DapperDirewolf Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi everyone! This is my first post I wanted to say hello and give a brief story of the plan my girlfriend and I have with moving temporarily (for now!) to Australia, and if anybody has any advice for us in any shape or form, it would be immensely appreciated! I'm a multimedia developer (video, 3D, web, animation, games) with 5 years experience working at a marketing agency, and my girlfriend is a primary school teacher with 2 years since qualifying. We're both leaving behind great, well paid, stable jobs to spend at least a year in Oz on a working holiday visa. Everything is being left behind, and we're selling and storing many of our things. We want to explore Oz in all it's glory, work almost anywhere that will have us - be it pulling pints at a pub or doing farm work with the WWOOFing registry. Ideally, either before, after, or in between seeing the sights, we would love to find work doing what we do right now, and luckily for me I can do a lot of my work online. We have a budget and savings plan in place preparing for September when we plan to leave, and it's all looking good. Of course, having any form of income while out there is going to help us out a lot; I'd prefer not to spend every penny of our savings! Frankly, the whole thing is terrifying. Exciting, yes, but also completely and utterly stomach-flipping scary as hell. Any advice for two people who are leaving it all behind for a year or two of excitement and adventure? That is, unless we stay indefinitely! Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racheyleigh Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hia, me an my other half are pretty much in the exact same position. Absolutely terrified of leaving our stable jobs here for a year or so adventure! Good luck and I'll keep an eye on this post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 (edited) That's a great post and a great idea. Don't be too scared, Australia is absolutely set up for backpackers and is really easy to travel around with very few pitfalls so long as you don't go off driving off road in the outback or walking into the bush without letting anyone know where you are going! It's pretty safe out there compared to a lot of places you could be heading to. There are a few places that I have visited that I must recommend. I consider them off the beaten track because they were when I backpacked in 2000, but this is probably old news now and they could now be where all backpackers go so you may hear these places a lot! Coral Bay on the west coast is my absolute favourite place in Australia and is absolutely worth the 12 drive north from Perth. You can snorkel in a mini Great Barrier Reef right off the shore, in fact you can paddle out and stick your head under and will be amazed what you see. There's a camp site almost on the beach. Magnetic Island is a magical place, that's off the coast from Townsville. Although I must admit, everyone I know that has been there reckoned it was crap (probably because it was so very quiet) but I found it to be paradise. Port Douglas and the Daintree north of cairns is stunning, most people stopped at cairns when I was backpacking but the extra effort to carry on North certainly pays dividends....and if you can get to Cooktown to experience that then so much the better (they once had a salt water crocodile walking down their high street.....no swimming in Cooktown!) The Kimberley's are apparently unforgettable although I have never been there. And, on a slightly different note, if you happen to get to Melbourne then get yourself to St Andrews Market on a Saturday morning for an authentic hippy experience and some very fine sausages. But most of all enjoy yourselves, you don't get these years to live again!! Edited May 9, 2014 by blobby1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DapperDirewolf Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Thanks for the replies! Some great suggestions, we will certainly be making an effort to see as much as we can out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 You might find it hard to get work in your occupations due to the restriction of only being able to work for one employer for 6 months. Your girlfriend would particularly find it hard as she would need to be registered and everything. Plus, there is an oversupply of primary teachers. My advice is to get the regional work done early to qualify for a second year visa if you want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegallagher Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 You may have already thought of this but try asking for a year long sabbatical I was in the fortunate position of being a contractor when me and the Mrs left for a 1 year WHV but she was in a permanent, solid job so she asked the question thinking she'd never get the time off but they actually agreed which was lucky indeed. Other than that I'd suggest giving it a try to get a job in the fields you are in, don't know too much about IT/Teaching but I didn't seem to have too many issues applying for contract roles despite the 6 month restriction on working for one employer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spleenus Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 It is actually quite reassuring to know there are others who are leaving stable careers behind for what can seem to people like a jolly jaunt. I was absolutely petrified for months about leaving my job to go to Australia, and once I did it it felt like a large weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Am I looking forward to it though? Hell yes! :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakergaz Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I know a lad that has managed to get a couple of temp animation jobs in Melbourne. Paid around 80 an hour I think. I don't really know a lot about it as it's not my field but I think he set up some sort of Facebook group for people in that area and has arranged a couple of networking meetings for computery animationy people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DapperDirewolf Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) Loving the encouragement and so happy to know other people have been in very similar situations! Our flights are actually booked now! Not all the way to Australia, yet... but we have booked one-way flights to Vietnam, where we are staying for 2 weeks, followed by a flight to Singapore - 3 days - and then Bali for 2-3 weeks (we haven't decided yet!). From there, we will fly to whichever Australian city we want to go to first! Scary stuff. I love it! I know a lad that has managed to get a couple of temp animation jobs in Melbourne. Paid around 80 an hour I think. I don't really know a lot about it as it's not my field but I think he set up some sort of Facebook group for people in that area and has arranged a couple of networking meetings for computery animationy people! Any chance you could find out and let me know what that Facebook group is? That would be absolutely great to look into. Thanks! Edited June 3, 2014 by DapperDirewolf missed a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossco1028 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Yeah I'm leaving a good stable job as a wind turbine technician behind to head over with the missus. She's a returning resident an I'm heading over on a whv for a year to see if I like it before going for a 457visa. We head out in September, got my visa through the other week there so very exciting. We're also selling up everything lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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