Guest marky Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Any carpenters/joiners working in or around Adelaide or on their way? I just want reassurance that Adelaide is the right place for me, my family, and my proffesion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J-inOz Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Hi, Mark, it all depends if you are the lucky type that land on their feet with a good job and won't have a/or much of a mortgage. I say this because OH is a carpenter and he hasn't found it easy here at all. There are the jobs, but they don't pay too well, I think the majority are anything between $20 and $30 an hour, which is between $800 and $1200 a week, take into account that if you are direct, you will obviously be paying tax and super out of that, so you will pick up less, which doesn't go very far if you have a good size mortgage, food and bills etc. On the rare occassion you can get $40 an hour if you are self employed, you still have to pay tax, gst, (super is optional then, but if you don't pay it, you get no pension) You will also have to (but not always) get the right licenses (by doing expensive courses) and insurances etc, which cost a fortune. Unless you are one of the lucky ones, you could find yourself with periods of time without work because they will only call for you when they want you. OH has learnt not to depend on one builder for work. This still doesn't stop the lull of work from mid december until beginning of feb. Sorry if this sounds negative, just saying how it is from our point of view. If you don't need a huge mortgage and both of you work then you will cope better financially. Apart from that we still prefer Australia to England but given the chance we would move interstate. Hopefully someone might post a better situation to counteract our experiences. Good luck. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Val Diffin Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 hi marky, we arrived here nearly 5 weeks ago and my hubby is a joiner/carpenter which is how we got PR. he has not got a job yet cos hes still in holiday mode but he has not met one person who has said that he would struggle to find work,their crying out for joiners over here,hubby has always been self employed but knows that he has to work for someone for a while till he finds his feet.he has his tools arriving next month but went out and bought some new ones which he thinks are cheaper here so i think he's getting restless(at last lol). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marky Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Hi Val, Thanks for your reply it is nice to hear some postive feedback. Just wondering which area you are currently staying in and how you are finding it, for example, house hunting, shops, schools, people etc. Finding out some first hand information will help towards our reserach into Adelaide. Thanks Marky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J-inOz Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Hi Val, it will be interesting to know if the comments about "not struggling to get work" are from Carpenters themselves as I have heard these comments many a time. Just because there are sites around it doesn't automatically mean there are jobs in abundance. If you are fortunate enough to have chill time before your husband has to get a job, that leads me to believe that you have a fair amount of money (not that thats my business) What I mean to say is that he will be able to work for lesser wages and the gaps in between jobs may not bother him so much. Unless of course he is one of the lucky ones that land on their feet. Sorry again to sound so negative, but people need to hear both sides of the story, ie: positive and negative. Best of luck to everyone. J J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Val Diffin Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Hi Marky, We've been here 5 weeks now and were lucky enough to get on arrival accomodation in an area called Clovelly Park which is 15 mins from city and 2 mins from Marion shopping centre.My youngest is in Clovelly Park primary just now until we decide were to buy and she has settled in no probs as kids do,my son whos 20 has a bar job in the city so he's happy, just to get hubby out now lol.We came over to activate our visas last July so we had an idea of the place.We have looked at Mount Barker which is lovely but will prob stay near were we are until OH gets established with work.What ever he finds out i'll keep you posted if you like.We find the shopping is on par with back in uk,the help for 1st time buyers has now increased to $14000 from 7000 and if you either build or buy a new build you get it goes up to $21k(i,m sure somebody will correct this if i,m wrong).The weather is lovely and we go to the beach at weekends and i can see my 9yr old thriving already with being outdoors all the time.We are enjoying our time here but its early days and we had been planning this for a couple of years so we are just going to take one day at a time. Anything i can help you with just let me know. Cheers Val Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Val Diffin Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Hi J, Thanks for replying,i totally agree that people need good and bad points of view and i let my OH read your OH experience in finding work here( he does'nt come on this site)and he said it was good to know as he knows it wont be easy like back in Scotland and the wages are lower so we,ll just have to see how we go. Where are you living and how long have you been here? Regards Val Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marky Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Thanks for your honest opinion on employment over there J. Is it the same situation throughout SA and most importantly can you see yourselves having a better life over there than back here? Hope you can keep me informed on how you're getting on Cheers Marky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marky Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Hi Val I would appreciate as much information on all aspects of living near Adelaide, eg, Work, Suburbs to live etc. Same goes to J. Hope hubby gets work soon, it would be great to know how he gets on. Cheers Marky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest majortom57 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Hi Marky,We've been here 5 weeks now and were lucky enough to get on arrival accomodation in an area called Clovelly Park which is 15 mins from city and 2 mins from Marion shopping centre.My youngest is in Clovelly Park primary just now until we decide were to buy and she has settled in no probs as kids do,my son whos 20 has a bar job in the city so he's happy, just to get hubby out now lol.We came over to activate our visas last July so we had an idea of the place.We have looked at Mount Barker which is lovely but will prob stay near were we are until OH gets established with work.What ever he finds out i'll keep you posted if you like.We find the shopping is on par with back in uk,the help for 1st time buyers has now increased to $14000 from 7000 and if you either build or buy a new build you get it goes up to $21k(i,m sure somebody will correct this if i,m wrong).The weather is lovely and we go to the beach at weekends and i can see my 9yr old thriving already with being outdoors all the time.We are enjoying our time here but its early days and we had been planning this for a couple of years so we are just going to take one day at a time. Anything i can help you with just let me know. Cheers Val I believe that to qualify for those first time buyers grants you will have to have a permenant visa Val. I know we was lucky as the $7000 came in handy for us last year !!!. I think that most people's wages will take a bit of a dip compared to what they could earn back in the UK, regardless of what line of work your in. I suppose the trick is not to fall into a false sense of security when you first arrive and have changed all your pounds into dollars. I think people sometimes calculate goods etc back into pounds and think " that's cheap". But when the dust settles and your earning dollars you may realise its not so cheap after all !!! We were a little bit lucky as we came over on a Employer sponsorship, that helped knowing that one of us (the wife) was walking straight into a job. We've been here in Adelaide for 2 years now, and although we struggle at times we now call this home. Our 2 children have settled very well, its a good place to bring them up. Good luck to you all. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J-inOz Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Hi Val and Mark, thanks for the reply. He has got work at the mo, but it is week to week. We have been here 3 years now and live in Hallett Cove. The quality of life here is a lot better, which to us doesn't mean that you have to have a big car, house and top of the range plasma. Since we have been here the boys have thrived. Our weekends are so busy with the boys sports and to be able to walk your dog across the beach or to just be able to throw the cricket stuff in the car to spend the day on the beach is priceless. We are spoilt for choice for beaches and parks for the smaller kids to play on. I personally think that it is more expensive for grocery shopping and second hand cars. It is easy at first to fall into the trap of converting back into pounds and thinking it is cheap, but it is like Jim says, 9 times out of ten you aren't earning as much as you would in the UK, so your dollar doesn't go as far. Mark, I have heard that there is more work in the north, but again that is heresay and not always necessarily from the people in the trade. Having years of experience of being in the trade means nothing to the people here, only aussie experience. My other half is slowly working his way up to better payed work, but as I have said it isn't always constant and there aren't many willing to pay a good wage. Mark if you are more of a 1st fixer, there is more work than second fixing, but although OH can do both, you need to have someone working with you for 1st fixing(as you would know) We don't feel the need to go back and it took a while for OH to settle (I settled straight away) We would however like to move states and maybe we will one day, money permitting, as although the quality of life is much better here in adelaide, we don't feel that is has ticked all the right boxes for us. Take care everyone. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chippie74 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 im a carpenter and been here just over a year,my advice would be to cold call to firms!! and get your building licence done its like the golden wonka ticket.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ukmacker Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Hi Mark we are old hats now been in oz lots of years, my husband is a carpenter and he has worked as a subby for different builders ,and thay dont pay the best aprox $28. an hour, he then decided to work for himself and earned $45. an hour he advertised in local paper got plenty of work more than he could handle ,the secret is good accountant to do your books and tax makes a big difference, we first off had a not so good one, then we found a realy good one we stay with him, my husband is semi retired now and just does maintenence work, we are doing ok we have our own home i have done part time work but only for a year we holiday regulary mainly around aus but have done some overseas holidays ,and are planning 6 weeks in the old country for may next year, but i think aus is a good place to live, we will always be poms and proud of it but like the relaxed life we have here, home builders are always looking for carpenters ,we have a friend with a home builder he is quite happy and gets reguler work, good luck Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deanrm Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Hi Just wanted to add our experiences to the thread. We have been in Adelaide for 9 weeks now, seems like so much longer. My OH is also a joiner/carpenter, he found work very easily and started 3 weeks after landing. All has gone very well so far and he is enjoying it, althought very very tired as it involves quiet abit of travelling at the minute. Money wise he is on the highr end of what has been mentioned and his boss said it will go up more if all is well after a couple of months. We are renting in Aldinga, which some would say is too far south but we love it. There is loads of building going on here so the area is growing fast. Our kids love school and their new lifes in general. Have not looked back once so far but I do realise its early days. If I can be any more help, please just call. Trisha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ukmacker Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Hi Trisha, Good on you both as thay fondly say in aus, hope everything continues to go well for you, you have got off to a good start and that will help you heaps, it can take 2 years to actualy settle, It certainly took us 2 years, it is a big move but you get there, and will be happy to visit the uk for holidays, I think it is a better place to bring up a family ,and Aldinga is a nice place , Good Luck to you and your Family Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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