Australia Megathread - Holidaying/Moving/Living in Australia

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bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Freeze posted:

For context, I've lived in Canada my entire life, but I'm lucky enough to have a dual Canadian/Australian citizenship. I also just graduated with a degree in Computer Science and have about a year of experience as a developer. Moving down to Australia to work for a couple years has always been in the back of my mind.

My question is: is the there an extremely good job market for software devlopers/engineers in Australia right now? I've been looking at some Australian job boards and there are a ton of junior software engineer positions with requirements of "a good attitude and some PHP would be nice" that pay 50-70k plus all sorts of other perks.

I can't speak for all of Australia, but my boyfriend is the manager at a software development company located outside of Newcastle, NSW and they seem to have trouble finding people to fill positions whenever they expand. I also have another friend who is a programmer and he seems to change jobs every couple of years whenever he started to get bored of where he is working and doesn't seem to have much trouble finding himself new employers.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2011 11:22

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 10:06

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

imnotinsane posted:

If you have the choice Energy Australia is offering like 12% discount in NSW trying to gently caress the competitors. Think thats the best offer at the moment.

Insider tip... I used to work for EA and you can actually haggle with them over the discount rate. Ring them up, tell them you wanna switch providers, and whatever discount they offer you ask for at least an extra 5% off and you should get it. They have a company policy which says that rather than argue with people over money on the phone, it's better just to throw some at the customer to make them shut up and go away. So use this to your advantage

Editted to add:

No one has mentioned Newcastle! It's definately better than Canberra! Beautiful beaches, thriving art scene, some pretty decent restaurants out near the vineyards.... etc etc

# ¿ Aug 24, 2011 00:09

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Another thumbs up for Internode here. I use Telstra NextG for my mobile, as the coverage shits all over just about every other provider.

# ¿ Aug 25, 2011 14:48

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

The sunshine coast is worth a visit, an especially good reason is because you can go to Underwater World and play with the otters: http://www.underwaterworld.com.au/AnimalExperiences/OtterEncounter

# ¿ Oct 11, 2011 13:55

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Vanilla posted:

Heading up to Nelson bay next weekend, anyone been up there?

Hopefully gonna get a fw dives in and head up to Stockton Bay / Beach to do some 4x4 or dune buggy driving!

I live in the vicinity. The beaches are beautiful, althought it's probably still a little cold around here for swimming. One Mile and Birubi are good surfing beaches, Shoal Bay is good for swimming as it's pretty sheltered with a gorgeous view.

Stockton beach has miles and miles of dunes to go 4x4ing on. Easiest way to get on there is to drive to Williamtown (where the airport is) then go down Lavis Lane for access. There's also a servo right near that roundabout where you can let down your tires or reinflate them once you're done.

If you've got kids, (or you're a sucker for cute animals like me) Oakvale Farm at Salt Ash is a good way to spend a day. Hmmm, what else is there to do around here... there are a heap of dolphin cruises to pick from at Nelson Bay, but I can't say I recommend them.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2011 12:45

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

unixbeard posted:

Oh that's right, I have a question:

I have a friend who is Swedish who would like to come to Australia. She is 23, speaks fluent English & Swedish and almost fluent German (B2). I was thinking with those language skills she would probably be able to find something in tourism pretty easy, is that correct? I read somewhere that Germans are the #2 visitors to Australia second to the Japanese. Also it sounds like tourism has been taking a bit of a hit with the strong dollar and blah blah, would that make it harder for her?

Probably not, going from personal experience it's tough to get into the tourism industry here as it's pretty competitive, and from what I hear from friends who have worked as travel agents/tour guides you work ridiculous hours for relatively low pay.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2011 23:39

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

To the person who wanted to hug a koala, I'm not aware of anywhere that lets you hug them (one place where I grew up used to do it but stopped cause it was stressing out the koalas) but I can tell you that there's two places that I know of that will let you pet them.

Blackbutt reserve, located near Newcastle is a natural reserve with a small collection of native birds and some wombats on display. You can get up close to the koalas here, pet them and have your photo ta&en from about 11am.

Oakvale farm is located about a 25min drive/bus ride out of Newcastle towards Port Stephens (awesome beaches out this way) and is part wild reserve part petting zoo. It's more aimed towards kids as you can feed the wallabies and other animals but don't let that put you off as you can pt both the koalas and wombats here.

invalid posted:

What can you tell me about Newcastle/New South Wales? I just got accepted into their graduate program. Not sure how I feel about that.

See comments above. I go to the uni there and it's gorgeous, like going to achool in a forest. You'll see possums and cockatoos just walking around. But in summer the mosquitoes are really really bad. Is there anything in particular you want to know about Newcastle? I spend a lot of time there so feel free to ask me anything.

# ¿ Dec 26, 2011 15:05

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Sharks Below posted:

Ugh, drat New South Welshmen. That is so dumb. Can't play footy, campdraft* or serve beers correctly.

Schooners are fine but I'm a pint girl myself. Especially at a busy bar when you have to wait in line for a beer.

*I went to a campdraft on the weekend and there was a "state of origin" comp which the Queensland team won just saying~

I had never even heard of a Schmiddy until I started doing barwork up in Central Qld. Until reading this thread, I was convinced it was purely a Queensland thing!

# ¿ Jul 26, 2012 06:33

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Sharks Below posted:

E: Do you still live here bee?

I've not lived in Queensland, I just used to fly up to Emerald/Rocky/Biloela once a month, work for about two weeks then fly back home. I'd just crash at whatever pub I was working at the time. I'm from Newcastle, and I've lived here my whole life.

I actually got a few pretty appealing job offers while I was up there, and considered moving (I LOVE your weather) but had a fair bit of family poo poo happening at that point in time, so it just wasn't feasable. Maybe one day though...

# ¿ Jul 26, 2012 12:53

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Sharks Below posted:

You love the weather? Let me guess, you were here in winter? Summer is bloody shocking. Except for the admittedly spectacular storms.

You guess correctly, it was winter/spring when I was up there. However I really don't mind the heat, it has to get above 32ish before I start feeling a bit uncomfortable.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2012 23:52

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Gloomiebat posted:

I'm probably going to be asking a heap of moronic questions in this thread over the next few months

Ask away, us Aussies are pretty easy-going and we won't mind telling you all about how awesome our country is

# ¿ Nov 11, 2012 14:58

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

You can cook for a lot cheaper if you buy your meat and veggies from Aldi instead of from Woolworths or Coles. Or getting fruit and veg from local markets often works out pretty inexpensive too.

# ¿ Nov 17, 2012 07:49

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Yeah, it's not bad. Some really nice bush gets around if that's what you like, plenty of hydro to be found as well.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2012 21:21

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

BCF is super expensive. You want a kmart, big w or even check out a sam's warehouse or go-lo (discount variety stores) if they have them in tassie.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2012 22:24

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

I also have used internode and can't fault their services.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2013 21:53

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

I'll tip a few bucks in restaurants if the service has been good. That's about the only place I've done it though. The majority of taxi drivers have tried to rip me off or various other misadventures seem to happen so I can only recall one or two instances I've rounded up with them. Taxis are stupid expensive here anyway.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2013 09:34

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Gloomiebat posted:

I'm looking to get my RSA certificate and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the best place to get that sorted? I was looking at the Victorian Bar School (really just randomly googling, I've no idea if I should be put off by that website, ha) but if anyone had any first-hand experience that'd be great!

I'm from Newcastle, so I'm not aware of places in Victoria that offer RSA, but if you get any major weekend newspaper and check the classified ad section near the job vacancies bit there will be a heap of ads for places running RSA courses. Just pick the cheapest one, like Cirofren said they're all pretty much the same and they run like every week, you shouldn't have much trouble getting enrolled in one.

Edit to add: If you're looking to get work in a bar, you'll need to get an Responsible Conduct of Gaming (RCG) certificate as well because the majority of pubs here have poker machines in them. Most places that offer RSA offer a combo deal where you can get the RCG at the same time as well.

bee fucked around with this message at 13:16 on Jun 1, 2013

# ¿ Jun 1, 2013 13:14

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Hmm, I suppose it couldn't hurt to do a barwork course, but from what I've heard these are expensive and are no substitute for actual experience. After getting my RSA & RCG I went into a local bowling club's bar and asked the kindly gent running the place whether he'd be willing to let me work a few shifts for free in exchange for teaching me how to pour a beer and get some experience. Maybe doing this might sort you out?

# ¿ Jun 1, 2013 14:26

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Probably not!

# ¿ Jul 13, 2013 13:28

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

I grew up outside of the city on a property that was surrounded by bushland. It was absolutely crawling with snakes and spiders. I never once got bitten by anything, even though I spent most of my childhood running around barefoot or climbing trees. In fact the only time I can remember anyone else getting bitten was when some idiot kid down the road from me caught a wolf spider in a jar, then poked at it with his finger.

Unless you go provoking them, or you intend to go picking up logs and rocks and poo poo without checking under them first, you're not going to be bitten by a spider. If you are seriously freaking out over just seeing a spider here well you've got two choices, either harden the gently caress up or don't come!

# ¿ Jul 26, 2013 08:43

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

i am bones posted:

Yo. I'm a goon in Adelaide in dire need of some sort of social outlet. I'm guessing there aren't too many goons here that want to hangout? Everyone is always in Sydney or Melbs. I need/want friends!

If you are keen on helping the world be a better place whilst socialising, check out the auspol thread in D&D. There's quite a few cool adelaide goons in there who have occasional meet ups/trivia/volunteer days.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2014 03:28

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

You could hire a car and head down to the Margaret River region for a few days. There's lots of vineyards, caves, surfing, breweries (I highly recommend the Olive Grove) and generally lots of stuff to explore depending on what you're into. Be warned though, as it's a popular tourist destination everything there is expensive but you're going to encounter that pretty much everywhere here in Australia.

Three weeks in Perth is a long time, if you can afford to fly to the east coast for a week or two and check out the barrier reef and Sydney/Melbourne it's a good idea.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2014 23:35

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

I'm going to Melbourne next month for about a week, and if anyone has any suggestions for things to do there that are fun for a one year old (and her parents) I'd love to hear them.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2014 07:52

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Octy posted:

I don't know about someone as young as one, but Melbourne Museum has plenty of stuff aimed at adults and children. I enjoyed it when I was a little kid and I enjoyed it just last week. Plus, I think children get in free.

Thanks! That sounds great!

# ¿ Nov 8, 2014 23:39

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

If you like nature outdoorsy type stuff, you're in luck. Newcastle has some of the nicest beaches around. About an hours drive outside Newcastle is Port Stephens, where there's heaps of eco tourism stuff going on such as dolphin cruises, some excellent hiking trails, and camel treks through the dunes. Drive about 30mins west from Newcastle and you're at the Hunter Valley vineyards, also a nice place to spend a weekend. Or you can catch the train down to Sydney. To go see elsewhere in the country though, you're looking at either a really long drive or a flight. You can fly out of Newcastle Airport (but be aware it's a 45min bus ride out of town) to other places like Cairns, Melbourne etc through jetstar airways, usually for around $100 one way.

As far as house rentals, suburbs close to the uni include Wallsend, Mayfield and Jesmond. But there is an adequate bus/train system you can use if you decided to live in a nicer, closer to the beach suburb such as Merewether, Newcastle city or The Junction. Hamilton is pretty cool too, there's a lot of interesting restaurants and bars around there. You probably want to rent a room in a sharehouse rather than try to find a fully furnished private rental as these are hard to come by and even harder to get a short lease for. To rent a room in a student share house you can expect to pay around $120-200 per week, depending on the size of the room and how nice it is. Do a search on facebook for Newcastle university stalkerspace and join up, as people sometimes advertise rooms there.

Edit to add: if you want to see koalas, you might get lucky enough to spot some if you hike tomaree national park, as there's a relatively big koala population there. But if you really want to get up close and pet one, both Blackbutt reserve (15min drive from uni) and oakvale farm (in Port Stephens, 30mins drive from uni) have captive koalas you can touch.

bee fucked around with this message at 12:07 on Jan 21, 2015

# ¿ Jan 21, 2015 11:59

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

If you like animals (and it sounds like you do), I'd definitely recommend checking out Oakvale Farm as most of the animals there you can feed and/or pet. The last time I was there a wombat chewed my finger :3:

Blackbutt reserve also has a couple of exhibits with wombats, emus, possums etc but from memory you can't get up as close as you can at Oakvale. However Blackbutt has the advantages of being closer to the city, and it's free to visit as it's a public nature reserve. It's a great place for a picnic too.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2015 21:59

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

I really enjoyed visiting Melbourne museum while I was down there last. I've heard good things about the penguin tours you can go on too. Depends on what you're into, really.

# ¿ May 11, 2015 23:21

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

What sort of things are you into? That should help you decide where to go..

If you go to the Hunter Valley, there's a fuckton of amazing restaurants to eat at. Shaky Tables, Muse, Tuk Tuk Burgers, and The Mill are my picks. If you have kids, the Hunter Valley Gardens and the Zoo are a good day out. Apart from those, there's not a lot of kid friendly stuff to do around the vineyards. But if you're a foodie or you love wine, you'll have a fantastic time.

If you go to Nelson Bay/Port Stephens, there's whale and dolphin spotting cruises (depending on the time of year, June through to about September is best), lots of great walking/biking/horse riding trails, sand boarding, some of the most gorgeous beaches you'll ever see, basically a lot more eco-tourism and outdoorsy type stuff.

I've lived in both places, so feel free to hit me up with any questions if you want to know more

# ¿ Jul 1, 2016 11:15

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

CrazyScot posted:

For the Hunter Valley the best option is always to stay in Newcastle and get a booked wine tour with someone experienced in the area. That is unless you want to play golf and instead should book to stay in the Crowne Plaza Hunter.

Heh, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza a fortnight ago for our anniversary and I can confirm that it does indeed have a nice golf course. It's also a very kid friendly place to stay, they've got a kids club, carousel, and the fine dining restaurant on site (redsalt) is super accommodating for parents dining with their kids. It's also close to the Hunter Valley Zoo, which is a pretty kid friendly way to spend half a day. But it is definitely expensive, so look for a lastminute deal if you're planning to stay there.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2016 02:58

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

I can't speak for the visa requirements part of it, but my health cover is with HCF and they've been excellent value for money and the times I've had to make a claim their customer service has been fantastic.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2016 05:09

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

There's a high concentration of talented tattoo artists in Melbourne, so if that's your thing look into that

Personally, I always enjoy the museum and art galleries when I visit there. There's some really impressive street art worth walking around and taking in too.

# ¿ May 23, 2017 03:28

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 10:06

bee: Dec 17, 2008; Do you often sing or whistle just for fun?

Busy Bee posted:

What is your guy's opinion on visiting Perth for about 4 days? I see a lot of talk of Queensland area including Brisbane along with Sydney and Melbourne but not much about Perth. Worth visiting?

If you go to Margaret River, there's some pretty cool limestone caves in the area that you might like to check out. The other things that I enjoyed while there were Eagle's Heritage, which is a native bird/raptor rehabilitation facility, and the Olive Grove distillery. You go and pay $10 for the liquor tasting, and become thoroughly inebriated in the process.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2017 06:01

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