davie-t

Hello all, I have played with the idea of going to Australia for the past 2 years but now I'm seriously thinking of taking the bull by the horns and going. The thing is I'd be going by myself as I have no family of my own. I have a gf but its fairly recent and she is not ready to do it.

I'm a 26 year old civil engineering graduate with almost 3 years experience in the rail sector. Was at a job fair recently and heard there is $215bn to be spend on rail in Queensland so I'm fairly sure I'll get a job ok.

The thing I'm worried about is going to a new town/country thousands of miles from my family/friends who I have spent my whole life with. Its going to be weird having noone to talk to/go out with. My plan would be to join an amateur football team and maybe a kickboxing club (things I do over here just now) and get to know people that way and through work. But I imagine it will still feel awkward and take a long time to settle. But I'm still willing to give it a shot and if it goes 'tits up' I can always come home in a year or 2.

Has anyone got any good/bad experiences they can share?

DanSolihull

Just to let you know my situation as it is almost identical to yours (apart from me being 2 years younger), I'm a 24 year old QS, I did my degree part time so have nearly 6 years experience in industry. I applied for and got offered a QS job in Perth, visa got approved on Monday and I'm now just waiting on the flight to be booked and start date to be confirmed.

I too will be going over on my own, leaving family and friends behind and if it doesn't work out I can always come back. Way I see it is that if I don't do it now I never will and if it doesn't work out like I say I can come back. If it does work out then great, what I wouldn't want to do is turn it down and regret it for the rest of my life.

All I can say is (if you're looking for motivation), you're 26 and I'm 24, if I can do it you can, it will certainly be hard trying to make new friends but it's character building as well as looking good on the CV (if it does or doesn't work out).

Bermudashorts

With work, football and kick boxing club you should be off to a good start in terms of meeting people. Sometimes there are BE organised meets ups, details in the Meet up forum. You ask if anyone has done something similar, well on BE most of us are expats so we have all done something similar and there are lots that moved by themselves. Good luck. Time to work on the visa maybe?

davie-t

Yeah I hear what your saying mate, but I dont particularly think its now or never... it's something I could do in future also. But it would definitely make financial sense to go now.

Yeah it would be a difficult move, but as you say why not give it a try? The prospects here (UK) are shit in terms of money in engineering and the taxes are getting worse while the cost of living goes up and pay rises dont match the inflation. Seems like I'm working to scrape by over here rather than 'live'.

Plus the lifestyle, weather etc seems so much better... much healthier and active.

If you dont mind me asking Dan how much did you get offered salary-wise and are they helping you with accommodation and travelling costs?

Bermudashorts

Mmm couple of red flags there now. You should note that tax levels in Australia are very very similar to the UK and many people say cost of living is higher here, some would say about the same but I rarely see anyone say that Australia is lower cost of living. The most successful migrations are those based on moving *to* Australia rather than trying to escape UK.

davie-t

Yeah but the pay is greater and you have to realise in the industry I'm in in the UK, there is not a great deal of money to go around at the moment. In Oz they have almost completely avoided the recession and therefore the money is better so I've heard anyway.

The cost of living is higher but the pay is much higher also.

itigo

But that's relative. The pay may be higher, but the high cost of everything means that you could be in a comparable position to the UK.

As Bermuda has said, be very careful about your motive for coming. Try not to build Australia up into some kind of Paradise. As long as you view it with realistic expectations then you should be fine. Good luck!

Oh, and to repeat an earlier post, have you looked at your visa situation yet. Best place to start!

Bermudashorts

Just commenting on your two points about COL and tax to help manage expectations. It does sound like Australia could be a good opportunity for you, just highlighting the push and pull factor. Better to feel pulled than pushed.

davie-t

Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate it.

I'm going to look into the Visa situation a bit deeper. At the moment all I know is I'm best to try and get a Regional Visa or Employer Visa and they last 2 years then they can decide whether they want to keep me or not.... ? lol like a 'try before you buy' situation?

It's something I need to look into but I'm told I shouldn't have problems getting one at least on a temp basis.

p.s. dont worry I am a very pragmatic person I realise its not going to be like paradise but lets be honest there's many more opportunites out in Oz than here in the UK.

Bermudashorts

Really depends on what you mean by "best", that is quite an individual thing.

Rarely if ever have I seen a situation where a regional visa is best though, these are not quick to secure and are restricting.

I give up!

davie-t

You trying to tell me the economy and employment situation is not better in Oz than in the UK? The number of people employed in the UK (excluding self-employed) is down to the lowest number since records began.

Bermudashorts

I am saying that these things come in cycles and it is naive to think that Australia is immune from economic troubles, rises in COL etc.

davie-t

I realise that mate, but I'm not willing to just sit around waiting on the next good cycle.

Thanks for your help anyway

Bermudashorts

I didn't say you should and I am not your "mate" and don't really like being called that,thanks.

campervanfan

good for you- you'd think people were trying to put you off wouldn't you

if its what you want go for it- you just need to do as much research as you can first- my daughter went over a couple of years ago same age as you- she's doing great & loving it!!!!! (& earning much more than she would here too ) and several of her mates have done the same- only you know what you want out of it whether its temp or permanent in the end- good luck!!