Davidson Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 As I read your responses and varying degrees of success in Australia, I weep. Things haven't been so good to me, I'm afraid. Bear in mind that I'm probably one of the most optimistic people you could ever meet and I approached this whole thing with naive exuberance but I have been beaten and fatigued by the system. Got here at the tail end of April and was able to secure a part time job (3 days a week) within the first 2 weeks. Unfortunately, that role ended and I have tried to no avail to secure a job since then. I'm qualified in Human Resources but that market has been hit quite badly since the beginning of the year so I tailored my CV to be more administration inclined. Funny thing is, I get called for interviews a lot but I just can't seem to get a job! I did manage to get a job in August (a temp to perm role that would have seen me working for at least 3 months) but was told after 2 weeks on the job that they were re-thinking the position and I had to leave. I've gone for interviews where I've been told that "you have work experience and qualifications that are too strong"?!!! This is after I've even toned down my CV! I have exhausted all my finances and if I don't get a job in 2 weeks, I'm surely going to be homeless. I don't think I've had a wink of sleep in the last month or so. Socially, things are just as bad. I've tried to make friends and get out more but I usually get burned. Someone actually opened his gob and told me he thought I should bleach my skin as I'm too "black". What that means, I'd never really know. Some, in an attempt to pay a compliment just end up insulting. I hear things like "You speak good English". As opposed to what? Sign language? Animal wails? I'd stand on the street (this has happened way too many times) and I'll get splashed with puddles by yobs who just speed off laughing. I've never felt so demoralized in my life. It's all quite depressing. I guess what I'm trying to say (the big elephant in the room when it comes to race issues) is that I don't think some parts of Australia are well prepared for the diversity they are trying to imbibe. I try to approach things/people with an open mind but its very hard to do especially in a place like this where you walk into a bar/restaurant and you get side glances from people because you're the only black person in a room full of people. It shows in their attitude to you as well, some people are just so uncomfortable and don't know how to relate to you. I wish I could go back to London but I can't even afford to. I am so so so tired Sorry to hear about your troubles Walvia, but this is immigration...it is a tough and challenging matter. I was like you unable to sleep because of thinking of how will I pay the rent of my room? how will I get a job? And just in one second I got a job. Regarding racist, really there was no problem with the official treatment in Australia, but if you consider public places nobody will has that many glances like me (I'm from the Middle East) so as soon as I enter a pub every body starts looking. I think it is a natural behaviour that people look at people of different background and this situation will happen to a European if he is in the Middle East. So be brave and stay strong. regarding Wok, why not you consider regional Western Australia it is relatively boring but there are many opportiunities up there. All my best wishes for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walvia Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Wow Walvia, that`s really awful for you :hug:. So sorry to hear that . You can find narrow-minded idiots everywhere I`m afraid:no:. Hope things will be only better for you in the future, job-wise and personal. We are still sitting on out butts in the US but have been contacted by immigration to provide some clarification of information so hopefully things will start moving. We went to Australia in July for 2 weeks to finalize nursing license and have some fun. We all enjoyed it a lot, the country is beautiful and unlike anything else I`ve seen so far . Thank you for your kind words, they are well appreciated :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walvia Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 OMG I am horrified listening to your experience and I am disgusted to say it does not shock me as I have heard some really racist comments here. But saying that the private school I work in we have black children with very successful parents. Are you here alone or in a relationship? Do you want to meet up lunch coffee beach walk - anything PM if you do - my background 43 well 44 in 2 days from Liverpool travelled a lot live with John a home economics Teacher x Of course there are successful black people here, most of them just happen to be in the health industry. In the clinic where I used to work, people would make racial remarks at me and then go in to get taken care of by the Black/Indian GP's. It was quite amusing, the ignorance of some of these people. I'll send you a DM as per coffee meet :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walvia Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Sorry to hear about your troubles Walvia, but this is immigration...it is a tough and challenging matter. I was like you unable to sleep because of thinking of how will I pay the rent of my room? how will I get a job? And just in one second I got a job. Regarding racist, really there was no problem with the official treatment in Australia, but if you consider public places nobody will has that many glances like me (I'm from the Middle East) so as soon as I enter a pub every body starts looking. I think it is a natural behaviour that people look at people of different background and this situation will happen to a European if he is in the Middle East. So be brave and stay strong. regarding Wok, why not you consider regional Western Australia it is relatively boring but there are many opportiunities up there. All my best wishes for you. I can imagine! re: walking into a pub as a middle eastern, everybody immediately starts to shift in their seats. Lol. Yesterday, I was quite depressed but now, I realize that the situation is out of my control. I've tried and will keep trying to secure employment. Otherwise, whatever happens happens. Where do you suggest I look in terms of work in the regional areas? I'd do anything to get work at this rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maruska Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Sorry to hear about your troubles Walvia, but this is immigration...it is a tough and challenging matter. I was like you unable to sleep because of thinking of how will I pay the rent of my room? how will I get a job? And just in one second I got a job. Regarding racist, really there was no problem with the official treatment in Australia, but if you consider public places nobody will has that many glances like me (I'm from the Middle East) so as soon as I enter a pub every body starts looking. I think it is a natural behaviour that people look at people of different background and this situation will happen to a European if he is in the Middle East. So be brave and stay strong. regarding Wok, why not you consider regional Western Australia it is relatively boring but there are many opportiunities up there. All my best wishes for you. LOL that`s so funny you saying that, my husband is from Lebanon and he got a "random check" at the Houston airport EVERY SINGLE TIME we went through:mad:. I was bothered, he wasn`t . After getting a US passport they somehow don`t "randomly" check anymore :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maruska Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Walvia, I have no idea at all what is the racial mixture like in Perth but like everywhere else, you could possibly find more tolerance in a capital - Sydney? I feel wrong just writing it now, why should YOU make the effort to be accepted:mad: but possibly it might be smoother over there? Or in Melbourne, that proclaims itself a very "European" city? Just a thought, I`ve not been to either Sydney or Melbourne myself. I think that if you`re willing to hang on in Perth for a while you`ll for sure be able to find work and a nice social circle . All the best to you :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreaming Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I'm so sorry to hear that Walvia... I really hope things improve for you soon. Keep up the positive attitude and I'm sure everything will work out WA is a big place as suggested, and you may find more success in a different area. We are SOR and love it here. just a quick question, have any of you taken out private healthcare and/or ambulance cover yet? We keep meaning to but are so confused what level to take out and what is already covered by Medicare... Any advice or e pertinence would be greatly appreciated xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadas Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Racism within recruitment is unfortunately still present within parts of Australia. I've seen it first hand watching foreign Cv's getting automatically binned by an administrator given the task of sifting Cv's for me to have a look at. Needless to say, they came back out of the bin. But, the attitude is quite polarised, as a white male pom I don't experience it, rather the opposite in my profession it's seen as a good thing. But this attitude is actually recognised in government and if you believe what they say, there will be a push to change Australian attitudes. This was spelled out to me quite recently when I attended a private lunch with Scott Morrison during the election campaign. His view was that a second generation person of say Lebanese descent is always considered an immigrant, whereas a Brit fresh off the plane isn't. He said this had to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJF Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 My medical and police check was submitted to my case officer in Sep 2013, I am now awaiting the issuance of a grant letter/visa for GSM 176. Any idea how long a wait will it be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidson Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 My medical and police check was submitted to my case officer in Sep 2013, I am now awaiting the issuance of a grant letter/visa for GSM 176. Any idea how long a wait will it be? perhaps couple of days. You should send an Email to your case officer asking if everything is OK, and good luck for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnAli Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I'm so sorry to hear that Walvia... I really hope things improve for you soon. Keep up the positive attitude and I'm sure everything will work out WA is a big place as suggested, and you may find more success in a different area. We are SOR and love it here. just a quick question, have any of you taken out private healthcare and/or ambulance cover yet? We keep meaning to but are so confused what level to take out and what is already covered by Medicare... Any advice or e pertinence would be greatly appreciated xxx Hi we are in North Freo where about are you ? We took out health insurance with HBF as when I asked in work everyone else used them. We took pretty much full cover but we did get a corporate discount through Johns work. We have heard absolute horror stories about the level of care you get if you're treated under Medicare , you need a letter from Medicare to say when you got your card to prove to HBF that you have registered with Medicare Ali x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I'm so sorry to hear that Walvia... I really hope things improve for you soon. Keep up the positive attitude and I'm sure everything will work out WA is a big place as suggested, and you may find more success in a different area. We are SOR and love it here. just a quick question, have any of you taken out private healthcare and/or ambulance cover yet? We keep meaning to but are so confused what level to take out and what is already covered by Medicare... Any advice or e pertinence would be greatly appreciated xxx Hi We have taken out Premium Ambulance Cover with BUPA. This covers both emergency ambulance trips and non-emergency trips (both by land ambulance and air ambulance). We took it out as soon as we arrived back in January and thank goodness we did. Just over a week ago I had a serious bout of anaphylaxsis, saw my Dr (having been sent home from hospital once by an imcompetent doctor) and an ambulance was called. As I was struggling to breathe I was classified as an emergency and rushed straight to A&E on blue lights, where I was properly treated. Had the original hospital department got it right in the first place I would never have been sent home and therefore not needed an ambulance. Last Friday I got a bill for $872 which made me do an excellent fish impression! Thank goodness that we spent $83 with BUPA so they get to pay it, not me. BUPA also covers non-emergency treatment by an ambulance (which weighs in at around $450 per trip). Most policies only cover emergency trips and it is up to the Paramedics as to how they classify the trip. If it is not considered life threatening and you could have got to hospital yourself, it gets classified as non-emergency transport and most ambulance policies will not cover this, which could be a nasty shock when you find the bill will not be paid. We also have private health cover with BUPA. We had it with them in the UK and continued it here, so we avoided all the long waiting periods. Again it has been really useful as I have needed major abdominal surgery, both my sons have had their adenoids removed (one with tonsils out as well) and grommits put in. The youngest ones grommets came out in 2 months flat so he had to go back in again. As a result in the delay in getting treatment for his hearing problem originally (a 3 month wait period to see the specialist who then operated the following week), my son has had a major delay in his speech development as he was at a critical stage when he lost his hearing. Fortunately, due top having private health cover he could be operated on virtually immediately, which meant we could get on with helping him develop his speech with minimal delay. I think we have dinged BUPA for about $15k this year in surgery costs, so it has been worth every penny! I don't think they like us much! With me it was great. I saw the surgeon on a Tuesday and was operated on on the Thursday so I could not have been happier! However, private healthcare is different to the UK as it only covers in hospital costs. You have to pay to see the surgeon (whether you are a private patient or not) and can reclaim part of the cost from Medicare. It is only when you go into hospital that the surgeon's fees are covered (either in full or in part - welcome to GAP, another story). Extras cover is useful as it helps towards dental costs (not covered by Medicare), optical costs, speech therapy, physio etc so depending on what sort of cover you think you might need, it may or may not be worth having. Hope this helps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreaming Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hi there, sorry... Haven't had a minute to log on we are in secret harbour. Most people we speak to seem to be with HBF, think we will probably go with them too. Apparently they do free boot camps near us too as part of your membership so that would be handy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreaming Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Wow! You have definitely done the right thing getting cover straight away... I hope that your on the mend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maruska Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hi guys and girls, we were finally granted our visa on Nov 22nd.:jiggy:. Looking to move around June - August next year, will try to find jobs first before the move. Right now trying to decide whether to ship or not to ship our stuff. Happy times :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hi guys and girls, we were finally granted our visa on Nov 22nd.:jiggy:. Looking to move around June - August next year, will try to find jobs first before the move. Right now trying to decide whether to ship or not to ship our stuff. Happy times :laugh: Well done! It has been a long journey for you and I hope Australia turns out to be everything you want it to be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msvayani Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Finally, we got our grant last week... It took 18 months and 5 days for us! Expecting to move Sydney by March 2014. At the moment, we are looking are different suburbs and try to decide where should we stay initially. As we have no family/friend in Australia, I'm not been able to decide really. Do you guys have any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walvia Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Hi guys and girls, we were finally granted our visa on Nov 22nd.:jiggy:. Looking to move around June - August next year, will try to find jobs first before the move. Right now trying to decide whether to ship or not to ship our stuff. Happy times :laugh: I'm just seeing this. Congrats, Maruska! That was a tidy long wait for you. What state are you moving to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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