I want to emigrate to Australia
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?
I was born in Australia and love it here. I wouldn't recommend living on the Gold Coast though - it's mainly for tourists or young people who love the party lifestyle, not those looking for a career in IT, although you could get lucky. The major cities are your best bet (Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra), although Melbourne and Canberra can be bloody freezing at times. You could live on the Gold Coast and commute to Brisbane as it's about 1 hour drive away. Most people fly between major cities as it's too far to drive (I wouldn't think about driving from Perth to Sydney, unless you like looking at dirt and rocks).
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To quote (or at least paraphrase) an Australian that was on a mailing list with me: "VB - best bloody beer on Earth". Victoria Bitters. I've never had it, so can't speak to it, but he made me want to try it. And he bristled at the thought of Fosters too. It's their Budweiser - that's all.
Hi, An interesting post and equally interesting answers. I've lived in Melbourne and Sydney, but moved to South East Queendland in 1960. (Yes, I am 68 and trying to learn programming!!). While this place isn't perfect, it's as close as I've been able to find anywhere in the world. Snow ? What's snow ?? The downside for people moving here is a couple of months of high humidity in summer, but the rest of the year is pretty good. Daytime, Winter around 15-18 degrees C, Summer mid 20's and up to early 30's. Accepting the weather is pretty much in the mind. I hate the cold, so don't want to live in it. Beers. VB (Victoria Bitter) known here as vomit bombs, but a lot of people like it. Australia has moved to a lot of mid strength beer around 3.5% the local favourite being XXXX Gold. I had an English friend here a couple of times and he loved it, so it can't be too bad. Fosters, don't know anyone who likes the stuff. My pathetic programming is only used in house so I'm not familiar with the IT possibilities here, sorry.
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?
As an Aussie that lived in London for 3 years I would accept the opinions and advice of the people here and then make your own decision :) Everyone has different things they want. I live in Brisbane (have all my life except for the 3 years in London) and I like it. The things I miss about London ... the proximity to Europe, the pounds sterling :) and a decently large market that makes lots of things very cheap (public transport, broadband, mobile phones etc). Australia IS a long way away from almost everywhere ... but there is lots to see here too (including NZ) The IT market in Brisbane is not too shabby - I've always found that those that complain about not getting jobs are the people you wouldn't want to employ. The money won't be as much as other places but the cost of living here is cheaper than Sydney, Melbourne (for example) - but still expensive overall. In general a lot of the jobs are state government so sometimes you have to role with the budget cycle but there are also lots of private companies with development roles. I've known people who lived on the Gold Coast (poms out on work visas) who loved it - surf in the morning, party at night but have never found any locals that love it year round for the tourist invasion aspect. The Sunshine Coast is my pick (personally) but the daily commute to Brissie would be torturous (there is a train but ... well ...). I prefer to live in the suburbs and go to the beaches on the weekend if that is what I want to do. You really don't have to be too paranoid about the creepy crawlies. Teach your kids young not to play with snakes and spiders and generally suburban Brisbane will be just fine. There are 2 types of spiders in my mind ... ones that run AT you and ones that sit there waiting for the thong (of the shoe kind) to come down on its head. The running ones are the ones to beware of - usually they don't bite (huntsmen) but they DO run, REALLY fast and they are REALLY big and hairy! A good pair of thongs that don't leave black marks on the paintwork (important consideration) are to be handy at all times ... and check the kickboards in the kitchen and anywhere dark and out of the rain outside (lawnmower, outdoor tables/chairs) - red backs love to set up house there. The cockies can be the size of volkswagons too - you'll get used to running screaming from them ... especially when they fly *shivers*. The thongs are effective against them too ... although a can of Mortein doesn't go astray ... snow coning is effective in slowing them down order to ap
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?
We emigrated from Preston to Brisbane 2 1/2 years ago. Best move we could ever make. As for the temperature, if you're in IT then you'll be working in an office with air-con, so no worries :) As for a Visa, my wife's a nurse so we were welcomed with open arms. We also know at least 5 other families that have moved here and none have any regrets. In fact our only regret is that we didn't come sooner.
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?
Hi, I'm Australian and work as a software developer in Brisbane for a medium sized company (around 800 employees nationwide) and there are not many IT job opportunities available on the Gold Coast and as previously mentioned, IT developer jobs are predominantly centralised around the capital cities. Brisbane has a great climate - very mild winters by comparison, is close to the Gold and Sunshine coasts (about an hour drive either south or north) - however it is growing quite a lot with many people moving to the area. Problems include over-crowded (at peak times) and sometimes unreliable public transport, traffic congestion, public health system etc..the government is slowly putting the infrastructure in place to handle the increasing population but still a way to go. Housing affordability is also an issue but you may not find it a problem coming from England with the currency exchange advantage. Sydney and Melbourne would have more IT jobs and higher salaries but both are likely to have higher costs of living compared to Brisbane (although this is changing). I can't really comment on what it's like to live in these two cities as I've never lived in either long term. If you're craving a warm climate, outdoor life and great beaches along with a range of software development opportunities I reckon Brisbane would definitely be a place to consider. Cheers, James.
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?
There is not much in the way of industry on the gold coast apart from hospitality or construction. If you really wanted to live here (I can see why, where else in the world do you go to the supermarket and see babes shopping in bikini’s) you could consider living on the gold coast but working in Brisbane as there is a train link between the two, takes about 40-50 minutes though.
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A friend from Toronto just escapedmoved to Melbourne - she had very little trouble getting a work permit for 18 months.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
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Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate. You should go, it's awesome, don't know about the software industry but if you move to Sydney (and don't live out west) you'll love it. That said it's not so cheap living near the coast but that depends how fussy you are about where you live. Sydney has everything and the only reason I came back was because it was too far from friends and family, if that's not an issue for you it really does have everything. Email me if you want any specific info, I've helped a couple of friends move out there and neither of them regret it.
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To quote (or at least paraphrase) an Australian that was on a mailing list with me: "VB - best bloody beer on Earth". Victoria Bitters. I've never had it, so can't speak to it, but he made me want to try it. And he bristled at the thought of Fosters too. It's their Budweiser - that's all.
I've lived here 40 years, and I only know one person who drinks Fosters. There's plenty of foreign beers, but I wouldn't let beer be the deal-breaker. I live on the sunshine coast in Queensland, and there's only a very minor IT industry here, and the pay is lower than the capital cities, and cost of living is higher... Move to a capital city I say... the weather in Queensland is pretty hot, but thats why we have air-con. Sunshine coast is a pretty sleepy place, Brisbane is a huge country town (1Million +), Sydney's northern beaches are nice but the weather is all over the place... get a job on an island in the Whitsundays would be nice for a while.
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Both with business sponsored visas (451 visas I think they are), i.e. they arranged work before they got out there, these last 4 years but can be renewed. Despite what people might tell you though it is possible to go in on a 3 month tourist visa and change to a business sponsered one, so you can arrange work when you're there or go for interviews on a tourist visa. With a young family I guess you would want to try and arrange work first. It's quite possible things have changed since these guys went out but I would think it's very unlikely that the government over there would ever stop businesses bringing in people they say they need.
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I don't fancy Sydney, it's overcrowded and expensive. Like living here, only hotter. I like the look of Brisbane though, or one of its suburbs.
I don't like Sydney much either. If you like a place where there's no people you can work in Canberra. I'm currently working in Adelaide, there's work in the government sector and in private industry. Perth also has some action, I didn't care for Perth much (worked there for 6 months), but people from the UK seem to like it.
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Crap beer? Could be a deal breaker... X|
The beer is great, unfortunately they've limited people at the Bathurst car race to only 48 cans each per day which is a serious restriction.
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?
You should start looking here: http://www.endeavour.deewr.gov.au/[^] Government sponsored programs. I found this while looking for the same thing you are looking now. I wanted (still want) to work in australia. I love Brazil, but I'm looking for better paychecks and run from the problems here. I also have an aunt who lives in Brisbane and she makes me crave to live there.
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?
If I were you I wouldn’t move here at all. I live in Adelaide, South Australia. These are just some of the reasons why I wouldn't bother: 1. As I look outside at the moment and all I see is a clear blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds. Same as yesterday, the same as the day before that and the same tomorrow. Boring! 2. There is a gentle breeze blowing but I have to wait until this evening before the sea breeze comes in to go sailing. Why do I always have to wait? 3. It has been about 30- 32 degrees all week. Boring. 4. I have far too many things to choose from to do in the next few weeks. The Adelaide 500 Car Race (in the city parklands). The French Group F fireworks is on within two hundred metres from my house this Saturday night. Another thing I’ll have to go to I suppose. Womadelaide is on with 500 international performers coming, again in the city park lands within walking distance to my house. It’s on every year… bloody boring eh! And then there is the Northern lights spectacular on in North Terrace, City. BORING!!! 5. I have to take a day off in two weeks for the next long weekend. Pity, I’d much prefer to work than spending time with friends fishing and just relaxing. 6. If I travel the twenty minutes to the nearest beach all I see is pure white sand for miles and the occasional topless sunbather. Why bother going! 7. If I travel up into the “Hills” all I see is boring green, rolling hills with hardly any traffic with little towns with coffee shops and boring Café’s and people just generally lazing around pretending they are enjoying themselves. No one seems to be in any hurry! Sheeze, they’re boring. 8. I’m going home from work tonight, a long 30 minutes (and I’m a long way out for Adelaide work) were I’ll have to put up with yet another boringly clear night, sitting outside with a few friends all equally bored drinking from a choice of far too many beers and wines. Trust me it gets very boring. So why the heck would you want to live here? It is such a boringly nice to live. Really, I wouldn’t bother. People in Sydney will tell you, Adelaide is great place to fly over. They must be right. Everyone is Sydney are so much smarter than people in Adelaide. Just leave this life to me. I’ll put up with it I suppose.
Peter Hayward Ngarkat Technologies South Australia,
modified on Thursday, February 25, 2010 1:43 AM
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Any tips? I'm fed up with England - it's cold, overcrowded and expensive. I crave a warm climate, the outdoor life and great beaches. Is Australia all it's cracked up to be? I have a wife and a small baby and I'd like to make the break in the next year or two, has anyone here made the move? What's the software development industry like out there?