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So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Old Apr 18th 2017, 10:45 am
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Default So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

I have given a lot of thoughts and read through many threads about moving to Australia with my family which now consist of hubs and 4 year old twins. Whilst much of Australia continue to woo and tug at my heart, my key reservation remain the scary stories surrounding the job situation for new migrants.

A bit about me and family: We moved to Zurich 18 months ago after 10 wonderful years in London. Hubby is the sole income earner and was commanding a very good salary as an IT Business Analyst/SME in Credit Risk in an investment bank before coming to Zurich (which also afforded us a comfortable lifestyle; skiing, holidays in Asia yearly, etc). We are by no means wealthy but certainly not making ends meet.

My question for all you brave souls who have taken the plunge:
1. What was your profession and seniority when you arrived in Australia?
2. Where did you come from and which city did you settle in Australia?
3. How long did it take for you to secure a job in your field and was your first/2nd/3rd job and salary in line your skill level?
4. If the job in your early days wasn't ideal, did you eventually find a job that commensurate with your level and experience? If yes, how long did it take?
5. And lastly, was it worth it for yourself/family, after all the sweat/tears? Did Australia live up to your dreams, and is it indeed the better life you had hoped for yourself and family?

I suppose I am trying to gain courage from all those who have gone before me. When I read that highly experience professionals finally landing a job...as a clerk, flipping pizzas.....even construction site, my heart grew faint. If those are just temporary measures, that might be doable, but I wonder if some migrants ever get a chance to build their career again

Thanks for listening and more so for sharing your experience.

Last edited by poppy913; Apr 18th 2017 at 10:52 am.
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 11:14 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by poppy913
I have given a lot of thoughts and read through many threads about moving to Australia with my family which now consist of hubs and 4 year old twins. Whilst much of Australia continue to woo and tug at my heart, my key reservation remain the scary stories surrounding the job situation for new migrants.

A bit about me and family: We moved to Zurich 18 months ago after 10 wonderful years in London. Hubby is the sole income earner and was commanding a very good salary as an IT Business Analyst/SME in Credit Risk in an investment bank before coming to Zurich (which also afforded us a comfortable lifestyle; skiing, holidays in Asia yearly, etc). We are by no means wealthy but certainly not making ends meet.

My question for all you brave souls who have taken the plunge:
1. What was your profession and seniority when you arrived in Australia?
2. Where did you come from and which city did you settle in Australia?
3. How long did it take for you to secure a job in your field and was your first/2nd/3rd job and salary in line your skill level?
4. If the job in your early days wasn't ideal, did you eventually find a job that commensurate with your level and experience? If yes, how long did it take?
5. And lastly, was it worth it for yourself/family, after all the sweat/tears? Did Australia live up to your dreams, and is it indeed the better life you had hoped for yourself and family?

I suppose I am trying to gain courage from all those who have gone before me. When I read that highly experience professionals finally landing a job...as a clerk, flipping pizzas.....even construction site, my heart grew faint. If those are just temporary measures, that might be doable, but I wonder if some migrants ever get a chance to build their career again

Thanks for listening and more so for sharing your experience.
Yep. All good. Plenty of jobs unless you are in Perth. Enjoy.
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 11:27 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by Beoz
Yep. All good. Plenty of jobs unless you are in Perth. Enjoy.
Um...I'm not sure I'd be quite that unequivocal myself!
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 4:16 pm
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

There are many questions in your post. I will just mention the general things that are important in any overseas move.
Finding the right job is critical. Arrange the job before moving if possible. Because once you landed in the new country and the right job is not available you just cant pack up and move back again, you have to take what is offered. Government skill list is not always reliable for what is available in the actual markets.
Secondly you must have sufficient funds to make the move, it cannot be done on a shoestring budget.
Finally where you live is linked to the job market. Australia has few major population centers with different climate and economic prosperity.
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 5:54 pm
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

I will just go to your last question and say no. It wasn't worth it.

We stayed nearly eight years in Oz and would have been far better having never gone. The fist six we earned a very good income, but the last two, pretty much nothing. The income I earned though was no better than I would have earned in the UK.

Also, I am probably a bit different to most as I never had any big desire to go to Oz, it wasn't even on the list of countries I was interested in visiting. Haven lived there, I think my initial view was correct.
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 6:04 pm
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by verystormy

Also, I am probably a bit different to most as I never had any big desire to go to Oz, it wasn't even on the list of countries I was interested in visiting. Haven lived there, I think my initial view was correct.
Same here. Not sure of the fuss. If you want lifestyle NZ could be nicer, or countryside, Tasmania.

So far away and remote, be really sure it is what you want before you go.

If you do, good luck! 🙂
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 8:42 pm
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by verystormy
I will just go to your last question and say no. It wasn't worth it.

We stayed nearly eight years in Oz and would have been far better having never gone. The fist six we earned a very good income, but the last two, pretty much nothing. The income I earned though was no better than I would have earned in the UK.

Also, I am probably a bit different to most as I never had any big desire to go to Oz, it wasn't even on the list of countries I was interested in visiting. Haven lived there, I think my initial view was correct.
You should clarify that by stating the detailed facts.

1. I moved in a mining boom to a mining city - Perth. I took advantage of the boom while it lasted, made good money, set up life, things were great. Then the boom went bust, I lost my job, like a lot of other people and I did not move to a non mining city to start again.

2. I'm just generally miserable. That's why they call me Very Stormy.

Last edited by Beoz; Apr 18th 2017 at 10:25 pm.
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 9:40 pm
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

It really has to be about work, and especially so in a one-income family. I don't think people would move even a couple of hundred miles across the UK unless they had a job to go to, or a good chance of getting one. So while dreaming about emigrating to Australia is one thing, the question has to be: "can my current job/qualifications/ experience lead to an acceptable income and reasonable degree of job security?" It doesn't matter how perfect a destination might be, without a job/income I would suggest that you need a different plan. .... Is there anywhere that your husband's employer would be willing to transfer him?
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Old Apr 18th 2017, 10:59 pm
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by LouisB
Same here. Not sure of the fuss. If you want lifestyle NZ could be nicer,
EErrrmmm.....

Originally Posted by LouisB
So far away and remote, be really sure it is what you want before you go.
NZ suits some, that is true, but is an expensive gilded cage for others.

The OPs husband may well not command a good salary in the small IT pool here & find more expense and less disposable income.
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Old Apr 19th 2017, 12:38 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Hello there poppy913,

Without meaning to be rude or prying, am I correct to guess that you're not British? The only reason I'm asking this is that the questions you posted reminded me so much of the same ones my (Concord College-schooled but decidedly very non-British) wife bombarded me with when we first got granted the Skilled Independent Sub Class 175 some 10 years back.

Please don't get me wrong - those are not bad questions to ask - but due in part (OK, largely) to those questions, I've burned through 2 lapsed 175s and am now on my third Skilled Independent 189 - with 4 years left on the clock and we are still unsure whether or not to finally move over to the homes we bought years ago, in Sydney or Melbourne.

We just returned from our validation visit (to Melbourne this time, also to get a pesky leak patched up in the house coincidentally) over Easter, and after what, a decade of pinging and ponging, we are no closer to a final decision.

The issue that's been the main stumbling block is money. Apparently, I make too much of the blasted stuff in Singapore (where I've been based for the past 25 years - ergo the non-British better half), and with laughably low income taxes in Singapore and parity of the currency value to the AUD, not to mention one of the world's highest GDP per capita, a move to Sydney or Melbourne can feel like it's a step off the First Class cabin of the Venice-Simplon Orient-Express and into the grunge class interior of the Northern line between Goodge Street and Tooting Bec on the Tube (well, OK, it was grungy when I lived in Camden all those years ago).

I believe I'm not too far off the mark to say that one would need to factor in a "premium" multiplier of at least double of their present take home pay in order to enjoy a similar lifestyle in Sydney and quite possibly Melbourne, especially in the face of increasing consumerism and rising prices in the wake of the Mainland Chinese invasion, I mean, visitors.

And the last job offer I had, from a company in Sydney, the best they could do was - after taxes - about only 20% of my existing post tax income in Sterile Singapore. Give me boring any day.

Looks like the 188 visa is the next visa I have to apply for when my time on the 189 runs out....

Last edited by xizzles; Apr 19th 2017 at 12:52 am.
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Old Apr 19th 2017, 1:03 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by xizzles

And the last job offer I had, from a company in Sydney, the best they could do was - after taxes - about only 20% of my existing post tax income in Sterile Singapore. Give me boring any day.
So you would have been ahead then.

You like buying property. In Sydney the average price of an apartment is 13,919.54 A$
(14,717.07 S$) and in Singapore its 23,242.62 A$
(24,574.31 S$)

Think of all the property you could have added to the collection before they come in and make you foreign investors sell up.
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Old Apr 19th 2017, 2:38 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by Beoz
So you would have been ahead then.

You like buying property. In Sydney the average price of an apartment is 13,919.54 A$
(14,717.07 S$) and in Singapore its 23,242.62 A$
(24,574.31 S$)

Think of all the property you could have added to the collection before they come in and make you foreign investors sell up.
Correction - she who must be obeyed likes properties. I'm just the guy that makes the money for her purchases.

Hang a second... where exactly are you getting those numbers? The average price per square meter? Or the average price of a property? None of the figures you quoted are familiar to me mate.
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Old Apr 19th 2017, 3:13 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by xizzles
Correction - she who must be obeyed likes properties. I'm just the guy that makes the money for her purchases.

Hang a second... where exactly are you getting those numbers? The average price per square meter? Or the average price of a property? None of the figures you quoted are familiar to me mate.
Yes Square Metre. Should have included that.
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Old Apr 19th 2017, 7:54 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by Beoz
You should clarify that by stating the detailed facts.

1. I moved in a mining boom to a mining city - Perth. I took advantage of the boom while it lasted, made good money, set up life, things were great. Then the boom went bust, I lost my job, like a lot of other people and I did not move to a non mining city to start again.

2. I'm just generally miserable. That's why they call me Very Stormy.
Erm, let me clarify for you.


We actually moved to Sydney originally. A nice city but not great.


I wouldn't life was "great" during the boom. Perth is a pretty dull backwater. But, personally, I have never understood why anyone has this big thing for living in Oz. Its just another first world country. Different bucket same crap.


As for myself, sorry, but Verystormy is actually my name. It is my middle name
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Old Apr 19th 2017, 8:28 am
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Default Re: So was it worth it after all the sweat/tears?

Originally Posted by verystormy
We actually moved to Sydney originally. A nice city but not great.
Yes most people precede Sydney with "nice place" when they can't stay.
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