I'd like to move to Oz, some advice please?

[amanito]

It's a little bit more complicated than just getting the diploma recognised at the embassy. I won't go into ~ it's all on the government website. But it does make a difference which country you studied. A doctor from Indonesia is different from one who studied in the UK. Belgium is probably quite a good place. You may want to check now that your wife's degree is eligible ~ is "physical therapist" the same as "physiotherapist"?

=> I haven't looked really into this, but I thought the first step would be presenting your diploma.

I have to look into that pointsystem.

I'm considering in getting an extra bachelor to teach French (would take me one year if I'd want)

The good thing is that I speak 4 languages and also understand some German, I have experience working in hotel, that could be a backup ..

[amanito]

hot scantily clad women

 

Ok, I'm in .. :D

When I lived in Venezuela, my god, women are so FUCKING HOT, you have no idea.

But it's all babylon ya know

I'm very happy to be married to a latina, my wife's so much warmer and sweeter than your average western girl.

Although she's half Italian

Edited December 7, 2011 by amanito

[Heretic]

Hi . I live about 30 k south of Gladstone in a nice town where everybody greets one another in the street , shops etc . Small population , and virtually crime free . Many people work in Gladstone , which is the heavy industry town I mentioned . My town is really nice , and beside the beach , But Gladstone is really heavy industry . There is an aluminium smelter nearby to my town on Boyne Island , fed by a conveyor belt from the alumina refinery in Gladstone , but it is in a very discreet place and not really noticeable , unlike the horror show that is Gladstone . Many locals work at the Boyne smelter .Recently there was fish - pollution scare , but it seems to be over now and the cause said to be from recent massive flooding inland , not industry . Not sure about that , but it seems to be over now . The area is on latitude 26 - tropical , but not extreme . Truthfully , I like it here , as do the Dutch , Swiss , and others moving here for work .ATM a massive LPG project is under construction in Gladstone , and they are desperate for labour here and out west . They're paying people megabucks . I hear of $3K p/w ....but the work is hard and days are long . Makes me wish I was young again ...

[amanito]

Hard labour is not an option because of my FMS => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia

[dworx]

abandoned

Edited April 4, 2013 by dworx

[indigo264nm]

If you value your money, don't move to a major city. Live maybe 1-1.5hr drive if you want bigger houses on bigger blocks of land for significantly less rent.

I live in Sydney and it doesn't surprise me that it's supposed to be one of the most expensive cities in the world. For rent I pay like $415 per week for a 2 bedroom apartment that's 10 mins exactly by train to central station in the CBD. I consider what I pay for 2 bedrooms around my area as a good deal. I've seen friends pay more for half the size of my unit.

If I lived on the central coast where I grew up about 1-1.5hr drive from the Sydney I could get a 3 bedroom house with a backyard for half the rent I pay here. I moved here for close proximity to uni's etc but I can't ever see a way that I could afford to settle down in this area and buying a place, since small terrace houses sell for over a million dollars around here.

Cost of rent and living Melbourne is a close second to Sydney but still cheaper, followed by Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide (by memory). You notice a difference between simple things like cost of buying coffees and eating out between Sydney and Melbourne most definitely.

So yeah my advice, despite how much I love Sydney, move closer to a capital city besides Sydney unless you wanna be robbed of hard earn income unless it can offer you something specifically that you can't find elsewhere.

Oh and regards to employment as a teacher... you'll have a harder time finding a job in cities than in smaller country\coastal\inland cities purely because that's where majority of new teachers get churned out every year from the multiple unis and there is just no way that there can be enough jobs for those people in the area. 2 friends of mine that became teachers within the past few years both ended up getting given jobs in rural areas inland NSW or VIC... even for graduating doctors or pharmacists it can be hard to get a job in the city because there is not enough work to sustain the thousands of newly qualified graduates that come out each year.

My mother is a high school teacher and from she says there is a need for teachers in Australia, but obviously the needs are greatest in country or rural areas... that being said you don't have to move 6 hours inland from a major city to get work - in NSW anyway there are still teaching positions that aren't too competitive merely 1-2hours out of Sydney :D.

Hope this helps.

[amanito]

Thanks for the info. I think that it could be good to live in a town not too far Newcastle or Gold Coast, a bit more inwards. We would still have more or less what we want: beautiful surroundings, good weather, affordable house and in the weekend we could drive to the city, from what I've read these places should offer enough recreation and all that, no?

I think it will be easier for my wife to find a job as a physical therapist than for me as a teacher. But I speak a lot of languages, maybe I can work in a hostel meanwhile.

I've heard from several people who went to Australia, inscribed themselves in a course to get a student visum and then did the paperwork there, because you lose way too much time doing it through distance. My wife knows of 3 people who did it like this with succes. I don't know, what do you guys think about that?

There's only one thing I don't like about moving to Australia ... fucking laws when it comes to ethnobotany. I'm used to import plants and seeds without problems, grow peyotes, ganja in the patio, smoke a joint in public without problems.

Edited December 12, 2011 by amanito

[sapito]

FWIW I think the Gold Coast is a cunt of a place. Im sure there are nice places in the area but there are so many knobs there its hard to tolerate IMO.

Depends what lifestyle you are into I guess. Also its probably equally expensive as living in Brisbane. Brisbane is pretty chilled for a city. You can get nice houses with a decent size backyard for decent prices in terms of city living.

[Torsten]

Do not move from europe into a regional/country area in australia. The culture shock may well be too much and may ruin your adventure. Move to a city first, then decide where you want to stay. brisbane is good because it is cheap for new arrivals. Sydney and melbourne you really need to know the city to be able to live OK as everythign is more expensive. but the wages are better there too, so if you can land a good job in one of those cities then by all means go there.

I have the feeling brisbane will be borderline for you in terms of the heat you are seeking. tropical cairns is probably more like venezuela, but it is also not easy to find work for a new arrival there.

Chances are you will arrive and then work out what you like and what you don't, so maybe best to start in brisbane and then work your way north or south as opportunities present themselves. or even west.

In perth you won't have as many opportunities and not as many options in regards to moving north/south into reasonably sized cities.

Immigration looks favourably on people who have been here for a holiday, especially long holidays. They know that people who have been here for a few months and still want to come are less likely to regret their decision. many europeans move back home or elsewhere because living here is very different to coming here for a 1 week 5 star managed tourist cruise. Having some contacts here will also make things easier in case you need references or local information.

Be very cautious about your drug references and make sure your thread here can't be connected to your application. Immigration is very strict about people associated with drug consumption. Some tourists are turned back on arrival just because of that, and any such association could bring your application to a sudden end. Especially as a teacher as you would lose your job if you are ever connected to drugs in ANY way.

While our drug laws are strict we also have one of the highest rate of pot smokers in the western world, so getting pot or growing it is obviously not as difficult as the government would like it to be.

Migration priorities change under different governments. as a teacher and health practitioner you are more likely to make it in under a left government because they tend to prioritise funding for schools and health services. As engineers or wage slaves you would get preference under a right wing government. we currently have a centre left government, but it is not stable, so don't count on it being around for more than a couple more years.

[Sallubrious]

Some people use a migration agent when they come here, they deal with the government all the time and are clued in on the the latest legislation etc. They know all the pitfalls and help you avoid them too.

They can save you reading through endless pages on different government websites just by reading their website.

I have no idea of cost but you might find some relevant information.

Australian immigration consultants

[planthelper]

a good trick is, make all the translations of your degrees and papers, youreselfe, and than get qualified person to just go over it, and to put there stamps on.

with some things you might get away, translating youreselfe, and getting just your signiture wittnessed.

australia is a very harsh country at times, and most europeans would have a problem with that.

i love australia for it's beauty and it's people.

[woof woof woof]

I had dreams once, of moving to Azzztrailia!

Amanito,... the Dutch Antilles are definitely not a bad place to live if you can find good work. PM me if you would like more info on some of the islands.

[amanito]

Hey guys,

Me again ... Torsten, thanks for the advice, if it ever comes this far, I most likely would join the forum under another name and probably will do some edits here and there and have this topic deleted. Meanwhile, we also have been looking into California. I've always said that would be the only place in the US I'd go to. I know the goverment sucks, but so does Australia's, so does Belgium's and so does Venezuela's .... Houses are dirt cheap even in big cities because of the crisis and I think migration would probably be easier. In the central valley the weather's the best, but still not as warm as some regions in Australia during winter. So, I think we'll look into both options and then see what's best, my wife still needs to study 1,5 year and we'd have to work a bit after that to save up. In two years from now a lot will happen, I have really bad feelings about my country as the seperatist political party is extremely popular right now and if the country splits only the rich middle class would survive .. Than there's the European Union which isn't doing too well. Let's see how this works out and what the consequences will be for countries like OZ and the US. Something tells me we need to get the fuck out of Europe.

About the Dutch Antilles: I'm very interested in info about it, yes. My wife tells me I'd hate it, although I love white sand beaches and hot girls, I always got annoyed with the superficial lifestyle in Venezuela. My wife will never forget when we were camping outdoors how angry I became throwing stuff, because people were having loud music and drinking and throwing garbage in nature, hehe.

Your options are also limited on an island ...

[Torsten]

I know you're only trying to help Planthelper but ~ good luck finding a professional translator who'll just sign off on your own translation. They may sign off on it but they'll probably want to be paid their full fee ~ that's how they make money to live.

Actually, what planthelper said works quite well. certified translators are not only paid to translate, but also to certify. Often they certify documents issued in two languages to certify that they match. This is a big part of their business. The fees are charged separately, ie there is a translation fee per page [or half page] and a certification fee per page. I have had to do a lot of this for my parents over the years.

Main rule is: don't take any advice from anyone on the internet. You're only guide should be information provided by the Australian Immigration Dept (download the free info booklets) or an authorised migration agent who resides in Australia.

that seems a bit wrong too. There are many things the department won't tell you because they don't want you using their loopholes. ie they want to assess you exactly as you are, not as you would like to see them as. The agents are also not allowed to guide you in certain ways. Some of the info from recent migrants can be really helpful, especially if you are relying on some pretend arrangement [good to know what the traps are].

The Australian visa process is about the least fun you can ever imagine. Boring, slow, tedious, confusing, stressful

bordering on moronic at times. I went through it for my dad's new wife recently and felt like the process itself was the test whether you had the stamina to be a productive citizen ;)

[∂an]

FWIW I think the Gold Coast is a cunt of a place. Im sure there are nice places in the area but there are so many knobs there its hard to tolerate IMO.

 

sad but true. would have been a beautiful spot before they dumped all that concrete and tattoo'd bogans there.

[Torsten]

I should have said be wary of any advice on the internet (common sense of course).

absolutely agree. Things change so fast that what is gospel today is useless tomorrow. And loopholes should only ever be used to improve your position rather than to be the basis of it.

When I helped my dad's wife the application was done in the Philippines. But many documents for consideration can be lodged in australia. Also, the overseas embassy will accept documents translated & certified in australia. So rather than dealing with overseas translators we did it in australia and then send the documents back to Philippines. While this may not automatically make it cheaper, it does open up the pool of available translators dramatically and being able to shop around made it possible to reduce costs.