Australia

[Woodchip]

Melbourne wants to be European, but alas it isn't. So it ends up being a poor attempt at being a European city. Sydney is the right place to go for a European.

Jeez, I hope you don't work in the Tourist industry. Could you make up anything more inaccurate? I suppose you think NZ is all sheep and nothing of interest.

 

[User Removed]

Is it difficult to get a visa? Like a 2 year working one...

Not wanting to live there just work and travel before i go to uni

On the Visa issue - unless you're over 31 or have a serious criminal record then no, you're fine.

On a much more general note - just f**king get yourself out there and stop posting messages of help on a football message board!!

 

[ifightbears]

Byron Bay is where the magic is, don't think i will ever leave this place!

 

[sydney]

Not strictly true - depends on circumstances. I spent 8 years there, and now have the passport. However, if you like your live music, theatre etc then Australia isn't the place to be. What Australia has is the weather - many people get to a point where the weather is actually irrelevant. I got bored of Australia

if you couldn't find a theatre or live music in sydney you must have had your head up an irish back-packers arse...!!

 

[Stumpy Tim]

if you couldn't find a theatre or live music in sydney you must have had your head up an irish back-packers arse...!!

Don't get me wrong, I love Sydney. I can see myself moving back some day. In comparison to London however there is very little music or theatre - that can't be denied. But that's not what people go to Sydney for... Sydney culture is largely based around the beach and good food. There's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Jeez, I hope you don't work in the Tourist industry. Could you make up anything more inaccurate? I suppose you think NZ is all sheep and nothing of interest.

Don't get me started on NZ!

As I said above, I love Sydney and I love Australia. However no place is perfect, and because Australia is so far away from everywhere else it inevitably suffers in terms of live acts. Melbourne for me, tries to bridge the gap, but nothing it puts on comes close to what's on in Europe. Lots of people love Melbourne, personally I just don't get it.

 

[Woodchip]

Don't get me started on NZ!

As I said above, I love Sydney and I love Australia. However no place is perfect, and because Australia is so far away from everywhere else it inevitably suffers in terms of live acts. Melbourne for me, tries to bridge the gap, but nothing it puts on comes close to what's on in Europe. Lots of people love Melbourne, personally I just don't get it.

Says it all really. [MENTION=14537]matthew[/MENTION] it's pretty safe to ignore anything Stumpy Tim has said.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Just trying to help get someone excited about their upcoming travels.

Why?
If you think you should not give a balanced view of somewhere, maybe you should not voice any opinion?

 

[StonehamPark]

If you're after playing the long game you can come to NZ (much easier to get to) then after you've been here 5 years and got citizenship you can freely work in Oz. Not sure how old you are, so not sure how feasible this is for you. If you work in the building industry Christchurch is crying out for builders.

This is definitely worth looking at as I've still just about got enough time for the 1 years WHV to get me in, initially.
I spent 6 months in NZ, between Christchurch (during the quakes), to Wellington, to Ohakune (for skiing), then on to Auckland. So I've only seen a smidge.
As working in Christchurch, I don't have a trade qualification so I'd probably be as much use as a lead parachute.
I'll see what jobs are out there! Long flight though..

 

[Woodchip]

This is definitely worth looking at as I've still just about got enough time for the 1 years WHV to get me in, initially.
I spent 6 months in NZ, between Christchurch (during the quakes), to Wellington, to Ohakune (for skiing), then on to Auckland. So I've only seen a smidge.
As working in Christchurch, I don't have a trade qualification so I'd probably be as much use as a lead parachute.
I'll see what jobs are out there! Long flight though..

What do you do for work? I can have a sniff around if you want.

 

[HovaGirl]

If you're after playing the long game you can come to NZ (much easier to get to) then after you've been here 5 years and got citizenship you can freely work in Oz. Not sure how old you are, so not sure how feasible this is for you. If you work in the building industry Christchurch is crying out for builders.

My Australian friend has lived in Melbourne all her life and hates it there so spends several months a year in Greece. (The grass is always greener...)

 

[HovaGirl]

As I said above, I love Sydney and I love Australia. However no place is perfect, and because Australia is so far away from everywhere else it inevitably suffers in terms of live acts. Melbourne for me, tries to bridge the gap, but nothing it puts on comes close to what's on in Europe. Lots of people love Melbourne, personally I just don't get it.

This is what my Melbourne friend says, that Melbourne, indeed, Australia, is isolated from the rest of the Western World and doesn't feel part of it, though it wants to.

 

[sydney]

Don't get me wrong, I love Sydney. I can see myself moving back some day. In comparison to London however there is very little music or theatre - that can't be denied. But that's not what people go to Sydney for... Sydney culture is largely based around the beach and good food. There's nothing wrong with that.

i don't "DO" theatre mate but some good friends of ours are ardent theatre goers ,they go at least once a month.......sure the quantity may not be there but the quality seems to be.....the sydney symphony and the sydney royal ballet are also very highly rated.....i have seen loads of "big " name bands , acts and dj's.........sydney is the nutts ...it's biggest drawback is the prices of property........Perth on the other hand is even more expensive , average pint price would be around 11 dollars that's about 7 quid.......and wa is blessed with a totally deluded premier and a totally out of touch cabinet......they are riding the financial bough wave of a massive resources boom yet they are cutting educational and health funding whilst spending millions on road" up-grades"...ie traffic lights , red light cameras and speed cameras.........Half-whitts..

 

[StonehamPark]

What do you do for work? I can have a sniff around if you want.

I work in fraud investigation. This is typically in suspicious insurance, welfare/benefits and injury claims. So unfortunately I've picked a career that isn't too common or easy to find abroad..
If you do hear/see anything please do give me a shout!

 

[StonehamPark]

This is what my Melbourne friend says, that Melbourne, indeed, Australia, is isolated from the rest of the Western World and doesn't feel part of it, though it wants to.

I imagine this is your friends opinion as I can safely say Australia/Australians are possibly the proudest people on Earth of their independence from the West/Rest of the world.

 

[HovaGirl]

I imagine this is your friends opinion as I can safely say Australia/Australians are possibly the proudest people on Earth of their independence from the West/Rest of the world.

My friend is Australian and has lived in Melbourne all her life, but hates it there. Of course it's her opinion that she and her Australian friends feel isolated from the rest of the world. Just saying that the grass is always greener, especially if it's on the other side of the world. Brits dream about settling in Australia. Australians dream about settling in Europe. Everyone always wants to be somewhere else.

 

[StonehamPark]

My friend is Australian and has lived in Melbourne all her life, but hates it there. Of course it's her opinion that she and her Australian friends feel isolated from the rest of the world. Just saying that the grass is always greener, especially if it's on the other side of the world. Brits dream about settling in Australia. Australians dream about settling in Europe. Everyone always wants to be somewhere else.

I only spent two years in Aus so I can't speak for all of them, however I never met an Aussie who wanted to settle in Europe. Although I can say many Aussies from the major cities, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane etc, wanted to travel their own country as their respective cities didn't have too much of an appeal to want to stay there.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

Byron Bay is where the magic is, don't think i will ever leave this place!

Great Brewery there as well

 

[Pinkie Brown]

Not strictly true - depends on circumstances. I spent 8 years there, and now have the passport. However, if you like your live music, theatre etc then Australia isn't the place to be. What Australia has is the weather - many people get to a point where the weather is actually irrelevant. I got bored of Australia

That was my experience after living there for seven years. It just lost its appeal as a place to live. Even to this day, its hard to put an exact finger on it, as to why I didn't want to live in Australia any more. The weather wasn't a big enough reason to stay. The distance from family & friends was also a factor. However, I did find myself bored of the 'lifestyle' after a time.

I wouldn't agree so much about the lack of live music or theatre. All the major Cities have a thriving music scene, with plenty of International acts touring. No shortage of theatre in the major centres for those into 'the arts' either. Of course, if you live in the bush out the back of beyond, that is a different story.

The biggest thing I missed was live football. Things were very different back in the late 80's. No internet or live TV Football. It was hard to keep track of all things BHAFC. As for getting into Rugby League or Aussie Rules? Urgh, no thanks.

I still enjoy taking Holidays to Australia, but I have no wish to live there again. Some people will love it & never want to return. (I have a cousin who emigrated in 1979 & has never once returned to the UK) Others will find it is not for them. Only until somebody has sampled the lifestyle, will they know if its for them.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Says it all really. [MENTION=14537]matthew[/MENTION] it's pretty safe to ignore anything Stumpy Tim has said.

Indeed, ignore the perfectly reasonable opinion of someone who lived in Australia for eight years and went to Melbourne on countless occasions. But hey, read above and there are people who agree with me. That's strange isn't it