scuffythetugboat Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Back to your original question. I remember back in the 80's there was a family that arrived at Sydney airport with permanent visas and decided that they did not like the place then flew back to the uk about 3 hours later! Could be the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fabricator Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Geraldton is a little way out for sure and this is obviously hindering your sons employment potential . i have friends that went to geraldton 6 years ago and they love it ?? but then i wouldnt like the center of sydney ..... where quite obviously a lot of people do love it . shame your on youre visa but once your commitment has been fullfilled and if its an option , head back to perth and see how you fancy your chances there , I have fell in love with the oz dream , however if i dont like it when im there i will give it my absoloute best shot , move , try new places etc , Its to far to go and to bloody expensive to return so soon .. Good luck what ever u decide . lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Just like to know what is the shortest time anyone has been in Australia before returning to the UK, I came to Australia to a small place called Geraldton in WA which in my opinion is no better than a 'Hick Town' I have only been here a short time but I knew the moment I stepped off the plane that I hated the place. I was so blinked that Australia was better than the UK, especially with the present economic climate, but so far Australia has proved to be overrated and overpriced, talk about 'rip off Britain' which is nothing compared to the Australia, rental is the biggest rip off followed by food prices. And as for embracing the Aussie way of life Sun, Beaches and bbq's, but the sun is too hot and has to be avoided, the beaches here are windswept and I'm already fed up with bbq's especially the crap Aussie beef sausages. I have been told to give it longer here as the rule of the thumb is 2 years, but I can't see the point in stopping more than 6 months especially as my 20 year old son can not find work, and yet allegedly Australia is crying out for workers. For me Australia has turned out to be a disappointment throwing away a good life in the UK to live on the breadline in Australia, incidentally the bread is also crap here! I have come over to Australia on a 457 visa with fellow Brits who think its great here, so I guess it's just me? I heard of a family that arrived from north west U.K into Perth airport in the Oz winter . When they arrived it was pouring with rain .....they didnt fancy it , and caught the first flight back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 We came from Cornwall, so we had the beach on the door step and when the sun did shine it was a fantastic place to be, but it was not as isolated as Geraldton which is 400km North of Perth. I am tied to a sponsored 457 visa so can not move location or job but the short time I have been here we have taken time on days off to visit the Coral Coast from Kalbarri down to Perth and the place is fantastic - for a holiday I hasten to add. I have a work colleague who has moved to Melbourne who has settled in well and has no regrets and I feel if I was in another part of Oz with another company my feelings may be different apart from the sausages and bread. I was hoping to visit places like Sydney, Melbourne etc; and since visiting Perth I have found prices higher in Geraldton from food to fuel. There is not a lot to do in Geraldton unless you like fishing, it seems the place is like 'Marmite' you either hate it or loath it.One thing is at least I have tried it, if I hadn't I would have regretted not giving it a go! I always say to people " if you live in a nice area of the UK ....which Cornwall is , and you are happy with your life .....can pay your bills etc .....WHY LEAVE ? Yes i know i will get lambasted with replies .....but i honestly believe if the UK ticks all the boxes ( decent job , nice area ,house etc )....then it, along with mainland western Europe ( dont mention the economy )is the place to be .....just my humble opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Edit to add: I am not in agreement with the "notion" that folk are "fooled" into coming here. the best resourse possible is/was available at your fingertips and that is PIO. Add to that, the countless other migration forums, google, and other research facilities, and quite frankly, if anyone is dissapointed with where they are, I can only say, "you got yourself there". If folk tried blaming themselves once in a while instead of blaming Oz, find strategies to change their situation instead of thinking that it is beyond their control, then they might have a more positive and beneficial outcome to what ails them good luck I completely agree with this. It took me about 1 hour of research when I found PIO (via google) to realise about the cost of living in Oz and a rough wage to make life comfortable. The wage DH will be getting is a little under this (about 2x his UK wage) so we will have to tighten our belts for the first year or so. I think the emotional side is far more difficult to calculate and can't be worked out before you leave. We are going on a 457 (with the employer willing to sponsor for PR after 2 years if all goes to plan). There will be relocation costs to be reimbursed if we left before the 2 years so I'm figuring that the 2 year rule will apply in our case! At the moment I am hoping to get PR and stay permanently but I guess we don't know until we get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 This is a great thread and good to have a bit of humour on here about the sausages and bread. . At the moment you are stuck on a 457 visa and presumably stuck in a rental in a town you could have researched forever but its never the same as living there and everybody knows that. Nobody knows what it would feel like to live here before they come no matter what the smug folk say. If I were you I would move somewhere where you are less isolated. Try and get your current employer to sponser you for permanent residency and then leg it (or fly would be better). It will cost a bit to relocate but honestly Australia is enormous and within it there is something for everyone. We have moved 75 mins from where we started and its like another world. But the things we still find hard are having no real friends and being miles from everyone we love and the second of those things wont ever change but at least if you live somewhere nice you can evaluate the situation from a more positive position. No point hanging round in Geraldton and being positive. We knew in a month the town we started in was crap. Had we stayed 2 years there we would have just been twice as depressed than we were in the year we did stay. And yes there is a lot of propaganda. We were brought here with false promises. You have to try and get what you want from the situation you are in and fight for the lifestyle and sausages that you want because it is out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine111 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Just like to know what is the shortest time anyone has been in Australia before returning to the UK, I came to Australia to a small place called Geraldton in WA which in my opinion is no better than a 'Hick Town' I have only been here a short time but I knew the moment I stepped off the plane that I hated the place. I was so blinked that Australia was better than the UK, especially with the present economic climate, but so far Australia has proved to be overrated and overpriced, talk about 'rip off Britain' which is nothing compared to the Australia, rental is the biggest rip off followed by food prices. And as for embracing the Aussie way of life Sun, Beaches and bbq's, but the sun is too hot and has to be avoided, the beaches here are windswept and I'm already fed up with bbq's especially the crap Aussie beef sausages. I have been told to give it longer here as the rule of the thumb is 2 years, but I can't see the point in stopping more than 6 months especially as my 20 year old son can not find work, and yet allegedly Australia is crying out for workers. For me Australia has turned out to be a disappointment throwing away a good life in the UK to live on the breadline in Australia, incidentally the bread is also crap here! I have come over to Australia on a 457 visa with fellow Brits who think its great here, so I guess it's just me? It is not just you. I often think of the phrase "all that glitters is not gold!" and something of Oz. Only because more than the Uk, it is sold as a "better life" for some it maybe but for others it is not. Depends on so much. For the most part, what you left behind.... For you, it might be just a case of changing your mindset. It isn't forever, try and treat it as an adventure... if you can? are there things you want to see or do? the key is to try and not turn into a pingpong. Can you use it as a base to travel and see other places in oz. we travelled around there and nz for 10 yrs (bought houses etc/re-located) and I have no regrets. Had a fab time, but just found there wasnt enough there to commit the whole of life to either place...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CockneyRebel Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 What a load of rubbish. Propaganda is everywhere. Going to a seminar and asking a recruitment agency if you should move for a better life is like asking a barber if you need a hair cut. Incidentally i knew a guy once from a recruitment agency who as a Pome with no intentions of going home specialised in recruiting naive Pomes into moving out here with their families for terrible money and area/accommodation. He knew what he was doing and thought it was a big joke. Not my problem he said "im looking for cheap labour, i hide behind beaches and weather to get it"... Say no more..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogero Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 well i got work in durham and left tassie which was beautiful but at that time we were looking for an adventure ,when we arrived my boss had got us a little house in esh winning my god i thought id died and gone to hell and the missus was ready to get the next plane back ,turns out every rat bag in the uk lives in that little village,drunks fighting cops getting bashed kids roaming the streets at all hours and even human poo thrown at our washing! But we found by trying hard a lovely place not that far away in distance but far away as far as living conditions go ,where we spent 3 wonderful years we love england and wouldnt of missed that chance for quids . So glad we stuck around . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 What a load of rubbish. Propaganda is everywhere. Then if you don't recognise it as propoganda, who's fault is that? Are you denying that it's within everyone's capabilities, with all the research tools available nowadays, to get a true picture of what a place is like anywhere in the world? We changed our minds about location 6 times before we finally settled in a place that's just right for us. It wasn't being smug that got us a decent life, it was doing our homework and admitting our mistakes when we encountered diffiiculties instead of blaming others. We put a lot of bloody hard work into getting where we are today and it we're not in this postion because it's a lucky country, because we're smug, or because the propaganda tuned out to be correct or incorrect. I have seen time and time again on PIO and IRL, many members dissatisfied with a 457, either because of working conditions or location. They made the choice, not anyone else. they took the leap into the unknown...........unknown because they didn't do their homework or because they did, but thought it was worth the gamble anyway. When it all goes pear shape, they tend to blame the country, the people, or "propaganda". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madgen Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Australia is a great place to holiday/travel but a nightmare of a place to live. Overpriced, overhyped with a backward mentality, great if you like the 1970's era! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Australia is a great place to holiday/travel but a nightmare of a place to live yeah, I've been plagued by the nightmare of living here ever since I arrived :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Like Quoll mentioned, it was reported in the paper several years ago that one couple came on a Friday, spent the weekend and flew home on the Monday if I remember, and they were asked why by the media who thought it was funny. They said they didn't like the food and especially the lettuce ! How much food could they have eaten over the weekend to decide that...... I had a hellhole flat in London years ago, right next door to a pub and a trainline, noise like you would not believe and attempted breakins just about every night where my bedside lamp came in handy more than once - (to hit them over the head I mean....) I didn't write home and tell my parents that I hated the UK though did I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Australia is a great place to holiday/travel but a nightmare of a place to live. Overpriced, overhyped with a backward mentality, great if you like the 1970's era! I was an adult in the 1970's...and yes, I can even remember it. I can assure you that my part of Australia, at least, is NOTHING like the 1970's. Though sometimes I wish it was.... And with all this talk of being overpriced, I'm starting to wonder how I am living so comfortably on my (very) modest superannuation pension. There must be something wrong with me. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunni1234 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Hi Alan I think you can do research and more research but until you live in a place..............etc. Just to lighten things check out www.sbs.com.au/housos it could be worse . All the best sunni x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I was an adult in the 1970's...and yes, I can even remember it. I can assure you that my part of Australia, at least, is NOTHING like the 1970's. Though sometimes I wish it was.... And with all this talk of being overpriced, I'm starting to wonder how I am living so comfortably on my (very) modest superannuation pension. There must be something wrong with me. :eek: Totally agree, if only it was like the seventies and eighties. We were in Melbourne for NYE so different now. I have posted many times that rural Australia is nothing, nothing like rural UK and the distances are great between places. My son just went off to Jeparit today to stay with friends. Its nearly 400 km from Melbourne in the Mallee, the wheat country, fields as big as farms and dust storms in summer all that stuff but he likes the country because he loves the country lifestyle. I see people who want to go to places like Mount Isa and the outback places which is where we do need migrants and I wonder if they will settle, its hot and dusty, flies abound and it is either a drought or flood. You have to do the homework and look at these places, they are nothing like the posters people see of Bondi Beach etc. There is nothing wrong with Australia but its not the UK with sun and as has been said the sun is hot, very hot and we tend to keep out of it in the heat of the day. The whole world is changing but I would still rather be here in Aus than in the UK as I like the solitude you can find here if wanted. No medals for staying if you do not like it but try to just think its the difference you do not like, and things are different, and try not to slag the place off as its we are 22 million living on a huge continent and most of us live in a few cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle LC Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 You are in the wrong place, try and get an employer on the Eastern side (Brisbane) to take over your 457, everything is perfectly fine here - we started in the Gold Coast and that was very expensive and people were not nice (except those at our church) we moved to Brisbane a month ago and everything is cheaper, the river and the beaches are gorgeous and we are actually getting our lives back. We still have less than in the UK but we need less. My husband was on really good money in the UK and he is doing reasonably well over here too and despite having roughly the same income in Oz as in the UK it IS more of a struggle here. I have no idea why your lad can't find work, our 18-year-old daughter came to us after finishing her A-levels she had a job in a week and a month or so later got a really good job earning more than most grown men in the UK! Perhaps things are just more human in QLD. Go back if you have to but at least try to get work in Brizvegas before you do. Keep us posted. You are right about the sausages they are crap, and the bacon is not the same. We have been here for 8 months now and it still takes getting used to being in another country. When we arrived I missed light nights, not being able to let our dog off his lead unless in very small off lead areas, a nice drink in a good old english pub, old brick buildings because when we arrived we were (dare I say it) on the Gold Coast, moving to Brisbane has been the best thing we did and whilst I am not fully in love with Oz it is getting better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest57545 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Just like to know what is the shortest time anyone has been in Australia before returning to the UK, I came to Australia to a small place called Geraldton in WA which in my opinion is no better than a 'Hick Town' I have only been here a short time but I knew the moment I stepped off the plane that I hated the place. I was so blinked that Australia was better than the UK, especially with the present economic climate, but so far Australia has proved to be overrated and overpriced, talk about 'rip off Britain' which is nothing compared to the Australia, rental is the biggest rip off followed by food prices. And as for embracing the Aussie way of life Sun, Beaches and bbq's, but the sun is too hot and has to be avoided, the beaches here are windswept and I'm already fed up with bbq's especially the crap Aussie beef sausages. I have been told to give it longer here as the rule of the thumb is 2 years, but I can't see the point in stopping more than 6 months especially as my 20 year old son can not find work, and yet allegedly Australia is crying out for workers. For me Australia has turned out to be a disappointment throwing away a good life in the UK to live on the breadline in Australia, incidentally the bread is also crap here! I have come over to Australia on a 457 visa with fellow Brits who think its great here, so I guess it's just me? Sometimes its hard to get out of the negative mindset and I would say there is no minimum time to stay in Oz (except 1 week is ridiculous!) I am now back living in Sydney working for the same company I did 3 years ago when i lasted just 3 months! But i'm in a much better mindset this time than 3 years ago have realistic expectations its still the same place but little things like doing my research, shorter commute and being here with my girlfriend this time rather than friends last time has made all the difference. If the OP is in the mindset that things aren't good change location first and if the same thing happens head home theres no shame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 As everyone says - Geraldton? Oh my. Outback Australia is nothing like most of Australia and I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a place like that direct from the UK. Great for exploring, holidays etc but an absolute nightmare to move directly to such a town. Don't know how you cope with the weather for one thing and unless you are into fishing in a big way.... Please, please don't give up at this stage though- toddle off to the airport and wave goodbye to the Wild West. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verulam Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 well i got work in durham and left tassie which was beautiful but at that time we were looking for an adventure ,when we arrived my boss had got us a little house in esh winning my god i thought id died and gone to hell and the missus was ready to get the next plane back ,turns out every rat bag in the uk lives in that little village,drunks fighting cops getting bashed kids roaming the streets at all hours and even human poo thrown at our washing! But we found by trying hard a lovely place not that far away in distance but far away as far as living conditions go ,where we spent 3 wonderful years we love england and wouldnt of missed that chance for quids .So glad we stuck around . haha! My niece lives in Esh Winning and I think she'd agree....she's often said its a small village with loads of bother in it! We live a bit further north in Northumberland (my hubbys a born n bred Aussie) but we like it here, and he has British Citizenship now. We lived together in Adelaide for a while, where his extended family still live. Now, we only go back for holidays, and hubby is usually the one who says "get me out of this hell hole" when we are there in Oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Then if you don't recognise it as propoganda, who's fault is that? Are you denying that it's within everyone's capabilities, with all the research tools available nowadays, to get a true picture of what a place is like anywhere in the world? We changed our minds about location 6 times before we finally settled in a place that's just right for us. It wasn't being smug that got us a decent life, it was doing our homework and admitting our mistakes when we encountered diffiiculties instead of blaming others. We put a lot of bloody hard work into getting where we are today and it we're not in this postion because it's a lucky country, because we're smug, or because the propaganda tuned out to be correct or incorrect. I have seen time and time again on PIO and IRL, many members dissatisfied with a 457, either because of working conditions or location. They made the choice, not anyone else. they took the leap into the unknown...........unknown because they didn't do their homework or because they did, but thought it was worth the gamble anyway. When it all goes pear shape, they tend to blame the country, the people, or "propaganda". I agree with you in the main there. Especially about the hard work. I think a lot of people expect to slot into a life where everything is better and they have to work less hard to get it. The only thing I don't really agree with is about the "working conditions". I don't think that people are always to blame then. If a company promises you certain reasonable things, then I don't think it's unfair to expect them. Although that wouldn't be Australia's fault, but just the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annagilda Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 When I arrived in Sydney, I thought, Oh sugar! After about 4 days I was really thinking I had made a mistake. I couldn't stand the city, thought the people were often rude. I couldn't get anywhere in my wheelchair, and considered going home. I'm so glad I didn't! I decided to travel around, met some fantastic people, and realised that the rest of Australia is AMAZING! You can't judge it on one place alone, or a very small amount of time there. However I do know how you feel. I think you should have a look around some other places first. I'm working on getting back out to Aus because I absolutely adore it. It took time for me to get to that point though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 There isn't all that much going on in Geraldton by all accounts but dont let that put you off the whole of Australia.. Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide all offer decent and very different lifetsyles as well as many other places.. P.S You can buy decent sausages in Oz in the better supermarkets and if you can't stop whinging and make your own !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CockneyRebel Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Then if you don't recognise it as propoganda, who's fault is that? Are you denying that it's within everyone's capabilities, with all the research tools available nowadays, to get a true picture of what a place is like anywhere in the world? We changed our minds about location 6 times before we finally settled in a place that's just right for us. It wasn't being smug that got us a decent life, it was doing our homework and admitting our mistakes when we encountered diffiiculties instead of blaming others. We put a lot of bloody hard work into getting where we are today and it we're not in this postion because it's a lucky country, because we're smug, or because the propaganda tuned out to be correct or incorrect. I have seen time and time again on PIO and IRL, many members dissatisfied with a 457, either because of working conditions or location. They made the choice, not anyone else. they took the leap into the unknown...........unknown because they didn't do their homework or because they did, but thought it was worth the gamble anyway. When it all goes pear shape, they tend to blame the country, the people, or "propaganda". First of all i didnt have to recognise anything as propaganda. It wasnt me who was involved. I was giving you an example of what goes on here.What i can tell you is that all of this particular persons hoodwinked recruits left the company and returned home within weeks. No warning or anything just a quick phone call from the airport to say they hated the place and were leaving. Poetic justice id say. I agree with you.... whats the point of trying Australia for yourself and getting first hand experience when you can look at pictures on the internet and listen to people whinging on forums, surely doing this from your bedroom 10000 miles away is far more effective than living there for a year to get a feel for the place. Who knows you could live a virtual world in somewhere as nice as Brisbane. :cute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marra2000 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 You wont believe this i know a guy who applied for his visa,paid for it all and went to adelaide, he stayed 1 day and decided it wasnt for him,! can you believe that!!! If he went to the northern burbs, then I do believe it.... back water **** hole, with bogans all over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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