jove

Hi all, havent been on on this site in a long time. But felt I need to vent some steam. I've been in Australia with my wife since January 2013. We moved to Adelaide originally but we are now in Brisbane. Adelaide was great and quite enjoyed it. Brisbane is also not too bad but the weather here is unbearably humid. Australia is a great country with a lot going for it but I think I am homesick for Europe. I find the work life here in Australia a bit weird for my liking. Perhaps is my misfortune with the types of companies I have worked with but I honestly miss the culture of holland and the UK. I really do not feel at home here like I did in the Netherlands. Im trying to convince my wife to return to the Netherlands or try the UK - I'm originally From the UK perhaps Glasgow or maybe England. i guess some of this unhappiness has something to do with my parents getting older and that I miss them. CertInly that is some of it. But I really get a feeling that Australia is just too remote and that Australians - though for the most part lovely people are a much different than I expected. I guess I just don't feel that I feel at home here. i don't have a date to move back but I a, looking at getting an Ozzie passport jam 2018 so I suppose I will wait for that, on account that I have a property here and also my son was born here. After that who knows, I want to move back to Europe.

Don't be disheartened. I managed to secure an IT job in Adelaide remotely and I am based in Europe. Though I work in software engineering. The Salary is pretty good too and it is an excellent company. Just keep applying for jobs, I am sure if you get interviews and they like you they will offer you a job! good luck!

What a terrible experience. So sorry to hear that. I really hope this sort of thing is not widespread. So sorry to hear your bad experiences, make me angry hearing stuff like that.

sad to sit through i know, i could of missed it, soimetimes thoses things are burried deep in the transcript LOL maybe she was being economical with the truth LOL just a bit of fun

Anyway i sat through the BHP Billiton investor presentation, and I am not sure where Leigh was getting her statement from in regards to the carbon tax etc...I couldnt find that statement in the transcript or in the webseminar. Can someone point it to me please as I must of missed it.

I agree with 'leigh' though maybe it is a bit disingenious to place the blame solely on the tax regime. The slow down in China and the global market still has to be the major concern, however heavy tax burdens will not help. Australia should aim to be low tax economy to boost investment etc...Of course if you are socialist you will probably disagree with that LOL. I remember that a lot of investors/companies re-evaluated investments in the North Sea because of the tax raids George Osbourne did on the oil companies. At a time when people were trying to extract the difficult oil a huge prohibitive tax was placed on the oil companies. Didn't do the North Sea oil industry any good especially at a time of a general economic slowdown.

He has a point about the carbon tax. If you already have a slowing economy, it isn't the smartest move but placing uncompetitive carbon taxs on the mining industry or any industry for that matter. He does say Leigh too much though. LOL

Apply for a review? Book another exam asap, thats the only advice I can offer. Is a pain in the arse i know but we all seem to think that because we are native brits we are perfect in our spelling and grammar. Thats rarely the case, perhaps you were a bit unlucky with the marker who knows. Best of luck.

I think you will need more than that. Perhaps testimonies from friends and relatives, photos on holiday, joint committemtn such as pets, flight tickets for holidays, breakdown of your household finances - who pays what etc... If you don't provide information they do email you saying they need more with a detailed suggestion list. Anyway is this agent not providing you with a detailed list of what is required?

sometimes you cannot do that, for instance if you have "unusual bagage" or need a visa check before going through security.

Isnt life so much better with some nice sustained hot sunny weather at last, I was sat outside at the pub, sat in the garden, or going golfing in t shirts and shorts, it's fantastic. ++++++++++++++++++++++ very true, but sometimes the heat can be a bit oppressive too. I prefer the mild hot days , say 23-24C is perfect for me. The other day(day before yesterday) it was 35C with incredibly high humidity. Felt exhausted just walking to the shop. The good thing with oz is that you have a good variety of climatic types, mediterreanean, tropical, maritime. You just dont get that in the UK.

yes, the only problem with holland is if the public holiday falls on the weekend then it is not rolled on to monday, or tuesday etc...so if one year xmas is on saturday it is considered just like the weekend. This year it falls during the week so it is paid and off.

here in holland i get 29 days. I will be taking asignificant 'hit' in holdays if i accept these terms.

Hi all, just a straightforward question. How many vacation days are typical in oz for an employee? I was told that it would be 20 days vacation but it seems a bit less then what i am used to. Is this something that can be negotiated you reckon?

My favorite airport in Amsterdam Schipol. I never get tired of the place, it is brilliant. They have an underground train station as well. You just get off the train and you are in the middle of the airport. Is super. If Perth gets something like that would be nice. I am looking forward arriving at adelaide airport...exciting...I CANT WAIT NOW!!! woooohooooo:chatterbox:

not familiar with the airport, but I would of thought intergrated transport to the terminal would beessential. Maybe a tram/train line to the terminal from the city. Does it have that?

there is no way i will declare anything...no waqy the customs going to tax me on that stuff... is the principle of the matter...

funniest airport i have been in was dusseldorf or frankfurt, cant remember which one - they had a sex shop in the airport...i kid you not LOL

Yo can have a great life experience in the south island if you are on a good wage. It looks a lot like Norway with all the fjords and the Alpine mountains etc...I actually saw a great IT job advertised in Christchurch and I really thought crickey if itr wasnt for the oz visa I would be tempted for that.... Canada and NewZealand are both great places, consider the job in Canada it could involve being away from your other half for a long period FIFO etc..?Christchurch his job would be close by, also you could spend some time there working and trying, in the meantime, for opportunities in Oz. Will you be viewed more favourably if you are based in NZ? I have no idea, just a suggestion. Anyway i had my toes crossed for you i seem to remember. Incidently i have an interview tomorrow, maybe the last one HR and all. I am bricking it.

Wow christchurch, sounds like a great opportunity. the weather would be quite similar to Scotland

You only live once. A person may do silly things in their life but people often say their biggest regrets are the things they have not done. If it is any concellation reading some posts on here does make me doubt a bit if i am doing the rigth thing. Anyway remember you can always come back and you will of had a great experience in the process. Who knows you may meet some nice aussie sheila or some hot backpacker hippy chick LOL :laugh: JUST DO IT! zen wisdom there eh ?!

You have PR in australia? You can work in NZ as well i think if you have PR. Could use te NZ job as a stepping stone to australia. If you dont have PR then still use NZ as a steppig stone. Dont go to Canada you will freeze to death LOL

People say that is progress... though Bobj your description of the place sounds like paradise in the 60s.

haha - review GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE! Anyway commiserations on the IETLS results, you would be better off just redoing it ASAP. It is a pain in the ARSE and I got 7.5 in one of the bands which mean I had to go with State sponsorship insterad of 175 independent skills visa. Still maybe that was a blessing actually. What can you say about the result, maybe you couldnt clearly hear the ausdio. I remember the audio was of some boring lady telling you about a house to rent - normally I wouldnt listen to a word she was saying if it was real life but hey! They are scoring you on listening not if it is worth listening to. LOL Maybe you can appeal on the basis that scientifically it has been proven that men stop listening to women after a certain amount of time (has to do with the frequency of their voice). Anyway good luck!

they are tough animals, put it in perspective. My neighbours went on vacation for 7 days, they returned to find their cat had escaped the house of the people that were looking after it on the second day or so. The cat jumped onto a garage roof and got stuck in some wires around its leg. For about 5 days the cat was stuck on a roof with no food and water with a metal wire wrapped around its leg(cutting intot he flesh). It survived to live another day. So I think you cat will be ok to fly.