Toots

31 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

I think a lot of Poms migrate at the start of the British winter or in the New Year, so arrive at the height of summer. It's usually boiling at that time of year so they can't ever imagine it getting cold. I remember my first winter in Sydney, I did the same. It got to May and people were looking at me peculiarly because I was still in shorts, and when June arrived I thought blimey - it's probably time to dig the jeans out!

Obviously it's shorts and T-shirts all year round in Cairns and when I lived in Brisbane it was too, although I used to put tracky-bottoms on in the evening. In terms of heating I only ever had a little panel heater, but it was cold in the mornings when you got up. I think traditional Queensland houses would be hard to 'fix' in terms of heating because they are designed to stay cool, which is the main challenge we face up here.

Yes, the Qld climate is sub-tropical so your houses are built accordingly.  I watch new houses being built here and you get what you pay for.  Some houses seem to be slapped up and others are definitely far better built  ..........  loads of insulation, double glazing, underfloor heating etc.  All that comes at a cost  ..........  a much greater cost.  

I bet there are some places inland in Qld where it gets cold during winter.  We never had frost where we lived in Sydney but in the western suburbs of Sydney they have heavy frosts during winter and stinking heat in the summer.  Different areas of Sydney definitely have different temps.  That's another thing new migrants aren't aware of.

4 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Definitely making me feel better seeing someone else being honest and saying what they are really paying. I had someone tell me they were paying £60 a month for gas and electric (family of 4). They must be freezing! Our standing charge is not far off that! 

I don't think houses here are built to a decent standard and loads of migrants (usually from the UK) often state on this forum that they are freezing during winter.  They wouldn't put up with being cold in the UK so I've never understood why they don't heat their houses here.  We have always 'fixed' our houses so we are comfortable no matter what the weather is like.  It's not that hard to do.  No use moaning about it.  Fix it.

7 hours ago, Marisawright said:

To be fair, it doesn't feel like it. Sydney's rain arrives in massive downpours which they blithely call "showers" so although the quantity sounds high, it doesn't rain nearly as often as it does in Melbourne. In Melbourne we can use all the subtle British words for rain, like drizzle

I know what you mean as we also get the mizzle and drizzle here.  I remember leaving work in Sydney during downpours and taking my shoes off to walk to the station as the street was like a canal.  When it rains there it really does rain.  Also remember days and days of rain round about Easter time - one Easter it rained continuously for nearly 4 weeks.  Like you, I hated the humidity during summer.

Chilly again today but sunny.  Stopped for a cuppa on my walk at the beach.

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

Correction, chilly enough that coats are always required, and woolly hats and gloves are frequently required.  Moving from Sydney to Melbourne I found myself buying a whole new suite of matching hats/scarves/gloves and puffer jackets etc.  

Melbourne can get very hot in summer but it's a dry heat, and even on the hottest days, it's usually pleasantly mild in the morning until about 10 or 11, so you can get all your chores done and then hibernate. Plus it cools down at night (and summer evenings are light for longer, something I appreciate after 30 years of Sydney's early darkness).  

I do miss the gloriously sunny Sydney winters but I just couldn't hack the summers.

Sydney also receives twice as much rain as Melbourne.

Harry the dog has just shuffled back into the house panting.  It's 22C in the back garden.  Mind you when you turn the corner into the driveway it's 14C and windy.  Nice time of year as the daffodils, magnolias and camellias are looking lovely.

2 hours ago, Huntersmummy said:

Hey!

Congrats firstly for your marriage!

So to cut a long story short, during my previous light hearted posts…I’ve struggled a bit since moving here. Living in Darwin for years then Perth seemed tempting. Perth FOR ME, wasn’t greener. Plus having to stay here due to the husband not wanting to go back….good ole hauge convention law which prevents me from taking the kids back without a lengthy court battle. So yeah that’s why I’m still here, being a indecisive fart in the wind of making the best out of a situation. ✌ 

At least you got out of Darwin @Huntersmummy.  That was a big move to Perth so I'm sorry it hasn't been much better for you there.

You know where we are if you feel like having a good old moan.  Can't believe some folk PM'd you with a judgmental attitude.  

27 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said:

I know.  I keep an eye on Aussie news and current affairs, it’s the least I can do if we are moving there. It’s the same everywhere. Well, kind of. I wouldn’t be making such a big move without doing at least a bit of research into cost of living, economy, salaries and jobs.
 

As you might be able to tell from my other posts, I’m not interested in ‘cheap’ I’m interested in ‘good’. The 2 rarely go hand in hand! It’s practically impossible to ‘build a house’ in the UK now. You can’t get a plot, there’s basically no land.  It’s not something I particularly want to do at my stage anyway but I wouldn’t necessarily rule out another renovation project. Sounds like it’s just as well based on what others are saying about houses! 
 

 At the moment we feel a bit like we are paying through the nose for everything but things keep getting worse and worse. 3 of our local pools close this month, meaning my town of circa 70k people will have no public leisure pool. The government seems no longer able or willing to subsidise leisure or health facilities for the population, despite rising taxes. I mean I could go on and on and on but the whole place has the air of a rapidly sinking ship. there are increasing numbers of people just not working or contributing at all - but with the living wage set at £11 an hour I can’t really blame them. 
 

Interestingly our cost of living seems to be catching up with Aus in a lot of areas - we just don’t have the standard of living to match. 

I live in a largish town of 27 thousand people and even though the cost of living is hitting everyone, our town does have some really good facilities.  There is a very good indoor and outdoor swimming center plus we are very close to beaches.  There are 9 sporting fields which are used for a variety of sports throughout the year and all are well run by the council.  I think we are very lucky in that way.

1 hour ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Honestly, everything has gone up by 30% here - when they say inflation is at under 10% we are all like ‘where’? I think the combination of the wage stagnation and the massive increase in prices is making us all feel so much worse off. When we did our renovation, it cost us a third more than we had expected (we have done 5 major renovations over the past 10 years so know how much things cost). Both materials and labour now much more expensive. 

The Australian inflation rate is 6% or 7% depending on various info but I can tell you that stuff in the shops has risen a LOT more than that.  Building a house and renovations also much more expensive than pre Covid. 

7 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Sounds like a load of hassle to me, all that back and forward and applying for visas, but that’s me I don’t travel particularly light! 

Not so much of a hassle if you don't have children or pets and providing your other half is up for all the pinging and ponging.  Personally I really couldn't be doing with the hassle but some people seem to thrive on it.

Crazy weather here today.  It was lovely and sunny but cold this morning then by noon the sky turned very dark.  A gale force wind started, the temperature dropped further and then heavy rain which swirled in all directions lasted for hours. It was horrible.  This evening there is no wind at all and it's a lovely calm, clear moonlit night.  Who knows what tomorrow will be like.  The weather here is never boring.

My brother was one of the engineers when Skytrain was built.

Skytrain andn MRT map.  https://travelhappy.info/bangkok-bts-and-mrt-map/

Skytrain

1 hour ago, Blue Flu said:

Only thing with Bangkok being the terrible traffic. You would need possibly more than one night to make it worth while. But depends on time of arrival and departure as well. Nothing wrong with KL. Not as 'sterile' as Singapore , but the latter could serve better for the ease and plenty to do if on a first visit. Both KL and Singapore have great bird parks. Singapore is not cheap anymore though with prices matching Australia. I agree with another poster, flying into Brunei and visiting Sarawak or Sabah for the national parks is a great way to cut the trip and pass a few days. 

 

Yes, the traffic is horrendous in Bangkok but the Skytrain and MRT are a great way to travel around the city.  Easy to negotiate and cheap.  We used to stay in the Sukhumvit area and the Skytrain stations there are numerous.

1 hour ago, InnerVoice said:

I'm 6'4", so if there's an option to buy extra legroom seats that's where my money goes!

I'm a foot shorter than you and I would love to have extra legroom.  Did manage to a couple of times  ................  one of those seats near the exit door.  Made such a difference on a 24 hour flight.

I suppose it depends who you fly with.  A lot of people have a stopover in Dubai.  Personally, I don't like the place but Kuala Lumpur, Singapore (my favourite) and Bangkok are interesting.

3 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

Where isn't the best at something in Australia? Melbourne worlds most livable???? Never been to Hobart but surely an exaggeration? I'd have thought comparable with Dunedin in NZ? Perfectly okay. Nice vista. But limited in most ways. 

Mr anti Australia strikes again. Always here with your negativity.  Dunedin is not like Hobart.  In fact I didn't like Dunedin.  Maybe it was the time of year we were there but it just seemed very damp and had no atmosphere about it.  Queenstown is more my kind of place but VERY expensive.  I have a nephew who lives there and he loves it.  

Sure there are a lot of drawbacks with any place.  I'm waiting for you to find your Utopia.

3 minutes ago, unzippy said:

Very nice, was Hadley's where you had lunch too?

We had lunch in the Shipwrights Arms in Battery Point.   I could live in that area very easily .............  when I win the lottery.  One of those little houses in Arthur Circus, Battery Point would do me very nicely.

2 hours ago, unzippy said:

Official!

 

https://pulsehobart.com.au/news/hobart-voted-best-city-in-australia-new-zealand-and-south-pacific/

I like it because of its small size.  I really don't like cities at all.  I like the old sandstone buildings in the older parts - a lot character.  I also like the real pubs with a bit of atmosphere.  We were there a couple of weeks ago (3 hour drive from Devonport) and met friends for a pub lunch and stayed overnight in Hadley's Hotel in the town centre.  Had a lovely time.

Here is a bit of info on bridging visas.   Go to the one titled bridging visas. 

28 minutes ago, Ken said:

The NHS has such large amounts of sick leave due to the large numbers of workplace injuries (e.g. people straining their backs trying to lift patients). In Australia workplace injuries are covered by what is normally referred to as "Workers Comp" which is a compulsory employer insurance scheme overseen by state governments and pays an income to those recovering from workplace injuries.

I forgot all about workers comp.  One of my co-workers had a carpal tunnel op and workers comp looked after her treatment and time off work.

11 hours ago, RubyMonday said:

Only 10 days sick leave per year!! That’s terrible. With the NHS it’s 6 months full pay then 6 months half pay. I’ve only been off sick for a week in the last 6 years so it’s not that I need it but it’s nice to know it’s there. Is there any plans to increase that or are people just ok with it?

Edit: So actually is it 10 days per year but if you don’t use them then they build? So I would have had 60 days minus the 4 shifts  so still left with 56 days?

6 months seems a bit over the top.  Does that encourage bludging?  Maybe working for the health service here is more generous than for the rest of us though.

4 hours ago, Quoll said:

I never got my head around the sickie abuse - came as quite a shock when I enquired after a colleague's health only to be told he was building his bbq. I thought about taking one once but, as it happened, the day in question turned to sh!t very shortly after I got up so it was actually a sick day - culminated in me falling out of bed and breaking 2 fingers but the rest of the day before that was one thing after the other! But on the plus side I had plenty up my sleeve for an op that had quite a long recovery time and I never took a "sickie" for the rest of my career. 

I also rarely needed to use a sick day.  Never seemed to get sick BUT like you I had plenty of sick days banked which I used when I also needed an operation and had time off to recover and I even had some left over after that.

19 minutes ago, Parley said:

persian rugs?

............  or selling indigenous paintings door to door?  Plenty of backpackers were doing that in Sydney.

43 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

The scheme will allow Brits to work and live in Australia for up to three years from 1 July 2024, with various restrictions on the type of work that visitors are allowed to do being lifted... The three-year allowance does not have to be consecutive and can be taken at any time up until the age of 35.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65960126

At the end of the article it compares the minimum wage in Australia (currently $21.38 / £11.22) with the UK's minimum wage standing at £10.42, for those aged over 23. It's interesting just how much this gap has closed in recent years due to increases in the UK's minimum wage and a stronger pound.

As long as those people planning to come here realise Australia isn't the land of milk and honey.  The cost of living here is just as bad and maybe even higher for some things than the UK.

43 minutes ago, Skani said:

Yes, I imagine that Devonport being right on the coast would have good air flow to move smoke away. Asthma Australia wanted to ban wood heaters completely in Launceston (and everywhere, really) but they'd have a battle on their hands here - Tasmanians really love them.

A couple who live nearby are from Norway.  They say that every man and his dog has a wood heater there.  Norway doesn't strike me as being polluted by all the smoke.