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Logan21 posted:Another thing that has come to my attention following me getting rear end raped by NSW Police Force for almost $1000 in fines on Sat morning, is that if your a PR and entering the country you will need to change your drivers license over after 3 months. I'm about 99% sure that even if you're not a PR you need to change your drivers license after 3 months anyways. I had to and I'm still a temporary resident. edit: that might be for Queensland only, I'm not sure about NSW. Sorry, I need to read more. HookShot fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Dec 27, 2009 |
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Dec 27, 2009 03:32
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Morning Bell posted:Anyone have any experience with the Partner Visa? That's the one where you have to be in a 'de facto relationship' for a year with an Australian and living together as a couple for a year, to get a residency permit. Seems a bit difficult to prove if you're living together outside Australia. This is totally like 6 months late, but if anyone ever has questions like this I went through the marriage visa version of this one. I don't regularly read this thread so post your question in here then find me in the LF aus embassy thread and I can answer anecdotally what I went through. edit: I was the dirty foreigner, not the citizen
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Oct 4, 2010 07:35
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mishaq posted:I'm taking a trip to Australia/NZ the last 3 weeks of December. When you're diving the reef, make sure you pay attention to the fact that some of the companies are more designed for the lazy tourist who just wants to sit on the boat and eat sandwiches, and others are more for people who want to snorkel/dive for real. You can get a good idea which is which from the brochures. I would say if you can, go to Port Douglas and not Cairns. You spend less time on the boat and more time on the reef. We used Poseidon cruises when we were in Port Douglas, and they were really good. (It was the second place where we went to the Outer Reef, we also did it from Airlie Beach) My husband and I did 2 dives, my mom just snorkeled (and saw a hammerhead shark that she has a photo of). I'd say it actually is worth snorkelling a few times, just because if you're a good swimmer they don't get mad when you swim over the reef (they don't want people stepping on it) and it's really cool in its own right. It's different from diving, and definitely worth doing. Get a digital underwater camera. I rented one from the boat ($65) or in Cains you can rent them for a week or longer. But seriously, get one. I took 418 underwater shots at two of the three dive sites. As for the rest of Cairns, there is an AMAZING Italian restaurant on the main strip, I can't remember what it's called but it's next to a Japanese restaurant called something-ichi ban. Seriously, go there and have the Cabonara. It's on the expensive side (a little under $20 for a pasta main) but it's sooooooo good. We went there for dinner on 2 of the 3 nights we spent in Cairns. There's a lagoon which is pretty cool if you like to just randomly swim, but other than that yeah, there isn't too much to do in Cairns.
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Oct 11, 2010 12:52
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mishaq posted:Has anyone done the Skyrail?
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Oct 11, 2010 22:23
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HollowYears posted:So my friends and I want to go to Australia. And yeah, it is a lot more expensive to do most things in Australia than in north america. Depending on where you're from, rent is probably going to be more expensive, food is definitely more expensive, especially from restaurants (I didn't think it was POSSIBLE to spend $20 at McDonalds until I moved here). I can't speak as to the job situation since I've been self employed for 2 years, but the minimum wage in a lot of sectors is going to be a lot higher than you're used to. I was a server at two bakeries when I first moved here and I was making just under $20/hr. Minimum wage here depends on what industry you're working in (called an 'award') but starts at like $13 or thereabouts. I'd say definitely don't come without money to live off just in case. That's just ridiculously stupid, I wouldn't do it without at least 5k, but once you do get a job and all that sort of thing you should be pretty ok.
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Dec 23, 2010 23:38
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webjet.com.au are best for flights, I think they might do holidays too. If not try expedia or virgin holidays or flight center.
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Jan 4, 2011 11:49
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Vanilla posted:If you just need the phone for Australia access just get a pay-as-you-go SIM card when you are here. These can cost as little as $2 or $30 if you want some minutes (Optus). Half the major carriers in the USA don't use GSM, and as such their phones don't have SIM cards. I have no experience with that telestial company though, sorry.
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Mar 25, 2011 14:20
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We went out with Poseidon cruises, it was pretty good. 3 different reefs throughout the day, you could either snorkel or scuba at all three. They leave out of both Cairns and Port Douglas I THINK. There were maybe 100 people on the boat, but only about 30 that scuba dived. Saw a huge maori fish, sea turtle, a little shark and my mom who went snorkelling saw a hammerhead (she got a photo of it, too)
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Apr 4, 2011 03:37
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Yeah well I've spent time in both Rockhampton and Adelaide and they both suck so take the above post with a grain of salt. Kangaroo Island, on the other hand, I would move to in a second.
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Aug 22, 2011 07:54
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I'll probably get bagged for this but personally, I like BigPond. I've actually gotten good customer service from them when I've needed it (our current place wasn't wired for internet or phone service at all and so we had to call their customer service line a lot) and since they own basically all the lines they can't just tell you "oh it's Optus' fault" or whatever.
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Aug 24, 2011 14:31
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I had an optus wireless card as well until we got broadband installed and it was balls. I'd constantly get little-no connection, even during real off-peak times. And I'm pretty much on the Gold Coast so it's not like I live in the middle of nowhere either. Friends of ours who DO live in the middle of nowhere have a bigpond wireless card and their works really well. I can sometimes barely tell the difference between their and ours.
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Aug 25, 2011 04:38
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British people are the worst at traveling.
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Sep 1, 2011 11:30
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^^ wotif.com.au is the best site I've found for booking hotels, price-wise. They're almost always cheaper than on expedia/going through the hotel directly/etc Gloomiebat, I love how your idea of something completely new and exciting where you'll experience culture shock is going to another country full of white people who speak English and originally came from England. HookShot fucked around with this message at 12:06 on Sep 4, 2011 |
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Sep 4, 2011 12:04
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It might also be cheaper to go BKK -> OOL on like Air Asia, and then wander up to Brisbane, but if I remember right getting from the Gold Coast airport to Brisbane can be a bitch on public transport, so make sure you've figured it out before hand. (The trip by public transport between these two airports shouldn't take more than 2 hours at the very most)
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Sep 8, 2011 23:43
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Yeah, the Gold Coast is arguably the worst part of the Queensland coast. In fact, it isn't even arguable, it's just a fact. I've been everywhere from Coolangatta to Surfers to the Sunshine Coast to the Whitsundays to Townsville to Cairns to Port Douglas, and the GC is the worst. I'd say the Whitsundays and Magnetic Island are the best parts of the Queensland coast.
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Oct 7, 2011 23:36
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^^ Koala hugging is illegal in New South Wales, you won't be able to find anywhere that allow you to do it.goldenskan posted:Hmm... thanks for the warning; is it really so dire? Everyone I've talked to recently has said that there are jobs everywhere and that I really shouldn't worry too much about it before arrival. I'm planning on couchsurfing once I arrived since I have a few people lined up from couchsurfing.com. I'm definitely not going to go try living it up before securing some sort of income, and I'm assuming I could keep my meal costs down by literally eating eggs all the time and going out often to meet people, but not drinking, and still having fun on nothing (this would all be until I get a job, at least). And then there's always fruitpicking as a fallback. I know it's not going to be fun at first, but it seems like it will be doable! There are more jobs than America, that's for sure, but there's no guarantee you're going to find one straight away, especially since most places won't hire backpackers because they want people that will stay in the job for more than 6 months. Also, people will always tell you what they want to hear when they're not the ones who have literally only enough money to last a month. And if you run out of money, how do you plan on getting to the outback to do the fruit picking? Most of it is up in Queensland, which is literally thousands of kilometers away and definitely not free to get to. I'd agree that $2500 isn't really enough to start with in Australia.
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Dec 9, 2011 00:27
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NoArmedMan posted:Do Australian tourists usually head there in Summer? Most people from Victoria I know tend to head North as it gets colder down south in order to enjoy the warmth.
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Dec 11, 2011 00:31
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True story I fell asleep on a beach in Australia once and the resulting sunburn was so bad that at Christmas (this was in July) I still had the tan line. When I get skin cancer in 25 years I will know exactly what sunburn caused it.
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Dec 30, 2011 21:41
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Mrs. Mahler posted:I'm going to Australia in February and I'd really like to go scuba diving in Cairns. A lot of the diving company websites say that I'll be able to dive even if it is raining because it tends to be clearer out on the reefs. Has anyone done this/is it worth it or should I plan to go somewhere else? This is fine, one of the times I scuba dived on the reefs it was raining, why would you worry about it since you're going to be underwater anyways?
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Jan 23, 2012 08:13
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I got sniffed by one of the Australian beagles once because I went and played in the park with my dog and had FOREIGN MUD on my pants, but the customs dude owner basically just pulled the dog away. At least the little guy was doing his job well 
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Mar 29, 2012 04:45
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Yeah, almost anything can grow and thrive in Australia. A few accidents (a lady bringing over a houseplant she liked from England in the early 1900s for example) have led to complete takeover by foreign species that can really gently caress with the environment. Some rules are also different state by state: in Queensland you can't own a rabbit for example.
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Mar 30, 2012 01:20
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Lascivious Sloth posted:Unemployment is low in Australia so there are jobs abound, especially for skilled trades or specialists. Not really, unless you're married/have family already in Australia.
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Apr 21, 2012 20:07
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Keep in mind they live in Europe. Sure, Melbourne is super easy to get around in compared to every other city in Australia (Brisbane lol), but it's still going to be pretty terrible compared to almost every major city in Europe when it comes to public transport.
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Jun 13, 2012 09:59
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John Sheehy posted:I'm currently living in Korea and considering making the trip to Australia (probably to my friends in either Sydney or Melbourne). I'm an Irish citizen. Does anyone know what's the story with how much money you have to have in an account to get in on the working holiday visa? I'll have the bones of 4000AUD going over, not sure if this is enough to satisfy customs or not? Also adding another vote for Australia Zoo. It's one of my favourite things in Australia, I just wish it wasn't in loving Beerwah.
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Aug 14, 2012 05:56
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Cairns is pretty awesome. You can go to Kuranda, scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef (I totally recommend you do this, BTW), swim in the lagoon on the esplanade, go do a Daintree Rainforest tour and tons of other cool stuff.
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Aug 25, 2012 21:35
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I went with Poseidon too, it was awesome. Should be around $250 including the cruise. You can add other dives on too, when we went there were three different reefs we stopped at, my husband and I went diving on two of them and just snorkelled at the third. But yeah, I'm not a licensed diver at all. We had about 5 people in our group of divers and one instructor. It was hands down one of the coolest things I've ever done.
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Aug 25, 2012 23:07
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The tourist visas have almost always been pretty much automatic if you come from a country with mainly white people. I'm surprised it took a half day, actually. Every time anyone I know has gotten one it's been immediate.
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Aug 29, 2012 04:47
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Yeah just go to any electronics store and you can get the sim card + $10 worth of credit for $10 usually. You'll just need a passport since they require ID. It's been way too long since I've had a cell in Aus to know what the paygo plans are like now, but all the major websites should have their info: telstra.com.au optus.com.au three.com.au virginmobile.com.au vodaphone.com.au (don't use them) Basically if you can afford it Telstra is better than everyone else, Optus is second best and for the love of god avoid everyone else. Especially vodaphone. I say this having never been a vodaphone customer, I've just heard so... many... horror... stories...
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Sep 6, 2012 22:29
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The problem is phone companies in Canada don't like unlocking phones. In Australia if you've been on a contract for more than 90 days you just call them up and ask to have the phone unlocked and they'll do it for you, that's easy. I've literally never heard of that happening in Canada. Also isn't Sasktel still on CDMA, and so don't use sim cards, or has that all changed in the four years I was gone?
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Sep 7, 2012 02:35
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ExecuDork posted:Ah crap, I forgot about that. Yeah, we're still on CDMA here. I need to talk to them anyways, I'll see if I can figure this out through their idiocy, uselessness, incompetence, and propaganda scripts. Can you tell I don't much like Sasktel? Yeah, if you're on a CDMA phone that doesn't use sim cards, you're going to be completely screwed in Australia and probably have to buy a new phone. AFAIK, every single major phone company in Australia is 100% GSM now, Telstra used to have a few CDMA towers set up in the middle of the outback, but even those are gone. Sorry dude, because that really sucks. You can buy a basic prepaid phone in Australia for around $50 at least, sometimes $20 if you look around for a deal. They're not going to do much for you if you plan on using data though.
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Sep 7, 2012 05:58
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plasmoduck posted:After a couple weeks in hostels I'm finally moving into an apartment next week. I tried to set up internet (200GB, 90$ per month, 24 months) with Telstra (through directconnect), but it was declined because of "issues with my credit rating" - what? I never had any problems with bills/credit cards. The Telstra guy said I could opt for a lower rate (5GB, 80$ per month) and switch into the higher one after 6 months, but that just looked like a ridiculously bad deal to me. I had the same problem when I tried to get a phone (through Optus though). I think it's that you have a complete lack of credit. I can't give you a solution though since I told Optus to gently caress off and we just signed up under my husband's name for internet and Foxtel and stuff.
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Oct 5, 2012 06:49
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My advice is if you can't spend the money on travel insurance, seeing as it costs less than $1000, you can't afford to go to Australia for a year. Unless of course something in your situation changes and you're going to get more money before you go, because seriously, $1000 will last you like 2, maybe 3 weeks in Australia if you can't get work right away.
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Oct 15, 2012 19:15
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ExecuDork posted:Quick question: I normally wear a Leatherman multitool on my belt and thus boxes fear me. Obviously if I bring it to Australia it will be in checked luggage, but once I'm there will I get in any trouble for this habit? Some places seem to be more worried about knives than others. I've never done it, but honestly I really doubt you would unless you start flashing it around.
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Oct 16, 2012 03:50
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Bulging Nipples posted:I have 4 grand in the bank at the moment with another 1500 coming when i get my next paycheck soon, i just dont want to spend a grand on health insurance before I even get the visa (in case i dont get it for some reason or something, in which case ive got a year of travel insurance and nowhere to go). I think that should be sufficient to get started, it's right around the recommended amount, I just don't want to dip into it right away because im also worried about if they ask for a bank statement. I totally agree I should get health insurance and I intend to, I just was worried about buying it prematurely in case something goes wrong with my visa. Thanks for the advice everyone. Oh, ok, in that case yeah, don't get it before you get the visa (they won't ask for the proof until you get to Australia anyways, if they even ask, they didn't for me) but definitely do get it afterwards, as you're planning on doing. Hell, even if for some reason they ask you for proof you've got travel insurance before they give you the visa, you can buy it then, but I would be so hugely surprised if they did.
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Oct 16, 2012 17:19
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Both times I entered Australia on my WHV they just looked at my passport, stamped it and said "Welcome to Australia" YMMV, but I wouldn't worry too much about not having a return ticket.
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Nov 4, 2012 17:50
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If you're trying for hospitality/retail you're basically going to have to pound the pavement rather than look online. I literally never got a single hook by replying to ads on Seek and the like, my old retail jobs in Australia (worked in bakeries) were all from actually dropping off a resume.
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Nov 17, 2012 04:36
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Yeah, I like the NAB, but they do have pretty bad rates for international money transfers. ExecuDork is right, if you give them a cheque in a foreign currency they will wait the 28 days for it to clear... if you give them a check in AUD they will wait three days for it to clear. It's dumb, Australian banks in a lot of ways are like the 90s were in Canada. When I first moved there you actually had to fill in a deposit slip to put money in your bank account, which I hadn't seen since I was like 5 years old, and some banks still actually require this. But yeah, cash is really good in Australia. A lot of places won't take debit/credit. It won't be as bad as Japan in that respect, where I literally only used my credit card to pay for Shinkansen tickets, but it's not like America/Canada/Europe.
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Nov 27, 2012 19:13
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Well maybe you guys didn't live in Queensland/North NSW then. I never carried cash in Canada and had to get really used to doing it since most small mom and pop stores didn't take debit. Hell, even at Westfield Chermside where I'd do basically all of my shopping almost none of the food court places, including Muffin Break, Dreamy Donuts and other franchise places, took debit. If you didn't have cash, your options were McDonalds, KFC or Red Rooster. It's true that the accounts themselves are more expensive than in Canada. But I never had to fill out a deposit slip in Canada because it's not 1992 anymore. Also my husband went to Canada and found out his Suncorp debit card literally did not work in non-Australian ATMs. I can cash a cheque in either Canadian dollars or international funds in Canada and have them be available the same day. I can also go to my bank after 5pm or on a Saturday or a Sunday and have them be open and ready to serve me (though I think some of the Australian banks are getting better at this). National Bank of Canada isn't actually a national bank, despite the name. It's not even considered one of our big 5 banks.
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Nov 28, 2012 01:46
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If your provisional UK license doesn't actually say on it that you're a provisional driver, there is an ok chance that if you go to a smaller office and get it changed to an Australian license they will just give you a full license. I have read a few stories where this has happened to people. I know in Queensland I did actually get my learner's license changed to a Queensland learners, because I checked off "Learner" on the form, but the lady never actually checked anything to make sure my license was a learners, and the only thing on my old Canadian license to say it was a learner's was the bit that said G1. If you get caught you can probably just claim that you overlooked the question, apologize, and move on. Of course, don't do this if you can't actually drive.
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Nov 30, 2012 18:51
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ExecuDork posted:I almost had the opposite problem getting my Tasmanian driver license. Here, they print the date you first got your license (full, I think - there are 4 levels to the learning process, I don't understand the details) on the license, and that date doesn't change if you get a new card. In Saskatchewan, where my Canadian driver license is from, the date of issue is only for that card. I got my license when I was 16 (a full license right away, because Alberta), in 1994, so I'm well past any probationary period. Fortunately the nice woman at the desk at Service Tasmania was happy to believe me, so I didn't have to jump through any P1/P2 hoops. Hahahahahaha. The hilarious thing about this is in New South Wales, the drivers licenses have literally NOTHING on them about when the license was issued. It has an expiry date, but that's it. So if you want to get a New South Wales drivers license changed to a BC one, you have to literally order a certified copy of your driving record that's still sealed from New South Wales and hand it in to ICBC or they'll put you on your Ns for two years. So basically we are experiencing almost exactly the same problem but in reverse.
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Dec 1, 2012 05:20
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