Originally Posted by arkon

If you need a sympathetic ear then feel free to PM me and moan to your hearts content. I'm with you all the way and it never got any better for us. Just because a few settle and like it here doesn't mean the rest of us that think its a maddening country are wrong or whingers for actually vocalising it. Good advice, If you like living in the UK and have a decent standard of living with a nice house in a nice area then don't for gods sake come here just to try it before you die. Every day is like being dead from the neck up.

If you all need a graphic idea what it's really like here for those that have a slightly higher set of standards then visit you local wood with a nice big stick and try and perform bowel surgery on your self. Almost every week here is like a trip to that woods with that stick!

Originally Posted by geordie downunder

Those days are long gone if they ever existed.Oz now works the longest hours in the world.Buses stopped at 6pm friday night until mon morning with only a skeleton service,not any more.Coles etc closed at noon saturday,not anymore.A working week for a blue collar tradesman is usually 56 hrs now,work away and it is usually a 7x 10 or 12 roster,mines act was a maximum of 13 x12 hrs,don't know if it applies now in this brave new world of AWA,s,probably have to work longer.Shocked me when I first came here how many hrs people worked,and they still wanted more.Costello is a founding member of the H.R Nicholls society,stated object is everbody should be a contractor,stay at home until the employer rings and then only be paid for hrs worked,so you will either be underemployed or working all hrs for a flat rate,no holiday pay etc.While demand for workers is high AWA,s may be reasonable,but nowhere near 80,s conditions.Last downturn (late 90,s) some companies brought in 46 hr weeks and o/time at time and a quarter,some had flat rate from which they took super,workers compo,insurance etc which left virtually nothing,large power tools which should be supplied could be bought or hired from the company,thank god they went bust.

Originally Posted by Dizzykaren

Well the best advice I can give is.... don't. If you have anything approaching a comfortable life in the UK then stay there. We have been in Oz for 4 months and its been nothing but pain. The staggering levels of red tape are matched only by the complete incompetence of every organization you will have to deal with..... we have had DIMIA lose one of four, emailed x-rays, we had the bank screw up our mortgage application, twice. You will be constantly asked to provide information that you couldn't possibly have as you have only just arrived in the country. If you don't have an Oz driving licence you may as well not exist. Phone, gas and electric companys have ALL screwed up or failed to show up. Telstra told us they don't work weekends.