Culture, Life style, Stress, Uncertainty in Australia Vs USA

Go look at the "Cat Room" thread, then come back and you tell me . . .

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Setanta wrote:

Go look at the "Cat Room" thread, then come back and you tell me . . .

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It is time to unleash the dogs of war.....I mean CATS of war!

http://www.twinkle.com.hk/books/books/jp006.jpg

http://www.1001words.com/images/catsdontlikedogs.jpg

http://www.spirited-ireland.net/images/zoo/cats-dogs/angry-cat1.jpg

http://digilander.libero.it/pagnes/disegni/angry_lion.JPG

http://www.barbarakeel.com/Angry%20Tiger.JPG

Shiver, you curs!

http://toadstool.se/journal/snapshots/687.jpg

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Yeah!

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Well I do love my pussycats!!!! I think me and the kitties will get on fine... Cool

What can I say I'm a LEO MEEEOOOOWWW!!!! Or is RRROOOOOOAAARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rica
Cool

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Hello everyone, this is my first time chatting in this site. I believe I have a lot in common with Vikky and Rica as I lived in USA for 3 years and was also an inmigrant. I came back to my home country Venezuela in 2001 when my practical training visa expired. Now, I am going through the process to migrate to Australia in the near future with the help of an agent. I am in the middle of the skills assessment process and taking courses by distance with OLA to comply with the requirements, so this is just the beginning of a long process which I am confident will end sucessfully!. I have always wanted to live overseas and I have chosen Australia as my best option as I believe Australia is more opened than USA when it comes to receiving immigrants and our migration process. I have had the opportunity to meet a few of venezuelans who have also migrated to Australia and they are doing just fine and already love Australia, so this is very encouraging for me!.

Most of venezuelans have migrated to Sydney and Melbourne and they just love it there. However, I would appreciate if any of you who reside in Australia could give me any information about Brisbane and Adelaide.

I have read a little about Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, and I would love to have some insights as to what to expect of each city. The main factors for me to decide would be lifestyle, employment options, public transportation, weather, and cost of living!. I would love to live by the coast, and enjoy the charms of a city without the hassle and trafic of a big city. Getting around easily using public transportation would be a big issue for me as I don´t plan to buy a car immediately, this was a big issue for me when I was in USA and I was forced to buy a car to get around and run long distances between most places (I lived in Pennsylvania and worked in NJ, so you can imagine I used to spend an awful time of the day just commuting from work to home and viceversa...)
Anyways, any information you could provide on these matters would be highly appreciated!

Cheers! Very Happy

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bombom, Welcome to a2k. As a one time visitor to Australia, and only to Sydney, Port Douglas and Cairns, I can't be of much help on the information you are seeking. However, there are many Aussies on a2k who can provide the information you need. Good luck.

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Hi bombom,

I am a Canadian living in Brisbane and find it quite liveable. We live a few kilometres outside of the CBD and are paying $350/week for living accomodations; it is a bit much but we are close to the city and we do not have a vehichle. We rely on public transport with a bus stop right outside our doorstep and a train station less that 1/2 km away. The Brisbane River walk/bikeway is across the road from us which is awesome as cycling is another of our forms of transportation.
Our complex also has a gym, pool, sauna and jacuzzi on the ground level which we use daily. We figured that into our weekly rent; if we lived elsewhere without a gym we would then have to pay for three gym memberships on top of housing.
I find the cost of living quite expensive here as compared to Canada but I suppose the wages here allow for that.
The people in Brisbane are wonderful! It is a great city to live and play in!
Good luck with your immigration.

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Hi Ay Sontespli and Cicerone, thanks a lot for your replies. It´s great to hear about Brisbane, its people and transportation facilities! Just out of curiosity how long does it take you to get to work?

I like everything you said, and it is certainly an advantage to have all those facilities as the gym, pool, sauna, etc included in the rent! Is it too difficult the process to rent an apartment there?, I imagine they require people to have a job before they can rent, right?

Thanks for your help!
Very Happy

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It takes my husband 30 minutes to bike to work. I think it is about 7km away. City transport takes about the same amount of time. He only takes transport when the weather is too poor for cycling.
I can not work in Australia so I keep myself busy volunteering for four different organizations and they take me all over the city! I manage to get to all of them via public transport.
When we first moved to the city we did not have jobs. We walked into an apartment unit, filled out the forms and it was pretty much a done deal. We did not think to bring references from our Canadian landlords but that was not a problem either.
My husband is a software analyst and he found work within four weeks of moving to the city. He took two weeks to just enjoy the city before he really started to look for a job Wink

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Hi Ay!
It´s great news and encouraging to know how quick your husband found a job!, and that we don´t have to get a job before we can rent an apartment!. I am also in the IT area, although my background is not technical, I have performed more as a liason between users from business functions and IT staff, so it is good to know that in this area employers seem to be eager to hire people, above all immigrants, because I have heard that for some type of jobs such as sales, employers prefer locals or people with working experience in Brisbane... have you heard anything like that?

Kind Regards, Very Happy

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Hey bombom,

Well, hrmmm....my husband is Australian. He is, I am not. But still, he has a bit of a sketchy work history and he still did not have difficulty finding work.
When he came to Canada in 1999 he was pretty much an IT graduate with 6 months work experience. He came to Canada on a visitors visa but stayed so applied for permanent residency from within Canada. He was umemployed for 18 months, found work quickly once he was able to and then took another 6 month break from employment when we moved to Australia last year. Well, he was still working under contract for his Canadian company via telecommuting.
Soooooo...I reckon if you have the qualifications you will not have a problem finding work. Oh yea, and the company my husband is working for? He is one of the _only_ Australians, everyone else coming from all over the place! The same was true in Canada...a very multicultural work place.
And as for finding a place to live before having a job, we had a hefty amount in a savings account and used that as our 'proof of income'.
Hope that helps a bit more Smile

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This one's for dlowan.

Widdle Wabbits

A precious little girl walks into a pet shop and asks, in the sweetest little lisp, between two missing teeth, "Excuthe me, mithter, do you keep
widdle wabbits?"

As the shopkeeper's heart melts, he gets down on his knees so that he's on her level and asks, "Do you want a widdle white wabbit, or a thoft and
fuwwy bwack wabbit, or maybe one like that cute widdle bwown wabbit over there?"

She, in turn, blushes, rocks on her heels, puts her hands on her knees, leans forward and says, in a tiny quiet voice, "I don't tink my python weally gives a thit."

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I have heard it before - but thank you for the thought!

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Hey Ay!

Thanks a lot for the information! It sure helps!
Kind regards, Very Happy

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No worries bombom...glad to help Smile

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Hello everybody, i'm new to the forum

bombom wrote:

Hello everyone, this is my first time chatting in this site. I believe I have a lot in common with Vikky and Rica as I lived in USA for 3 years and was also an inmigrant. I came back to my home country Venezuela in 2001 when my practical training visa expired. Now, I am going through the process to migrate to Australia in the near future with the help of an agent. I am in the middle of the skills assessment process and taking courses by distance with OLA to comply with the requirements, so this is just the beginning of a long process which I am confident will end sucessfully!. I have always wanted to live overseas and I have chosen Australia as my best option as I believe Australia is more opened than USA when it comes to receiving immigrants and our migration process. I have had the opportunity to meet a few of venezuelans who have also migrated to Australia and they are doing just fine and already love Australia, so this is very encouraging for me!.

Most of venezuelans have migrated to Sydney and Melbourne and they just love it there. However, I would appreciate if any of you who reside in Australia could give me any information about Brisbane and Adelaide.

I have read a little about Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, and I would love to have some insights as to what to expect of each city. The main factors for me to decide would be lifestyle, employment options, public transportation, weather, and cost of living!. I would love to live by the coast, and enjoy the charms of a city without the hassle and trafic of a big city. Getting around easily using public transportation would be a big issue for me as I don´t plan to buy a car immediately, this was a big issue for me when I was in USA and I was forced to buy a car to get around and run long distances between most places (I lived in Pennsylvania and worked in NJ, so you can imagine I used to spend an awful time of the day just commuting from work to home and viceversa...)
Anyways, any information you could provide on these matters would be highly appreciated!

Cheers!

Hello everybody, i'm new to the forum and i want to contact with Venezuelan that already live in Australia, as well as with some of us that are trying and pushing to migrate. I have read deeply about every legal requirement but i need some first hand information from people that have accomplished to migrate. I already have some work exp. (Electronic Engineer, 1 year -a little more-) I said this not to seem arrogant, but in the case someone in the forum had the same characteristics could tale me a more precise story. Well, thats all for know, I would really like to hear from anybody in Australia and in Venezuela planning to go to Australia. Im still young (24) and im planning to start the skill assessment in the next months, as well as taking the IELTS.

Good luck to anybody trying to move.

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fillbrin -

welcome to A2K. I don't think we have any Venezuelan-Australians on the board - but I'm regularly surprised by who turns up!

I can't help you, I'm afraid.

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Fillibrin - if I were you I would start a new thread asking your question - with a good heading summariozing the information you want - that way you have the most chance people will see your question who may be able to help.

There is no Australian consulate in Venezuela - the nearest one is in Santiago, Chile.

Here is some information re that embassy:

SANTIAGO

Responsible Mission Australian Embassy, Santiago, Chile
DIMIA Representation Principal Migration Officer
Street Address ISIDORA GOYENECHEA 3621 TORRE - B, PISO 12
Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

Postal Address Casilla33
Correo 10
Las Condes
Santiago de Chile

Telephone 56 2 550 3500 (Embassy) 56 2 550 3600 (DIMIA)
Facsimile 56 2331 5955 (DIMIA) 56 2331 5960 (Embassy)
Email Contact [email protected]
Website - non english www.chile.embassy.gov.au
Client Counter Hours 0900-1130 Monday - Friday
Client Telephone Hours 0830-1230, 1330-1651 Monday - Friday
Staff Office Hours 0830-1230, 1330-1651 Monday - Friday

Permanent Entry Visas Permanent entry visa applications (except general skilled, business skills and parent subclasses) from all countries in South America, excluding Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay & Uruguay are lodged, processed and decided in Santiago. While such applications can be lodged at any post, it is recommended that they be lodged direct with Santiago (in person, by mail or by courier), as forwarding documents from other posts can take up to a month. However, fees/charges can be paid at any post, and the receipt should then be sent by the applicant with the application direct to Santiago.

For Refugee/SHP applications see "Special Procedures" below.

General skilled migration applications are lodged and processed at the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre.

Business Skills applications are lodged and processed at the Perth Business Skills Processing Centre.

Contributory parent and parent migration applications are lodged and processed at the Perth Offshore Parents Centre.

Temporary Entry Visas Temporary entry visa applications from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, Netherlands Antilles, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela are lodged, processed and decided in Santiago.

416 Special Program applications are lodged and processed at the Hobart Special Program Processing Centre

420 Entertainment sponsorship and visa applications are lodged and processed at the Sydney Entertainment Processing Centre

From 2 April 2005, Sponsored Family Visitor visa (subclass 679) applications must be lodged by the sponsor at a State or Territory office within Australia.
See: Contact details in Australia

If you are sponsored by an Australian employer, you must lodge your visa application at the same office in Australia where your employer lodged papers to support your application. Please ask your employer which office they lodged these papers at. For the office address, see: Contact details in Australia

Special Procedures Refugee/Humanitarian applications for all South American countries excluding Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay & Uruguay are lodged, processed and decided in Santiago.

As of 1 July 2002, Washington is responsible for deciding Refugee/Humanitarian applications from Central America.

I know there are quite a few migrants from South America in Australia - though I do not think I have met any Venezuelans!

Here is the Dept. of Immigration site:

http://www.immi.gov.au/

Visitor visa information:

http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/53entry_system.htm

There are many companies specialising in assisting would be immigrants - this seems to be one of them - there are thousands.

I have no idea how good any of them are - or how much they cost - but this one seems to have a lot of information on site:

http://www.australia-migration.com/page/Migration_Information/9

Here is another:

http://www.migrationexpert.com/content/immigration_australia.asp?fid=100120

Immigration information from the Australian Government:

http://www.australia.gov.au/127

I hope some of this may be useful - you do know how to look up in Google, I assume? There is heaps of stuff to be found.

Good luck!

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Re: Culture, Life style, Stress, Uncertainty in Australia Vs
Hi Vikky, I'm new to the forum and just found your message. My husband and I are in the same dilemma. Did you finally moved to Australia or decided to stay in the USA? Please let me know what you decided and why.

We feel trapped until retrogressed dates become current to apply for our adjustment of status, it could take years and we're not sure if we want to wait that long.

Vikky wrote:

Hello All,
Sorry for the long note but couldn't help it!!
My wife and I are in the process of migrating to Australia from the US. We hate the lifestyle and the work culture here. Its really demanding and too much of stress with all the uncertainties for the immigrants here. It takes a lot of time to get the green card here and settle down. You got to wait for 5 yrs to apply for citizenship after your greencard which is too much of time and uncertainty considering the policies here and the present government. I'm begining to question the values of this country and the name its got in the present world. Also all the rules here make you tied down and doesn't give you enough freedom to move around jobs. The attitude of firing people just like that from jobs scares me, now that I have a family. We are always running here to catch something. We are also worried to bring up our kids in this kind of environment and we don't want them to go through this kind of stress. We think kids need to be what they are for their age. So I'm thinking about Australia to settle down. I don't know much about Australia but I feel its a better place from what we have heard till now. I have a Master's in Manufacturing Management from the US and my wife has a Master's in Computer Science from here as well.. Could you please give us your thoughts/feedback about the following .

-finding jobs in Manufacturing and IT field ?
-how difficult it is and how long it would take us there roughly?
-are Degrees from the US recognized in Australia?
-Your thoughts on lifestyle /workculture in Australia ?
-Bringing up kids in Australia?

Thanks in advance for your time and appreciate all your feedback .!

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Culture, Life style, Stress, Uncertainty in Australia Vs USA

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