Well... 3.5 months actually. Hard to find time to update the blog.
Getting fat on the fine food and abundant beers and wines. The hot weather is here, and it's 2 days before christmas. Driving down Sydney Road on Sunday and very surprised to see a group of carol singers on the steps of a church. Don't they realise it's summer? They looked a bit odd to me in the blazing sun and wearing shades.
In the city at the weekend there were crowded pavements full of festive shoppers, but a closer examination revealed that most were empty handed at 5pm... maybe the economy is in trouble, or maybe they were tourists. Or simply waiting until the last possible moment before deciding on which packet of soon-to-be-forgotten plastic gadgets would represent their kindness to others.
Everything (well almost) is made in China. Apart from HP sauce which hails from Holland. The orient is also providing the average Melburnian with some great food. I'm on a diet of Japanese cuisine about 4 times a week... fresh, healthy, cheap, long queue.
Pork sausages, which are necessary as a base for HP, are hard to find. Beef? Yes. Kangaroo? Check. Turkey? No worries. Pork? Nah.
Car shopping was a bit weird... looking for an oldish Japanese car (which have reached plague proportions) involves viewing a car (if the seller bothers to answer the phone or email) then some discussion of price, how long it will take to obtain the roadworthy cert, then discussion of a scheduled handover date. Some people have custom made 'for sale' graphics on their car. I just thought I could turn up with the money and drive home, but it's rarely that simple. Got a bargain though so maybe worth the hassle.
Work is good if a little tricky. Nice to be using the grey matter. Good people too.
Overall, so far, still going great - slightly homesick but a few phone calls and lack of any reports of interesting events back home take the edge off.
New year in Sydney and then a road trip along the coast means that work is now a distant 3 weeks away.
Our new air con unit has a remote. I set it up next to the new games console in preparation for a few days of relaxation. Ice cold beer seems to cool things down too!
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Six weeks in Melbourne...
Time flies. All is good apart from Optus, and not having the time to do everything! For the last few weeks the Melbourne Fringe Festival has been happening where we live - and we have been to busy to see a single performance.
We have eaten out in 30+ different places in forty nights. From horse racing, to casino, to aquarium, to nature reserve, to the coolest pubs, to cafe culture, to bakery, to art, to the city... there is much to do. Let alone finding and furnishing our new home. And working.
What a great city, with (mostly) great people.
We have eaten out in 30+ different places in forty nights. From horse racing, to casino, to aquarium, to nature reserve, to the coolest pubs, to cafe culture, to bakery, to art, to the city... there is much to do. Let alone finding and furnishing our new home. And working.
What a great city, with (mostly) great people.
Monday, 18 August 2008
Fill your boots..
With 2 weeks to go, our efforts could only be described as 'fill your boots'. And in so many ways.
First up, and least important, has to be the good old English car boot sale. I went to one yesterday. Aside from a few friendly well-wishers it was truly depressing. I don't mind selling things that are new (or nearly) for less than 10% of their high street cost. I do mind being told that 5% is a more reasonable price. An antique cupboard for £1.50 did not sell. High quality literature at 25p each, and I came home with a full box. Good films were hard to sell at 50p. A choice of nice suits at £3 each and only one person enquired. Hindley (near Wigan) is an unforgettable experience. I'm usually attracted by the idea of a cultural melting pot, but in this case the mix was deeply unattractive. Eastern European wide-boys with trench coats and heavy gold chains beneath their flattened noses and above their bruised knuckles. Huddles of Asian women with distrusting glances, complaining at even the most friendly offer of a ridiculously low price. Ignorant, racist, local, moustachioed women with no obvious understanding of anything other than how to blame the new arrivals for their woes (yet I get the feeling that the new arrivals had not forced them to leave the house without themselves or their clothes meeting soap). The burger van selling crusty, barely cooked 'sausages' with a neon pink sludgy interior (long queue). South Asian families who communicate via their infant children (a smile crosses the language barrier but was rarely returned). Even the local chap who drove the council van which collected the rubbish at the end of the sale had two black eyes. Security staff at the Tesco opposite stood outside the store entrance like some dodgy nightclub. Most shocking of all (for me) was the 20ish year old local girl, who on a rainy day and accompanied by her mother of around 35, had decided to flaunt her scabby diseased legs in a mini skirt which offered zero dignity, topped off with a neon pink wig and the kind of vocabulary that makes ears bleed. The junky who hung around the stall for half the morning asking the most stupid questions, with his standard issue tattooed illegible writing down the inside of his forearms. The fat guy in the wheelchair, covered in dirt, his whole hands yellow from smoking roll-ups, with a blend of tobacco and dandruff all down his front, who confided that he was able to travel around all the car boot sales rapidly each Sunday (in his state-funded car), able to afford a pile of tat but unable to buy a less filthy coat for 20p. I could go on.
All this is nothing to do with poverty. I was in Central America on a road trip just after the disastrous Hurricane Mitch which laid waste to parts of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. In those countries I witnessed deep poverty, compounded by crime, drugs and corruption, and then slammed by a massive natural disaster. Throughout, even despite having to wash and clean clothes and cook on the muddy river banks, and finding shelter in shanty towns, I found the people there to be impeccably well presented, mostly amiable given the circumstances, and certainly having bucket loads of self respect. My grimy backpacker clothes and dusty 4x4 left me feeling ashamed. I have walked through the 'City of the Dead' in Cairo, where poverty is so severe that families are forced to inhabit the mausoleums of their ancestors - yet even in this no-go-zone for tourists did I ever fell ill at ease (just a bit embarrassed about the cost of my shoes). I've read my Orwell, come from a mining heritage, and even live in an ex-miners house in the shadow of a pit-head relic from the days of 'The Road To Wigan Pier' yet I can't imagine any correlation between the industrious (bit rough maybe) population of days gone by and the current state of affairs just 5 miles from where I live. I've got absolutely no idea what causes a place to decline so rapidly and completely.
Anyhow, back to 'Fill your boots'. Second on the list are possessions. I'm encouraging those people I know to stock up on my stuff. No visitor is safe from being encouraged to take away a memento of their visit to my house. Whether its a TV, a book, a pint pot, a sofa... no-one is safe! It's all part of the mix when it comes to finding new homes for soon to be surplus items. Plus, it's occasionally appreciated! I've got a big box of proper Cuban cigars and they are proving difficult to rehome. I can't put them on eBay, Freecycle, or car boot sale - so it looks like they might get burned (as in smoked at the leaving party).
Third is culture. For the last couple of weeks I've been trying to do and see as much of the things that I love than I would ever consider. I even broke my own rule of paying a ticket tout but I did not want to arrive in Oz having missed an Ian Brown gig. And it was worth it. I've been to many hundreds of gigs all across the musical spectrum, from Don Giovanni to Prodigy, from punk to pop, from Rockworld to the Hacienda. This recent gig in Preston was up there with the best of them, alongside Spear of Destiny in Salford 1988, Orbital at Glastonbury 1994, Radiohead at Glasto 1997, and erm Ian Brown in Llandudno recently. I might go to Creamfields later this week, having been too busy in Hindley to make it to V. Oh well!
First up, and least important, has to be the good old English car boot sale. I went to one yesterday. Aside from a few friendly well-wishers it was truly depressing. I don't mind selling things that are new (or nearly) for less than 10% of their high street cost. I do mind being told that 5% is a more reasonable price. An antique cupboard for £1.50 did not sell. High quality literature at 25p each, and I came home with a full box. Good films were hard to sell at 50p. A choice of nice suits at £3 each and only one person enquired. Hindley (near Wigan) is an unforgettable experience. I'm usually attracted by the idea of a cultural melting pot, but in this case the mix was deeply unattractive. Eastern European wide-boys with trench coats and heavy gold chains beneath their flattened noses and above their bruised knuckles. Huddles of Asian women with distrusting glances, complaining at even the most friendly offer of a ridiculously low price. Ignorant, racist, local, moustachioed women with no obvious understanding of anything other than how to blame the new arrivals for their woes (yet I get the feeling that the new arrivals had not forced them to leave the house without themselves or their clothes meeting soap). The burger van selling crusty, barely cooked 'sausages' with a neon pink sludgy interior (long queue). South Asian families who communicate via their infant children (a smile crosses the language barrier but was rarely returned). Even the local chap who drove the council van which collected the rubbish at the end of the sale had two black eyes. Security staff at the Tesco opposite stood outside the store entrance like some dodgy nightclub. Most shocking of all (for me) was the 20ish year old local girl, who on a rainy day and accompanied by her mother of around 35, had decided to flaunt her scabby diseased legs in a mini skirt which offered zero dignity, topped off with a neon pink wig and the kind of vocabulary that makes ears bleed. The junky who hung around the stall for half the morning asking the most stupid questions, with his standard issue tattooed illegible writing down the inside of his forearms. The fat guy in the wheelchair, covered in dirt, his whole hands yellow from smoking roll-ups, with a blend of tobacco and dandruff all down his front, who confided that he was able to travel around all the car boot sales rapidly each Sunday (in his state-funded car), able to afford a pile of tat but unable to buy a less filthy coat for 20p. I could go on.
All this is nothing to do with poverty. I was in Central America on a road trip just after the disastrous Hurricane Mitch which laid waste to parts of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. In those countries I witnessed deep poverty, compounded by crime, drugs and corruption, and then slammed by a massive natural disaster. Throughout, even despite having to wash and clean clothes and cook on the muddy river banks, and finding shelter in shanty towns, I found the people there to be impeccably well presented, mostly amiable given the circumstances, and certainly having bucket loads of self respect. My grimy backpacker clothes and dusty 4x4 left me feeling ashamed. I have walked through the 'City of the Dead' in Cairo, where poverty is so severe that families are forced to inhabit the mausoleums of their ancestors - yet even in this no-go-zone for tourists did I ever fell ill at ease (just a bit embarrassed about the cost of my shoes). I've read my Orwell, come from a mining heritage, and even live in an ex-miners house in the shadow of a pit-head relic from the days of 'The Road To Wigan Pier' yet I can't imagine any correlation between the industrious (bit rough maybe) population of days gone by and the current state of affairs just 5 miles from where I live. I've got absolutely no idea what causes a place to decline so rapidly and completely.
Anyhow, back to 'Fill your boots'. Second on the list are possessions. I'm encouraging those people I know to stock up on my stuff. No visitor is safe from being encouraged to take away a memento of their visit to my house. Whether its a TV, a book, a pint pot, a sofa... no-one is safe! It's all part of the mix when it comes to finding new homes for soon to be surplus items. Plus, it's occasionally appreciated! I've got a big box of proper Cuban cigars and they are proving difficult to rehome. I can't put them on eBay, Freecycle, or car boot sale - so it looks like they might get burned (as in smoked at the leaving party).
Third is culture. For the last couple of weeks I've been trying to do and see as much of the things that I love than I would ever consider. I even broke my own rule of paying a ticket tout but I did not want to arrive in Oz having missed an Ian Brown gig. And it was worth it. I've been to many hundreds of gigs all across the musical spectrum, from Don Giovanni to Prodigy, from punk to pop, from Rockworld to the Hacienda. This recent gig in Preston was up there with the best of them, alongside Spear of Destiny in Salford 1988, Orbital at Glastonbury 1994, Radiohead at Glasto 1997, and erm Ian Brown in Llandudno recently. I might go to Creamfields later this week, having been too busy in Hindley to make it to V. Oh well!
Monday, 11 August 2008
Countdown... 3 Weeks to go.
Our Visa has now been granted.
What to do with a house full of stuff?
We will be taking only a very small amount of stuff with us - some 30kg each. Thats laptops, clothes, couple of books and CDs, and small electronic items.
Which leaves about 2 tonnes of furniture, books, and household appliances. And a van.
Some of our older, better furniture is likely to be living with friends and family. Furnishings and houseplants are being freecycled. Books, small appliances and music will be going first to a car boot sale then the remainder to charity. Large appliances will be staying with the house. Everything else is going on eBay.
We're hoping that funds from selling our stuff can be used in Oz to stock our home. It's become obvious that it takes more than a couple of weeks to dismantle decades of accumulation. It is however a cathartic and sometimes rewarding experience which involves looking at old photos, birthday cards, gig tickets etc. Many times I have found a shoe box at the back of a cupboard, long forgotten, and it's easy to spend a couple of hours rummaging through the contents.
Arrangements for a send-off party are in hand, and now is the time to visit friends, settle any old debts, and cancel any subscriptions and services. While this might sound terminal, it's worth remembering that the return journey can be made in 20 hours (roughly the same timescale for crossing Manchester using only public transport!).
One good thing about being so busy is that it provides a useful distraction from the stress of going to live on the other side of the world, in a country which neither of us has visited.
All said and done, we are feeling excited about our move. The British summer is the perfect way to acclimatise for the Aussie winter!
What to do with a house full of stuff?
We will be taking only a very small amount of stuff with us - some 30kg each. Thats laptops, clothes, couple of books and CDs, and small electronic items.
Which leaves about 2 tonnes of furniture, books, and household appliances. And a van.
Some of our older, better furniture is likely to be living with friends and family. Furnishings and houseplants are being freecycled. Books, small appliances and music will be going first to a car boot sale then the remainder to charity. Large appliances will be staying with the house. Everything else is going on eBay.
We're hoping that funds from selling our stuff can be used in Oz to stock our home. It's become obvious that it takes more than a couple of weeks to dismantle decades of accumulation. It is however a cathartic and sometimes rewarding experience which involves looking at old photos, birthday cards, gig tickets etc. Many times I have found a shoe box at the back of a cupboard, long forgotten, and it's easy to spend a couple of hours rummaging through the contents.
Arrangements for a send-off party are in hand, and now is the time to visit friends, settle any old debts, and cancel any subscriptions and services. While this might sound terminal, it's worth remembering that the return journey can be made in 20 hours (roughly the same timescale for crossing Manchester using only public transport!).
One good thing about being so busy is that it provides a useful distraction from the stress of going to live on the other side of the world, in a country which neither of us has visited.
All said and done, we are feeling excited about our move. The British summer is the perfect way to acclimatise for the Aussie winter!
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Flights
Visa is underway, medicals done, police checks applied for.
We decided to fly late August... while hunting for low fares the fares started to rise due to fuel prices... oops! Our £800 ish return with Emirates became £1000. For not much more we could fly with Singapore. So for about £1100 each (economy) we will fly the shortest mainstream route, in the air for around 20 hours each way.
SingaporeAir have an offer to entice transit passengers into the city, included in the price above is a stopover in Singapore with transfers to a central hotel for one night - which means that we will have a base for our 2 days, arriving early day 1 and leaving at midnight day 2. The hotel will look after our bags and the airport offers a simple visitor visa on demand.
Most efforts are now going into preparation... apart from dealing with the house it's all about loose ends and posessions. Time for a party later. With 5 weeks to go it's time to cancel stuff like subscriptions and policies. It has just taken me 18 months to close a dormant account with a high street bank so I'm expecting a few service providers to be a bit erm reluctant to part.
OH has started to look for music and comedy gigs in Melbourne, hopefully it's easier to get a ticket for gigs in Oz than it is here. But I doubt it.
We decided to fly late August... while hunting for low fares the fares started to rise due to fuel prices... oops! Our £800 ish return with Emirates became £1000. For not much more we could fly with Singapore. So for about £1100 each (economy) we will fly the shortest mainstream route, in the air for around 20 hours each way.
SingaporeAir have an offer to entice transit passengers into the city, included in the price above is a stopover in Singapore with transfers to a central hotel for one night - which means that we will have a base for our 2 days, arriving early day 1 and leaving at midnight day 2. The hotel will look after our bags and the airport offers a simple visitor visa on demand.
Most efforts are now going into preparation... apart from dealing with the house it's all about loose ends and posessions. Time for a party later. With 5 weeks to go it's time to cancel stuff like subscriptions and policies. It has just taken me 18 months to close a dormant account with a high street bank so I'm expecting a few service providers to be a bit erm reluctant to part.
OH has started to look for music and comedy gigs in Melbourne, hopefully it's easier to get a ticket for gigs in Oz than it is here. But I doubt it.
Friday, 25 April 2008
Rapid Rego!
Wifey is now a registered nurse in Victoria.
For some reason this has happened in some 6 or 7 weeks from the paperwork leaving the UK. We were expecting 4 to 5 months. So what next?
Well, time to get a visa sorted. Employer is arranging sponsorship and has put the wheels in motion. Aside from a bit of form filling, we also need to get medicals done. Before we can do this we need to be informed which approved 'panel' doctors we can choose from.
Also on the to-do list at the moment: start looking at flight prices and routes. We're toying with the idea of a round-the-world ticket, it seems to be around £250 more than a return flight to Oz. Aside from the obvious benefits, there is also the opportunity to (if we fly via USA) enjoy extra baggage allowances totalling 40ish kg each. Plus it might be useful to overcome jetlag in stages rather than in one big shock!
We are now hoping to leave in July. In preparation we will use eBay and Freecycle to offload posessions to raise a bit of extra cash and open up some space in the house for our future tenant. Nearer the time I will sell my VW T4 and use eBay to buy a car in Oz ready for our arrival. Hopefully the seller will meet us at the airport, a move that will not only save the hassle and cost of car hire but also allow us to hit the ground rolling and start looking for somewhere to rent.
We're both working hard and saving up, and looking forward to a period of chaos at home followed by a challenging move to Melbourne. Happy days.
For some reason this has happened in some 6 or 7 weeks from the paperwork leaving the UK. We were expecting 4 to 5 months. So what next?
Well, time to get a visa sorted. Employer is arranging sponsorship and has put the wheels in motion. Aside from a bit of form filling, we also need to get medicals done. Before we can do this we need to be informed which approved 'panel' doctors we can choose from.
Also on the to-do list at the moment: start looking at flight prices and routes. We're toying with the idea of a round-the-world ticket, it seems to be around £250 more than a return flight to Oz. Aside from the obvious benefits, there is also the opportunity to (if we fly via USA) enjoy extra baggage allowances totalling 40ish kg each. Plus it might be useful to overcome jetlag in stages rather than in one big shock!
We are now hoping to leave in July. In preparation we will use eBay and Freecycle to offload posessions to raise a bit of extra cash and open up some space in the house for our future tenant. Nearer the time I will sell my VW T4 and use eBay to buy a car in Oz ready for our arrival. Hopefully the seller will meet us at the airport, a move that will not only save the hassle and cost of car hire but also allow us to hit the ground rolling and start looking for somewhere to rent.
We're both working hard and saving up, and looking forward to a period of chaos at home followed by a challenging move to Melbourne. Happy days.
Friday, 28 March 2008
Waiting
After submitting the Nurse registration about 4 weeks ago, we're told to check with the board by phone every two weeks. At the moment, they have received the paperwork and they will at some point arrange a case manager.
Until then, just looking into work for myself, and where to live.
The Aussie dollar is getting stronger and property more expensive. The cash benefits of working there are losing their shine but most of the other positives are still intact.
I've no idea about my first few months out there in terms of a job. I have the latest UK qualifications in my trade, but I am likely to be a trainee for a few months until my qualifications are recognised. Will probably try to find some alternative work on arrival.
Until then, just looking into work for myself, and where to live.
The Aussie dollar is getting stronger and property more expensive. The cash benefits of working there are losing their shine but most of the other positives are still intact.
I've no idea about my first few months out there in terms of a job. I have the latest UK qualifications in my trade, but I am likely to be a trainee for a few months until my qualifications are recognised. Will probably try to find some alternative work on arrival.
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Interview time.
Well, after phone conversations and emails between the hospital and my other half, the time has come for the telephone interview. This should be a formality.
Why? A number of reasons really... apart from already having had a long chat on the phone with the employer, there is a strong CV, a skilled and very competent nurse, an available position, and an ability and willingness to travel. Our age and my skills make things easy. Presumably not having children yet will add to the ease.
According to a web forum, it is common for an interview to be scenario based - ie. what to do when an out of hours patient is brought in ( to a mental health unit) with a suspected drug overdose.
But time will tell...
Why? A number of reasons really... apart from already having had a long chat on the phone with the employer, there is a strong CV, a skilled and very competent nurse, an available position, and an ability and willingness to travel. Our age and my skills make things easy. Presumably not having children yet will add to the ease.
According to a web forum, it is common for an interview to be scenario based - ie. what to do when an out of hours patient is brought in ( to a mental health unit) with a suspected drug overdose.
But time will tell...
Thursday, 31 January 2008
NBV - Nurses Board of Victoria.
As stated in an earlier post, our priority is for Mary to register with the Nurses Board of Victoria.
The complex and lengthy application forms and supporting evidence are in hand and once signed by a Solicitor (or similar) they can be airmailed to NBV in Oz.
After reading messages on the 'nurses thread' at the British Expats forum, it looks like our plans are not as acheivable (timewise) as we had first thought.
The problem is this: NBV are apparently overwhelmed and have amassed a backlog of some 5000 applications. At the moment, applications which have been processed in recent weeks have taken some 5 months. Due to seasonal 'high tide' for applications it seems that if we submit today we can probably expect to wait upto 8 months. Not good.
In overall terms, this application is a small piece of the jigsaw - and looks set to control our arrival date. No NBV reg = no visa. Once NBV reg is in hand the visa should then be issued almost instantly. Having no idea how long this will take means that we can't book flights well in advance, so will probably pay more. Career plans in the UK become uncertain in the meantime, living in limbo. Add to this the frustration felt by many applicants to NBV who say that they are not notified of any problems with their application until they chase it up personally.
It looks like we are in for an 'interesting time' between now and summer. My hope for a life with less beaurocracy is starting to look naive. Doh!
The complex and lengthy application forms and supporting evidence are in hand and once signed by a Solicitor (or similar) they can be airmailed to NBV in Oz.
After reading messages on the 'nurses thread' at the British Expats forum, it looks like our plans are not as acheivable (timewise) as we had first thought.
The problem is this: NBV are apparently overwhelmed and have amassed a backlog of some 5000 applications. At the moment, applications which have been processed in recent weeks have taken some 5 months. Due to seasonal 'high tide' for applications it seems that if we submit today we can probably expect to wait upto 8 months. Not good.
In overall terms, this application is a small piece of the jigsaw - and looks set to control our arrival date. No NBV reg = no visa. Once NBV reg is in hand the visa should then be issued almost instantly. Having no idea how long this will take means that we can't book flights well in advance, so will probably pay more. Career plans in the UK become uncertain in the meantime, living in limbo. Add to this the frustration felt by many applicants to NBV who say that they are not notified of any problems with their application until they chase it up personally.
It looks like we are in for an 'interesting time' between now and summer. My hope for a life with less beaurocracy is starting to look naive. Doh!
Sunday, 27 January 2008
457 visa... and houseplants.
In case someone reads this blog, I thought it would make sense to say a few words on the subject of the 457 visa.
After reading nurses fora, and following a few replies from expat nurses in Melbourne, the following has become clear: The 457 visa is not suitable for every nurse heading to Oz.
One common complaint is that this visa is restrictive. The employer acts as sponsor and without a sponsor there is no right to work in Oz. In reality this means that if the sponsored position turns into a nightmare there is little or no option to move elsewhere. If you leave the job you have 28 days to complete a new sponsorship or leave the country. Others tell stories about being tied to a job for longer than wanted. A couple of nurses report being offered a job in their field only to arrive and be sent to a nursing home for the elderly. It does not offer 'permanent residency' status but it does leave the door open to apply later.
For us the 457 visa is our chosen option for a number of reasons. It costs relatively little, includes spouse and/or dependants, is reasonably quick and easy, and allows those who want to 'test the water' to avoid the full application for residency in the first instance. Our confidence in using this visa is due to a mixture of 'go for it' attitude and a fair bit of research before even applying for sponsorship.
Meanwhile in the UK... our houseplants are suffering! Plants need light and there is very little quality sunlight around this winter. I've owned a tough yucca for a decade and each year it thrives - now standing around 6 feet tall. This winter it has lost around 75% of its foliage so far, same has happened with a friends yucca. The rest of my cared-for plants are looking decidedly unhappy. Humans need sun too!
After reading nurses fora, and following a few replies from expat nurses in Melbourne, the following has become clear: The 457 visa is not suitable for every nurse heading to Oz.
One common complaint is that this visa is restrictive. The employer acts as sponsor and without a sponsor there is no right to work in Oz. In reality this means that if the sponsored position turns into a nightmare there is little or no option to move elsewhere. If you leave the job you have 28 days to complete a new sponsorship or leave the country. Others tell stories about being tied to a job for longer than wanted. A couple of nurses report being offered a job in their field only to arrive and be sent to a nursing home for the elderly. It does not offer 'permanent residency' status but it does leave the door open to apply later.
For us the 457 visa is our chosen option for a number of reasons. It costs relatively little, includes spouse and/or dependants, is reasonably quick and easy, and allows those who want to 'test the water' to avoid the full application for residency in the first instance. Our confidence in using this visa is due to a mixture of 'go for it' attitude and a fair bit of research before even applying for sponsorship.
Meanwhile in the UK... our houseplants are suffering! Plants need light and there is very little quality sunlight around this winter. I've owned a tough yucca for a decade and each year it thrives - now standing around 6 feet tall. This winter it has lost around 75% of its foliage so far, same has happened with a friends yucca. The rest of my cared-for plants are looking decidedly unhappy. Humans need sun too!
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Progress, at last!
Well, something to report...
As if by some hidden signal, we have finally had some meaningful contact with employers and their agents in Melbourne. I was getting a bit worried about the jobs situation out there - after reading comments on nurses fora it was starting to look like the nurse shortage in Aussie cities is being compounded by payroll budget constraints.
Tuesdays events have alleviated these fears. In addition to three agencies contacting us, we also heard from one hospital directly. As stated in a previous post, it is Marys intention to work in the public sector and it seems sensible to attempt to be recruited directly by a good hospital.
We have nothing against agencies, in fact we may well use their services at some point.
In order to be fair to those we are communicating with, we will not be posting names or locations of people or agencies, or other personal data.
The general gist of the situation as it stands is this: It is clear that a number of nursing positions are indeed available in the Melbourne metropolitan area. Having fully researched the requirements, visa rules, costs, and other key factors it seems certain that we will both be able to begin our adventure on schedule (subject to medical) and get jobs. Happy days!
As Mary is lead passenger, I will concentrate on her next steps...
We will be travelling on a sponsored 457 visa. This is the Business Entry (Temporary) visa and can be issued for a period of 1 to 4 years. It offers a simple route to Australian citizenship (should we choose to apply later) and allows a spouse and/or kids to accompany on the same terms. As the spouse I will be entitled to work for any employer, pay tax, get a bank account etc.
We have been told that 5 to 6 months is a realistic timescale. About 4 of these months will be used up by the immigration process, plus a month or so in employer-related dealings.
Priorities at this stage;
1. Register with Nurses Board of Victoria. No formal job offer until this is done. Reciprocal arrangements are in place with the UK which mean that UK qualificatons do not need to be assesed by Australian authorities - saving time and money. There is still a fee around 100 GBP and a 9 page application to send to Australia. Along with the forms they need original proof of identity documents, qualifications, evidence of current employment (transcript from employer). This means that the current employer will discover our plans at this stage - unavoidable really without being dishonest.
2. Forward up to date CV and referees contact details to Aussie employer - also likely to let the cat out of the bag, not a big problem but we have other people to tell first and this will force us to do so before we even book a flight. (Not much chance of family accidentally finding this blog!)
3. We need to think about scheduling a medical with an Oz-approved panel doctor. This is not as urgent as the 2 points above. We both need to be screened for diseases, chest x-ray included. Could cost around 200 GBP each.
I've also looked into shipping some of our stuff to make things a bit more homely on arrival. A 20kg box of books or whatever costs around £180 to air freight and takes 5 days. To ship by sea takes about 60 days and costs roughly half that.
Anything that can't be taken on the plane in our luggage will be costly to send. For mundane stuff like household goods that can't fit into luggage, it's probably not worth sending unless shipped in bulk. A friend whe emigrated to Sydney last year sent six biggish boxes for around £200 by sea.
Of course we can sell some of our stuff, or store it with friends, or even rent storage.
One great resource is Freecycle. I'm a keen user of our local group and there is a local group in most places - including Melbourne. For those who don't know about Freecycle here's the deal.
Let's assume I have a TV (or wardrobe or houseplant etc.) that I want to dispose of before departure. I post a message to my local group website saying 'OFFER - TV - [location]' and add a brief description. Within a couple of days I will get an email from a local who wants it, and arrangements are made. They turn up and take it away for free. I then post 'TAKEN - TV - [location]'.
Two weeks later in Melbourne I join the local group and post 'WANTED - TV - [location]'. I'm sure one will turn up soon enough. I then post 'RECEIVED... etc.'
You don't have to give items to qualify to receive, but it does have a nice feel to it if you do. It's also a very 'green' way to do things and a very efficient cashless goods exchange. Ok, you might not get a 50 inch plasma TV - but there are some surprisingly good things on there. Plus you get to meet like-minded locals in your area.
One other great tool is data. I've put a big hard drive in my old desktop PC. Onto that I will put my entire music collection, photos, scan important documents, backup the laptop, add a few e-books, and password protect the drive. The drive will then be removed and put into a USB caddy. On arrival this can be used to print some pictures for the walls, burn CDs, and can be installed in another computer if necessary. I've considered storing everything in cyberspace but I will then be reliant on having an internet connection - this might not be possible during our first couple of months, especially if we use short term rentals while finding our feet.
Time to stop ignoring the pile of paperwork on my desk...
As if by some hidden signal, we have finally had some meaningful contact with employers and their agents in Melbourne. I was getting a bit worried about the jobs situation out there - after reading comments on nurses fora it was starting to look like the nurse shortage in Aussie cities is being compounded by payroll budget constraints.
Tuesdays events have alleviated these fears. In addition to three agencies contacting us, we also heard from one hospital directly. As stated in a previous post, it is Marys intention to work in the public sector and it seems sensible to attempt to be recruited directly by a good hospital.
We have nothing against agencies, in fact we may well use their services at some point.
In order to be fair to those we are communicating with, we will not be posting names or locations of people or agencies, or other personal data.
The general gist of the situation as it stands is this: It is clear that a number of nursing positions are indeed available in the Melbourne metropolitan area. Having fully researched the requirements, visa rules, costs, and other key factors it seems certain that we will both be able to begin our adventure on schedule (subject to medical) and get jobs. Happy days!
As Mary is lead passenger, I will concentrate on her next steps...
We will be travelling on a sponsored 457 visa. This is the Business Entry (Temporary) visa and can be issued for a period of 1 to 4 years. It offers a simple route to Australian citizenship (should we choose to apply later) and allows a spouse and/or kids to accompany on the same terms. As the spouse I will be entitled to work for any employer, pay tax, get a bank account etc.
We have been told that 5 to 6 months is a realistic timescale. About 4 of these months will be used up by the immigration process, plus a month or so in employer-related dealings.
Priorities at this stage;
1. Register with Nurses Board of Victoria. No formal job offer until this is done. Reciprocal arrangements are in place with the UK which mean that UK qualificatons do not need to be assesed by Australian authorities - saving time and money. There is still a fee around 100 GBP and a 9 page application to send to Australia. Along with the forms they need original proof of identity documents, qualifications, evidence of current employment (transcript from employer). This means that the current employer will discover our plans at this stage - unavoidable really without being dishonest.
2. Forward up to date CV and referees contact details to Aussie employer - also likely to let the cat out of the bag, not a big problem but we have other people to tell first and this will force us to do so before we even book a flight. (Not much chance of family accidentally finding this blog!)
3. We need to think about scheduling a medical with an Oz-approved panel doctor. This is not as urgent as the 2 points above. We both need to be screened for diseases, chest x-ray included. Could cost around 200 GBP each.
I've also looked into shipping some of our stuff to make things a bit more homely on arrival. A 20kg box of books or whatever costs around £180 to air freight and takes 5 days. To ship by sea takes about 60 days and costs roughly half that.
Anything that can't be taken on the plane in our luggage will be costly to send. For mundane stuff like household goods that can't fit into luggage, it's probably not worth sending unless shipped in bulk. A friend whe emigrated to Sydney last year sent six biggish boxes for around £200 by sea.
Of course we can sell some of our stuff, or store it with friends, or even rent storage.
One great resource is Freecycle. I'm a keen user of our local group and there is a local group in most places - including Melbourne. For those who don't know about Freecycle here's the deal.
Let's assume I have a TV (or wardrobe or houseplant etc.) that I want to dispose of before departure. I post a message to my local group website saying 'OFFER - TV - [location]' and add a brief description. Within a couple of days I will get an email from a local who wants it, and arrangements are made. They turn up and take it away for free. I then post 'TAKEN - TV - [location]'.
Two weeks later in Melbourne I join the local group and post 'WANTED - TV - [location]'. I'm sure one will turn up soon enough. I then post 'RECEIVED... etc.'
You don't have to give items to qualify to receive, but it does have a nice feel to it if you do. It's also a very 'green' way to do things and a very efficient cashless goods exchange. Ok, you might not get a 50 inch plasma TV - but there are some surprisingly good things on there. Plus you get to meet like-minded locals in your area.
One other great tool is data. I've put a big hard drive in my old desktop PC. Onto that I will put my entire music collection, photos, scan important documents, backup the laptop, add a few e-books, and password protect the drive. The drive will then be removed and put into a USB caddy. On arrival this can be used to print some pictures for the walls, burn CDs, and can be installed in another computer if necessary. I've considered storing everything in cyberspace but I will then be reliant on having an internet connection - this might not be possible during our first couple of months, especially if we use short term rentals while finding our feet.
Time to stop ignoring the pile of paperwork on my desk...
Monday, 21 January 2008
Making applications.
After several exploratory emails with no meaningful response we decided it was time to do more.
First up: an actual telephone call to an actual hospital in Melbourne. This has yielded results of a sort. We have scheduled a phone call with the HR department for Tuesday night. They sound interested in my wife (so to speak)!
Having already spent a few weeks waiting for emails we will hedge our bets. Mary has registered with 3 agencies which are currently advertising suitable positions in Melbourne. She would much rather be employed directly by a trust, but there is a real risk that this may be a mistake. We don't know whether or not the agencies have negotiated better terms than those offered by trusts. An internet search has not been fruitful in this regard, apart from allnurses.com ( a forum claiming over 250,000 members globally). The trust will still have the first opportunity to offer a contract. Then it's over to the agents.
During these periods of waiting we have had time to look into other aspects of our trip.
As Mary will be lead passenger, I will not seek work until we know where Mary will be working. There are lots of other things to consider...
First is to prepare a list of questions for any prospective employer. As well as location, we will be asking about visa assistance and sponsorship, pay, contract duration, training opportunities, skills mix of the ward or team, holidays, and the possibility of short term accommodation on arrival.
We have started to familiarise ourselves with the ins and outs of Melbourne life. Weather, districts, housing, leisure, culture, politics, costs etc.
By all accounts Melbourne weather is very changeable. You can see 4 seasons in one day. Sea fog and lots of rain, milder winters than UK, hotter summers. 41 degrees a couple of days ago - as a tradesman I'm a little worried about working in such heat. It's a small price to pay for our adventure though, and hopfully there will be air-con in the hospitals.
Both of us are fans of 'cafe culure' and 2 place names in Melbourne keep cropping up; St. Kilda and Fitzroy. It sounds like these are places where a lot of people head for bars etc, so we might aim to be within striking distance of these places while trying to avoid the slightly higher rents.
Property costs are rising in Australia (so I'm told) but there seems to be a healthy turnover of rental properties, with small but respectable city apartments costing from 70 GBP per week, double that for a 2 bed with balcony and parking in a good location. Head out of town to the burbs and a nice house can be yours for the price of a 2 bed city apartment.
Another factor to consider at this stage is flights. We are ready to book once an offer is in the bag. One potential problem here is this: it is proving very difficult to buy an open return flight (as in one which will allow us to change our return date beyond one year from departure). To buy one-way tickets is very expensive. Having a flexible return ticket will allow us to head home in an emergency, or to save the ticket for when it is needed. This topic will no doubt be mentioned in a later post.
Cars are more expensive in Australia than in UK. So much so that I am considering shipping my VW camper out there - the 1000GBP cost of doing so can be recovered by selling the van when I'm done with it. They drive on the left out there and I assume the van will need little or no modification to be fit for Aussie roads. Plus we can put some of our stuff in the van and save a couple of hundred pounds in shipping costs. If we decide to travel light (ie me with laptop and tools, Mary with clothes shoes books and more shoes) then the van might just stay in the UK. To ship the van would mean sending it a couple of months before we leave - a bit risky because anything can happen in that time.
The other big thing for us to organise is what to do with our house. We don't want to sell it and are reluctant to rent it out to someone unknown, and don't want to leave it empty. Hmmm. Hopefully we can tempt one of our mates to rent it... or maybe even a temporary house swap with a Melburnian who would like to be a Mancunian for a while.
At this stage sponsored jobs are being sought, visa and Nurses Board paperwork are being compiled, and we are saving for a holiday in Asia on the way out to Oz. So much to do and experience tells me that 6 months will pass quickly.
First up: an actual telephone call to an actual hospital in Melbourne. This has yielded results of a sort. We have scheduled a phone call with the HR department for Tuesday night. They sound interested in my wife (so to speak)!
Having already spent a few weeks waiting for emails we will hedge our bets. Mary has registered with 3 agencies which are currently advertising suitable positions in Melbourne. She would much rather be employed directly by a trust, but there is a real risk that this may be a mistake. We don't know whether or not the agencies have negotiated better terms than those offered by trusts. An internet search has not been fruitful in this regard, apart from allnurses.com ( a forum claiming over 250,000 members globally). The trust will still have the first opportunity to offer a contract. Then it's over to the agents.
During these periods of waiting we have had time to look into other aspects of our trip.
As Mary will be lead passenger, I will not seek work until we know where Mary will be working. There are lots of other things to consider...
First is to prepare a list of questions for any prospective employer. As well as location, we will be asking about visa assistance and sponsorship, pay, contract duration, training opportunities, skills mix of the ward or team, holidays, and the possibility of short term accommodation on arrival.
We have started to familiarise ourselves with the ins and outs of Melbourne life. Weather, districts, housing, leisure, culture, politics, costs etc.
By all accounts Melbourne weather is very changeable. You can see 4 seasons in one day. Sea fog and lots of rain, milder winters than UK, hotter summers. 41 degrees a couple of days ago - as a tradesman I'm a little worried about working in such heat. It's a small price to pay for our adventure though, and hopfully there will be air-con in the hospitals.
Both of us are fans of 'cafe culure' and 2 place names in Melbourne keep cropping up; St. Kilda and Fitzroy. It sounds like these are places where a lot of people head for bars etc, so we might aim to be within striking distance of these places while trying to avoid the slightly higher rents.
Property costs are rising in Australia (so I'm told) but there seems to be a healthy turnover of rental properties, with small but respectable city apartments costing from 70 GBP per week, double that for a 2 bed with balcony and parking in a good location. Head out of town to the burbs and a nice house can be yours for the price of a 2 bed city apartment.
Another factor to consider at this stage is flights. We are ready to book once an offer is in the bag. One potential problem here is this: it is proving very difficult to buy an open return flight (as in one which will allow us to change our return date beyond one year from departure). To buy one-way tickets is very expensive. Having a flexible return ticket will allow us to head home in an emergency, or to save the ticket for when it is needed. This topic will no doubt be mentioned in a later post.
Cars are more expensive in Australia than in UK. So much so that I am considering shipping my VW camper out there - the 1000GBP cost of doing so can be recovered by selling the van when I'm done with it. They drive on the left out there and I assume the van will need little or no modification to be fit for Aussie roads. Plus we can put some of our stuff in the van and save a couple of hundred pounds in shipping costs. If we decide to travel light (ie me with laptop and tools, Mary with clothes shoes books and more shoes) then the van might just stay in the UK. To ship the van would mean sending it a couple of months before we leave - a bit risky because anything can happen in that time.
The other big thing for us to organise is what to do with our house. We don't want to sell it and are reluctant to rent it out to someone unknown, and don't want to leave it empty. Hmmm. Hopefully we can tempt one of our mates to rent it... or maybe even a temporary house swap with a Melburnian who would like to be a Mancunian for a while.
At this stage sponsored jobs are being sought, visa and Nurses Board paperwork are being compiled, and we are saving for a holiday in Asia on the way out to Oz. So much to do and experience tells me that 6 months will pass quickly.
Saturday, 19 January 2008
First Contact.
Ok, we have decided where we would like to go in Australia. Melbourne is our first choice. In early January 2008 we started to email employers and recruitment agencies that cover Victoria. We are concentrating our efforts on state institutions rather than private, but that is simply a matter of preference.
3rd January... exploratory emails sent to local health authorities and their agencies. They seem to operate in a similar way to NHS trusts in England. A trust is responsible for one or more hospitals, plus services such as clinics, hospices, community care, and the like. In addition to recruiting directly these trusts also employ a small number of agencies who act on behalf of their client to match staff with vacancies. From what I can gather the agencies are paid a reasonably substantial fee and there may be a little room for negotiation - for help with costs or arrival accommodation for a short period, airport pickup etc. It would seem that the more rural the position, the greater the room for bargaining. Given that some rural hospitals are offering 'immediate start' it looks likely that applications for such jobs could be fast-tracked.
We have also encountered agencies on the internet who advertise positions in certain trusts, where the trusts make no mention of said agency on their own websites. I could easily be wrong but it looks like these may be freelance agents who claim a finders fee or some other reward for forwarding applicants.
Our initial emails were sent to just a couple of agencies and a couple of trusts in the Melbourne metropolitan area. We had two fairly quick responses. One was from a trust - an 'out of office for the next 7 days' while the agency replied with an email containing about 20 pages of totally useful info.
To be fair to the trust that replied, it was early in the new year and presumably the office staff can take the holiday season off. And for those who did not reply, it could be the case that the contact details were out of date. I did notice a job ad that had not been updated since 2006. And another that was posted in April 2007, with a closing date for applications of April 2008. This is either laziness or a sign of high demand. I suspect the latter.
According to various reports in the Australian media there is a serious skills shortage which is so severe that it threatens to hamper the economy. Record numbers of school students are going straight into employment. The Rudd government has just announced a lot of extra skills training places. The internet is awash with adverts for skilled migrants and working backpackers. A recent recruiting trip by Australian health jobs interviewers ( in Europe) netted a total of about 30 health workers and was considered a success.
So at this point in the tale we are able to choose between 3 options.
1. Submit CV to agency, and await any job offers. This should be a formality given Marys skill set and qualifications in a specialist branch of nursing.
2. Schedule a phone call with a trust directly. We have been trying to do this for 17 days now, with no phone call as yet. The time difference means that Melbourne is 11 hours in front. We were asked to be available at 9pm UK time, which is 8 am Melbourne time. However, despite having been available as requested we have been given various excuses. 'Sorry, when are you available again?' or 'I don't start work until 10am' or 'Sorry, I'm not available on those days'. We have been waiting for 5 days for a reply to our most recent email. This is very frustrating, given the tone of the recruitment ads posted by trusts which urge NHS nurses to apply. At the moment I will put this down to a laid back attitude in high summer temperatures. In a similar vein, one agency that we rang which has a recent advert for nurses to emigrate to Melbourne told us, 'We don't cover Melbourne'. They did give us a phone number for another agency which does cover Melbourne. Unfortunately the freephone number cannot be dialled internationally. Not a great performance by an international nurses recruitment agency based in Melbourne.
3. UK interviews. In late January 2008, there will apparently be a round of interviews throughout the UK. The purpose is to recruit UK nurses for positions in Australia.
Of the three options we are drawn to communicating directly with the trusts. If this continues to prove difficult we will be approaching an agency. If there is no firm offer of a suitable position within the next week we will seek permission to attend UK interviews. Watch this space!
3rd January... exploratory emails sent to local health authorities and their agencies. They seem to operate in a similar way to NHS trusts in England. A trust is responsible for one or more hospitals, plus services such as clinics, hospices, community care, and the like. In addition to recruiting directly these trusts also employ a small number of agencies who act on behalf of their client to match staff with vacancies. From what I can gather the agencies are paid a reasonably substantial fee and there may be a little room for negotiation - for help with costs or arrival accommodation for a short period, airport pickup etc. It would seem that the more rural the position, the greater the room for bargaining. Given that some rural hospitals are offering 'immediate start' it looks likely that applications for such jobs could be fast-tracked.
We have also encountered agencies on the internet who advertise positions in certain trusts, where the trusts make no mention of said agency on their own websites. I could easily be wrong but it looks like these may be freelance agents who claim a finders fee or some other reward for forwarding applicants.
Our initial emails were sent to just a couple of agencies and a couple of trusts in the Melbourne metropolitan area. We had two fairly quick responses. One was from a trust - an 'out of office for the next 7 days' while the agency replied with an email containing about 20 pages of totally useful info.
To be fair to the trust that replied, it was early in the new year and presumably the office staff can take the holiday season off. And for those who did not reply, it could be the case that the contact details were out of date. I did notice a job ad that had not been updated since 2006. And another that was posted in April 2007, with a closing date for applications of April 2008. This is either laziness or a sign of high demand. I suspect the latter.
According to various reports in the Australian media there is a serious skills shortage which is so severe that it threatens to hamper the economy. Record numbers of school students are going straight into employment. The Rudd government has just announced a lot of extra skills training places. The internet is awash with adverts for skilled migrants and working backpackers. A recent recruiting trip by Australian health jobs interviewers ( in Europe) netted a total of about 30 health workers and was considered a success.
So at this point in the tale we are able to choose between 3 options.
1. Submit CV to agency, and await any job offers. This should be a formality given Marys skill set and qualifications in a specialist branch of nursing.
2. Schedule a phone call with a trust directly. We have been trying to do this for 17 days now, with no phone call as yet. The time difference means that Melbourne is 11 hours in front. We were asked to be available at 9pm UK time, which is 8 am Melbourne time. However, despite having been available as requested we have been given various excuses. 'Sorry, when are you available again?' or 'I don't start work until 10am' or 'Sorry, I'm not available on those days'. We have been waiting for 5 days for a reply to our most recent email. This is very frustrating, given the tone of the recruitment ads posted by trusts which urge NHS nurses to apply. At the moment I will put this down to a laid back attitude in high summer temperatures. In a similar vein, one agency that we rang which has a recent advert for nurses to emigrate to Melbourne told us, 'We don't cover Melbourne'. They did give us a phone number for another agency which does cover Melbourne. Unfortunately the freephone number cannot be dialled internationally. Not a great performance by an international nurses recruitment agency based in Melbourne.
3. UK interviews. In late January 2008, there will apparently be a round of interviews throughout the UK. The purpose is to recruit UK nurses for positions in Australia.
Of the three options we are drawn to communicating directly with the trusts. If this continues to prove difficult we will be approaching an agency. If there is no firm offer of a suitable position within the next week we will seek permission to attend UK interviews. Watch this space!
Friday, 18 January 2008
The next step.
This post contains a condensed version of roughly 6 weeks of effort in researching and understanding the various issues involved in planning our trip to Oz.
Once the decision was taken to research the possibility of our adventure, it became clear that we would either need to travel as tourists or get a proper visa. Anyone reading this can get the necessary info from www.immi.gov.au - it's a comprehensive site as far as I know.
Fortunately both Mary and myself have skills that appear on MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List). Hairdressers, gravediggers, and many others appear on said list. From what I can tell, if you have enough points you can apply for a visa. Points are allocated according to age, skills, English language proficiency, health, and a few other factors. You can check your own points score online at the site. 100 points get you into the 'maybe' pool, 120 points and above get you a big Yes plus a possibility of fast-track entry. Depending on which type of visa best suits your circumstances, you can expect to pay between 100 and 2000 (ish) British Pounds for entry, plus travel, possibly a medical, and possibly having to prove a bank balance and return air fare. I've got a feeling that a big bag of money might ease the rules a bit.
Mary scores 140 points as a Mental Health worker, and I somehow score 135. I was surprised by this, I expected to travel in the wifes luggage. As it is, we have been told that the quickest we can arrive on a working visa would be 3 months. They say plan for 6 months. So 6 months it is. That means the end of June or mid July 2008, which suits us.
Having spoken to employers in Australia, it looks like the easiest and cheapest way to arrive is via a 457 visa (long stay business visa). This permits a stay of between 1 to 4 years, with an easy transfer to Australian citizenship. This sponsored work visa means that the main applicant can bring along immediate family members, access basic health care, and work freely. It is a requirement that you line up a job in advance though - the employer acts as a sponsor. The rules vary a bit but this one is definitely worth researching for anyone who intends to work in a professional capacity.
So we have opted for a 457 visa. As a Health worker, my wife will have a limited range of options (ie hospital locations) whereas I will be ok almost anywhere (construction industry). For that reason Mary will be the primary applicant.
So now we must choose which region of Australia to search for work...
I've always wanted to spend some time in Melbourne, Victoria. This place often tops the list of 'worlds most liveable cities'. My brother toured the East coast of Australia recently and said that Melbourne was the most enjoyable part of his trip. We have a friend there at the moment who loves the place. Living expenses are a bit less than Sydney I'm told, but there are plenty of things to do. It's on the coast and has a cafe culture. Also said to be the sport and live music capital of Australia. Population is 3.5 million - certainly large enough to support active sub-cultures and to provide a good variety of more mainstream entertainment. Due to its popularity - even despite the skills shortage - there are less jobs to choose from in the city (in nursing at least), but plenty available for anyone wishing to live in surrounding population centres or remote rural areas.
So we have opted for Melbourne, and are aiming to live within 10 miles of the city centre.
A nurse is required to register in the state in which they will be working, a process which includes obtaining original copies of qualifications, proof of identity (both signed by solicitor) and an application form. You may also need a medical (blood tests and a chest x-ray) by an approved doctor. This is to screen for illnesses such as TB, Hepatitis and others. Inter-state registration transfers are easy by all accounts.
For a nurse or other health professional, provided that you are definitely going to travel to Oz, it probably makes sense to register early with the relevant Nurses Board. Having a registration looks likely to to add weight to any job application.
The next post will deal with our 'first contact' with Australian employers.
Once the decision was taken to research the possibility of our adventure, it became clear that we would either need to travel as tourists or get a proper visa. Anyone reading this can get the necessary info from www.immi.gov.au - it's a comprehensive site as far as I know.
Fortunately both Mary and myself have skills that appear on MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List). Hairdressers, gravediggers, and many others appear on said list. From what I can tell, if you have enough points you can apply for a visa. Points are allocated according to age, skills, English language proficiency, health, and a few other factors. You can check your own points score online at the site. 100 points get you into the 'maybe' pool, 120 points and above get you a big Yes plus a possibility of fast-track entry. Depending on which type of visa best suits your circumstances, you can expect to pay between 100 and 2000 (ish) British Pounds for entry, plus travel, possibly a medical, and possibly having to prove a bank balance and return air fare. I've got a feeling that a big bag of money might ease the rules a bit.
Mary scores 140 points as a Mental Health worker, and I somehow score 135. I was surprised by this, I expected to travel in the wifes luggage. As it is, we have been told that the quickest we can arrive on a working visa would be 3 months. They say plan for 6 months. So 6 months it is. That means the end of June or mid July 2008, which suits us.
Having spoken to employers in Australia, it looks like the easiest and cheapest way to arrive is via a 457 visa (long stay business visa). This permits a stay of between 1 to 4 years, with an easy transfer to Australian citizenship. This sponsored work visa means that the main applicant can bring along immediate family members, access basic health care, and work freely. It is a requirement that you line up a job in advance though - the employer acts as a sponsor. The rules vary a bit but this one is definitely worth researching for anyone who intends to work in a professional capacity.
So we have opted for a 457 visa. As a Health worker, my wife will have a limited range of options (ie hospital locations) whereas I will be ok almost anywhere (construction industry). For that reason Mary will be the primary applicant.
So now we must choose which region of Australia to search for work...
I've always wanted to spend some time in Melbourne, Victoria. This place often tops the list of 'worlds most liveable cities'. My brother toured the East coast of Australia recently and said that Melbourne was the most enjoyable part of his trip. We have a friend there at the moment who loves the place. Living expenses are a bit less than Sydney I'm told, but there are plenty of things to do. It's on the coast and has a cafe culture. Also said to be the sport and live music capital of Australia. Population is 3.5 million - certainly large enough to support active sub-cultures and to provide a good variety of more mainstream entertainment. Due to its popularity - even despite the skills shortage - there are less jobs to choose from in the city (in nursing at least), but plenty available for anyone wishing to live in surrounding population centres or remote rural areas.
So we have opted for Melbourne, and are aiming to live within 10 miles of the city centre.
A nurse is required to register in the state in which they will be working, a process which includes obtaining original copies of qualifications, proof of identity (both signed by solicitor) and an application form. You may also need a medical (blood tests and a chest x-ray) by an approved doctor. This is to screen for illnesses such as TB, Hepatitis and others. Inter-state registration transfers are easy by all accounts.
For a nurse or other health professional, provided that you are definitely going to travel to Oz, it probably makes sense to register early with the relevant Nurses Board. Having a registration looks likely to to add weight to any job application.
The next post will deal with our 'first contact' with Australian employers.
In the beginning...
Back in November 2007, my lovely wife of 3 months (Mary) and myself (Sean) made the decision to have an Australian Adventure. The purpose of this blog is to record the key events for ourselves and others to read.
Our intention is to 'semigrate'. That is to say that we are leaving England to work abroad rather than holiday. After we have spent a year or so abroad we will decide where to live. Our choices at the moment include UK, Ireland, and Australia.
So where to begin? A bit about us I suppose. I'm 34 years old, male, living in Manchester (UK). I'm pleased to report that my wife is 30 years old, female, and also living in Manchester. We have no children. We do however have many good friends and are close to our family - both in Ireland and England. Mary is a university graduate (Mental Health) while I have studied at the 'school of life'. I am qualified as an electrician though, and have been owner of a small business since 2006 (renewable energy - solar). Mary works in our local NHS hospital.
So why go to Oz? There are a multitude of reasons. Some positive and some negative. To keep a long story short, I'm fairly well travelled and Mary is less so. Mary always wanted to have a 'gap year' or similar but the constraints of being a student without much cash have ruled this out until now. For me, I've seen a fair bit of the world and want to see more. So we are both agreed - let's go somewhere!
We thought about Canada a couple of years ago and decided that it was cool but cold. Europe? It costs less than a ten mile taxi into Manchester city centre to fly to Europe. Hardly an adventure these days - although we've had some great times in 'proper' Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and others. USA? Mary said no. Africa or Middle East? Not a good time to go. Far East / Asia? Tricky weather and language barrier. South or Central America? I've been to Cuba, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico. Loved it but my experiences would detract from our joint adventure. There are others, but it's Australia for us.
So why are we off to Australia? 3 primary reasons aside from those mentioned earlier...
1. We know (as in know well) about 8 people who have been to Australia in recent years. These are well travelled types and they can be divided into two distinct groups; those who stayed and those who returned to UK to sell up or save up and are planning to move to Australia. This speaks volumes, especially when you consider that the UK is one of the wealthiest countries on earth.
2. Australians. By all reports your typical Aussie has a 'can do' attitude. One great (if sad) example of this can be found in this weeks news (mid Jan 08). In the UK, about 5 miles from my house, a man called Gary Newlove went outside his house to challenge a group of scallies who had smashed up his wifes car. He seemingly threw no punches but the feral youths kicked him to death in front of one of his young daughters. Neighbours did nothing according to reports. In Melbourne this week, a man looked out of his window in St. Kilda to see a woman being attacked from behind by a man. He ran down, pinned the bloke to the floor, saved the damsel. He asked others to hold the guy down and rang the police, before going back to his flat 'for a cigarette'. Despite calls for him to come forward and claim his hero status, he remains silent.
Still on point 2, I compared my experiences of New Year in UK to those of a good mate of mine in Sydney. He spent about 12 hours from 3pm 31st Dec until 3am 1st Jan on some sort of grassy plateau overlooking the harbour, watching the fireworks and getting fairly drunk with a picnic and some friends. There were about one million people at this free open public party, on the ground around his group were Mancunians, French, Italians, Germans and the odd Australian. There were about 90 arrests, one person got stabbed (not fatally wounded I'm told). Compare this with your average UK town or city, the news story on BBC on new years day spoke of some place (sorry can't remember which place - see google) with a population of about 200,000 - about 850 arrests and a sprinkling of knives and guns.
3. The UK is in steep decline. If anyone thinks I am about to rattle on about immigration then they should think again. Please permit this brief view. The Asian (particularly Pakistani) community in this country cops a lot of grief. A bit of it is deserved - but not all. I worked with and knew well a lot of young Pakistani men in Oldham for a couple of years just before the race riots. They were all moderates, and shared my view that the tiny enclave of Glodwick (scene of said riots) was an an embarrassment. This decline is due to corruption, greed, big business being more powerful than democracy. The police contain corrupt elements (also true in Melbourne). The law protects the wealthy. Shareholder value is increasingly put before the needs of the poulation. The NHS is being systematically ripped off by unaccountable entities. The most valued members of our society (in my opinion) are the least rewarded - at least in financial terms. Meanwhile the directors of the failed and mis-managed 'Northern Rock' bank are being paid telephone numbers. A football manager can earn a million a year. About 10 times as much as a Prime Minister or very hard working GP or school head.
Ok, it's turning into a rant so enough for now! Next post is about our application to Oz...
Our intention is to 'semigrate'. That is to say that we are leaving England to work abroad rather than holiday. After we have spent a year or so abroad we will decide where to live. Our choices at the moment include UK, Ireland, and Australia.
So where to begin? A bit about us I suppose. I'm 34 years old, male, living in Manchester (UK). I'm pleased to report that my wife is 30 years old, female, and also living in Manchester. We have no children. We do however have many good friends and are close to our family - both in Ireland and England. Mary is a university graduate (Mental Health) while I have studied at the 'school of life'. I am qualified as an electrician though, and have been owner of a small business since 2006 (renewable energy - solar). Mary works in our local NHS hospital.
So why go to Oz? There are a multitude of reasons. Some positive and some negative. To keep a long story short, I'm fairly well travelled and Mary is less so. Mary always wanted to have a 'gap year' or similar but the constraints of being a student without much cash have ruled this out until now. For me, I've seen a fair bit of the world and want to see more. So we are both agreed - let's go somewhere!
We thought about Canada a couple of years ago and decided that it was cool but cold. Europe? It costs less than a ten mile taxi into Manchester city centre to fly to Europe. Hardly an adventure these days - although we've had some great times in 'proper' Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and others. USA? Mary said no. Africa or Middle East? Not a good time to go. Far East / Asia? Tricky weather and language barrier. South or Central America? I've been to Cuba, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico. Loved it but my experiences would detract from our joint adventure. There are others, but it's Australia for us.
So why are we off to Australia? 3 primary reasons aside from those mentioned earlier...
1. We know (as in know well) about 8 people who have been to Australia in recent years. These are well travelled types and they can be divided into two distinct groups; those who stayed and those who returned to UK to sell up or save up and are planning to move to Australia. This speaks volumes, especially when you consider that the UK is one of the wealthiest countries on earth.
2. Australians. By all reports your typical Aussie has a 'can do' attitude. One great (if sad) example of this can be found in this weeks news (mid Jan 08). In the UK, about 5 miles from my house, a man called Gary Newlove went outside his house to challenge a group of scallies who had smashed up his wifes car. He seemingly threw no punches but the feral youths kicked him to death in front of one of his young daughters. Neighbours did nothing according to reports. In Melbourne this week, a man looked out of his window in St. Kilda to see a woman being attacked from behind by a man. He ran down, pinned the bloke to the floor, saved the damsel. He asked others to hold the guy down and rang the police, before going back to his flat 'for a cigarette'. Despite calls for him to come forward and claim his hero status, he remains silent.
Still on point 2, I compared my experiences of New Year in UK to those of a good mate of mine in Sydney. He spent about 12 hours from 3pm 31st Dec until 3am 1st Jan on some sort of grassy plateau overlooking the harbour, watching the fireworks and getting fairly drunk with a picnic and some friends. There were about one million people at this free open public party, on the ground around his group were Mancunians, French, Italians, Germans and the odd Australian. There were about 90 arrests, one person got stabbed (not fatally wounded I'm told). Compare this with your average UK town or city, the news story on BBC on new years day spoke of some place (sorry can't remember which place - see google) with a population of about 200,000 - about 850 arrests and a sprinkling of knives and guns.
3. The UK is in steep decline. If anyone thinks I am about to rattle on about immigration then they should think again. Please permit this brief view. The Asian (particularly Pakistani) community in this country cops a lot of grief. A bit of it is deserved - but not all. I worked with and knew well a lot of young Pakistani men in Oldham for a couple of years just before the race riots. They were all moderates, and shared my view that the tiny enclave of Glodwick (scene of said riots) was an an embarrassment. This decline is due to corruption, greed, big business being more powerful than democracy. The police contain corrupt elements (also true in Melbourne). The law protects the wealthy. Shareholder value is increasingly put before the needs of the poulation. The NHS is being systematically ripped off by unaccountable entities. The most valued members of our society (in my opinion) are the least rewarded - at least in financial terms. Meanwhile the directors of the failed and mis-managed 'Northern Rock' bank are being paid telephone numbers. A football manager can earn a million a year. About 10 times as much as a Prime Minister or very hard working GP or school head.
Ok, it's turning into a rant so enough for now! Next post is about our application to Oz...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)