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Calling all ex-pat Australians



Woodchip

It's all about the bikes
Aug 28, 2004
14,460
Shaky Town, NZ
I'm seriously considering emmigrating to Oz. Anyone got any useful info? I've had a look at jobs out there and I could get $100,000+ for my job. How does this compare to the cost of living in the major cities?

As I'm 32 have I missed my chance? What common small pets (chinchilla/degu/rat) do they have over there?
 




Tyrone Biggums

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2006
13,498
Geelong, Australia
If you're earning $100,000 a year in your job you'll be able to live a pretty comfortable life. The average wage in the major cities would be well below that.

Housing is getting quite expensive, but it would depend on what city and the suburb you chose to live in as too how expensive.

Common small pets would be guinea pigs and rabbits.
 


rosscrudos

New member
Mar 17, 2008
81
Emigrating here is VERY hard. You have to get 120 points, you get this through a compination of age, english language ability and job. Your job needs to be on the nominated skills occupation list (which gets you 60 points) if your skill is not on that list, forget applying as a independent applicant. Your other options are getting sponsered by a company or living and working in a rural area (I don't know much about these though)

I have recently applyed for permanent residency after finally getting enough points, and have just recieved an email from the immigration office saying my application will take 5 years to process!! Although I am free to live and work here so it's not all bad.

In terms of the cost of living, then things have sharply risen over the last few years; I pay $350 (about 125 pounds) a week for a new, one bedroom flat, in a nice area of Melbourne. Houses around the inner city areas go for around $500,000 at the very cheapest. You can go to the outer suburbs and get buy a place for about $300,000, but the areas are f***ing shite! (not in terms of being sketchy, but in terms of being f***ing boring!)

The thing is you will get paid more over here, Minimum wage work pays about $20 an hour, I get paid a fair bit more in my job compared to the UK. You can live very comfortably on $100,000 a year.

They have all the same small pets as the uk!

I love Melbourne, but I also like Brisbane alot too. Not a massive fan of Sydney but it depends what you are into I guess.
 




rcf0712

Out Here In The Perimeter
Feb 26, 2009
2,428
Perth, Western Australia
depends on your profession - if you are an engineer, construction or mine site worker then they are crying out for people, more projects than can be built and thousands migrating across the Nullarbor from the East Coast each month. Perth IS an expensive place to live but if you are single and earning what you suggest you should be fine here. You need to get the job first and then get a 457 visa.....
 




sydney

tinky ****in winky
Jul 11, 2003
18,148
town full of eejits
not sure if you still need to go to australia house in person but you will need to make sure you qualify to apply for residency first as it is quite an expensive process , not sure what the cut off age is but at 32 think you might still be ok ....what do you do for work...?? if you are computer/data/sales/insurance based then i would say melbourne or sydney although there is a bit of a down-turn on the east coast at the moment........if you have a trade , haulage or engineering background i would say head to the west , you can earn 90,000 p.a for washing dishes up north , may also help your application if you get a job in the north west as they are currently giving dispensations to people prepared to work on the mines. if you work on the mines you will probably have to make do with a pet potato or maybe a herring.
 


BadFish

Huge Member
Oct 19, 2003
19,772
I have spoken to a few ex pats in Geelong who tell me that if you look outside the major cities you can move over here easier, quicker and cheaper than if you go to major cities. There is a huge labour shortage in many rural areas so they want to encourage people into those areas. Problem is that these rural areas are also under resources and don't have the facilities of the major cities. A friend of mine said he was give the choice between spending two years in Bendigo or two years in Geelong to get over in half the time and a fair bit cheaper. He chose Geelong which is f***ing lucky for him as Bendigo isn't up to much. I would recommend Geelong everyday of the week, it has most of the things you need from a small city, the Great Ocean Road and beaches are about 1/2 hour away and Melbourne is close and easily accessibly for everything else. I guess the issue is where you need to be for your job., but 100,000 would give you a nice lifestyle round here.

Feel free to PM me if you want anymore detailed information.

Oh and we all have pet kangaroos, koalas and deadly spiders that fit right into your handbag.
 






BadFish

Huge Member
Oct 19, 2003
19,772


Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
74,042
I'm seriously considering emmigrating to Oz. Anyone got any useful info? I've had a look at jobs out there and I could get $100,000+ for my job. How does this compare to the cost of living in the major cities?

As I'm 32 have I missed my chance? What common small pets (chinchilla/degu/rat) do they have over there?

I'd say go for it Woodchip! you're young enough and the line of work you are in should get you sponsored by a top company. I'd recommend Brisbane as a good alternative to Sydney. But both are fantastic.
 


tedebear

Legal Alien
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
17,310
In my computer
Go for it Woodchip, if you can get in, there are a million reasons why its good to go and live somewhere else for a while.

I'm from Sydney (southern suburbs) and personally I find some groceries slightly more expensive in Sydney, but petrol used to be about 1/4 of the price! My Oz salary was slight better in comparative terms and the train to work was cheap! (see cityrail for ticket prices in Sydney)...

If you want to see the cost of food google either Coles.com.au or Woolworths.co.au - those are the two grocery stores my Mum uses and I used to. For interest the bread we used to buy (Tip Top) is $3.99 a loaf.

Motormouth.co.au gives you petrol prices, my local petrol station in Kareela is showing 139.9 cents per litre

and just for interest as you will definately need a car - the local dealership is showing a 2000 VW Polo with 128000 km's on the clock for $5,000...

Hope thats useful its obviousy it has a Sydney slant but thats where I'm from!
 














KZNSeagull

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
21,258
Wolsingham, County Durham
I say go for it. Life is for living, so why not. You will never know what it is like if you don't try it (and lots of other cliches!!).

The only advice I would give is: make sure you always have enough money to pay for your fare back just in case things go tits up. I am not saying that they will, but the last thing you want is to be stuck in a country on your own, with no means of getting "home".

I, of course, spent mine a long time ago!! Not that I would want to go back to the UK anyway.
 


I'm seriously considering emmigrating to Oz. Anyone got any useful info? I've had a look at jobs out there and I could get $100,000+ for my job. How does this compare to the cost of living in the major cities?

As I'm 32 have I missed my chance? What common small pets (chinchilla/degu/rat) do they have over there?

I recently received my residents visa to live in South Australia after a 4 year slog to get the right qualifications and experience. There have been radical changes to the immigration system mainly in the amount of occupations you can now apply under. Forget websites/agency's that let you determine whether you think you might have enough points as the process is far more complex than that. I would suggest contacting an agent (GoMatilda have a good reputation) and get some good advice on whether you are at present elligible or need to work towards certain qualifications/experience etc as before you can even apply you have to be skill assessed and gain a certificate for that. You might then need to apply for state sponsorship depending on where you want to go or where your job might allow you to go, again before you can process an application.
I did the entire process myself but looking back a migration agent would have saved me a lot of hassle but cost me about £4000 (which I think includes skill assessment fees, state sponsorship fees and DIAC application fees which is around £2000). Perstistance is the key though and I got there in the end, hoping to move out in Feb/March time. Loads of info and help on Pomsinoz website, I got loads of info from there that helped me weave through what is a real maze! Hope all this helps and good luck!
 
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Blackadder

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 6, 2003
16,144
Haywards Heath
So we'll see you in Geelong in the near future ;)

Just out of interest Tyrone. As you and Badfish are both from Geelong. Do you know each other?

Oh, and I went to Oz 3 years ago. It was great. I am too old now to emigrate (plus I quite like the Amex). Go for it Woodchip. You are only young once.
 


ferring seagull

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2010
4,607
I'm seriously considering emmigrating to Oz. Anyone got any useful info? I've had a look at jobs out there and I could get $100,000+ for my job. How does this compare to the cost of living in the major cities?

As I'm 32 have I missed my chance? What common small pets (chinchilla/degu/rat) do they have over there?

Contact 'Seagulls Downunder'

If you cant find a link, PM me
 


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