Yet Another 'Questions about Australia' Post
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Hi guys, I know a bunch of people on here including Chris himself are from Australia, and I am wondering if anyone can answer some questions, as I am looking to take a vacation there at the end of April/beginning of May. First a little background: 1. I am going to be there for two weeks. 2. I am going to be by myself, so places where there are nice people my age (26) would be good. 3. I like doing outdoor activities, like going to the beach, hiking, off-roading, exploring etc. 4. It seems like a nice place to live, and I am thinking about going for a longer stay at some point (up to 12 months with a real tourist visa). If I did this, I would likely be working from there, but for the American company I work for now, and paying regular American taxes. Anyone know if this would be legal from an Australian point of view? 5. I have traveled to other countries before with no problems, but usually with friends or girlfriends. 6. Is it still warm, even though it's the fall now? Questions: 1. I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about? 2. Are people generally friendly toward Americans in most of the above cities? I'm not a 'loud american' or whatever. 3. Do any of you have an opinion on the best place to live, if I did decide to apply for a longer term visa? Thanks in advance for any help!
Chris Richardson
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Hi guys, I know a bunch of people on here including Chris himself are from Australia, and I am wondering if anyone can answer some questions, as I am looking to take a vacation there at the end of April/beginning of May. First a little background: 1. I am going to be there for two weeks. 2. I am going to be by myself, so places where there are nice people my age (26) would be good. 3. I like doing outdoor activities, like going to the beach, hiking, off-roading, exploring etc. 4. It seems like a nice place to live, and I am thinking about going for a longer stay at some point (up to 12 months with a real tourist visa). If I did this, I would likely be working from there, but for the American company I work for now, and paying regular American taxes. Anyone know if this would be legal from an Australian point of view? 5. I have traveled to other countries before with no problems, but usually with friends or girlfriends. 6. Is it still warm, even though it's the fall now? Questions: 1. I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about? 2. Are people generally friendly toward Americans in most of the above cities? I'm not a 'loud american' or whatever. 3. Do any of you have an opinion on the best place to live, if I did decide to apply for a longer term visa? Thanks in advance for any help!
Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson wrote:
I am going to be by myself, so places where there are nice people my age (26) would be good.
Come to Sydney!!
Chris Richardson wrote:
Is it still warm, even though it's the fall now?
Its about 27 in Sydney today
Chris Richardson wrote:
I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about?
Depends wehat you like. Sydney and Melbourne are large cities, Brisbane and Cairns as a bit smaller
Chris Richardson wrote:
Are people generally friendly toward Americans in most of the above cities? I'm not a 'loud american' or whatever.
You'll find some idiots anywhere but generally you'll have no problems
Chris Richardson wrote:
Do any of you have an opinion on the best place to live, if I did decide to apply for a longer term visa?
I love Sydney, I could happily live in Melbourne but I wouldnt choose to live in any of the other capital cities
System.IO.Path.IsPathRooted() does not behave as I would expect
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Chris Richardson wrote:
I am going to be by myself, so places where there are nice people my age (26) would be good.
Come to Sydney!!
Chris Richardson wrote:
Is it still warm, even though it's the fall now?
Its about 27 in Sydney today
Chris Richardson wrote:
I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about?
Depends wehat you like. Sydney and Melbourne are large cities, Brisbane and Cairns as a bit smaller
Chris Richardson wrote:
Are people generally friendly toward Americans in most of the above cities? I'm not a 'loud american' or whatever.
You'll find some idiots anywhere but generally you'll have no problems
Chris Richardson wrote:
Do any of you have an opinion on the best place to live, if I did decide to apply for a longer term visa?
I love Sydney, I could happily live in Melbourne but I wouldnt choose to live in any of the other capital cities
System.IO.Path.IsPathRooted() does not behave as I would expect
Josh Gray wrote:
Come to Sydney!!
Ha ha, you were one of the Aussies I was hoping would respond. I know Sydney is huge; just looking through listings of cities in each LGA was a shock. I lived in LA for a while too, but it doesn't seem nearly as big as Sydney. Will two weeks be adequete time to see a bit of the area?
Josh Gray wrote:
Its about 27 in Sydney today
That sounds good. It's 7C here today (Minnesota USA).
Josh Gray wrote:
Depends wehat you like. Sydney and Melbourne are large cities, Brisbane and Cairns as a bit smaller
Since I will be by myself, a bigger city is probably better, since there will be more to do. I'm also hoping to get out of the city up into the mountains for a day trip. That seems feasible from Sydney or Melbourne according to my meager research. A road trip up the coast would be fun too. Have you driven from Sydney to Brisbane? Is it a nice trip if you have? I know it's a long drive... Anyways, thanks a lot for the information too, I really appreciate it! :)
Chris Richardson
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Josh Gray wrote:
Come to Sydney!!
Ha ha, you were one of the Aussies I was hoping would respond. I know Sydney is huge; just looking through listings of cities in each LGA was a shock. I lived in LA for a while too, but it doesn't seem nearly as big as Sydney. Will two weeks be adequete time to see a bit of the area?
Josh Gray wrote:
Its about 27 in Sydney today
That sounds good. It's 7C here today (Minnesota USA).
Josh Gray wrote:
Depends wehat you like. Sydney and Melbourne are large cities, Brisbane and Cairns as a bit smaller
Since I will be by myself, a bigger city is probably better, since there will be more to do. I'm also hoping to get out of the city up into the mountains for a day trip. That seems feasible from Sydney or Melbourne according to my meager research. A road trip up the coast would be fun too. Have you driven from Sydney to Brisbane? Is it a nice trip if you have? I know it's a long drive... Anyways, thanks a lot for the information too, I really appreciate it! :)
Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson wrote:
Ha ha, you were one of the Aussies I was hoping would respond. I know Sydney is huge; just looking through listings of cities in each LGA was a shock. I lived in LA for a while too, but it doesn't seem nearly as big as Sydney. Will two weeks be adequete time to see a bit of the area?
Sydney itself covers a large area but a lot of it is endless suburbia (yes Micheal Martin, im talking about where you live :) ). You want to see the harbour, opera house, bridge (you can climb it), beaches, city, take a surfing lesson, and a few other cool areas. Most "backpakers" end up staying in Bondi or Coogee. You'll meet a lot of ther tourists in the hostels but locals tend to avoid these two places a bit The Blue Mountains is worth a look, it takes an hour or two to drive up there from Sydney or you can get a train Stanwell Tops and Palm Beach are also good day trips from Sydney Melbourne is also a great city, much more cultural and european feeling
Chris Richardson wrote:
Have you driven from Sydney to Brisbane? Is it a nice trip if you have? I know it's a long drive...
It takes about 10 or 12 hours, I did it with my parents as a kid but I've not been further north than Forster in a long time. Personally I like to trip from here to Melbourne. If you take the coast road there are some amazing little beach towns along the way I'd say two weeks in Oz is a bit short.
System.IO.Path.IsPathRooted() does not behave as I would expect
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Hi guys, I know a bunch of people on here including Chris himself are from Australia, and I am wondering if anyone can answer some questions, as I am looking to take a vacation there at the end of April/beginning of May. First a little background: 1. I am going to be there for two weeks. 2. I am going to be by myself, so places where there are nice people my age (26) would be good. 3. I like doing outdoor activities, like going to the beach, hiking, off-roading, exploring etc. 4. It seems like a nice place to live, and I am thinking about going for a longer stay at some point (up to 12 months with a real tourist visa). If I did this, I would likely be working from there, but for the American company I work for now, and paying regular American taxes. Anyone know if this would be legal from an Australian point of view? 5. I have traveled to other countries before with no problems, but usually with friends or girlfriends. 6. Is it still warm, even though it's the fall now? Questions: 1. I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about? 2. Are people generally friendly toward Americans in most of the above cities? I'm not a 'loud american' or whatever. 3. Do any of you have an opinion on the best place to live, if I did decide to apply for a longer term visa? Thanks in advance for any help!
Chris Richardson
I'm from Melbourne and it's a great town. All the amenities of a big city but it's easy to get out into the country. Theres a big mountain range about 25km east of the city centre and I often go hooning around there on my motorbike. You can't work on a tourist visa but there's a special visa you can get (working holiday visa, or something like that) where people from certain countries under (IIRC) 26 can get work in certain areas. Lots of kids do this, travelling around the country and picking up casual work as they go along. You still pay Australian taxes since you're working in Australia but I'm fairly sure that American law dictates that you also have to pay US tax. [edit]Ah, I only skimmed your original post :-) A working holiday visa only lets you take certain kinds of jobs so if you want to go there and work for your US company, they need to sponsor you for a proper visa.[/edit]
0 bottles of beer on the wall, 0 bottles of beer, you take 1 down, pass it around, 4294967295 bottles of beer on the wall. Awasu 2.2.5 [^]: A free RSS/Atom feed reader with support for Code Project. 50% discount on the paid editions for CP members!
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Hi guys, I know a bunch of people on here including Chris himself are from Australia, and I am wondering if anyone can answer some questions, as I am looking to take a vacation there at the end of April/beginning of May. First a little background: 1. I am going to be there for two weeks. 2. I am going to be by myself, so places where there are nice people my age (26) would be good. 3. I like doing outdoor activities, like going to the beach, hiking, off-roading, exploring etc. 4. It seems like a nice place to live, and I am thinking about going for a longer stay at some point (up to 12 months with a real tourist visa). If I did this, I would likely be working from there, but for the American company I work for now, and paying regular American taxes. Anyone know if this would be legal from an Australian point of view? 5. I have traveled to other countries before with no problems, but usually with friends or girlfriends. 6. Is it still warm, even though it's the fall now? Questions: 1. I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about? 2. Are people generally friendly toward Americans in most of the above cities? I'm not a 'loud american' or whatever. 3. Do any of you have an opinion on the best place to live, if I did decide to apply for a longer term visa? Thanks in advance for any help!
Chris Richardson
Ok, I am not from Australia but I was there for almost a month back in 2004, so here is my tourist-point-of-view :)
Chris Richardson wrote:
3. I like doing outdoor activities, like going to the beach, hiking, off-roading, exploring etc.
A camping trip to Fraser's Island, the largest sandy island in the world (or something like that). They rent you a 4x4 SUV and camping equipment and send you for three days/two nights on your own (with 8 other people, but no guides). There is not much more to do than drink beer and swim on lakes, but it's really cool! :cool: You take the ferry in a town called Hervey Bay.
Chris Richardson wrote:
1. I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about?
Sydney absolutely. Melbourn is a must also, altough I didn't go there. Cairns is a little town, but for scuba diving it's awesome, maybe the best in the world. Surfer's Paradise (Gold Coast) is also great, altough more in the summer. Great for the beach, and for partying. For partying, Byron Bay was also really good, altough I don't remmeber is it was a special date because there was a huge amount of people. And if you are there, be sure to go to New Zealand. There are some cool things to do in the south island. Definitely, you'll enjoy your trip to down under! :cool:
Luis Alonso Ramos Intelectix Chihuahua, Mexico
Not much here: My CP Blog!
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I'm from Melbourne and it's a great town. All the amenities of a big city but it's easy to get out into the country. Theres a big mountain range about 25km east of the city centre and I often go hooning around there on my motorbike. You can't work on a tourist visa but there's a special visa you can get (working holiday visa, or something like that) where people from certain countries under (IIRC) 26 can get work in certain areas. Lots of kids do this, travelling around the country and picking up casual work as they go along. You still pay Australian taxes since you're working in Australia but I'm fairly sure that American law dictates that you also have to pay US tax. [edit]Ah, I only skimmed your original post :-) A working holiday visa only lets you take certain kinds of jobs so if you want to go there and work for your US company, they need to sponsor you for a proper visa.[/edit]
0 bottles of beer on the wall, 0 bottles of beer, you take 1 down, pass it around, 4294967295 bottles of beer on the wall. Awasu 2.2.5 [^]: A free RSS/Atom feed reader with support for Code Project. 50% discount on the paid editions for CP members!
Taka Muraoka wrote:
You still pay Australian taxes since you're working in Australia but I'm fairly sure that American law dictates that you also have to pay US tax.
You get a 100% credit for foreign taxes on your federal return. Since US tax rates are lower than almost everywhere else in the developed world it's just more paperwork to fill out. PS watch out for the drop bears, they'll eat your brains if you aren't careful. :laugh:
-- CleaKO The sad part about this instance is that none of the users ever said anything [about the problem]. Pete O`Hanlon Doesn't that just tell you everything you need to know about users?
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Hi guys, I know a bunch of people on here including Chris himself are from Australia, and I am wondering if anyone can answer some questions, as I am looking to take a vacation there at the end of April/beginning of May. First a little background: 1. I am going to be there for two weeks. 2. I am going to be by myself, so places where there are nice people my age (26) would be good. 3. I like doing outdoor activities, like going to the beach, hiking, off-roading, exploring etc. 4. It seems like a nice place to live, and I am thinking about going for a longer stay at some point (up to 12 months with a real tourist visa). If I did this, I would likely be working from there, but for the American company I work for now, and paying regular American taxes. Anyone know if this would be legal from an Australian point of view? 5. I have traveled to other countries before with no problems, but usually with friends or girlfriends. 6. Is it still warm, even though it's the fall now? Questions: 1. I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about? 2. Are people generally friendly toward Americans in most of the above cities? I'm not a 'loud american' or whatever. 3. Do any of you have an opinion on the best place to live, if I did decide to apply for a longer term visa? Thanks in advance for any help!
Chris Richardson
You are going to find cool stuff no matter where you go in Australia. I love Victoria, where Melbourne is located. Lots of nature stuff if you like that. Melbourne has lots of cool museums and such. My favorite place in Australia is Kangaroo Island off of Adelaide. I'm actually traveling to Australia next April. I'll be in Victoria for a few days to see some close friends and then I'm going to tour Tasmania as I have not been there yet. If you want to live there the process becomes more complicated. I suggest visiting the website for the Australian consulate here in the US.
_________________________________________ You can't fix stupid, but you can medicate crazy.
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Chris Richardson wrote:
Ha ha, you were one of the Aussies I was hoping would respond. I know Sydney is huge; just looking through listings of cities in each LGA was a shock. I lived in LA for a while too, but it doesn't seem nearly as big as Sydney. Will two weeks be adequete time to see a bit of the area?
Sydney itself covers a large area but a lot of it is endless suburbia (yes Micheal Martin, im talking about where you live :) ). You want to see the harbour, opera house, bridge (you can climb it), beaches, city, take a surfing lesson, and a few other cool areas. Most "backpakers" end up staying in Bondi or Coogee. You'll meet a lot of ther tourists in the hostels but locals tend to avoid these two places a bit The Blue Mountains is worth a look, it takes an hour or two to drive up there from Sydney or you can get a train Stanwell Tops and Palm Beach are also good day trips from Sydney Melbourne is also a great city, much more cultural and european feeling
Chris Richardson wrote:
Have you driven from Sydney to Brisbane? Is it a nice trip if you have? I know it's a long drive...
It takes about 10 or 12 hours, I did it with my parents as a kid but I've not been further north than Forster in a long time. Personally I like to trip from here to Melbourne. If you take the coast road there are some amazing little beach towns along the way I'd say two weeks in Oz is a bit short.
System.IO.Path.IsPathRooted() does not behave as I would expect
Josh Gray wrote:
Most "backpakers" end up staying in Bondi or Coogee.
I thought about staying in Bondi, or Cronula, for a bit. I'm not specificially looking for very tourist-y areas to hang out, but I would definitely like to see those two beaches. How does climing the bridge work? That sounds like a great idea. I'd also like to see the Royal Botanical Gardens by the opera house. Driving from Melbourne to Sydney or the other way round seems like a fun trip as well. I have done most of my research into Sydney, but will be researching Melbourne more in the days to come. Any ideas how long that drive is?
Josh Gray wrote:
I'd say two weeks in Oz is a bit short.
I was thinking it might be a bit short as well, especially with the length of time it takes to get there and back from here. I may look at revising my trip schedule, and coming out later in the year when I have more time. I'd really like to spend a month or six weeks there, to get a real feel for the place. Thanks again for the help!
Chris Richardson
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I'm from Melbourne and it's a great town. All the amenities of a big city but it's easy to get out into the country. Theres a big mountain range about 25km east of the city centre and I often go hooning around there on my motorbike. You can't work on a tourist visa but there's a special visa you can get (working holiday visa, or something like that) where people from certain countries under (IIRC) 26 can get work in certain areas. Lots of kids do this, travelling around the country and picking up casual work as they go along. You still pay Australian taxes since you're working in Australia but I'm fairly sure that American law dictates that you also have to pay US tax. [edit]Ah, I only skimmed your original post :-) A working holiday visa only lets you take certain kinds of jobs so if you want to go there and work for your US company, they need to sponsor you for a proper visa.[/edit]
0 bottles of beer on the wall, 0 bottles of beer, you take 1 down, pass it around, 4294967295 bottles of beer on the wall. Awasu 2.2.5 [^]: A free RSS/Atom feed reader with support for Code Project. 50% discount on the paid editions for CP members!
Taka Muraoka wrote:
Theres a big mountain range about 25km east of the city centre and I often go hooning around there on my motorbike.
That sounds pretty cool. I would definitely like to spend some time in Melbourne and the surrounding area.
Taka Muraoka wrote:
You can't work on a tourist visa but there's a special visa you can get (working holiday visa, or something like that) where people from certain countries under (IIRC) 26 can get work in certain areas.
I read about this on the visa information site, but even if I did want to do odd local jobs I can't participate as I am from the US.
Taka Muraoka wrote:
so if you want to go there and work for your US company, they need to sponsor you for a proper visa
Yeah after thinking about the visa some more, I realized it doesn't matter who I work for, paying Australian taxes is necessary if I am going to be living there, and I will need a proper long-term visa to do all that (which is fine). Thanks for the info :)
Chris Richardson
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Ok, I am not from Australia but I was there for almost a month back in 2004, so here is my tourist-point-of-view :)
Chris Richardson wrote:
3. I like doing outdoor activities, like going to the beach, hiking, off-roading, exploring etc.
A camping trip to Fraser's Island, the largest sandy island in the world (or something like that). They rent you a 4x4 SUV and camping equipment and send you for three days/two nights on your own (with 8 other people, but no guides). There is not much more to do than drink beer and swim on lakes, but it's really cool! :cool: You take the ferry in a town called Hervey Bay.
Chris Richardson wrote:
1. I have thought about going to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Any opinions on these places, or other places I should think about?
Sydney absolutely. Melbourn is a must also, altough I didn't go there. Cairns is a little town, but for scuba diving it's awesome, maybe the best in the world. Surfer's Paradise (Gold Coast) is also great, altough more in the summer. Great for the beach, and for partying. For partying, Byron Bay was also really good, altough I don't remmeber is it was a special date because there was a huge amount of people. And if you are there, be sure to go to New Zealand. There are some cool things to do in the south island. Definitely, you'll enjoy your trip to down under! :cool:
Luis Alonso Ramos Intelectix Chihuahua, Mexico
Not much here: My CP Blog!
Luis Alonso Ramos wrote:
Ok, I am not from Australia but I was there for almost a month back in 2004, so here is my tourist-point-of-view
I think I remember you posting about your trip back then. It sounded like you had a great time.
Luis Alonso Ramos wrote:
A camping trip to Fraser's Island, the largest sandy island in the world (or something like that). They rent you a 4x4 SUV and camping equipment and send you for three days/two nights on your own (with 8 other people, but no guides). There is not much more to do than drink beer and swim on lakes, but it's really cool! You take the ferry in a town called Hervey Bay.
That sounds excellent, but unfortunately I am going to be going by myself, and unless I end up staying in Brisbane I will probably not make it that far north.
Luis Alonso Ramos wrote:
And if you are there, be sure to go to New Zealand.
That's a good idea, but I doubt I will be able to afford the additional plane tickets. I will take a look though. Thanks for the info :)
Chris Richardson
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Taka Muraoka wrote:
You still pay Australian taxes since you're working in Australia but I'm fairly sure that American law dictates that you also have to pay US tax.
You get a 100% credit for foreign taxes on your federal return. Since US tax rates are lower than almost everywhere else in the developed world it's just more paperwork to fill out. PS watch out for the drop bears, they'll eat your brains if you aren't careful. :laugh:
-- CleaKO The sad part about this instance is that none of the users ever said anything [about the problem]. Pete O`Hanlon Doesn't that just tell you everything you need to know about users?
dan neely wrote:
You get a 100% credit for foreign taxes on your federal return.
Cool, I wasn't aware of that. Thanks :)
dan neely wrote:
PS watch out for the drop bears, they'll eat your brains if you aren't careful
I've got a tinfoil hat reinforced with chicken wire; I think I'll be good ;)
Chris Richardson
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You are going to find cool stuff no matter where you go in Australia. I love Victoria, where Melbourne is located. Lots of nature stuff if you like that. Melbourne has lots of cool museums and such. My favorite place in Australia is Kangaroo Island off of Adelaide. I'm actually traveling to Australia next April. I'll be in Victoria for a few days to see some close friends and then I'm going to tour Tasmania as I have not been there yet. If you want to live there the process becomes more complicated. I suggest visiting the website for the Australian consulate here in the US.
_________________________________________ You can't fix stupid, but you can medicate crazy.
leckey wrote:
I'm going to tour Tasmania as I have not been there yet.
Tasmania seems cool. Just one word of warning: watch out for the wildlife[^]. ;)
leckey wrote:
If you want to live there the process becomes more complicated.
You mentioned on the forums that you used to live there at some point. How complicated was it? Were you on a student visa? How long were you there? Sorry for the barrage of questions :)
leckey wrote:
I suggest visiting the website for the Australian consulate here in the US.
Good call. I spent a few hours reading all the information I could find on http://www.immi.gov.au/[^], but I didn't think to look at the consulate site. I will have a look at it tonight. Thanks for the help :)
Chris Richardson
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Josh Gray wrote:
Most "backpakers" end up staying in Bondi or Coogee.
I thought about staying in Bondi, or Cronula, for a bit. I'm not specificially looking for very tourist-y areas to hang out, but I would definitely like to see those two beaches. How does climing the bridge work? That sounds like a great idea. I'd also like to see the Royal Botanical Gardens by the opera house. Driving from Melbourne to Sydney or the other way round seems like a fun trip as well. I have done most of my research into Sydney, but will be researching Melbourne more in the days to come. Any ideas how long that drive is?
Josh Gray wrote:
I'd say two weeks in Oz is a bit short.
I was thinking it might be a bit short as well, especially with the length of time it takes to get there and back from here. I may look at revising my trip schedule, and coming out later in the year when I have more time. I'd really like to spend a month or six weeks there, to get a real feel for the place. Thanks again for the help!
Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson wrote:
I thought about staying in Bondi, or Cronula, for a bit. I'm not specificially looking for very tourist-y areas to hang out, but I would definitely like to see those two beaches.
While they are both well know beaches there are nices ones. Have a look at Brontie ot Tamarama. We usually go to Tamarama or Maroubra
Chris Richardson wrote:
How does climing the bridge work? That sounds like a great idea. I'd also like to see the Royal Botanical Gardens by the opera house.
Chris Richardson wrote:
Driving from Melbourne to Sydney or the other way round seems like a fun trip as well. I have done most of my research into Sydney, but will be researching Melbourne more in the days to come. Any ideas how long that drive is?
We spent about 4 days doing it last year but we only drove a few hours a day.
System.IO.Path.IsPathRooted() does not behave as I would expect