Freckleface

I'm in noosa. I'm really not sure about it.. It's very pretty but it's so busy! Even the tourist woman said she doesn't know where everyone came from because it's not usually this busy. The parking is awful and we couldn't find a campsite anywhere near the town so we had to stay in one quite a long way outside. I have a 6pm safety meeting for Fraser Island and both our trip meeting points at Wednesday are far from each other so I'm having to stay in the hostel for the night lol. Oh goody haha.

The Sunshine Coast Pride festival starts in Noosa on Friday night so I imagine people have started to arrive for that.

That's pretty spot on.

 

Sometimes its more than a step back for some, sometimes its falling to the bottom of the heap and putting up with many tedious and painful years of trying to "prove yourself" all over again after having earned yourself a track record, respect and a name in your field early on in your career back in the UK.

 

To find yourself rolling your career back 10 years working with yesterdays technology alongside lower educated backward lazy insular people can be tiresome to say the least.

 

Some folk are smart enough to get out fast because they only realise then just how good they had it back home.

 

Then again, someone who came from a very mediocre job with no promotion or career path and then getting another mediocre dead end job in Australia would be happy as the proverbial pig. from a life of debt and struggling in UK to another life of debt and struggling elsewhere is hardly progress.

 

Just an illusion of a "step up in lifestyle" which many buy into and feel they "made it" because of a bigger house and living close to a beach.

In my experience migrants who excel in their chosen field and demonstrate adaptability are normally recognised and rewarded fairly quickly. Any backwards steps are normally of short duration. Sadly not all migrants are as good in their field as they think they are.

Just a thought - if you aren't familiar with the market have you considered using a buyers agent. Yes it will cost you money you probably don't want to spend but it could save you from buying into a bad area or from paying more than a property is really worth.

It really depends on the vendors instructions to the agent. You can make any offer you like but the vendor may have instructed the agent not to present offers under a set figure. I know we have done this when selling.

........perhaps paper wasps.....?

.........looking at the nest...!

I was thinking paper wasps as well.

You could consider getting involved in volunteering as a way to become involved in the community, get out of the house and meet people. More importantly though you could use volunteering as a way to build your limited skill set and get a good reference in order to gain paid employment. There are numerous organisations in Darwin currently looking for volunteer workers across a range of different roles.

You have done FNQ at the speed of light which is a shame because you have missed a lot of interesting and beautiful places. Have you considered going into a tourist information centre and having an in depth chat with one of the staff in there? It might help you work out what you want to see and where everything is between Mission Beach and Brissy. That way you could plan the drive so you don't blow past things on the way because you didn't realise they were there.

It's a long time since I lived in Darwin, and I haven't visited for a long time either, but from memory there is a bus stop outside that caravan park so he would be able to catch a bus into the CBD. It would take around 60 mins to walk in but if he isn't used to hot and humid weather I wouldn't recommend that.

If I was in his shoes I would opt for the caravan park in order to save money. Preparing his own meals will save heaps of cash and he won't have to worry about leaving food in a shared fridge etc. If he doesn't like the caravan or if the aircon doesn't keep him cool enough he could always move to the more expensive accommodation.

As far as meeting people goes he might actually find the caravan park more useful for meeting locals than the hotel.

The only other thing is that the caravan park is fairly close to the airport. I don't know how bad the noise might be but as mentioned earlier if it doesn't suit him he could always move elsewhere after trying it out.

It's all getting very real now isn't it :smile: Wishing you both the very best of luck.

While I have some sympathy for individuals impacted by these fees, they are deliberately high to act as a deterrent to those over 50 being about to stay in Aust on a permanent basis if they haven't already qualified for PR. While it is sad for individuals the Govt has a responsibility to act in the best interests of Aust rather than those wishing to live here.

I'm surprised people seem to think architects only design houses. They do a lot more than that lol

Doesn't the 104 week waiting period apply here? Surely you ca't get a Low Income card as a new migrant?

I'm no expert regarding eligibility for welfare but this seems to make it fairly clear the OP would not be eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card until he has been in Aust for 104 weeks. It is highly unlikely a new arrival would be granted an exemption.

My own opinion is that if you can afford to migrate you shouldn't be looking for welfare as soon as you arrive.

[h=3]Residence requirements for the Low Income Health Care Card[/h]To be eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card you must satisfy residence requirements.

You must be living in Australia and:

• have Australian citizenship

• hold a permanent visa

• hold a special category visa, or

• hold a partner provisional visa subclass 309 or 820, an interdependency visa subclass 310 or 826, or a temporary protection visa

You must also:

• be physically present in Australia on the day you lodge your claim, and

• continue to meet the residence requirements for as long as you hold this card

Newly arrived residents generally have a 104 week waiting period, with some exemptions.

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/low-income-health-care-card

We have used architects and they are worth their weight in gold however unless you want something very individual you could probably customise one of the houses project builders have. Lord knows there are plenty to choose from these days and most, if not all, will allow you to change the internal layout, move walls and windows etc.

If you are planing to build in the blue mountains you should familiarise yourself with the info in the link below regarding bush fire protection. You will be required to jump through additional planning stages and will also have restrictions in relation to building materials etc. It can all feel like a momumental pain in the rear end but the requirements have been put in place to help keep you safe.

http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/building-in-a-bush-fire-area

Whitsundays is lovely but can't beat Cairns :tongue: although @Bobj is near there so it comes very close

Kate I like Cairns but - better than the Whitsundays? I think not :nah:

Hi all.....after reading this thread I am now really wondering if NT is the place my hubby is most likely to gain employment?!!

Thought it was a good bet??!....http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/northern-territory/241918-racist-work-ethics-nt.html

Jodi your situation is nothing like the one described on the other thread. For starters your husband has qualifications and a skill in demand. I understand why you are nervous but don't let the issues experienced by unskilled workers influence your thought processes. The only take home message I think you should take from the other thread is that your husband should do his homework about the jobs his is applying for and he should prepare for any interviews he is invited to attend.

Where would he find out about house share?

Here you go Jodi

https://flatmates.com.au/darwin

How many people have you employed.

 

Busness owners, company managers and HR departments have more important things to worry about than whether the OP gets a job.

 

Employers get so many people demanding attention, everyone wants something.

 

Its like your junk mail, you may have quick look if you have time, then it goes in the bin, or cold callers, maybe you have a chat and buy the product, or offer the cold caller advice on how to sell, I hang up or don't answer my phone.

 

How would you feel if the firms that spend a small fortune publishing and distributing their junk mail (or tele-marketing) demanded you give them your time and attention and buy something, or explain why you won't and offer your 'feedback' to help them (for free) with their marketing.

 

Maybe a poster here will give you job or find you one - talks cheap......

 

Back in the day when jobs were advertised in print I knew a manager who would bring 60-100 applications every time he advertised (some managers get 100's) do you seriously think he spent 30 minutes on each one and offered one on one advice to the 99 who didn't get the job, most were lucky if they got 20 seconds before they went to the reject pile, on top of that there were the unsolicited applications and calls.

 

Anyone who has ever had a high street store (or other business) knows how many people come in looking for something, then there are the endless calls and of course junk email, it gets old.

Until recently I was the CEO of a company that employed thousands of people. Feedback wasn't routinely provided to unsuccessful candidates but I did expect HR to provide constructive feedback to anyone who asked for it. I provided feedback myself to unsuccessful executive candidates. It is very short sighted not to in my opinion.

I would second the suggestion of considering getting an ABN, simple enough online.

 

Do you have a tax file number??

 

There is cleaning (and other) work out there but to be self employed you really need your own gear and insurance. Some places do 'cashies' but anyone with any sense knows the dangers of that so you either have to provide a tax invoice or tax file number and get paid through the books.

 

Have you asked around motels and hotels they often need casual cleaners but they often want experience, professional cleaning is very different from housework and it's hard work, they want speed and attention to detail.

 

Cold calling to businesses can be counter productive, personally I get irritated when people come here unannounced and expect me to give them attention without any consideration for how busy I may be. So put yourself in the other person situation, people often don't like cold calls so you will have to use your judgement on that.

 

Do you have something to leave if you do call into places, I am not saying a 'war and peace' CV just a one page contact details sheet including tax file number and email contact, most will go straight into the bin (with the junk mail) but there may be some that get put onto a notice board for future reference.

 

Some places also want a police check, not sure if you can get that for yourself.

 

There are always people who succeed in getting work, even in a hard job market. Even for basic unskilled work attitude and image are often more important than qualifications and experience.

 

No one owes anyone a living so it's up to you to keep trying in appropriate, realistic ways.

 

As for asking for explanations for rejection, I would warn against that, it's unlikely you will get the truth anyway and no one owes you an explanation. Imagine if someone asked you for a date and you said 'no' would you appreciate being interrogated as to why.

I disagree with the highlighted statement. I think it can be valuable to ask for feedback. For instance the OP has learned that applying for a job somewhere and not knowing anything about it probably won't be looked on favourably. Hopefully she will do some research before future interviews.

A few observations from my time back in UK. Well its a year later and I have been living in London for 12 months now. Many things have happened. I was worried about work and I got some, not better work than I got in Sydney - much the same really and about the same money. Off the top of my head things that I really notice here, Its too crowded, there is no space here and everybody wants some. The food is dreadful and expensive and for the coffee lovers - prepare for disappointment. The Indian food is great, the humour is fabulous and the Englishness is excellent if thats what you crave.

If you have been living in Australia for a long time which I had been 20 years - My standard of living is much the same but its just different. I thought accommodation to buy and rent in Sydney was crazy well its much worse here, space is at a premium and be prepared to pay a lot for it - I reckon 10 to up to 20% more than Sydney. I have travelled to Europe a couple of times but you don't go too much cause you need to work to be able to keep your head above water in London. Summer is great, Winter is hideous and it lasts and lasts. A 3 zone weekly Oyster card is £37.80 thats about $80 a week just to move around. I personally came back because I had an itch that needed to be scratched and plus I had an ageing mother who I wanted to spend time with while I could. Well for me coming back despite the cost the crowds the bad food and accommodation issues, London is still one of the best cities in the world, it is eclectic, interesting, fun, ever changing and engaging - there is only one London and it is a wonderful adventure being here. My mother passed recently and I will be eternally grateful that I was here for the last year and I have no unfinished business or guilt for not being here. For me coming back was one of the best decisions I ever made, but that chapter of my life is over now and I will return to Sydney and back to my Australian life which I have always loved. Don’t underestimate coming back, it is a big deal and there is lot of change to deal with, its hard and it can be lonely too but if you want to come back for a while or permanently, do it, but remove the rose coloured glasses first. An old friend of mine once said if you don't do anything - nothing happens, he also said you can go back but you can't return. I think both are true. I’m glad I got off the fence and to the airport but I am happy to leave again too.

Sorry to hear about your mum. Hope everything goes smoothly with your plans to return to Sydney.

Stace I tend to agree with Snifter so my post above will be my last suggestion. I hope you enjoy your time in Australia xx

The Rocks is a lovely area to wander around Stace. The area was built by the early convicts so it is interesting from a historical perspective and there are lots of little alley ways etc. It's a buzzing area with markets, cafes, galleries etc and it has a lovely vibe.

The area is just near the harbour bridge so you could walk there.

http://www.therocks.com

Glad to hear you have a plan Kiwi. I sincerely hope you find the happiness you are searching for.

I'm looking for hospitality work - cafe, restaurant, bars or retail. I'm also considering doing au pair work especially if I can't find hourly paid work. There's pretty much au pair work in every location although mines is slightly more limited because I don't have a car but there's still some. Would rather have a "normal" job though

Stace did you submit an application to the Merivale Group I mentioned a few days ago?

Haha the cutest boy!! There's a cute guy in my group, he's from Canada. He said I didn't sound that Scottish lol I wasn't sure how to respond to that!

 

Im off to port Stephens tomorrow for a few days. I'm looking forward to that, it'll be interesting to see how I feel being away from the city. I get to meet my first kangaroo too although she's a tame one called Josie. They said she was on the news! Apparently we'll see koalas and possums too. Then next week at some point im going to do a trip to the blue mountains because I've wanted to go for ages and I might suss out if there's any jobs in katoomba

If you go to Katoomba and are interested in doing something a bit different while you are up that way a visit to Jenolan Caves would be worth considering. The caves are considered to be some of the best in the world. There are various bus tours that go from Katoomba - this is a link to just one of them.

http://www.trolleytours.com.au/jenolan-caves-tours

There are lots of different caves. One of my favourites is the river cave.

Of course there are! I knew people would misconstrue what I wrote. Why are people so defensive?

 

What I'm talking about are PRIORITIES. There are hundreds and hundreds of interesting things you COULD do in any country - but no one can see them all, especially a backpacker without a car. It makes sense to work out what are the most important things to see - the things you can't see anywhere else - and focus on them first. If you knock them all over and still have time to spare, do the rest. Personally I'd put most of NSW pretty far down the list of "must sees", even though there are plenty of beautiful places.

Not defensive at all. Just surprised by a suggestion that I think is a little bit short sighted.

I love Sydney as a place to live (except for the summer heat and the high cost!), and there's plenty to see and do as a resident - but if you think about PRIORITIES, then I would be going up to Brisbane where you'll be much closer to a lot of the most amazing, unique places in Australia so it'll be feasible for you to see many of them on weekends or the occasional week off. And it'll be a lot cheaper to live!

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/queensland/241012-queensland-must-dos.html

 

I think I said, way back in one of your other threads, that I can never understand why backpackers always start in Sydney, because it's so dear. Also, if you made a list of the 20 "must see" things about Australia, hardly any of them would be in Sydney or even in New South Wales. Once you've "done" the Harbour, you could easily move on and you won't have missed much. For instance, Sydney has nice beaches but then, Queensland beaches are even better (and just wait till you see the beaches on the Whitsundays....). Taronga Zoo has fabulous views but otherwise it's just a zoo and I've seen better in the UK/Europe. The Darling Harbour attractions are all tourist traps. The Blue Mountains are pretty but if you've been to the Scottish Highlands or the Alps then they're not awe-inspiring.

While I agree a long term stay in Sydney probably wouldn't be high on my list I wouldn't write the entire state off that quickly Marisa. There are some stunningly beautiful and interesting things in New South Wales.