Jessica Berry

We sold up lock, stock and barrel, everything went before we left the UK - house, furniture, car (sale of our property went through on the Friday lunchtime and we left on the Monday!) and came over with just suitcases and holdalls containing clothes, shoes, a laptop and not much else, with nowhere to live and no jobs to come to. The one thing we did come with is the attitude that we would give it our best shot and get stuck in with building a new life - attitude, expectations and approach makes a big difference whether it will work out or not in my opinion. Our visa entitled us to go anywhere in Australia and we chose Adelaide because we felt it would suit us and our needs and wants. We have been here nearly 9 years. OH's career has gone from strength to strength and his skills have been in demand from week one. I tend to change jobs quite a bit and do short term/contract roles (I did the same in the UK). I have had plenty of jobs in Adelaide ranging from a 3 day contract to a 3 year contract. Both myself and OH have secured all of our jobs through seek, the newspaper or recruitment agencies. In my opinion, the people that struggle are the ones that turn up in Adelaide without doing their research or ignore their research because it is not what they want to hear and they are so fixated on 'living the dream' and then complain when there are only 3 jobs in their industry (asking for specific skills which they haven't got!) and then they can't understand why they are not instantly employed as soon as they touch down at Adelaide airport, at the same level or higher than they were in the UK and they want to earn some crazy high salary. Our standard of living is much higher in Adelaide than in the UK. It takes time to establish a new life from scratch and my OH and I have a very strong relationship and work together to achieve our goals and dreams and always look at the big picture. So far, the move for us has been a good one. PS - It was 40 degrees here yesterday. We went out at 6.30pm to my OH's work Christmas do and it was still 38 degrees! Still feels weird having Christmas in the sunshine, so enjoy your UK Winter wonderland Christmas.

Did you see/read this post on PIA Pat? http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/shipping/44705-help-please-shipping-costs.html

I came over to Australia on a WHV back in the 90's. One of my most memorable experiences was a 10 day outback tour from Adelaide to Alice Springs (which is still going strong and I thoroughly recommend http://www.headingbush.com/outback-tours/adelaide-to-alice-springs-10-day-tour.html ). From memory (it was 20 years ago now!) I think it was at William Creek, population 6 we met a bloke living in absolutely the middle of nowhere and I asked him the question as a 23 year old city girl "aren't you lonely living here?", I always remember his reply "no, you can live in a big city surrounded by people and still be lonely". How true.

The Sunday Mail State of SA survey results are in the paper today (29/11/15). It is a 12 page pull out, based on 5782 respondents so take into account this is just a snapshot. People were asked to name the biggest issues facing South Australia, more than 80% of people chose jobs and job security.

I thought I would re-post one of my posts (from Poms in Adelaide) from August 2013. Obviously the information is from a couple of years ago and the job market in many areas has slowed down since then, but I thought people might find it useful to have something to refer to and help people who are coming over plan their budgets. Some people find work quickly and for others it takes a while due to a variety of reasons. Previous post below....... Taken from the Career One job supplement in The Advertiser (Adelaide), but the figures will be for Australia wide. Jobseekers should leave at least 3 months for their job search and be prepared for it to take even longer to get into work or find a better position. That is the median length of time it is taking unemployed jobseekers to be hired as well as a rough guide for those already employed and applying for work elsewhere. Time spent looking for work... 1 to 4 weeks - 16% 4 to 13 weeks - 38% 13 to 26 weeks - 18% 26 - 52 weeks - 20% Whole year - 8% The time it takes people to get jobs of course varies depending on many factors. This is a guide for people coming over as to how long it may take to secure work. People start panicking when they have been here just for a couple of weeks and don't have a job, but the process of securing work can take time and people need to ensure they have the necessary funds to cover themselves. In our own circumstances our first jobs back when we arrived in 2007 (and jobs were definitely more plentiful than now in my opinion), my OH gained a temp position within 1 week of arriving and a permanent position within 3 weeks of us arriving. I gained a permanent position 10 weeks of arriving. We were both lucky securing permanent jobs for our first jobs. I feel if we were arriving now it would be more likely that we would secure temporary contract roles to start with.

I managed to find my post which I put on Poms in Adelaide regarding the 2014 episodes of Wanted Down Under (might be useful for someone and remember I am referring to Adelaide!), copy and pasted below.... We are currently over in the UK on holiday. My parents recorded the recent Wanted Down Unders for Adelaide which we have watched while we have been here as I was interested to see the information they are giving out to potential migrants. We have watched 5 episodes and have spent most of the time yelling at the tv! In one episode, one of the participants stated they would not consider taking a job in Adelaide for anything less than $130K. In my opinion you could have stopped filming and ended the program there! If they had been asking my advice in the profession they were in (and on the information shown) I would have said it would be highly unlikely that they would get a job on that salary in that profession (in the current job climate) as a new arrival migrant. To be fair to Wanted Down Under, the episodes we saw where the migrant spoke to an actual employer within their industry, in my opinion they did give them an accurate picture of the current job climate and told them it wouldn't be easy to gain work in their professions. If people have been looking at this forum for a while, it should not come as a shock to them that they may struggle to find work when they first arrive, it may take them 3-6 months to secure work, it may be temporary/casual, they may need to take a job at a lower level or on a lower salary to get a foot in the door, they may end up doing a completely different job to what they have done in the UK - the information is on this forum. People that have lived here a while (I have been here 7 years) in my opinion are not trying to put people off coming, we are trying to give a realistic view of the job market and the changes we have seen over the past 2 years and help people prepare for this. There will always be new arrivals that get work quickly, their skills are genuinely in demand and they have no trouble finding a well paid job (my OH is one of them) but it wont be the case for everyone, people need to come with realistic expectations and consider whether they are up for the challenge - if they need to be. To add...some of the houses they showed people on WDU were appalling and I do think that some of the choices were made purely to make good tv and get a reaction from the participants. Nikki Chapman also stated at the start of each program that a third of migrants will return to the UK. My personal opinion is that many people have unrealistic expectations about what it takes to start a new life from scratch. I have known people return to the UK after only being here a matter of months because things 'were not working out', it takes time, often years for all aspects of a new life eg jobs, emotions, financial, friendships, making a house a home etc to come together.

I have met a few people who have come over on a reccie for a short period and asked if I would be willing to chat to them (just to put it in context I have a background in migrant career advice, HR, recruitment) about their work possibilities and the standard of living they could achieve in Adelaide. Some people are looking for an independent view point, rather than someone who just wants to sell them a dream. In my experience these people often have high standards of living in their respective countries and are in two minds about giving that up and want to come over to Australia and see for themselves before they take that leap.

Go for it! We were in a similar situation, no kids, late 20's and early thirties, OH had a good well paid job with very generous terms and conditions, we had a very small mortgage but there were many elements of the UK that frustrated us and we felt living in Australia would offer a more balanced life. We sold up lock, stock and barrel and came over with just suitcases and holdalls containing clothes, shoes, a laptop and not much else, with nowhere to live and no jobs to come to. The one thing we did come with is the attitude that we would give it our best shot and get stuck in with building a new life. Personally, and this is only my opinion, but you can read posts or meet new arrivals and we can tell most of the time whether they will last/make a go of it - I think peoples attitude, expectations and approach makes a big difference.

Our experience from moving from a large UK town to where we live (and the surrounding areas) in Adelaide have been very positive in terms of quality of life. When we are asked about living in Adelaide, one of our standard responses is that life is more pleasant for us here on a day to day basis. There are suburbs which are less desirable but generally the trouble tends to stay in these suburbs.

I think sometimes when people have been earning high salaries for a while, they lose touch with how much other people earn. A few years ago I worked on a project in an admin role and my fulltime annual salary was $46k. We used to have blokes working on the project complaining and moaning about how the work in the mines had dried up and they had to take a pay cut to work on this particular job. Their 'pay cuts' were more than the administrators annual salaries. I know of other people who are being offered redundancy packages of around $300k but they don't know if they will be able to survive if they take the package! If someone offered me (and I am sure many others) $300k it would be the equivalent of winning the lotto. There are many people that make a success of living in Australia on low/average salaries.

We know someone like this, hated it in the UK, moved to Australia, moaned constantly about living in Australia, moved back to the UK still moans and said they might see us in Australia again! - they are just an unhappy person and their issues are nothing to do with UK/Australia.

I think you read my mind! About 15 minutes ago I read out the same sentence you have quoted above to my OH and said "that sentence says it all". We then started having a conversation about why people come to Australia and what their expectations are.

What is your budget and where will you be working?

Is this business in Regional South Australia? The thread seems similar to one that was started a while back, I think that business was in Port Pirie or around that area.

We use Dettol soothing antiseptic cream on the bites, I find they stop the itching, but the OH who gets eaten much more than me says it helps him but doesn't completely stop the itching.

We used a similar thing a while back (but not with Foxtel) and it worked ok for quite a while, but then we started getting interference (we think someone new moved into the area with a wifi router that upset it as they use the same frequency) and we gave up using it. OH says on your Foxtel remote if you have an AV button press that.

I came over in 1996/97 on a working holiday visa and loved living over here, if I could, I would have stayed. I remember returning to my home town in the UK after being over here for 14 months and thinking everyone looked pale and sick. I went shopping into the city centre and freaked out at the amount of people everywhere. I guess I initially felt a little lost when I got back, I had been on this great adventure and then it was back to reality. I always said that going to Australia back then was the best thing I ever did and also the worst thing. If I had never been I wouldn't have known any different, but I did feel that Australia wasn't out of my system and still had a lot to offer and I emigrated 10 years later.

Welcome to the forum and hello from an Adelaidean! Do you have jobs etc lined up?

I have been reading some of the comments attached to this news article and several people are mentioning that crime is high in New Zealand. It is not something I have really heard about before. Would YOU go live in New Zealand? The Kiwi government is trying to convince 50,000 Aussies they should move across the ditch New Zealand is facing skills shortages across a number of industries The Kiwi Government says 50,000 vacancies could be filled by Aussies This comes as figures show New Zealand lost just 5300 people to Australia in the past year – the smallest loss in 20 years The country is holding a jobs expo in Sydney this Saturday and Sunday Published: 14:19 AEST, 28 November 2014 | Updated: 16:10 AEST, 29 November 2014 The Kiwi Government is on a mission to convince 50,000 Australians to move to New Zealand. For the first time ever the country is holding jobs expos around Australia to showcase the Kiwi lifestyle and help local companies hire the skilled workers they are lacking. New Zealand Employment Minister Steven Joyce says the country is facing skills shortages across a range of industries, and with the Kiwi unemployment rate at just 5.4 percent compared to Australia's 6.2 percent he thinks it's the perfect time for Aussies to move across the ditch. Nigel Bickle from New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment speaks at the NZ Jobs Expo in Perth. The NZ Government will hold another expo in Sydney this Saturday and Sunday Sebastian Berry, who works in the digital advertising industry, moved from Sydney to Auckland in July 'There is a bit of rivalry between the two countries but it always has been my genuine view that we should as two countries consider it as a single labour market,' Mr Joyce told Daily Mail Australia. 'It's traditionally been a Kiwi in Australia story but why shouldn't it be the other way around? 'It's a wonderful experience to work in New Zealand, we have excellent ski fields, it's a great place to bring up a family, the commutes are shorter and it's a positive, buzzy place.' This comes as figures show New Zealand lost just 5300 people to Australia in the past year – the smallest loss in 20 years. And Statistics NZ said Australia was the biggest source of arrivals at 22,721 migrants in the year to October, with many of those New Zealanders returning home. New Zealand Government looking to increase job growth The New Zealand Government is trying to convince 50,000 Australians to move to New Zealand The country's economy has been growing steading and it is facing skills shortages in a number of industries Mr Joyce said this was an amazing change. 'We had a tough time of the GFC, then of course had the earthquakes,' he said. 'But the economy's been growing quite strongly for the past couple of years so we are starting to see significant skills shortage in parts of the country and in different industries.' Mr Joyce said unemployment in the South Island was much lower than the national average at 3.4 per cent, adding that it was extremely difficult for businesses there to find experienced staff. Across the country, there are skills shortages in the construction, IT and manufacturing industries in particular, he said. 'The construction industry is very important – for example in Christchurch we've got a whole CBD to build so there's at least five years' work there,' Mr Joyce said. Mr Berry, 35, from Sydney, said he was enjoying learning how to operate in New Zealand Mr Berry said the market was similar but Kiwis had distinct differences in the way they like to do business He said the IT industry was looking for people experienced in software design and New Zealand had certain niches cornered in the manufacturing industry, including in fruit sorting equipment and emergency service boats, which were crying out for staff. Tony Patane moved to New Zealand in April after completing a four-year electrician's apprenticeship in Townsville, Queensland At the New Zealand Jobs Expo in Sydney, to be held at Sydney Town Hall on Saturday and Sunday, almost 40 companies with 1200 immediate vacancies will run stalls. At a similar expo in Perth last weekend, 35 companies attended to talk to potential job candidates. Tony Patane moved to New Zealand in April after completing a four-year electrician's apprenticeship in Townsville in Queensland but struggling to find work. The 31-year-old said when he arrived in Christchurch, a job in his field was easy to get. 'Over here they see to be a little bit relaxed and it's easier to find a job,' Mr Patane said. 'There's plenty of work on.' Sebastian Berry, who is commercial director at digital advertising technology firm Multiscreen Media, moved to Auckland in July to expand his business. The 35-year-old, from Sydney, said he was enjoying learning how to operate in New Zealand, where the market was similar but Kiwis had distinct differences in the way they like to do business. 'They're more direct than Australians and much more relationship based,' Mr Berry said. 'Socially or in business, people care about who they deal with and they have a strong sense of honour around that.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2852629/Would-live-New-Zealand-Kiwi-government-trying-convince-50-000-Aussies-ditch.html#ixzz3KVrCtHfU

Agreed. In the 6.5 years we have had our mortgage in Adelaide the highest interest rate we have had has been 9.14% (June 2008) to the lowest (currently) at 4.95%. I calculated out of interest the difference in our mortgage payments and at the highest we were paying $588 a fortnight more! Interestingly I had a few discussions with colleagues who have obtained a mortgage recently about this figure and they have all said they would struggle if they had to find almost another $300 a week. People also need to consider the security of their employment when taking out mortgages and whether they could continue to pay the mortgage if they were out of work or sick say for 6 months for example (and make provision accordingly). Personally I feel that employment certainly in Adelaide is less stable than in the UK. Having worked in HR roles and in many organisations, most people never see it coming when they lose their jobs. Someone I know made several people redundant the other week, all in professional roles due to a downturn in business, all of them had no idea it was going to happen. I remember a recruitment consultant in Adelaide telling me about a senior manager who had lost his job and it came completely out of the blue, he was also paid well over market value for the job he did and his job was not high in demand. The bloke was sat in her office, crying and begging her to find him another job because he had a high mortgage, school fees etc to pay. Personally, I hope never to be put in that situation.

Some mortgages have limits on how much extra you can pay off in a year. Others don't, I know with our mortgage there is no limit to how much extra you can pay off. Also by paying the mortgage fortnightly you will pay it up quicker.

My OH said one this morning.....he was saying goodbye to me and said "I am off", then added "like a bucket of prawns in the sun", we had a little laugh about it. PS - Better just add, we are not returnees, but hope I can still contribute to this thread.

We did and I haven't heard that it has changed in SA.

A couple of other things to take into account (in case you are not aware)... The price of the house on realestate.com.au does not include stamp duty, so you would need to pay this on top of the house price. Have a look at this calculator to give you an idea of the amount, which can be quite a bit... http://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/services-and-information/calculators/stamp-duty-on-conveyances-calculator-new The current mortgage rates are very low for Australia, around 5% so take this into consideration when looking at your repayments. We have had our mortgage for almost 7 years and in that time the highest our interest rate has been is 9.14%, this makes a massive difference to your repayments. If you are planning on moving further out in Adelaide, you may need to run 2 cars, as public transport will be limited depending on how far out of the city you are. Second hand cars are expensive here compared to the UK, so you may need to use some of your savings for cars, unless you have another pot of money for that.

We have lived in Adelaide for almost 8 years now. Our visa entitled us to settle anywhere in Australia without any restrictions. We sold up in the UK (house and all its contents, car etc) and we arrived without any jobs, nowhere to live, not knowing anyone in Adelaide and carrying a couple of suitcases and holdalls with mainly clothes in and we got stuck in with starting our new life. I had previously travelled around Australia (although it was 10 years later when we emigrated) and thought Adelaide would suit us as a couple the best, my OH had never been to Australia until we arrived and trusted my judgement. We are both glad we chose Adelaide and we have established a good life for ourselves. It is an easy city to live in and we have a higher standard of living here than we did in the UK. Of course this will not be the case for everyone, everyone is different. In the time we have been here, I have seen many migrants come and go. My personal feeling is a lot comes down to peoples attitude and approach, their expectations and how adaptable and resilient they are. It can take time to re-establish yourselves from scratch (often years) and many people come over and if things are not falling into place straight away they are on the first plane home and usually blaming Adelaide or the Government! The Adelaide job market has been struggling for the past couple of years, but it depends what work you do, my OH for example has been in demand skills wise since we arrived and that hasn't changed in the last 8 years. I have a friend that knew coming to Adelaide that her specific job didn't really exist here, but came with the attitude that she would do something else and that is what she has done. It comes down to personal choice, what suits one person, may not suit another.