darwin work
 

Hello I am just wonderin what the work situation is like in Darwin and the NT at the moment I am a stonemason and have been offered employer sponsorship but I am a bit worried about the recession hitting OZ can anyone please tell me whats happening in the NT thanks

Re: darwin work
 

hi alzer
think a few of us want to know what is going off in the NT
me and my OH are on there shortage list which means they having probs filling in the jobs
yet after so much emailing and cv sending no sponsorship is forth coming ?
i am a disabilty/aged care worker OH is a cable layer/construction plant operator
we was hoping a move to alice springs
as of yet not a bite
good luck:D

Re: darwin work
 

I'm also intrested in this one, I'm planning on visiting Darwin this year (been to Melbourne and Sydney before).

Anyone here working in Darwin now? Anyone know what the IT market is like there?

Re: darwin work
 

I have 2 siblings living in Darwin so would offer the following comments based on what I know. There is work in Darwin, however do not expect it to be at the higher levels. You are not likely to get offered a wide range of high paying IT jobs. There are jobs there, but I don't think they are plentiful. You might want to check out seek.com.au and do a job search for Darwin.

For the person who wants to move to Alice Springs, I would recommend that you do not do it. We lived there when we were last living in Australia, it was easy for us as we had family. However, the security situation is such that I would not choose to expose myself or family members to the situation again. Darwin is much nicer, less isolated and more to do than Alice.

Re: darwin work
 

and what situation was that ?
thanks for the warning but we will be ok there is just me and hubby and kids we have no family and friends and so have only relied on each other
we keep ourself to ourselfs
and it has worked
i think alice springs will be great:D

Re: darwin work
 

Susan

When we lived in Alice it was just DH and myself, no kids to worry about. I don't want to rain on your parade, but you will not find anything "great" about Alice Springs. If you are one of those do-gooders who thinks you are going to move there and rectify the indigenous issue, I have to tell you they will not roll out the welcome mat for you. There was recently an article in The Australian on what is going on in AS at the moment. It is 3 years since we left and we are glad that we were able to do so. I have family members who are connected to the NT police force and from what they tell me the situation is deteriorating on a daily basis. AS is the crime capital of Australia and with good reason.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...05-601,00.html

This is an accurate reflection of Alice.

The other thing you have to take account of is the isolation. I don't mind remote, but Alice is in the middle of nowhere and it is expensive to get anywhere. There are only so many times you can go to Uluru and it is a days drive to Adelaide or Darwin. Wait until you get sick and need to go to hospital. Have a heart problem - don't worry the specialist comes up once a year. The local GPs though were extraordinary - probably the best I have ever encountered.

Re: darwin work
 

Hello all considering becoming a Darwinite,

I am living and working in Darwin, thanks to an employer sponsorship and RSMS visa. Darwin is probably not for everyone but I love it here :0)

To me Darwin is a compromise, because it is not as busy or hectic as a usual City (Sydney, Brisbane etc) it has a part City feel and part feel of a small coastal town on the Coast. If I like the feel of a small coastal town why didnt I settle in one? Well I tried and couldnt find work, but I could in Darwin. There is not as much work as in the other cities (Sydney, Brisbane etc) because it is not as big, and the wages aren’t as good but I am willing to sacrifice that for the slower pace of life. As I said it is a compromise of small coastal town with no work, to big busy fast paced city with more choice and better paid jobs.

I do not work in IT but believe there to be plenty of work in that area, particularly with growing rural communities in the NT. The national job search websites tend to neglect the NT a bit and you may be best looking at NT news (the local paper which has a website) direct and also the NT government website www.nt.gov.au The government has a recruitment drive on themselves at the moment too.

The one down thing about living in Darwin (cos I am honest although bias cos I love it!) is it is a high standard of living. Rent is high, buying a car is more expensive and even general daily shopping seems higher, due to a lot of groceries being transported a fair way to reach us. So i guess this combined with lower wages could really put people off.

I guess it depends what you want as I am certainly comfortable financially, although wish I coudl be saving a bit more (but when and who doesnt?!) and I dont feel the pressures that I did when I was living and working in Sydney, people arent rushing around, people are laid back, friendly and say 'g'day!' when they pass you, we have the best sunsets in the dry season and the best storms in the wet season! Okay I will stop now as I am sounding bias again hehe...

If you want to ask me anything, feel free, as well as my current home being Darwin, I have lived in Coffs Harbour and Sydney, then also visited Brisbane n travelled the east coast (but those were as a tourist – so had a different perspective), during my time in Australia and I am happy to help if I can :0)

Thanks for listening/reading guys. Have a good day :0)

Re: darwin work
 

As another poster has stated,think very carefully prior to moving to the Alice.
It has been called the murder capital of Australia although that is is some what covered up(as negatives tend to be in OZ)
Anyway crime is an issue and besides that it is isolated and far from else where.
I worked there for only a month ages ago and was glad to return to Darwin.
Darwin ,although not cheap,is a very likable place.

Re: darwin work
 

Planning on been up there around june time whilst on a WHV , are there many casual jobs around that time bar/waiting on /cafe work or anything really?

Just thought i'd pick your brains as you seem to know darwin fairly well :thumbup:

Re: darwin work
 

Yep there will be lots of casual work for travellers around that time of year! There will also be lots of travellers competing for them, but you should find something. My advice would be come as early as you can, by then end of June Darwin will be really busy. Most places re-open/take on extra at the start of the dry seaon in April and through May ready for the tourists. If you stay in any of the backbacker places in town, they often help set you up with casual work. Some even employ you for reduced lodgings! Hope you enjoy your time here :0)

Re: darwin work
 

A rough sort of plan was to be leaving perth May time up to broome which i've told will be full of work at that time or make may way to straight to darwin at roughly the given times you said .....

Is it a case of if you get there early it will easier to find a job but if you come mid season if you keep looking you'll find something ??

Really appreciate your opinions , like to have as much knowledge as possible before I embark on my travels :)

Re: darwin work
 

Hi missmileyselina

Thanks for your post.

How do property prices fair with the other cities? Are they cheaper in comparison?

Are there any 'cad' areas in Darwin, places you'd not want to live?

What's the traffic like at peak times?

Thanks.

Re: darwin work
 

I worked in IT in Darwin for a spell and I know the company I worked for (that has ALL the gov contracts ;)) was always on the lookout for good staff.

Re: darwin work
 

This is true. I know plenty of people who love Darwin and wouldn't be anywhere else. There is definitely a slower pace of life and if you love your 'easy' activities like fishing - and I mean really love it above all else - then Darwin may be for you.

For us, the long wet season when we spent so long indoors with the aircon running reminded us of what we left behind in the UK. Namely winters spending so long indoors with the heater running.

During the dry season, the weather is spectacular and there is some life about the place but during the wet, there are no tourists and even the locals head south, so the place is really quiet. And even if it wasn't, it's too damn wet to go outside and do anything. The beautiful places like Litchfield and Kakadu will be flooded and the sea is full of deadly jellyfish and crocs.

Darwin has its plus points and I would encourage people to check it out in June / July / August but I could not recommend living there, based on my own experience.

Forgot to add re: groceries. Not only do they cost more, they are most certainly not fresh.

Re: darwin work
 

Thanks, nice to know there are jobs available in this area. Does the local work force have a large amount of IT workers? Do they have an advantage getting jobs over outsiders?

Intresting post about the weather, I didn't think it got as extreme up there. Always good to know these things.

Re: darwin work
 

Opps, also, how do the salaries compare to the larger cities?

Re: darwin work
 

I have never seen people inquiring about Darwin before:confused:, is the sudden interest because it was shown on Life downunder :eek:

What time of year exactly did they send people there:sneaky: think as others have said check the climate:blink:, cost of living and a map. However I guess it might appeal to some.

Re: darwin work
 

Hi all, we (me, wife & 2 kids 5 and 18 mths) live in Palmerston, 20 km from Darwin.
Darwin always has lots of work - even in the 'Wet' there is work. Main areas are IT, Construction and any sort of Engineering. Childcare, Health and Social work is also available.

Some items cost more here, although we manage to live on around $700 a week - easily.

We got used to the weather pretty quick. We arrived at the start of the 'Build up' (the hot humid start to the Wet) and we limited ourselves to 1 hour of A/C a day - just before going to bed. The rooms all have ceiling fans which keep you cool enough. After about 2 months, we found some nights we didn't bother with A/C at all.
The dry season makes up for any bad bits during the wet, even though I love the wet too.

As for remoteness, we hardly notice it. There are plenty of friendly people here and there is a lot of things to do at night, even with kids.

Re: darwin work
 

Somewhere I've been intrested in for a while. A friend of mine once worked for Pas Parley offshore on a pearl farm and enjoyed Darwin (when he made it back to land).

Tropical climate (or so I believe), slower pace of life etc etc.

Re: darwin work
 

Are there any suburbs in Darwin to avoid, or are they all generaly OK?

Re: darwin work
 

Hi Mr Bond
we are in rented accomodation but have been looking around and i think that prices here in Darwin are not cheaper in comparison...the average in Palmerston is about 500k for a 3/4 bedroom. Of course you get what you pay for but for a nice house etc look at the 500k mark. As for where not to live in Darwin I'm not too sure as I live in Palmerston (about 20kms from Darwin)..very nice city of 30000 people. here I certainly wouldn't live in Moulden but most other suburbs are ok with, of course, the newer ones being better - Durack, Rosebery, Grey, Farrar.

Traffic isn't too bad at peak times definately nothing like other major cities anyway!

Re: darwin work
 

Certainly in IT, if you have skills you will get a job. The company I worked for even sponsored a couple of guys (that I know of - I expect there was more) for their visas.

Re: darwin work
 

Difficult to compare really. I was paid more than in Brisbane but for a higher level job, then I came back and got paid more again, but again for a higher level job. Based on that alone I would have to answer 'similar'.

Can't remember about suburbs. There are certainly a couple I would avoid but I can't remember their names. Actually just remember The Narrows as one to avoid ...

Re: darwin work
 

I apologise for being rude and blunt,but people with local experience are trying to help you out.If you want to put your family in danger ,do not take the advice given.The interior of Aus is a far different place from the coastline.A chippie i know was working in such an area,one night he found an aboriginal in his daughters bedroom trying to rape her,at the time his daughter was 8 years old.Sorry to give you this information but it seems the right thing to do.

Re: darwin work
 

I don't think it is so much suburbs that you need to avoid, but rather trouble seems to hang out in particular streets.

Before buying, without a doubt you need to rent for a while and get talking to the locals to get a feel. I would recommend not living too close to anywhere that liquor is sold as that will result in drinking parties in the vicinity. I believe the shop in Tiwi is giving up their licence (or may have already done so) so that should prevent problems in that area.

My sister lives in Wulagi and has had no trouble at all. I think most suburbs have incidents from time to time, there was a lot of gang-type violence in Wanguri last year. But then I have also heard of incidents in Stuart Park which is not a cheap suburb. A good indicator of possible problems is to drive up the street and check out who your neighbours would be.

Re: darwin work
 

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

wmoore, would you mind me asking what company it was you worked for who sponsored workers? I won't contact them or anything, just so I can check their website etc. I currently work (and have for some time) as a microsoft back office analyst (directory services and messaging). Would you know what - if any - level of demand there would be for these skills?

Re: darwin work
 

hi just wondering if anyone knows if theres much bricklaying and hairdressing work around darwin?

Re: darwin work
 

Hi Gaz4

Not 100% sure how much there is but there is a lot of building going on here - residential and business. The port of Darwin is having a massive oil/gas complex built over the next couple of years so plenty of call for experienced tradies. In Palmerston they've just released land for more houses to be built plus schools, shopping centre etc so there seems to be lots of work.

Re: darwin work
 

No problemo, it's CSG. The company is essentially in two parts (there are more but two parts for IT services) - commercial and government outsource contracts. To be honest being that one arm looks after all the NT gov contracts, AD and messaging is pretty big ;) I was in the commercial section and would be happy to PM you the manager's email address if you're interested.

Re: darwin work
 

Thanks again. If you could PM me the managers email address that would be great.

Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.

Cheers.

Re: darwin work
 

Absolutely :D

Re: darwin work
 

Hey, Im sorry for the delay in my reply! Property is quite expensive in Darwin and you get what you pay for - like anywhere else! for rentals, you have a lot of choice at this time of year and not so much in the dry season. Traffic is not bad AT ALL especially for me living in England and Sydney! Traffic is more laid back like Darwin living style generally. As for bad areas, people warned me about Palmerston (sorry poster who lives there!) when I first got here but I have friends who live there and I think its a really nice place. Sure it has bad parts, like any city does. The poster who said there are bad streets rather than bad parts of Darwin has hit the nail on the head. There are probably slightly dodgy parts of a few of the suberbs, but I wouldnt rule out any whole subrurb/part of darwin...
Hope this makes sense :0)

Re: darwin work
 

Hey, sorry for the delay!
There will be lots of casual work in Darwin June. Nice time to come too! Am jealous you will get to see Broome, I hear it is gorgeous and have not made it to WA yet.
I wouldnt worry too much about getting here for the start fo the dry season (especially if you ahve other plans en route!) as lots of casual workers dont stay for long hence the casual jobs keep coming up again all throughout the dry.
I hope you this helps :0)

Re: darwin work
 

Thanks for the reply missmileyselina :-]

Re: darwin work
 

No worries MrBond, I hope you continue to consider Darwin :0)

Re: darwin work
 

I would be relocating to darwin shortly, probably in October. Where can i find cheap accomodation in Darwin and at what rate.. its just me n wife so a studio would do
thanks

Re: darwin work
 

Hi Flair
the bottom line for Darwin, and anywhere near, is there isn't cheap accommodation to be honest. It's the old story of not many houses and loads of people looking. A friend of mine was looking a couple of months ago and he was one of 32 looking at his flat and that was people waiting outside to go and look inside! Anyway the average rental in Palmerston Darwin is at least $450 a week. Check out www.eldersrealestate.com.au

Chris

Re: darwin work
 

We have just secured state sponsorship to Darwin, For last 6 months virtually nothing on it and all of a sudden everyone wants to go there. We leave in January so middle of wet season, figured if we like it at its worst then it can only get better. Been looking at properties in Fannie Bay, anyone living near there can give us a real review on the area??

Re: darwin work
 

Fannie Bay is a fabulous area to live with an appropriate price tag attached. I would live there in a heartbeat though I would be careful not to live to close to the shops.

Re: darwin work
 

Hi

there are some cheap ($300p/w) studios in the city - check out www.realestate.com.au

Not much more $ to get a 1 bed in parap, fannie bay, stuart park, coconut grove - which are all near to the city.

I agree with that fannie bay is a lovely area but I also tend to avoid the shops at night (great italian restaurant there tho).

There should be a lot of accommodation about in October as all the tourists will have left and 'the build up' will be starting, so any dry season only residents will be going/gone too.

Rent is high here and so what a lot of people do is share, including couples. You can get a nice 3 bed unit/house for 550-600 so it works out a lot cheaper. people do this in the city, the inner subrubs (mentioned above) and the northern suburbs. It is also a good way to make friends :)

If I can help with anything else, just gimme shout :thumbup: