precision engineer (toolmaker)

emiluash · 24-07-2006, 08:20 AM

hi
im a 1st class machinist and me and my family are heading out to oz in nov...
we have booked flights to perth..but are now considering melb..the houses seem more reasonably priced..and you do have the different changes in the weather...

can anyone tell me is there call for my trade in melb? and what areas are the industry in..
if you have any names of companies too that would be fab

any help will be appreciated

mike

Nicky · 24-07-2006, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emiluash

hi
im a 1st class machinist and me and my family are heading out to oz in nov...
we have booked flights to perth..but are now considering melb..the houses seem more reasonably priced..and you do have the different changes in the weather...

can anyone tell me is there call for my trade in melb? and what areas are the industry in..
if you have any names of companies too that would be fab

any help will be appreciated

mike

If you are interested in Regional Victoria rather than Melbourne then you might want to contact Wendy Mitchell. She is the Skilled Migration Coordinator for NE Victoria and should be able to give you some info. Her e-mail is w.mitchell@vic.gov.au
From what I hear there is a demand for your area of work so good luck.
Nicky

The Oldies · 12-09-2006, 09:54 AM

You need to check it out for yourselves first. The advice about northern Victoria needs to be researched, it's a very dry area and you may not like it. Hell, I'm an Aussie and I hated living in Kerang when I took a job there. Very hot, very dry, very unfriendly in my book. Property is cheap for a reason, because they can't sell it. You'll see properties for less than $40,000 in some areas, don't touch them with a barge pole!

Large communities such as Bendigo or Ballarat would offer more work wise but mean miles of travel to get anywhere else. While roads are generally in good condition in Victoria you need to be aware of our high road toll too. They hold their own dangers such as drivers falling asleep at the wheel through boredom and drifting across the road, sunglare is another.

It is a long way from the coast too. Southern or Eastern Victoria is best if you are looking for rural areas. As to Melbourne the East and the South are your posher suburbs, the North and West is more likely to provide work as it has more industry.

You need to check it out for yourself because only you know what suits you best. Aussies are in the main friendly and helpful but you'll find some quite abrupt. Take it with a grain of salt, it's all bluff and bluster mostly. Give as good as you get and they'll soon come round. If someone calls you a whinging pom square up to them and say flatly, I take it then you've never been there. That will shut them up while they wonder what you mean.

Nicky · 12-09-2006, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Oldies

You need to check it out for yourselves first. The advice about northern Victoria needs to be researched, it's a very dry area and you may not like it. Hell, I'm an Aussie and I hated living in Kerang when I took a job there. Very hot, very dry, very unfriendly in my book. Property is cheap for a reason, because they can't sell it. You'll see properties for less than $40,000 in some areas, don't touch them with a barge pole!

Large communities such as Bendigo or Ballarat would offer more work wise but mean miles of travel to get anywhere else. While roads are generally in good condition in Victoria you need to be aware of our high road toll too. They hold their own dangers such as drivers falling asleep at the wheel through boredom and drifting across the road, sunglare is another.

It is a long way from the coast too. Southern or Eastern Victoria is best if you are looking for rural areas. As to Melbourne the East and the South are your posher suburbs, the North and West is more likely to provide work as it has more industry.

You need to check it out for yourself because only you know what suits you best. Aussies are in the main friendly and helpful but you'll find some quite abrupt. Take it with a grain of salt, it's all bluff and bluster mostly. Give as good as you get and they'll soon come round. If someone calls you a whinging pom square up to them and say flatly, I take it then you've never been there. That will shut them up while they wonder what you mean.

Where we are in NE Victoria is far from the inhospitable area that you describe. We live in Wangaratta on the border with NSW and about an hour from the Alpine mountain range, 2 1/2 hours from Melbourne and 4 hours from Canberra. People here have been very friendly and and we came here with 4 kids, no previous experience of Australia and knowing noone. We don't have the sea but we do have plenty of other things to keep us busy and the city of Wangaratta (ok more like a town in the UK) has all of the facilities that we need with Albury/Wodonga nearby. We don't get as much rain as Melbourne but we are far from being an outback area. There is much more to Victoria than the cities and it is well worth looking at the regional areas.
Housing here is not as cheap as some other places but if you go into some of the towns nearby you can get reasonable property with land for cheaper than the city (however you will not be looking at the $40000 mark for anything out here). There are plenty of job opportunities out here and it is well worth checking out incase it suits your family.
Good luck.
Nicky

The Oldies · 12-09-2006, 06:56 PM

Alright! Wang is good, glad you are feeling settled now. We are all sorted and off to South Gippsland as soon as this house is finished, sold and the visa applied for. Hope all continues to go well for you in the future!

The Oldies

Nicky · 12-09-2006, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Oldies

Alright! Wang is good, glad you are feeling settled now. We are all sorted and off to South Gippsland as soon as this house is finished, sold and the visa applied for. Hope all continues to go well for you in the future!

The Oldies

We are still having our moments here and our eldest hasn't settled at all, but that could be the same everywhere. I posted about the Regional Migration coordinator because I see so many people heading to the cities and struggling to find work. It must be soul destroying to head to the other side of the planet and then find it impossible to support yourselves and your family. There are a lot of jobs available in this area at the moment and new commers have as good a chance as any to take advantage of them, but the idea of 'country' areas being another planet entirely seems to prevail.
I do wish that we had the choice of places to live as I really do miss the sea and would like to have had a look around before we settled, but I doubt that things would have been any easier than they are here. I still feel like leaving at times but the people here are very friendly and have helped. It seems an insular community at first glance but if you look you can find like minded people around :lol:. I have been fully welcommed into the community and if anything struggle to find free time. We have been here a year now which is pretty scary; Ian loves his job, the kids love school (mainly) and I have made loads of friends through school and the local theatre group. The thing that threw us when we arrived was the fact that although Wangaratta is a city it is really the same as moving to a small village in the UK (but with more facilities), everyone knows everyone and there is very little crime. The small village mentality took some getting used to but if that is what you are used to in the UK then the regional and country cities are well worth a look. I would probably struggle in the smaller commiunities, personally, but must say that when we buy we will buy out of town here. Wangaratta is not perfect by any means but there are far worse places in the world

.
I must say that South Gippsland sounds lovely and I loved a lot of the coastal areas around Melbourne that we have visited (we are off to Mornington for an ex-pat meet on Saturday).
Good luck with the house sale as I must say I don't envy you that we had enough stress getting here without all of that to deal with before we arrived.
Nicky :)

The Oldies · 13-09-2006, 10:18 AM

Hi Nikki,

If you are into reading another great way to make friends is to join an online club called Book Crossing. I've made heaps of mates over here through it and often trot off to Salcey Forest in Northampton to join Weebly's crew. You'll find that on www.bookcrossing.com and from there you can find the Australian part. Areas have meet ups so you'll probably find somewhere near you to meet with like minded readers for a chat over a cuppa or a glass of wine.

Sorry to hear that your oldest is having trouble settling in. I hope no one is teasing him about his accent, it happens. I taught over here and the staff and students were always giving me stick about terms I used, you know the thing yard duty for playground duty, thongs for flip flops, etc. Once I realised what they thought thongs were I could see the funny side of it, that's for sure. I mean can you imagine anyone flopping about with a G String on each foot, I ask you!!!

I know what you mean about everyone knowing your business. I had complete strangers coming up to me knowing who I was and details I hadn't shared with them when I was in Kerang and I found the whole experience unnerving. Korumburra is a fairly large place in terms of country towns so I'm hoping I won't find it as intrusive. I would have chosen to live outer Eastern or Southern suburbs of Melbourne in order to be close to my mates and ensure we found work but South Gippsland was Bob's choice as it was he who hankered after village life. We were in Milton Keynes at the time. The little fact that it was close enough to Philip Island where the motor cycle Grand Prix is held might just have had something to do with it too.

Mornington is a great place, expensive but nice. Are you going to have a BBQ by the bay, that would be fun! I love the Penninsula for holidays but I wouldn't want to live there. Have you discovered the delights of Puffing Billy yet? It's a great little narrow guage railway that runs from Belgrave, through the hills to Emerald where there's a great water slide into the lake, a fantastic model railway set up and great walks and picnic areas to be enjoyed. It goes on further but I'm not sure about that end. Every year there's a race between runners and the steam engine, the runners win every time, it's a hoot! Not sure how old your kiddywinkles are but the joy of my childhood was hanging out of the trains open windows. There's bars across so you put your legs through and sit on the window ledge and hang onto the next bar, great fun!

Healesville Sanctuary is a great place to view native animals too and not far from there is another fun place called Hedge End Maze. The sanctuary has picnic facilities and a cafe along with the usual gift shop. They do a treasure hunt for the kids too so they pick up a sheet from the little kiosk near the cafe and go hunt down all the clues. I'm such a big kid I can't wait to take Bob when we finally arrive on Victoria's sunny shores. Back north, The Murray makes a great holiday destination too and my favourite historical village is Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, a mock up of life during the gold rush era. Lots of school run camps and excursions there as part of their history units.

Hope you have lots of fun with your fellow expats at your Mornington Meet. Perhaps you could arrange an event in Wang so they get to see what the rest of Victoria is like. Now there's a challenge! It would be good to move things around so everyone could understand each person's perspective and learn more about life down under, don't you think?

Regards,

Marion