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I'll give it a try to explain what I mean under 'junkies rule the country and you can't do anything'. With all the perfect laws in Australia /that make life safer for everyone/ there is still a group of people, who are exempt by the laws /and they are not rich or politicians, they are just junkies/. Sorry for my french, but this is the way I feel it and it is hard to explain it easily. I'm glad for the high response to the topic. I just wanted to share my experience and I'm not looking for help, advice or anything. Everybody has a head on his arms and can make decisions. Good or bad we will never know, we can't live it twice - so just enjoy. I wish all good to everyone living in Australia or heading that way. It is definitely a must give it a try destination for everyone considering immigration. Just be careful with the sun

JockinTas Yes, you are right. Giving Australia a try was very important, because I didn't want 10 or more years to pass and ask myself 'why i didn't try'. I should say that I had great experience in Australia. I decided my place is in my home town, so I will just live it here and travel more across Europe, still plenty of places to visit. Hopefully our region stays away from wars /i am worried/, because things doesn't seem as peaceful as they used to be /being next to Turkey and relatively close to Russia is definitely risky nowadays/

Hi, everyone. I spent 7 months in Melbourne and decided to go back home. I'm 35yo single from Bulgaria and it was my second trip to Australia /the first one 5 weeks in Brisbane/, I also lived in USA from 2002 to 2004. I just want to share my experience. I'm not a pom, but I find this forum very useful and thanks for having you guys. I decided to give my australian dream a second chance and went to Melbourne last winter/summer november.2015. My permanent resident visa expires late 2017. I am an electrical engineer with 10years experience. Non-ozzie experience is count as a negative, once you are down-under, which is strange as far as ozzie electrical systems copy the ones in Europe, not USA. I wanted to start a small business as an electrical subcontractor, this was my main goal /the money/. Electrical workers are very well paid in Australia, they are actually very well paid in Europe too. Eastern Europe is just one poor corrupt place and this is the main reason people to search better life abroad - I guess this contributed to the Brexit /which I don't think will happen at all/. So I did a few courses and tried to get an apprenticeship as an electrician, which is a much lower level for my knowledge, but the money are good and the job is easy /for me/. There were not too many engineering jobs at the moment as well. Getting into the electrical industry turned difficult for me. The main problem was that I have no ozzie experience - so to bypass that you have to lie on your CV and put some friends with ozzie phone numbers /better to be ozzies/, unfortunately I didn't know any people before I got there. Being honest person is not a plus, because they don't even call for an interview. So after 6 months I was not getting closer to my dream, even though thinks were going my way. So I sat down and made a list, what is good for me in Australia and what is not: Pros: - Australia is a stable rich country with a high standard of living. /money/ - The weather is very nice. - Beaches, nature, wildlife. - Far from wars and instability on the long run. Cons: - Australia is very far from everything, family and friends - gone. skype, viber, facebook don't change that. - It is impossible to follow european soccer, because of the time difference. - Australia is strange mix of different cultures and people /in the big cities/. So being TOLERANT is very important, which pretty much means everyone can do whatever they want and nobody can hurt their feelings. Junkies rule the country and you can't do ****. - the sun is very strong and people should be very careful. I hope this list may help somebody, there are plenty of things to be added. The main think I didn't understand is that Australia is huge country with 25m population, but all the houses have very small yards. The main goal of most people is to buy house and build two houses at the same spot. So people actually pay a **** load of money for a very small piece of land and a house, which I can't understand /some people said it is because Australia is a colony and whoever comes first gets the most and than they actually exploit the newcomers/. In the US the houses have nice yards and there is plenty of room for everything. If I have to choose between USA and Australia - I vote for the US with both hands. Also in the US having a russian accent is not a minus like in Australia, but I don't blame people for that /it is the TV that makes people think this way/ and I am bulgarian, people don't understand that we don't like the russian government as well. I made my mind to keep living where I was born. Another problem for me was the big city, I come from Ruse which is 150,000 people. Traffic is not my life sorry. In general I think that people who love money do better in immigration. My parents are divorced and are getting older, even though they supported me - I know they are more happy when I'm close to them - this is probably true for most parents. So after 6 months back home I think I made the right choice for me, I'm happy in the city where I was born and 'everybody knows my name'. Thanks for reading

I was going to write an update a month ago. But I think it's necessary to keep people posted about different problems they might have. I should add about the job search, that I applied for more than 150 jobs while in Brisbane and maybe around 300 before going to Australia. Maybe my CV wasn't that good, maybe Bulgaria sounded too much unknown and risky, maybe the job market was tight at the moment /due to uncertainty before the elections in late 2013/. I dont' know the reason, maybe it;s a mix of the above. But the truth is that nobody called or emailed, even to ask 'who is you?' I didn't call either, which I was supposed to do, just to check it out. I had to apply for some other jobs just to check out the interview process, like labourer, general helper. The other thing I missed in my previous post is that about the rent: I stayed in hotel for 4 days and rented a room. It sounds more right to rent a place for 2-3 months, before arriving. And than look for a place where you might think is your place. In the Brisbane area I found a lot of really nice neighbourhoods, which match my 'dream' criteria. And prices were even less than the 195$/week I was paying for a room downtown. And the last thing is sports, I wasn't persistent enough into getting into sports. I actually bought a basketball ball, but played just once. I should had gone to the gym as well and search the web and facebook for some soccer or basketball clubs/games.

Hi, Thanks everyone for the posts. I've been home for almost 2.5 months. I think I made the right move to come back home. I talk to some people who are in Australia and everyone is stuggling to find a job. People start general jobs, just to have income. I hope they all have luck. I should admit the following mistakes I made: I was too proud to start any job, and I was looking only for electrical engineer jobs and failed. I didn't get an email or a phone call. I spent some time preparing myself for the interviews in the library /all american textbooks there/. The good think was the university library was free and friendly to use, even though I'm not a student. Another big mistake was the apartment - I rent a room in a house with the idea that I'm gonna have some people around - it actually didn't work out. Now, when I look back, I think that I was not prepared enough to move to Australia. I'm thinking to give it a second chance. I have some 16k$ savings that I can spare on a second trip. This time my target will be most probably Melbourne. The problem is that with the savings I have I should made it work this time. I feel pretty happy right now in Bulgaria. But unfortunately I can't see the bright future here, I'm worried about the whole EU. I'm not ready to leave now and I'm gonna spend a lot of time and effort to try to secure a job before going to Australia. I understand that big firms in Australia hire people with special skills on temp visas from overseas and actually exploit them - it doesn't sound fare to me, but I'll live with it, Australia doesn't own me anything. I'm thinking about my next trip maybe in a year, winter of 2014.

Thanks everyone for the advices. By the way the site you are suggesting for the Bulgarian community hasn't been updated since 2009. I can get in touch with them anyway. I bought my ticket so in 10 days I'll be home. I think that only couples should make this big move, so if I get married I might come back. There is no point to stay here with no family around. Thanks again for all the posts in the thread.

I'm sorry to hear that there are other people having trouble settling in Australia. I almost make my mind and I'll be probably going back home in two week. I'll buy the ticket probably tomorow if nothing extraordinary happens. Thanks for the invitations but I don't want to move to Britain. I can always come back till 2017 so there is no point to screw my soul right now. Thanks for all the advices.

I don't want to go to UK /thanks anyway/. I was on vacation for 4 days in London 3 years ago and I liked it. But I don't like big cities in general. I arrived in Brisbane assuming that I'll move to Gold Coast /I still have to go there next week/. I'm staying in Brisbane to be closer to CBD where the job interviews are /I haven't been to one yet/. I'm electrical engineer by the way. The market here is very strange in the electrical field - I don't understand that Australia is having 5.4% unemployment rate and the job 'electrician' is almost impossible to fill, but they don't do anything to facilitate the things and keep saying we are short of electricians; I feel so sorry for all the electricians coming here /and this tickets for everything - just ridiculous/. I didn't come to make a living here, I came to work as an engineer so I'm not driving a taxi. I came here with no plan, I came here because I had the opportunity and I decided just to try it out. I didn't want to come here alone, but things didn't go the way I wanted. And all the visa waiting etc was pretty fast /I expected to wait around 2 years, but all happened for 10 months, I got my 175 in 3 months/ I had to come before 07.2013 to activate my visa. Maybe I shoud go home because I think this is right now, and if I decide to come back I'll just go to Melbourne /this city is closer to my understanding that it's not right to get dark at 18:45 during the summer/. I should check the visa types if I meet somebody and decide to marry.

Thanks guys. I'll give it some extra days for consideration, but I think working for someone/company/ in Australia will be worse than running my dads business, which is in my professional field. I will be closer to my parents /they don't live together/ and they are going in their 60s soon and to my friends and everything else. I know EU is not doing well recently /Bulgaria is not doing well at all/, but I'll take my chance - and I'm sure EU will go in the right way in a couple of years /2008 nobody wanted to leave, unemployment 8%/. I have the right to come back till 2017, which is not that bad and I have the money to do it. But being alone here /I mean no family to give your best for/ is turning to be really hard for me. And I'm not sure I'm here after the money, which are supposed to facilitate your homesickness.

I arrived in Brisbane on 30th Jan 2013 and I've been here for 20 days. I was doing ok, but since yesterday I'm thinking only about home. I'm alright that I don't feel happy now, I mean I knew it was going to be hard the first 2 months. But I'm 31 single, still looking for a job, with a few contacts. I have the feeling that I'm not going to find my happiness in Australia. I'm from Ruse, Bulgaria and even though my home country is much poorer and worse organized than Australia - I'm thinking to go back home. I have what to do at home /help dad with business/, enjoy my sports /football, basketball/ - I watched a downloaded game the other day /Manchester - Real/ and I feeled scary that this is going to be for the rest of my life, looking for a wife etc. I like watching football /I'm going to the Roars game tomorow/ but I'm not able to watch the European games, Champions League, Premier League, La Liga etc. The good think is that my visa expires in 2017, I guess my entry actually activated my permanent resident visa. I miss my family /my tears go when i write that/, the friends, the real sports, the language /my english is very good, but still a second one/. It's going to turn an expensive trip, but you this what money are for - to be made and spent. I'm planning to go home in 2-3 weeks /let's first talk to my family today/. I applied for Medicare and tax file number two weeks ago so i'm expecting the letters this week, I scheduled a driving test in 10 days to get a driving license /but i'll probably cancel this one/. There is no point to leave right away, so I'll give myself 2 weeks to go to the Australian Zoo, Gold Coast and do other siteseeing in the Brisbane area. I really like the weather here, the people and the city looks pretty nice, but I really don't like that it gets dark at 18:30 and this is the whole year /17-18:45/. I was in the States for 27 months in my early twenties - I had struggle back then as well, but I had a more clear goal, stay for a while and save money. Now I don't really know what I'm doing here. What do you think, any advice?

I settle in Spring Hill for now. 195/week for houseshare with everything included. It's not anything special, but it is a good starter. The good thing is that everything is in walking distance. I'm currently looking for a job as electrical engineer, wish me luck. Best wishes.

The problem is that I'm in Bulgaria, so if you are not in Australia you can't see the phone numbers. I'm leaving tomorow. Thanks everyone for the tips and advices.

I sent messages to 35 ads - no answer, definitely message is not the way. I'll try to check if I can see the phone numbers from another computer. I'll send a link to someone in Oz as well.

Which way do you think is the right way to use gumtree. I can't see the full phone number of the people posting the ads, so I'm sending them messages through gumtree. I post some information about myself and recently I put my email also. I just want to get some phone numbers to call and arrange inspections, before I land next week in Brisbane. I have the feeling that I'm doing something wrong, is the email address a must? I don't have e phone number yet. Do you thing I can find nice ads for house/flatshare in a local newspaper.

What do you think of the average electrcity and water bills? I'm gonna look for a house/apartment share. I'm checking the hoods north of CBD - Spring Hill. But there are a lot of advertisments like: 250+bills. I think I'm ready to pay 200-250 per week with bills and internet included. I also wanna ask if I talk directly to a landlord /no agency/, are there any documents to sign for a lease /it looks like i may need some document to buy a phone, get driver licnese, etc./. I really want to find a place in 3-4 days and agencies sound very shitty /because they take their time, which is not how you should do business if you ask me/. Help please, I'm leaving this Monday.