Anyone lived & worked in Australia?

CCCP^

Hey-Yo-Hiya [say that really quickly, dems fighting words..]

I'm thinking about going to Australia next year to live and work, which I understand you can do for a year. I'm 21 and reckon I've got some time to kill before I become a responsible adult. I was just wondering if anyone else out there has done the same. I'd really like to know what you thought of Australia, and was it a worthwhile experience?

For that matter, if you've lived and worked abroad elsewhere, what were your experiences?

Thank you!

RuggieBear

I did it in 2001....worthwhile but the aussies really don't like backpackers much. Work is a bit awkward because with the working/holiday visa you can only stay in the same job for 3months at most. But brilliant country and great fun

I'll post more in the morning when i can think straight

Deevious

Hey

I was there in 2003. Best year of my life. If at all possible bring as much money as you can because it can really hard to get work. Fellas can get work fairly easy on building sites etc.I had alot of trouble because Aussie's dont like employing backpackers when they can employ one of their own. I signed up with a really good work agency in Sydney. Got working for UPS parceling service for 3 months solid. Hard work but good money @ $18 per hr. Once I left Sydney I couldnt get work unless I wanted to pick/ plant or pack fruit and veg. I did it for day and nearly collasped. So had to scrimp and save going up the east coast.

Once you get your work sorted though u will have a ball. Great weather beaches bars and scenery. I wish I was still there!!!

KlodaX

how much is a good amount to take for a year? Any recommendations on hot spots to visit? Is a road trip from Perth to Sydney a good idea?

Anyone who has been.. did you go through a travel agency for the most part or did you just arrive and wing it?

*sorry to hijack thread ... but these are the sort of things you need to know!! *

Third_Echelon

KlodaX wrote:

Is a road trip from Perth to Sydney a good idea?

Probably not. Its just over 4,000 km... but if you are well prepared and want to drive for about a week, well then its the trip for you!!!

Driving in outback or remote areas of Australia is not reccommneded for the inexperienced or unprepared. In some areas conditions can be extremely harsh and fuel and water may be difficult to come by. In monsoon effected regions routes may also be impassable at certain times of the year so always plan carefully.....

RuggieBear

Third_Echelon wrote:

Probably not. Its just over 4,000 km... but if you are well prepared and want to drive for about a week, well then its the trip for you!!!

Driving in outback or remote areas of Australia is not reccommneded for the inexperienced or unprepared. In some areas conditions can be extremely harsh and fuel and water may be difficult to come by. In monsoon effected regions routes may also be impassable at certain times of the year so always plan carefully.....

...and tbh....the outback gets pretty samey after a day or two driving thru it. I drove from Alice Springs to Darwin and while there were some interesting sights here and there...it was pretty boring most of the time...except for the fires

KlodaX

if you stayed along the coast traveling from Perth to Sydney ... avoiding the outback? would that be ok ?

Third_Echelon

The Sydney -> Melbourne -> Adelaide -> Perth route is supposed to be nice....
This route along the south coast has some name that I can't remember... Spectacular coastline from what I've heard.

//edit: after a quick google search... its called 'The great ocean road'

incisor71

Third_Echelon wrote:

The Sydney -> Melbourne -> Adelaide -> Perth route is supposed to be nice....
This route along the south coast has some name that I can't remember... Spectacular coastline from what I've heard.

Ah, memories of 2001/2!!

The previous poster beat me to it - re. the Great Ocean Road, running the coastline from Adelaide to Melbourne - I went on a tour bus of the place and it was really quite wonderful, even though I was dogged with a heavy cold at the time! It was run by Groovy Grape tours. Another very worthwhile trip was coastal Queensland, I bussed all the way from Brisbane to Cairns. Make sure to bring lots of SPF30+ sunscreen and mosquito repellant - even in May it's damn hot, and QLD is one of the most notorious places in the world for incidences of skin cancer.

Regarding flights and travel in general, it's vital to plan as much of your itinerary before travelling, as you can get flights much cheaper with Qantas when you book multiple flight passes outside of Oz. There's no problem with changing the dates (can be done over the phone) or departure/arrival locations, though you may have to pay a fee for different airport taxes.

Also, if you're travelling by bus (typically Greyhound/McCaffertys) buy a bus pass for at least a few 1000km (probably about $400 or so) and bring no more than two big chunks of luggage, otherwise you'll be levied extra for every journey you make.

Workwise I got part-time work in an ISP in Melbourne for 2 months, but things dried up considerably after that, despite my best efforts. It was fortuitous that I'd taken off from Ireland on the back of a voluntary redundancy payout... And if you work, keep all your payslips and request your "group certificate" - you can apply to get tax back if/when you get home, I *finally* got back EUR681 ($1200) last year.

I know I've prattled on a lot, but I loved the country and the experience very dearly.

Feel free to send me a PM or an email if you'd like more info.

KlodaX

Third_Echelon wrote:

The Sydney -> Melbourne -> Adelaide -> Perth route is supposed to be nice....
This route along the south coast has some name that I can't remember... Spectacular coastline from what I've heard.

//edit: after a quick google search... its called 'The great ocean road'

Sounds like a trip ... gonna do it in a camper van mes thinks!

Enii

I drove the Nullabor from Sydney to Perth, took 5 days, it's a treeless plain, nothing to see on it.

Homer J Simpson

I did it in 2003 with 2 mates I've grown up with. I went to New York, Los Angelos, Fiji then Oz, New Zealand , Thailand, London then home.
I know you were enquiring about Oz but my recommendation is to try and get as many countries in as poss seeing as the difference in ticket price will only be about 400euro through usit.
The 3 of us rented a campervan and drove the East coast from Brisbane all the way North to Cape Tribulation then turned around and drove all the way back to Sydney. It took about a month or so with the 3 of us sharing the driving. A few nice towns along the way to stop at but a lot of small towns too where there's nothing to do. We stayed in Sydney for a few weeks before flying to Adelaide and renting a car and driving the Great Ocean Road over a number of days. Stayed in Melbourne for a week before flying to New Zealand. We were fortunate that the rugby world cup and Ireland \ Aussie Compromise rules game was on when we were in Oz. That was defo the highlight for me.
One word of warning...dont rent the camper go on the Oz ecperience or something like it where you can meet others. Things werent always rosey when we had the campervan mainly due to seeing each orher constantly...24 hours a day. That can take its toll even if you're best of mates with the people you're travelling with.