Getting permanent job in Australia?

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

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Hi all, been thinking about the possibility of moving over to Australia with the girlfriend at some point to live and work.

Ive been to Oz before but didn't use up my working holiday visa, and she hasn't been at all so that is an option for us but i'm just wondering how easy it actually would be to go over and find work in our respective 'trades', mine being IT and she would be looking at something fashion/buying related (As she's just finished Uni).

I know its a bit of a broad question but I guess i'm more looking for info or feedback off anyone who just took the plunge and went over to Australia to work and now lives over there permanently. We have no real ties to England bar some family, but nothing financial really. No house, no kids, no loans (apart from student loans).

Is this a do'able thing?
 
Go as a Professional Rolf Harris impersonator, they love a bit of irony the Aussies.
 
Do you have decent savings in the bank and do you both have decent marketable skills which are in need over there? There are other ways, like being a student but they are the first two questions that would need to be answered.
 
I've got a good amount of savings (in my opinion haha) - around £7000-£10000.

Skills wise, I've worked in IT for about 4+ years now, started off doing helpdesk stuff for very large public and private sector organisations, now I work for a company in the third sector in charge of all of their IT, social media and also deal with some of the marketing as well so I'd say I've got a wide variety of 'skills', responsibilities and experience as it were.

My girlfriends only just finished University so she's still on the hunt to get onto the career ladder.
 
The working travel visa is designed for people who want to travel Oz to supplement their income whilst they do so. It has certain restrictions, for example you cannot work for one firm for more than 6 months. Its therefore not really much use if you want to apply for permanent positions, but it's certainly worth it if you want to spend a year travelling around do bar work etc etc - plus if you work in agriculture they'll allow you to have a second year.

To live and work there permanently as you intend you'll probably want a skills based Visa - see if your occupation is on the list of skills in demand, if it is then provided you meet the rest of the criteria you'll probably be ok - though it can take a long time and you can't apply from within Australia.
 
1st point "bar some family"

Never under-estimate this, when times get tough and / or family members get seriously ill etc, it's extremely difficult to just hop on a plane.

2nd point "girlfriend"

I'd not even consider it until you are married tbh.
 
I worded it badly, It was meant to imply that the emotional attachment to your family is taken for granted when you are on "home" soil. Jumping on a plane in short notice in itself is actually very easy, if you have a few grand spare.
 
Australia is an extremely expensive place to live. There is a huge 'Australia tax' on everything that makes Britain look cheap.

Rent and house prices are sky high. High tolls on the major arterial roads, poor public transport, EXTREMELY expensive healthcare, even if you use the government system.

The politicians are duff too. The PM is a ginger taffy who makes Ed Balls look a paragon of honesty. The Opposition leader either just says no or puts his foot in his mouth; and has a significant tea party like lunatic fringe to deal with.

Add all this to endemic anglophobia and you'll realise Australia is overrated. Hell Sydney even gets more rain than London.
 
Your girlfriend want's to move away from all her family and friends to live in Australia, but she's never been there?

I'd ask you why you want to do this? Go on some expat forums. Get reading. The grass isn't always greener. Everyone thinks it's a working holiday but nothing could be further from the truth.

Basically you will be doing the same as what you're doing now in a hotter climate with no mates.

The reality to Australia is that it looks great from the outside, but once you have stayed there for a while you realise it's a bit of a s*** hole. It's expensive and the people are rude

Trust me I've been there

Best place to be? Here! Second best place? Canada
 
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Come over on a WHV and see what's available, I know two people who started that way and are no here permanently :) Skill based visa's can take a while, though not always! (Ours took 6 weeks!)
 
Yes that is one thing that concerned me was that even though you feel like you are earning more (comparatively) than you would in England the cost of living is so much higher over there.

I suppose we could go the WHV route, that is an option. I guess my thinking though is that if I leave my job I 'd want to be going somewhere permanent rather than only going for a year and coming back to England with no job and being in a worse situation than when I left!

Hadn't given Canada a thought really. Never been but would like to go.
 
I know people who have moved to Canada and a few to Australia, those in Canada in the long term have been the happier with their choice. It may be different for you but, as you say, leaving a full time job is taking a risk.

My girlfriend wants to move to Australia (years in the future) and to be honest I'm not convinced. Having never been I would not even consider it without visiting first (something your girlfriend really needs to do)
 
The few people I have known to move to Oz have all returned to Europe or ,over the US or Canada. Horrible climate, cultureless rude people, difficult living conditions, often hard to enjoy the natural environment for a genuine fear of death (salt water crocs, shark closures in beaches, box jellyfish, getting strandard in the desert, hiking though snake instead woodlands).
 
Speaking as a born-and-bred Aussie with British citizenship, here's my 2p.

Australia is not for everyone. If you have no compelling reason to go... don't.

Write a list of the things you really want out of life. If you already have them in the UK (or you're already on the way to getting them) then why look elsewhere? Australia won't necessarily change your life for the better; it's not a magic wheel that spins straw into gold.

Like most places, Australia is a land of swings and roundabouts. You have to trade them off against each other. Some things are cheaper—a lot cheaper—than the UK. Other things are more expensive—a lot more expensive—than the UK. Find out what they are, and compare them. Try to estimate their impact on your daily budget.

Research, research, research. Join an ex-pats forum like this one. Talk to people who've actually made the move and spent at least 3 years in Australia.

Consider your relationships with family and friends. Are you so close that you can't live without each other? Are you fairly independent? Could you cope effectively without your usual support network for months on end? Do you make friends easily, or are you happy to have quality over quantity?

Do you enjoy regular overseas holidays on the continent? Bear in mind that these will be almost unaffordable when you're flying from the southern hemisphere. If you're the sort of person who would miss the benefits of proximity to Europe, think carefully before making a decision.

Above all, don't move to Australia 'just to see what it's like.' If that's your primary motivation, take a holiday and make it a long one.

momentimori said:
Australia is an extremely expensive place to live. There is a huge 'Australia tax' on everything that makes Britain look cheap.

Rent and house prices are sky high. High tolls on the major arterial roads, poor public transport, EXTREMELY expensive healthcare, even if you use the government system.
Click to expand...

You can still find reasonable house prices if you know where too look, and you'll get more for your money than you do in the UK. My wife and I think our house is quite reasonable (hell, we've even got an outdoor spa) and we're not rich people. Our house in the UK (which we still own) is pretty miserable by comparison.

Yes we pay more for a lot of things, but these days you often can get around it by buying from an overseas online vendor. The value of our dollar is astronomical right now, which makes this an even better option.

But yes, the cost of living in Australia is very high (the wages are too, though I don't think this compensates). It's arguably the most important consideration to make before emigrating.

Toll roads? Well, they do exist (you can see a list of them here) but only in three states (QLD, NSW, VIC). I think we have a total of 15 toll roads, which is not bad considering this is a country three times the size of Western Europe... Personally I've never paid a toll in my life.

Healthcare in Australia is dirt cheap, particularly since we have a national healthcare service and the government provides a 30% rebate on private health insurance premiums (that's something I missed terribly when I lived in the UK, where I found private health insurance unaffordable).

Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ensures that prescription medication remains easily affordable for low income earners and others who qualify for a subsidy.

For example, I take an anti-inflammatory called Salazopyrin for my ulcerative colitis. Full cost: $54.80 for a bottle of 100 tablets. I pay: $5.80. Occasionally I need to use a different medication, called Pentasa. Full cost: $306.75 for a box of 200 tablets. I pay: $5.40.

So I have no idea why you would think healthcare in Australia is 'extremely expensive.'
 
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I've done the opposite (aussie, in the UK on YMV) and I can't wait to get back to Australia. The quality of life there just can't be beat if you can afford it. Hell as a student, below the poverty line, life was still awesome :)

I don't know why people are saying the weather sucks, it's one of the great things about the place! Winter is a nice 20-25degrees and rain free, summer is quite hot/humid (at least where I'm from) but the summer storms are just phenomenal! Also you can have a bbq everyday...

I don't find people rude either, Sydney I think is probably more rude than other places, but I see just as much rudeness in the UK. I personally don't really like Sydney though.. If I were you I'd check out Melbourne, much more sedate climate, nice people, very multicultural place.

Lol at fear of death by creatures.. seriously.. a cup of cement people.. The only places you will not be able to swim in the ocean due to jellies/crocs is FNQ in summer and who the hell gets stranded in the desert?!?! I go camping all the time with "snake infested woodlands" I just walk around them and continue my hike, just have to use common sense.. Pull off the leeches/ticks at the end of you walk, don't touch/poke with a stick the spiders/snakes and your peachy.
 
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