20yr old looking for advice on moving to QLD alone

**traceypie** · 21-07-2012, 11:57 AM

Hi, I would appreciate it very much for any advise, info etc... that anybody could give us please...

My son is 20yrs and has a permanant visa to live and travel anywhere in Australia and he is thinking of travelling to the gold coast in October 2012... hopefully forever..and until the rest of his family move to Australia in 2014..

My son (Harrison) will be travelling alone and he would like to travel all over hopefully and find work and accomodation.. what would he need to do to find work, accomodation and others in the same situation? any information to help him would be appreciated very much... He is so looking forward to starting a new life and adventure.. But at the same time Im a bit worried beacuse he's my son... Thats why Im trying to set stuff up with him and get things sorted a head of time, Thanks

**BritChickx** · 22-07-2012, 05:44 AM

Hi Tracey (and Harrison if you're reading!)

I don't know much about moving there permanantly as I went on a whv, but it would be best for him to stay central, and stay in hostels until he gets a job as it'll be cheaper than hotels, once he gets a job he can start to look at getting a place to stay, where is he staying, on his own or with family? if he's on his own or with a gf or mate then work references and old tenancy agreements/references will be a must to get accomodation. obviously if he's lived at home before this then work references definately! Tell him to tale all his school certificates and college if he has any, a few copies of his CV. Look in all the local gold coast papers and ask about at hostels if he chooses to stay there. Also look on seek.com.au and jobsearch.gov.au .....just google for whatever job he is interested in! Start sending emails off perhaps he could get a job lined up before he gets there. If he has a license a car would be good, easier transport can commute further for jobs.
Sorry probably not much help! maybe he could join up on poms and see if there's any other people his age in the gold coast area? Things are much easier if you have friends around you! Good luck to you and your son, don't worry i am sure he will be fine :)

**snifter** · 22-07-2012, 06:59 AM

Actually, what Brit Chickx has said is a good idea. If he is 20 he should treat it a bit like a WHV and make use of that network. That is what most people his age are over in Aus doing on a temp WHV visa and he would probably slot in well doing that for a bit. With the added bonus of having PR. I think he'd be better off doing his own research as to where to head, what work is available and at what time of year. Then he can make more of a plan and book his hostel for the early days/weeks etc and go from there.

He just needs to ensure he has adequate funds to support himself incase he doesn't get work or only temp work. On a WHV people are supposed to have $5000 AUD to support their working holiday. So your son having decent funds to do this sort of thing would be a good idea. He'll need to be prepared for having periods not working and so on and be ok with this. Travelling around means most of his work will only be temporary and chances are unskilled and therefore not as well paid, but he should be fine to earn enough to live if he does his homework.

I suggest your son sign up his own account on the forum and make use of this WHV section. There are jobs and so on listed, backpacking info, links and names of other backpacking networks and plenty of other people doing similar. He can find out loads of info online and hook up with others via the networking to be had via the internet. And once on the ground its face to face and should fall into place. He just needs to be prepared to put himself out there to begin with and build those networks and so on and get a feel for it all in advance.

**snifter** · 22-07-2012, 07:01 AM

Also once there, having PR he may find a company or employer or a line of work that he wishes to stay on with a bit longer or a more permanent basis but if he really wants to travel for a year or two, he needs to be prepared for lots of casual short term work.

**traceypie** · 23-07-2012, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by BritChickx

Hi Tracey (and Harrison if you're reading!)

I don't know much about moving there permanantly as I went on a whv, but it would be best for him to stay central, and stay in hostels until he gets a job as it'll be cheaper than hotels, once he gets a job he can start to look at getting a place to stay, where is he staying, on his own or with family? if he's on his own or with a gf or mate then work references and old tenancy agreements/references will be a must to get accomodation. obviously if he's lived at home before this then work references definately! Tell him to tale all his school certificates and college if he has any, a few copies of his CV. Look in all the local gold coast papers and ask about at hostels if he chooses to stay there. Also look on seek.com.au and jobsearch.gov.au .....just google for whatever job he is interested in! Start sending emails off perhaps he could get a job lined up before he gets there. If he has a license a car would be good, easier transport can commute further for jobs.
Sorry probably not much help! maybe he could join up on poms and see if there's any other people his age in the gold coast area? Things are much easier if you have friends around you! Good luck to you and your son, don't worry i am sure he will be fine :)

Thanks for the advise, I was looking at a hostel in coolangatta, not sure what its like there? He will be going on his own and we dont have family there.. He as A levels and as worked since leaving school, 3 yrs ago.. Hes in retail and sales and is very fit an active..
I will take your advise on CVs and certificates etc... He as always lived at home, so would be unable to gain reference.. he could get one from his works and school teachers

**Harrison44** · 23-07-2012, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by snifter

Actually, what Brit Chickx has said is a good idea. If he is 20 he should treat it a bit like a WHV and make use of that network. That is what most people his age are over in Aus doing on a temp WHV visa and he would probably slot in well doing that for a bit. With the added bonus of having PR. I think he'd be better off doing his own research as to where to head, what work is available and at what time of year. Then he can make more of a plan and book his hostel for the early days/weeks etc and go from there.

He just needs to ensure he has adequate funds to support himself incase he doesn't get work or only temp work. On a WHV people are supposed to have $5000 AUD to support their working holiday. So your son having decent funds to do this sort of thing would be a good idea. He'll need to be prepared for having periods not working and so on and be ok with this. Travelling around means most of his work will only be temporary and chances are unskilled and therefore not as well paid, but he should be fine to earn enough to live if he does his homework.

I suggest your son sign up his own account on the forum and make use of this WHV section. There are jobs and so on listed, backpacking info, links and names of other backpacking networks and plenty of other people doing similar. He can find out loads of info online and hook up with others via the networking to be had via the internet. And once on the ground its face to face and should fall into place. He just needs to be prepared to put himself out there to begin with and build those networks and so on and get a feel for it all in advance.

Thanks for the advise, I have joined this site now.. I am Traceypie's son Harrison

**BritChickx** · 23-07-2012, 08:49 PM

Coolangatta....rings a bell, we did a bit of bond cleaning in the brisbane and gold coast area it might have been where we cleaned one time....just don't go to Logan lol. i remember it being not very nice actually some group houses were protected by security guards and boom gates. Weird eh.

**BritChickx** · 23-07-2012, 08:50 PM

Hi harrison welcome to the site :) hope you find this site useful.

**ARow** · 23-07-2012, 10:58 PM

All good advice, above.

I took off to Queensland alone last year, at 22 years old. I was (and am) on a WHV, but it sounds like your goals are similar - work and travel around. I started in Brisbane and travelled at a snail's pace north and then eventually into the Outback, staying in hostels and taking casual local jobs.

If you're looking to find others in a similar situation, stay in hostels. It's so easy to meet people to travel and tackle the journey together with. Also, it's a great starting point for employment opportunities if you choose not to secure something ahead of time. Just be sure to bring anything you think you might need and go in with an open mind. No matter what, it'll be an unforgettable experience.

**Emma1989** · 20-08-2012, 08:35 PM

Thanks for posting this. It's been great help. I am 23 and going it alone to find work and a new life. Setting out to the unknown in October. Does anyone know the best places to find work that's well paid. I would rather work the first 6months then Tavel possibly working I between. Any more info would be great.
Thanks x