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I'm an American, and I've aways wanted to work overseas...now I finally have some work experience and knowledge to throw around and I have an offer in Australia! It seems to be a great company and a role in which I could do well. Only issue is...it's in an outer suburb of Sydney. I'd be moving from a middle tier city in the US where I walk to work and have multiple bars, restaurants and so on right outside my door. From what I can tell the new job would be about a 45 minute bus ride to the Northwest of the CBD...will I be miserable trying to live midway between work and downtown, or are there decent areas or coping mechanisms to retain my lifestyle? Is it uncommon to attempt a commute all the way from central Sydney like this via public transport?
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Jul 12, 2013 02:58
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Mind if I ask how you came about the job? I am also American and plan to move to Melbourne in a few months.
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Jul 12, 2013 03:08
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LinkedIn. They contacted me.
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Jul 12, 2013 03:10
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Alan Matterhorn posted:I'm an American, and I've aways wanted to work overseas...now I finally have some work experience and knowledge to throw around and I have an offer in Australia! It seems to be a great company and a role in which I could do well. Only issue is...it's in an outer suburb of Sydney. I'd be moving from a middle tier city in the US where I walk to work and have multiple bars, restaurants and so on right outside my door. The CBD isn't the be all and end all of Australian cities - there's usually a ton of bars, restaurants, shopping, and services in the suburbs. Which area is the company located in?
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Jul 12, 2013 06:19
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Finch! posted:The CBD isn't the be all and end all of Australian cities - there's usually a ton of bars, restaurants, shopping, and services in the suburbs. Which area is the company located in? In fact for Sydney the CBD is pretty much dead at night/on weekends. All the fun happens in the suburbs. totalnewbie posted:Mind if I ask how you came about the job? I am also American and plan to move to Melbourne in a few months. What industry do you work in?
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Jul 12, 2013 07:54
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Finch! posted:The CBD isn't the be all and end all of Australian cities - there's usually a ton of bars, restaurants, shopping, and services in the suburbs. Which area is the company located in? Yeah, it seems like "suburbs" can carry a different connotation there than in the states. Areas like Darlinghurst, Surrey Hills and places like that that I've heard referred to as suburbs sound great. It's just American-style strip mall and cul-de-sac country I'm trying to avoid. Ideally, I'd even like to live car-free. The office I'd be based in is out in Bella Vista. It's a job in the head office of a retailer. One thing that might help me is that there are company shuttles every morning and night from Parramatta.
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Jul 12, 2013 12:58
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Alan Matterhorn posted:Yeah, it seems like "suburbs" can carry a different connotation there than in the states. Areas like Darlinghurst, Surrey Hills and places like that that I've heard referred to as suburbs sound great. It's just American-style strip mall and cul-de-sac country I'm trying to avoid. Ideally, I'd even like to live car-free. I'm pretty sure I know which retailer that will be. I grew up in the suburb next to Bella Vista and know many many people who work at Norwest Business Park (the big business are that you will be in I am assuming). The Hills is a pretty nice area although very "suburban". Its very safe, clean, fairly wealthy and mostly families. Just because you are working there doesn't mean you should need to live there. If you wanted to live closer to the city then you could easily get a car and drive there every day. You will be going against traffic so its really not that bad. I'd just suggest living somewhere on the lower north shore so you can just get straight on the M2/Epping Road rather than having to cross the city (which is where you will get hosed in traffic). Bella Vista is and the Hills are pretty bad with public transport (like most of Sydney) as Buses are your only option. They just started construction on the North West rail link but thats 7-8 years away. If you chose to live right next to work then I would suggest Castle Hill. You've got a big shopping centre, a few of locals pubs, a few nice eateries and bars that are modelled on the inner city are opening up and its pretty much the centre for the buses in the area. It would take you about 45-60 minutes to get a bus into the city from there with normal traffic. Half an hour drive with little traffic taking the motorway. I could go into lots of detail about minimising the commute to the city and back if you wanted to have an idea about having a decent social life and everything or a good place to live that services both your work and the city area. Long story short. Bella Vista is not the worst place to be working 
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Jul 12, 2013 13:55
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NoArmedMan posted:What industry do you work in? I'm an engineer. Currently in automotive but I'm open to other fields.
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Jul 12, 2013 15:43
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That's encouraging, thank you. Any thoughts on PartaMatta? It looks like a decent option, particularly with my work shuttle picking up there.
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Jul 12, 2013 22:03
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totalnewbie posted:I'm an engineer. Currently in automotive but I'm open to other fields. One of the Melbourne goons is an engineer - I'll point him your way and he might have some advice
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Jul 12, 2013 23:38
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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? Mate, barwork isn't rocket science. Turn up on time for your shift, good presentation, clean clothes, body washed, smile, count and give change, work the customers in order of rocking up. Are you a social person? Gloomiebat posted:Ha I just got offered a trial shift or something on the 6th at a club (no interview or anything) what the hell is even going on. It's experience either way I guess?! Serious note, if you're really hurting strip clubs always need bar staff, and generally have a lot of security on hand so you don't have to worry about that angle. Generally about $22-23hr. Starter jobs generally to get three months cash under your belt and move on to something else, I'm not saying do this for life because its awesome, I'm saying if you want work right now clearing $800ish a week: * If you have a driving license and $500 to buy a shitbox to drive, warehouses need picker/packers you pick stock (from things smaller than the palm of your hand to beer carton size), you rock up, unpack a shipping container and pack it onto pallets. For the state capitals they're either going to be on the outskirts of the city in the industrial estates, or smack bang in the middle of town where the major highways cross, since they're getting trucks in and out. * Same as above but in many more places if you have your forklift license. As a FYI, most of the forkies I know are kiwi women, and if they can handle it so can you. * For about $350 you can get your crowd controller license from your state authority. Its a legal requirement for any event/facility with alcohol and X+1 warm bodys to have security. 99% of your time will be spent standing for four to eight hours at $30ish hr. Unless you're in the poorest section of town, nothing will happen beyond hearing drunks say the same lines every night. * Courier, cleanish driving license, can drive a van? for about $22hr you can deliver stuff. Most company's can and do accept warm bodys that turn up on time. How could I forget soul destroying data entry. 
BCR fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jul 13, 2013 |
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Jul 13, 2013 01:44
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My husband way back in the dark ages when he was at university got work at a bar because their normal guy didn't show up and they were like "hey, want some cash?" and my husband was like "Sure" and so he went behind the bar with no experience at all. Also my husband doesn't drink beer, he hates the taste, so for the first like two hours he had to get every single customer to repeat their orders while he made sure to get their beers right, but then after that he was fine.
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Jul 13, 2013 03:30
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BCR posted:* For about $350 you can get your crowd controller license from your state authority. Its a legal requirement for any event/facility with alcohol and X+1 warm bodys to have security. 99% of your time will be spent standing for four to eight hours at $30ish hr. Unless you're in the poorest section of town, nothing will happen beyond hearing drunks say the same lines every night. This may not be true anymore. Over the last couple of years there has been a push to go to a national certification system for security and crowd control. It may still differ somewhat in different states but using Tassie as an example, everyone had to redo the qualifications and it cost several thousand per person for the training alone.
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Jul 13, 2013 07:42
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Friendly Fire posted:This may not be true anymore. Over the last couple of years there has been a push to go to a national certification system for security and crowd control. It may still differ somewhat in different states but using Tassie as an example, everyone had to redo the qualifications and it cost several thousand per person for the training alone. TAFE is cheaper than companies, first company I came across has it for $900 for training all up. Harder googling and I'm confident I could get a cheaper price. License itself is $146. Also, if you're unemployed centrelink will pay for the course and you get it for free.
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Jul 13, 2013 10:14
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BCR posted:TAFE is cheaper than companies, first company I came across has it for $900 for training all up. Harder googling and I'm confident I could get a cheaper price. License itself is $146. TAFE Tasmania don't offer it currently. The only other training group that do are http://www.edarto.com.au/ . Also, add $140 on top of license fees for the National Police check and fingerprinting. And be prepared for it to take 3-4 months to process it all. Will centrelink pay anything to overseas visitors?
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Jul 13, 2013 11:23
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Probably not!
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Jul 13, 2013 13:28
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A cheaper option might be going to the mainland getting your piece of paper, and going back. If you qualify for newstart, you qualify for getting your course paid. You'd have to have a chat with centrelink, and preferably not the ones on the counter.
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Jul 14, 2013 01:49
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No one except Australian permanent residents qualify for Newstart (or any other Centrelink benefits), this isn't the thread they'll be hanging out in.
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Jul 14, 2013 03:07
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I thought you could get it on the work visas.
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Jul 14, 2013 03:39
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NoArmedMan posted:One of the Melbourne goons is an engineer - I'll point him your way and he might have some advice Please do. I am looking to relocate permanently so I can use all the advice help I can get. Thanks.
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Jul 14, 2013 04:06
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BCR posted:I thought you could get it on the work visas.
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Jul 14, 2013 04:06
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I am going to be in Sydney for 4 months and am trying to find the most economical mobile phone plan. I would prefer the pay-as-you-go option if it makes sense. Also, I will need to buy a cheap phone when I get there because the phone I currently have doesn't have a SIM card.
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Jul 16, 2013 04:54
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Well if you want to use your phone to make calls and do stuff just get the $35 unlimited prepaid plan from Aldi. You can call and text as much as you want to anyone in Australia and you get 5gb of data. It uses the Telstra network so coverage is ok. There are a bunch of similar plans from Kogan, Redbull, Boost, Amaysim and probably others I don't know off. They all seem to be in the $30 to $40 range, all prepaid. If you just want to make a call once in a blue moon heaps of companies provide cheaper pay as you go plans but as soon as you make a few calls it feels more economical to just pay $35 a month and not worry about running out of credit on a call and having to spend another $15 to recharge.
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Jul 16, 2013 05:34
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Alan Matterhorn posted:That's encouraging, thank you. Any thoughts on PartaMatta? It looks like a decent option, particularly with my work shuttle picking up there. Very much depends on exactly where you are saying when you say Parramatta. Its the biggest CBD outside of the Sydney CBD, has a decent shopping, business, restaurant area. Plenty of transport options as it is probably in the physical center of Sydney so equal distance to just about anywhere. Its a very multicultural area as its kind of the meeting point for many different ethnic neighbourhoods. You just need to pick the suburb correctly. For example North Parramatta and Oatlands are really nice (quiet nice), wealthy and safe neighbourhoods yet somewhere like Clyde or Granville is a bit dodgier/shitter. Best charcoal chicken is in granville though :P
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Jul 16, 2013 14:29
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I'm currently hunting for PhD projects and found something I would LOVE to research. The field area is down near Melbourne, so I'm looking at (but not limited to) Monash and Macquarie Universities at the moment. A couple of quick questions: 1 - Has anyone studied at Macquarie? I have lots of people telling me Monash is the poo poo, but nothing about Macquarie. 2 - What are the 'dependent' visas like? I'm British, and I'd be moving to Australia for 4 years (most likely). My girlfriend is Venezuelan but has Spanish citizenship also. She speaks fluent English and is an accountant with an MBA. If I came, obviously it would be great if she could come too. Do we have to be married (which, yeah, you know) for her to get a visa (based on my student visa, as opposed to getting her own work visa) or...? EDIT: 3 - What are Melbourne and Sydney like for critters? I loving hate spiders. I don't know why I'm considering Australia, based on that, but oh well. Nelson Mandela fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Jul 23, 2013 |
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Jul 23, 2013 14:40
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I can't help you with anything else, but google "Huntsman spider" to see the most terrifying thing you will almost certainly see in your life. Apart from those, the spiders you're likely to see are going to be around the same size/bigger than what you're used to, but it's not too bad usually if you live in the city, but prepared to be scared shitless every once in a while. I think redbacks also live in Sydney/Melbourne, which while not enormous, are slightly poisonous, but honestly, I never saw one in the four years I lived in Brisbane.
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Jul 23, 2013 16:33
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I see the occasional redback in the garden but I'm not bothered by them because they don't bother me. Huntsmen are around and much the same. You're certainly very unlikely to wake up with one in your bed.
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Jul 24, 2013 00:11
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When I was working on a farm I saw twelve hunstmen in one day and I was basically like gently caress this poo poo but after moving back into Melbourne I've not seen a single insect and my life is so much better. Don't worry about it
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Jul 24, 2013 06:11
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Well I'll be working in the field a lot so... gently caress.
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Jul 24, 2013 07:57
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Mate, huntsmen are like timid dogs. They go around and kill flies. You just let them get on with it. Same with snakes. Go face to face to your local embassy and ask them the questions. Mate got married to a Filipino and had to prove one year plus contact (flight tickets, phone calls, skype calls) and a few other things. Dropped the $1200 for the one year whatever wife visa that leads to permanent residency.
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Jul 24, 2013 08:38
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ShadyNasty posted:
You are hosed mate
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Jul 24, 2013 14:08
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ShadyNasty posted:What are Melbourne and Sydney like for critters? I loving hate spiders. I don't know why I'm considering Australia, based on that, but oh well. As an American who moved to Melbourne about ten years ago, I can honestly say that some spiders are OMFG huge. That said, I am happy to report that I haven't had my head ripped off by one yet. Yes, spiders are here but the larger ones actually eat other insects.
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Jul 25, 2013 07:21
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If you're in the South East of Australia, you will most likely have to deal with the common Huntsman Spider. They are terrifying but harmless, they just have a horrible habit of sitting on the ceiling above your bed. But the spider that will really give you nightmares is the Golden Orb Spider, pictured here eating a bird: 
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Jul 25, 2013 07:33
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I've lived in Melbourne 8 months and I havent even seen any spiders yet. poo poo, barely any animals. Just roaches, magpies, bats and the cute version of possums you guys have here
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Jul 25, 2013 08:23
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Bulging Nipples posted:I've lived in Melbourne 8 months and I havent even seen any spiders yet. poo poo, barely any animals. Just roaches, magpies, bats and the cute version of possums you guys have here Aussie possums are mean and not very good to eat, so I am told.
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Jul 25, 2013 08:44
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cajunspitfire posted:Aussie possums are mean and not very good to eat, so I am told. They mostly just get stuck in your ceiling and make sounds like a demon giving birth.
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Jul 25, 2013 09:05
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Friendly Fire posted:This may not be true anymore. Over the last couple of years there has been a push to go to a national certification system for security and crowd control. It may still differ somewhat in different states but using Tassie as an example, everyone had to redo the qualifications and it cost several thousand per person for the training alone. There is a way to get a security license recognized in a different states. It is not cheap though. There is no national recognized license currently. I work in security as a manager in Melbourne. If anyone needs advice in this field, Just ask or send me a message. I can try to Point you in the right direction.
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Jul 25, 2013 09:06
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Lizard Combatant posted:If you're in the South East of Australia, you will most likely have to deal with the common Huntsman Spider. Oh gently caress you. And gently caress nature. Seriously. gently caress nature. I work with mountains that explode for a living and I am scared of spiders. What's wrong with me?
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Jul 25, 2013 15:17
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I don't know, maybe its all in your anticipation. I mean huntsmen are literally big spiders that eat flies. That's it. Most of them are cowards. They're not going to go face hugger mode and drop down onto your face as you sleep.
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Jul 26, 2013 07:06
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BCR posted:I don't know, maybe its all in your anticipation. I mean huntsmen are literally big spiders that eat flies. That's it. Most of them are cowards. They're not going to go face hugger mode and drop down onto your face as you sleep. It's entirely possible they do. I'm a fairly heavy sleeper so I probably wouldn't have noticed.
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Jul 26, 2013 08:09
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