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Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I ended up leaving them at a backpacker's travel agency just up from the corner of George Street and Rawson Place. $10 for the day, if anyone else is curious.
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May 8, 2012 06:44
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LAN forum crossquestion: Thinking of going up to Falls (or Hotham, but most likely Falls) for some snow this year. Anyone know any good places to stay? I'm going in the August peak so it's going to be expensive either way, but would be interested to know if any places have standout position/food/rooms/value.
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May 10, 2012 07:33
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I've taken a position in Australia. I am quite excited. I visited QLD last year and had a great time. I only know what l've read(mostly negative unfortunately, but im just excited to be on the continent) but would like to see if anyone has any other input on where I'll be... Alice springs.
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May 12, 2012 00:54
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My husband and I currently live in Canberra (my hometown, he's Canadian, only been in Australia for 6 months) We're looking at moving to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast. He's got a lot of hospitality/hotel experience, I'm looking to do any old job for the next 6 months before I can study full time. Does anyone know which area will be better to find employment in? The unemployment rates seem similar and I've heard mixed reviews about both areas. I've visited both areas years before and either one would be a nice change from Canberra.
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May 12, 2012 01:29
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IMO there's no competition. Sunshine Coast every time. Gold Coast is plasticky, gross, tacky. Sunshine Coast is classy, down to earth and chill. Better food on the SC. Great surf, great shopping, hinterland is beautiful (as is the GC Hinterland to be fair), bit further from Brisbane depending on where you decide to go but yeah it would not even be a contest for me. Not sure if you've been following it but the crime rate of the GC is also really bad. Even been a task force set up. I holidayed in Noosa a lot as a kid and have relatives in Buderim, love visiting them. SC rules. Full disclosure: I live in Rockhampton so I'm not biased but perhaps I'm not entitled to an opinion 
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May 12, 2012 02:16
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Sharks Below posted:IMO there's no competition. Sunshine Coast every time. Gold Coast is plasticky, gross, tacky. Sunshine Coast is classy, down to earth and chill. Better food on the SC. Great surf, great shopping, hinterland is beautiful (as is the GC Hinterland to be fair), bit further from Brisbane depending on where you decide to go but yeah it would not even be a contest for me. Not sure if you've been following it but the crime rate of the GC is also really bad. Even been a task force set up. I holidayed in Noosa a lot as a kid and have relatives in Buderim, love visiting them. SC rules. That said, I'd think you'd be able to find a job quicker at the Gold Coast. There's plenty of bar jobs there with plenty of turnover. It still is a somewhat tacky place, though. But the Sunshine Coast is way nicer. I've only ever been there once (used to live at Bribie Island), and went to Maroochydore a few times. Generally, it's a pretty chill place with plenty of things to do. Plus the Ettamogah pub is up the way to the Sunshine coast. And Australia Land. And the Big Pineapple. You gotta experience those at least once.
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May 12, 2012 10:51
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Sharks Below posted:IMO there's no competition. Sunshine Coast every time. Gold Coast is plasticky, gross, tacky. Sunshine Coast is classy, down to earth and chill. Better food on the SC. Great surf, great shopping, hinterland is beautiful (as is the GC Hinterland to be fair), bit further from Brisbane depending on where you decide to go but yeah it would not even be a contest for me. Not sure if you've been following it but the crime rate of the GC is also really bad. Even been a task force set up. I holidayed in Noosa a lot as a kid and have relatives in Buderim, love visiting them. SC rules. I'm really not sure what you mean by surf being better in the Sunshine Coast than the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast has five world class breaks and many more great breaks. The Sunshine Coast has uh....none that I know of.
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May 12, 2012 11:47
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Mollywop posted:I've taken a position in Australia. I am quite excited. There's a few social issues, and some pretty strict laws around alcohol, but it's not that bad. It is a fair distance from other major cities (1500km's or so to Adelaide or Darwin), so some things will be more expensive as they have to be freighted in. Alice Springs is a tourist town, so there's tonnes of things to do and see around it - the countryside is quite beautiful and Australians are generally quite friendly. The town isn't that big, but it has all the mod cons. There's a pretty big range of temperatures, from high 30's down to 10 degrees. What kinda work are you doing?
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May 12, 2012 13:38
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Red_Fred posted:I'm really not sure what you mean by surf being better in the Sunshine Coast than the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast has five world class breaks and many more great breaks. The Sunshine Coast has uh....none that I know of. At no point did I say it was better  I learnt to surf at the SC so it's not like it doesn't exist. I just truly hate the GC I'm afraid.
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May 12, 2012 16:15
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I go to QLD for work every few months and tend to stay in Brisbane and drive up and down the coast/out west over the week. Last week I went North as far as Noosaville (and then NW to Gympie) and south down to Tweed. I would say that 9 times out of 10 I would pick the Sunshine coast to live in. Its definitely a much more enjoyable place unless you like the tackiness and party lifestyle of the Gold Coast. From speaking to business as well a lot of people seemed to say the Gold Coast was doing it pretty tough at the moment as well (but thats not to say the sunshine coast isnt either). I think Caloundra is fantastic and still decently close to Brisbane. Also Gympie is a hole.
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May 13, 2012 05:37
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Thanks for the replies! We're heading up there this weekend to check it out. I think we may end up staying wherever my husband finds work.
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May 13, 2012 12:04
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Hello thread! My boyfriend and I have been thinking of living in Australia for a bit - the original plan was for me to get a 457 (employer sponsored) visa and him joining with a Working Holiday visa. But since I haven't gotten any luck with job applications yet (Molecular Bio MSc, looking for a lab job), I'm starting to consider getting Working Holiday Visa myself too, so we can just get there first and stay afloat with random jobs, while I keep looking for a real position (and maybe enjoy ourselves a bit). Since I'm usually not a "live day by day" person, I'm a bit scared we won't be able to survive from our jobs, or I'm not sure if we can even afford to rent a place (is this even possible without a steady job?) or if we'll have to travel from hostel to hostel. I guess, worst case, we run out of money (we both have about 5k in savings) and have to go back, but what can I realistically expect in this situation?
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Jun 10, 2012 19:49
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plasmoduck posted:Hello thread! My boyfriend and I have been thinking of living in Australia for a bit - the original plan was for me to get a 457 (employer sponsored) visa and him joining with a Working Holiday visa. But since I haven't gotten any luck with job applications yet (Molecular Bio MSc, looking for a lab job), I'm starting to consider getting Working Holiday Visa myself too, so we can just get there first and stay afloat with random jobs, while I keep looking for a real position (and maybe enjoy ourselves a bit). Do you have a preference for where you are living? You can make 10k go further if you aren't paying Sydney rent for example. Or if you don't mind living in the suburbs. Also where is your degree from? Your profile says you are somewhere in Europe but I suppose you would understand that degrees from certain countries are considered "meaningless" here (hence meeting all those taxi drivers/cleaners with degrees in mechanical engineering). At the end of the day there are plenty of students and backpackers getting by on not much money. Its definitely not impossible. You should look into getting cheap accommodation ASAP (definitely don't just look for a place for you two. Moving in with a couple other people is where its at). Half the people working in bars are on visas. Also once you are here I would think that applying for jobs gets a lot easier. Do you know of the specific industry websites for science/lab jobs? I don't know it as its not my field but I could ask a bunch of people I know who do that for a living.
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Jun 11, 2012 12:03
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As for the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast debate, I think it's important to consider what type of person you are. The Gold Coast is definitely a lot bigger with more shopping and the like, more night clubs, more things going on. However, SC is definitely a lot quieter and classier. Though if you were worried about class (as in, la de da class), places such as Main Beach on the Gold Coast are full of them. I think on the Gold Coast it would be somewhat hard to find a job, though I haven't tried in things like bars/restaurants to get one I guess.
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Jun 12, 2012 13:23
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Fists Up posted:Do you have a preference for where you are living? You can make 10k go further if you aren't paying Sydney rent for example. Or if you don't mind living in the suburbs. I don't mind living anywhere really, although, since Melbourne has a lot of universities/research institutes and my friend called it her "dream city" I'm a bit partial to it. Suburbs are also fine if I can get by with public transport (I usually ride my bicycle to anywhere here, but Australian cities are probably too big?). My boyfriend tends to prefer smaller/cozier cities, but I'm afraid it will be harder to find jobs there maybe? My BSc is from Germany, but my MSc is from the Netherlands. I also spent a semester in Sweden so that's why I'm usually floating around "somewhere in Europe". quote:You should look into getting cheap accommodation ASAP (definitely don't just look for a place for you two. Moving in with a couple other people is where its at). Half the people working in bars are on visas. I only know the normal websites like seek.com.au or monster, but the positions advertised on those sites are usually higher-level than what I'm looking for (Research Assistant), so I've just been browsing university job listings for those. If you could ask some someone about other websites that would be awesome, though!
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Jun 12, 2012 16:30
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plasmoduck posted:I don't mind living anywhere really, although, since Melbourne has a lot of universities/research institutes and my friend called it her "dream city" I'm a bit partial to it. Suburbs are also fine if I can get by with public transport (I usually ride my bicycle to anywhere here, but Australian cities are probably too big?). My boyfriend tends to prefer smaller/cozier cities, but I'm afraid it will be harder to find jobs there maybe? Melbourne is eaaaaasy to get around with both public transport and on your bike. Heaps and heaps of bike lanes and trails, bike hire schemes, etc. It's also completely flat so you won't find it hard getting anywhere on your bike. If you've got Melbourne questions or choose Melbourne, get in touch and I can give you a hand. I'd recommend Melbourne over other cities (and you'll find most Australians will defend their city blindly) but it has a great combination of food, art, culture, transport and sport.
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Jun 12, 2012 21:40
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plasmoduck posted:Ah yes, it makes complete sense to share accomodation. I tried googling website for "looking for flatmates", but there's a gazillion ones - can you recommend which are the best/most popular? I suppose a lot is also advertised locally on papers and boards, right? Check out https://melbourne.gumtree.com.au for share houses. It's great to find a place to live in and you can find pretty affordable stuff provided your happy to live a little outside of the CBD.
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Jun 12, 2012 23:10
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NoArmedMan posted:Melbourne is eaaaaasy to get around with both public transport and on your bike. Heaps and heaps of bike lanes and trails, bike hire schemes, etc. It's also completely flat so you won't find it hard getting anywhere on your bike. If you've got Melbourne questions or choose Melbourne, get in touch and I can give you a hand. I'd recommend Melbourne over other cities (and you'll find most Australians will defend their city blindly) but it has a great combination of food, art, culture, transport and sport. I'm not sure which part of Melbourne you live in but the Eastern Suburbs are not what anyone would call flat. The basalt plains out west are flat but they are also bleak and treeless and full of bogans and I wouldn't recommend anyone live there if they could avoid it.
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Jun 13, 2012 01:28
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4liters posted:I'm not sure which part of Melbourne you live in but the Eastern Suburbs are not what anyone would call flat. The basalt plains out west are flat but they are also bleak and treeless and full of bogans and I wouldn't recommend anyone live there if they could avoid it. Well, North, West and South are flat. I was talking in general. Melbourne is dead flat compared to most other cities in Australia and the world.
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Jun 13, 2012 02:34
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If you're living in the suburbs of Melbourne, I would go East for sure. Also, when looking up share accommodation (Gumtree is the way to go, as mentioned), use google maps to see how close they are to a train station. You'll be able to ride your bike and the most stations are having secure bike lock-ups put in them (albeit it very slowly).
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Jun 13, 2012 03:01
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plasmoduck posted:I only know the normal websites like seek.com.au or monster, but the positions advertised on those sites are usually higher-level than what I'm looking for (Research Assistant), so I've just been browsing university job listings for those. If you could ask some someone about other websites that would be awesome, though! I just asked someone. This is for NSW but I suppose VIC and other states would be quite similar. If you are after smaller towns then most likely its going to be linked where the universities are like the University of New England or Charles Sturt University - "don't know about molecular biology but i can help with pathology labs- public hospital lab jobs are always advertised through the government websites I.e. RNSH, their pathology labs are under the branch of PALMS and all their jobs are through NSW Health gov website. Private pathology labs usually advertise internally and through seek.com or mycareer, they usually don't use recruiters...there are a couple of private research labs in the city but from what I have heard they are v hard to get into to" RNSH = Royal North Shore Hospital (I am assuming). PALMS is like the area wide Pathology service. There should be one of those for many different areas. Also I've been told that research positions in Australia are pretty tough to get into at the moment. A lot of researchers moved here as our economy isn't as poo poo as the US, UK and Europe.
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Jun 13, 2012 04:06
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Keep in mind they live in Europe. Sure, Melbourne is super easy to get around in compared to every other city in Australia (Brisbane lol), but it's still going to be pretty terrible compared to almost every major city in Europe when it comes to public transport.
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Jun 13, 2012 09:59
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Thanks a lot for the awesome information! I'll definitely go check gumtree and government websites. I'm also leaning towards Melbourne even more now (so NoArmedMan, I may pester you as soon as our plans are clearer). Also I found out that a professor of mine knows someone at Monash and might be able to recommend me (a bit different field than I was aiming but still!). Yeah, research is pretty hard to get in anywhere these days, so I'm prepared to work random jobs for a while. Plus, after my crazy-busy final project I wouldn't mind not having to worry about lab stuff for a while.HookShot posted:Keep in mind they live in Europe. Sure, Melbourne is super easy to get around in compared to every other city in Australia (Brisbane lol), but it's still going to be pretty terrible compared to almost every major city in Europe when it comes to public transport. plasmoduck fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Jun 13, 2012 |
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Jun 13, 2012 15:30
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I'm looking at leaving for Australia this fall. Are there many jobs available out there in the agricultural sector (specifically sheep)? Also, how common is it for employers in said sector to provide housing?
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Jun 17, 2012 06:26
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I think NZ has more sheep than here and apparently the sheep over there are more likely to put out. Better climate too, most of the sheep stations here are in the middle of loving nowhere and it's loving hot and dry and poo poo. Most of the isolated places will have accommodation because driving to the nearest town is the equivalent of driving across France.
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Jun 17, 2012 10:46
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4liters posted:I think NZ has more sheep than here and apparently the sheep over there are more likely to put out. Better climate too, most of the sheep stations here are in the middle of loving nowhere and it's loving hot and dry and poo poo. Most of the isolated places will have accommodation because driving to the nearest town is the equivalent of driving across France. This is extremely accurate. Sheep stations here (I live in cattle country but sheep country is west of me) are in the very hot, dry, remote areas generally. Unless you go to beautiful Tasmania (similar climate to NZ but not as cold) where there's loving HEAPS of sheep and only a hop across Bass Strait to Melbourne. I'm giving some serious thought to moving to Tasmania myself because the produce there is absolutely incredible and I'm kind of a country girl at heart 
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Jun 17, 2012 10:58
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They could really use some fresh genes down there too
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Jun 17, 2012 11:04
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4liters posted:They could really use some fresh genes down there too Right?! I'm happy to do my part to reduce congenital twoheadedness.
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Jun 17, 2012 11:19
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imnotinsane posted:Check out https://melbourne.gumtree.com.au for share houses. It's great to find a place to live in and you can find pretty affordable stuff provided your happy to live a little outside of the CBD. Just a tip about gumtree for those abroad. I found that when I tried to send messages to people from the UK that my messages were not getting through (no message around them being blocked, I just did not get any replies ever). Gumtree confirmed they block messages from outside Australia so you may want to get an aussie from this board to help you by sending the messages for you.
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Jun 19, 2012 07:15
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Sharks Below posted:This is extremely accurate. Sheep stations here (I live in cattle country but sheep country is west of me) are in the very hot, dry, remote areas generally. Unless you go to beautiful Tasmania (similar climate to NZ but not as cold) where there's loving HEAPS of sheep and only a hop across Bass Strait to Melbourne. I'm giving some serious thought to moving to Tasmania myself because the produce there is absolutely incredible and I'm kind of a country girl at heart I'm all ears on Tasmania-chat because I'm looking at going to grad school at UTAS. I actually don't know a ton about the area; I studied in Perth for a year as a uni student, and through a link on the WA Department of Education's website I found that teaching programme participants at Tasmanian universities can do their practicum in WA/easily teach there afterwards. UTAS looks like a good school, and the international student fees are significantly less than the other unis I was looking at. I'm not really married to the idea of going back to WA and may just wind up staying in Tasmania instead... my Melbourner mate here speculated I might find Hobart a bit lacking, but to be honest I've never been much of a big city person. Also this is a bit of a longshot but assuming we decide to end our contracts the same year, me the aforementioned Aussie co-worker are thinking of splitting (part of) a shipping container back to Australia. He's in Melbourne, so makes sense to send it there and then take my stuff on to Hobart. What would be the best (cheapest) way to go about that? Would it make sense to rent a U-HAUL (or Aussie equivalent), or would a freight forwarding company be reasonably-priced? I was hoping to travel for 4-5 months before coming to Australia, so if it doesn't require me there, all the better. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Jun 19, 2012 |
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Jun 19, 2012 07:33
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Tasmanian here who works at UTAS. I can't answer your questions about teaching or shipping freight as I don't know anything about that, but I could answer more general questions. Or you could send me a pm.
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Jun 19, 2012 08:51
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Good news for those of us wishing to migrate on a skilled migration visa - the pass mark is being reduced from 65 points to 60 points. The latest occupations to be removed from the SOL: ANZSCO 234211 Chemist ANZSCO 252711 Audiologist ANZSCO 331111 Bricklayer ANZSCO 333411 Wall and Floor Tiler Just as well I decided to go with carpentry over bricklaying. Here's hoping it stays on the list for the next couple of years.
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Jun 22, 2012 03:05
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Frankston posted:
In that you've already applied or you're learning a skill in order to apply?
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Jun 26, 2012 08:48
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Just out of curiosity is there any way to find out just how badly certain careers/skills are needed? The logic being that if it's desperately in demand it probably won't disappear in the next few years. I was looking at Agriculture science, after doing a masters in Australia but I'm not sure how feasible that is.
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Jul 16, 2012 03:54
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Relentlessboredomm posted:Just out of curiosity is there any way to find out just how badly certain careers/skills are needed? The logic being that if it's desperately in demand it probably won't disappear in the next few years. I know this is only anecdotal but I know a guy from Colombia who finished a postgraduate agricultural science degree whilst here in Australia and had no problems applying for and being given permanent residency. According to him it's a skill that's in short supply.
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Jul 16, 2012 04:00
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Relentlessboredomm posted:Just out of curiosity is there any way to find out just how badly certain careers/skills are needed? The logic being that if it's desperately in demand it probably won't disappear in the next few years. As a general thing I'd be interested in knowing about this too. Planning to do a Master's in Secondary Ed (Social Sciences and English). I've so far heard that demand for teachers is high (even Social Sciences, although the shortage isn't as acute as maths/science), but it'd be nice to have some more firm projections. I mean, nothing in life is certain, but it'd be nice to have a bit more of an idea what I was getting into before I put all that money into a graduate degree.
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Jul 16, 2012 05:38
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Pompous Rhombus posted:As a general thing I'd be interested in knowing about this too. Planning to do a Master's in Secondary Ed (Social Sciences and English). I've so far heard that demand for teachers is high (even Social Sciences, although the shortage isn't as acute as maths/science), but it'd be nice to have some more firm projections. On one hand, demand for male teachers of any type is fairly high. At least, the media keeps bleating on about male teachers being few and far between. I don't know if that means they're in high demand or not. On the other hand I don't know if teaching is a high demand area or not. A friends wife is an early education/primary school teacher and has struggled to find a regular gig for the past year. I'm not sure where to point you guys for more information 
Finch! fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Jul 16, 2012 |
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Jul 16, 2012 06:15
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There is the skilled occupation list http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/sol/ http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/transitional/occupations-in-demand.htm There's a mining boom which has also spawned a construction boom, so miners/builders etc there is a shortage. Also farming is a big part of the economy so ag stuff is probably pretty useful.
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Jul 16, 2012 08:25
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Relentlessboredomm posted:Just out of curiosity is there any way to find out just how badly certain careers/skills are needed? The logic being that if it's desperately in demand it probably won't disappear in the next few years. Pompous Rhombus posted:As a general thing I'd be interested in knowing about this too. Planning to do a Master's in Secondary Ed (Social Sciences and English). I've so far heard that demand for teachers is high (even Social Sciences, although the shortage isn't as acute as maths/science), but it'd be nice to have some more firm projections. Go here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/ Click on the Reports tab, then click on Occupation Ceilings. It'll tell you exactly how many openings there are available for your occupation. Secondary School Teachers has 7020 slots available. Agricultural and Forestry Scientists only has 480.
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Jul 17, 2012 16:54
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I got an RA job in Melbourne! I'm super excited - now onto the 457 visa paperwork... does anybody have experience with migration agencies? I'm a bit scared that I'll make some mistake or miss documents and it'll take much longer than planned.
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Jul 17, 2012 16:56
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