Reply With Quotea lime will set you back about £1.50
So it's looking like i have an opportunity to move to Oz with work, fully sponsored and paid for by them. Bearing in mind that the most i know about the place is that it's a long way away, hot, and full of deadly things, what else do i need to know / consider before i make a definite decision?
a lime will set you back about £1.50
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I read that article too.Originally Posted by seikopath
Most natives hate Poms.
If you're Scots, Irish or Welsh you'll be fine!
I read that article too.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
It's dull and racist.
Loads here would fit right in.
However, if you like the outdoors and live in a decent place you'll have fun.
Why are you still here
One of the core things I noticed having lived thier for 18 months was it was full of Australians, I mean they are everywhere, bars, hotels, shops.....everywhere, despite that it was bearable
Seriously though like most places it depends where in OZ you go, I found Sydney, Perth and Melbourne (certain time of year) to be lovely places to be, I found even Sydney quite laid back, helps having beaches nearby.
Quality of life seemed to be excellent for most but like anywhere, depending on the demands of the job you will be doing it will no doubt dictate what your free time looks like, demanding jobs with the wrong work life balance pretty much means that it does not really matter whe you live in the world to be honest.
OZ will be great if the work life balance is right
Everything is poisonous, make sure that there arent any spiders/scorpions in your shoes before sticking your feet in.
It's a superb place. Where would you be based?
Seriously, I move quite a bit for my work, and rely heavily on expat bulletin boards for information and advice before I arrive. Some good information on Australia here:
http://www.pomsinoz.com/
http://www.australiansabroad.com/generic/expatsites.htm
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/aus...ing-australia/
Great place to live. I once went there for 6 months and ended up staying 13 years. :lol:
It's getting more expensive though I warn you. Melbourne and Sydney aren't cheaper than London.
Give us more info though... Where will you be based?
I love NSW. Friendliest people.
Funny, the comment on Poms. Every night we'd go to the bottom pub and hang out on the veranda and have a tall Tooheys old. Manilla is a sheep/cattle area, and we'd sit with a bunch of the ranchers. They'd always talk about the "new guy", the colonel. Retired British colonel who'd been there 15 yrs, but he was still the "new guy"....the Pom.
all in good fun. Can't wait to go back.
everything is expensive... but wages are higher..
Danni Minogue it is then! ;)
Where to start?
Any comments about 20 years behind, full of racists, dull, full of lazy layabout convicts etc. are about 50 years out of date. Generally, the work ethic here is stronger than the UK and it is a very tolerant society. The exception to that is the treatment and position of Aboriginal Australians, which is shocking and unforgivable in my opinion.
It will appear very expensive now if you think in UK Pounds at the current exchange rate. The £ has fallen a lot and the $ has gone up a lot in the last five years. Bear in mind that the average wage here is about $70,000 though, so while the cost of living has gone up recently, it seems less expensive if you get paid here. The national minimum wage is about $16 an hour, though most entry level jobs pay more like $20 an hour. Professionals earn a lot more than that, of course. Some things are a lot cheaper here (e.g. petrol) and others much more expensive (e.g. tobacco). House prices (and rents) in the main capital cities are south of England level. Most houses are detached (and bigger than in the UK) and a median three-four bed will cost $400-500k in an ordinary suburb. Outside of mining areas, regional towns are much cheaper. In the mining towns, prices are absurd.
Obviously, the weather is warmer and sunnier than the UK and that promotes an outdoor lifestyle. Australians really are always having barbecues. Note that annual rainfall in Sydney is twice that of London though - it rains less often here but when it does you know about it! When it is hot, which it is a lot, it is very, very hot.
Society is more egalitarian than the UK (though not as much as Australia would like to claim). Generally, success is applauded and admired rather than envied, especially if the successful person is a 'battler' - one who got there through talent and hard work alone. Airs and graces that you might think appropriate to your position in society will go down like a lead balloon.
Unless you go looking for them, you will not meet the spiders, snakes etc. and you are very unlikely to encounter them in a city. I have never seen a funnel web in the wild. I have seen lots of snakes, but that is because I go bush walking a lot. In the north, do not go anywhere near the water in a river estuary. You are very likely to be eaten by a crocodile. It is nearly always drunk European tourists that get eaten.
The street-scape, suburbs, roads, shopping areas etc appear much more US-like than UK-like. In fact Australia is more like California than the UK.
The TV is crap, just as it is everywhere else. If you like endless virtual reality Pop Idle X-Factor Masterchef Dance with the Stars Australia's Got Talent programming about cooking, celebrities, dancing, singing and similar (sounds a bit like the UK?) you will love it.
Politicians are regarded with derision as incompetent, corrupt fools. (That sounds familiar too, doesn't it?)
In my opinion the biggest difference of all is that Australia is an optimistic country. Poms are called 'whinging poms' because the Australians can't understand why they complain and groan all the time when life is so good.
More accurate reporting from the BBC - not...
...just picked up 8 for a buck!
Beware the drop-bears!
Quoll is pretty much spot-on. Prices for most high-cost items in England seem cheap by comparison - cars, houses, international travel - largely due to the incredible shrinking pound and the overpriced A$. In Sydney, a 3 bed apartment close to the city in a reasonable but not prestige suburb will cost the equivalent of £400-£500 per week (£1700 - £2200 pm); make that waterfront or add Harbour views and you can double those numbers. But it's a lifestyle unlike the UK, and strangely addictive. I came for 2-3 years and I'm still here after 16.
Climate is pretty good. Queensland is warm in winter, hot and humid in summer; NSW is hot and fairly humid in late summer, but pleasant in winter - coats are rarely needed in Sydney - though further south you can ski at Perisher in the Snowy Mountains, then drive 2 hours to the coast and walk around in shorts and a t-shirt, in July. Melbourne is probably most similar to English climate; Adelaide can be very hot in summer, pretty cold in winter. Get used to lots of sunshine and blue skies, though, wherever you are.
Cultural isolation is much reduced by availability of Skype, internet, phone, apple TV, and some good arts and entertainment, but popping across the Channel and enjoying a very different culture is not really an option. 3 hours to NZ or Indonesia is pretty much a local flight; Singapore is reasonable distance - under 9 hours, and of course family and friends always tell you that they would only come if they could stay for a month, but they can't take the time off, so they rarely come. Even though LHR - Syd - LHR is probably 70% of the price of Syd-LHR-Syd fares. So make sure your employer will cover you fares back to the UK.
Good luck!
Watch out Kylie's mother and this lot.
http://thumbpress.com/11-of-australi...rmful-animals/
All I know is, I'll be there as soon as possible - few more steps to take, but I'll be relocating sometime in the next 18-24 months - hopefully get another long break there towards the end of this year.
I liked a lot of Australia and the atmosphere of optimism was much more upbeat that the UK over the last 5 years or so. I'm excited about the move.
I have a lot of friends and family that would like to make the move but can't now because of the tighter rules - so I'd say if you have the opportunity, go for it! What have you got to lose?
The move for me is a big step - giving up a a good work life balance and a very good standard of living, most of my vehicles, to step into the unknown - of and I'll also have to give up waking to my ocean view as the equivalent over there is now around 10 times the price! However, all things being equal I'm sure it's the right move - I can always come back, but I am planning on working for 2-3 years in finance and then settling back to a relaxing early retirement and running a couple of employee run businesses (fingers crossed).
It's just a matter of time...
Just about every creepy crawly is deadly, so be careful where you tread and check those bed sheets at night !!
Watching programmes that locate families to Oz is interesting. It often seems to me that moving there is a good way of avoiding having to look after your parents when they get older and never letting your children meet their grandparents or other family members...
It's a difficult decision sometimes.
Guys, thanks for all the feedback and comments thus far, it's been really helpful, and apologies for not replying sooner, busy day yesterday. A bit more info, we'd initially be based in Brisbane for 3 months for a specific piece of work with a view to then re-locating to Sydney, although we could stay in Brisbane if we prefer. There's a few things we'd need to consider such as my daughter's schooling and my wife getting a job, although this is less of an issue as she'd be able to work on my visa and has a good skill set. I think the way that i'll approach it is i'll treat the first 3 months as a secondment, see how things go and take it from there. Hopefully, all being well, by the end of March i'll be in Brisbane
I had a quick look on-line at some property in the greater Brisbane area last night though, you don't seem to get much for your money..... Can anyone recommend some places i should be looking at, nice areas, cheapish, less than an hour from Brisbane but out towards the Gold Coast; or similar but commutable to Sydney, maybe somewhere in the Blue Mountains?
i think its a good idea - gotta balance the Aussie/Brit ratio at both countries...
Where will you be moving to and staying?
I can't offer any advice, but just wanted to wish you luck. Australia was our first choice when we were looking in 2005, but for various reasons it didn't work, so Canada got us instead.
We've been here for over 2yrs now and have not looked back and have no regrets. We stayed in Noosa on one of our trips, and have been looking at the map, but can't remember how far from Brisbane that was - nice area as far as I can remember.
I had the same opportunity a few years ago with a previous job and we decided against it. Hindsight shows that for us it was the right decision to stay here but that is all based around family and I know that our lifestyle could have been better out there.
Good luck with it.
My brother has lived in Brisbane for over 12 years with his family and he won't ever come back to the U.K.His wife returned for a family issue and should have stayed a month but caught a flight after two weeks because of the weather/litter over crowded roads etc and will never come back.
Saying that i have been out and Brisbane is nice although its gone very pricey and houses have gone up a lot.Brisbane is the Florida of the USA and more and more are moving due to the better waether.
My brother first lived in Fernygrove which was great for the city as the train was 30mins and always on time.He has moved further out to Eatons Hills but again property is dear.
His best advice is rent for the first 6 months and if you like it and intend to stay then buy.His kids were 12 and 13 when he moved out and they settled very quickly.
The advantages are they drive on the same side,speak the same lingo and its warm.Yes the TV is so so but you can still watch all the English football etc if you want but most of the time you will be outside.
If there are any specific questions then ask but if you get a chance go and try it.It dosent suit everyone but its my one regret that i didn't join him 10 years ago.
nine out the top ten deadliest things in the world are native to Australia (bugs, snakes, crocs, plants, etc.) so dont bother gardening for a hobby
and they drink beer from small girlie glasses (actually because big glasses get warm and Aussies hate warm beer)
I know four different people who emigrated - then came back to UK after a year or two - and all went back to Australia permanently and are now sunburnt and boorish (like native Aussies...)
So sounds to me like a great place to live but may not immediately meet all your expectations (assuming they are high - or why else would you go that far?)
E
Having been to Perth on business a few times I must say that they seem to start every sentence with a rather abrupt,"Look mate!". It is incredibly irritating.
Now you can understand how I felt when I first came LondoK.... Almost every sentence ends in either "yeah" or "innit"... LOL
well right now adelaide had the adelaide festival and fringe festival which is second only to the edinburgh festival - so adelaide is a pretty great place right now, plus it is 23 degrees at 8.45am and the sun is shining
it will depend very much on where youlive - i know a few english folk here that love the lifestyle, others still yearn for m & S and the ultra converience of Uk life.
where is the company located?
Based in Sydney but smaller regional offices in Brisbane and Melbourne.
If you can tolerate the blistering temperatures good luck. If I were God I'd ban anything above 22degC. I'd never go because they wouldn't have me for health reasons, if you see what I mean. Do they have a decent broadband to the rest of the world?
Interesting comment. In what way is the UK convenient compared to Aus?
I hate the freezing cold but also dislike very high temperatures (typical English)
My Sister in law lives just outside Adelaide and according to her in the summer she has to walk her dog at 5.30 am in the morning and then stay in with the AC as it is too hot too go out.
She always mentions when she rings up that it hasn't rained properly for three months or something.
It wouldn't suit me.
Cheers,
Neil.
Look Mate!Hopefully, all being well, by the end of March i'll be in Brisbane
I had a quick look on-line at some property in the greater Brisbane area last night though, you don't seem to get much for your money..... Can anyone recommend some places i should be looking at, nice areas, cheapish, less than an hour from Brisbane but out towards the Gold Coast
"Nice areas" is a hard one from the point of everyone having different values. There are some very dodgy areas that are next door to or across the highway/river from some very decent places.
I have had to "share-house" or rent at "mates rates" for the last seven years, so it's difficult to give a guide to rental prices.
My main advice would be to ignore 'converting' Aussie rental prices back to Pounds but rather compare it as a percentage of your new Aussie salary.
Also Real Estate agents out here all seem to be useless. You can't rely on rentals online being up to date and I've struggled in the past to get a property viewing on my own. They tend to do a 10 minute open house for everyone at once and you're expected to have all your paperwork ready.
If you are given any good advice on a trustworthy agent then that will be invaluable.
Driving into Brisbane from the South you are going to hit fairly slow traffic around Springwood and Mount Gravatt and the same again on the drive home. If you can be slightly closer to the City you'll have less frustration.
I'd stay closer to the City to save on the commute and enjoy the longer run down to the Gold Coast on the weekends if I could.
I lived a little further out at Shailer Park which was quite nice (for me). The Logan (Bogan) Hyperdome is close by and has all the same shops you'll find anywhere else.
You could also grab the bus to the city from there. There are dedicated bus lanes and tunnels to the city, but only from Eight Mile Plains/Mount Gravatt so you'd still have to sit in some of the worst traffic for the first bit but on the bus.
Down in this direction you want to be avoiding Logan Central, Kingston and Woodridge. (West of the Highway) [Apologies to any TZer's from there. I've got family down there and I'm sure they'd give the same advice to a new comer]
I'd also suggest finding somewhere without much garden to start with. The grass is growing like crazy at the moment and you don't want to spend all your spare time mowing, edging and whipper-snipping whilst your wife stands shotgun spotting all those spiders and snakes.
A pool can be a lot of up keep too. You and the kids would probably get a fair bit of use out of it for the first couple of months having come from the UK, but once you get into July it's just another maintenance chore.
Maybe a complex would work for you for the first few months? Somewhere with a communal pool, tennis courts, BBQ. Might help getting to know the natives too.
Best of luck
Ian
PS. Tickets for the British & Irish Lions Test in Brisbane look like they've sold out (and were way more expensive than I remember 12 years ago). If you can get hold of any from over there before you leave I'm sure they'll score you big brownie points with anyone you need to impress at the new job
Last edited by Emeister; 2nd March 2013 at 14:43.
Almost every person you meet will greet you with "Your not from round here mate are you?" When you reply that you're actually British they'll take the mickey out of the "whinging poms" non stop. After a short while you'll find that the wide brimmed canvas hat wearing, sunburnt, leather skinned bloke called Ken who you've been chatting to and who's been ripping the p1$$ out of you for the last ten minutes isn't a natural born Aussie and actually moved over from Northampton in 1988 after he made a killing on his right to buy council house.
A fantastic place for a holiday, but I couldn't live there.
All you need to know is that they are gracious losers and like being reminded of their heroic sporting losses.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodríguez
A good friend of mine went there around 6 months ago and, being a very forthright individual, I trust his opinion and judgement as well as my own. His verdict on Brisbane - clean, friendly, things work, people say hello to each other and thank the bus driver as they get off. You can walk around at midnight and not feel unsafe. He also reckons with a decent English accent and confidence (which he has oodles of) you can clean up with the women there. Apparently they aren't used to go-getting, clean-cut , well-spoken men.
He's moved to Perth recently and his first impressions are that there are loads of Scots,Welsh and Irish - to the extent that they seem to outnumber the natives. The tree-lined streets smell of lavender and blossom too apparently.
Things sound like they work on common sense there too - from the Welfare state to immigration. He's much harder right than even me (!)
Too hot for me personally to settle there but if you like sunny skies and a lifestyle, it would suit you perfectly.
Lmao - it's full of Australians, surprisingly few of which look like the Minogue sisters....
Well, for any that are interested i made it and am currently in Brisbane. Any ideas for what i can do / visit this weekend?
Glad you got there ok :)
We are having a local; over to stay in the next couple of weeks - he is going to notice the temperature difference somewhat - 0 degrees here at the minute :(
It's just a matter of time...
Cheers mate, he certainly will, although the weather is apparently worse than normal here for this time of year. Currently warm (very warm for 7:20 am IMO) but overcast, no that i'm complaining, better than snow
I spend a lot of time over in Australia (Sydney) with work. Most of it has already been covered, the people are universally optimistic (which is great), amazing beach and food and general lifestyle. Oz reminds me a lot of parts of the States, huge expanses, the strip-malls, the optimism.
I will add something different though as a fellow ex-pat. Since the move is driven by the company I assume rather than yourself, be very aggressive on your negotiations. Make sure you have hammered out moving costs, annual flights home, initial accomodation when you arrive etc. to be covered by your Employer. Ex-pat packages are sadly not what they once were: but if you don't ask, you don't get! You are re-locating your family half way round the World.
A friend of mine re-located from London to Singapore a few years back, his Employer pays full private school fees for his 4 kids, indefinite rental allowance of GBP 5k a month, membership to the local golf club and yacht club, and two Business Class flights back a year for the whole family. Needless to say my package sucks in comparison but you never know!
This, this and more this!
Like most things in life, what you get out of something is directly proportional to what you put into it and living Australia is no different. I had a choice 25 years ago Aberdeen (Scotland) or Perth (Australia), chose the latter and can't complain. I don't think 3 months is long enough to give yourself time to form a definite yes/no opinion. I'd look at 2 years initially, if it works out great, if it doesn't you will have had (or should have had) a bloody good holiday on the company. In our case we looked at what future our kids might have in UK vs Australia and went for it. Having said that, one is at University in Scotland and loves it there. We don't find it difficult to identify with both countries and enjoy the best that each has to offer.
If you get over to Perth, give me a shout and we can continue the conversation over a few beers.
Terry
That depends entirely on what you like to do, of course.
Around Brisbane, the touristy thing to do is visit South Bank on a Saturday morning. There are very good galleries, museums and such, but also a bustling holiday atmosphere and loads of markets and food stalls. Add a trip up and down the river on the Citycat for some cheap sightseeing. There are some seriously good restaurants along the river in the CBD and in nearby Fortitude Valley:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/life/f...-1226072581785
Fortitude Valley is the place to go if you want wild debauchery on Saturday night. It is very, very debauched, so be warned. Oddly, a few streets away from the debauchery, there are the great restuarants and nice quiet bars full of old farts like me.
If you want to get out of the city, rent a car and choose north or south. South gets you to the Gold Coast: theme parks, high rise, glitzy, noisy, loads of bars. Think Miami Beach (in fact there is a suburb called just that). North gets you to the Sunshine coast: more family orientated & quieter. Both have great coastal scenery and even better sightseeing if you go inland a bit. The Sunshine Coast also has Noosa at the top of it - very popular with international and interstate visitors and widely derided as ludicrously expensive by locals.
If you don't want to get out of town, still rent a car and visit either Manly/Wellington Point to the south (boats & marinas) or Shorncliffe/Redcliffe to the north (a long seaside promenade).
You could also take a ferry across Moreton Bay to Moreton or Stradbrooke Islands. Not a lot to do when you get there (unless you take a 4WD) but the journey is pretty.
Or, ignore all that and use Tripadvisor's advice:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Travel....Brisbane.html
This link is pretty good too (even though it's old):
http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/fsaust...st-in-brisbane
and this one:
http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au
It is St Patrick's Day at the weekend, so expect some rowdiness at any Irish pub you can find. They won't be hard to spot!
Last edited by quoll; 13th March 2013 at 10:54.
I was mainly thinking about the centality of the UK for many things from daily life to holidays.
I lived in london for many years and found that public transport was generally accessible (ie could live without a car), supermarkets basically cooked dinner for you if you want, anything can be bought easily, Europe and weekend getaways are simple and distances are all close.
The pace of life in London and the intensity of big city living obviously temper some of these.
That said, we now have a 9month old and being in Oz is the only place where her childhood should be
LOL! That is so true!!!
I lived in WA for a while — not a bad spot.
Just be aware that their crows sound something like a terminally ill cat being strangled. Get used to this noise:
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