Thinking of going to Oz
Discussion
Hi All,
With the current work situation (i work in construction) being as it is - i.e. jobs being very unsafe and career prospects/promotions etc being completely on stop, myself and the Mrs have been talking.
Our scenario is that i'm 27, she's 30. We have 2 little boys, one who is 2 in October, the other is just 6 months old. Im a qualified Quantity Surveyor, she's a qualified Social Worker.
However, we're a bit fed up and are toying with the idea of a move to Oz.
I want to either set my mind straight or nip this one in the bud before going any further - but are we thinking straight?
Is it all it's cracked up to be?
I believe im right in assuming:
- The recession hasn't hit quite as hard there?
- The standard of living is a lot better?
- The price of houses is a lot cheaper?
- The price of cars is a bit more expensive, particularly Euro cars (a PH'r question mind - not a make or break decision/factor!)?
- Wages are roughly the same, if not slightly lower?
- The weather is a lot better?
- The people are generally nicer and a bit more chilled out that over here?
Also, could some of you post pics of 'normal' Oz?? When i do a google search, i find many of kangaroos and Sydney Opera House etc, i want to see suburbs and 'normal' places though!!
Any help/guidance appreciated with regards this potentially massive step!!
With the current work situation (i work in construction) being as it is - i.e. jobs being very unsafe and career prospects/promotions etc being completely on stop, myself and the Mrs have been talking.
Our scenario is that i'm 27, she's 30. We have 2 little boys, one who is 2 in October, the other is just 6 months old. Im a qualified Quantity Surveyor, she's a qualified Social Worker.
However, we're a bit fed up and are toying with the idea of a move to Oz.
I want to either set my mind straight or nip this one in the bud before going any further - but are we thinking straight?
Is it all it's cracked up to be?
I believe im right in assuming:
- The recession hasn't hit quite as hard there?
- The standard of living is a lot better?
- The price of houses is a lot cheaper?
- The price of cars is a bit more expensive, particularly Euro cars (a PH'r question mind - not a make or break decision/factor!)?
- Wages are roughly the same, if not slightly lower?
- The weather is a lot better?
- The people are generally nicer and a bit more chilled out that over here?
Also, could some of you post pics of 'normal' Oz?? When i do a google search, i find many of kangaroos and Sydney Opera House etc, i want to see suburbs and 'normal' places though!!
Any help/guidance appreciated with regards this potentially massive step!!
- The recession hasn't hit quite as hard there?
True as I understand it.
- The standard of living is a lot better?
I'd say so, though after a few years it is easy to become cynical about the retardness of things, especially the media, but that's only natural I'd say
- The price of houses is a lot cheaper?
NO! Well, yes, but Sydney no way, you're not a million miles from London prices, but with generally speaking lower wages. By the way when considering my use of the term 'Sydney'I am meaning CBD and reasonable travelling time metro area. Also bear in mind a 'reasonable'travelling time in Sydney is substantially longer than you might do in the uk - many folk here think nothing of an hour or two each way each day.
- The price of cars is a bit more expensive, particularly Euro cars (a PH'r question mind - not a make or break decision/factor!)?
NO! f
king ridiculouslly more expensive. Browse the Australia forum and carsales.com.au to see this.
- Wages are roughly the same, if not slightly lower?
Fair. From your other post I gather construction industry, which there's plenty of money in. As an aside and I hope I don't sound out of order here, but generally speaking I felt the uk had a snobby attitude to manual labourers - not so here, respected.
- The weather is a lot better?
Do you really require an answer to this? However do bear in mind that heat in summer can be oppresive
- The people are generally nicer and a bit more chilled out that over here?
Generally yes. If you're a decent bloke. I used to use the analogy (albeit a bit extreme) that generally speaking a lot of folk in the uk assume you to be a dhead until you prove otherwise. In Australia I'd say folk generally assume you to be a good bloke until you prove otherwise. This view still stands in my mind, though the uk is a bit more of a distant memory
Have you actuallly checked if you're eligible? You could do worse than check www.liveinaustralia.com on that score. Judging by your qualifications it shouldn't be an issue.
Good luck, and in summary I do believe life to be better, and that it is a better place to bring up kids. And if you don't agree after an initial 12 month period it's just a case of going back. I don't think you will regret it!
Inner west 30mins Look at marrickville , Enmore , Stanmore.
South - 1 hour ?? Cronulla , Caringbah , San souci, Brighton- Le-Sands
VERY West - Penrith , parramatta , campbelltown. Note - if you're living this far away generally the work you will be getting will be within the area you live so your vicinity to the city isn't really that important. *
Other considerations:
Expensive private schools/health....note Aussie girlfriend disagrees
An offie is a 'bottle shop'
That's all.
Woould like to see other's take on the above, they are mostly opinion and circumstance based.
True as I understand it.
- The standard of living is a lot better?
I'd say so, though after a few years it is easy to become cynical about the retardness of things, especially the media, but that's only natural I'd say
- The price of houses is a lot cheaper?
NO! Well, yes, but Sydney no way, you're not a million miles from London prices, but with generally speaking lower wages. By the way when considering my use of the term 'Sydney'I am meaning CBD and reasonable travelling time metro area. Also bear in mind a 'reasonable'travelling time in Sydney is substantially longer than you might do in the uk - many folk here think nothing of an hour or two each way each day.
- The price of cars is a bit more expensive, particularly Euro cars (a PH'r question mind - not a make or break decision/factor!)?
NO! f
king ridiculouslly more expensive. Browse the Australia forum and carsales.com.au to see this.- Wages are roughly the same, if not slightly lower?
Fair. From your other post I gather construction industry, which there's plenty of money in. As an aside and I hope I don't sound out of order here, but generally speaking I felt the uk had a snobby attitude to manual labourers - not so here, respected.
- The weather is a lot better?
Do you really require an answer to this? However do bear in mind that heat in summer can be oppresive
- The people are generally nicer and a bit more chilled out that over here?
Generally yes. If you're a decent bloke. I used to use the analogy (albeit a bit extreme) that generally speaking a lot of folk in the uk assume you to be a d
head until you prove otherwise. In Australia I'd say folk generally assume you to be a good bloke until you prove otherwise. This view still stands in my mind, though the uk is a bit more of a distant memoryHave you actuallly checked if you're eligible? You could do worse than check www.liveinaustralia.com on that score. Judging by your qualifications it shouldn't be an issue.
Good luck, and in summary I do believe life to be better, and that it is a better place to bring up kids. And if you don't agree after an initial 12 month period it's just a case of going back. I don't think you will regret it!
- Hello Stuart's girlfriend here..... If you want a better snap shot of the city , realestate, etc log on to www.domain.com.au here is a little guide for place names to search also put in a surronding suburb criterior because this is a VERY broad overview and others will certainly disagree ( ie annoying boyfriend sitting here being very disagreeable ....bloody poms)
Inner west 30mins Look at marrickville , Enmore , Stanmore.
South - 1 hour ?? Cronulla , Caringbah , San souci, Brighton- Le-Sands
VERY West - Penrith , parramatta , campbelltown. Note - if you're living this far away generally the work you will be getting will be within the area you live so your vicinity to the city isn't really that important. *
Other considerations:
Expensive private schools/health....note Aussie girlfriend disagrees
An offie is a 'bottle shop'
That's all.
Woould like to see other's take on the above, they are mostly opinion and circumstance based.
Edited by Google [bot] on Friday 18th September 10:17
I can't give any insight on the construction industry but you certainly hear every bit as many "house builds booming" news stories as you hear "house builds crashing" so on average i'd say it's probably pretty steady.
Technically Australia hasn't gone into recession at all, it has come pretty close but has been nowhere near as badly hit as the UK/US. Certainly from our point of view running an IT consultancy company we saw a very brief blip last year where big project spending stopped very very briefly, but then carried on as normal and we haven't seen things drop off at all really.
Cars are stupidly expensive here, I bought myself a 1995 Jag XJ6 Sovereign last week, got it at the absolute bargain price of $10,000 - the same car in the UK woud prob currently be about £2000 at absolute most.
Houses are probably more expensive here now than in the UK too, prices have apparently continued climbing on all but the top end of the market and with a lot of pressure on the lowest end of the market pushing prices up with large grants being given to first home buyers. Don't expect to be able to get a decent sized family home (3-4br) for anything less than about $500,000 in any of the capital cities unless you're prepared to be right out in the burbs.
With that in mind however i would definitely still recommend the move, we love it in Melbourne - lifestyle is so much better than in the UK on balance.
Technically Australia hasn't gone into recession at all, it has come pretty close but has been nowhere near as badly hit as the UK/US. Certainly from our point of view running an IT consultancy company we saw a very brief blip last year where big project spending stopped very very briefly, but then carried on as normal and we haven't seen things drop off at all really.
Cars are stupidly expensive here, I bought myself a 1995 Jag XJ6 Sovereign last week, got it at the absolute bargain price of $10,000 - the same car in the UK woud prob currently be about £2000 at absolute most.
Houses are probably more expensive here now than in the UK too, prices have apparently continued climbing on all but the top end of the market and with a lot of pressure on the lowest end of the market pushing prices up with large grants being given to first home buyers. Don't expect to be able to get a decent sized family home (3-4br) for anything less than about $500,000 in any of the capital cities unless you're prepared to be right out in the burbs.
With that in mind however i would definitely still recommend the move, we love it in Melbourne - lifestyle is so much better than in the UK on balance.
The recession hasn't hit quite as hard there?
True. But some areas of the building industry are still a bit touch and go. We have been saved by the federal government and now have work coming out our ears and are employing more and more contractors to deal with it.
- The standard of living is a lot better?
Debatable.
- The price of houses is a lot cheaper?
Depends on the area. I’m 1.5 hours north of Sydney on the Coast. The house next door just sold for $790,000AU for a 3 bedroom unrenovated 1970s house with no views. A place over the road with really nice views just went for 1.95 million. But 15 minutes away you can pick up a 3 bed house for around 300k.
- The price of cars is a bit more expensive, particularly Euro cars (a PH'r question mind - not a make or break decision/factor!)?
Yes. And a Monaro is cheaper to buy in the UK than it is in Australia
- Wages are roughly the same, if not slightly lower?
Basically.
- The weather is a lot better?
Depends on what you want
- The people are generally nicer and a bit more chilled out that over here?
Depends on where you are.
- Also, could some of you post pics of 'normal' Oz?? When i do a google search, i find many of kangaroos and Sydney Opera House etc, i want to see suburbs and 'normal' places though!!
If you got to google.com.au and select maps you can then do a street view through a typical suburban area to give you an idea.
Hope that helps out a bit.
True. But some areas of the building industry are still a bit touch and go. We have been saved by the federal government and now have work coming out our ears and are employing more and more contractors to deal with it.
- The standard of living is a lot better?
Debatable.
- The price of houses is a lot cheaper?
Depends on the area. I’m 1.5 hours north of Sydney on the Coast. The house next door just sold for $790,000AU for a 3 bedroom unrenovated 1970s house with no views. A place over the road with really nice views just went for 1.95 million. But 15 minutes away you can pick up a 3 bed house for around 300k.
- The price of cars is a bit more expensive, particularly Euro cars (a PH'r question mind - not a make or break decision/factor!)?
Yes. And a Monaro is cheaper to buy in the UK than it is in Australia
- Wages are roughly the same, if not slightly lower?
Basically.
- The weather is a lot better?
Depends on what you want
- The people are generally nicer and a bit more chilled out that over here?
Depends on where you are.
- Also, could some of you post pics of 'normal' Oz?? When i do a google search, i find many of kangaroos and Sydney Opera House etc, i want to see suburbs and 'normal' places though!!
If you got to google.com.au and select maps you can then do a street view through a typical suburban area to give you an idea.
Hope that helps out a bit.
Been here for several years, moved by my employer but as a sporting outdoorsy type of person had always had it in my mind to give it a whirl.
My employment sector is more global than local so hard to comment on the recession, but certainly doesn't feel as grim as the UK on the street.
Houses in the inner suburbs (Sydney is a huge urban sprawl, much more so than London even so if you're working in the city then you're living in the city, there is no commuter belt to speak of) are up there with global peers. We live in the Eastern Suburbs and could swap our house for something very similar in SW London - as a straight swap. Mortgage rates are higher so affordability can be a problem as...
Rates of pay, particularly in local professions seems, from my friends experiences, to be quite a bit lower than in the UK. Do some homework on this and don't be surprised to hear 40% down.
Cars are horifically expensive. My 2yo Boxster bought me a 5yo Saab and the M3 I've got now would have bought me a very tidy Gallardo. Then again, I've also come to the realisation that having a nice car here is a complete waste of time.
Day to day living is, I find, cheaper. Transport fairs, parking, food, restaurants, pubs - all cheaper. High end restaurants are similar to London.
Suggest you get yourself over on a holiday. Don't do the tourist stuff, just hire a car and spend a week in Sydney or Melbourne getting a feel for it.
My employment sector is more global than local so hard to comment on the recession, but certainly doesn't feel as grim as the UK on the street.
Houses in the inner suburbs (Sydney is a huge urban sprawl, much more so than London even so if you're working in the city then you're living in the city, there is no commuter belt to speak of) are up there with global peers. We live in the Eastern Suburbs and could swap our house for something very similar in SW London - as a straight swap. Mortgage rates are higher so affordability can be a problem as...
Rates of pay, particularly in local professions seems, from my friends experiences, to be quite a bit lower than in the UK. Do some homework on this and don't be surprised to hear 40% down.
Cars are horifically expensive. My 2yo Boxster bought me a 5yo Saab and the M3 I've got now would have bought me a very tidy Gallardo. Then again, I've also come to the realisation that having a nice car here is a complete waste of time.
Day to day living is, I find, cheaper. Transport fairs, parking, food, restaurants, pubs - all cheaper. High end restaurants are similar to London.
Suggest you get yourself over on a holiday. Don't do the tourist stuff, just hire a car and spend a week in Sydney or Melbourne getting a feel for it.
Always good to hear of others coming to join us!
If you're a QS you should find work easily enough - most of the multinational construction groups have offices in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere and there is plenty of other firms too - I work for a multinational engineering design company and we make use of many QS firms. I would think that social work would be fairly straightforward.
Cars are ridiculously expensive though you can get a V8 Falcon or Commodore for the price of a shopping trolley, so you do have a choice...
As for where to live - in Sydney, with children, I have to say Northern Beaches. Well, I do cos I live there - look up the area from Manly to Palm Beach. It takes me about 50mins to get to work in the main city area which includes a walk to/from ferry wharf at each end. Buses cover the rest of the Beaches - we have no train and driving in from here is a real pain. Lived in Bondi before coming to this area, and couldn't consider living in that part again - just not for us.
House prices will vary depending on the distance from the beach. Our 2-bed flat would go for about AU$850-900k, but we're only 600m from Manly Beach. Move 2km away and that money buys you a 3-4 bed house with a garden.
As others have said - get on a plane, take a look around, rent a house rather than staying in hotels, and get away from the main tourist areas.
This is very Sydeny-centric, but I also like Melbourne - feels much more European. But doesn't have the ocean beaches cos its in Port Phillip, and if feeling European was important to me, I'd move to Nice.
If you're a QS you should find work easily enough - most of the multinational construction groups have offices in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere and there is plenty of other firms too - I work for a multinational engineering design company and we make use of many QS firms. I would think that social work would be fairly straightforward.
Cars are ridiculously expensive though you can get a V8 Falcon or Commodore for the price of a shopping trolley, so you do have a choice...
As for where to live - in Sydney, with children, I have to say Northern Beaches. Well, I do cos I live there - look up the area from Manly to Palm Beach. It takes me about 50mins to get to work in the main city area which includes a walk to/from ferry wharf at each end. Buses cover the rest of the Beaches - we have no train and driving in from here is a real pain. Lived in Bondi before coming to this area, and couldn't consider living in that part again - just not for us.
House prices will vary depending on the distance from the beach. Our 2-bed flat would go for about AU$850-900k, but we're only 600m from Manly Beach. Move 2km away and that money buys you a 3-4 bed house with a garden.
As others have said - get on a plane, take a look around, rent a house rather than staying in hotels, and get away from the main tourist areas.
This is very Sydeny-centric, but I also like Melbourne - feels much more European. But doesn't have the ocean beaches cos its in Port Phillip, and if feeling European was important to me, I'd move to Nice.
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