Advice sought
Sep 8th 2012, 11:15 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 11
Advice sought
Hey all,
I woud be very grateful of you comments as I am in two minds of what to do when I get to Australia.
The facts are...
I have Australian citizenship thanks to my mum who is from Richmond, Melbourne.
My mum was one of five so I have direct relations in Melbourne and Perth and I am sure the Burke family tree extends beyond this.
I have about £8k of which I am earmarking £5k to settle in Melbourne.
I am assuming I will be able to stay with relatives until I can get a job thus avoiding paying 6 months rent upfront.
I have a postgraduate qualification five years experience.
I am single
I travel to Oz on 3rd January.
Questions?
Am I mad??
I read alot of posts stating how expensive it is in Melbourne/Oz in general???
Should I concentrate on getting a job or should I travel for the first 6 months? Current thinking is I would get a job and then travel but I am worried I will never get the chance if I get a good job.
If you had a wish list to see/do in Australia, what would it be?? At the moment I am thinking of getting a train to Perth and then going to Whitsundays to qualify as a deck hand. The Whitsundays look amazing and I have this image of beautiful way to live. I am not scarred of hard graft and I know the pay is poor. I would enjoy getting out of the office.
My budget for travelling without income would be £3k.
As I mentioned I would be grateful for any advise as everyone in the UK is saying go for it but I don't think they appappreciateat Oz is not the same propersition as it was five years ago
Thanks
Matt
I woud be very grateful of you comments as I am in two minds of what to do when I get to Australia.
The facts are...
I have Australian citizenship thanks to my mum who is from Richmond, Melbourne.
My mum was one of five so I have direct relations in Melbourne and Perth and I am sure the Burke family tree extends beyond this.
I have about £8k of which I am earmarking £5k to settle in Melbourne.
I am assuming I will be able to stay with relatives until I can get a job thus avoiding paying 6 months rent upfront.
I have a postgraduate qualification five years experience.
I am single
I travel to Oz on 3rd January.
Questions?
Am I mad??
I read alot of posts stating how expensive it is in Melbourne/Oz in general???Should I concentrate on getting a job or should I travel for the first 6 months? Current thinking is I would get a job and then travel but I am worried I will never get the chance if I get a good job.
If you had a wish list to see/do in Australia, what would it be?? At the moment I am thinking of getting a train to Perth and then going to Whitsundays to qualify as a deck hand. The Whitsundays look amazing and I have this image of beautiful way to live. I am not scarred of hard graft and I know the pay is poor. I would enjoy getting out of the office.
My budget for travelling without income would be £3k.
As I mentioned I would be grateful for any advise as everyone in the UK is saying go for it but I don't think they appappreciateat Oz is not the same propersition as it was five years ago
Thanks
Matt
Sep 8th 2012, 11:33 pm
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 20,821
Re: Advice sought
Hi Matt and Welcome to BE. 
Hopefully some good advice will come your way soon.
Hopefully some good advice will come your way soon.
Last edited by Alfresco; Sep 8th 2012 at 11:34 pm. Reason: Fix typo in title
Sep 8th 2012, 11:58 pm
#3
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 14,284
Re: Advice sought
Just to be clear, of the £8k the first £3k is for travelling and the rest for settling afterwards?
Unfortunately the £ doesn't go very far these days and you will find cost of living very expensive on your £. However the idea of doing some travelling first sounds very appealing to me, so if you can stick to your budget and perhaps confirm that you can stay with the relatives after (!) that sounds like a good plan.
Once you get settled and start working it might be difficult to find the time to explore the country again. Re your plan and timings, the last couple of years the rain has been pretty horrendous that time of year up the Queensland coast. I would like to take the train from Sydney to Perth one day, but it costs a few k I believe, well it does in platinum class, nevertheless could be a chunk out of your travel budget.
Unfortunately the £ doesn't go very far these days and you will find cost of living very expensive on your £. However the idea of doing some travelling first sounds very appealing to me, so if you can stick to your budget and perhaps confirm that you can stay with the relatives after (!) that sounds like a good plan.
Once you get settled and start working it might be difficult to find the time to explore the country again. Re your plan and timings, the last couple of years the rain has been pretty horrendous that time of year up the Queensland coast. I would like to take the train from Sydney to Perth one day, but it costs a few k I believe, well it does in platinum class, nevertheless could be a chunk out of your travel budget.
Sep 9th 2012, 3:37 am
#4
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 14,040
Re: Advice sought
Here's an idea.Try getting a job before you arrive. Little harder when not on the ground but certainly not impossible. If that fails go travelling as Jan is holiday time in Oz and lots of people off work so getting a job in Jan is harder. Things certainly move a lot slower in January.
Sep 9th 2012, 6:38 pm
#5
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 11
Re: Advice sought
Just to be clear, of the £8k the first £3k is for travelling and the rest for settling afterwards?
Unfortunately the £ doesn't go very far these days and you will find cost of living very expensive on your £. However the idea of doing some travelling first sounds very appealing to me, so if you can stick to your budget and perhaps confirm that you can stay with the relatives after (!) that sounds like a good plan.
Once you get settled and start working it might be difficult to find the time to explore the country again. Re your plan and timings, the last couple of years the rain has been pretty horrendous that time of year up the Queensland coast. I would like to take the train from Sydney to Perth one day, but it costs a few k I believe, well it does in platinum class, nevertheless could be a chunk out of your travel budget.
Unfortunately the £ doesn't go very far these days and you will find cost of living very expensive on your £. However the idea of doing some travelling first sounds very appealing to me, so if you can stick to your budget and perhaps confirm that you can stay with the relatives after (!) that sounds like a good plan.
Once you get settled and start working it might be difficult to find the time to explore the country again. Re your plan and timings, the last couple of years the rain has been pretty horrendous that time of year up the Queensland coast. I would like to take the train from Sydney to Perth one day, but it costs a few k I believe, well it does in platinum class, nevertheless could be a chunk out of your travel budget.
In hindsight I should have considered my timings a little better but coming in Jan suited plans over here but never mind, getting quite excited now!
Sep 9th 2012, 6:43 pm
#6
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 11
Re: Advice sought
Here's an idea.Try getting a job before you arrive. Little harder when not on the ground but certainly not impossible. If that fails go travelling as Jan is holiday time in Oz and lots of people off work so getting a job in Jan is harder. Things certainly move a lot slower in January.
Sep 9th 2012, 9:10 pm
#7
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: York
Posts: 323
Re: Advice sought
If you have the funds - travel first, work later 
You're right - if you get a job, the time will never be 'right' and you may get caught up in normal life and regret not having done it.
You sound young - if 'roughing' it a bit is acceptable to you then £3k should be enough for a few months and will stretch further if you get casual work where you travel to (bout $4.5k at the mo?). You might have to re-think the train though - the absolute cheapest ticket in Jan from Syd to Perth one way is almost $800.
Recommendation? Drive the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide - and go up to North Queensland for pretty much everything that's there.
You're right - if you get a job, the time will never be 'right' and you may get caught up in normal life and regret not having done it.You sound young - if 'roughing' it a bit is acceptable to you then £3k should be enough for a few months and will stretch further if you get casual work where you travel to (bout $4.5k at the mo?). You might have to re-think the train though - the absolute cheapest ticket in Jan from Syd to Perth one way is almost $800.
Recommendation? Drive the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide - and go up to North Queensland for pretty much everything that's there.
