bcworld

People aren't paid in pounds in Australia...currency conversions are meaningless! The current exchange rate really flatters Australian salaries...it's fun converting at the moment, but misleading.

asprilla

ok, bear in mind that my answer only really considers South East Queensland. Obviously Australia is a big country and there are loads of other places that you will need to consider too.

I reckon that the gold coast is a fairly good bet for you guys. It has a growing population and as a result there is definitely a demand for electricians and social workers. However - the construction sector has not been doing too well over the past 2 or 3 years....as a result, you might find that there are already plenty of sparkies competing for work.

The gold coast has great beaches and a good choice of entertainment for people in their 20's, in my opinion. It has a great climate too.

In terms of buying a house, I will assume that you & your partner don't have much in the way of $$$ right now, as you are fairly young. If I were in your shoes, I would forget the idea of buying a house at this time. Concentrate on your application, and where you would like to live. If after a couple of years you actually like living in Australia, then it might be time to start thinking about buying a place.

Instead, you should think about renting a place. As you aren't city folk and you love the beach, why not rent a place near the beach? Something like this place at Kirra beach. Doesn't look too great from the outside, and probably isn't that nice on the inside either. But it is fairly cheap at $250 per week, a few steps away from the beach, and in an area that isn't bad at all.

FPE88

I would put it in pounds wouldnt I, Sorry I meant $$$$$$$.

Cheers for pointing that out.

FPE88

Thanks for the advice, really great info. We had for some reason been looking at the Gold Coast, I have no idea why but its the place that has drawn us in so i'm quite pleased you advised that.

We bought a house over here at the age of 19 and altogether have paid £30k off, due to some luck and the mortgage payments so I suppose that would help if we sold up.

Could you advise on a few places I have noticed in that area and tell me what they are like, gold coast, sunshine coast and rockhampton? Think I have all them correct.

Again thanks for the advice, appreciate it.

bcworld

Rockhampton isn't really in that area, it's 400 miles from Brisbane.

It's a big country town and it wouldn't be a lot of peoples cup of tea!

FPE88

Right I will tick that off the list, so really gold coast upto the sunshine coast is where I want to be looking.

asprilla

No problem. As has already been mentioned, I'd probably steer clear of rockhampton. Just my personal opinion, but it's pretty average up there.

Look at the gold coast, sunshine coast, but also you should think about the coastal areas near perth, Melbourne & Sydney too.

brissybee

You might find a lot of work doing ceiling safety inspections. Before signing up as an Aussie sparky, be sure to brief yourself on the Federal Government ceiling insulation debacle. There have been deaths. The hot weather isn't all it's cracked up to be. Neither are "some" of the people. Come for a holiday in the middle of Summer before making any decisions. Good Luck

Phlanger

Mate - regardless of your qualifications, heat tolerance or where you want to end up - strikes me that you're young and presumably child free?

Give it a punt - its not necessarily a life sentence. If you have family, its a much bigger consideration, but if its just the two of you it makes the whole thing about 1000 times more straightforward.

You're in the perfect point in life to give it a try - wish I'd done it in your position rather than at 39 with two complaining nippers in tow!

KJCherokee

Bear in mind that when people talk about the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast they are usually thinking of the beach front strip (about 5km wide to the main N-S highway) whereas the relevant council areas extend quite a way inland and up into the hills - for example, there is a huge difference between living in Noosa and living in Beerwah, but they are both Sunshine Coast. Make sure you know what you are looking at.

Judging by how long it takes for a tradesman to come round and give a quote (let alone do the job) you shouldn't have too much trouble finding work. Electricians can earn very good money in the mines as long as you don't mind working two weeks on two weeks off - good way for young people to build up a stake to buy a house. If you have £30k equity in your home that might just pay the deposit on a property within 2-3km of the coast at Sunshine or Gold - might, I say.

FPE88

Yep, Child free and it would be 2 of us.

Thanks for the encouragement mate, we are starting seriously to look into it now, if we dont like it I suppose it wouldnt be too much of a fuss to pack up and go back home.

Thing is I dont want to be regretting not giving it a go, so will be coming for a visit in the future.

FPE88

Im actually looking for some advice on this, so we can see what property would be in our price range. We dont expect to be sitting right on the beach (although would be very nice) but a nice neighborhood 5,10mins drive from the beach would nice.

Jacqui

Just wondering, if you already have family and friends here, why not consider the areas where they live? If anything, it would narrow the area down a bit. Never underestimate the support of family in such a life-changing decision (and how grateful you would be for their support if kiddies ever came along). We stayed with my sister for the first 6 weeks, which meant that we didn't have to organise accommodation immediately upon landing, and they were a tremendous help getting us settled in.

FPE88

Very good point, only problem their on the opposite side of australia to where I have been looking.

milly123

Having worked very closely with your occupations, all options may be open to you , If you apply for state sponsorship with your trade, your visa should come through quicker, I think the states still excepting are WA, SA, Vic, Tas, NT, ACT. Although with the Brissy floods they may have opened it back up for QLD.

You will need to get your Trades Licence once here, so give yourself a few weeks grace on arrival, and expect to spend $1000 + on extra bits ( white Card - OH&S etc). A qualified electrician can earn on the books and local anything from $32 - $39 per hr plus super. As a contractor you can price from $49 per hr up to $80 per hr, most are about $69 per hr. Working in the mines, WA is the bigest at taking in trades at the moment, most do 4 weeks on 1 week of to bring in the right money, for this you will earn an average of about $12000 after tax per mth plus Pip ,plus super. But its a hard slog.
You can then work agencies, they are paying about $55 per hour at the mo in Brissy.
Your Wife as a social worker will not have any probs finding work, she could start of at the JSA contracts, Youth connections . Her pay again would start at about $46000 - 58000.
Housing you are looking at a minimum of about $440.000
I would recommend the city’s for the continuation of work,