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So, despite having planned to relocate to Australia for grad school/work/settling down, I wasn't keeping up with the Department of Citizenship & Immigration's changes to the points system. I wasn't really planning to move until 2013 at the earliest pending a contract I'm under, but finally this afternoon at work I read up on it. It seems that they dropped the differing points for different jobs thing, and changed around the points allocations for the other criteria, in a manner that works all in my favor  I'm 26 now and teaching English in Japan, and was thinking I'd definitely have to be outta here within 2 years in order to finish a graduate programme, and then slip in under the 30 years old bracket (for maxing out how many points you get for age). Now they've re-arranged it so that 18-24 year olds get 25 points, and 25-32 year olds get 30 (the most). The being a native English speaker bonus seems more generous too, although I can't remember exactly what the old one was. Between that and some of the other bonus points, it looks pretty good.A rather important question though: I'm looking at getting into secondary education, and the normal qualification for that (if you didn't do a Bachelor's in Ed) is a postgraduate certificate, which is a 3 semester course. From what I've read, that transitional "international student graduate looking for a job" visa is only for 2-year courses. From anyone who's considered/done anything similar: would I be basically poo poo out of luck at the end of my course if I didn't lock down a job before I graduated? (Assuming I was over 30 and thus ineligible for a WH). I know I could always do a full Master's, but the cost is somewhat of a deterrent and I was originally planning on the shorter course. How does the student visa handle self-employment, by the way? Obviously it'd be pretty hard to track the 20 hours a week. Was thinking of doing some photography to pay the bills while I was there.
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Oct 19, 2011 06:57
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Pompous Rhombus posted:A rather important question though: I'm looking at getting into secondary education, and the normal qualification for that (if you didn't do a Bachelor's in Ed) is a postgraduate certificate, which is a 3 semester course. From what I've read, that transitional "international student graduate looking for a job" visa is only for 2-year courses. From anyone who's considered/done anything similar: would I be basically poo poo out of luck at the end of my course if I didn't lock down a job before I graduated? (Assuming I was over 30 and thus ineligible for a WH). I know I could always do a full Master's, but the cost is somewhat of a deterrent and I was originally planning on the shorter course. I can't really comment on your specific question but in general I think there are a lot of teaching jobs at a secondary level (and english as well). If you're willing to move to a rural area I think it gets even easier. So finding a teaching job shouldn't be uber difficult. quote:How does the student visa handle self-employment, by the way? Obviously it'd be pretty hard to track the 20 hours a week. Was thinking of doing some photography to pay the bills while I was there. If it's paid cash in hand you would basically have to be caught in the act, I have no idea how likely that is but I think it'd be pretty unlikely. Other than that they would probably catch you through your tax filings or if you bill people and they claim it as an expense there would be a record there. The tax office also knows approximately how much you "should" be making. I know a guy who got audited because his declared income was so low they didn't believe he could live on it. His excuse was he was a musician who didn't have a girlfriend  If you make it to Sydney we should catch up for a beer and discuss obsolete cameras
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Oct 26, 2011 15:04
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Oh that's right, I have a question: I have a friend who is Swedish who would like to come to Australia. She is 23, speaks fluent English & Swedish and almost fluent German (B2). I was thinking with those language skills she would probably be able to find something in tourism pretty easy, is that correct? I read somewhere that Germans are the #2 visitors to Australia second to the Japanese. Also it sounds like tourism has been taking a bit of a hit with the strong dollar and blah blah, would that make it harder for her?
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Oct 26, 2011 15:07
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unixbeard posted:Oh that's right, I have a question: Probably not, going from personal experience it's tough to get into the tourism industry here as it's pretty competitive, and from what I hear from friends who have worked as travel agents/tour guides you work ridiculous hours for relatively low pay.
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Oct 26, 2011 23:39
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unixbeard posted:Oh that's right, I have a question: I find that very unlikely (Germany being #2). Swedish probably wont really be very helpful at all. Scandinavians aren't the biggest group and they all speak english anyway. Same with German really. Those who can take groups of Japanese or Chinese around are the best as far as needing another language. Short Term Overseas visitors in August were from (by ranking of the most) New Zealand China Japan UK USA Malaysia Singapore Indonesia Korea Hong Kong India is next most likely (drop in and out of the top 10) and Germany is somewhere around 10-20. Seems Germany were up to 9th in March with 13,200 visitors. This is all from the Bureau of Statistics.
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Oct 27, 2011 00:32
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Aussie here living in Brisbane, trying to convince my boyfriend to go up to Fraser Island over the summer. A while back we said we'd go camping around the island over summer though I wouldn't mind staying some nicer places for a couple days too. Anyone have any suggestions for must-do's? Earlier this year we stayed in Rainbow Beach so while we never made it over to Fraser, we did get a good look around the mainland up there. Or maybe people have suggestions for somewhere different to go? It's been a hectic year and christmas is my birthday so I'm looking forward to a special holiday on some gorgeous beaches with loads to do. His suggestions were also Sunshine Coast or Tangalooma but we holiday on/visit the Sunshine Coast a lot and I'd rather save Tangalooma for a smaller holiday since it's pretty close. I've only moved here from Sydney in February so there are still heaps of places I haven't been able to explore yet. Eden fucked around with this message at 11:20 on Oct 29, 2011 |
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Oct 29, 2011 11:13
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Eden posted:Aussie here living in Brisbane, trying to convince my boyfriend to go up to Fraser Island over the summer. A while back we said we'd go camping around the island over summer though I wouldn't mind staying some nicer places for a couple days too. Lake Mckenzie is an absolutle must do. It was amazing. Also check out Stradbroke Island, supposed to be a great time also.
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Oct 29, 2011 22:39
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edit: wrong thread
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Oct 30, 2011 05:15
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unixbeard posted:I can't really comment on your specific question but in general I think there are a lot of teaching jobs at a secondary level (and english as well). If you're willing to move to a rural area I think it gets even easier. So finding a teaching job shouldn't be uber difficult. Awesome, thats good to hear! In the US, the situation is generally pretty grim in English/social sciences, and has been for a while. I'm actually thinking I'd prefer a rural-ish area anyways, as I've found big cities really aren't my thing (I can deal with living in them and it's not awful, but I'm happier living somewhere a bit quieter and less expensive). I'm particularly interested in WA's Flying Teacher Squad programme, at least for a year or two, actually. Yeah, I'm not trying to do anything illegal, I'll have to do some more digging into whether self-employing is valid on a student visa or not. To be honest it's not worth it to me if there's not a way to do it legitimately, as I'd be risking my whole future over a thousand dollars here and there. Most definitely! I was thinking of coming to Australia this winter (northern hemisphere) break, but I gotta lay low and save for a vehicle here in Japan.
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Oct 30, 2011 05:45
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Eden posted:Aussie here living in Brisbane, trying to convince my boyfriend to go up to Fraser Island over the summer. A while back we said we'd go camping around the island over summer though I wouldn't mind staying some nicer places for a couple days too. Agnes Water is really nice  It's east of Miriam Vale so a bit further than what you might be looking for but not sure whether the proximity thing is just a convenience thing or what. I'm a QLD goon as well (Rockhampton) and I've seen quite a bit of the state so I'd be happy to help if you want to go further afield than SEQ.
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Oct 31, 2011 00:38
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Sharks Below posted:Agnes Water is really nice Trying to make a bit of a thing of it so I'd like to go somewhere special we wouldn't really take off for the weekend to (like Straddie, Tangalooma, southern Sunshine Coast etc). It's hard to make my mind up and be sensible with images of luxury island resorts teasing me  We do also have a sailing yacht if anyone knows of any great sailing trips, though to be honest I'm not sure I'd do so well on it on an extended trip.
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Oct 31, 2011 18:37
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Eden posted:Yep totally willing to go further than SEQ, actually starting to look at places further north now (like the Whitsundays until I saw the prices... yeesh). Proximity would have been a thing if it was a camping holiday but that was really limited to Fraser Island, anywhere else would be a hotel stay. Have you thought about Heron Island? It is basically the best. Not sure what your price range is, it's probably around the same as Whitsunday I suppose. If you're not sure how you'd go on an extended sailing trip, maybe just go for an overnight trip and see how you go. I grew up sailing with my family on a 30ft catamaran and I loved it but if it was longer than a few days it sure was nice to cruise around to Keppel Island resort and have a shower 
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Oct 31, 2011 22:42
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Hey I am a yank but lived in Darwin for a couple years during High School. Feel free to ask me some questions about Darwin or the top end from an american's perspective.
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Nov 18, 2011 22:59
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 The Pinnacles are kinda neat! Like a miniature version of Cappadocia or the Valley of the Moon
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Nov 22, 2011 17:51
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Is that near Broken Hill? There are a few sites around called "The Pinnacles". I absolutely LOVED Broken Hill.
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Nov 22, 2011 22:41
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I don't think so! These are in WA, 3 hours' drive up north from Perth. Right along the coast, in Nambung National Park. I have roughly a day's worth of free time in Sydney in the middle of this month. What should I do? Also, what are some reasonably safe, fun and cheap hotels/hostels to crash at?
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Dec 5, 2011 08:19
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Montalvo posted:I don't think so! These are in WA, 3 hours' drive up north from Perth. Right along the coast, in Nambung National Park. Well theres a lot to choose from with just one day. What interests you? Being outdoors or indoors? History? Art? Music? Nature? Food? Stay at the Sydney Harbour YHA if you can. Best hostel in Sydney. Otherwise stay at one in the CBD, Potts Point or Bondi for the most fun.
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Dec 5, 2011 09:15
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Montalvo posted:
As fists said, it depends what you're into. I stayed at Wake Up hostel when I was in Sydney on holiday. It's right by the central station. Good crowd, lots to do during the day (things like the arranged city walk always has 20+ people and is a great way to meet peeople and then follow up with beers).
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Dec 5, 2011 10:11
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Montalvo posted:I have roughly a day's worth of free time in Sydney in the middle of this month. What should I do? Also, what are some reasonably safe, fun and cheap hotels/hostels to crash at? I hope you've got some warm clothes, weather is utter shite at the moment.
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Dec 5, 2011 11:04
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Just thought I'd post in here since I've FINALLY (have been thinking about doing this since I graduated in '08) committed to doing the 1 year work holiday visa. As of now, I think I'll fly into Sydney (coming from Boston) and perhaps stay there while looking for work. I would love to do the SE backpacker trail before settling down, but funds will be extremely tight as is. I'm currently attemting to sell off literally everything I own, but the process doesn't seem to be going so well; as of now, I'll probably enter with only $2.5k (USD)...so...I may be homeless at some point. Also, if, perhaps, anyone here does any hiring, I have a ton of barista experience. I also have a lot of office experience (usually working as an executive assistant to a high profile individual either in private industry or in higher education)...will take anything!
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Dec 7, 2011 04:29
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Going to Australia for a month in January and will be focusing most on the east coast. Is it best to book packages for Fraser Island/Whitsundays online or just do it when your there? Looking at some sort of 2-3 day trip for Fraser Island then roughly the same for Whitsunday.. camping on Whitehaven Beach etc.
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Dec 7, 2011 07:11
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Thanks for the tips guys. I'll probably spend most of my time doing indoorsy/cultural things as I'm not the biggest nature fan (I know...). I've fired off an equiry to Wake Up! I reckon the tours they organise should keep me fairly well occupied. I'd love to be able to spend more time in Syndey, but on the 19th I'm driving up to the Blue Mountains to go stare at some galaxies through a big telescope.  2ndclasscitizen posted:I hope you've got some warm clothes, weather is utter shite at the moment. Ha, I've just moved to Perth after six years in Scotland, I'm well stocked up on warm clothes! 
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Dec 7, 2011 08:10
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goldenskan posted:Coming to Aus My advice is keep working till you have more money. The AUD is going up and down a bit but it will most likely be around 1 aud to 1 usd. Everything is way more expensive here compared to the US. You will be looking at $30 a night at a lovely hostel and $15-$25 to eat out. Drinks are heaps expensive too. $2,500 will last you a month and it won't even feel like a great time.
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Dec 7, 2011 09:04
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Montalvo posted:Ha, I've just moved to Perth after six years in Scotland, I'm well stocked up on warm clothes! It'll feel just like home then!
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Dec 7, 2011 09:25
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I'm mostly looking forward to hanging out with the locals at the remote village locals in the Blue Mountains and hearing all about the harvest.
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Dec 7, 2011 11:26
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imnotinsane posted:My advice is keep working till you have more money. The AUD is going up and down a bit but it will most likely be around 1 aud to 1 usd. Everything is way more expensive here compared to the US. You will be looking at $30 a night at a lovely hostel and $15-$25 to eat out. Drinks are heaps expensive too. $2,500 will last you a month and it won't even feel like a great time. Hmm... thanks for the warning; is it really so dire? Everyone I've talked to recently has said that there are jobs everywhere and that I really shouldn't worry too much about it before arrival. I'm planning on couchsurfing once I arrived since I have a few people lined up from couchsurfing.com. I'm definitely not going to go try living it up before securing some sort of income, and I'm assuming I could keep my meal costs down by literally eating eggs all the time and going out often to meet people, but not drinking, and still having fun on nothing (this would all be until I get a job, at least). And then there's always fruitpicking as a fallback. I know it's not going to be fun at first, but it seems like it will be doable!
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Dec 8, 2011 20:37
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You could probably scrape by but its not very fun. What happens if you get into some kind of trouble, for example some of your money is stolen, couchsurfing falls through and you have no accomodation, you need to go to the doctor etc. I did the same thing as you and went to Canada with only $1,500 - my first 2 months were pretty loving poo poo and I totally regret not saving more. If you do only come with $2,500 make sure you get some "proof" of having access to $4,000 dollars. Doctor up some statements, I don't know how strict immigration are but it is a requirement and I have heard of people getting knocked back because of lack of funds.
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Dec 8, 2011 21:43
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What can you tell me about Newcastle/New South Wales? I just got accepted into their graduate program. Not sure how I feel about that.
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Dec 8, 2011 22:32
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I've been wanting to visit Australia for years now, and I finally booked my trip! I'm gonna be doing a 10 day outback hike that starts in Adelaide and ends in Alice Springs. However, because I go to Adelaide, I'll be spending the day/night in Sydney. So I'm gonna ask you Ozzie Goons a VERY specific and possibly very retarded question. It's always been my dream to hug a koala.  Is there a wild-life reserve/zoo in the Sydney area that allows this sort of tourist bullshit?
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Dec 9, 2011 00:01
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^^ Koala hugging is illegal in New South Wales, you won't be able to find anywhere that allow you to do it.goldenskan posted:Hmm... thanks for the warning; is it really so dire? Everyone I've talked to recently has said that there are jobs everywhere and that I really shouldn't worry too much about it before arrival. I'm planning on couchsurfing once I arrived since I have a few people lined up from couchsurfing.com. I'm definitely not going to go try living it up before securing some sort of income, and I'm assuming I could keep my meal costs down by literally eating eggs all the time and going out often to meet people, but not drinking, and still having fun on nothing (this would all be until I get a job, at least). And then there's always fruitpicking as a fallback. I know it's not going to be fun at first, but it seems like it will be doable! There are more jobs than America, that's for sure, but there's no guarantee you're going to find one straight away, especially since most places won't hire backpackers because they want people that will stay in the job for more than 6 months. Also, people will always tell you what they want to hear when they're not the ones who have literally only enough money to last a month. And if you run out of money, how do you plan on getting to the outback to do the fruit picking? Most of it is up in Queensland, which is literally thousands of kilometers away and definitely not free to get to. I'd agree that $2500 isn't really enough to start with in Australia.
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Dec 9, 2011 00:27
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First thing he should do upon coming to Australia is get an RSA certificate and go get a bar job. Its work and you can at least settle down somewhere first. It wouldnt be that hard to get a job such as that. Other ones to go for - retail, supermarket packer, fast food, or if you have any sort of previous job in some low experience field then go for that. Also lie about having experience in those jobs and just pass it off as "we do it different in America" if you stuff something up.
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Dec 9, 2011 00:45
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invalid posted:What can you tell me about Newcastle/New South Wales? I just got accepted into their graduate program. Not sure how I feel about that. Its got the small country town feel to me but thats comparing to Sydney. Its the biggest non-capital city in Australia. You have access to some really fantastic coastal areas as well as the hunter valley (the big wine region in the state). Plus its only 150km from Sydney so its really not that difficult to get down here. Its much more of an industrial/manufacturing town dominated by the coal industry. Couldnt comment on the university but AFAIK its pretty decent as I know a couple of people who have been there. Apparantly its in a poo poo spot though. Rent will be much cheaper than Sydney.
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Dec 9, 2011 00:47
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Mucktron posted:It's always been my dream to hug a koala. I don't know about Sydney but there's a place called Cleland Wildlife Park just outside Adelaide that has what they call "The Koala Experience". You can touch 'em or hold them - they're not wild koalas, so they're less likely to shred you with their claws... ... although not all wild koalas are dangerous or even aggressive. Some are friendly. I live in the Adelaide hills, not far from Cleland, and we get wild koalas around here all the time. Some are timid, others curious, and others are friendly and wander up to us when we're outside. I've even had a young koala climb my leg (lucky I was wearing jeans) and sit on my shoulder. Unfortunately that was before the time of digital cameras. It's well worth a visit. From memory there are public buses that run from the city, so it's easy to get to. Definitely worth a few hours.
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Dec 9, 2011 01:02
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I should have some down time in Adelaide before the hike, so I'll definitely check it out!
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Dec 9, 2011 01:23
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What do you mean by "hike," too? It's nearly 1000 miles between Adelaide and Alice Springs so I hope you're not planning to walk that far in ten days...
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Dec 9, 2011 01:47
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Mucktron posted:I should have some down time in Adelaide before the hike, so I'll definitely check it out! http://www.ozanimals.com/travel/symbio-wildlife-gardens-helensburgh-near-sutherland Edit: it actually has times in the above link for Koala hugging, so the guy posting before about it being illegal is incorrect NoArmedMan fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Dec 9, 2011 |
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Dec 9, 2011 01:47
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Steve. posted:What do you mean by "hike," too? It's nearly 1000 miles between Adelaide and Alice Springs so I hope you're not planning to walk that far in ten days... You mean Australia isn't a small country?  I'm actually doing a group hike with a company that organizes them. So no, I am not gonna show up to Australia with a backpack and wander off into the outback never to be heard from again. So there is hiking, but it's not a non-stop walk. They drive us places and THEN we hike. We're gonna be checking out some cool places though. Lake Eyre, Kings Canyon, Uluru and what not. I'm pretty excited about it as I'd wanted to go to Australia for a while now, but I really wanted to do some hiking and was a little clueless on how to get started initially.
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Dec 9, 2011 02:06
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Mucktron posted:You mean Australia isn't a small country? Sounds like fun
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Dec 9, 2011 02:54
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caldakid posted:Going to Australia for a month in January and will be focusing most on the east coast. Is it best to book packages for Fraser Island/Whitsundays online or just do it when your there? Book it in advance, January is PRIME summer time and prime holiday for Australian tourists who will be flocking to those areas, Whitsundays especially. It's also cyclone/jellyfish season in those areas and bring some sunscreen if you are white because Australian sun is brutal
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Dec 10, 2011 21:47
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teacup posted:Book it in advance, January is PRIME summer time and prime holiday for Australian tourists who will be flocking to those areas, Whitsundays especially. Do Australian tourists usually head there in Summer? Most people from Victoria I know tend to head North as it gets colder down south in order to enjoy the warmth.
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Dec 10, 2011 21:51
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