Working in Oz

anything in particular you'd like to know?

Watch out for the Wizard's Son, not too mention the Izzards, innit And pay yer return Airport tax at a post office somewhere before you return

quote:

Originally posted by Milan:
Anyone with experience of this. I have an opportunity to visit in two weeks. The visit is to investigate a possible work placement there. Any of you have experiences you can share or advice. It would be appreciated.

Regards

Milan

Milan - where will you likely be working? I would happily talk with you. I have been here for 14 months now on a work assignment and we are having a fabulous time. Australia is a great place to live and work anf the people are wonderful. The only thing that is an issue is the distance from Europe - you certainly think twice about popping home.

Adrian

Above all don't go overstaying your welcome. We have a bad habit of incarcerating our visitors not to mention our own citizens.

And watch out for the baggage handlers. Probably a good idea just to take carry on luggage.

I saw an Oz cop show on TV last night called "BlackJack" starring Colin Friels. It certainly made me think..............

quote:

Originally posted by JonR:
I saw an Oz cop show on TV last night called "BlackJack" starring Colin Friels. It certainly made me think..............

Hey Jon - what happened in the show that made you think?

Adrian

Isn't that the one about dark-skinned Freemasons ?


Fritz Von Squaring things up as per usual, innit

quote:

Originally posted by Expat in Oz:

quote:

Originally posted by JonR:
I saw an Oz cop show on TV last night called "BlackJack" starring Colin Friels. It certainly made me think..............

Hey Jon - what happened in the show that made you think?

Hi Adrian,

It made me think:-

a) Jeez...look at all that bloody traffic ;
b) Strewth the girl working on the computer looks hot ;
c) Wonder what it would be like to work there ;
d) They know how to call a spade a bloody shovel ;
e) A girl in one of the flashback scenes in last night's episode looks just like an Australian friend of mine ;
f) Strewth... what about all those exceptionally large insects and it's too bloody hot anyway!!!

Sorry...well, you did ask!

Cheers,

Jon

PS: BTW it was a good opener actually - I am looking forward to next week's episode!

quote:

Originally posted by JonR:

quote:

Originally posted by Expat in Oz:

quote:

Originally posted by JonR:
I saw an Oz cop show on TV last night called "BlackJack" starring Colin Friels. It certainly made me think..............

Hey Jon - what happened in the show that made you think?

Hi Adrian,

It made me think:-

a) Jeez...look at all that bloody traffic ;
b) Strewth the girl working on the computer looks hot ;
c) Wonder what it would be like to work there ;
d) They know how to call a spade a bloody shovel ;
e) A girl in one of the flashback scenes in last night's episode looks just like an Australian friend of mine ;
f) Strewth... what about all those exceptionally large insects and it's too bloody hot anyway!!!

Sorry...well, you did ask!

Cheers,

Jon

PS: BTW it was a good opener actually - I am looking forward to next week's episode!

a) yes lots of traffic where I live - Sydney -just like anywhere in the world

b)yes lots of hot girls here

c) pretty good working here - they like to work hard though - they do not disappear to the beach every night like you might think!

d) they don't mince their words - they say what they think and actually it works very well.

e) don't know what your friend looks like

f) yes the wildlife leaves a little to be desired but the heat - no worries mate with that. It's winter and in the high 60's, not a cloud in the sky, people outside enjoying the sun, eating outside in restaurants or picnics in the park - bloody marvellous. This is our equivalent of November back home.

Cheers
Adrian

Well FWIW, I'm delighted you're having such a great time out there Adrian!

As I understand it the immigration rules are pretty tight anyway so I'll keep dreaming...

Mind you, NZ's always appealed too...

Cheers,

Jon

Milan, you lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky b***er!

I LOVE Australia.

Berlin Fritz is out of date with his reference to paying departure tax - that is now included in the price of your air ticket.

All of the cities that I've visited in Oz are wonderful in their own way, however, Sydney is my favourite, closely followed by Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth which I like eaqually.

Darwin is too hot for me and those flies get on my nerves up there in the North!

I can't really pass comment on Queensland as I've never spent more than a few nights there.

Australians tend to be more direct than us Brits, but that's part of their charm - can take a bit of getting used to though.

Not everything is the same there as here, but many of the differences are for the better.

Don't expect the banks to be as good as here (charges for pretty well everything!)and expect to queue for ages at Post Offices (mind you, since all the closures here UK one's aren't so good now).

Enjoy a more laid-back lifestyle, more sun shine, best food in the world, depending where you are going, you can have beaches, mountains, city life, fields - all within a couple of hours.....
Also, get to see bands that you simply cannot get tickets for in the UK - you know the ones that sell out in 2 minutes here, they're usually advertised on TV for months in Australia! (smaller numbers of people living 1000's of miles apart helps!)

I'm jealous!!!!!!!

Go for it!

They wouldn't allow me to open an Aussie $ account there, and I'm sure a friend who recently returned from here, had to pay tax on his return journey in Perth. I recall this as he'd spent all of his Aussie dosh, and had to change a t-cheque (at at loss) to pay it, then get lumbered with Aussie dosh, just like the bad old days in rip-off Britain

Fritz Von Luvvly Gaff for holidays, to live NO CHANCE, I'd rather live in Swindon

You might think about investing in a Vonage or Skype account as it sure does cut the cost of calling half way aroung the world.

I thought one went there or here to escape talking nonsense to people on telephones ?

Yeah Aussie is a good place to work. very down to earth,confident people. not constrained by a long european history. they are willing to spend on infrastructure, have a bicameral system of government. beach and weather are soo good. much like nz. they say you take your mistress to sydney and your wife to melbourne, i think its true. if you do get their you'll see what i mean. go for it. you could cross the ditch while you live in aussie.

John,

I am gathering information. I am arranging a trip for the 18th to go and talk about the job etc. Two days in the office then two and a bit to look around and get information.

I would like to know what areas to look at for rental with a view to buy if all works well. What the pitfalls could be. How easy/hard it is to establish friendships, especially for my wife, and kids. What is it like for an established brit to settle there? Probably lots of other things too.

Adrian,

I would really appreciate a discussion, either by phone or mail. Drop me a mail or pm with contact details and a time if convenient and I will try not to monopolise your time. You can mail me on 'milan dot vjestica at tesco dot net'.

Fritz,

Have you ever been to Swindon? I am from Oxford so Swindon ranks below a bed sit in Bhagdad for me!

Blythe,

I still need to convince the wife, future employer, my mother, mother in law, the other inlaws and then break the news to the kids if it is all on. Do you know if Kofi Annan subscribes here under a pseudonym?

Thanks for the input guys. It is all appreciated.

Milan

quote:

Originally posted by Milan:
I would like to know what areas to look at for rental with a view to buy if all works well.

well that's a hard one to answer as there's all sorts of personal preferences involved. Imagine me asking where in London I should live. Generally speaking the closer to the city or the water your are the more you're going to pay. You'll obviously also need to take into account where you're working and how much time you're willing to spend travelling. If it is Sydney that you're moving to then take a look at the Sydney Morning Herald , apart from news they have a property section which should give you an idea of prices in various areas. Whereis is the local version of streetmap if you need to find anything.

quote:

What the pitfalls could be. How easy/hard it is to establish friendships, especially for my wife, and kids.

As already mentioned, we Australians tend to be fairly laid back so not really a problem - even for a bunch of poms . You may, of course, be subject to some light hearted banter after any sporting occassion where England gets royally thumped.

I think the main problem people have in moving to another country is expecting it to be exactly like home and then getting upset when it's not. The other big issue for people is suddenly realising you're 10000+ miles from 'home' and that's a really long way to go to see your family and friends.

Oh and finally, not sure what your profession is but if it's office based then be aware that 40 hour weeks are rather more common than the 35 here - at least in the offices I've worked in.

Milan - email sent . Will be delighted to talk with you so call me.

By the way, we found our house on the internet before we left!

http://www.domain.com.au

Cheers

John,

Thanks for the information. I will look up the Sydney Morning Herald. What made you pitch up in sunny England then?

This royal thumping, would that be reffering to things like Football of Rugby would it? Or just a minority sport like cricket?

quote:

Oh and finally, not sure what your profession is but if it's office based then be aware that 40 hour weeks are rather more common than the 35 here - at least in the offices I've worked in.

I work in logistics and am currently working 50-60 hours. I have been led to expect to do 45 over there by my prospective boss. Only 35 hours here!!! I wish.

Adrian,

I will call you. Thanks.

And come to Cairns for your hols. Preferably in the winter months, definitely not in summer.

And don't bring Deane's dole with you.

LOmo's Payin

Sehr Gut