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Rainbow Warrior posted:I'm moving from Melbourne to Adelaide in March, any advice would be appreciated as I know absolutely nothing about the city. Why is Eastwood more expensive to rent than the CBD? e: oops, wrong side of Fullarton Road. I have no idea why Eastwood is more expensive. The further south east you go, the nicer it is (and there's some nice cafes on Glen Osmond Road) but it's nothing too special. Condolences on the down grade in quality of life, man. We'll try to help you cope with the shock 
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Feb 10, 2013 03:21
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Quick question about transferring money from my UK account to my Australian one; I know that I might be asked to prove I have a certain amount of money in my account upon arrival (or something similar) for visa purposes (working holiday) – I'm unable to register for online banking with NAB (I've already opened my current account) before I arrive as far as I know because it says I need my ID number which I've not yet received (perhaps because I opened the account online and not in branch? I know the number's on the back of the debit card but I'm not collecting that until next Wednesday when I'm in Melbourne.) Do I need to show immigration a bank statement or will a confirmation email showing the funds have been transferred be okay? Do they even check at all? I am absolutely making GBS threads myself thinking about moving this money around and not being able to 'check 'where it's gone until next week. (I could leave it in my UK account and bring that statement with me, and then transfer it over online once I'm in Australia, but I don't know if that's just silly? I'll have about $800 on me in actual cash when I get to Melbourne so I wouldn't be totally hosed from the get-go as I'll be staying with a friend, plus I know I can withdraw from the UK account abroad if I needed funds in the interim (albeit with a fee). Ughghhh I should have done this ages ago 
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Feb 19, 2013 13:44
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Gloomiebat posted:Quick question about transferring money from my UK account to my Australian one; I know that I might be asked to prove I have a certain amount of money in my account upon arrival (or something similar) for visa purposes (working holiday) – I'm unable to register for online banking with NAB (I've already opened my current account) before I arrive as far as I know because it says I need my ID number which I've not yet received (perhaps because I opened the account online and not in branch? I know the number's on the back of the debit card but I'm not collecting that until next Wednesday when I'm in Melbourne.) Do I need to show immigration a bank statement or will a confirmation email showing the funds have been transferred be okay? Do they even check at all? They won't check, but a printout of a recent UK statement will be fine.
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Feb 19, 2013 17:30
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HookShot posted:They won't check, but a printout of a recent UK statement will be fine. Thanks! I know in all likelihood they'll just wave me on through at the airport but I'm a worrier and just like to be prepared. Going to pop into my bank tomorrow to double-check I can transfer funds online from abroad which I'm about 99.9% sure I can (also to pick up a statement because I've no printer). Getting really excited now, less than a week to go!
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Feb 19, 2013 18:16
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If any of you find yourself in Port Douglas and looking for a dinner for two, I suggest the Nautilus restaurant. It's amazing and from what I saw, easily the classiest place for a dinner for two. Someone please tell me, why is the coffee so drat good?
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Feb 25, 2013 05:39
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I have a large energy company in Brisbane that's interested in importing me for a large CSG project they're starting. Any general tips on what life in Brisbane is like and good neighborhoods to live in?
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Feb 27, 2013 22:56
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I made an expensive mistake back in early November - I borrowed someone's Telstra mobile-internet USB wifi dongle, without working out who sees the bills or how often or any of that good stuff. Telstra is downright terrifying with their over-usage charges, so let my mistake be a lesson for the rest of you - find a way to monitor your usage relative to the monthly limits! I did buy one useful data point by this mistake, though. Apparently, my average monthly internet usage was about 16gb / mo (note the limit was 5gb) over my four months in Hobart. The comment from my supervisor there, who got the bill only after I'd left (i.e. this week) rankles a little (stop judging me! aaah! *emo sounds* *writes bad poetry*), "that seems high for one person" did get me thinking about what I'd been doing on-line. My estimate of my activities: Too much time here on the forums (call it 2 hours / day) 3 hours of Skype / week - about half with video but poor connection speed (insult to injury) means half with just audio Uploading photos to my Flickr, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 4-6gb over the 4 months. plus the usual assortment of browsing, including longer-load-time things like the photo threads in the Dorkroom and some longer youtube videos. So, I now have some idea of how much internet I use, which will be useful for future considerations. Does anybody else have a) some ideas about their own monthly internet use (I'm curious about where I fall on the spectrum from granny-with-email to South Korean Professional Gamer) or b) a useful bit of software for Windows that could keep track of uploads and downloads? For the morbidly curious, I owe CSIRO approximately $1200 for my 4-month internet-like-there's-no-tomorrow spree. 
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Feb 28, 2013 00:37
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ch3cooh posted:I have a large energy company in Brisbane that's interested in importing me for a large CSG project they're starting. Any general tips on what life in Brisbane is like and good neighborhoods to live in? Where are you coming from? In general, the closer to the city, the better the suburb. Then it depends on a few things, like the type of neighborhood you want. If you want to be a pretentious rich white person: Ascot, Hamilton, Clayfield, Wooloowin, New Farm (well, this one is also full of a bunch of students), Kangaroo Point and Bulimba. If you want a vibrant "cultural" life (when you get to Brisbane you will understand why those words are in quotation marks) or night life: West End, Southbank, Spring Hill, Fortitude Valley (the valley is still pretty sketch, apparently nowhere near as bad as it was in the 80s, but I would probably not want to live there). If you want to live a regular suburban life: basically anywhere else, the further out you get, the more suburban it gets, obviously. Honestly, I'd recommend staying as close to the city as you can. I don't know if you'll be working in the CBD, but if so you might also want to stay on the north side of the river as crossing the bridges in the morning can be hell on earth. I don't know where you're coming from, but this is what I thought of Brisbane: - It's really racist. Get used to seeing "gently caress off we're full" stickers on the back of cars at least once a week, if not 4-5 times a week if you're driving to work. When I moved even two hours south of Brisbane, the stickers pretty much disappeared. - It will be HOT but most places have aircon so as long as you aren't outside all day it won't be too bad. Southbank has some nice parks, New Farm has a nice park, but the CBD itself is not only hot but also made of concrete. They had one giant space that they could have done anything with and made into a nice lush tropical square in the middle of the CBD, but instead they decided to cover it in concrete and put up like four tiny trees for shade. If you find this square and it's more than 35 degrees out, you might not survive the walk across. - Things are EXPENSIVE. This might not be true if you come from London or Japan or something, but yeah, the cost of living is way higher than in North America at least, for basically everything. - Public transit sucks. I hear it also sucks in America, so if you're from there I don't really know, but compared to places like Vancouver, Ottawa and 99% of Europe, it sucks. I lived in Chermside, which is around a 10km drive from the CBD. With a gocard, it would cost me $5 one way to get from downtown Brisbane back home. The only service was by bus, because the train lines are terrible and don't go to most suburbs, and the probably four or fives time I had to take the bus it took nearly an hour. If you live close to the city or near a train line it's probably not as bad, and you might just be able to walk wherever you want to go, but honestly in Brisbane I would rather pay for a car than deal with public transit. - Visit Australia Zoo at least once. It's like an hour drive north of the city but it's awesome. I realize reading over this that I paint a pretty bleak portrait of Brisbane. Don't take everything I'm saying completely literally, you might actually have a great time and really love the city, which would be awesome. Personally, I hated it, and I was so god damned happy when we finally left, and I'm sure that's reflected in what I've written here so don't get too discouraged, a lot of it is probably just me. PS. Dreamy Donuts are the best donuts. Buy them. Especially the cheesecake filled ones.
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Feb 28, 2013 01:06
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Execudork - I probably use about 10-20gb just through general internet usage. Add in more depending on how many TV shows, music, movies and steam games I download. Whilst I agree that this paints a fairly bleak picture of Brisbane it definitely is in the context of where you are coming from. If you are already living in somewhere that is a smaller town not close to the coast then there is plenty in Brisbane you will most likely love. I would probably put it behind Sydney, Melbourne and Perth when it comes to cities in Australia but its not a terrible city by world standards at all.
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Feb 28, 2013 02:23
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ExecuDork posted:So, I now have some idea of how much internet I use, which will be useful for future considerations. Does anybody else have a) some ideas about their own monthly internet use (I'm curious about where I fall on the spectrum from granny-with-email to South Korean Professional Gamer) or b) a useful bit of software for Windows that could keep track of uploads and downloads? It's not full-time, but I tether off my mobile phone at work 5 days a week. I have an unlimited data plan, but I can still check my usage... normally works out to about 4GB/mo if I'm not doing anything crazy. I'll stream music on Youtube while studying (which also uses my internet connection, and includes audio/pictures) sometimes. I have a friend who had the same plan last year and used her mobile phone for home internet (including torrenting, lmao), but the extra $35-40/mo for VDSL is worth it to not have to wait forever for videos to buffer, etc. I stream a few shows a week, but don't do any torrenting. I'm actually going to go down to a 6GB/mo plan (and get an iPhone) when my contract expires in August... works out cheaper since I don't abuse the hell out of my unlimited plan. What sort of plans are there for mobile data in Australia? Not sure I want to go back to not having the ability to create a hotspot with my phone, has been very useful. IIRC even home internet connections are capped, right? Do coffee shops (et al) not offer free WiFi, or do they cut you off after a certain amount of useage, or...?
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Feb 28, 2013 02:53
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HookShot posted:Where are you coming from? Denver CO quote:- It's really racist. Get used to seeing "gently caress off we're full" stickers on the back of cars at least once a week, if not 4-5 times a week if you're driving to work. When I moved even two hours south of Brisbane, the stickers pretty much disappeared. I'm in the oilfield, I've worked with guys that have swastikas tattooed on their face. quote:- It will be HOT but most places have aircon so as long as you aren't outside all day it won't be too bad. Southbank has some nice parks, New Farm has a nice park, but the CBD itself is not only hot but also made of concrete. They had one giant space that they could have done anything with and made into a nice lush tropical square in the middle of the CBD, but instead they decided to cover it in concrete and put up like four tiny trees for shade. If you find this square and it's more than 35 degrees out, you might not survive the walk across. Yeah not looking forward to the humidity mostly. quote:- Things are EXPENSIVE. This might not be true if you come from London or Japan or something, but yeah, the cost of living is way higher than in North America at least, for basically everything. Fortunately the company I'm talking to offers stipends to help with rent and some other cost of living issues. quote:- Public transit sucks. I hear it also sucks in America, so if you're from there I don't really know, but compared to places like Vancouver, Ottawa and 99% of Europe, it sucks. I lived in Chermside, which is around a 10km drive from the CBD. With a gocard, it would cost me $5 one way to get from downtown Brisbane back home. The only service was by bus, because the train lines are terrible and don't go to most suburbs, and the probably four or fives time I had to take the bus it took nearly an hour. If you live close to the city or near a train line it's probably not as bad, and you might just be able to walk wherever you want to go, but honestly in Brisbane I would rather pay for a car than deal with public transit. Meh I'm American I'm used to it quote:- Visit Australia Zoo at least once. It's like an hour drive north of the city but it's awesome. Good idea. quote:I realize reading over this that I paint a pretty bleak portrait of Brisbane. Don't take everything I'm saying completely literally, you might actually have a great time and really love the city, which would be awesome. Personally, I hated it, and I was so god damned happy when we finally left, and I'm sure that's reflected in what I've written here so don't get too discouraged, a lot of it is probably just me. Cheesecake filled donuts? Now I'm sold.
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Feb 28, 2013 03:16
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ch3cooh posted:Denver CO You'll probably find it not too bad actually. Similar sized city so you won't feel like it is missing everything/too big. The biggest change is going to be the warmth and being close to the beach. You've pretty much got endless coastline in any direction. As bad as the humidity is around Summer I find around Spring/Autumn to be fantastic weather in Brisbane and in Winter its still going to be around 20 degrees. (Celcius).
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Feb 28, 2013 04:32
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ch3cooh posted:I have a large energy company in Brisbane that's interested in importing me for a large CSG project they're starting. Any general tips on what life in Brisbane is like and good neighborhoods to live in? Out of interest, Santos, Origin, Chevron? You're going to want to be central so you can get the greyhound out west or hop on the train to the airport. West End, Auchenflower, Paddington, Red Hill, Spring Hill, Fortitude Valley, Bowen Hills all have cheap studios. https://www.rent.com.au to have a look. You can walk to the pubs and all the central areas to get on the piss. All the sports are kicking in, so if you like Grid Iron you'll do ok with league and union. Best pubs are Breakfast Creek Hotel, Normanby, The Norman Hotel and you can take your pick of the rest. For some reason there are a lot of canadians coming over with schlumberger, so while not yanks you're going to hear some familiar accents.
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Feb 28, 2013 08:54
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I'm going to assume as well that working for a large energy company willing to bring you to Australia would mean a nice salary as well. Would absorb some of the increase in living costs.
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Feb 28, 2013 12:12
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BCR posted:Out of interest, Santos, Origin, Chevron? You're going to want to be central so you can get the greyhound out west or hop on the train to the airport. West End, Auchenflower, Paddington, Red Hill, Spring Hill, Fortitude Valley, Bowen Hills all have cheap studios. https://www.rent.com.au to have a look. You can walk to the pubs and all the central areas to get on the piss. All the sports are kicking in, so if you like Grid Iron you'll do ok with league and union. Origin. Funny you mention the Canucks coming over Stumbleburger (not a big SLB fan, but then again they could be legacy Smith hands. Guys from MI and Pathfinder are loving awesome). One of the big focuses of the interview last night was the safety challenges they're facing. The rate that the industry is growing is bringing a lot of very inexperienced people into the fold. Guys go from working at a coffeeshop one day to a rig floor the next. So one of the reasons so many people are being imported is not just the technical experience but being babysitters for the worms to make sure they don't get themselves killed.
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Feb 28, 2013 17:33
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Origin, Santos, QGC have all doubled their drilling fleets. You're going to have a lot of green leasehands, roughnecks, and motormen. From seeing a lot of the Americans coming over you're going to have a culture shock. The paperwork and licensing is insane but part and parcel of having a pretty safe industry. The supply chain is hosed most days too.
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Mar 1, 2013 09:17
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Alright I know there's a US tax megathread on SA but I wanted to ask here, how do people actually go about doing American taxes in Australia? I only found out I am supposed to be filing yesterday and I've lived here for five years  . I know there are people (like that guy who runs the tax megathread) who do taxes online for people overseas, do you do that, do you just download one of those programs like tax slayer or whatever and do it that way, or do you have a tax person in Australia who does it for you? To clarify I'm not asking "how do I do my taxes" but rather "what do you all personally do?".
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Mar 3, 2013 02:09
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I had to file one Canadian tax return after I moved to Australia, I just printed out the forms from the CRA website and mailed them. edit: I've done my own taxes since I turned 18, so no tax professional involved.
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Mar 3, 2013 04:03
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Eau de Zazoom posted:Alright I know there's a US tax megathread on SA but I wanted to ask here, how do people actually go about doing American taxes in Australia? I only found out I am supposed to be filing yesterday and I've lived here for five years How exactly do you do taxes in America? Dont you just print the form and mail it in or send your documents to an accountant/tax dude and have him/her do it? Its exactly the same.
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Mar 3, 2013 13:01
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Sorry for the late reply, I know that I certainly can do my own taxes because that's what I do with my Australian taxes, I suppose I am a bit intimidated because the American return runs from Jan-Dec while in Australia it's Jul-Jun. Because I've changed jobs a lot in the past couple years (and I need to do 2011 and 2012 returns) they will actually look a bit different from my Australian return based on how much of each job is counted in which "year". But yeah I guess I am needlessly tax-phobic, and it's not like I'm really rich and doing the returns wrong is going to cheat the IRS out of millions of dollars.
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Mar 5, 2013 22:14
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ch3cooh posted:Origin. Funny you mention the Canucks coming over Stumbleburger (not a big SLB fan, but then again they could be legacy Smith hands. Guys from MI and Pathfinder are loving awesome). One of the big focuses of the interview last night was the safety challenges they're facing. The rate that the industry is growing is bringing a lot of very inexperienced people into the fold. Guys go from working at a coffeeshop one day to a rig floor the next. So one of the reasons so many people are being imported is not just the technical experience but being babysitters for the worms to make sure they don't get themselves killed. Most definitely - especially given that anyone over here with any onshore experience is snapped up by the offshore DCs whenever they bring a rig in, and they have no qualms about taking a whole crew (e.g. not unheard of for Atwood to grab a Driller, AD, TP and their back-to-backs). The other issue is the number of people who are bumped up to Supervisor with little experience or training is unbelievable - usually when they end up in a Last Man Standing position. None of it is really their fault (skills shortages / boom / > acquisitions etc.), but what the heck am I supposed to put down when we're doing TapRoot investigations for all high potentials? Depending on what you're doing at Origin, you may well end up spending a lot of time going in and out of either Roma or Chinchilla in central QLD. Haven't done a huge amount of CSG stuff, but Roma is a hell of a lot nicer than driving 7 hours out of Moomba to get to a site in the Cooper Basin.
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Apr 2, 2013 09:36
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They've recently revamped some of the business visas, and I'm trying to find a visa agency that can help me and my company out with some of the new subclass 400 temporary skilled work visas. Our team is made up of 4 US citizens, and one Honduran Citizen/US permanent resident. Anybody have an agency they can recommend? There seem to be tons, but my boss is up my rear end to find a good one and fast. The company we will be doing consulting work for wants us there this month, so an agency that can expedite would be preferable. e: got it sorted...apparently there is no expediting service at the AUS embassy, but we got everything in time. Paulie fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Apr 24, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 01:46
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I am visiting Melbourne/Great Ocean Road in early July. What are some interesting things to check out? or some lesser known gems? I prefer cultural sites and music, and some kids activities for a preteen girl would be great too. We plan to be in Melbourne/GOR for a week and so far have arranged to take a hire car at the beginning of the trip to do the GOR. We have over two days/two nights to do it and would also like others feedback on places to stay and possible driving itinerary for the two days. We arrive at Melbourne airport around lunch time on our first day and have arranged to hire a car from there to head down to the GOR. We were thinking of staying a night in Lorne and then a night in Port Fairy. We were thinking of staying in Lorne as we only have a half day our first day. The second day we have more time to explore and make our way to Port Fairy. What are others thoughts around accommodation spots/places to stay and touring route? we will be heading back to Melbourne and are likely to take an alternative route back. We are interested in national parks/water-falls/seeing the coast/12 apostles/visiting little villages and light houses - just about everything the GOR has to offer I imagine! I just thought this information might help with others who have ideas regarding the itinerary. Thanks in advance for any advice!
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May 13, 2013 09:50
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Go to Philip Island and visit the penguins when you're in Melbourne!
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May 13, 2013 18:37
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You can actually stay in the accommodation at Cape Otway lighthouse, which would be pretty good. I know some people who have done it, they basically close the place up and leave you with the entire lighthouse grounds to yourself for the night. It's about two hours from Lorne though, so I'm not sure its in the right spot to fit with your schedule.
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May 19, 2013 10:37
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Lascivious Sloth posted:I am visiting Melbourne/Great Ocean Road in early July. What are some interesting things to check out? or some lesser known gems? I prefer cultural sites and music, and some kids activities for a preteen girl would be great too. Melbourne is a beautiful city and has lots of things to see and do. I would recommend: Science works (Sportswood - 10 minutes out of Melbourne), Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Aquarium, Melbourne Fire Brigade Museum, City Circle Tram, Harbour Town (docklands), Puffing Billy Railway (Belgrave), day boat cruise to see penguins, and a host of other things.
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May 19, 2013 12:16
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I'm still heavily leaning towards Tassie for grad school, but how's Adelaide as far as weather, cost of living, etc? Really kind of a three-way split between those two and Perth, with Darwin as the comedy wildcard.
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May 19, 2013 14:02
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I'm still heavily leaning towards Tassie for grad school, but how's Adelaide as far as weather, cost of living, etc? Really kind of a three-way split between those two and Perth, with Darwin as the comedy wildcard. If you're considering Adelaide, I hope you like heat. When I say heat, I mean the hot, fiery desert winds that blast everything dry as a chip. A week over mid-40's (celcius) is not uncommon in Summer - sometimes more than once. Perth can get the same. Darwin is always about +32c and bloody humid, year-round, with lots of thunderstorms, occasional cyclones. Did I mention the humidity? Tasmania is a lot milder. Usually tops out around the upper 20's in summer, but gets a bit chilly in winter.
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May 19, 2013 15:14
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I'm looking to get my RSA certificate and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the best place to get that sorted? I was looking at the Victorian Bar School (really just randomly googling, I've no idea if I should be put off by that website, ha) but if anyone had any first-hand experience that'd be great!
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Jun 1, 2013 06:00
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Gloomiebat posted:I'm looking to get my RSA certificate and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the best place to get that sorted? I was looking at the Victorian Bar School (really just randomly googling, I've no idea if I should be put off by that website, ha) but if anyone had any first-hand experience that'd be great! Get it wherever it's cheapest. If it's the same as it was 3-5 years ago most places give you boring as poo poo lecture followed by an open book quiz that they will give you near unlimited tries at.
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Jun 1, 2013 09:41
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efcso posted:If you're considering Adelaide, I hope you like heat. When I say heat, I mean the hot, fiery desert winds that blast everything dry as a chip. A week over mid-40's (celcius) is not uncommon in Summer - sometimes more than once. Perth can get the same. I'm originally from Florida, have spent about 2 years total in Southeast Asia, and currently live in southern Japan, so I'm no stranger to heat, humidity, and cyclones/typhoons/hurricanes Darwin did seem like maybe a bit smaller (and far away from other, bigger cities) than I wanted to go though, which is why I went with Perth when I studied abroad (skipped Melbourne and Sydney because exchange spots were more competitive, and I wanted a less "international" experience at the time).
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Jun 1, 2013 10:06
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Gloomiebat posted:I'm looking to get my RSA certificate and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the best place to get that sorted? I was looking at the Victorian Bar School (really just randomly googling, I've no idea if I should be put off by that website, ha) but if anyone had any first-hand experience that'd be great! I'm from Newcastle, so I'm not aware of places in Victoria that offer RSA, but if you get any major weekend newspaper and check the classified ad section near the job vacancies bit there will be a heap of ads for places running RSA courses. Just pick the cheapest one, like Cirofren said they're all pretty much the same and they run like every week, you shouldn't have much trouble getting enrolled in one. Edit to add: If you're looking to get work in a bar, you'll need to get an Responsible Conduct of Gaming (RCG) certificate as well because the majority of pubs here have poker machines in them. Most places that offer RSA offer a combo deal where you can get the RCG at the same time as well. bee fucked around with this message at 13:16 on Jun 1, 2013 |
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Jun 1, 2013 13:14
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Cheers guys  I figured I could just shop around but just wanted to double check (will see about the RCG too, thanks!) Is it a good idea to go on a general bar-tending course (not necessarily the one that's on the site I linked but something similar (and possibly cheaper!), I think that one for example includes the RSA) seeing as I've no bar-work experience at all? I know it can't hurt but I just want to know if it's worth spending the money to get trained or whatever if it's likely to make a good difference in getting a job in the industry?
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Jun 1, 2013 13:32
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Hmm, I suppose it couldn't hurt to do a barwork course, but from what I've heard these are expensive and are no substitute for actual experience. After getting my RSA & RCG I went into a local bowling club's bar and asked the kindly gent running the place whether he'd be willing to let me work a few shifts for free in exchange for teaching me how to pour a beer and get some experience. Maybe doing this might sort you out?
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Jun 1, 2013 14:26
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I'm originally from Florida, have spent about 2 years total in Southeast Asia, and currently live in southern Japan, so I'm no stranger to heat, humidity, and cyclones/typhoons/hurricanes Darwin is still more like a big country town than anything else, and is pretty isolated, comparatively speaking.
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Jun 2, 2013 00:19
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bee posted:Hmm, I suppose it couldn't hurt to do a barwork course, but from what I've heard these are expensive and are no substitute for actual experience. After getting my RSA & RCG I went into a local bowling club's bar and asked the kindly gent running the place whether he'd be willing to let me work a few shifts for free in exchange for teaching me how to pour a beer and get some experience. Maybe doing this might sort you out? I figured it'd be a good way to guarantee some sort of bar 'experience' but yeah, the one I looked at was $430 for a 5-day course ($330 for a weekend but still) which isn't ideal when I'm not earning anything at the moment. I hadn't thought of asking around like that though, that's a really good idea, cheers! I'll definitely be doing the RSA/RCG no matter, this week hopefully.
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Jun 2, 2013 02:34
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I'm someone with an American college education who works in special education. I'm considering getting an advanced degree soon (master's with a BCBA). I live in a fairly expensive mid-size Californian city. Is it insane to think of moving to Australia, possibly permanently? Pro: -I'm under the impression that special services are needed in Australia and the pay is better than in America -I've lived in very expensive U.S. cities, so I'm prepared for a high cost of living -I may soon have an advanced degree -I am open to becoming an Australian citizen Con: -I would strongly prefer to live in or around a major city, and based on this thread, that seems somewhat unlikely -I do not have specifically Australian qualifications and I would possibly have to find a job in advance -- and this does not seem all that likely -I have never visited and am basing my ideas off of hearsay etc. (Australia has avoided major recessions through economic stimulus spending during the last two global cycles, a supervisor worked there and loved it, a comedian (Bert Kreischer) said Melbourne is "better than America," better pay for special services means that Australia values its people more than America) I haven't started any truly serious steps toward immigrating. I'm just wondering if I should even bother starting to move forward with research that might lead to future ideas about possibly maybe moving...
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Jun 2, 2013 19:56
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Australia has a skilled migration system which I believe can fast track you if you have skills that are in demand. The immigration website is a bit of a maze but as for your qualifications you might want to start here. http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/occupations/s/special-education-teachers-nec.htm
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Jun 2, 2013 21:39
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Any reason you wouldn't want to do your Master's in Australia? That's what I'm planning on, lodging my application for a secondary ed programme at UTAS (for 2015) in 2 months  You get bonus points on your application for permanent residence if you got your degree from an Australian uni, there's no need to worry about getting foreign qualifications assessed as equivalent, and it gets you acquainted with the educational system + a chance to network with schools before entering the workforce. If it's at least a two-year Master's, you also get a two-year work visa after graduating, which is intended to help recent grads get work experience or a sponsor (if needed) to get them over the mark needed to apply for skilled migration. From everything I can tell, I should be fine even without the work experience (will still be in the 25-32 age bracket that nets you the most points when I graduate, native English speaker, doing a Master's in an in-demand field at a university in regional Australia), but I'm really glad it's there if I need it. They've recently changed the system where you need to apply with an Expression of Interest first before you're in the actual running for a PR visa (designed to cap migration in each profession, even if your points are sufficient), but last time I checked no occupation was even close to hitting the cap, and teachers were like maybe a couple hundred (if that) out of a possible thousands per year. As a special ed teacher, I imagine you'd be about as in-demand as they come. I'm doing to be doing Society and the Environment (Social Studies) and I guess Languages Other Than English (Japanese?) as my primary and secondary areas, so it'll be more difficult for me, although the situation doesn't seem nearly as dire as back home. I don't think it's radically more expensive than what you'd pay at US university either (public universities in Florida are among the cheapest in the US, but the modest savings don't seem worth it), I'm looking at around ~AUD$38k for a two-year Master's, and I think there's a decent chance I can get the 25% off scholarship for international students that UTAS offers. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Jun 3, 2013 |
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Jun 3, 2013 00:59
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Gloomiebat posted:I figured it'd be a good way to guarantee some sort of bar 'experience' but yeah, the one I looked at was $430 for a 5-day course ($330 for a weekend but still) which isn't ideal when I'm not earning anything at the moment. I hadn't thought of asking around like that though, that's a really good idea, cheers! I'll definitely be doing the RSA/RCG no matter, this week hopefully. Have a look into doing your RSA online, I'm not sure which states let you do it (NSW does) but it beats sitting around in a classroom for a day. I didn't bother with the RCG as I wasn't really interested in working in the sort of places that have gambling machines but if you're desperate for a job it does increase the places you can apply.
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Jun 3, 2013 02:40
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