S E A N

Hi my name is Sean, from Melbourne Australia

I have just recently finished school and thinking about the future. I'm in the process of figureing out what to do with my life. Since about grade 10 I have fantasized about moving overseas maybe not for ever but long enough to truley experience another culture, country, view..well.....everything.

But is it ever how you think it will be?

What are my options? considering work since I have no experience in a career

Canada is the main country I would like to move to because of the scernery, snow sports, nice seeming people, well and they speak english lol(well most do). The winter is a bit scary for me being from Australia I've never experienced a true winter (except a ski trip into the mountains)

And where the heck do I start???

S E A N

btw, I've noticed its a "british expat forum" but this is by far the best expat forum I could find on the net!

Elaine B.

Hi Sean and Welcome to BE Most of Canada will be asleep right now so it may be awhile before you get some replies, in the meantime check out the WIKI section of the forum.

I know a lot of young Brits come to Canada for a year on the BUNAC visa not sure if there is something similar for Aussies.

gibsonslanding

hi and welcome
all can say to you is.... go for it! if it's been a long time 'itch' then it needs scratching......i was young once, way too many decades ago now, but i have travelled alot around different parts of the world and it's always been 'how i thought it would be' becuase i've always done my homework first.....check out the wiki on here, try and make some conatcts, find out the pro's and con's of every country that you wish to travel too, find out about some working programmes, like the bunac etc etc. every country has some great voluntary work programmes, that give you access to travel but also is a 'safe' way to travel.....every journey has it's challengies but is so worth the effort.......i've now good kids who are 'itching', scared, nervous etc. but they'll do it......you need to think about money, your safety, your goals etc etc.......but good luck. i'm old now but still travelling.....

moondevil

Anyone who gets that feeling to move...must look into it

I wouldn't years ago, then last year i let my husband drag me out for a visit, then i dragged him back to live here as i totally love it.
We have kids now, so a lot harder, but like gibbs said do bunac for a year and see what you think

Good luck on your journey and although a british expats site most of us will talk to anyone

Waltzing Matilda

Hi Sean,

Unfortunately you wont be able to come to Canada on a BUNAC visa as you are an Australian. The good news is you can come over on a WHP.......here's the link

http://www.whpcanada.org.au/introduction.shtml

I have a few Australian friends who have been here for nearly 2 years now on the WHP visa and they love it.
It's always a bit daunting making your first plans to go traveling. I went out to Australia as soon as I finished school, and it was even more amazing than I had ever imagined.....so GO FOR IT! But be warned......it's addictive. You'll get the travelling bug! As soon as I got home from Australia I wanted to start planning my next trip!!
Good luck with whatever you decide. Hope the link I gave you gives you a good starting point.

Just had a thought......STA travel are great for young people who want to travel the world, but are a bit unsure of where to start.

www.statravel.com

Happy reading!

Steph x

Waltzing Matilda

So after reading your post I went and found my travel diary............as I was planning/travelling around, I wrote down the websites/books etc that I found useful. Here are just a few.

www.worldtravelguide.net

www.seat61.com this is a really useful website if need to get the train ANYWHERE! When I was in Oz, I looked up the train time table for trains from Kuala Lumpur to Penang!

www.worldhum.com Read and be inspired!

That should get you started. The Canada Lonely Planet book is pretty useful if you are traveling alone. I used it on my first backpacking trip around Canada.

andrewrb143

If i read that correctly, an Australian can get a permit for up to 24 months with no limit on the amount of times you can apply for it. (provided you are not over 30).

That's way easier than BUNAC.

Waltzing Matilda

yep thats correct. It's so much better than BUNAC. Like I said, Aussie friends of mine have been here for nearly two years already, and they have no intention of going back home just yet! They are living and working in Whistler and they want to stay there for the 2010 Games!

S E A N

You guys are getting me exited now

Canada has always appealed to me, so you know what...I think I might just do it. I am one of those people that sit back and never do something out of my comfort area but this is something i really want.

I might make a blog about it......still hard to know where to start

triumphguy

There's loads of Australians working in the hospitality industry in the Skiing areas, so you've got a chance too.

Is it different?

Well, I thought there'd be more igloos, and there's not that many lumberjacks around either.

You can find igloos and lumberjacks - if that's the bag you're into - but you'll have to go up north.

Canada is a big country - as big as Oz, with an additional large amount of frozen north - so there lots here for you to explore.

S E A N

Hospitality pays quite poor here, is it the same there? because I want to live nicely not in poor accomadation

Waltzing Matilda

Ok....It really depends on what you want from your trip. For example, I have quite a few Aussie friends living and Working in Whistler and Revelstoke. They work in shops/bars/clubs/hotels. They are not here to live in a "nice" apartment or to get good jobs......they are here for the lifestyle. They all do jobs that enable them to ski almost everyday in the winter and in the summer (those in Whistler) go mountain biking almost every day.

Have you decided on an area you may want to settle?? If you let me know that I might be able to help you more re: the accommodation and wage. Also how long do you want to come over to Canada for? What do you want to do while you are here.......do you want to stay in one place and settle there, or would you like to work for a while then travel around a bit?? I ask this because I know of one guy who came to Canada for a year and never left Whistler (apart from to go to Vancouver to get a flight home.)

I'm so glad you are deciding to do this. Travelling is such an amazing experience, and you get to meet so many fantastic people and do some incredible things!

Good luck with your research into Canada (karma sent to help you on your way.) Any more questions just post on here and I will do my best to answer. x

S E A N

Well I would like to travel around at first. I was thinking maybe a couple of years I would stay. But then again I might end up staying for much longer. I like Australia but I've seen what there is to see and I'm sick of the hot dry weather. I think I would prefer a more stable higher paying job though, early next year I am doing real estate courses, so something in the real estate area maybe?

Londonuck

Would you not prefer Europe? London is full of Australians using it as a base for work and going off for weekends to different European countries. When i came back from Canada I couldnt get over the amount of Australians in the ad agency I was working at.