Australia, USA or Canada for a year?

Undertow

Heya folks!

I've recently been let go from work and hope to emigrate over to either one of the above before the year is out. I was hoping to avail of the WHV option since I'm under 30... just! I've read up on the 'sticky' thread re:Oz/New Zealand which is a great help regarding steps involved in how to get there, thanks!

Work/Money
My main concern is what/how much work is out there, particularly in Civil Engineering? I wouldnt have a whole lot going over for a start, so I'd need to start working maybe within a month of going over. If I was going to Australia on the WHV, do you think it'd be easiest to get work on farms doing fruitpicking etc within a month of going over, save a few bob and then try apply for work in Engineering through recruitment agencies for the 6months? Alternatively, what kind of opportunites are in the major cities of the US or Canada? How much would you need, generally speaking? Would about 2,500-3,000euro be enough?

Accomodation
I also hope to go over sometime in November however I've read that accomodation goes through the roof around the Christmas period. So with that in mind would you reckon I'd be better off leaving it till after Christmas? I doubt I'd be out of hostels and sharing a house with work sorted within a month of being there!

Flights
If I was heading to Australia, I'd love to fly home via New York to spend a week or 2 there. Can this be arranged closer to when I intend on coming home or do I have to sort it out now if/when I'm booking return flights to Australia?

Visas/insurance
Visa's seem to be pretty easy to obtain through http://www.immi.gov.au for Australia. Whats the easiest way to apply for Visas for Canada/US? As far as insurance goes, is travel insurance enough or do you need health insurance along with it? Is there anything else to sort out apart from Visa,Insurance,flights?

People/Lifestyle
What would people's preference be? Are they Canadians more relaxed than the Aussies for example? How does their general way of life compare with each other?

Sorry for all the questions, I hope I dont sound too muddled! I'm just torn between where to go and what to do now given my limited funds!

Thanks in advance for your opinions peeps!

tenchi-fan

The US don't have a WHM visa. They have the J1 which is only for students going back to college afaik.

I went to australia. After the party ended, I didn't like it too much. A bit over-rated, and the people weren't that nice - very full of themselves and not that laid back (in many cases!). And the weather's too hot. Employment opportunities will be a bit limited too, the australian government underestimated it's population so the unemployment rate is higher than previously thought! If you have an in demand skill, go for it! If you struggled to get a job in Ireland you probably won't get one abroad either.

I haven't been to NZ but i heard good things about it.

I went to canada for a month when I was 19 and really enjoyed it. The people are really nice. I'm heading back there for a year in a few month's time.

2.5k - 3k is not a lot of money. It would probably last longer in Australia/NZ than it would in North America (accommodation costs are through the roof in canada at the moment, esp vancouver). I would advise you to hit the ground running .. get a job straight away and keep your travel for later in the working holiday.

Undertow

Cheers for the reply! Well I've kind of made my mind up on Australia after endless hours of researching! So I'm going to ignore your comments about the place. :P

tenchi-fan wrote: »

2.5k - 3k is not a lot of money. It would probably last longer in Australia/NZ than it would in North America (accommodation costs are through the roof in canada at the moment, esp vancouver). I would advise you to hit the ground running .. get a job straight away and keep your travel for later in the working holiday.

Yep, I was thinking this. Approximately how long dya reckon it would last? My plan is to stay in hostels for a month or so and also don't plan on drinking like a goon! Beaches are free, too! I've heard if all else fails and I cant get work in Civil Engineering I can get work fruitpicking or working in mines (I believe you can make a fortune doing this!). I hear its handy to get work in these areas, so like you said I think I've got to hit the ground running with limited funds. Realistically it'll be a month or so before I do get sorted so I'm thinkin while the weathers decent, go do some harvesting! I think I'll need that month to get used to the place, do some research and meet people anyway!

So I'm thinking about booking flights and the visa in the next week or 2. Then grab travel insurance! Is that all I need?

Jaysus within the space of 5 days I've been let go out of a job that I've had for years and am now hatching a plan to get to the other side of the world. Struggling to get my head around all this! Life, eh!

tenchi-fan

well i went over with about 5k and drank like a goon (and drank lots of goon)

I should have went on a tourist visa. I went over on my own and was running low on funds, then was planning on looking for a job but some friends came over. I ended up wasting so much time because all they did was stayed in the hostel and did a lot of drinking.. and worse thing, in a way I stopped meeting interesting people .. i might as well have stayed in ireland and went to my local every night. I think my friends torpedoed the experience in a way! So that's why I'm suggesting you hit the ground running, don't run out of money or you might end up in a rut and make sure you do everything your way!

Anyway, flights, visa, travel insurance... that's pretty much it. Bring copies of certs and degrees I suppose. Don't bring too much over with you as there are plenty of shops over there.

Ha i know what you mean about packing in a job. My plan to go to canada was born in a pub.. within a few days i applied for a canada visa and now I'm going to have to give in notice at work.

Undertow

Hahaha! It all seems a bit surreal to me as I almost feel institutionalized in the company! Having said that, I've been stuck in a rut for quite some time now and I have a good feeling bout all of this. Hopefully it'll give me a new lease of life! Good weather, beaches, hot chicks!

What exactly would I bring by the way? Clothes, laptop, external hard-drive I guess? I've heard there's free wi-fi in a lotta places over there, is this true? This could prove invaluable as the internet would be my best friend starting off out there, certainly till I get sorted with work!

I hear what you're saying regarding going solo. It sounds like the only way to go if you ask me! My fear of going with friends is the exact same scenario that you speak of!

tenchi-fan

I don't know about the free wifi. I was there in 2006 and i didn't stay in a single place that had free wifi (then again maybe I just didn't notice because i didn't have wireless on my phone) There were tonnes of internet cafes and most hostels had a few pcs.. internet cost around $1-$2 an hour in hostels.. it's a money spinner for them so why give it away for free. In cafes it varied from $1 up to $10.

I bought some clothes but the sun fades them really quick I noticed! I ended up buying loads more clothes over there (just cheap tshirts and shorts)

If you're staying in hostels just be careful with your possessions. It really is disgraceful. I 've had clothes robbed from the washing line and my sleeping bag was stolen. My friend's psp was stolen. Even your food will get stolen. I'd be careful with the laptop and hard drive!

Undertow

tenchi-fan wrote: »

I don't know about the free wifi. I was there in 2006 and i didn't stay in a single place that had free wifi (then again maybe I just didn't notice because i didn't have wireless on my phone) There were tonnes of internet cafes and most hostels had a few pcs.. internet cost around $1-$2 an hour in hostels.. it's a money spinner for them so why give it away for free. In cafes it varied from $1 up to $10.

I bought some clothes but the sun fades them really quick I noticed! I ended up buying loads more clothes over there (just cheap tshirts and shorts)

If you're staying in hostels just be careful with your possessions. It really is disgraceful. I 've had clothes robbed from the washing line and my sleeping bag was stolen. My friend's psp was stolen. Even your food will get stolen. I'd be careful with the laptop and hard drive!

Are you serious? :eek: Are there not safes for those sort of things in these places?

tenchi-fan

Undertow wrote: »

Are you serious? :eek: Are there not safes for those sort of things in these places?

Many hostels have safes alright but not all of them. It's hardly convenient to keep all your electronics in a safe either and you have to take them out to charge them (cameras, mobile phones, psp's).. your laptop generally won't fit in small safes either.

And as for clothes, while many hostels have lockers don't count on it. If you have expensive stuff you should make sure the hostel has secure lockers. Some hostels just have shelves for your stuff and others don't have any furniture at all. Oh.. bring a lock too!

Undertow

Right so. Well cheers for the heads up bout all that!

Any advice I can get is greatly appreciated as I've never done anything like this before. First timefor everything I guess.

Tigerandahalf

Im in Oz, came on my own. It's a great experience to come on your own as you tend to meet way more people. Also Oz is a great place to go on your own as there are so many fellow travellers. It really is a beautiful country, once you get out of the pub! As for engineering work, from what I hear and see with friends, Perth seems to be the place for work at the moment, particularly in that area. Perth is supposedly not the greatest place to live compared to the other cities...not as much to do. The weather also gets v hot there..can be up around the high 30s a fair bit, but if you had aircon you'd be fine. If you can't get work there is always the fruit picking or other work in rural areas that will give you the option of the extra year. Just be aware that it may be difficult to do proper job hunting if you are doing seasonal work..you could be well out and it would be expensive flying up and down to cities for interviews. Better to settle on a city and job hunt then. Anyway best of luck..good to get away from home right now.

Undertow

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Im in Oz, came on my own. It's a great experience to come on your own as you tend to meet way more people. Also Oz is a great place to go on your own as there are so many fellow travellers. It really is a beautiful country, once you get out of the pub! As for engineering work, from what I hear and see with friends, Perth seems to be the place for work at the moment, particularly in that area. Perth is supposedly not the greatest place to live compared to the other cities...not as much to do. The weather also gets v hot there..can be up around the high 30s a fair bit, but if you had aircon you'd be fine. If you can't get work there is always the fruit picking or other work in rural areas that will give you the option of the extra year. Just be aware that it may be difficult to do proper job hunting if you are doing seasonal work..you could be well out and it would be expensive flying up and down to cities for interviews. Better to settle on a city and job hunt then. Anyway best of luck..good to get away from home right now.

Cheers for your comments Tiger! I've heard a lot over the past week bout Civil Eng work in Perth. Might be tempted later in the trip, but dont want to start my travels there. I've hatched a plan in my head and thats to start off in Sydney, throw my CV about, suss out the place and get settled for a week or 2 and then decide if I like it or not. A friend of mine said Melbourne would suit me 10 times more as its a lot more laid back (you wouldnt think it with all these questions lol!), and not so much of a 'rat-race'. Loadsa gigs and sport and really more cultured so I think I might enjoy it a bit more. I've heard there's good beaches there too, although not as good as Sydney. still, if its better than Courttown that'll do me! :P Anyway if i decide after a week or 2 that Sydneys not my thing, I'll go check out Melbourne.

Money-wise, how far would £2,000-£3,000euro get you? I know its a question like how long is a piece of string but bear in mind I dont intend on going out getting drunk every night, certainly not until I get sorted with work anyway! Just want to explore the place starting out, obviously while trying to get work!

And I hear the pay is not great with this seasonal work. But roughly how much woul you save in the 3 months or so doing it? Like I have it in my head that you're out in the back of beyonds... Do they put you up out there or what?

Tigerandahalf

I'm in Melbourne and ya it's a pretty cool city....has everything but not too up itself. The best sports in OZ..cricket, soccer, AFL, rugby league and rugby union from next year plus the Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup and the Tennis Grand Slam. Not bad is it!! Always plenty of gigs and concerts on here. The weather here is really 4 seasons. Summer is hot, the winter is cold but not ice on the car cold. People find it cold here because there are a lot of clear cold days whereas at home it would be warmer with more cloud cover and rain. The autumn just gone was beautiful here..a lot of 20 degree days..perfect for a paddy.
The min wage here is $15 so you could expect that with the seasonal work. Some rural employers will put you up but in general you will have to pay for your accom.