready to leave the US and then surrender your Georgia license to get your Australian Internet A computer is extremely handy upon arrival as you can look for cars, accommodation, and to sign up for utilities and nearly everything else online. I would suggest perhaps bringing a laptop or notebook computer with you if possible. You can also negotiate with your furniture company to include a computer. There may or may not be an extra charge for this. Note that Verizon offers DSL dial up services and Comcast offers Cable internet (very, very fast!). Phones (Any other phone tips?) There is a variety of options to fit your lifestyle and family situation. Please check all the information provided as it can be subject to change. Some people have chosen not to get a land line phone. Instead they use a family plan cell phone package (2 handsets) which gives a lot of free minutes to each other and to other people on the same network. International calling cards (e.g. www.mobilecaller.com) can be used to call Australia (from 2c a minute) – for people calling from home through Telstra network, it costs the same to call a cell as it would a landline. It would be advisable to get your family in Australia to check this for themselves though. You can also get cable internet, so you don’t need a land line for dial up. Personal Mobile: 5 Augusta GA Regional Guide as at Nov 06 Contact Veronica Choo at the Australian Embassy to ask about pre‐arranged plans with AT&T and T‐Mobile (202‐797‐3092). You can look up the current promotions in the Finance section of the ADS(W) website, but you must get a letter from Veronica to sign up for a plan. Phone Cards: Look for phone cards at pharmacies and convenience stores. Some offer rates as low as 2 cents a minute to Australia and can be topped up with a credit card. Be sure to read the fine print for hidden fees. Television (What are the cable options in your area?) (Any other tips for getting settled?) Life in Augusta: Before you arrive in Augusta or as you are settling in, you should check out the following websites: Newspapers Post Office (Which one do you like to go to?) Transportation Augusta is a decentralised city much like Canberra but has little in the way of a public transport infrastructure. The main bus route is along the length of Washington Road from the city to the suburb of Evans but there is no public transport available off this route. Taxi services are available from the airport and from Fort Gordon, but it is almost impossible to get a taxi to come to a residential address for a pick up. While you have a choice of several taxi companies to choose from, the industry and code of practice in Augusta is not regulated and drivers are under no obligation to pick up a despatch. The car is king in Augusta and you will be stranded without one. Education Information about schools in Augusta can be found on Health Doctors and Dentists. As you have CIGNA coverage, you can choose any doctor or dentist you want. Your coverage will be 100% for both medical and dental, however you will need to pay for dental treatment yourself and then submit a retrospective claim to the Embassy for the cost. For your spouse or children, medical should be fully covered, except for the 6 Augusta GA Regional Guide as at Nov 06 cost of prescriptions for which you will need to pay the first $15 on each occasion. A partner’s dental treatment will be reimbursed only at the level reimbursable by Medicare in Australia. If he/she is likely to require expensive dental work, it is recommend that it done before leaving Australia as you may incur considerable expense yourself otherwise. The Embassy web site has more detailed information on how CIGNA works and what your respective entitlements are. You should also be aware that you are entitled to claim against receipts for over the counter medications such as cough drops and other medications where such products would normally be provided by a RAP over the counter. Hospitals: Pharmacies: Shopping Dining & Nightlife Leisure & Entertainment Parks & Recreation Childcare Useful Websites (Are there any others you would recommend?) References: www.mapquest.com is good start to finding your way around town. www.timeanddate.com/worldclock is great to figure out all the time zones. www.xe.com/ucc/ is good for currency conversion. http://google.local.com will help you find local businesses, etc. in any area of the US. Shopping: www.pricegrabber.ca/index.php/site_version=ca// is a fantastic website for finding the best online price on a particular product (particularly on higher priced products such as cameras etc but I have also used just for electronic cables etc.). Military Facilities: http://www.gordon.army.mil/ is the primary link to the Fort Gordon garrison, providing a large amount of information about base facilities, services, recreation and the local area. www.militaryliving.com links to a number of military recreation and accommodation facilities. www.armymwr.com/shades/index.html ‐ Army resort facility located in Orlando, Florida. www.armymwr.com Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities. www.navy‐lodge.com – Navy accommodation facilities located throughout the states. 7