Is Australia all it's cracked up to be?

Intensive Care Bear

I'd go but they don't seem to be doing anything about their spider problem.

gobnaitolunacy

They have a shiny warm thing in the sky called the Sun.

/thread.

judgefudge

I went to visit someone for 3 months and it was bloody awful. ****e tv, nothing but ads and American sitcoms. Lots of retail parks but no character. What a bland country.

If all you care about is a bit of sunshine and drinking beer (which is not that cheap over there) then by all means go.

I'd much rather somewhere in Europe with a bit of history and character.

Canis Lupus

I'm in Brisbane. It's alright? It's a very small CBD and then miles of suburbia, kinda like Dublin in some ways. It's a quiet sleepy place. It's pretty chilly during the winter (your summer) and the summer can be nigh on ridiculously hot night and day.

Work clearly depends on your skills. I've a lovely job at the moment and should be staying for the forseeable future.

Lifestyle is nice and laid back. Parks have free bbqs, beaches are close by and there's some pretty places to visit. The internet is not crap as some people have mentioned although if you're a gamer you're quite limited due to geography so ping is rubbish on anything outside of Aus.

Back to your dilemma. If you're wanting to travel and explore for a year I'd say go somewhere else more adventurous (and cheaper). If your permanent job offer is in London I'd say jump for that instead. I spent 7 years in London and it's a brilliant city (and hey, it's filled with Aussies so you get the same experience as coming here).

Mrs Garth Brooks

1210m5g wrote: »

I'd go but they don't seem to be doing anything about their spider problem.

Yeah, im not very fond of those bird eating spiders.

PhlegmyMoses

London is one of the best cities in the world. If you can get a job that affords you to lead a decent lifestyle there, go there.

The Uninvited Guest

Going from experiences of Australia, total sh!thole, avoid.

Mrs Garth Brooks

My doctor has also warned me to stay out of the sun with my moley skin. Is it worth getting skin cancer?

Steve O

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

My doctor has also warned me to stay out of the sun with my moley skin. Is it worth getting skin cancer?

Yes.

4zn76tysfajdxp

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

My doctor has also warned me to stay out of the sun with my moley skin. Is it worth getting skin cancer?

Yeah. Do it.

iamanengine

Steve O wrote: »

Yes.

Jeffrey Thankful Veggie wrote: »

Yeah. Do it.

You simply cannot argue with that kind of logic.

I'd say go for it, there will always be a few who hate it, but sunshine and beaches for a year seems ideal to me!

judgefudge

judgefudge wrote: »

I went to visit someone for 3 months and it was bloody awful. ****e tv, nothing but ads and American sitcoms. Lots of retail parks but no character. What a bland country.

If all you care about is a bit of sunshine and drinking beer (which is not that cheap over there) then by all means go.

I'd much rather somewhere in Europe with a bit of history and character.

You don`t go to Australia to watch TV.

HardLuckWoman

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

Yeah, im not very fond of those bird eating spiders.

they eat snakes too

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/spider-eats-snake-caught-on-camera/story-e6frfq80-1226332961171

and even the rabbits that went over are mad

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/09/15/63975_local-news.html

iamanengine

Deleted User wrote: »

they eat snakes too

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/spider-eats-snake-caught-on-camera/story-e6frfq80-1226332961171

and even the rabbits that went over are mad

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/09/15/63975_local-news.html

Found an interesting article about the killer rabbits.
http://badasshistory.com/rabbit.html









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..

Legs.Eleven

People are going to have differing opinion of everywhere and there's no guarantee you'll feel the same. Where do you want to go in your heart of hearts?

Da Shins Kelly

I've never really understood this whole concept of Australia as "the new world". I'd definitely be cooked alive the second I stepped off the plane, I'd say.

token101

Depends what you mean by "all cracked up to be". It's grand, hot in summer, cold enough today. It's easier to get unskilled work here, but you're at a massive disadvantage if you're after graduate/professional jobs especially when they tighten the 457 laws in July.

Wattle

The fact that you qualify for the years visa means that you are young enough to do the year and think about the UK after. Just don't go out there and don a GAA jersey and hang around with Irish people in Irish pubs every night singing rebel songs. That would be a waste. See a bit of the country it's massive.

KKkitty

Go to Australia and live it up as much as you can before you go to the UK. Anyone I know that has gone to Australia has enjoyed it.

OneArt

Looks like a great country to visit or live in for a little while. I couldn't settle there myself, though, it's literally the edge of the world and too far from everything. I like living in a place where it's easy to travel around. Central Europe ftw.

CrazyRabbit

Half the wildlife wants to kill you. The other half doesn't, but would probably accidentally do so anyway.

Smidge

token101 wrote: »

Depends what you mean by "all cracked up to be". It's grand, hot in summer, cold enough today. It's easier to get unskilled work here, but you're at a massive disadvantage if you're after graduate/professional jobs especially when they tighten the 457 laws in July.

When you say unskilled work, what does that mean?

Is it just bar work etc?
Or trades like work?

What professional/graduate roles are going to be affected?

Xavi6

judgefudge wrote: »

I went to visit someone for 3 months and it was bloody awful. ****e tv, nothing but ads and American sitcoms. Lots of retail parks but no character. What a bland country.

If all you care about is a bit of sunshine and drinking beer (which is not that cheap over there) then by all means go.

I'd much rather somewhere in Europe with a bit of history and character.[/QUOTE]

How would you know about sunshine, history and character if you were indoors either watching tv or shopping?

Give it a try OP, if you don't like it just go home a few months later. You wouldn't be the first.

I've been here over six years and love it, head over to the Australia forum for some non-AH opinions and experiences.

JustAThought

I had that dilemma a few years back - got a surprise cheque Of a few thousand from the taxman & had the neighbours from hell tormenting me do I said f it , took the bus into twin, booked a flight on the visa & somewhat insanely left 2 days later. I have never regretted it. I spent a " huge" ( all the cheque and maxed out my 2k limit on my visa) pot of money , had good and bad times but scratched an itch that I would never be satisfied until I had done it.
I went for a few months ; chose to sightsee but nit to work ; & was there from August onwards & was back in ireland in the torrential rain waiting in misery for busses to slog it into work & be treated like a Slave in Dublin by December.

I too have iffy skin but it is do hot over there that it is impossible to " sunbathe" - you would sooner think of putting your hand into a toaster - all the tourists are hiding under the eaves of bus shelters & dodging the sun wherever they go - you simply ( as an irishperson) cannot strip off & lie out like you do here ; its just impossible! In the sea you wear wetsuites or stinger suites & dont forget ; their seas are filled with things that want to eat you. Most beaches have pool sized areas cordoned off with safety zones that you can swim in ; it's wierdest & it's not what you'd expect! I stuck to safe surf beaches ( patrolled) & pools with nice chilled ice drinks closely & umbrellas!!!
Plus; if you happen to sit even in the shade there is a Q of people there to remind you ( again!) to " slip, slap, slop" & to offer you a spare hat/cap; mega density suntan oil or a top/stinger suite/wet suite. They are all paranoid. ( & probably rightly so!)

London will always be there; as will be the average jobs & pay it offers & it's underground commutes, slot machine filled pubs & dreary dull endless houses split into multiple flats with gardens filled with bins & stray cats.

Australia for all it's up and down sides offers a look into a world - land - that is totally different and in my opinion worth experiencing as we have nothing like it here.
It's not cheep - I backpacked and travelled by myself and shared all the time I was there & was on a realy tight budget but still prioritised all the things " they" said I should do.
The things I look back & remember now are not the endless bus rides or Craic with strangers, the days spent in busses or chilling in a pool with new friends & " beers", , or the dogey hostels , bunk bed living or poverty food; but the unlimited sense of space & freedom ; the raw beauty of the coasts & rainforest,the standard stuff everybody does - trekking in the amazing Blue Mountains, swimming in oasis rock pools in the desert, snorkeling amongst incredible shoals of vivid tropical fish just beyond your fingers, the reefs,Airlee Beach, the week long boat trip off Whitsunday island into literally uncharted waters ;untouched beaches with sharks waiting to eat you, deck chairs under shade by infinity pools, the endless scorching unremitting bleak outback that stretched for days , seeing the stars at night like a million diamonds all upsidedown & in the wrong places; the diving, & the tropical coastline up past cape tribulation, an evil 8 foot lizzard taking a stroll past me in a footpath one day & stopping to turn jts head & watch ME, camping on the biggest & maddest sand dune ( frazer island) on the planet & literally watching sharks fins run up & down the shoreline feet from the ( NO SWIMMING!) beach, seeing the tail of a humpback whale slap the water as it dived beneath the sea off Sydney harbour, watching the sun set over Sydney Harbour, not being able to get into Sydney opera house! Realising that 8 days on a bus was too far to go to visit an opal mine ( feck!), & missing Australia Zoo because I didn't have ten dollars left over for the entrance & my greyhound bus ticket would only let me travel in one direction!!! I missed bungee jumping ( not open that day!) and e500 was out of my range for a skydive. I said I'd go back -but I may not but if I have a few weeks and a few spare thousand ( I wish) I may well - ; living there permanently wasn't for me. But if I'd not gone & not done any of these things that I didn't really know about before I left I wouldn't be any the wiser, but in my heart of hearts I'd be somehow the
poorer.

Yes Europe is more cultured & yes Europe has museums & galleries & stately homes & beaches you can use without becoming something's lunch. But Australia is something totally different, and if you go and see all this, then I think it is definately something to do.

Lingua Franca

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

Im trying to decide

Australia for a year

Or a move to the UK for permanent work

Worst Haiku ever.

Norwesterner

Spend 2k on flights to one of the most expensive countries on the planet (during a global economic crisis) and spend a year with pasty faced Celtic Cubs who just can't let go of the lifestyle.
Oh, and be looked on much like we looked on Eastern Europeans during the Boom..........


Or spend 50 euros on a flight to the U.K, and try and make something of your life, save some money and return home as often as you want.
Also no worries about visas and looking over your shoulder for immigration officials

I'd stay in the E.U zone if I were you.
Even if things do work out for you in Australia, the amount of bureucracy involved in "staying on" would put me off.

Mrs Garth Brooks

Anyone thats been in the uk, is a salary of £16000-17000 worth it?

Mr Benevolent

Australia is worth the trip, just avoid the usual Irish contingent. I successfully avoided them all until the very last day. Morons in GAA wear, pathetic.

utyh2ikcq9z76b

New Zealand's better

Legs.Eleven

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

Anyone thats been in the uk, is a salary of £16000-17000 worth it?

I lived on 18,000 gross for a year and a half in London and 16,000 gross for a half a year. I had just about enough to live on and go out. Rent is through the roof as well as transport and I was sharing with my then boyfriend for most of it. The average rent back then was about 500 pounds. I never had money come pay day and really treating myself didn´t happen. This was in 2006/07. Budgeting is essential.

I lived on about 16,000 p/a in Edinburgh for 5 months and I´d much more disposable income there. That was in 2006.