Canada2Australia

On 03/03/2020 at 13:58, Toots said:

The family I know belong to the Ukrainian Association in Sydney and they also have a golf club.

https://www.hromada.org.au/

https://ukigolfsydney.com/

Right on. I think if I were really wanting to become active the thr Ukie community again, I may have to move to one of the big 6 cities, where the only real Ukie communities are found in Australia, as small as they are. Something to think about.........

1 hour ago, Toots said:

No they never wrote anything down sadly.  They had a very hard life to start with in Australia.  He worked as a labourer on the railways in NSW and she cooked for all the workers.  When they had their first child she continued to work and when the child was toddling, he was tied to a kitchen table leg to keep him out of mischief.  

Eventually they bought a house, had 3 more children (who were all successful) and lived a contented life in Sydney.  He ended up as a train driver.  My friend is the youngest of the 4.  Her Mum and Dad never really spoke about their life in the Ukraine or how hard it was for them when they arrived in Australia until they were really quite elderly.

It's too bad there are so few Ukrainians here. It's the cultural background I was raised and brought up in (am a proud Ukrainian-Canadian ) We have the largest Ukrainian population outside of Ukraine and Russia. It's something that I miss dearly and is sometimes hard to live without for me personally, not hearing the language or eating the food on a regular basis.

On 01/03/2020 at 05:58, Lucie said:

Hello 

me and my husband are desperate to move to Austria with our children however we do not have a job that is on the skilled list. Is there any other way that we could move out there eg any other visa’s that we could apply for. We have been looking at training to become a job that is on the list, do you have to be working in that role for a certain amount of time before apply for a visa?? 

Are you on the right forum? 

Serious question though. Are you really that desperate to move here that would go back to school for years and afterward gain even more years of work experience back home? I mean, I get your sentiment, but it's not as if the UK is some third-world dictatorship who persecutes it's citizens. It has one of the highest qualities of life in the world (as does my home nation) and is also an immigrant magnet. I'll bet you have a great life in the UK, so you would really need to think about this before throwing your lives into complete chaos. Just my two cents.

10 hours ago, Kris9 said:

http://www.theaustraliantest.com/new-australian-citizenship-test/

http://www.aussiecitizenshiptest.com/new-practice-tests/

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/test-and-interview/our-common-bond

 

If these questions are representative of the questions that will be on the test....well....they could not have made it any easier for people to pass. I'm shocked at how easy it is, actually.

Wow.

2 hours ago, Toots said:

Darwin certainly wouldn't be a place I could live in but many people enjoy life in the tropics.  The main reason @sazm2k12 has posted is she wants to move back home to the UK to be much closer to her family especially now that she has a very young child.  It wouldn't make much difference if she moved to another part of Australia -  not when she is missing he family in the UK so badly.

I understand this. However one's circumstances can change, and perhaps a move back home may no longer become feasible in the short-to-medium term. Should that become the case, I'm suggesting a change in scenery to a place they may enjoy more could help, at least in part, ease the feeling of homesickness until they are able to relocate overseas.

On 01/03/2020 at 08:27, sazm2k12 said:

Toots we are in Darwin! 

Huh. I escaped from Darwin last year; one of the best decisions of my life. I lived there for 4 years, and while yes the backcountry is nice (Litch and Kaka) and the festivals are good, the city itself is just ugly, dirty, rampant with crime and depressing. Not to mention a continuallly tanking NT economy that shows no signs of improvement any time soon. The pros simply don't outweigh the cons for reasons to live up there for most people.

I would say your best bet is to get out of the NT at the very least, to any other state. I would wager your lives and happiness would improve significantly in doing so.

Off and on days of rain and blue skies in Mackay, with temps around 30C every day and humid.

23 hours ago, Marisawright said:

@Canada2Australia, you are correct, many countries do have a Social Security Agreement.   The Agreement between the UK and Australia expired in 2000 and has never been renewed.  

An Australian could go and live in one of several European countries and claim their government pension, but not the UK.  I don't know what agreement Canada has.  It's up to each country to make individual deals with each other.

Superannuation is a private investment fund and nothing to do with the government, as are British private pensions.  I imagine CPP's are too. 

Our CPP and OAS are mandatory contributions and controlled by the Feds. Some provinces have set up manditory provincial pension plan program contributions as well.

18 minutes ago, Lavers said:

Yes you can still claim it when you reach the UK retirement age but if you never paid anymore national insurance to the UK, then the amount will be what it was at the time you left the UK.

I've paid in 22years so mine will freeze at £120 a week (I think) unless I pay the remaining years which I'm not sure if its 8 or 13 now. If I pay the remaining years then I would have thought it then freezes when I pay them off.

The UK does a workplace pension where the employee pays in 5%, the employer 2.2% then you get 0.8% as a tax saving from the government. I think the government is already talking about scrapping the 0.8% already though.

So straight away with the Aus employers paying 9.5% super for you, we are onto a winner.

Well that seems fair. You shouldn't be entitled to anymore then what you have paid into it only when living and working in that country. It's the same for Canada, and I have no issues with that. At least we can claim it.

9 minutes ago, Lavers said:

Your UK pension freezes when you leave the country although you can keep paying the stamp to reach the full amount of pension.

I'd assume it freezes at that point again though.

Interesting, although it still seems like a hassle to deal with.

So if you leave the country and never come back, would that mean you will never be able to claim your UK pension, ever?

The whole Pension thing for UK citizens confuses me.

For Canadians, from what I have read, my understanding is that there is an agreement between the two countries whereby as long as you work x amount of years, you would qualify for Superannuation (Aus) and Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), no matter which of the two countries you chose to reside in, and recieve all three (I do hope I'm understanding that correctly!!).

I would have assumed that a similar agreement between the UK and Aus would have existed as well, but it sounds like that is not the case, unfortunately.

8 minutes ago, Bobj said:

Retired here 21 years ago. Downtown Ball Bay.

Cheers, Bobj.

 

Nice. I'm in scenic East Mackay lol

Seriously though, it is pretty nice here.

On 22/01/2020 at 06:21, Bobj said:

Mate! Love that attitude. Been in Australia for over 55 years and still having an outdoors lifestyle at age 79...Do what you and your partner feel you should do. Be positive in your outlook. And to hell with the negative comments.  I can honestly say that I’ve had a fabulous life here.

And, enjoy your lives together

Cheers, Bobj.

PS. In all my time in Australia, I have only lived in cities for about 2 years, My time has been spent in The Kimberlies, northern New England and now in the Whitsunday/ Mackay Region.

 

 

I didn't know you lived here.

I lived in Darwin for almost 4 years. If you want, see my opinion here: https://www.pomsinoz.com/topic/207820-my-experience-living-in-the-nt/

On 11/12/2019 at 19:34, naviozz said:

Thanks Nemesis. I was thing the same that it’s a tribunal not a court and I appeal for review of my visa decision. I did not commit any crime to appeal MRT. 

Thanks 

I just want to update  my citizenship time line here 

eligibility        6 nov   2019

applied          7 nov 2019

Interview mail         Waiting

teat date                Waiting

Ceremony.            Waiting

 

council.                 Whitsundays regional council ( qld)

 

I'll be applying from Mackay once July 3 rolls around. Hopefully it won't be along wait, and the rules for citizenship do not change as well. 

Hopefully the Mackay Citizenship ceremony grants in 2020 are less hectic and processed quicker than the bigger cities. I'm counting on it

26 minutes ago, Toots said:

Don't worry about it @PFC1975 Australia is a huge country with different climates, cultures etc.  What suits some doesn't suit others.  Some people dislike Sydney.  I enjoyed living there.  Seems a lot of people whinge endlessly about Perth.  I really liked it and some people dislike Australia as a whole.  With a bit of luck they manage to escape.  Personally I like 4 distinct seasons hence we chose to retire to Tasmania.  Now some people would whinge about Tasmania - because some people are just whingers but I love it here.    It's not perfect by any means but where is?

Agreed. Not every single place in this country, or this planet for that matter, will be adored by every single human being. Each to their own. 

But again,  that doesn't detract from my original point that Darwin is a very different place from most of the rest of the country. It just is, and most people will agree. It's not an easy place to acclimatise to in many respects besides the weather. There is a very different kind of mentality up here. It's just a reality regardless if people want to acknowledge this or not. 

I understand the poster's anger towards my opinion as he/she is passionate about Darwin,  which there is absolutely nothing wrong with. But I had to chuckle when he/she downplayed the issue of crime up here. That attitude is part of the problem why crime is perpetually high; no one wants to truly acknowledge the issue besides throwing money blindly at the problem,  bury their heads in the sand and hope it will go away. Crime is a huge issue here. There is a TV commercial advertising how businesses have been broken into multiple times,  including one that had 27 B&Es but how they are still open for business. I get the message is supposed to be a positive one,  but still,  it signals but a fraction of the social and econimical issues that plague Darwin and the NT as a whole. 

Unless this and many other issues are addressed in an open, honest and confronting manner,  nothing will ever change up here, and that is a sad thought for me 

On 16/08/2019 at 21:44, PFC1975 said:

I’ve lived in Darwin for 2 and a half years now
My experience is completely different to Canada2Australia

My family absolutely love it here & I have to say other than the rental prices & yes economically it’s having a tough time , I disagree with virtually everything said

Crime isn’t rampant on with drug or alcohol abuse on every street corner. Sorry Absolute rubbish scaremongering.

We’ve found the people amazingly friendly and have made friends for life and have a fantastic social circle

We have so many friends who have children who love Darwin as it’s such a great place for kids and relaxing lifestyle

We all have opinions and ours clearly differ. Our experiences shape a place & the issue with friends that Canada2Australia had may have left a sour taste & association with Darwin . I can only guess

Some of the comments & scaremongering about Darwin I’ve read are not warranted

No where is perfect but we know so many people that love Darwin
 

That's fine for you, but you are in the minority, nationally speaking. You can call my opinion "rubbish" all you want, but others, MANY others, share my sentiment. No need to attack my opinion simply because you disagree with it.

6 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Your assessment doesn't surprise me.  One of my friends moved there (from Sydney) for family reasons and spent the first six months in tears.  She seems happy now, but she lives out of town and her life revolves around her extended family and child.  

Here's a heartfelt post from another Darwin migrant that will strike a chord with you:

I wonder how @Huntersmummy is doing now?

Ah yes,  I remember reading that thread all those years ago. Would be  interesting to hear how things turned out for her.

I had no idea how my situation would turn out,  however I would have never thought it would be as bad as it had been. But thankfully the light is at the end of the tunnel for me,  and even though I've had moments where I was despising Aussies in general, I was able to put things into perspective and not despise the entire country or it's people. I mean geeze, this isn't the US haha (which I do despise along with most people I meet from there, unfortunately).

I also read through her last created thread,  and coming from an area of Canada that has a lot of issues with Aboriginals (although not as bad as in Darwin where I grew up anyways), I can relate,  and it never phased me too much of what goes on in Darwin. But it still doesn't make things any better nonetheless.  

So, it's been 3.5 years since I've moved to the NT. And wow, what a 3.5 years it's been.

First off, I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the outback in the area; definitely some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country. I've been camping, hiking, fishing and kayaking. Enjoyed all of those moments. As well, Darwin has a pretty good festival and market scene. This is likely because it is the only large centre in all of the NT and is incredibly isolated from all other large Australian centres. So there are a few perks indeed.

However, after having said that, everything else has been...well....pretty bad. Darwin itself has many many issues that it is hardly tackling at the moment. Crime is literally out of control. Substance and alcohol abuse is rampant throughout every corner of the city. And the City Council are about as backwards and incompetent as they come. The economy is in the toilet, and the population is declining; people are leaving in a steady stream. Real estate is beyond overprices, which should be correcting itself but property owners are greedy buggers and prices are not falling as they should be based on simple supply and demand. Oh yeah, the climate can be unbearable at times, but that is the least of anyone's problems and can be easily mitigated.

My biggest issues has been with the people here. There are so many people up here who are....how should I put this......not balanced. Many people come up here from other parts of the country to try and escape their problems from where they come from. Instead, what happens is that they bring their baggage up here and act out through drinking and public displays of violence. I would say many people in Darwin need counselling, but they need to make the initiative to get it themselves. Also, people up here are very cliquey in nature. There aren't too many born and bred locals. But for those that are still around, and those that have been here for quite a number of years, there seems to be a reluctance to welcome newcomers into their social circles. This is because many people here come and go; the city is literally a giant revolving door. People come up here for a period of time to make their money, get whatever experience they need, and then leave. So I guess I can understand that mindset to a degree. But for me, I was looking to stay long-term and was wanting to make those deep connections. Unfortunately, I was not accepted very well up here and the friends that I did make, never lasted long or amounted to much. Plus I had some serious fallings out with a few people up here, and sometimes that can influence others into choosing sides. For me, I lost out and ended up losing all my "good" friends. You really discover who people are and their "loyalty" towards you through situation like this. Many people up here become depressed for various reasons, and I was one of those people, for two years, deeply. I've only started to recover in the last 3 months thankfully. There is just something about this place that seems to affect many people in a very negative way.

So, to sum up, I have not enjoyed my time up in Darwin or the NT overall and have decided that I will not settle here permanently. It's just not my cup of tea, and many would agree. You either like it or hate it. There really isn't much of a middle ground.

I've been living in Mackay QLD for the last few months, and I love it out here. Since coming out here, my life has improved substantially. My PR was granted two days after I arrived, I've started to mingle with people again and am slowly building friendships (although this will take some time I am aware). Also, I've been offered to be relocated here for a bit with an option of staying permanently or moving to Cairns should I choose to, which I am considering because I like it up there as well. I should be out of the NT permanently by end of next February at the absolute latest.

So to sum it up, think very carefully about choosing Darwin or anywhere in the NT as a place to live. Do some research on the place and even come and spend some time there as a means of gauging whether you want to live here. You may end up liking it, or it could be the worst choice you ever made in your life.

Hi all. Quick query.

My mother is coming out here on an ETA for Sept 1. She had applied on July 3 but still hasn't heard anything yet, but they did make a withdrawl for the fee from her account. Five years ago when I apploed for the exact same visa, mine was applied in less than 24 hours.

Does anyone know if the wait times have now increased substantially for the ETA, and perhaps if she needs to get onto them about this?

Thank you kindly.

10 hours ago, Nemesis said:

As you have posted in the VACCU thread presumably you feel there could be character issues?

Oh no. Not at all. I just assumed this was a general questions thread for all kinds of visitor visas. Apologies if this is in the wrong thread. And TBH, I don't even know what the acronym VACCU stands for!

Quick query.

My mother is coming out here on an ETA for Sept 1. She had applied on July 3 but still hasn't heard anything yet, but they did make a withdrawl for the fee from her account. Five years ago when I apploed for the exact same visa, mine was applied in less than 24 hours.

Does anyone know if the wait times have now increased substantially for the ETA, and perhaps if she needs to get onto them about this?

Thank you kindly.

1 hour ago, Eera said:

Mackay.  been here 15 years so if you want to know anything please PM me

Cheers.  Will do! 

1 hour ago, Eera said:

I'm in geotech and enviro consultancy as well, do a fair bit with TMR so I'll probably see you around the tracks somewhere!

 

Where are you based?