travelchic

Ha ha. Mind you don't wear that keyboard out with all your typing pmsl.

Great arrival report. I'm sure it will ease the minds of a few nurses who seem to be having a bit of a bad time recently. How did you go with the registration? That seems to have been a problem for a lot of nurses coming in.

 

The weather only gets better from here on in. I see you arrived Friday the 13th, not superstitious then?:wink:

Nah. Not superstitious. What will be will be. I gained my registration on 17th September and they implemented the changes on 8th October so I guess I was just lucky with my timing. In fact I've been lucky all through the process. They dropped the points from 65 to 60 which meant I could do my skills assessment earlier other wise I would have had to wait until September. If I'd have had to wait then I would be struggling with AHPRA too.

Debs.

Hi all. Not been on for a long time. Apologies. Thought I would come on and write about our arrival.

left the UK on Thursday 12th June and flew from Manchester to Singapore and then onto Perth with a fuel stop at Munich. Arrived Friday 13th June in the afternoon and it was nice and sunny but not greatly warm. Flew with Singapore Airlines on both legs of the journey and on both times Jonny (7) and I had a row of 3 seats between us so we were lucky and had plenty of room. The flight was on time and there was a good service throughout. TV was good. Food wasn't bad for an aircraft.

Stayed at my friends house on arrival. It was dark by 4.30 pm on the first night and it went sooooooo cold. I was freezing. Thought it might have been because I was tired from travelling but I was wrong. It was really cold for the next 4 or 5 weeks. So glad I packed my fleece pjs. Had to go out and buy some jumpers and boots. So if you're considering whether to pack your woollies then my advice would be bring them. Bring them all lol. Spent the weekend getting our bearings and firing off a few emails to hospitals (I'm a nurse). Had an interview on the Monday and got the job. Had an interview on the Tuesday and got the job. Had another interview lined up for the Wednesday but cancelled as I took the second job I was offered. I was also offerd casual work at 2 other hospitals on a casual basis to start immediately without an interview.

On the Tuesday after arrival a small 2 bedroom house, which is big enough for Jonny and I, next door but one to my friend had a home open. I went along with others and applied. And we got it. Moved in the week after. Couldn't believe how lucky I was. Jonny started school the second week we were here and there's a big child care centre Attatched to it. It's a 2 minute walk from our house. So all in all we've been blessed. My only grumble is the distance from home to work. It's a 60km round trip which I don't mind, but in the mornings the traffic is horrendous. I'm currently looking for a job closer to home but for the time being, all is good.

We live 5 minutes drive from the beach and although the weather has been terrible since we arrived we have been able to go a few times after school. The beach is beautiful. I have found the people here to be very friendly and I'm starting to get used to the lingo.

I haven't found Perth to be a lot more expensive than back home but I live a simple life. I was nervous that I would struggle financially because you read a lot about how expensive Perth is, but I'm actually doing ok. I earn approx $55k working part time and manage to save some money each month so I'm happy with that.

At the moment we are both happy and I'm glad we made the move. Yeah we miss family and friends but it's not like we'll never see them again. I miss my girly nights out in Liverpool but that's a small price to pay lol.

Debs

My stuff went on friday in a movecube. I had to tick a box to say if there was any medication being shipped. You just have to list them and say what they're for. If you're gonna stick any in i'd just send the unopened ones.

Debs

Don't know what your skill is but some skills assessments require IELTS anyway.

Debs

Easy!Just refuse to buy it!On the odd occasion we do eat fish,I usually buy mine from the supermarket,£2 for 4 portions,and buy a bag of oven chips for £1!As there is only two of us,this gives us 2 meals!:wink:

And it's probably a lot healthier. Might be coz I've just eat my tea and I'm full, but I think that pic of fish and chips looks horrible.

Debs

Hey I really don't know the full thing is very daunting but its something I want to do in the next year so I need to make a decision I have heard alot of good about Melbourne ? I am wanting good weather an outdoor life for my little one. Good school and neighbourhood and job oppertunities for myself. ? Where abouts do you stay ? xx

I am in the uk but moving to Perth once my house sells. I chose there because I have friends there. I am going as a single parent and wanted to go somewhere where I had some support.

There are pitfalls to a temp visa. It is a cheaper and quicker route but You may have to pay for education for your little one and you won't get any financial help towards childcare.

PR takes longer and costs quite a bit but you can access free education and receive at least 50% of your childcare costs. You may also be eligible for a bit extra to make your wages up. Think its a bit like working tax credit here.

You don't need IELTS for a temp visa but you do for PR (ANMAC requires the academic version). That's about £140.

you don't need ANMAC for a temp visa but you do for PR. ANMAC assessment costs $875 (approx £500). Then you have to pay for visa and that varies greatly between different visas. I have a pr visa which cost $3520 for me and $880 for my son (£2000/£500).

whatever visa you decide on you have to register with AHPRA to be able to practice. This costs I think about $380 but I may be wrong.

hope this helps.

Debs

Hi malissa. Where are you planning on moving to?

Debs

I struggled with my code. I'm in endoscopy and although it comes under medical, my skills are more surgical then medical. I emailed ANMAC and they advised me. Just drop them an email and they'll help you.

Debs

I like if someone responds to my post, if I find the post useful or if it makes me laugh. And some posts really do make me laugh out loud ha ha.

Debs

Thanks anyways.

Debs

Thanks Ross. I sent my regular cv for my registration. I tried to make it more australian but gave up in the end and just sent it as it was. They never questioned it and I received registration no problem.

Apart from calling it a resume instead of a cv, I can't see what the difference is. List of previous employers isn't going to Change nor my qualifications and skills. Having said that, I do, like everyone else, want my cv to stand out.

Debs

Tonyman. When you say you had ideas about some different types of cv's/resume's, did any of them include nurses?

Debs

The younger you are the easier perhaps it will be. Most folk here go out in groups. Rather rare to see a woman alone in a pub. There is a large number of divorcees in Perth. Many with baggage. In fact almost all my OH's female friends are separated and that includes Aussie born and immigrant.

We touch on the subject at times and a number of the woman appear to have given up on the local dating scene. I should add perhaps all are over 40....if that makes a difference, I can't say. The comments all seem to be the same. Men only after one thing and not wanting commitment. Men offer another story. I find relations between the gender very odd here after living in Europe and having a lot of female friendships, which proved culturally difficult to recreate in Perth at any rate.

All hard work , full of pitfalls which I'm thankful to be a considerable time since I was part of.

Oh dear.

firstly, just because I'm single, it doesn't mean I want to sit in a pub on my own. I don't. I never have and I never will sit in a pub on my own. No matter what country I'm in.

Secondly, you can see from my posts that I prefer to call my 'baggage' by his name, which is Jonny. Please keep up.

Thirdly, I am over 40. And 40 is the new 30!!

And lastly, maybe I'm only after one thing from the male species without the commitment. That works both ways.

Debs (with a frown)

I didn't declare mine on the health form because it says...

Have you ever been admitted to hospital and/or received medical treatment for an extended period for any reason (including for a major operation or treatment of a psychiatric illness)? Yes/ No

day case surgery doesn't fall into that category as it wasn't for an extended period. And if it was a major op or treatment, it wouldn't have been day case. I told the doctor about the surgery I did have (I had a benign tumour on my spine and a shaved disc) and he said that was ok so I'm sure yours will be fine.

Debs

Oh no. I'm not gonna feel like the only single girl in the world there am I. Being single doesn't bother me, in fact I like it. Don't wanna feel excluded though.

Maybe I should ask if I can join cubs and after school clubs with jonny lol.

Debs

A job offer us not enough. They would have to sponsor you. Maybe you could look into a visa for people wanting to start/take over a business. I don't know anything about it but you could get a free consultation with a MARA registered migration agent. At least you'd know what your options are.

If you get a visa, hubby can go on yours. Not sure about your son. Depends on age and wether he's in full time ed I think. Again, a migration agent would be able to help you with that.

Debs

The outstanding issues you are likely to find on arrival is the outrageous costs around housing and entertainment. I take it work is not an issue.

 

Perth is a city besides the high costs, made for the young family. The issues are more when the kid's decide Perth is too limited in later years and move to Melbourne or Sydney or London. Many in our experience do not move back.

 

It may be a little difficult to get a realistic cross section of opinion on this Forum, as it wouldn't come as a great surprise if dissenters are scared/shy to view negatives with regards to Perth from the defenders of the place. Some only here the wag of a dog's tail themselves. Others here longer, but set up in their suburban abodes. At I time I may add when Perth was dirt cheap in many cases if coming from UK.

 

I would say Perth suites working class folk more generally than professional folk who would generally be more enticed by Sydney or Melbourne. It's not great for single or separated folk men or women. And there are a lot of them as well.

 

It is a rather conservative and conformist place which riles some. A little sterile to boot. This leads to the over voiced comments with regards to the dullness. Not all care for sport.

 

Perth CBD is hardly dead these days. Rather jumping on a Friday or Saturday night. Far less so on other nights but still some around. Crime is an issue more in certain suburbs than others. Same applies to drugs. All is not as prime and pristine as sometimes appears. Hardly the Bronx either. Suburbs are pretty much dead though.

 

Perth is growing in population far too quickly with the assorted problems connected with that. The long awaited public transport improvements are sadly on hold. If we ever get them.

 

Not sure what you mean by racism. If it of personal concern, being non white, I wouldn't worry too much. That is not to say racism isn't here as it clearly is, but far less overt than previous times.

Was at the Chinese New Year celebrations in the City yesterday. A good example of how modern Perth is rapidly becoming. Change is coming to Perth ready or not.

Can you tell me why it's not great for single or separated people??

Debs

Make sure you sit the academic IELTS and not the general.

For me it was the ANMAC assessment that took the longest. 16 weeks. After that it flew by but I applied for a 190. I believe the 189 takes longer for some reason.

Debs

Welcome. How far are you with your plans.

Debs

Are you doing the general test or the academic?

Debs

Check with the skills assessment body if you need it for your assessment. Also,you need to check your points. IELTS can boost your points if needed. I needed IELTS for my skills assessment but not everyone does.

Debs

Thanks Ali. Will look for one.

Debs

We have to check IV drugs with another nurse before administration. Is that not the case everywhere or is it just trusts that implement that in the drugs policy. I know there was a fatality in the trust where I work because of a bolus dose of potassium. It was a student nurse and she didn't realise it was supposed to be infused. From that, students are not allowed to have anything to do with IV drugs until they qualify and nurses have to check each others IV drugs. If the op had the drugs checked with another nurse, shouldn't that other nurse also be accountable.

Incidentally, can anyone recommend an Australian nurses drugs book to me please. Want to get an idea of drugs names etc before I land in oz. Thanks.

Debs

Given that they were minor offences and the prison sentence was less than 12 months and it was over 15 years ago I think it should be fine. I'm no expert though. Have you looked on the immi website to see if there's any clarification on there?

Debs