Kegzie Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Hey everyone I'm a mechanic over in England been told of a job over in darwin and need to decide what I think about the concept of moving to live there. I'm a single guy I'm 26 years old coming over on my own, wondering what the nightlife is like and if its easy to make friends and socialise I'm very sporty and into fitness also love boxing. Also wondering about general life in darwin read about the climate and about wildlife wondering if it is as bad as the horror stories any feedback would be excellent!!! thanks matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Hey everyone I'm a mechanic over in England been told of a job over in darwin and need to decide what I think about the concept of moving to live there. I'm a single guy I'm 26 years old coming over on my own, wondering what the nightlife is like and if its easy to make friends and socialise I'm very sporty and into fitness also love boxing. Also wondering about general life in darwin read about the climate and about wildlife wondering if it is as bad as the horror stories any feedback would be excellent!!!thanks matt Hi mate we activated our visa in Darwin as we have relatives there and I absolutely loved it, no idea about nightlife as we are a family so socialising was usually at people's houses, plenty of gyms BIL is into nmartial arts and a member of an MMA club and loves it, if you have your visa and a job offer at 26 I reckon it's a good place to start you don't have to stay there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kegzie Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 That's good to know thanks, how did you find the weather been hearing its dam hot which England never is. Also the house rent prices seem high is this normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKG Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Cool thread. Im planning to migrate to darwin but Im starting off with a student VISA. Did some research and I am afraid that my family might encounter a salt water croc. been reading some news about Darwin and its got mixed reviews, recently though Darwin was named as the easiest cities in Australia to find a job. Dont have the link but you can google it. http://www.darwin.nt.gov.au/ - this site is really good as it shows some developments in Darwin. http://www.dlp.nt.gov.au/ - this too is really good if you want to see what new structures are being built in the NT. I am from the Philippines and hopefully I make it to Darwin soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 That's good to know thanks, how did you find the weather been hearing its dam hot which England never is. Also the house rent prices seem high is this normal? We were there in the middle of winter (July last year) and the weather was absolutely fantastic dry, warm and sunny it was between 26 and 32c most days perfect weather for me, summers are hot, humid and wet! lots of thunder storms around tea time but loads of sun. Housing is expensive but it is growing so fast it's unbelievable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shugah Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Hi theKG, First of all thanks for giving me 0 points, just received some message from you. Darwin is a nice place and hahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha you are goofy mate no salt water croc will bite you. You dont have to live in the mangroves. It's good place the best part I like about that place is when I was there, I woke up 1 morning and went downstairs to have a cup of Coffeeeeeeeeee guess what the blokes were having a pint ( let's say beer so you know what I'm buzzing about ) in the morning. I felt out of place and they just looked at me so I said crap it get me Tooheys and everyone was like Yaehhhhhhhhh Cheers mateeeeeeeee. It's more relaxed and people are friendly I'm sure they will love yah. Summer is crazy but again to each it's own. You wanna fly to Bali then 1 hour 10 minutes flight from Darwin. You wanna see crocs you can go to crocodile farm and yes they dont bite yah, hang on please maintain the distance dont jump of the fence. If you are tradesmen or into hospitality then it's the perfect place. Please note : I'm not a professional advisor it's just that I'm sharing ideas from my experience, travel and stay in Darwin and other parts of Kangrooland. Regards, Shugah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 What horror stories have you heard mate? I quite like Darwin. Been up on business trips a lot so have seen a fair bit of the nightlife. It's only a small place so everything is really on a couple of streets. Should be easy to make friends I reckon, lots of backpackers around too, so a fair bit of incoming, outgoing talent. Few nice restaurants and a lot of money has been spent on redevelopment of the old port. Biggest outdoor wave pool in the Southern Hemisphere, not my cup of tea but gets pretty packed. If you have a job to come to give it a shot. It has a dry and wet season and I've been up there in June and it was perfect. Locals were complaining about how cold it was when it hit 19 degrees one night. Wet season is very wet but it's never cold. I would try and live close to the City and not somewhere like Palmerston which I didn't like at all. Some big army bases there and the town will be full of a lot of ADF personnel, at the weekend in particular. Nothing wrong with that, they are usually just looking to party like most people and they stand a good chance of losing there career if they get involved in trouble in town. They have a fair amount of money to throw around too, so it keeps Darwin ticking over. Add to that Inpex are bringing a project on shore there so there should be a few more jobs around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoria123 Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 We loved Darwin. Were very skeptical in the beginning. But turns out Darwin is like a country side "city" lots of outdoor activities to do and absolutely beautiful scenery. It is just very humid, but bearable. The people are very friendly and welcoming. NT really needs to be given more credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKG Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Hi theKG, First of all thanks for giving me 0 points, just received some message from you. Darwin is a nice place and hahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha you are goofy mate no salt water croc will bite you. You dont have to live in the mangroves. It's good place the best part I like about that place is when I was there, I woke up 1 morning and went downstairs to have a cup of Coffeeeeeeeeee guess what the blokes were having a pint ( let's say beer so you know what I'm buzzing about ) in the morning. I felt out of place and they just looked at me so I said crap it get me Tooheys and everyone was like Yaehhhhhhhhh Cheers mateeeeeeeee. It's more relaxed and people are friendly I'm sure they will love yah. Summer is crazy but again to each it's own. You wanna fly to Bali then 1 hour 10 minutes flight from Darwin. You wanna see crocs you can go to crocodile farm and yes they dont bite yah, hang on please maintain the distance dont jump of the fence. If you are tradesmen or into hospitality then it's the perfect place. Please note : I'm not a professional advisor it's just that I'm sharing ideas from my experience, travel and stay in Darwin and other parts of Kangrooland. Regards, Shugah How do I give points? I gave a reputation point but it did not ask me how much to give. LOL. Thanks for the tips too! I am into healthcare. Nursing to be specific. I have read that NT has soe really goodplans and they are going to subsidize housing for teachers and nurses in the future. hopefully everything will fall into place. Still No VISA grant though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citation560XL Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 We loved Darwin. Were very skeptical in the beginning. But turns out Darwin is like a country side "city" lots of outdoor activities to do and absolutely beautiful scenery. It is just very humid, but bearable. The people are very friendly and welcoming. NT really needs to be given more credit. Hi victoria123, I have just submitted the EOI and hope to get through on SS NT. I am an AME too.. I would appreciate if you could give me a few pointers on the current Aviation sector in Darwin... is it easy or rather how hard is it to find a job there? do u have to register with any organization to work in our line? thank you so much for any info... i am working without a "manual" until now...:wacko: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoria123 Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 (edited) Hi citation560XL We only did our activation trip to Darwin and we wish to eventually stay there. Although we did apply for a job, we did not get it. It seems you need to be licensed to even stand a chance. The NT SS site also mentions mandatory registration (ame's don't register as far as I know, unless you want to register with recruitment agencies) or a license. It would be in your best interest to obtain your license if you don't already have it. They will ask you for evidence of job opportunities in you ss application, I did not see one for a non -licensed ame's when I was looking in NT ss last year. You not applying directly for ss? Edited July 13, 2013 by victoria123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest24485 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Darwin is not a bad place. We lived there for 4 years. Wet season (October to April) was always a bit of a struggle due to the humidity but dry season is nice. Plenty of things to do such as Kakadu national park, Litchfield national park, Crocodile tours etc. Night life was always fun, more blokes than women though. Dry season tended to be better due to the tourist season. The is a nice newish wave pool opened down the wharf, plenty of pubs and restaurants to visit. As a person with a young family I will say that it had limited things for kids to do compared with where with live now in QLD but it is a growing town/city and the infrastructure will get better with time. All I will say is go with an open mind, don't compare things to the U.K and watch out for the bloody mozzies in wet season and you will be fine. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyjames Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Hi Matt, Have just read your post. I have lived in Darwin since March 2010. 1. It is a friendly place. Often people say hello to you as you walk down the street. 2. Regarding the weather, if you can find a place to live that is on the 3rd floor or above and you have a balcony it is fine. In other words, look to live in a unit that is on at least the 3rd floor. Houses and anything on the ground floor often means mozzies and other insects. 3. There are a lot of sporting activities to do. Quite a lot of the apartment complexes have indoor gyms. 4. Nightlife is centered on Mitchell Street in Darwin City. The average age in Darwin is quite low, and many of the young people go out to drink in bars and nightclubs. 5. What is the pay you are being offered for being a mechanic? The reason I ask is that your income will affect your quality of life here in Darwin. 6. I live in the Darwin CBD. Apart from possibly Cullen Bay I wouldn't want to live in any other suburb. 7. Your major expense will be shelter. If you can sort this out then you can probably save up a lot of money. 8. Apart from a visit to the Territory Wildlife Park I haven't visited the wildlife. I spent 3 years in the Infantry in the UK (in the Territorial Army), and despite this I am scared about going into the outback. Break down. No mobile phone signal. And you could have serious problems on your hands. Life is dangerous enough. Why put yourself in even more danger. That is my motto. In conclusion, if you have a job lined up, and accommodation sorted, I would give it a go. The worse case scenario is that you return to the UK after a few months with a tan. As regards the weather I like it all year round. The wet season is only a few degrees hotter than the dry season. And in the wet it doesn't actually rain that much in terms of hours of rain. It generally just bounces down for an hour or two then passes. I have noticed it also mainly rains at night time. In over 3 years I have only ever been rained on five or six times. That gives you an idea of how little it rains in terms of hours raining. Hope the above helps you in your decision making. Kind Regards, Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Only spent a few days in Darwin. But My views: Great Wave pool Crocks big news in the paper - not sure there's much other news Bars basically all on one or two streets Very hot and sweaty Short trip for asian holidays Darwin centre a bit rough around the edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawn85 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I say go for it...especially if you have secured a job to go to. We (27yo couple) are moving out 01/10/13 and are very much looking forward to the opportunity, from what I have read/heard you will have no problem with the sporting/social side of your life :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKG Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 hey guys, just arrived in Darwin last 01 August, and I like every bit of Darwin! Wheather is fine for now. I always get static shock though, must be careful when the lightning storms come. LOL. People here are very friendly and polite. No traffic jams. Low crime rate. Generally it is clean with very little rubbish here and there, very negligible. Mitchell Street is bustling with activity. I hope you come here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nattheblessed Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hey, OK...this is our experience.......We started our WHV in Darwin last May. We stayed here for 5 months. We were working, we were living in a tent (in a backpackers garden), and we were sick of the same old stuff. Darwin is a small "city". We lived in a tent as it was the cheapest place to stay in the actual city, and we needed to be there for work. We did all the tourist stuff and got bored. I was ready to just go back home coz it felt like we would never save any money to get anywhere else. We felt "Stuck". HOWEVER...... We found a farm in WA where we could go and do our 3 months rural work (which you need to get a second year WHV). I wasn't bothered at that time about staying, but my husband really wanted to be here. So we left in October ( at the start of the "build up", Very humid!), and just managed to save the money to get to the farm. I was just happy to be out of Darwin. We had a great experience on the farm and stayed for nearly 5 months. After that we just decided to go to Melbourne as the next place. Bad idea. We didn't like the city, far too busy! we also struggled to find work. My husband is a chef so it should have been easy, but it was too big and busy a place to get from A to B easily. We only stayed there 2 weeks. We were running out of money and decided to come back to Darwin as we knew it was coming to the end of the wet season and there would be lots of work available. In March we arrived back in Darwin. This time, we really appreciate Darwin. We like the laid-back culture, we like that we can just spend our days off in the bars/pubs/restaurants chilling. Yes, rent is high here, but you can find cheaper places if you keep looking. Anyway, the pay here is great. We both have jobs, we earn $25ph and for the first time in our entire lives we have been able to start saving a substantial amount of money, in just a short time. We don't do clubs but there is a good night life here. Always lots of young travellers around May-Aug. Not sure what the feel of the city is during the wet season, but it is much quieter than the dry. Everyone here is very friendly and sociable so you shouldn't have worries bout meeting people and making friends. Darwin also has a huge culture of Keeping Fit. There are gyms all over, and a lot of people go running in some really nice, picturesque areas. You see personal trainers doing sessions on the beach, and a lot of people riding bikes etc. They love their exercise as much as they love their beer!! ( some more than others). Hope this helps you get a picture of Darwin... :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citation560XL Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Hi citation560XL We only did our activation trip to Darwin and we wish to eventually stay there. Although we did apply for a job, we did not get it. It seems you need to be licensed to even stand a chance. The NT SS site also mentions mandatory registration (ame's don't register as far as I know, unless you want to register with recruitment agencies) or a license. It would be in your best interest to obtain your license if you don't already have it. They will ask you for evidence of job opportunities in you ss application, I did not see one for a non -licensed ame's when I was looking in NT ss last year. You not applying directly for ss? Hi Victoria 123, Yes i am applying directly to NT for the SS. In any case, I need to submit an EOI (new rules i guess). Just sent off the docs to my agent. Yes i haven't found any job posting for unlicensed AMEs there (strange .. since its on the SMP list), All the jobs are either in Brissy or Perth. I have got a certificate IV aeroskills from Aviation Australia thro RPL recently though. Hopefully i will stand a chance this way. Thank for your reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huss81 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hello Citation, Are you through with your NT SS? If Yes, could you please help me with few questions that I have? Your help will be really appreciated! Regards HR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Cool thread. Im planning to migrate to darwin but Im starting off with a student VISA. Did some research and I am afraid that my family might encounter a salt water croc.been reading some news about Darwin and its got mixed reviews, recently though Darwin was named as the easiest cities in Australia to find a job. Dont have the link but you can google it. http://www.darwin.nt.gov.au/ - this site is really good as it shows some developments in Darwin. http://www.dlp.nt.gov.au/ - this too is really good if you want to see what new structures are being built in the NT. I am from the Philippines and hopefully I make it to Darwin soon! Well you won't be alone. Philippine immigrants rated the top group to arrive in the NT during 11- 12. Some 660 arrived. Considering only 1,800 plus were in NT as of the 2011 census it is a rapidly growing community. Indeed the city gets mixed reviews. The costs have escalated since I lived there enormously. I liked the place but as with many moved on in due course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi mate we activated our visa in Darwin as we have relatives there and I absolutely loved it, no idea about nightlife as we are a family so socialising was usually at people's houses, plenty of gyms BIL is into nmartial arts and a member of an MMA club and loves it, if you have your visa and a job offer at 26 I reckon it's a good place to start you don't have to stay there. I agree. Plenty of places for night life. Big backpacker scene and lots of special offers when I lived there. Rather a young scene I found and most folk after thirty or so do tend to mingle more in houses or even Mindle Beach. I have heard some negative reports from the time I lived there so am not up with the latest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 hey guys, just arrived in Darwin last 01 August, and I like every bit of Darwin! Wheather is fine for now. I always get static shock though, must be careful when the lightning storms come. LOL. People here are very friendly and polite. No traffic jams. Low crime rate. Generally it is clean with very little rubbish here and there, very negligible. Mitchell Street is bustling with activity. I hope you come here! Not sure about the low crime rate. Break ins far from uncommon, those rather scary dogs kept by some households are for a reason. Late night there are/were issues around Todd Mall .Have things improved to such an extent then? Not too hard to get into a bit off biff....but nothing on the scale of The Alice though. Still great place, always something going on and lived close to inner city so most walkable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valentinaAU Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi, we are me, my husband and two children. We apply for a 190 ( fingers cross). I'm looking for a rent house and for a job, but the prices for rent are very high. Why? What's the situation about the job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topender Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 For those on WHV or seeking sponsorship, Darwin is absolutely the best place in Australia and gives you the greatest opportunity. Its a small city but close to Kakadu & Litchfield, very friendly, great nightlife, lots of travelers, lots of people from different cultures. Lots of work available skilled or unskilled, lots to see and do and great experiences to be enjoyed. You really can't come to Australia without visiting the Northern Territory. Because its the Capital city of the North, for its size it has more facilities, more culture and more activities than any other city of its size in Australia. Only down sides are, its hot humid weather (Nov-March), cost of accomodation is high (due to demand and just about no unemployment). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huss81 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Just about no employment" sounds very encouraging For those on WHV or seeking sponsorship, Darwin is absolutely the best place in Australia and gives you the greatest opportunity. Its a small city but close to Kakadu & Litchfield, very friendly, great nightlife, lots of travelers, lots of people from different cultures. Lots of work available skilled or unskilled, lots to see and do and great experiences to be enjoyed. You really can't come to Australia without visiting the Northern Territory. Because its the Capital city of the North, for its size it has more facilities, more culture and more activities than any other city of its size in Australia. Only down sides are, its hot humid weather (Nov-March), cost of accomodation is high (due to demand and just about no unemployment). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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