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Shnicker posted:If there are any Americans interested in a working holiday visa for Australia, there is one. It's not as good as the ones others can get, but it's good enough for 1 year. The only real limitation on it is that you can't work at one job for more than 6 months. I got mine about 2 years ago and it was around $180 Australian then I think. Can you freelance on a working holiday, or is it necessary to have a proper Aussie employer? I was excited to find out America and Australia had (sorta) worked something out in the last few years; I studied in Perth for a year when I was 19 and it'd be nice to go back. I miss making kangaroo fajitas 
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May 15, 2010 14:07
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Readman posted:Do you mean, do you have to have an Australian employer to get the visa, or are you allowed to work independently (ie. not as an employee)? Cool, thanks! I was thinking it might be interesting to try and freelance as a photographer, so think my next step would be to try and find some pros working in Australia and ask them about it. Also, any jobs you can think of where speaking/reading Thai would be an asset?
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May 16, 2010 14:23
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PuntCuncher posted:Customs aren't "generally pretty good".. they're fundamentally retarded. I dunno, they were pretty cool about not charging me duty on my computer when I mailed it to myself, which they could have.
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May 13, 2011 18:17
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The Pillowman posted:Maybe someone has some information that can help me out. 1) You can take out US student loans to pay for Aussie grad school. There are some scholarships for international students, but as an American you're eligible for the pretty much least number of them. If you're doing a Research programme IIRC there are more available (and more if you're doing a PhD), check out the Endeavour award, as well as the universities you're interested in for specific scholarships they might offer to international students. The University of Queensland has (or at least had, when I applied for a Master's in Development Studies back in 2006) an award for internationals, but it's highly competitive. I got into the programme but didn't get the scholarship, so I wound up staying in undergrad and going to Thailand for a year on an American scholarship instead. 2) I would say the best way (not knowing how difficult or likely it is to work out) would be to go over there on a working holiday visa, get hired by a large company as a translator/interpreter, and then hopefully make enough of a favourable impression that they'll sponsor you for a proper work visa when the time comes. Alternatively, you could go the slow route of having your qualifications/language abilities assessed by the relevant Aussie accrediting body, and come over on a work visa straight away, as I'm pretty sure translation/interpretation is on the Skilled Occupations Shortage List. (disclaimer: American, studied in Australia for a year as an undergrad, probably going back there for grad school in a year or two)
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Jul 17, 2011 13:24
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NoArmedMan posted:Pretty much this. I really like Perth, it's a nice city and the beaches are awesome, don't expect a big city nightlife but that said once you've settled you'll find plenty of places to have a drink and to eat with workmates. I dunno, they have clubs and stuff. Sure, it's not Sydney or Melbourne, but there was plenty to do when I was there in 2004/2005 at least. Don't live in Joondalup though, lovely neighborhood, lots of mugging (when I was there anyways, but a guy from Perth I met a few months ago said it was still pretty poo poo).
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Aug 18, 2011 01:24
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So, despite having planned to relocate to Australia for grad school/work/settling down, I wasn't keeping up with the Department of Citizenship & Immigration's changes to the points system. I wasn't really planning to move until 2013 at the earliest pending a contract I'm under, but finally this afternoon at work I read up on it. It seems that they dropped the differing points for different jobs thing, and changed around the points allocations for the other criteria, in a manner that works all in my favor  I'm 26 now and teaching English in Japan, and was thinking I'd definitely have to be outta here within 2 years in order to finish a graduate programme, and then slip in under the 30 years old bracket (for maxing out how many points you get for age). Now they've re-arranged it so that 18-24 year olds get 25 points, and 25-32 year olds get 30 (the most). The being a native English speaker bonus seems more generous too, although I can't remember exactly what the old one was. Between that and some of the other bonus points, it looks pretty good.A rather important question though: I'm looking at getting into secondary education, and the normal qualification for that (if you didn't do a Bachelor's in Ed) is a postgraduate certificate, which is a 3 semester course. From what I've read, that transitional "international student graduate looking for a job" visa is only for 2-year courses. From anyone who's considered/done anything similar: would I be basically poo poo out of luck at the end of my course if I didn't lock down a job before I graduated? (Assuming I was over 30 and thus ineligible for a WH). I know I could always do a full Master's, but the cost is somewhat of a deterrent and I was originally planning on the shorter course. How does the student visa handle self-employment, by the way? Obviously it'd be pretty hard to track the 20 hours a week. Was thinking of doing some photography to pay the bills while I was there.
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Oct 19, 2011 06:57
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unixbeard posted:I can't really comment on your specific question but in general I think there are a lot of teaching jobs at a secondary level (and english as well). If you're willing to move to a rural area I think it gets even easier. So finding a teaching job shouldn't be uber difficult. Awesome, thats good to hear! In the US, the situation is generally pretty grim in English/social sciences, and has been for a while. I'm actually thinking I'd prefer a rural-ish area anyways, as I've found big cities really aren't my thing (I can deal with living in them and it's not awful, but I'm happier living somewhere a bit quieter and less expensive). I'm particularly interested in WA's Flying Teacher Squad programme, at least for a year or two, actually. Yeah, I'm not trying to do anything illegal, I'll have to do some more digging into whether self-employing is valid on a student visa or not. To be honest it's not worth it to me if there's not a way to do it legitimately, as I'd be risking my whole future over a thousand dollars here and there. Most definitely! I was thinking of coming to Australia this winter (northern hemisphere) break, but I gotta lay low and save for a vehicle here in Japan.
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Oct 30, 2011 05:45
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When calculating take-home salary, is there anything to look for other than income tax and the 1.5% Medicare levy (are there local/state taxes on income)? Obviously GST applies, but that's consumption-based. Also, if anyone's ever done the studying for a graduate qualification in Australia -> migration thing, I'd love a PM. From my initial reading of the system it seems like a weird Catch-22 where an employer (Department of Education in this case) wants you to have the right to work in Australia before they'll give you a job offer, but you need a job offer to get a visa that gives you the right to work. I'm probably missing something obvious. edit: Okay, after some digging: Under the Employer Sponsored Scheme (subclass 856), you need either 2 years of work experience in Australia, a salary above $250k, or qualifications assessed as equivalent + 3 years experience working overseas (not to mention a sponsoring employer). Geared more towards people who didn't undertake a qualification in Australia and are qualifying based on experience. With the Skilled Independent [Residence] (subclass 885) visa, if you've completed an Australian qualification relevant to your nominated job (from the official skilled shortages list) requiring at least 2 years of study, and meet the points threshold (automatic for me given age/English ability and a two-year qualification done in Australia) you're qualified for permanent residence without a sponsor, right? The only eligibility criteria for the 885 that initially gave me pause was having your skills assessed as suitable for your nominated occupation, but I checked up on AITSL's website and it's basically involves paying them AUD$550 to verify that you have 1) a Bachelor's equivalent to an Australian degree, 2) a teaching qualification of at least one year equivalent to an Australian programme , 3) adequate English ability. (1 and 3 I have already, 2 I'd get automatically by doing a 2-year Master's in Australia). So basically: go to school in Australia for 2 years for a Master's in Secondary Ed, put in an Expression of Interest (from July 2012 onward) for Skilled Independent (Residence) visa, and assuming secondary school teacher is still on the list, get permanent residency/work rights. Is it really that simple? From what I've been reading online it seems like a lot of people have trouble meeting the requirements for PR, am I just that lucky for being between 25-32 and a native English speaker (and doing a 2-year Master's in Australia in a field on the shortage list)? Sharks Below posted:Most cancerous sun damage is done before you hit your 20s. Most. I was 14 and fell asleep on the deck of our boat in Central Queensland, got burnt on my decolletage area, a month later had a for-real pre-cancerous mole cut out. It's loving brutal man. 
Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Jan 5, 2012 |
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Jan 5, 2012 01:14
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air- posted:I'm 26 years old, coming from the U.S. and been seriously thinking about getting a one year working holiday visa. So what I want to know: can anyone here talk about finding work outside of unskilled labor/service industry type jobs while on working holiday? Specifically looking at Sydney or Melbourne. Would temp agencies help for this type of search? You aren't actually being sponsored for citizenship, you're being sponsored for working/residence purposes. Naturalization is a separate process based on how many years (at least four, the last one of which was under a permanent residence visa) you've been in Australia on a valid visa. unixbeard posted:If you're being hired as a contractor I don't think anyone will be too fussed about the type of your visa, as long as you are legit to work there and then. Working holiday visa holders are limited to six months (I'm pretty sure it's six months) at a single employer, so that could be an issue to some. It's certainly not a bad idea to use a WHV as a foot in the door to an employer-sponsored visa, but obviously it's not a guarantee. If you can prove your qualification and/or work experience is equivalent to the relevant Australian accrediting body, you'll be in better shape. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 07:52 on Jan 23, 2012 |
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Jan 23, 2012 07:49
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Lascivious Sloth posted:Unemployment is low in Australia so there are jobs abound, especially for skilled trades or specialists. If you don't have a skill/trade that's in demand or are marrying someone Australian, not really. Hardly unreasonable compared to other developed countries TBQH. Frankston posted:So I'm thinking of ditching my current dead-end job and learning a trade on the SOL, hopefully getting a few years experience and going for a sponsored skilled migration visa (I have family out there). Just a bit tentative about giving up a job in this climate for something that might not pick up straight away. I think you're better off learning the trade in Australia; sure it's more expensive, but there's no need to worry about having your education/skills assessed as equivalent (you still actually do have to do the assessment as part of the migration process, but since you did the training in Australia it's basically rubber-stamped), plus it gives you a better chance to network and find a job before you're done with school. Depending on the type of study programme and length of study, you can get a transitional visa to work on and get job experience to qualify for migration afterwards. I'm guessing you don't have a BA; at least for people doing a two-year Master's in something on the SOL in Australia, the way the points system works you can pretty much automatically qualify for permanent residence after completing the degree (assuming you're 25-32 and a native English speaker.) That's my plan, although I've been trying to get final confirmation that that's indeed how the system works and haven't had any luck. (Anyone?)
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Apr 23, 2012 14:18
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Sharks Below posted:This is extremely accurate. Sheep stations here (I live in cattle country but sheep country is west of me) are in the very hot, dry, remote areas generally. Unless you go to beautiful Tasmania (similar climate to NZ but not as cold) where there's loving HEAPS of sheep and only a hop across Bass Strait to Melbourne. I'm giving some serious thought to moving to Tasmania myself because the produce there is absolutely incredible and I'm kind of a country girl at heart I'm all ears on Tasmania-chat because I'm looking at going to grad school at UTAS. I actually don't know a ton about the area; I studied in Perth for a year as a uni student, and through a link on the WA Department of Education's website I found that teaching programme participants at Tasmanian universities can do their practicum in WA/easily teach there afterwards. UTAS looks like a good school, and the international student fees are significantly less than the other unis I was looking at. I'm not really married to the idea of going back to WA and may just wind up staying in Tasmania instead... my Melbourner mate here speculated I might find Hobart a bit lacking, but to be honest I've never been much of a big city person. Also this is a bit of a longshot but assuming we decide to end our contracts the same year, me the aforementioned Aussie co-worker are thinking of splitting (part of) a shipping container back to Australia. He's in Melbourne, so makes sense to send it there and then take my stuff on to Hobart. What would be the best (cheapest) way to go about that? Would it make sense to rent a U-HAUL (or Aussie equivalent), or would a freight forwarding company be reasonably-priced? I was hoping to travel for 4-5 months before coming to Australia, so if it doesn't require me there, all the better. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Jun 19, 2012 |
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Jun 19, 2012 07:33
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Relentlessboredomm posted:Just out of curiosity is there any way to find out just how badly certain careers/skills are needed? The logic being that if it's desperately in demand it probably won't disappear in the next few years. As a general thing I'd be interested in knowing about this too. Planning to do a Master's in Secondary Ed (Social Sciences and English). I've so far heard that demand for teachers is high (even Social Sciences, although the shortage isn't as acute as maths/science), but it'd be nice to have some more firm projections. I mean, nothing in life is certain, but it'd be nice to have a bit more of an idea what I was getting into before I put all that money into a graduate degree.
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Jul 16, 2012 05:38
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I axed my Aussie (and foreign friends still living there) friends on FB this morning, but wanted to get some other opinions too: what's a good bank to open an account with? I'm not looking at arriving until... around this time next year at the earliest (possibly the year after that) to start grad school, but I'm currently working in Japan and have decided I'd rather not keep my money in yen. Something with no monthly fees for non-students, and relatively friendly for international stuff (wire transfers, ATMs, etc) would be great. I'm currently looking at Hobart, although I might wind up in WA, SA, or QLD. Getting back to mobile phone chat, I can roll up with my unlocked Galaxy SII (or iPhone if I pick one up when I go back to the States) and start a Telstra contract, right? What would I be looking at for a couple gigs of data a month? This probably isn't useful to anyone, but thought I'd share anyways in case I missed something. I was looking in to bringing my Japanese motorcycle over and it looks like I'm boned: anything post-1989 has to be complianced, which is prohibitively expensive (even though the bike I have in mind is on the SEVS registry). Since I'm not going to be on a migrant visa I don't qualify for the Personal Import Scheme. I could bring it in on a carnet for 12 months as a temporary visitor, but at the end of that it has to leave Australia, and my degree is a two-year course anyways. Sucks, but guess my particular case just falls through the cracks  Not that you guys don't have bikes I can buy over there, but this particular one was never sold in Australia and they're rare as hen's teeth over there, as personal importation is pretty much the only way to get one in (not to mention we don't have any in America, until 2014).edit: one other thing - one of my Japanese friends over there (did a Master's in Business, has been working as a tour guide) was complaining there isn't much full-time work and she was gonna have to peace out. Is that a general trend or...? Looking at becoming a secondary school SOSE teacher.
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Nov 27, 2012 11:42
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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. Yeah, that can be a problem in Japan too. The way it's handled is to get a signed/notarized letter from your state's DMV explaining things and bring that in when you do your conversion, I imagine Australia is similar (without the intermediate step of taking it to the local equivalent of AAA and having it translated). Fortunately not a problem for me as Florida prints the original issue date on theirs. Americans have to take a pretty demanding practical test in Japan to convert their license after the 1-year validity of an IDP is up, Australia is surprisingly chillax by comparison. Kinda curious how my Japanese motorcycle endorsement (only up to 400cc) will translate in Australia, I have a feeling it might come off as provisional. If I've held it more than a year, perhaps they'll bump me up to an unrestricted, even though in Japan it requires a separate test on a 750cc bike. I'm not terribly fussed either way, as I think the provisional status includes most bikes I'd be interested in riding, but I may pick up an American endorsement (unrestricted from Day 1, after a weekend course that costs about ~$250) when I'm home just to play it safe. Was doing some more research last week on skilled migration and so far everything's coming up Milhouse... the Expression of Interest thing had me a bit concerned, but apparently every profession on the list has yet to hit the ceiling, and at the moment none of them seem to be coming close. Hitting the points mark seems to the main thing, and given my age, English ability, and education I should OK there (+5 points for wanting to study in regional Australia). It actually looks like I might be able to get away with doing a one-year course and submitting my EoI from there, but if for whatever reason that falls through I can continue on to the second year of the programme for a full Master's and pick up the new two-year visa afterwards. Still got a decent amount of research to do (among other things, there's not much info about the 2-year post-graduate visa yet since it has yet to come into effect), but so far so good. 
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Dec 2, 2012 11:27
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Whenever I've got to cross the Pacific, I just buy a new book or two for my Kindle that I've been itching to read and pretty much tune out my surroundings. Much cheaper than upgrading to business 
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Dec 29, 2012 01:21
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ExecuDork posted:I haven't driven through any gates in Hobart except the automatic cable gate at the CSIRO car park, and that only twice because I walk in most of the time (that way I can drink in Salamanca after work and not worry about it). I picked up a cheapo sleeping bag and $8 foam pad at KMart along with a cheap tent, a cheap stove, and some other cheap-cheapness. Works great in summer, which is all I need. I've been using the tailgate of my ute for a kitchen counter, it even has cupholders! I was faffing around Gumtree today trying to get an idea on rents (pretty early, but can't hurt). Wanted to try and get close to UTAS, are there any areas I should avoid? When I lived in Perth the area around my uni (Joondalup) was actually really bad for muggings and poo poo like that. I was also kicking around the idea of maybe doing a liveaboard on a sailboat (grew up around sailboats, my cousin was doing it in the US, and it honestly wouldn't be *that* much worse than the place I've got in Japan now), but no idea what a slip would run me. Kind of a longshot, but anyone have an idea, for something in about the 30ft range? I've found a 1-2 marinas online that listed prices, which were pretty lol. I'm wondering if that's maybe standard though, as a lot of the boats I was looking at were moored (something I probably wouldn't want to deal with if I was living aboard).
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Feb 7, 2013 09:18
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Friendly Fire posted:The lease agreement for the Hobart marina (Sullivan's Cove) has a clause that you cannot live onboard while berthed. I'm not sure about any of the others in the area though. Thanks for looking in to that! I could deal with a mooring a few weeks out of the year, I reckon. I'm actually about 2 years away from moving there, so that might actually be well timed I'm trying to avoid roommates if at all possible; while I've had them before in college and haven't had any bad experiences (mostly good, really), I just really like having a place of my own. I know UTAS has some on-campus housing, but roommate issues aside, if they didn't have a separate section for grad students I'd give it a miss, as I don't think I'll really be after a party atmosphere. ExecuDork posted:People here like to exagerate the differences between suburbs - Glenorchy and other areas to the north of Hobart have a reputation for bogans, but I can't tell the difference from passing through the area, or talking to people who live in those areas. Ah, gotcha. I'll do some more puttering around and try to find out more about the berth situation. Haha, just because it reminded me you were in Hobart. If I wasn't so far away from moving out there, I'd consider it though. I'm not sure what I'll do for a vehicle; I got by fine my first year in Japan with just a bicycle, but I did have semi-decent public transport to fall back on. I think I'd have to get something motorized for getting out on the weekends/holidays, either a motorcycle and a car. I've got both right now, but I've also actually got an income  As a general thing, is there anything in particular I could look for if I was after cheaper single-occupant accommodation? From what I was looking at on Gumtree, $165pw was the absolutec cheapest I found, with $180-200 being more typical.
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Feb 7, 2013 11:48
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Friendly Fire posted:You would definitely want a car as backup if you had a bike. There are some awesome roads for motorcycles in Tassie but in winter you have to worry about ice and it can get very windy down here. ~100km/h winds are not too uncommon in Autumn and Spring. That sucks to hear, wind has me particularly concerned, crosswinds are a real pain in the rear end, especially on something as big/upright as a dual-sport. I'd fancy bringing my XLR over from Japan to save myself the hassle of buying/selling on each end (plus sentimental value), but AFAIK it wouldn't be economical with compliances and stuff. On the other hand, I could always pull the Dakar tank and rear rack off it pretty easily, then throw them on another, lower mileage MD-22 once I get over there. I (re-checked) average annual temperatures in Hobart and I'm pretty sure the part of Japan I'm living in (pretty far south) is colder. Winds where I live can get pretty strong, but probably not 100kph strong though, yikes. ExecuDork posted:I'm paying $180/wk and that seems to be a bit lower than typical. The house is for sale and anyways you're still 2 years out so it's kind of irrelevant. As a wild guess, $200/wk seems like the best you'll do, and $240 might be more realistic. Yeah, I do a lot of that now, just getting out on the roads and riding around randomly. Currently weighing whether I'm masochistic to ride my motorbike over to my friend's place (sun will be almost down by the time I get there) or just take the car, it's about 2C but I've been wanting to get out on the bike all week. Saddlebags are already packed so it's pretty much a matter of a last minute "save vs cold/common sense" I was seeing $200 pretty reliably when I was looking on Gumtree, but even that's a tough pill to swallow (admittedly not objectively bad, but adding up all the money over two years makes me want to explore alternative ideas). At that point I'd be spending so much on rent that I was thinking it'd make sense to take out a student loan for my tuition, buy the boat outright with cash, and likely sell it at the end of two years (depending on how I'm feeling about continuing to live in Tassie). I'm fine with living in a small place, and... I'd have a boat I could sail around. My old man is retired as of a few years ago and really into sailing (currently delivering a yacht to Grenada), I could probably talk him into coming over for a summer and helping me out with it if it was a fixer-upper, as well as provide sage advice during the buying process. I guess a lot of marina's these days have Wifi, but assuming I don't find one that does, what kind of prices are there for mobile hotspots? Do the Aussie carriers lock out the portable hotspot feature on smartphones, or just charge a lot for tethering?
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Feb 8, 2013 08:51
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ExecuDork posted:So, I now have some idea of how much internet I use, which will be useful for future considerations. Does anybody else have a) some ideas about their own monthly internet use (I'm curious about where I fall on the spectrum from granny-with-email to South Korean Professional Gamer) or b) a useful bit of software for Windows that could keep track of uploads and downloads? It's not full-time, but I tether off my mobile phone at work 5 days a week. I have an unlimited data plan, but I can still check my usage... normally works out to about 4GB/mo if I'm not doing anything crazy. I'll stream music on Youtube while studying (which also uses my internet connection, and includes audio/pictures) sometimes. I have a friend who had the same plan last year and used her mobile phone for home internet (including torrenting, lmao), but the extra $35-40/mo for VDSL is worth it to not have to wait forever for videos to buffer, etc. I stream a few shows a week, but don't do any torrenting. I'm actually going to go down to a 6GB/mo plan (and get an iPhone) when my contract expires in August... works out cheaper since I don't abuse the hell out of my unlimited plan. What sort of plans are there for mobile data in Australia? Not sure I want to go back to not having the ability to create a hotspot with my phone, has been very useful. IIRC even home internet connections are capped, right? Do coffee shops (et al) not offer free WiFi, or do they cut you off after a certain amount of useage, or...?
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Feb 28, 2013 02:53
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I'm still heavily leaning towards Tassie for grad school, but how's Adelaide as far as weather, cost of living, etc? Really kind of a three-way split between those two and Perth, with Darwin as the comedy wildcard.
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May 19, 2013 14:02
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efcso posted:If you're considering Adelaide, I hope you like heat. When I say heat, I mean the hot, fiery desert winds that blast everything dry as a chip. A week over mid-40's (celcius) is not uncommon in Summer - sometimes more than once. Perth can get the same. I'm originally from Florida, have spent about 2 years total in Southeast Asia, and currently live in southern Japan, so I'm no stranger to heat, humidity, and cyclones/typhoons/hurricanes Darwin did seem like maybe a bit smaller (and far away from other, bigger cities) than I wanted to go though, which is why I went with Perth when I studied abroad (skipped Melbourne and Sydney because exchange spots were more competitive, and I wanted a less "international" experience at the time).
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Jun 1, 2013 10:06
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Any reason you wouldn't want to do your Master's in Australia? That's what I'm planning on, lodging my application for a secondary ed programme at UTAS (for 2015) in 2 months You get bonus points on your application for permanent residence if you got your degree from an Australian uni, there's no need to worry about getting foreign qualifications assessed as equivalent, and it gets you acquainted with the educational system + a chance to network with schools before entering the workforce. If it's at least a two-year Master's, you also get a two-year work visa after graduating, which is intended to help recent grads get work experience or a sponsor (if needed) to get them over the mark needed to apply for skilled migration. From everything I can tell, I should be fine even without the work experience (will still be in the 25-32 age bracket that nets you the most points when I graduate, native English speaker, doing a Master's in an in-demand field at a university in regional Australia), but I'm really glad it's there if I need it. They've recently changed the system where you need to apply with an Expression of Interest first before you're in the actual running for a PR visa (designed to cap migration in each profession, even if your points are sufficient), but last time I checked no occupation was even close to hitting the cap, and teachers were like maybe a couple hundred (if that) out of a possible thousands per year. As a special ed teacher, I imagine you'd be about as in-demand as they come. I'm doing to be doing Society and the Environment (Social Studies) and I guess Languages Other Than English (Japanese?) as my primary and secondary areas, so it'll be more difficult for me, although the situation doesn't seem nearly as dire as back home. I don't think it's radically more expensive than what you'd pay at US university either (public universities in Florida are among the cheapest in the US, but the modest savings don't seem worth it), I'm looking at around ~AUD$38k for a two-year Master's, and I think there's a decent chance I can get the 25% off scholarship for international students that UTAS offers. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Jun 3, 2013 |
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Jun 3, 2013 00:59
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HookShot posted:You can rent a car, just be careful and you'll be fine. Actually driving in cities on the other side of the road I found easier to learn on than in the country, because you will literally always be following other cars, you're not just randomly going to veer into oncoming traffic because you can't remember what side to drive on. Yeah, I find it pretty easy to drive on the other side as long as there's other traffic. The only times I've had goof-ups have been on deserted roads (both overseas, and going back to the US after being used to Japanese roads).
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Jun 7, 2013 07:42
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Octy posted:Ha yes, that's the bizarre thing with the job world. Every employer wants someone with two or three years experience minimum but it's impossible to get that experience because no one wants to hire someone who is completely new to the job. The obvious solution is to spend your summer break doing unpaid internships in hospitality work!
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Jun 14, 2013 06:32
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Is it generally not too bad to find a part-time job if you can only do the 40 hours/fortnight on a student visa? Most likely gonna be in Hobart.
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Jul 9, 2013 13:40
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Got my acceptance letter for the University of Tasmania this morning, along with accompanying international student scholarship  Going to be starting in February of 2015.Bit far off to be asking any more specific questions than that, but does anyone here live in Hobart? (I know there was someone in the thread there temporarily who has since moved.) If it wasn't too much trouble and you have Paypal, wanted to see about getting a UTAS shirt or something mailed to me overseas, can't find anywhere to buy them online.
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Dec 10, 2013 10:01
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Friendly Fire posted:I'm in Hobart. It is indeed awesome. I don't know anything about UTAS shirts as I have never attended the Uni here (apart from the bar)but I have some friends who are uni students so I could ask around. Are there any real poo poo areas to avoid living in? When I was an exchange student in Perth I lived on campus, which as it turned out was in a really lovely suburb/neighborhood, a bunch of my friends got mugged (myself included). When I meet people from Perth they're always like "Oh Christ, why did you live in Joondalup?"... would rather not make that kind of mistake again.
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Dec 11, 2013 13:13
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You guys are making me pretty excited about moving to Hobart for grad school at the start of next year 
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Apr 8, 2014 09:36
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Fists Up posted:You wont ever have to do this. The most they do is things like only watering your garden on Sundays and Wednesdays but Sydney hasn't had to do that for years. Hahaha, that's been a thing in Florida for years, I kind of assumed it was almost universal.
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Apr 15, 2014 06:30
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Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 12:49 on Jun 12, 2014 |
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Apr 28, 2014 00:39
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Aside from rego, what other costs of owning a vehicle are there in Australia I might not expect? I expect I'll get put over a barrel as a first year (in Australia) driver for insurance, even though I've held a license for 12 years with no accidents 
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Jun 12, 2014 12:49
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For those of you who worked on a working holiday visa, were you able to declare yourself a tax resident (different from legal resident)? From what I've read, if I find a job to work, I should be paying the more normal tax rate on a student visa (first 18.6k untaxed, then ~21ish percent after that, etc), but my significant other is looking at coming over on a WHV for a year, and paying 32.5% in income tax on anything she earns is pretty ridiculous. The stuff I was reading up on said WHV holders are a bit of a grey area (it basically boils down to whether your primary activity is working or holidaying), although if she was living with me and working a job, it would seem like she'd be a shoe-in for being a tax resident. Also, are there any certs (preferably that could be done online or in a short time in person) that would give me a leg up on finding casual jobs? I did a quick search and a forklift license class is like 2 days at ~$550 + license fee, dunno if it'd be worth it. Looking at Hobart, if that matters. Last thing: just a heads up for anyone thinking of bringing a pet, the fees for boarding them during quarantine are going waaaay up as of this summer, from $29/day to $149/day (minimum 10 days to clear quarantine). Womp womp.
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Jun 17, 2014 04:48
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Frogmanv2 posted:Fun fact : I grew up hearing how dodgy Kings Cross was in Sydney and you will be stabbed and raped if you go there. Went there when I was 19 or so and felt safer than being in Northbridge in Perth. I got mugged in broad daylight, on the edge of my uni campus in Joondalup when I was 19. Good times. I kinda liked Perth but I am about the least picky person ever when it comes to cities, so take that as you will. For tourist stuff, I thought the night prison tour in Freemantle was pretty neat.
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Sep 15, 2014 03:12
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Kommando posted:those of you trying to get visas, it's currently really bad as the current government made a big anti immigration platform and got elected on it. their poorly thought policy is probably having flow on effects for regular immigration. Yeah, it has me a bit concerned. On the one hand, from the official publications I've read, the government seems pretty decent about grandfathering people in to whatever the old rules were when they came to Australia. On the other, I've still got two years on a student visa -- after which theoretically it should be a direct transition given the amount of points I'd have (IIRC my margin is 10 over the current threshold). Worried it'd make employers even less likely to look at me being on a transitional visa though (and being a teacher there's really kinda one main hiring season), and there's the possibility of being rejected for whatever reason, so I wonder if I should go for that two-year 485 Temporary Graduate visa. Would cost at least AU$1500 just to cover my arse with that one though, and the Independent Skilled one would be $3500. I've been making some starts at getting back into Thai, might be useful for a teaching practicum idea I have, and I'd like to take a swing at the NAATI exams just to try and pad my margin a little better. Leaving for Hobart in a bit over two months, quite excited! Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Nov 23, 2014 |
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Nov 23, 2014 23:45
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Can't you show $X in a bank account en lieu of that though?
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Nov 25, 2014 02:17
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Been looking over rents on Gumtree, I see a number of postings require you to "apply through real estate". As someone new to Australia, would I be boned there by not having a renting history? To be honest, even if they did want to follow up on my references overseas, I really don't have much they could go on; it's pretty much either uni accommodation from years ago, foreign landlords who don't speak English and I mostly have no contact info for, or my parents for a couple months here and there in between being overseas. On the plus side, as a result of my programme (Teaching) I do have police checks from every country I've lived more than a year, and can show plenty of funds. Most likely going to book a short-term place for the first ~3 weeks, and do some apartment hunting/roommate screening once I'm there. The real estate check thing is far from universal on the posts I've been seeing, just wondering if I should discount them entirely. Another question: what sort of deductions are there taken out of your paycheques for basic, hourly-type jobs? In the US you get some taken out for social security/Medicare, as well as usually getting income tax withheld (as well as maybe state or local income tax, if the area you live in has that). In Australia I understand the Medicare Levy doesn't kick in until much higher levels of income, under ~$18k income isn't taxed (I'll be applying for tax residency), and superannuation is on top of your salary, not deducted from it. Is there anything I'm missing? Talking Tasmania, if it makes a difference. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Dec 18, 2014 |
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Dec 18, 2014 16:15
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Whew, student visa came through 48 hours before I'm scheduled to leave for Tasmania! Basically had a mix-up in submitting my documents to the wrong department (were going to the department that my course is through rather than directly to International Admissions, and actually not being received there either), which delayed getting the electronic Confirmation of Enrolment that I needed to apply for the visa. Fortunately I was able to correct it swiftly, or at least mollify any concerns that I hadn't actually graduated university Don't think I want to know how much I've spent just notarising photocopies of stuff for all of this, lol. My course ends late November of 2016, but my visa goes through mid-March of 2017, which is unexpectedly nice. I think it gives me enough time to get my degree assessed (10 weeks!) so that I can submit an Expression of Interest, then transition to a bridging visa once I'm approved to apply for the 189. Before I knew I had that much time, I was thinking I'd have to do the Temporary Graduate one (which costs like $1400) just to be able to stay in the country for those few months. I don't recall having to get a physical for my last time studying in Australia (maybe because it was an exchange of less than a full year rather than a full degree), but that was pretty annoying. US$320 for a chest X-ray and a pretty half-arsed physical (no blood work, just my vitals, a urine sample, and 5-10 minutes of questions and poking)... there were only 3 clinics in the entire state that could do it, fortunately there was one an hour away from me, the other two were down in Miami, which is more like 4-4.5 hours each way. Can anyone else confirm that if your driving license is in English you don't need an IDP to drive in Australia? That's what the Tasmanian Department of Transport seems to say. I'm going to convert to a Tassie license once I get an address sorted, but was considering hiring a car straight from the airport for a day or two. Welp, that's it. I'll probably post up some more once I get there and settled in and all. I had a place lined up to stay through HelpX but I kinda let two weeks go by without communicating (sidetracked by visa stuff, leaving hometown stuff) so hopefully that's still on. If not, hostels are still showing availability, and there are a few promising share house listings on Gumtree.
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Feb 3, 2015 00:00
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Awesome, thanks! Got here two days ago, really liking Hobart so far. The wooden boat festival and a few other things are going on right now, so it's probably a lot more lively than usual, and weather has been great. (Tassie summer is actually pretty analogous to the Florida winter I just left.) The NSW Blues were on my flight over from Sydney I'm doing a HelpX stay for at least the first couple of weeks, helping a guy with gardening and a few other random household duties in exchange for room and board, about 20hrs/week. Doesn't stack up too favourably to having a part-time job from a time:money standpoint, but I like having some breathing room to find more permanent digs, and both the host and house (dates from the 1830's, in the process of being gradually restored) are great.
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Feb 7, 2015 21:20
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Friendly Fire posted:Welcome to Hobart. You are pretty much on the money about Hobart bring more lively right now. The wooden boat festival is really good and is one off the best events we have (I'm currently looking down on it from the port tower). Haha, I was looking at temps a few weeks before I got here and thinking "That's supposed to be summer?", glad to hear it's at least a bit anomalous. I walked down to MOMA (~10kms?) since I couldn't find a bicycle helmet at the house (apparently that's the law here? My freedom ), which was having a Sunday fair type thing I wasn't expecting. Had a wallaby and rice dish that was pretty nice, a so-so pale ale, and wandered the museum for an hour or two before walking back. Got crisped up pretty nicely by the sun, of course I come home to this post, damnit.
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Feb 8, 2015 08:55
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Friendly Fire posted:The UV index in Hobart today was 10 even though it never got that hot, I get burnt every year. That said, the weather can turn real fast down here too and it's not unusual for it to be boiling hot one minute, cold and raining the next and then back to hot 10 minutes later. I'm just gonna go out and buy one; I actually brought a bunch of bicycle accessories over with me from the USA (kevlar tyres, a rack, pump, toolkit, etc) My old helmet was kinda grody so I didn't bother packing it. Yeah, I only got here Friday, so haven't had time to get my student ID (have to wait until Tuesday since we've got that Tassie public holiday tomorrow) or driver's license yet. With the license I need some kind of proof of address... I don't have any bills or anything since I'm doing a HelpX thing so it may have to wait until I have a more standard living situation.
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Feb 8, 2015 12:03
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