Trip reports of a guy on a WHV

[tingtongman]

Hey Pom Queen, im in a rural town near Brisbane, im paying $90/week for a shared 2 bed, me and my friend are sharing the room. ($90 each). We are very happy with this as there is only 4 people total in the house.

 

 

 

 

This is the caravan park they have for Backpackers, really bad value as I said above, way overpriced, I didnt have a chance to look inside, but

 

 

 

4 people in each room, showers are outside and you have to pay to use them

Edited October 29, 2013 by tingtongman

[fish.01]

Hey Pom Queen, im in a rural town near Brisbane, im paying $90/week for a shared 2 bed, me and my friend are sharing the room. ($90 each). We are very happy with this as there is only 4 people total in the house.

 

 

.....

 

 

4 x $90 = $360 seems expensive for a 2 bed of that standard in a rural town near Brisbane if the house is on a 6 month lease. You could get that in inner Brisbane. They charge a lot more for short term rental so I guess that explains the price.

Edited October 29, 2013 by fish.01

[fish.01]

If going rural further away from the large cities Telstra is said to be the far better choice for coverage.

[fish.01]

So I went to Pacific fair today which is the big mall in the Gold Coast I believe could be wrong? ...

 

FYI, Robina is the biggest mall on the GC.

[tingtongman]

me picking them onions, hard work but im managing $100 today which worked out at around $15-16hr.

 

I have only done it 3 days so in hoping to be earning $160+ a day, and its not easy, when I have sunday off I will hopefully write up a guide on how to pick onions, well the basic tips, as I have should good knoweldge on them by then.

 

White onions are good

 

RED onions are not!

 

 

[tingtongman]

If going rural further away from the large cities Telstra is said to be the far better choice for coverage.

 

yeah I think I should of went with the now, but Optus worked fine in my area on my phone, the dongle is cutting off now and again

 

 

16 of these baskets full = 1 bin = $40-$45

 

Edited November 1, 2013 by tingtongman

[Guest The Pom Queen]

yeah I think I should of went with the now, but Optus worked fine in my area on my phone, the dongle is cutting off now and again

 

 

16 of these baskets full = 1 bin = $40-$45

 

Loving this thread, thank you so much for sharing. How long does it take to do a basket? Were you aching all over lol.

[tingtongman]

basket really varies from how easy the onions are to pick on a farm, but appox takes me 4-9mintues depending on how hard I go. Between the two of us it takes up 1hour 25mintues to fill up a bin which equals $40. We have only been doing it 4 days now, but we hope to slowly bring the time down to 1hour.

 

I will write a detailed overview on how to pick onions on my blog when I get time. But if you just go onto the farm without no hats, good scissors ($59), at least 6-10 baskets, oil and knee pads, gloves, you wont have any chance of making any kind of money. You really need to be prepared and have the correct equipment.

 

I see some backpackers with 1 basket given too them and rusty cutting scissors, they will make 1 bin in like 5hours. While others who have all the gear are making 3-6 a day.

 

 

1 Bin. Its hard work.

 

 

 

Yes all my body is hurting, but there are older people than me doing it 40+, and they seem fine, I think after a week or two my body will adjust, my hands are blistered up and I Cant make a fist at the moment, should make around $500 this week, which is okay as we are taking this week as a learning curve, want to make around $750+ next week, we also didn't work a full week.

and it counts towards our 88 days

Edited November 1, 2013 by tingtongman

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Wow that's a hell of a lot of onions in one basket. Hope you aren't aching as much now. How long are you staying there for and what are your plans after there.

[Britpop]

How much does this work out roughly after tax etc deductions. I.e. What's the take home?

Seems like back breaking work and if it's $750 before tax for 7 days a week? Then it seems like really crap money??

[blossom]

How much does this work out roughly after tax etc deductions. I.e. What's the take home?

Seems like back breaking work and if it's $750 before tax for 7 days a week? Then it seems like really crap money??

He said they are not working a full week, so even at 5 days, it isn't that ​bad.

[tingtongman]

Wow that's a hell of a lot of onions in one basket. Hope you aren't aching as much now. How long are you staying there for and what are your plans after there.

 

staying here until our 88days are done we are also hoping to save $6k+, plans after is maybe Brisbane or Sydney, we not too sure.

 

How much does this work out roughly after tax etc deductions. I.e. What's the take home?

Seems like back breaking work and if it's $750/£460 before tax for 7 days a week? Then it seems like really crap money??

 

After tax I take home $750 . Its not backbreaking work, its hard work yeah. But if you want your 2nd WHV you dont really have much of a choice, I actually enjoy this work, me and my friend set our self time goals to beat everyday. we did 7 bins today in about 8 hours (excluding breaks) so thats like $19/ph. So our times are only getting better which increases my hourly.

 

The work is actually fun if you want it to be, it all depends on your attitude to the task. I mean I did beat root picking the other week for $17.50/hr and that bored me to death, I was waiting for the clock to hit 5pm so I could leave, yes the work is easy, but its the worst kind because you have no desire to work hard or have any sense of achievement. For me anyway.

 

we work as many or as few days as we want, this week we will work 6 days so hopefully we can break $850+.

Edited November 4, 2013 by tingtongman

[tingtongman]

this was my views from work today, sadly you dont have time to appreciate it until your on break as all your thinking about is picking up the fruit or veg. There was also a Forrest fire which looked awesome, no pics sadly.

 

 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

How much does this work out roughly after tax etc deductions. I.e. What's the take home?

Seems like back breaking work and if it's $750 before tax for 7 days a week? Then it seems like really crap money??

To be honest the way farmers are having it tough at the moment that is a damn good wage. Most rural work just offer free accommodation and board and no wage yet there are hundreds of applicants for this type of work because like the OP said, people will do anything to get their 2nd year visa.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

To be honest the way farmers are having it tough at the moment that is a damn good wage. Most rural work just offer free accommodation and board and no wage yet there are hundreds of applicants for this type of work because like the OP said, people will do anything to get their 2nd year visa.

Just to add to this my middle son is working 12 hour days (he is a Australian citizen) 5 days a week and gets $310 before tax. He would jump at a job like this one.

[furkew]

Just to add to this my middle son is working 12 hour days (he is a Australian citizen) 5 days a week and gets $310 before tax. He would jump at a job like this one.

 

that's about $5.00 an hour!!

 

My eldest (18) gets more than that a week and he works less than 25 hours a week. (mitre 10 and farm work)

[Guest The Pom Queen]

that's about $5.00 an hour!!

 

My eldest (18) gets more than that a week and he works less than 25 hours a week. (mitre 10 and farm work)

True, he only gets paid for rostered hours and you know what hospitality is like you never get away on time.

[Britpop]

It's more that the construed promise of the WHV is that you can make really good money, the way the UK is going, it's not 'really good' not even particularly good dependant on you age/ experience. If you come from minimum wage, yes, and similar work in the UK ( the onion line, picking off the bad/mouldy ones, you have to employ Eastern Europeans because the English would rather be on the dole than do that 8hrs a day for min wage) would pay a relative wage but not 'good' taking into account the cost of living.

Just if you are getting say £8-10 an hour at home, you wouldn't be better off in the environment because of the cost of living surely?

[Guest51810]

It's more that the construed promise of the WHV is that you can make really good money, the way the UK is going, it's not 'really good' not even particularly good dependant on you age/ experience. If you come from minimum wage, yes, and similar work in the UK ( the onion line, picking off the bad/mouldy ones, you have to employ Eastern Europeans because the English would rather be on the dole than do that 8hrs a day for min wage) would pay a relative wage but not 'good' taking into account the cost of living.

Just if you are getting say £8-10 an hour at home, you wouldn't be better off in the environment because of the cost of living surely?

 

I think part of your post is a bit unfair, i work 8 hours a day for minimum wage and i'd choose it everytime than sitting on the dole for £56 a week..

[Guest The Pom Queen]

It's more that the construed promise of the WHV is that you can make really good money, the way the UK is going, it's not 'really good' not even particularly good dependant on you age/ experience. If you come from minimum wage, yes, and similar work in the UK ( the onion line, picking off the bad/mouldy ones, you have to employ Eastern Europeans because the English would rather be on the dole than do that 8hrs a day for min wage) would pay a relative wage but not 'good' taking into account the cost of living.

Just if you are getting say £8-10 an hour at home, you wouldn't be better off in the environment because of the cost of living surely?

I've never seen a promise that the WHV can make you good money, far from it, the WHV is there to help you get a little extra pocket money whilst you travel. No one is asking backpackers to come to Australia they choose to come to experience a different way of life. I wouldn't head to Singapore and expect them to give me a job so that I can have a 5 star holiday.

Of the backpackers I know I don't think they expect it either most work for free in return for food and accommodation

[blossom]

I've also never seem anyone say that if you come on a whv you can make good money. The opposite as you can only work 6 months in each job, so all the really good jobs don't want you.

[tingtongman]

It's more that the construed promise of the WHV is that you can make really good money, the way the UK is going, it's not 'really good' not even particularly good dependant on you age/ experience. If you come from minimum wage, yes, and similar work in the UK ( the onion line, picking off the bad/mouldy ones, you have to employ Eastern Europeans because the English would rather be on the dole than do that 8hrs a day for min wage) would pay a relative wage but not 'good' taking into account the cost of living.

Just if you are getting say £8-10 an hour at home, you wouldn't be better off in the environment because of the cost of living surely?

If I make $750 a week I will earn more than my friends who work in a well known Bank making £24k a year (after they get taxed). And I have the freedom to work as much/as little as I want.

 

You are also missing the bigger picture, the whole reason for working here is to get a 2nd year visa, which will give me another year in Oz.

 

my weekly spending here is like $150< too, I have a spreadsheet of all my costs and should will post at the end of the month.

Edited November 4, 2013 by tingtongman

[Britpop]

I think part of your post is a bit unfair, i work 8 hours a day for minimum wage and i'd choose it everytime than sitting on the dole for £56 a week..

I'm not suggesting for a moment people would rather take the dole than min wage, but that in our area, having lived on the onion farm for 5 years, you could not get an English person to work the onion line for more than a few days because it was a pretty horrible job and they would pack it in. They didn't see the reward as worth it, I'm speaking from experience!

 

Im in a hostel in Sydney at the moment and all anyone talks about is how much money they can/will try to earn while here as their major goal?! It's not why I've come, I'm far better off at home but I'd say 90% of the people we've met expect to leave with money.

 

And yes if you're doing the job to get the second year it's all irrelevant but you started this thread that your goal was to reduce costs and make as much money as you can and later that you hope to have saved $6k. This is why I'm asking, it's good for people to see exactly what needs to go into making any money.

 

if it's fun and not as backbreaking as it first sounded and you can get the times down then fab but say you were living in the rat infested place and as slow as the slowest, that'd be a pretty horrible experience and I'm guessing there are people doing that?

Edited November 5, 2013 by Britpop

[tingtongman]

As I have said with onion picking you need to set yourself goals or it will get pretty tedious, I did say hourly work would be so boring here, so I guess that is one reason why English people would not go and pick "moldy" onions all day back in England. My goal is to save $6k in 3 months, its quite an achievable goal, since there are people on a WHV who are raking $160-200 a day here. While others struggle to make $40 in the same job. If I dont set my self goals personally, I wont last here, I need targets for motivation.

 

I live in rural area where there is nothing to do but get drunk with other backpackers, which I don't fancy doing. I would rather spend these 3 months working as much as I can, save my reasonable target of $6k and then go and explore the rest of Oz. The city I am in is about 1 mile wide, I don't see any reason to spend any money here unless I have to. There is nothing to do.

 

I am also not sure if your on a gap year or whatever but im not, I could if I wanted stay here for a whole year fruit picking, because im not going England any time soon, there is no rush. And as much hard work it is, currently im enjoying it, im not sure if I will be saying that in a months time mind you. And we are all here for different reason.

 

Just because England may be better salary wise for some, doesn't mean that should be the sole reason one should work there. In the Gold Coast I lived 2 minutes walking distance from a beach and paid less than $21 in rent a day, I could be earning $50 a day in Oz and I would pick it over a $700 job in some city in England during the winter due to the lifestyle one can get in Oz compared to the UK (okay maybe not for that wage difference but you see my point lol). My friend who is with me quit a very good job with a good salary because he hated the UK, he earns less onion picking but he said hes never been happier.

Edited November 5, 2013 by tingtongman

[Guest The Pom Queen]

I'm not suggesting for a moment people would rather take the dole than min wage, but that in our area, having lived on the onion farm for 5 years, you could not get an English person to work the onion line for more than a few days because it was a pretty horrible job and they would pack it in. They didn't see the reward as worth it, I'm speaking from experience!

 

Im in a hostel in Sydney at the moment and all anyone talks about is how much money they can/will try to earn while here as their major goal?! It's not why I've come, I'm far better off at home but I'd say 90% of the people we've met expect to leave with money.

 

And yes if you're doing the job to get the second year it's all irrelevant but you started this thread that your goal was to reduce costs and make as much money as you can and later that you hope to have saved $6k. This is why I'm asking, it's good for people to see exactly what needs to go into making any money.

 

if it's fun and not as backbreaking as it first sounded and you can get the times down then fab but say you were living in the rat infested place and as slow as the slowest, that'd be a pretty horrible experience and I'm guessing there are people doing that?

 

To be honest all you seem to be doing is picking the OP's thread apart, I hope this isn't the case :no:

Can you please explain the part where you say you have lived on an onion farm for 5 years, I guess this must be the UK as it's not in Australia if you are on a WHV.

Yes you can save money whilst being on a paid farm, so yes you can end up with a healthy bank account, but that's because there is nothing to spend your money on in the outback and usually food and lodgings are included or at a reduced rate.