Liberal Scott

Hey, I am thinking of doing a working holiday in Melbourne. It sounds just like a city I would love, so am excited by the prospect. However, I want to speak to more people who have more direct and prolonged experience of Melbourne.

1) How easy is it to get low paid jobs? I have a huge amount of experience in retail (not bar work) and good references. I also have a degree. With persistence would it be arrogant of me to assume that it is very likely I'll be in work within one month?

2) How easy is it to make friends with Aussies in Melbourne? Do they really 'love' the Southern English accent, or is this rare? I ask because liking the accent is a good ice breaker to starting a conversation!

3) Living prudently, how much can you save per month on a full-time standard low-paid job?

4) I want to avoid Brit-zones. That's not to say I am anti-British, but I am keen on avoiding over touristic areas, or areas with heaps of expats. I read that 4% of the Melbourne population is British. Do some congregate? I know some like to feel around 'some of their own' from time to time, which is cool. But this doesn't bother me.

If anyone can answer these questions, or any of these questions, it will be highly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Scott.

Pollyana

How much can you save on a low-paid job in Aus these days? Pretty much nothing I'm afraid, its not a cheap country to live in - assuming you want a social life while you're here of course

Southern English accents probably wouldn't get more notice in Melbourne than they do in Brisbane. They don't stand out as much as those with Scottish/Irish/northern English etc accents, and they are certainly not unusual.

Brits are spread throughout most Aussie cities - there are some suburbs which have a higher concentration than others, but not to the ghetto-level that you are hinting at! If you want to avoid Brits, stay away from the cities and head for the outback - although there are still some of us out there too! Most people who integrate well into Aussie society when arriving from abroad are those who accept people for who they are not where they arrived from

Liberal Scott

Hello, thanks for your response. Ah OK, maybe I should look at saving a bit more. What's significant about Brisbane? Is that where you are from?

In regards to avoiding Brits, it's the very fact I want to understand Aussie people and culture and not be tempted to be hooked into a British subculture that I am keen to avoid. I don't want to come to the other side of the world to meet tons of British people. My experience of those living in Sydney (for example) is that you can get areas where it is up to 20% British. I don't judge individuals for where they come from, but, I think the more that you avoid areas with disproportionate British concentration the more welcoming people are likely to be. That not a rule that you can generally apply, but I think there's at least an element of truth to that. That's been my experience in travelling anyway.

Pollyana

I have the misfortune to be currently living in Brisbane, yes! I prefer Melbourne, nicer feel to it from a personal point of view, more European. There are loads of posters on here in Melbourne who can give you more info, but they aren't on night shift and I am, hence I thought I'd chip in until they wake up

If you are WHV-ing then you will probably find yourself with a lot of other British and Irish backpackers - but they do tend to mix with Aussies a lot, and with the other nationalities who are on the same visa. There are some suburbs which appeal more to Brits, but that tends to apply more to migrants then WHV-ers really. Most of us find that eventually we end up with British mates because we have things in common with them - a shared background can mean a lot when you are far from home, even if its as simple as knowing what a Blue Peter badge is, or knowing the M1 goes to Leeds not the Gold Coast Equally its interesting to mix with Aussies and hear their viewpoints too.
We have a lot of BE meet-ups through this forum, and some people have said in the past that they are worried about attending as they would only meet British or Irish - that has been proved wrong in the past as so many of us have Aussie friends and partners that come along too.

After 10 years here I think my personal advice on it would be - don't purposefully mix or not mix with anyone, just go with the flow and you'll find friends everywhere

Mummy3

I can't help on the job front, but we deliberately didn't look for a British area but we are everywhere!! It's nice to have people that understand your culture but you don't have to hang out all the time!
Melbourne is a lovely city though, great place to live.

Liberal Scott

OK cool, thank you very much for all your tips, you've certainly made me think a lot.

Liberal Scott

Ah, I see. No getting away from them then. So actually living in Melbourne how common is it to hear a Brit accent? Does 4% sound about right?

jad n rich

Melbourne, the accent you notice most is Chinese/Asian. Cant say the british accent stands out at all. Very multicultural city.

NJJ

1/ If you don't mind doing hospitality work on casual rates you may be ok. not sure about other retail, have a look on Australian job sites like Seek.

2/ Depends where you are based. for example in a transient area such as St. Kilda you will meet more people coming & going than in some of the outer suburbs.

3/ Depends on what accommodation you can snag yourself. It's a pretty expensive place to live. I spent some time with a lot of folks on the Lions Rugby tour recently, they were shocked by food & drink prices to say the least ($11 pints inner city is the going rate).

4/ Your best best to start off with work & accommodation is going to be in one of these backpacker, or as you call it "brit-zone"areas.

NickyC

I've lived in Sydney for over 30 years and I don't know of any suburb which has any particular concentration of British people - let alone one of 20%.

Can you tell me which suburbs you are referring to, because I'm very curious?

spouse of scouse

My 19 year old nephew (from Bournemouth) is in his 9th month of a WHV and is currently in Melbourne. He has a job standing in big shopping centres selling - something (can't remember) and he loves it. His accent is a big plus because people want to know where he's from, what he thinks of Oz etc.

And because the sales team he's with have done so well, the company sent 6 of them on an all expenses paid trip to the Gold Coast! He's always been a jammy bugger :-) ps don't know whether or not this is useful to you, but the girls love his accent too ;-)

ozzieeagle

There are places in Perth like that for sure. I think one suburb there was the most UK populated suburb outside of the UK kingdom, up around 50 pct plus or more.

Ok tips re Melbourne.

Security Licence and or jobs are the way to go if you want a job quickly.... Other places to get onto are Adecco or the other multitude of private employment agencies that should get you a job within a month.

Saving not sure about this one, however I do know the going rate for a place in a decent share house is circa 150 bucks per week or 200 with all utilities paid. You should be able to earn at least 600 to 700 bucks per week take home, "If" you get a full time job in Security or Retail, with Full time being the awkward part... It's difficult to get fulltime work at the initial stage though as the employer will want to test you out re attitude and ability and most importantly the the way you interact with your workmates etc etc. Which is where my main tip comes in.

In Australia people are so sick of off the boat poms coming here with a "know all" attitude and saying we do it this way or that way back home and "Are there better ways of doing this task" etc etc that you will find yourself quickly ostracised. It's far better to chill and try and work out exactly how your new local workmates will react to any input you make re work style suggestions. In fact they will most likely be insulted if you pipe up with your views on how the work should/could be done. It's vital that you absorb this message if you want to get on with the locals. UK people are renowned for this and people tend to groan when they here a new UK person is coming to the workforce because of this strong propensity. This will be the main anti attitude you face.

Your accent could well be of use, I hardly hear any UK accents in my part of inner Melbourne and can go weeks without hearing any fellow UK residents whilst out and about in the Coburg area and surprisingly thin on the ground in the Northern Subs of Melbourne, so it could be of benefit to you to base yourself in the grungy (Think Camden/Notting Hill) inner North. My ears really prick up when I hear someone as it's so damn unusual to hear a fellow Brit .....in Coburg at least.



Your questions have struck a nerve with me, great questions and I like your 'Tude.



Here's a couple of sites to browse to get you started...

http://www.adecco.com.au/en-AU/Pages/default.aspx


Give this lot a call from the UK, to see where the current shortages are and if there are any quick tickets you can do once you arrive.

http://www.skilled.com.au/


I'll check out the security employment sites and availabilities this weekend.



I think there are currently vacancies loading refrigerated and Freezer trucks around the area.

Tell you what would definitely help.... Do a Fork lift course before you arrive... and then the local licence when you arrive..... Ask Adecco and possibly Skilled about Fork Lift jobs.

Eddie C
Northern Subs resident of 33 years plus.

Sarah7263

Hi Scott,

Can't answer all your questions but have been living in Melbourne for over a year now so can maybe shed some light!

In terms of retail jobs - I don't know specifically but whenever I walk down our local high street there are always a few shops with help needed notices. My advice would be to stay somewhere central for a few weeks and pick a different suburb each day to walk around and just hand your cv into any shops that will take it.

We live in st kilda which has a lot of expats and backpackers but I love it. If you really want to keep clear of the Brits then as said above I reckon some of the northern suburbs might be better - a lot of Brits head to the south and eastern suburbs as they are closer to the beach.

As for saving this really depends on you but I haven't saved as much as I thought I would. I'm on a decent salary but it is expensive to live here and I've chosen to spend money on seeing Australia as that's really why we came over! But if you budgeted and lived in a shared place I'm sure you could save something.

It's interesting you say about making friends with Aussies - I've met some through work but to be honest not a great deal. If you're an Aussie with your friends and family around you would you have lots of time to spend with Brits? I've always found Aussies to be nice and friendly but obviously other Brits are in the same situation as you having left friends and family at home.

But anyway definitely do it, come over and give Melbourne a try! Maybe wait a few months though so we are done with winter!!

Good luck!

Bermudashorts

I honestly don't think that is true in Sydney.

Margaret3

Hello

My daughter is 21 and works casual in retail, and its quite difficult to get a job, she applied for lots and got one interview, which was a group interview and got the job, she earns 23 dollars per hour , more on a sat and around 34 on a sunday.

She has had a couple of friends come over from scotland and they found it very difficult to get work and affordable accom. (bloomin well ended up staying with us at times But she is in Scotland just now and has been staying with their parents, its share and share alike, lol.

I agree with people who say you may be better to consider staying near the city and trying to get hospitality work, but i imagine this would result in meeting lots of fellow backpackers.

Perhaps work in petrol stations would be another option.

Pommie suburbs , i think , are Mornington and Berwick.

Young people suburbs, St kilda (from all over the world). Imho young people love other young people, no matter where they come from.

I reckon people would enjoy your accent as , in my experience and in my work area (nursing), it is rare to find a British accent, the ones you do here have been here for 20 years plus (like Eddie up there, lol,)

I am proud to say my best friends here are ozzie, I tried the BE meets etc, but didnt work out for me, its all about what you have in common with people and sharing a sense of humor.

Goodluck