WHV Short term accom, work... and so on.

[RobMc]

Hi all. I'm looking at going to Melbourne on a working holiday visa. Would be booking up at last minute with some friends who have already sorted theirs out. They have their visa's, flights and accomodation with friends sorted.

 

Would be leaving in 17 days from now, so not much time to plan anything, but thats the fun part i suppose.

 

What i'm asking is, what is the best solution for short term accomodation? Been told about hostels and that they are cheap. Not exactly sold on that idea. What is the time scale on being able to rent a place? Do landlords even rent places to people on a whv?

 

I work in Engineering. Ideally would like to get a job doing what i'm doing here to make some good connections. (Possibly for sponsorship later on). Are the majority of working holiday jobs bar or farm based?

 

 

Would normally dive head first into this sort of thing but because it's only 17 days away, i'd be giving up my job, car and all that other stuff and won't have an ideal amount of cash. Hence the boring questions.

 

ANY help would be a massive help.

 

Cheers Rob.

[VERYSTORMY]

Gumtree for accommodation. Lots of shared places on their. Seek.com.au for jobs. The advantage of doing farm work or something for 3 months is that it qualifies you for a second year on a WHV.

[BackToAdelaide]

I think staying in a cheap hotel or hostel could be the best step initially eg. for the first week or so. You won't get any long term rental accommodation as landlords/agents would want to meet your first and, to be honest, you wouldn't want to tie yourself in to living somewhere without seeing it. You can get short term accommodation for anything up to a few weeks but this tends to be more like hotel prices and you mentioned not wanting to spend much.

 

When I went to the UK on a WHV I booked my first 10 nights in a hostel and it was the perfect base for the price. Gives you a chance to hunt for a job and get a feel for where you might like to live.

[Guest]

I'd defo do the 3 months regional work to get you your second year of WHV. Well worth it and can meet others, see a bit of Aus and all that. I'd get it out the way early on so you have time then for the rest of your stay.

[Guest Kyoto]

I didn't want to create a new post, but I've been trying to navigate the issues of accommodation and I'll be blunt: I am totally confused.

 

I'm trying to figure out how much it might cost to live in Inner Sydney in a studio or one bedroom, or a shared apartment. I'm too old for the "dorm room" experience. I had enough of that in university. I don't care how small the apartment or studio is, as long as I have at least one room entirely to myself.

 

I've seen rates from $150/w to $1600/w, but I can't tell what is common, and plenty of the $150/w and $200/w places look just fine to me on the various websites. Even $250/w (or as I think of it, $1000/mo) seems extremely excessive to me. I had a studio in downtown Austin which I paid $400/mo, and frankly, I think that ruined my perception for life. No matter how much my income increases, I will always look at that as my base. It may not be rational, but it's true.

 

Despite the fact that I will be on a WHV, I am not a backpacker. I've had bad experiences staying in hostels both in Japan and Australia. I've found people to be messy, drunken, rude, and I always end up with items being stolen. I was in a hostel in Sydney where my roommates brought home girls and proceeded to have relations in front of me. I don't consider myself a prude, but I was greatly shocked. Luckily, this was at the very end of my stay. I am not sure what I would have done otherwise. I recognise that there are many backpackers who are not like this, and I certainly do not wish to suggest otherwise. However, it is enough of a percentage that I generally do not consider myself safe. It certainly isn't what I would call comfortable.

 

A further issue is the constant chain smoking (I'm badly allergic to tobacco, so much so that very little exposure to second hand smoke can actually send me to the hospital. Walking through hostel doors through a cloud of smoke is a serious danger to me). I always attempt to have access to adequate amounts of money wherever I go, so I shouldn't need to use hostels. At least not for more than the absolute minimum. I'd rather have a base of operations settled before I start looking for work.

 

Yes, I want to enjoy Australia, but I'm not interested in the "backpacker lifestyle." How much should I expect to pay to avoid it? Just like some of my other posts, most notably the healthcare post, as long as I know what I am dealing with, I can put the money away for it. I doubt many backpackers choose to get full private healthcare, but I am going to do so. My approach to accommodation is the same. I'm interested in "testing" out normal life in Australia, so that probably differentiates me from other WHV holders.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Kyoto

[nicolac34]

To the OP: Argree that if you don't have anyone to stay with on arrival then you should look at either hostels or a cheap hotel. There are quite a few websites that offer up short-term holiday let style accommodation, but if you are on a tight budget this might be beyond you. Landlords do rent to people on WHV's, but you'll need to have a job and sign up for a minimum of six months before they'll take you seriously. We got a six month rental on a WHV, but then we had every intention of spending the whole year in Perth.

 

It doesn't have to be all bar/farm work on a WHV, depends what your skill set is. I got a job in the same career as I had back home, a promotion even on what I was doing in the UK. They took me on for six months and then sponsored me to stay permanently. It's about making the right contacts and speaking to the right people. Agencies will be hard to deal with as they wont let you near anything thats remotley permanent - so you have to go direct.

 

Kyoto: What sort of 'lifestyle' are you wanting out of your WHV? We didn't come to Australia for the backpacker lifestyle either, went nowhere near a hostel on our WHV's, but then we had my brother to live with to start with and then moved into a rental which we're still living in over a year later. Are you wanting to stay in the same place (Sydney)? Or are you wanting to travel? If you want to travel and don't want to stay in hostels then you need to get on HotelsCombined and search for the type of hotel you would be willing to stay in. If you're planning on living in the same place and getting a job then you need for first off find a job and then rent a room or a flat. Can't really help on the rental prices in Sydney, but I'd have thought you'd be looking at around $500 per week for a decent flat in an okayish location.

Edited September 4, 2012 by nicolac34

[Guest Kyoto]

If you're planning on living in the same place and getting a job then you need for first off find a job and then rent a room or a flat. Can't really help on the rental prices in Sydney, but I'd have thought you'd be looking at around $500 per week for a decent flat in an okayish location.

 

This.

 

The research I've found suggests the opposite: find a place to stay first, then look for a job. I cannot proceed straight into my position on a WHV, and I don't have the quals to nominate for my current position, which is as a JHS English teacher. I can get them, looking into it, but it looks like it'll take six months online, and that is assuming I can do my supervised training overseas. I may have to fly back to Texas to do it, and then come back to Oz to nominate for it. The supervised portion is less than two months. Alternately, I can do the certification in Australia, but it is only economically feasible to do so after obtaining permanent residency. The cost for international students is prohibitively expensive. However, I have done a great deal of work in other areas, and I do not think I'll have a great deal of trouble getting a position which uses my work experiences and education. And yes, it will pretty much be that I will be trying to find a position to sponsor me so I have enough time to deal with the certification issue.

 

PM Gillard says that she wants highly qualified university graduates to consider teaching, and that with her response to the Gonski report, Australia is going to need good teachers. I have a BA in English, I am writing my thesis for my MA (coursework finished, with a final score which isn't perfect, but is very, very close, high enough to gain honors society recognition in my graduate area), and the only reason I do not already have my Texas certification is because unlike Australia, Japan does not recognise outside teaching certifications. I left Texas because of hiring freezes. When I was finishing my BA and looking for teaching positions, I was offered $18K to start... and I had $30K in student loans. None of the other US states are better. I moved back to Japan before considering a move to Australia, and if I had known I would seriously be considering it, I would have simply added it to my MA. The additional cost in time and money would have been negligible. I am kicking myself over that one.

 

Teaching is my first love, but I have years of experience in public relations, marketing, journalism, and communications. I do video editing and graphic design. I could not really find these kinds of skills on the list of nominated skills, but I know they're in demand because I can read the various job postings.

 

 

...and $2000/mo for an apartment? I'd better be making significantly more than I make now ($37K), because that is insane.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Kyoto

[nicolac34]

Okay. Well the fact is you wont be able to get a place to live with a landlord without having a job first. How would they trust you to pay the rent? Unless you are going to pay for the whole 6-12 months up front then I would think you would find it very very hard. Renting a room might be different as sometimes houseshares can be more flexible - but you still need a means to pay the rent.

 

I didn't walk into my chosen career on a WHV as soon as I arrived. I landed, I registered with agencies and I got a job doing whatever I could so that I had money coming in. Once I had a job I could then get a rental. Once in the rental I then sat down and thought about how I was going to go about getting the job I actually wanted. I then went about that and got the job I wanted, leaving the temp job for the job that offered sponsorship.

 

What occupation are you looking to be sponsored in? From the sounds of your post it wont be as a teacher (because you don't have all the qualifications yet) so you need some other kind of occupation that an employer will be able to sponsor you on, they can't just like you and then sponsor you to do a random job so you can then go and qualify as a teacher.

 

From the sounds of it you need to get your qualifications as a teacher sorted and then revisit the issue at a later date.

[bell123321]

Have you looked on http://www.gumtree.com.au/

 

They have options for shared accomadation, short term and other rental options. Seems to have some more affordable options.

[Guest Kyoto]

Okay. Well the fact is you wont be able to get a place to live with a landlord without having a job first. How would they trust you to pay the rent? Unless you are going to pay for the whole 6-12 months up front then I would think you would find it very very hard. Renting a room might be different as sometimes houseshares can be more flexible - but you still need a means to pay the rent.

 

I was planning to pay for several months in advance yes. At least six months or more if I could save that much. Much like my healthcare, which I was told I could pay quarterly. I plan to pay it all up front as well. My goal would be to essentially have as much of the "fixed" costs paid for in case I ended up with large gaps of unemployment. This is, I believe, very atypical for people on a WHV. This is definitely a case of, "Here, take my money!" But I certainly can't afford to front $12,000 for a $2k/mo apartment. And even if I could... Not sure that I would be willing to.

 

I didn't walk into my chosen career on a WHV as soon as I arrived. I landed, I registered with agencies and I got a job doing whatever I could so that I had money coming in. Once I had a job I could then get a rental. Once in the rental I then sat down and thought about how I was going to go about getting the job I actually wanted. I then went about that and got the job I wanted, leaving the temp job for the job that offered sponsorship.

 

Right. This is about what I expected. I am perfectly prepared to do bar work or anything else for a limited period of time. Work is work.

 

What occupation are you looking to be sponsored in? From the sounds of your post it wont be as a teacher (because you don't have all the qualifications yet) so you need some other kind of occupation that an employer will be able to sponsor you on, they can't just like you and then sponsor you to do a random job so you can then go and qualify as a teacher.

 

Then perhaps my previous reading has not given me an accurate view of the sponsorship process. I've given you the types of occupations I've had in the past. I was under the impression I could be sponsored for a position in one of those fields, assuming an employer wished to keep me on.

 

From the sounds of it you need to get your qualifications as a teacher sorted and then revisit the issue at a later date.

 

I don't have many later dates, unfortunately. I'm 29. If I had been aware of the WHV, or even the transferability of certification, back in say... 2006 when I graduated from university, I'd be in a better situation. But I wasn't, and I'm not. However, it does appear I have to make a decision on whether to go or not in a very limited time frame. That being said, I moved to Japan with about a month of planning the first time, and elsewhere in East Asia with even less planning.

 

Ideally, I would finish the online certification process, fly back to Texas, do the supervised training, get the certification in hand and apply for the skilled visa. And, by the numbers, I should even have the time to do it. But when does anything go by the numbers? I suppose I'd rather get my year in Australia in, even if I have to leave Oz to come back in later, than not get the opportunity because I'm too old.

[nicolac34]

Sorry, I didn't see the bit where you put where you had other experience. I would have a read of the immigration website and see if any of those occupations are on the skilled lists, and if they are what qualifications and experience you would need to be sponsored in them. Unfortunatly it's not as simple as having experience, most of those occupations require a relevant degree as well.

 

$2,000 a month for your own apartment in Sydney would be around average I would think. We pay that for an apartment in Perth and we consider that we have cheap rent for the location. You can find cheaper if you are willing to share a house, like bell said above, check out gumtree for the kinds of rents people ask.

 

As for being 29, well you still have some time. You can apply for a WHV up until the day before you are 31 and even then you still have a year to use it, so could enter Australia the day before you turn 32. Obviously wouldn't leave it quite that late so that you only have a days grace, but you get what I mean. So really even if you are nearly 30 that gives you two years to sort out your teaching thing.

[Guest Kyoto]

Sorry, I didn't see the bit where you put where you had other experience. I would have a read of the immigration website and see if any of those occupations are on the skilled lists, and if they are what qualifications and experience you would need to be sponsored in them. Unfortunatly it's not as simple as having experience, most of those occupations require a relevant degree as well.

 

Yeah, I already did that. They're not. The only occupation I have which is on the skilled list is my main one, "Secondary Education Teacher." Which we've already examined. I'll be good as soon as I have that certification. By the points, you need 65. Most of the RMA websites show that I have 75 (with the certification).

 

$2,000 a month for your own apartment in Sydney would be around average I would think. We pay that for an apartment in Perth and we consider that we have cheap rent for the location. You can find cheaper if you are willing to share a house, like bell said above, check out gumtree for the kinds of rents people ask.

 

Is this doable at all for someone on a WHV, assuming that they comes with a fairly sizable chunk of change (let's say $10K), and with the assumption of some period of time on hospitality positions?

 

As for being 29, well you still have some time. You can apply for a WHV up until the day before you are 31 and even then you still have a year to use it, so could enter Australia the day before you turn 32. Obviously wouldn't leave it quite that late so that you only have a days grace, but you get what I mean. So really even if you are nearly 30 that gives you two years to sort out your teaching thing.

 

I didn't realise that. I understood from what I was reading that if you hadn't landed prior to turning 31, that you could not have a WHV. But the more I think about this, the more I wonder, with the right of reentry given to WHV holders... why can't I just do my certification online, and perhaps in the middle of my WHV, fly back to Texas, do my supervised training, and then return to Australia, where I can have my credentials verified and build the connections I need for further employment (likely in a private school)? This doesn't seem to be unreasonable.

 

You might be asking, "why don't you just go back to Texas until you're finished?" Because there's no work. That casual work I can get on the WHV in Australia? Not going to find it in many areas of the United States. Ask me how I know... I was just there. It's been this way since 2007, and Texas is one of the best economies in the US right now. Think about it too long and it'll give you nightmares. When I did my MA coursework I essentially didn't work--I had saved the money so I didn't have to and lived with my parents for the 18 months it took me to finish.

[nicolac34]

I'm not sure I would have paid $2,000 per month in rent if I was on my own, but I'm here with my husband and this is what we paid in rent together whilst on our WHV. Although there were periods when only one of us was working, so I guess it is dooable on a WHV alone if you wanted. But if you are on your own I'd suggest the houseshare route, probably find somewhere for around $200-$300 a week including bills.

[Guest Kyoto]

I'm not sure I would have paid $2,000 per month in rent if I was on my own, but I'm here with my husband and this is what we paid in rent together whilst on our WHV. Although there were periods when only one of us was working, so I guess it is dooable on a WHV alone if you wanted. But if you are on your own I'd suggest the houseshare route, probably find somewhere for around $200-$300 a week including bills.

 

$1000/mo is very different if it includes all bills. When I talk about $600 or $800/mo being my benchmark, that presumes I'll still pay gas, and electricity, and trash, and internet, and possibly even water. I'm paying $450/mo in my shoebox studio here in Japan which is nowhere near anything exciting, and while that does include high speed internet access (and boy will I miss that), it does not include gas, electricity, trash, or water. I pay for all of these. That would probably make it $800/mo, at least. If the internet wasn't included, it'd probably be closer to $875/mo. It's not a giant jump then to $1000 with all bills covered. One would hope I'm still managing to pull in at least what I make now, if not more per month. I calculated it, and I make $22/hr now (of course, I'm a school teacher, so I'm on salary, but if I broke it down, that's about what it is), and I believe minimum wage starts at $15.56 in Australia even for the most mundane of low-skilled positions. I saw no appreciable food or consumer good price difference between Kyoto and Sydney...

 

So assuming I can get anywhere near what I make now... I'll be fine? Maybe?

 

 

...and yes, I had found gumtree, as well as flatmates, realestate, and a host of others. The huge amount of variance in pricing is what prompted these posts. I had no idea how to judge what was and was not reasonable.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Kyoto

[nicolac34]

You'll get more than $15 an hour, thats for like 15 year olds, it goes up the older you are and if your casual it goes up even more. The least you can expect to earn is $20 an hour in a casual shop/bar job. If you manage to get an office job then you're looking at $25-$35 per hour. That works out to be around $900-$1,000 per week after tax for full-time hours.

 

So yeah, with savings and a decent temp job $1,000 a month should be fine.

[Guest Kyoto]

You'll get more than $15 an hour, thats for like 15 year olds, it goes up the older you are and if your casual it goes up even more. The least you can expect to earn is $20 an hour in a casual shop/bar job. If you manage to get an office job then you're looking at $25-$35 per hour. That works out to be around $900-$1,000 per week after tax for full-time hours.

 

...I made $8.25/hr working at my part time retail job when I did my MA. It was essentially just lunch money. And the 15 year olds were making $7.50. That is incredibly depressing.

 

I've looked up NSW starting teaching salaries and found them to be about $50K. Well, assuming Australia wants me (after I get the certification), sign me up! Put me in an inner city school! Put me in a regional school! I cannot believe that East Texas school district offered me $18K in 2007. In all the talk about Gonski, I've heard the idea of paying teachers significantly more bandied around. While I certainly think we're underpaid pretty much everywhere, Australian teachers are considerably better off than some of their peers elsewhere... Not saying it can't be better, just saying... It could be worse.

 

So yeah, with savings and a decent temp job $1,000 a month should be fine.

 

I completely agree.