The_Shark

Hi, i currently live in illinois, im 21, a mechanic and very shortly am getting ready to move to Australia.
ive been thinking about it for 10years, and am saving for the visa, flight, appartment, and a months worth of backup money. im reciving a associates next year and have already compleated auto education.


What i need to ask you Australians is what you think of your life there, the people there, job availibility, cost of living, past times and all that good stuff.

I have already heard about gas prices and heat, i can live with the price of gas, and i LOVE the heat.

also, I would like to know of a good, safe inexpensive place to move to.

Thanks, look foward to hearing from you guys.

FahrtAutoRC

Just go to the Outback Steakhouse in August and order a Foster's hehe

The_Shark

phhht

fosters is just ok and it isnt australian, now coopers, thats good stuff.

SyCo_VeNoM

You forgot rent all the Crocodile Dundee's afterwards for the full experience

FahrtAutoRC

Hahahahaaa Yea I thought that right about when you posted it!

Ive never been, but I had the pleasure of hanging out with some people who flew in from Australia to attend the music festival we were at in Illinois a few years back. They HATE Fosters, and all of our American stereotypes about them. Very cool people, actually. They said if you like deserts then it might be for you, and their economy doesnt change much. Id definitly wait to hear from some of our fellow members who are from there, for sure.

Dirty_Vinylpusher

So, you're 21 and have been thinking about moving to Australia since you were 11?
[&:]

Anyway.

I've been living in Oz since 2002.
(long story short - grew up in Sweden, spent time in various countries between 1995-2002 and now living in Oz)


Since coming over here I've travelled around the country quite a lot, spent time working on farms and orchards but also living in cities.


Hmm...
Well if you like the heat you wanna move to Queensland or Northern Territory, as they are the warmest states.
But also the ones that seem to get hit by cyclones and flooding a lot recently.
We live in QLD but managed to dodge the recent natural disasters.
The cyclones hit further north and the flooding seemed to occur north, west and south of here.

It's also a humid heat up here which is something not everyone can get used to.



I dunno.
I can't say "Go to place X" and guarantee that you'll like it.... but I'd probably recommend staying away from major cities like Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.
I lived in Perth on the west coast for 18 months and it's a great place.
Don't like Brisbane.
Too much traffic and hills and winding streets.
And after 5 years in London I had no desire to live in a big city.

Mackay, where we live at the moment, is great.
Not too big not too small, lots of friendly people, great weather, close to the beach (like 5 min walk), etc
East coast, just up the road from Brisbane.
(Up the road = 1000K)

tommygun32

As an American citizen wanting to re-locate to Australia, don't you need to get a visa first? I know you can go there and get a six month tourist visa upon arrival, but you are most deff not allowed to work on that visa. You must also show a booked return ticket.

I would check with the Australian Embassy in DC before packing all your eggs into 1 basket.

1 month's living allowance is no where near enough Shark. You should start with a minimum 6 months cushion imo.

proanti1

My Feedback: (2)

So you have about $10,000 saved up? It cost me $5000 just moving up to Canada when I went to college (which ended in horrible disaster), and $6000 to move back 2 years later. That is Canada, which is just a drive... most of the cost went to the Canadian government, and certain agencies. You are talking about a flight to Australia, which is a couple grand alone, then becoming a citizen. You need more than a months worth of backup money, you need at least 6 months, which would be around 6 grand (if you live cheaply).

The_Shark

to tommy gun, yes i know i need a permanent work visa, i apply for the skilled labor visa.

to proanti, i am trying my best to get that amount, i will probly have to sell my corvette (and im not looking forward to that) and sell all my antiques and stuff. i am willing to do this, they are just possesions, i can get more. plane ticket is between $700 and $1300 depending on airline, class, and if you booked in advance. the visa is $2500 possibly less with the skilled work visa.

and OH #### money would include a month or two of no work payment (having a job set before i move), and the plane ticket home.

to vinylpusher, what is the cost of living? any inexpensive appartment arrangements in mackay?

Eman77

Why?

Why the desire to move to Australia, leaving everything behind, for so long?

You can always try a move to AZ as a test.

Lunchboxer

Why?! Eman, do you even have to ask?!?!

The_Shark

i have had it here, all hope and desire to say ended november 4 2008

i found out to ship my car and things will be $3,200 i said to myself "OH WELL i gues i have to sell my car" so i looked up corvettes down there and found out my car is worth $18-20K!!! so i think i found some of my OH #### money.

the car is worth maybe $10,000 up here and thats if i get the right buyer.

and i plan on leaving forever, and visiting only occasionally.

Eman77

Haha! Killer cars always win.

tommygun32

Well then, if you've got the visa, the job and the safety cushion....I say good on ya mate!! and I wish you all the best.

I know what it's like selling everything and moving cross-country and then overseas and living as an 'x-pat' and starting all over.

It's not for everyone, but can be very rewarding and eye opening.

Good luck with that.

tommygun32

If you don't mind Shark, what in the world happened on that day to drive such a wedge between you and the States?

I went on the 'road' in '85/'86, lived/worked all over the US, touring as a nightclub DJ and I've been over-seas since '92, not for any other reason but my in-bred Bohemian Wanderlust, but my end goal has always been to get back and retire in San Diego or somewhere good in the States.

Eman77

11/4/2008 was the last US Presidential election.


...Shark, you do realize they do 'em every 4 years, right?

*Waits for impending political discussion o' flames*

proanti1

My Feedback: (2)

You are 23. You have voted in one election. Saying you have "had it" is pretty dumb. Its not like politics have effected you in any way since 2008. Stop listening to Glenn Beck.

J.D.T

are you sure your degree will qualify as a Skilled Laborer? My buddy (union journeyman carpentar) tried to move to Perth in 2002 with his girlfriend when she wanted to get out of the US, even though her brother builds multi million dollar yatchs and was going to give him a job the first day he was willing to come to work he was told he would have to wait at least one year before he could work, needless to say the girlfriend soon became a raging monster with the idea of him sitting home drinking beer at 10 am and riding a bicycle around the suburbs. About five months is all he could stand, alot of stuff seemed backwards and was hard to adapt to but the lack of money really caused problems with him and the little women so he figured it was time to come on back to the USA where he could drink beer at 10 am on the golf course anytime he wanted. He did love the v 8 supercar racing when he was over there, its the only thing he really hung onto, he watches the races to this day but ain't talked to his ex in like 3 years.
HH is right, Fosters is the old milwaukee of australian beers, most of the residents hate it, Rachel used to joke they import it to america because nobody at home will buy it.
I have never been either but the pictures from the outskirts of Perth were awesome, wild parrots flying into your back yard, endless miles of two track dirt roads for jeeping and riding motorcyles on, of course Perth is a large enough city and on the coast so the beaches were FULL of hot women, it appeared they don't have as many fatties as we do in the US.

The gun laws suck but at least they ain't as bad as england.

SyCo_VeNoM

I remember I looked into Canadian citizenship that day

In a way I would have missed watching the government get worst and worst if I moved, and the hillarity of them trying to explain what they are doing. I would have also missed the hillarity of our ex-govenors trial, and idiotic testimony
That stuff is like comedic gold.

Sam-E

Oddly enough, Aussies dont drink Fosters.

Eman77

That would be incredibly ironic if your move to Canada (who, by the way, has a more socialized form of medicine than we do) because the US gov't was "ruining" our health care with....wait for it....socialized medicine.

[insert huge eyeroll here]

I do agree that the current (and...let's face it...past) Chicago political scandals are comedic gold. They have been for quite some time.

SyCo_VeNoM

Nah not over the healthcare actually. Actually due to lack of decent work in the northern part of the city in what I got a degree in (closest work I can find is like 4 hours away one way [:@]) royal PITA finding entry level work where I am at most jobs want 3-5 years exp for the entry level positions I find...
I just figured putting an honest chicago politician(like all of Illinois politicians) in the white house would make the issue worst... which he kinda did, but I've got some laughs from the press conferences

So to get back on topic yea kinda understand him wanting to jump ship. Currently the USA is like the titanic after it hit an iceberg and sinking fast.
Specially seeing hes a mechanic most the mechanics his age around here(duno around him seeing he is a bit south) get paid horrendously low. I mean burger flippers make comparable wages, and have better benefits.

Eman77

Sorry, misunderstood the intent of your post then.

But I can't say I agree with the "American is sinking fast" statement. From what I recall, this was said by all the Democrats back in 2000, and 2004. And by Republicans back when the last Dem got elected, and so on and so forth. Kind of a recurring theme, eh?

SyCo_VeNoM

well ok maybe not fast but if looking at the devaluation of US currency vs the rest of the world its sinking none the less.

The_Shark

hummmm, if i could only explain to you. im 21 by the way. i wont vote, again i cannot tell you here.
to tommy, i dont have enough money yet, i went a little broke after work on the vette (but looking at it, its more of a savings account with the value of them out there!)

lets try to stay on topic here, this is more of a serious thread.