caliburn

If you had a $150,000+ stable banking job in a really pathetic country, would you have made the move to Australia now at this uncertain time? Here's the trade off - stable job but shitty lifestyle vs. possible unemployment but excellent lifestyle. What would you do?

frizzy1

Hi, well I am in a similar position to you.

I took redundancy from my job of 19 years in the insurance sector a few months ago and walked away with a very nice sum.

Shortly after my OH also took redundancy and he finishes in April.

The plan is to take our redundancy money, go travelling round the world and then hit Oz in November where we will look for jobs etc.

Out of our redundancy money, we have budgeted to be able to live in Oz for 6 months without work. But after this we will either have to find work or return to UK. Neither of us are on the "wanted" list etc.

BUT, shortly after I got made redundant I was offered my dream job at the same salary you are earning and am currently doing this job.

So, should we now stay in the UK with my fab job and with all our redundancy money or should we still stick with our plans and take a risk?

After many many discussions, we are still going and I will be handing in my notice in March!

If you are "good" at your job and it all fails in Oz you will be able to come back and get another job even in this economic climate. Yes, we might need to take a salary cut but thats only for the short term as things have got to get better one day!

So, if you can afford to take a lower job back in the UK if it doesnt work out in Oz, then my view would be go and take a risk as life is just way way to short!!

I am 37 btw so not a student but thought its about time I had some fun!

Some people may think I am mad and it will be interesting to see others thoughts!

Dorothy

How do you know it's an excellent lifestyle? The vast majority of us here still work every day, pay our mortgage and do all the same crap we did before coming here, only without the familiarity of family and friends.

WelshSarah

Here here!! The ironings still looking at me... too bloody hot to do it!! Someones got to!! The same shit, sunnier bucket...

I think if I were you OP I would think long and hard about giving up the stability.. The recession is on its way down under too...

WelshSarah

Believe me it wouldnt be an excellent lifestyle for long with unemployment!! Use your £150k and have some great holidays!!However, if you are confident of finding work and being realistic then I would come with bells on... I much prefer living here but day to day its the same type of treadmill...

MTPockets

Ok, I normally refrain from replying to posts like this because perceptions are necessarily personal – and will differ with cities/industries/professions. However, in this case your profile looks quite similar to mine.

I also had a stable banking job (in london - financial markets) - but equally shitty lifestyle. Finally moved to Sydney as a PR in August. About a month after that, just as applications/interest seemed to be building, the banking industry blew up - and most banking/general business opportunities with it.

So almost 5m on I'm still applying and caught in a tricky situation as the situation is worsening. I've even resorted to interviewing with my old firm for a job in HK - not where I want to live nor a firm I want to work for, but right now it's a job that wouldn't necessitate binning a career I'm good at and completely starting again. The whole ‘if you’re good at your job’ aspect highlighted by frizzy doesn’t really apply (today at least) – there are a lot of quality redundant bankers here and everywhere.

Take a look at any online news source (smh, theaustralian, afr, Bloomberg) and you’ll see that as far as the banking industry is concerned Australia is in same situation. Although there have been arguments that the banks here are stronger, better capitalised etc., this is also a far smaller market than other financial centres – exacerbating the problem if you’re not already a local with local experience.

As to your salary – you should be aware that if, for example, you’re on £70k that doesn’t equate to your A$150k assessment – $90-100 maybe. Try typing your job description into seek.com.au to get an idea of salaries/jobs – and also be aware that (in banking at least) a lot of those roles are bullshit.

So my main advice would be that if there's any way you can take an extended holiday to visit/speak to agents and firms before you resign from a secure job I think you’ll be glad you did. You could even buy an Oz mobile, borrow a friends address while here to give you some sense of localism on a resume - while keeping the hunt up back home?

You need to be aware that an ‘excellent lifestyle’ is hard to follow when you’re looking for jobs - which for me at least I treat as a full time job. Once the initial weeks of excitement are over, it’s very difficult to relax into the new culture when the number one focus has to be finding a job and assimilating into a new home.

I hope you don't think I'm being negative. Sounds like I have similar aspirations to you, but being here I'm probably now more pragmatic. This whole assessment does depend on your own circumstances – if you’re single, have good savings to keep you going for a while then maybe go for it. I’m in that situation now but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Anyway, this has become far longer than intended.
What pathetic country are you referring to by the way? I hope not the UK

To frizzy: try not to arrive between Nov-Jan as this is equivalent to July-Sep holidays in the UK and there's little hiring.

moneypenny20

At the current time I'd say the job was more important, especially if it's a job you enjoy. I guess the 'pathetic' country is Britain. I can't help you there, I think the UK is a wonderful place and have never seen a problem with any of it except the current poor management (imo). As WelshSarah said, spend some of your hard earning wages on good holidays and keep the next few years as stable as possible.

Unless you've lived here for a few years, there's honestly no way of knowing anything about the lifestyle. Holidays and even living here for a few months doesn't give a clear idea. Take the rose tints off and be aware that the recession is a global one, that most people struggle to find work for several months and life is life wherever you are. Also if you are running away from a country, things 'may' fail. If you want to move for the adventure and experience, it's more likely to succeed. What people consider to be problems with a country often turn out to be problems in the person's head and obviously they then carry them with them, no matter where they move to.

jad n rich

Really pathetic country says it all. Your moving for the wrong reasons, no matter what you earn

Plenty of shite goes down here too, plus as the others said the mundane bits of life just follow you.

If you really earn 6 times the aussie avg wage, why bother, just take a holiday, you can probably afford business class anyway

iamthecreaturefromuranus

If you have a steady job at the moment I think it would be stupid in the extreme to pack it all in on the assumption that you will walk into a job here in Oz. If your job has anything to do with finance or IT then I can assure you that you will find it hard, very hard, to find something in Australia at the moment. You will be competing against people with proven Australian work records and you will almost certainly lose out every time in that fight.

MTPockets

mmmm...ok sod being all balanced about it. If I were you no I wouldn't make the move now, in the same way if I had the power of retrospect I wouldn't have either - maybe in a couple of years but not for a while.

I don't know about you but I'm well qualified, well experienced, was good at my job and an all-round jolly nice guy...but it all counts for shit right now in banking (ok, maybe I'm a little p!ssed off too). I've also lived and worked in Sydney for nine months before as a backpacker so it wasn't a completely blinkered decision.

As previous posters have kindly pointed out your motivation may be wrong (I love the uk and that sort of attitude p!sses me off - this was just one of life's adventures), 'lifestyle' perspective may be skewed (unless you're a hardcore surfer very little will differ in your day to days - I surf a bit but that's not enough to motivate taking any job just to survive here if that means binning a career) and PERSONAL VIEW is the australian economy is far more screwed than most are willing to admit. The bad times have only just begun here and will worsen rapidly, in addition to the global picture also deteriorating more than most envisage.

I think it's likely that a few years from now people will look back at this era as a pivotal one in terms of working/not - and the possible determinant of many future prospects. If you're not bothered about that go for your life, if you are have a serious think about what you're willing to risk, and why?

Dorothy

I think the OP is from India, not UK.

frizzy1

I have to be honest I have also thought about not doing what I am planning and certainly everyones comments would suggest the best thing at the moment is to stay in the UK with our jobs and sit it out.

My head definately agrees with this but my heart wants me to go out there and be with my Family (My only sister is out there and my Mum and Dad are in the process of applying for their visa).

Unfortunately I cant change my arrival date which will be November but we have got enough funds to live for a max of a year without work (although this would be very tight and really only wanted to be out of work for a max of 6 months). So I guess this will mean that from Nov - Jan will give me time to settle and see how I find the place before making a serious attempt at finding work.

It does make me wonder whether I should rethink now though ......

Kooky.

Here's a similar recent thread you might find interesting.

My opinion hasn't changed; if you have a decent job, your situation isn't intolerable, and you can't afford to be unemployed in the medium to long term, stay put.

edit: duh, here's a similar recent thread...

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=576046

MTPockets

He may find it even tougher then - esp if he's been working outside the major financial markets.

Hi Frizzy. Ultimately you gotta to what you gotta do. I'm also one for trusting instincts and following my heart, but I thought it fair to just post my experience. Things may change tomorrow although that looks unlikely, and your experience may also be completely different to mine.

You're also looking to do it with your OH and this is probably easier in terms of mutual support and also doubling the job prospect possibilities (and ability to survive on one income if needs be). Family is likely to make a difference too.

Budgeting for different scenarios is a good idea - and being ready for things to maybe take longer than imagined esp over the holidays. That's fair enough - so long as you're aware of the realities of employment in the finance industry I wouldn't say don't do it - only please do it with your eyes open. Insurance may also differ from banking in that it's maybe more transferrable across products? Not sure really.

Either way, good luck.

Rodger_lawson

Calliburn is from a HR country for sure; not sure if it is India.

from this post, i think he could be from Dubai.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585423