hotpotato70

So they let her transfer with a penicillin allergy? I take it that was that a while ago? Banana allergy, never heard of anyone with that before!

Cheers

I actually applied to the air force as an officer, passed the entry exam & then they found out that I was allergic to penicillin & told me that was the end of that, they wouldn't take me on with an allergy to penicillin. I served 9 years in the air force in the UK, wasn't a problem! I'm pretty sure that I'd have got in if it wasn't for that, I'm quite fit for my age, so the fitness wouldn't have been an issue. For some reason every opportunity that I've taken has just seen me come up against a brick wall. I've recently been accepted for another government job, full-time, did the entry tests, interview, police checks, got accepted & they tell me I'm going into a talent pool for future vacancies, so who knows if a job will ever come of it, but they were advertising vacancies again & saying that there were vacancies. So I may or may not have a job!

I'm on the QLD/NSW border. The thing is with The Lake District is that I have qualifications in outdoor recreation, I lived there for 7 1/2 years before. It's not the easiest of places to find work, but I also had an HGV licence that was always my back up, but they wouldn't transfer it to my Oz licence. I'd say that I am suffering from a bit of depression, not everyday, but I'm finding it hard as almost every aspect of my life has fallen apart.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma about whether to return to the UK or stay here in Oz. It's the usual story, but I think my situation is a bit buggered up! I've been here just over 5 1/2 years now, so I've got my citizenship, but my partner decided that she wanted to split up just after Christmas. We're still sharing the house, which she is keeping on & I've got to move out & find somewhere else. I think I've found a place to share, but now it's coming to moving out & being on my own with no family support, I'm not sure that I want to do it & am thinking about just packing the whole thing in & going back to the motherland! My work has been pretty bad, I am employed casually by the Queensland Government, but back in November things hit rock bottom & my work virtually stopped, putting quite a financial burden on my partner. I had been applying for other work & couldn't get anything, so I think that was just the icing on the cake that tipped the relationship over the edge. So I was left getting no more than 5 hours work a week, sometimes 4 or 5 hours in a 2 week period, Centerlink wouldn't assist me, as several months after applying for assistance they told me that they didn't believe that we'd split up because we were still living under the same roof. Australia was never my dream, it was hers, but I went along with it & thought that I'd give it a go & that I shouldn't pass up on an opportunity to go & live in another country. I was a police officer in the UK & decided that I wouldn't do that in Oz as I found it quite a stressful job & there were no vacancies to transfer when we we moving. I'd also had time off with stress, which is pretty common in the police, but not good if you want future employment as a police officer! So when we arrived in Oz I started a small bond cleaning business & got a bit of work coming in, but not really enough, so I was applying for any job that I could. Eventually I got a job in a call centre for Westpac, which was casual work. I thought I was going to a full time job, I'd never heard of casual employment, but the job wasn't too bad & once I knew what I was doing I became quite good at it. I made a few police applications because I wanted more out of a job than I was getting, both financially and in terms of job satisfaction, plus I do like a bit of excitement! I didn't get anywhere with the police applications, but eventually got a job with probation & parole, again it was casual, but I loved it, that was until the work stopped! So my life has just about fallen apart as a result of all of the above & I am finding it hard at times to keep things together & have lost a lot of motivation for life in general, particularly as I have had no money for a long time. Most of the time I'm okay, but then I just hit rock bottom with the realisation of it all, particularly as I have no family/support. I had some good friends, but they moved away to other parts of Oz. Where I live now, I have only lived for about 18 months & have made some friends, but no one who I feel is close enough to want to burden with my problems! I'm not really working as such & am really struggling financially, Centrelink won't help, I've just about lost my job, lost my partner & my home & at 46 am going to be sharing a house for the first time since my 20's. I'm having to get rid of lots of things because I just can't be going into a shared house with tons of stuff, so I really am going to have to start all over again. I do have a good job offer, but I've been put into a talent pool, so whether I will ever get the job is anyone's guess. Otherwise, I really don't know what I'm going to do for work, I've applied to do just about every job out there, not just ones that I'm qualified for, but any job. I do have qualifications, but they seem to count for nothing in today's job market. If it wasn't for the weather I would go back to the UK without a doubt, my family live on the edge of the Lake District & I love the place & have lots of friends there & would have my family. I also love the mountains & adventurous outdoor activities that you get there without getting heat exhaustion! Here, I feel that I'm just filling in time until I go back, almost like an extended holiday & have no sense of belonging anywhere. I like the sun, but summer is just so hot & humid, I'm not keen on it. There are so many things that I like in Oz & in the UK & am totally torn. I am worried that if I go back that I will miss Oz & regret my decision, especially when it rains a lot & it will then have just been a big exercise in losing everything, except my memories. If I could sort out my work I would be happy to give it more of a go here as I know that there is so much that I'd want to do, but if I was going to go back to the UK, now would be the time. The exchange rate is in my favour, I'll be getting some money from my house, as well as all of my tax back & can sell my car (it's a cheap old thing, but reliable!) & sell my boys toys that I have, so I could just about afford to get back & start again if I stayed with my parents. My parents are putting me off coming back when I speak to them though, whether that's because they have downsized recently & don't have the room, I don't know. Also I haven't had the money to even return to the UK for a holiday since I came to Oz, when I did have the money, I bought my toys, but that was because I wanted to get established here & didn't think the money would dry up. One of my main concerns about staying in Oz is that if I live in a shared house & either my work doesn't pick up, or I get another job, then my money won't stretch far & once it's gone I face the prospect of being homeless with no hope of returning to the UK. I don't think Centrelink would pay enough to cover the rent, but I could be wrong & maybe I'm over thinking on this one, but it is a concern of mine that I may end up with no where to live, which scares me a lot. I've always thought that there is a fine line between having everything & losing everything & that fine line is a job! This is a bit of a long post, but I think I just wanted to put down how things are for me. If no one responds that's fine, but any advice from a new pair of eyes would be appreciated. What would you do if you were in my position? I've thought about all of the options & still can't decide what to do!

How much did that cost approx? Roughly what size were the boxes you shipped? I'm thinking of maybe heading home after my relationship has broken down & wondering if I could afford it.

I lived on the Gold Coast before moving to NSW, it's very accessible for driving around, busy at rush hour like any where else. Lots of good weather too. I moved because I didn't like suburbia & while it does have a reputation for crime, I didn't see much in the 3.5 years that I was there. There is loads to do there though, you've got restaurants galore, beaches, sea, hinterland with loads of bush walking, there are the theme parks etc. I think if you don't mind suburbia then it's a great place to live & only about 1 hour to Brisbane from the southern end of the GC. Personally, I think the best part of the Gold Coast is Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta, a bit more relaxed feel to it than other parts IMO. I lived in Robina, which wasn't too bad, a fairly quiet suburb, despite the large shopping centre, which I thought was pretty good. You've also got the GC Airport near Coolangatta for travel.

I'm in a similar situation. I split up with my partner just after Christmas & am still under the same roof & things are so bad now that I need to move out. The other complication is that my work (QLD government) reduced my hours to virtually nothing back in November, the same week that I became a citizen! I can't afford to move out without a job to back me up & even if I do I can't really afford a place on my own & I'm 46, so don't really want to share with a load of 20 year old students etc! I have been thinking that once I get work sorted that I will advertise for a like minded person to jointly rent a house with, which could be a solution for you. If you wanted to buy then you could maybe move them into a spare room to help you out with the mortgage. I saw other people advertising to jointly rent on flatmates.com.au & I thought that may be a solution to my problem as I like the quiet life these days! I've also got the dilemma of whether to return to the UK, I'd definitely go back in a flash, but the weather is all that's stopping me, otherwise I far prefer the UK to Oz, although wages are better here. My parents tell me to stay in Oz, my brother says I should go back to the UK! I've been waiting to hear about a job that I had an interview for, I was certain that I'd got it as my references were taken, but still not heard. I was really planning on getting it, so I'd be able to get on with my life, it's really thrown me into confusion that 4 weeks later I've not heard. I have contacted them, but they told me to email, so waiting to hear still. With moving interstate, the only thing that I found when I moved from QLD to NSW was that changing over the car rego was very expensive and seemed needlessly complicated. I think if I include all of the repairs that my car needed for it's roadworthy, it cost about $2500, nearly $1000 just for the rego. I live on the QLD/NSW border, so if I want to move back to QLD the rego will need swapped back again! Obviously a lot of people don't bother, but legally you should & the cost of the rego in NSW is cheaper than QLD, about half the price. I didn't change my rego for ages after I moved to NSW, I was stopped at an RBT & was certain that I get busted for not changing my rego over, but they didn't say anything, despite questioning where I lived etc. Where ever you decide to settle you will make friends, it may just take a bit of time. At least with your work you will be around people & more than likely can start friendships and socialising from there initially. Obviously there are clubs that you could join depending on your interests & you'll make friends there. I became a volunteer firefighter when I moved to where I live now & I know loads of people through that, but there are plenty of things like that around, such as SES, wildlife rescue etc., (I can't think of any more!), there a loads of voluntary things to do if it's what floats your boat. I personally get a lot of satisfaction out of what I do, I help my community & I get my fill of action a few times a week! It's a real tricky one knowing what to do, but I reckon give it 6 months or a year in Oz as a single person at least then if you think being single here is not for you at least you've tried it. You won't be wondering in the future what may have happened. It will probably be difficult at first, but once you get things in order with somewhere to live etc., things will be easier for you. If Tassie is really where you want to be, I'd go for it, as you said you have a job where you will get work almost anywhere, I'd love to move there myself, work is all that's stopping me, I don't think I'd get work there. The great thing these days is that if you do decide to move & start again that you have things like Facebook, Skype etc., so you can keep in touch with friends & family, which can really help support you going through a break-up, or just when you're a bit lonely starting over & not knowing anyone. I don't know about you, but I often push myself to be more social when I'm on my own. Hopefully something in that lot might be useful, because I waffled on for quite a bit lol!

You can't transfer an HGV licence to Oz, or Queensland at least & I'm pretty sure it's the same for the rest of Oz. I had a class 1 HGV when I moved out here from the UK & that was my back up plan for work when I moved out here. When I went to get my licence they would only give me my car licence & told me that I couldn't transfer my HGV. I think there was a post on this subject on here some time ago.

Both myself & my partner moved to the Gold Coast with no jobs, she's a nurse & got a job fairly easily. I have found it very difficult though & went from being a police officer in the UK to working in a call centre, which I hated, I'm an outdoor person. I eventually got a job in a government department, which I love, but it is casual & I'm struggling to get by as some weeks I'm only getting 8 hours work. When I initially took the job I was still working the odd day or two in the call centre, but then the government job took more of my time & I had to leave the call centre all together, but then the hours dropped, which also coincided with a house move away from the Gold Coast & now I have virtually no income & can't seem to get any work. I'm 45 & feel that my age is against me as I'm apply for jobs that I'm qualified for & have experience in & getting no where. I'm being supported financially by my partner, apart from the little money that I bring in, which generally pays for petrol to get to work, so basically work to pay for the petrol to go to work! When you say you want to move to a suburb, I take it that you looking to move to a big city? The Gold Coast doesn't really matter which suburb you are in, access is pretty good for the whole city & Brisbane's not far either. You may have to travel to work, but as long as you don't mind that you should be able to choose the suburb where you live. If you can, I would advise you to secure a job before you arrive in Oz, that's with hindsight! You can always look for something else once you get settled.