Hello everyone.

I am planning to move to Australia early in the year.

I am thinking to move down to NSW in around Melbourne and that.

Don't ask me why I chose there, it just feels right for some reason.

Anyway I have a few questions I was hoping that maybe some of you could shed some light on the matters in question.

*1: Why are second hand cars so expensive in Australia?

*2: Will I have much difficulty getting insured on a vehicle with my Irish license?
(I have it less than a year)

*3: Is car insurance expensive in general?

Thank you.

No idea about the car comparison, but the first thing I should enlighten you about is that Melbourne is not in NSW.

Lol, thank's for the reply.

Sorry but when I wrote that first post I was still half asleep!

Well I was doing a bit of research and found plenty of jobs down around the Melbourne area.

( I am an engineer by the way ).

There is literally nothing here in Ireland or the UK for that matter.

My car insurance here for the year is 1600euro.

That's approximately 2000 AUD.

What I plan to do is just head out to Australia on my own for a while.

Rent a cheap room somewhere.

Find a cheap car and insurance.

Then I can concentrate on finding a job.

One more question if you don't mind.

Which part of Australia is considered to be it's industrial heart land?

Many thank's.

Have you got a visa that will allow you to work here?

China


possibly Footscray

No not yet, I will submit my application soon.

Shouldn't be much of a problem though.

I have internationally recognized certification which cost me a fortune to obtain.

It's not as if I am some immigrant from a third world country trying to sneak in on a banana crate, and who can barely speak English.

I am a British citizen, and Australia is a common wealth nation and former British colony if I am not mistaken.

I just need to find out which area is best to head for.

Preferably where all the big engineering works and mines are located.

Anyhow I will look into this in detail when I get the time.

Thank's for your help.

Do some research on the amount of "citizens"
who speak well
who have phd's
who have over 10 years experience (in driving and work)

You might find its not as easy as you have been led to believe

Not sure what type of engineer you are, but there are still plenty of vacancies in the UK if you have the skills and experience. If you don't, then you may have some difficulty

Also, if you're worrying about costs now, you may find the whole visa process quite expensive - sorry

Remb6464,

First worry about getting the visa........... It took us over a year in 2009 and the visa requirments have changed at least twice since - I'm not up to date with the visa - we were on CSL at the time (Crritical skill list).

Licence - I showed my irish driving licence here in QLD and got new licence - this should be similar in each state.

Yes car are costly here - but you buy what you can afford.

Insurance will depend on age......

Job wise - depends on your experience and type of engineer and how prepared you are to travel as in Fly in/Fly out there is work - but some guys are getting laid off here too...............

Mines are in north QLD and WA in the middle of no where - think Connemara with heat lots of heat and no beer.............

Hope this helps.
Poitin

Thank you for the advice Red Dragon 2008, I will keep it in mind.

In reply to Old Sparkles:

I am a welding engineer. (Asme IX) approved certification, which is USA standard.

To be honest, I would rather head to Australia as it will be an adventure and experience. (Not to mention the weather).

I will be travelling alone. Young single and well able, therefore no ties holding me back.

Cost of course does have me concerned upon arrival.

I don't want to be spending ridiculous amounts of money to "maybe" get a job.

So that's I want keep everything to a minimum at first until employment is secured.

Once I do get a job, then I can relax and start to live a little.

A cheap room, and cheap banger of a car will do just fine until a steady stream of income is secured.

So that's why I was asking about the cost of car insurance.

(As here in Ireland it is an absolute joke) (And motor tax on top of that).

I found that the actual cost of second hand cars in Australia is very expensive for some reason!

It is early days yet, but these are the kind of things that need to be considered before leaving.

Thank's again.

Thank you Poitin for the sound advice.

I didn't realize that a Visa would take that long to process.

The following link is a website advertising one year working Visa's for 260euros and processed within 48hours.

http://www.visafirst.ie/en/australia...7_faq.asp#faq1

My best bet is to ring the embassies and get some solid answers in regards to visa applications and processing.

Thank you

A working Holiday Visa is cheap and easy to obtain, BUT it has restrictions as to how long you can work for one employer, and is only for a max of 2 years.

For a WHV it doesn't matter a jot what qualifications you have, but if you want to stay longer it will matter, as will the money as a visa for a longer period of time costs more.

Don't waste your money ringing High Commissions, have a good read of www.immi.gov.au especially www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/


Being a British citizen won't buy your way in, you have to qualify just like everyone else. Once you are here you are an immigrant - most Aussies don't care a stuff of you are British, Indian, Russian, Finnish or from Mars, you're not Australian, you're a foreigner.

And as you are new you may not realise - although this site is called British Expats we have a lot of members who are NOT British and I would ask you not to cause offence by posting comments such as those above.

Ah - I was talking PR.....I'm older and looking for more stability
I know I had younger realtions on this visa and to extend to 2 years they had to work on farms - part of the requirment to work in the country/outback regions. Also I think it would be harder to get work on this visa - my opinion only.

Wow. You do know the empire no longer exists dont you. And people won't fall at your feet at your very Britishness.

Why don't you try getting a quote from one of the main insurance websites, such as SGIO, AAMI, Allianz or Progressive? There are also sites where you can compare policies, such as Captain Compare. I think you will find in general that being under 25 years carries a much heavier premium.

Are you sure about finding work as a welder in Victoria? I thought that manufacturing had taken a major hit there. Perhaps Queensland or WA offer more opportunities in the resources sector.