Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Oct 12th 2005, 10:01 am
#31
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: newport
Posts: 14
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by Pollyana
Hope the hours go quickly 
Re the repeat prescriptions - often if you ring the surgery they will send you one without you seeing the doctor. They just don't tend to give you more than one script at a time (as they do here). Depends what the drug is, but try speaking the receptionist. They may be able to get the doctor to sign one for you and send it, or you pick it up.
Re the repeat prescriptions - often if you ring the surgery they will send you one without you seeing the doctor. They just don't tend to give you more than one script at a time (as they do here). Depends what the drug is, but try speaking the receptionist. They may be able to get the doctor to sign one for you and send it, or you pick it up.
Hey, I don't know about the rest of you, but I never get to see a doctor here. By the time I get an appointment - I'm better!!!
Frankly, I'd be happy to pay private and see someone when I NEED to see a doctor. The NHS has it's merits, but to be honest your everyday working-middle class man (without meaning to be politically incorrect) gets shafted every which way ... my sister-in-law would have died of cancer if she'd waited on her doctors advice that she was imagining the lump in her neck! it was just grissle or some such nonsense - she paid private, got decent care and prognosis, and after remortaging to finance treatment she's great thankfully. But she had to pay thru the nose for it 2 years ago. I think our health care sucks. But then that's just my experience.
In a nutshell, I'll not miss the uk health service.
glasurit
Oct 12th 2005, 10:02 am
#32
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
[QUOTE=Vash the Stampede]LOL, thanks mate; glad to know that somebody else has been through it too!
: BTW, does anyone know why can't you get repeat prescriptions in this country? Or can you? If there's a way to do it, I'd love to know!
[QUOTE=Vash the Stampede]
Write a note to your doctor just stating what you require, they should have a prescription waiting for you within 48 hours (at our surgery anyway). There should also be another slip stapled to the prescription which details what drugs you are on and a box next to it. When you start to run out of the drug, tick the box and hand it back to the receptionist (or reliable pharmacy) who will get it sorted for you.
Good luck with the wedding and don't drink tooooo much in Ireland - you know what the Irish are like
: BTW, does anyone know why can't you get repeat prescriptions in this country? Or can you? If there's a way to do it, I'd love to know!
[QUOTE=Vash the Stampede]Write a note to your doctor just stating what you require, they should have a prescription waiting for you within 48 hours (at our surgery anyway). There should also be another slip stapled to the prescription which details what drugs you are on and a box next to it. When you start to run out of the drug, tick the box and hand it back to the receptionist (or reliable pharmacy) who will get it sorted for you.
Good luck with the wedding and don't drink tooooo much in Ireland - you know what the Irish are like
Oct 12th 2005, 10:04 am
#33
Fighting my corner
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 11,948
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by Hels
I was working in London for 4 years and because of the hassle to apply for an NI number....I never did!! 
Dunno what I missed out or even IF I missed out on anything because I didnt get one....but oh well....too late to worry about it now hehehehe
Dunno what I missed out or even IF I missed out on anything because I didnt get one....but oh well....too late to worry about it now hehehehe
So where are you getting married? Hubby and I came home to Oz to get married which I am pretty pleased about because none of his family bothered to come... 
Oct 12th 2005, 10:07 am
#34
Fighting my corner
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 11,948
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by southstander
Congratulations Vash. You've kept that one quiet! All the best.Are your family coming over for the big day?
Sue
Sue
My sister, mother and grandmother will be over here, but none of my other Australian family members can make it.
I will have a good selection of UK rellies, though - and a handful of Aussie mates that I've caught up with since moving here.
Oct 12th 2005, 10:10 am
#35
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: the wrong place
Posts: 892
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by clotje
I wanted to emigrate to Australia and did a lot of research. After I completed my research I decided not to make the move. Here are the reasons why.
I would have to go on a temporary SIR visa. After 2 years I could apply for permanent residency which means that I wouldn’t qualify for any kind of government benefits for at least 4 years. So if I couldn’t find a job or got made redundant I would have to life of air and nice views.
I don’t have a lot of cash which is what you need if you go to Australia because even though the government says they want immigrants they’re not interested in helping them. (after all, people on temporary visas pay more health insurance, have to have their qualifications assessed not once, but twice etc.) So say I’d move there and look for a job. People who are already in Oz, have warned me that it would take me at least 3 months to find a suitable job. Not a job I’ve done before, mind you. Australian companies seem to ignore previous (foreign) experience and education. If it’s not Australian, it doesn’t count. So I’d have to take a job below my qualifications/experience for less pay. And since Australian companies don’t want to hire people on a permanent basis, only causal, I wouldn’t have any kind of job security whatsoever. Which is something banks want, in my experience, if you want to apply for a mortgage. So I’d be stuck in a rental house, get crappy pay, in a job that wouldn’t stimulate me mentally, without knowing if I had a job the following week. And what if I were to fall ill? There is nothing stopping an employer to fire you, after all, you’re just working on a casual basis. So I could be stuck in a rental house, without crappy pay, sick and living of air…that is until I’d get evicted for not being able to pay the rent. So, being single I’ve decided that the risk is too great. I don’t have a rich husband and without any kind of security it’s madness to make the move (unless you’re willing to clean toilets or stack shelves in a supermarket)
BTW there’s nothing wrong with cleaning toilets or stacking shelves…I did the latter when I was a teenager, but I’d like to think that I’ve evolved since those days. I couldn’t work in a mindless job for the rest of my live.
I’d be curious to see what your research has shown…is the picture I paint too grim or do you agree that it is a possible reality?
I would have to go on a temporary SIR visa. After 2 years I could apply for permanent residency which means that I wouldn’t qualify for any kind of government benefits for at least 4 years. So if I couldn’t find a job or got made redundant I would have to life of air and nice views.
I don’t have a lot of cash which is what you need if you go to Australia because even though the government says they want immigrants they’re not interested in helping them. (after all, people on temporary visas pay more health insurance, have to have their qualifications assessed not once, but twice etc.) So say I’d move there and look for a job. People who are already in Oz, have warned me that it would take me at least 3 months to find a suitable job. Not a job I’ve done before, mind you. Australian companies seem to ignore previous (foreign) experience and education. If it’s not Australian, it doesn’t count. So I’d have to take a job below my qualifications/experience for less pay. And since Australian companies don’t want to hire people on a permanent basis, only causal, I wouldn’t have any kind of job security whatsoever. Which is something banks want, in my experience, if you want to apply for a mortgage. So I’d be stuck in a rental house, get crappy pay, in a job that wouldn’t stimulate me mentally, without knowing if I had a job the following week. And what if I were to fall ill? There is nothing stopping an employer to fire you, after all, you’re just working on a casual basis. So I could be stuck in a rental house, without crappy pay, sick and living of air…that is until I’d get evicted for not being able to pay the rent. So, being single I’ve decided that the risk is too great. I don’t have a rich husband and without any kind of security it’s madness to make the move (unless you’re willing to clean toilets or stack shelves in a supermarket)
BTW there’s nothing wrong with cleaning toilets or stacking shelves…I did the latter when I was a teenager, but I’d like to think that I’ve evolved since those days. I couldn’t work in a mindless job for the rest of my live.
I’d be curious to see what your research has shown…is the picture I paint too grim or do you agree that it is a possible reality?
I guess the "DREAM" is not big enough or perhaps there is no dream at all..........this life is for living and when your old and grey I got a feeling you will say to yourself WTF ........you mention risk......well let me tell you that THE biggest risk that life has to offer is taking no risk at all.........it's not how many times you fall down that count it's how high you jump up when you get knocked down........your FOCUS is on the absolute opposite that it should be.......why should OZ help immigrants?.......you will NEVER be out of work if your focus was on being the best employee your boss has
Pick yourself up and change your thought process and always remember this.....whatever you BELIVE is true probably is.......now you need to change what you BELIVE
Oct 12th 2005, 10:10 am
#36
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: newport
Posts: 14
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
In addition to my previous mini rant about the uk health service - forgot to mention that brits have a tendency to believe that all countries should give hand-outs and free medicare to all and sundry. Hence, the 3 billion pounds per annum that is wasted on false benefit claims in the uk. We're suckers, or our government are suckers ... which honest people pay for. If you have to pay for treatment in Oz, then at least there will not be year long waiting list, you will be listened to (doctor will not think you are sharking for a long sick leave). I could go on, but frankly I'm tired and I need to get up for work to pay the bills for false benefit claimants!
Glasurit
Glasurit
Oct 12th 2005, 10:11 am
#37
Fighting my corner
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 11,948
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Thanks to Pollyana and moneypen20 for the advice on prescriptions; I was hoping there'd be some way of getting a repeat prescription that would allow me to obtain another batch of medication without having to re-visit the doctor/medical centre, but apparently not.
Back home, prescriptions for ongoing medical conditions usually come with five repeats, so you simply fill up at the local pharmacy whenever you run out and don't go back to the doctor until all your spares are used up.
Back home, prescriptions for ongoing medical conditions usually come with five repeats, so you simply fill up at the local pharmacy whenever you run out and don't go back to the doctor until all your spares are used up.
Oct 12th 2005, 10:14 am
#38
Fighting my corner
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 11,948
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by glasurit
In addition to my previous mini rant about the uk health service - forgot to mention that brits have a tendency to believe that all countries should give hand-outs and free medicare to all and sundry. Hence, the 3 billion pounds per annum that is wasted on false benefit claims in the uk. We're suckers, or our government are suckers ... which honest people pay for. If you have to pay for treatment in Oz, then at least there will not be year long waiting list, you will be listened to (doctor will not think you are sharking for a long sick leave). I could go on, but frankly I'm tired and I need to get up for work to pay the bills for false benefit claimants!
Glasurit
Glasurit
Oct 12th 2005, 10:16 am
#39
Banned
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 728
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by clotje
I have gone for worst possible scenario because if you can survive that, you'll know that you can survive in Oz.
I think I'm really disappointed in the Oz government for painting this lovely picture without giving any actual help to immigrants who leave everything behind to help build Oz. I get the distinct feeling that all they're interested in is getting as much cash from immigrants as possible.
The things I found positive are the friendly people and scenery but I doubt that the friendly people would take me in and feed me if I were unemployed.
I have a nice semi in a friendly neighbourhood so I'd have to give that up. I'm also 38 going on 39, so no spring chicken. That's probably why I think more about worst case scenarios. (been there...done that)
Also I've lived in several countries. The UK...found a permanent job in 2 months and worked for years. (had no problems getting my past experience / education recognised) New York...found a job but used all my savings just to stay alive. I regretted doing that because when I came back home (Netherlands) I had nothing and had to move in with my mum again. Found a job after a few weeks so it worked out...but I had benefits to fall back on.
Also (unless that's changed) if you work in the UK (for a while) you pay taxes and therefore qualify for unemployment benefits...not so in Oz...
The problem is that you need money...whatever you do, you're going to need money. To eat, pay bills and rent. If you want to do nice things...like learning to dive (after all you're in Oz) or going out for drinks, you're going to need even more money which you can't get if you don't have a job...
Someone mentioned a back-up plan. What back up plan? If I were to make the move it would be permanent. I doubt I'd be able to afford to pay my mortgage in the Netherlands as well as living in Oz. I don't think any employer is going to hold your job if you tell them you're moving to Oz on the
off-chance that you come back.
I had hoped that people would contradict my research. Tell me something positive I've overlooked...
I think I'm really disappointed in the Oz government for painting this lovely picture without giving any actual help to immigrants who leave everything behind to help build Oz. I get the distinct feeling that all they're interested in is getting as much cash from immigrants as possible.
The things I found positive are the friendly people and scenery but I doubt that the friendly people would take me in and feed me if I were unemployed.
I have a nice semi in a friendly neighbourhood so I'd have to give that up. I'm also 38 going on 39, so no spring chicken. That's probably why I think more about worst case scenarios. (been there...done that)
Also I've lived in several countries. The UK...found a permanent job in 2 months and worked for years. (had no problems getting my past experience / education recognised) New York...found a job but used all my savings just to stay alive. I regretted doing that because when I came back home (Netherlands) I had nothing and had to move in with my mum again. Found a job after a few weeks so it worked out...but I had benefits to fall back on.
Also (unless that's changed) if you work in the UK (for a while) you pay taxes and therefore qualify for unemployment benefits...not so in Oz...
The problem is that you need money...whatever you do, you're going to need money. To eat, pay bills and rent. If you want to do nice things...like learning to dive (after all you're in Oz) or going out for drinks, you're going to need even more money which you can't get if you don't have a job...
Someone mentioned a back-up plan. What back up plan? If I were to make the move it would be permanent. I doubt I'd be able to afford to pay my mortgage in the Netherlands as well as living in Oz. I don't think any employer is going to hold your job if you tell them you're moving to Oz on the
off-chance that you come back.
I had hoped that people would contradict my research. Tell me something positive I've overlooked...
Clotje,
I feel you are just looking for good reasons not to do this and its not what you really want to do. Theres nothing wrong with that, and i wish you good luck in all you do, but look at your reasons in more detail.
You have decided the risk is too great, but the same risk is there for most people who decide ot do this and many of them have far more risks than you do as they have children to consider.
I am a bit confused as you say you would have nothing if thins didnt work out, yet you have stated you have bought and have a mortgage on a house in Holland? If this is correct then you would not have nothing and a home in Holland IS some sort of cushion which most people would not have.
Yes.. you may not get a job, yes you may get ill and yes, i might get run over by a bus today!
Its not as if you havent done all this before. ie moving to UK and U.S. so you are once again in a more educated position re the problems of moving to another country and the issues surrounding it.
Picking all this apart, to me, you are in a much better position than most! But thats just my opinion. The fact is you dont feel comfortable with it and therefore you have made the right decision i guess.
FWIW.. i'd be on he next plane out as i have a high sense of adventure, but not all of us are the same. Good luck.
Oct 12th 2005, 10:30 am
#40
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: newport
Posts: 14
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede
The Australian NHS equivalent is called Medicare, and although it doesn't seem to cover quite as much as the NHS, it does a very good job of covering the things that it's meant to.
I'm sure it does do its best. I'm just despondent about our health service. And, if Medicare is not as good as the NHS then it's definately private healthcare for us. Just being realistic, and with peace of mind, we've already decided to pay monthly for private (and we are far from rich). I was only pondering the beginning of this thread, where the poster was talking about not getting sick pay etc etc. Just because we are used to these options in the UK doesn't mean we should expect it in other countries. Just trying to be realistic about everyday concerns. I s'pose I went off a bit ...
However, it's good to know Medicare is there in the state of emergencies.
Cheers Vash,
Glasurit.
Oct 12th 2005, 10:31 am
#41
kelly Slater...mmmmmm
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 304
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by clotje
I wanted to emigrate to Australia and did a lot of research. After I completed my research I decided not to make the move. Here are the reasons why.
I would have to go on a temporary SIR visa. After 2 years I could apply for permanent residency which means that I wouldn’t qualify for any kind of government benefits for at least 4 years. So if I couldn’t find a job or got made redundant I would have to life of air and nice views.
I don’t have a lot of cash which is what you need if you go to Australia because even though the government says they want immigrants they’re not interested in helping them. (after all, people on temporary visas pay more health insurance, have to have their qualifications assessed not once, but twice etc.) So say I’d move there and look for a job. People who are already in Oz, have warned me that it would take me at least 3 months to find a suitable job. Not a job I’ve done before, mind you. Australian companies seem to ignore previous (foreign) experience and education. If it’s not Australian, it doesn’t count. So I’d have to take a job below my qualifications/experience for less pay. And since Australian companies don’t want to hire people on a permanent basis, only causal, I wouldn’t have any kind of job security whatsoever. Which is something banks want, in my experience, if you want to apply for a mortgage. So I’d be stuck in a rental house, get crappy pay, in a job that wouldn’t stimulate me mentally, without knowing if I had a job the following week. And what if I were to fall ill? There is nothing stopping an employer to fire you, after all, you’re just working on a casual basis. So I could be stuck in a rental house, without crappy pay, sick and living of air…that is until I’d get evicted for not being able to pay the rent. So, being single I’ve decided that the risk is too great. I don’t have a rich husband and without any kind of security it’s madness to make the move (unless you’re willing to clean toilets or stack shelves in a supermarket)
BTW there’s nothing wrong with cleaning toilets or stacking shelves…I did the latter when I was a teenager, but I’d like to think that I’ve evolved since those days. I couldn’t work in a mindless job for the rest of my live.
I’d be curious to see what your research has shown…is the picture I paint too grim or do you agree that it is a possible reality?
I would have to go on a temporary SIR visa. After 2 years I could apply for permanent residency which means that I wouldn’t qualify for any kind of government benefits for at least 4 years. So if I couldn’t find a job or got made redundant I would have to life of air and nice views.
I don’t have a lot of cash which is what you need if you go to Australia because even though the government says they want immigrants they’re not interested in helping them. (after all, people on temporary visas pay more health insurance, have to have their qualifications assessed not once, but twice etc.) So say I’d move there and look for a job. People who are already in Oz, have warned me that it would take me at least 3 months to find a suitable job. Not a job I’ve done before, mind you. Australian companies seem to ignore previous (foreign) experience and education. If it’s not Australian, it doesn’t count. So I’d have to take a job below my qualifications/experience for less pay. And since Australian companies don’t want to hire people on a permanent basis, only causal, I wouldn’t have any kind of job security whatsoever. Which is something banks want, in my experience, if you want to apply for a mortgage. So I’d be stuck in a rental house, get crappy pay, in a job that wouldn’t stimulate me mentally, without knowing if I had a job the following week. And what if I were to fall ill? There is nothing stopping an employer to fire you, after all, you’re just working on a casual basis. So I could be stuck in a rental house, without crappy pay, sick and living of air…that is until I’d get evicted for not being able to pay the rent. So, being single I’ve decided that the risk is too great. I don’t have a rich husband and without any kind of security it’s madness to make the move (unless you’re willing to clean toilets or stack shelves in a supermarket)
BTW there’s nothing wrong with cleaning toilets or stacking shelves…I did the latter when I was a teenager, but I’d like to think that I’ve evolved since those days. I couldn’t work in a mindless job for the rest of my live.
I’d be curious to see what your research has shown…is the picture I paint too grim or do you agree that it is a possible reality?
If I were you I would stay at home..as I am me..I went to OZ with just $200 in my pocket,single with no rich husband to support me, found a job within a week of looking for one, found a place to rent two days after that, quit my job 6 hours after starting because I couldnt stand the woman running the place, freaked out my housemates as I had rent to pay at the end of the week, found another job the next day, started the day after that...life is what you make of it..the last thing on my mind was whether I would be entitled to benefits. My job was on a casual basis like most of the people I know in Oz, and if you are good at your job why would you get sacked?
Sounds to me you just want people to validate your reasons for not emigrating. So I will...DONT DO IT..you will be miserable as you have started with a negative attitude towards it and if you got there it would only get worse. Stop before you go any further, stay where you are and make the best of your life there.
Oct 12th 2005, 10:38 am
#42
Fighting my corner
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 11,948
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by glasurit
I'm sure it does do its best. I'm just despondent about our health service. And, if Medicare is not as good as the NHS then it's definately private healthcare for us. Just being realistic, and with peace of mind, we've already decided to pay monthly for private (and we are far from rich). I was only pondering the beginning of this thread, where the poster was talking about not getting sick pay etc etc. Just because we are used to these options in the UK doesn't mean we should expect it in other countries. Just trying to be realistic about everyday concerns. I s'pose I went off a bit ...
However, it's good to know Medicare is there in the state of emergencies.
Cheers Vash,
Glasurit.
However, it's good to know Medicare is there in the state of emergencies.
Cheers Vash,
Glasurit.
Private health insurance is pretty affordable; I had it when I lived back home, but can't afford it here in the UK.
The Australian government will give you a 30% rebate on your premiums if you take out private healthcare:
Source.
That's one of the things I enjoy most about home - the government doesn't starve you or spoil you; instead, it tend to meet you halfway with a "you do your bit, and we'll do ours" sort of compromise.
Oct 12th 2005, 10:39 am
#43
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: newport
Posts: 14
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by Carkedit
If I were you I would stay at home..as I am me..I went to OZ with just $200 in my pocket,single with no rich husband to support me, found a job within a week of looking for one, found a place to rent two days after that, quit my job 6 hours after starting because I couldnt stand the woman running the place, freaked out my housemates as I had rent to pay at the end of the week, found another job the next day, started the day after that...life is what you make of it..the last thing on my mind was whether I would be entitled to benefits. My job was on a casual basis like most of the people I know in Oz, and if you are good at your job why would you get sacked?
Sounds to me you just want people to validate your reasons for not emigrating. So I will...DONT DO IT..you will be miserable as you have started with a negative attitude towards it and if you got there it would only get worse. Stop before you go any further, stay where you are and make the best of your life there.
Sounds to me you just want people to validate your reasons for not emigrating. So I will...DONT DO IT..you will be miserable as you have started with a negative attitude towards it and if you got there it would only get worse. Stop before you go any further, stay where you are and make the best of your life there.
Same as the above! We're soft in the uk for benefits ... we should take the Oz approach.
Keep smiling, Carkedit,
Glasurit.
Oct 12th 2005, 10:40 am
#44
kelly Slater...mmmmmm
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 304
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede
That's one of the things I enjoy most about home - the government doesn't starve you or spoil you; instead, it tend to meet you halfway with a "you do your bit, and we'll do ours" sort of compromise.
Thats the way it should be too!!
Oct 12th 2005, 10:41 am
#45
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,277
Re: Australian dream has turned into nightmare
Originally Posted by clotje
...
I had hoped that people would contradict my research. Tell me something positive I've overlooked...
I had hoped that people would contradict my research. Tell me something positive I've overlooked...
You are right that Australia is not for everyone and that moving here can be a difficult experience. On the government's policy, it would be political suicide to provide an open invitation for migrants to come and abuse the social security system. Unfortunately the general nature of this policy means hardship for genuine cases - but it would be difficult to come up with a workable system to manage this.
A
