Paul1Perth

I don't think they realise what the ramifications will be. That's a lot of the trouble, they put a story out there and don't seem to worry about ramifications.

Are there more Indian migrants in US than the UK? Boy they must be overrun.

Spain and the UK had home grown terrorists.

Because they also have some of the poorest people on the planet and they don't have a safety net like Western countries. Bit like China.

Or for the bombings in Bali, or the Embassy bombing in Jakarta. We didn't get many flag burning rioting Aussies outside the Indonesian Embassy during those times. I think we just wanted relationships to get better quickly, so we could resume our cheap holidays to Bali. Not personally I might add, never been as my missus got put off when the bombings happened. She refuses to go.

For once mate you post a bit of sense. He had a getout clause when he could have said "it was the last lot, we're sorry and I guarantee it won't happen under this government". Instead he had to put the hard man act on and say we wouldn't apologise, then had to write a grovelling letter. God knows who his advisers are but they should be sacked and a new set brought in.

There is no line. Indonesia can say what they like but they are up to exactly the same as everyone else. If they have the technology to tap into Abbots private conversations they would. They might lie about it and tell everyone they aren't doing it but that's why we have the official secrets act and some people have security clearances. It's only because that idiot Edward Snowden leaked thousands of things he shouldn't have and the press are culpable in drip feeding the info. Do they care that they might cause a war, lose Aussies loads of jobs, investment, security, international safety, ruin industries. They don't give a rats as long as they sell a few papers. Mr Snowden and that other idiot Julian Assange have a lot to answer for. Just in case people think the Indonesians don't care and it's just politics (like I think most Aussies see it) I have friends who returned from a holiday in Lombock last week. They had a Muslim taxi driver heading back to the airport and he brought up the problem and thought it was a big deal. He was surprised when my friends (3 couples) all said they hadn't heard about it, it was just politics and they weren't very interested anyway. They tend to get a bit more worked up about these issues than your average Aussie.

Few good pubs and breweries. Try this link. http://www.fremantlewa.com.au/images/freo/pub_trail_web.pdf If your missus likes markets they have one of them too. Best thing is the Sail and Anchor is directly across from the market so it gives you an excuse to go and wait in there while she goes round the market. What could be better than that?

Mate you must stay in and sit behind your computer every minute. You been in to Perth lately? Or even Hillarys?

I think you are right when you say people that struggle to find work in IT have little to no experience. I suppose there are a few around who have been unlucky but with your experience I don't think you would have a problem for long. I don't know who to contact but NBN co. might be interested in seeing your resume. Good luck.

To be honest mate who knows what the job situation will be like in 2017. I would wait till you find if you can get the skilled independent migrant visa as that is probably the best one to go for in your case. It's not easy to get though so don't make presumptions, you might be disappointed. Perth Darwin and Katherine are totally different and if they were in Europe could be in 3 totally different countries. Take the weather for one. Perth at the moment and for the rest of the summer has fairly settled weather. We get a lot of clear blue sky, warm to hot days, fantastic if you like that sort of thing (which we do). It's also quite a big well established City with outer suburbs that can go on for Kilometres. Darwin has a wet season and a dry season but is pretty warm and humid all year. I have worked up there a lot and June-July was lovely, especially getting away from Perths coldest months. At the moment it's very wet and a cyclone is passing through. It's a nice town and I think I could settle there if pushed. You can't make use of the sea like you can around Perth, great for fishing if you have a boat but not so good for just going down the beach for a dip. Katherine is different again. Middle of nowhere with not a lot to do. Not even on the Coast, which is what a lot of people come to Aus for. Takes a certain type to want to move to Katherine.

I thought Kevin Pietersen might have liked Bris seeing as how he's South African. Thought the weather would be more to his liking. How long was he there? I suppose he would have had plenty of time to look round, he wasn't interrupted by having to bat for any length of time. Personally I find there is loads to do in Bris. Cricketers probably wouldn't get any further than the nearest bar to the ground or their hotel.

The weather would have been right up there in our decision. The opportunity to live near the beach and a place where people come to on holiday, not save up for their next one to get away from. Coming from the North of England, near Stockport and being brought up in Derbyshire I had always loved hot weather and being near the coast. Luckily my wife was the same and when we had the opportunity we went for it. We had a 2 year old too and that came into the decision when we saw what his school choice was going to be.

I was back in the UK on holiday in about 2007 and read an article in the Sunday Times written by one of their lady columnists. Can't remember who it was but she was quite famous and had a businessman husband who was doing pretty well. The gist of the article was she had been invited to the Oscars and just had to get a new dress but was trying to work out which card to use and which one they had just used to pay the debt from one of the numerous other cards they had that month. Of course she never considered not going, or getting a cheaper dress, had to be a designer one. It really surprised me as they were supposed to be a well respected and "rich" couple who from the outside appeared to be doing really well for themselves. They lived in London (of course) and it was just so far removed from what most people in the North of England would even consider doing, at the time. I worked in London in the 80's and it was the first time I'd seen people pay for just about everything, including drinks in the pub, on a credit card. At the time I didn't have a card and the guys I worked with there couldn't understand how I got by.

Your parents weren't a very good example Nic. You're still young enough to get it under control though. You have to have a certain amount of debt to get onto the property ladder and it's something you have to live with. don't ever get into the habit of looking at your house as an investment though and thinking "look how much we've made" when the price goes up. I'm pretty good with money but have to reign in the missus sometimes. I think one person in a relationship has to be strong sometimes and just say "No we can't afford it". There is pressure of course, but if the one with the financial nouse just gives in it can only lead to problems.

Agree that type of mortgage can be good for people who can manage their money well and avoid temptation. We have friends who got one of those mortgages and have got themselves in serious problems over the years. They still have a big house but have been bailed out a couple of times by their parents. The wife, in particular, thought it was fine to nip off the France for a couple of months and bang it on the mortgage. We have another type of mortgage which works the same but doesn't let you blow it out. It's a simple offset mortgage with limits on how much you can go overdrawn. We are pretty strict with our money and have always been in credit and reduced the mortgage a bit quicker. We didn't have credit cards before we came here and it gives you a lot better concept of where you are financially when you have to deal in cash. Most people less than maybe 30 years old would never have experienced this though and have grown up with paying for stuff on credit cards. It would be a great learning experience if people were made to live without them for a few years when they started work, teach them how to manage money and live within their means.

Speak for yourself.:wink:

The 457 visa is a temporary working visa, never meant for people to be getting in on those really. Fair play to the ones that manage it though. Problem with this and every other Liberal/Conservative government is they will do everything to look after their mates in big business. Making sure that they can keep profits high, shareholders happy, make the rich richer and keep the working class in their place. That's how I reckon they see it anyway. Been going against the grain for the last few years here in Aus where the working man and guys who are actually doing a bit of the hard graft have been getting a decent wage. All the time the mining companies and Liberal Government have been waging their arguments about salaries for working class people being too high and the usual crap about "not being sustainable" and threatening to move offshore or do their mining in Africa or Russia. Gina Reinhardt is a typical example, quoting the miners salaries in Africa being $5 a day or something and almost suggesting that she should be given the opportunity to bring in a few on 457's and pay them the same sort of rate. She's not one bit bothered about the run of the mill Aussie employee who has been working for her company probably most of their life. She would get rid of them tomorrow if she could get someone cheaper. I don't think for one minute Andrew Forest and the rest of the GM's are any different either. They are all out for themselves. Worst one of the lot is Clive Palmer, talk about just being in it for yourself. That guy would cut a deal with the devil if he thought it would make him an extra dollar. Doesn't matter that executive salaries have gone through the roof in the same time, difference is they are on several million a year where the truckie they love to complain about is on $100,000. Somehow though the problem is always cost of labour, not overblown executive salaries and excessive profits. The changes mean that the 457 visa is open to more abuse by employers to bring in cheap labour. Not going to help anyone trying to get into Aus on a permanent basis.

The guy in question was after So min 5 years experience, with good quals, most people would be doing that stuff after a degree and then wants people to be impressive in front of clients. Those types would be in demand and I reckon min $120k. Different if you're looking for a new graduate to train up or someone to sit behind a desk and write code. Quite a few of those around. A lot of them you wouldn't let near a customer though. They would be maybe $80-$100K. More for a team leader senior programmer.

If you've managed to get your first job experience in the UK then it's going to be much the same here mate. Get as much experience and quals as you can and stick at it. Take every opportunity to learn as much, in as broad an area you can. CISCO are good quals to have, universally accepted, good to get some microsoft server, latest version, linux/unix, networking, security, all desirables. Get yourself on linkedin and start spreading the word. Try and get to know people and the jobs will follow. Good luck.

What's normal rates? There are a few developers getting made redundant from our place at the moment, some of them are good.

I'd start sending your resume round a few agencies and see what they come up with. They might find you a job quickly.

Been said before graham, but ignore Wendees posts, god knows what motivates that type of response, other than to stir people up. There seems to be a lot of negativity about Perth in particular for some reason. I see it from the same posters all the time though and they have an axe to grind. There are plenty of people living a fabulous lifestyle in Perth that don't ever bother with sites like this, they are here and happy with their lot. Wouldn't worry about the job front too much, if your a reasonable sort of character and get on OK with people where you work at the moment there's no reason why you won't get on with your boss and workmates here. A lot of them will be poms anyway, so you'll have a lot in common. If you like hot, sunny weather, beaches, clean, uncrowded City with fantastic river frontage, sport of any kind but water sports in particular, you'll love it.

Why look for negatives? If you do that you might start looking and focusing on them and think "xxx was right". Just get here, do your own thing and see what you reckon.