Sol2Oz

Sorry, but I disagree with you. There definitely is a big difference in the standard of education a child receives. While it may not be obvious at first, it will be when they take exams like the SAT, GRE, GMAT and LSAT before getting into college. That's when it will all come out - as standardized exams measure the quality of your child's education. If they don't perform well in these exams, they're not getting into the good colleges. We don't even need to look too far aside from these boards. Half of us had to take the IELTS 2, 3 or even more times to get 8's on all modules and we all speak English!

what did you want to speak to them about after having your visa that you had to spend all bloody night dialing and posting on a forum in a severe emergency? We here would love to know :biggrin: v v v v v v just kidding :laugh: well maybe not :skeptical: no, seriously, just kidding :wink:

But if you live somewhere like Broadbeach, then you'd have to take a bus to Coomera or better yet Nerang. That can be quite expensive, unless there is a deal I do not know of. What do you think?

And I agree with you, trust me when I tell you, but what's to say if someone returned he or she will get one of those jobs? The point I'm making is that either way, there is a risk in staying or leaving. One can actually make their situation a lot worse by going back home, unless of course, they plan on staying with family. But not everyone here has the luxury of accommodating with family who are willing to take them in.

I think that this is ideal on arriving to the Gold Coast - to live there, but to work in Brissy. Can I ask you, is the commute expensive? While I was there, I took the bus/train combination from the Gold coast to Brisbane and found the commute to be kind of horrid - I don't mind the fact that it takes about 1hr 1/2, just the fact that one has to pay about $25 a day to do so. Or did I do something wrong while there? Do you actually spend about that much daily to commute?

I'm missing it! When I was over there, I saw the announcements for the new season. I have tried to watch the video online, but it's firewalled - only available for locals.

Honestly, I don't see why anyone would want to return to the UK or elsewhere if their savings are dwindling. What is in the UK or "back home" that you cannot find in Oz? What if you move back home and you're unable to find a job even in the UK? Now you're doubly stuck - not only did you spend money on relocation costs, but now you are at the same place you found yourself in Oz - with a different "wallpaper" Many people sell their homes to have money in Oz, yet I'm seeing plenty of people from the "third world" who don't even have that much and they're able to establish decent lives without bringing in cash from a sold home back home. So what is the difference? Sometimes I think that it's just the amount of spoilage and lack of resistance in people. I don't mean to offend anyone, and I haven't gone through a similar situation, I just don't see how moving back can solve anything.

best wishes with your move! I absolutely loved the Gold Coast - hope you do as well

I am not sure about doing a tom to fit in, but I do agree that there's a fine line between "assimilating" and pretending to be who you're not. I am not up to being someone else after having spent so many years being myself - my culture makes me who I am and therefore, I choose not to change it. When people try to change to fit in, they become more dislikeable - at least that's my opinion. It makes me cringe seeing people change who they are just so that they can fit in. I've seen enough of that behavior in high school. Anyway, it's better to be who you are - if people like you, wonderful, if they don't, oh well, there will be better days. May I add that if people don't like you, most likely you have other things to worry about within your personality - especially if you come from the "first world"

Well, I really did think it was the same all over. I'm posting from the United States where no one has the right to "bankrupt" you. Filing for bankruptcy is a very personal thing that only the consumer can do if he or she chooses to do so. I think it's a terrible thing to do to someone who genuinely can't pay. But I guess now I'm understanding why the US is called "the land of the free".

Sorry, but I have never heard of that happen before. No one has the authority to declare anyone else "bankrupt" - that is something very personal that has to be done by the consumer him or herself. Besides, bankruptcy is counterproductive for the person doing the suing, as when someone is bankrupt, all of their debts are automatically dismissed! Default is something different though. When someone defaults, the bank attempts to contact them to settle at a lesser price. But if the consumer avoids the bank, the bank will simply write the debt off as a loss in their books. The bank then packages the unpaid debt (with other unpaid debts) and sells it to a junk debt collector and then the collector will try to take them to court. (If it's a substantial amount, the bank may sue themselves). In any case, either the bank or the debt collector will have to take the OP to court, however, if they are unable to serve the OP with the statement of claim, they can't take them to court! It is obvious the OP doesn't have a home in Oz, so there is no address for them to serve him/her at. By the way, I am not an advisor of any kind, I am just speaking based on a terrible experience I had myself and it wasn't in Oz. So to the OP, read at your own risk.

Single woman here - Downside - have to clean spiders and insects when they appear all on my own! :shocked: Upside - have place to myself and the feeling of independence!

How can a person be declared bankrupt? Isn't that something that they'd have to file for themselves? I think they'd probably go into default, which would ruin their credit, but even that (Statutes of Limitations - (SOL)) will expire after a certain time.

sleep tight!!

haha, well, I plan to stock up on cherry ripes for my validation trip. Also, I am hearing that the pub culture in Oz is for men only, and that it isn't as coed as in other places? You must be kidding me. I guess I'll have to get used to buying grog in hiding :embarrassed: Well, what I mean is, not that I'm a frequent drinker, you know, God forbid! :unsure:

IT professional? HA! I don't want to do anything that involves using my brain, I just want to drive a truck to and fro while I listen to hundreds of songs on my mp3.

What are the chances that a girl like me without any experience in mining or even trades (I can't even fry an egg tbh), can take up a mining career, which earns 300K? :jimlad:

21.7% "other" - The reporting person needs to narrow some of those fields down - I can't imagine giving my boss a report with 21.7% "other" - the whole thing would have to be redone :cry:

ROTF yeah, "centre" is normally spelled "center". You have a sharp eye lolol

Hi wishful - If you were in Oz since you were 18, maybe it's not necessarily being in Oz vs. the UK that is bringing forth the homesickness, but something else that you're feeling - maybe some other need that is unmet.

What do you think? I was born and raised in a big city and while I was in school and belonged to a church, it was extremely easy to make friends. Fast forward a good amount of years later, when I divorced and lost the attention of my husband and his friends, I found it much harder to make friends. The thing is that I know of people who are in the exact same situation as myself -(having a very sparse family, living alone, etc) but the difference is that they have many friends even from childhood who still contact them even after a marital split. I find this to be the case with aussies especially - have you all noticed how they always seem to have friends? I'm trying to determine if it's because I live in a big city that I have this problem. I find that people are usually more interested in careers, their families, (which is understandable) and that if they're in my same situation as being single, that all they care about is incessant dating - which is of no interest to me. Sometimes I compare it to being in the middle of the ocean on a life raft waiting to be rescued from a ship disaster: Surrounded by water but with nothing to drink. In similar ways, living in a big city is like being surrounded by many people but with no one to really connect with. I'm not sad (at least not at the moment lol)- but I am curious as to whether my theory holds true. And by the way, it's not about taking up a hobby, because I"m currently in school getting a Masters, I work full time, and I also go to the gym. But once again, people are just so busy and not interested in spending quality time unless it has to do with their hooking up or money. :no: Thoughts??

Australian woman finds maggots in her in-flight snack That’s just plane gross. An Australian woman on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne found live maggots in her in-flight snack. Victoria Cleven, 42, had just tucked in to her airline-issued packet of trail mix when she realized that something was awry. "I felt like hair or something over my mouth," the mother of two told Melbourne's 7News. "When I turned the light on and looked down I saw white stringy bits. Then I saw maggots crawling inside the pack." Her 15-year-old son Dylan Cleven checked the other two packets of trail mix they had purchased, and found that they too were crawling with maggots. Cleven then did what anyone with a smartphone would do: she shot a video of the creepy crawlers and uploaded it to YouTube. The disappointed passenger told UK's Mirror newspaper that she was promised a full refund of her $1,600 Australian ticket, but was only received one-quarter of the money. The trail mix came from the Sydney Biscuit Company, which has supplied Qantas for the past 10 years, according to Australia's 10 News. In a statement, Qantas said that they've apologized and are investigating the incident. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/australian-woman-finds-maggots-in-flight-snack-article-1.1055032#ixzz22bE8KVf2 [YOUTUBE]8h44N9bczAQ[/YOUTUBE]

:laugh:Australian Andrew Kahn left on hold for 15 hours in effort to talk to Qantas airline customer serviceKahn's patience went unrewarded. Getting through the next day, the Adelaide man learned that due to 'a booking code error,' he wasn't even on the flight to New York City he was trying to confirm. It takes 15 hours to fly on a Qantas Airlines jet from Australia to Los Angeles. It can apparently also take 15 hours just to reach one of the airline’s customer service representatives by phone. That’s a fun fact Australian businessman Andrew Kahn learned Thursday morning, after what he says was 15 hours and 40 minutes spent on the phone trying to confirm plans to fly to New York City, the local Sydney Morning Herald reports. But don’t worry, while he waited, a recorded message told Kahn repeatedly that he would be attended to “as soon as possible.”''I wanted to find out what exactly they meant would be as soon as possible,” he told the paper. “I never got an answer.”Kahn said he suffered from the typical prisoner’s dilemma that afflicts most people placed on hold, in which hanging up becomes the ultimate betrayal. While he waited, Kahan says he did some work, surfed the net, and managed to finish some light reading: that is, over 200 pages of Max Bazerman and Don Moore's 7th edition of “Judgment in Managerial Decision Making.”Suffice it to say, the man eventually just hung up. The Adelaide resident did manage to get through to customer service when he called back later on Thursday. He said he was told that due to a booking code error, he hadn’t even been placed on the flight in the first place.Kahn characterized the Qantas call as “just about the worst customer service any customer could ever receive.'' For their part, Qantas told the Herald they had no record of a call lasting 15 hours and 40 minutes.''In fact, our average contact centre [sic] wait time during that period was under a minute and the longest wait time was 17 minutes,'' a spokesperson told the paper. The airline is reportedly looking into the cause of the booking error and apologizes for any inconvenience. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/australian-andrew-kahn-left-hold-15-hours-effort-talk-qantas-airline-customer-service-article-1.1128759