Can someone tell me the truth?

[SwanseaJack]

Hi all

 

Like many of you I am almost at the end of a long process of gaining a 190 visa. As you know it's the biggest decision a family can make. However, sometimes I can't wait to go, thinking about how our lives will change when we get there. Better opportunities for my daughter and ourselves. The more time spent together as a family .( still aware that we have to work hard). Then on the other hand you start to question yourselves is it the right thing to do? But in saying that I always come back to the same answer YES.

 

What I am noticing now is threads saying that SA is not the ideal place it's made out to be. Jobs are hard to find and there is a kind of recession there. Don't know if thisis people trying to put the rest of us off because so many threads say of positive experiences. Don't get me wrong I know I am not going to land on a Monday and be working on the Tuesday it's just thought I thought opportunities are far better there than here in the UK. I am a primary teacher and more than prepared to go supply first and my husband is a manager in a call centre.

 

Can anyone shed some light on the actual truth.

 

Kathy:confused:

[ian mc]

As someone said in on another thread ( if you have a secure job in the UK and are comfortable etc then I would not be moving out here.) Things are not great out here at the moment the cost of living is high we have the most expensive electricity in the world at the moment. There used to be a employment pull out in the paper used to be quite big about 20 pages its down to about 6 and not a pull out as such and most of it is adverts .So all in all not the best time to be moving out

[AussieRob]

I think sometimes it can be a half empty or half full glass scenario.

 

There are lots of stories on the news about companies closing, even we have sourced previously Australian made products from China and Korea to keep costs down, 6 years ago Holden made 650 cars per day, Toyota made nearly 700 cars per day and Ford made 350 cars per day, currently Holden is at 250 (excluding cruze - nearly all parts are korean sourced), Toyota 500 cars and Ford 145 cars. This is just in our industry. Mining has been the boom for Australia, but commodities are decreasing in price, making some mines unprofitable. This isn't all doom and gloom though, Uk jobless is 7.6%, South Australia is 6.4, Australia is 5.6%, it is better here currently, but how the future goes no-one is sure.

 

Everyone will have a slightly different story to tell, some positive, some negative, you just have to weigh the pro's and con's and see if it's still for you and your family.

[Lazy Cow]

Be careful what you wish for!

 

"actual truth" on here is really just opinion. You could look up unemployment statistics etc but even those only represent the 'truth' the government want you to see.

 

People that have been here for a short time and found work will be positive.

 

People that have been here for a short time and not found work might paint a different picture.

 

And those that have been here long enough to make comparisons might have a different opinion again!

 

The truth connected to your chances of finding employment will also differ according to where you settle, how lucky or versatile you are etc.

 

I guess you won't know how life here will be for you until you get here. Whether you come or not is a gamble just as, to a greater or less extent, it always has been.

 

:wubclub:LC

[snifter]

I think the thing to consider with your profession (as I understand it anyways) is that teaching work at primary level is often hard to come by in the city and its surrounding suburbs. I have been told time and again that if a teacher is prepared to go work and live out in the sticks for a couple of years work is often more likely to be found. But how many Brits moving over want to live in rural Aus anywhere? Most opt to live in a built up area or close enough to one to work in a large town/city. Rural Aus isn't like rural UK and I doubt it suits many.

 

I also don't think anywhere is the idyll its sold or marketed to people as. Life still goes on wherever you are. Bills to pay, commute to work, kids to school. Same stuff, just in a different country.

 

I think you are right to be worried as migrating anywhere without a job lined up can be a daunting thing. Only you can decide if its right for you at the end of the day. Its normal to have wobbles and worry if you are doing the right thing and stress about the whole process. It happens to all of us. But be under no illusions, it may mean less family time and more working time and so on and won't be the life you are imagining it will be. It may be that you have more time together. No one can tell you the future in that respect. Some find they get the time and opportunities they were after with the move, others don't. I've read time and again people settling well and life falling into place once they move, other times they struggle to find work, housing or to settle and return to the UK or move elsewhere in Aus looking for whatever it is they are after there.

 

Migrating anywhere is hard work. No one can prepare you for how you might find yourself homesick or how you will cope if you can't find work or its in short supply. It affects everyone differently. All I can say is keep an open mind, be prepared to look for work outside the area or in a different field if need be and make sure you keep talking to your OH and making sure you are both coping with the move and adjusting to life.

 

Our move later in the year, I am the most calm person about migrating (having lived overseas before a number of times) but even I sit and have those little wobbles about the upheaval and all that, more for my son that myself. Doesn't change my mind but does cause me to ponder for 5 minutes if I am crazy or not to be doing this. I let it happen, give it its time and it passes and I am fine. I accept its a normal part of the process and go at it with the keeping positive but not building the move up on to some kind of pedestal and therefore more likely to be let down once we arrive.

[Guest gormusoglu]

Hi, yes a tough one, I am thinking the same thing. However, just as the others say, it is personal opinion and what an individual will do to get by.

 

For instance, my husband hasn't worked on a long construction project in England for about 2 years now, he is working through agencies. However, he has only had maybe three or four weeks in the year off work because he is flexible and good at his job. However, we know other Carpenters that have not found work and are saying their is no work available. This is not true. So I guess it is the same for Australia at present. There is work out there, but you have to work for it, put yourself about and try and network. Work through agencies and if your a good worker and flexible you will be rewarded with regular work. My husband has taken any work through the agencies so has been flexible and now reaping the rewards, a lot of people don't do that here and will not take a drop in wage like he has done previously.

 

I think the whole world is being affected by a degree of recession, so I do believe that there is a shortage of work everywhere. However, I work in the early years and they are crying out for qualified workers in that department in adelaide and perth especially.

 

Australia have said, there isn't a shortage of people in Australia, there is a shortage of qualified people. Why that is I do not know.

 

It's certainly a dilemma! Do what I have done and ring and email some agencies and schools in Australia for a true picture of what to expect.

 

Hope that helps, just ranting on a usual.....

[Guest vikkiann]

As Lazy Cow says (sorry that sounds horrid but i don't know your real name!), we have been here almost a year and are lucky one's who found work straight away so are positive.

My husband got a job within a week of us arriving and he loves it. I set up a cleaning company and am now employing staff.

 

It's the luck of the draw i think, being in the right place at the right time!

 

I was so worried last year that we would be dipping into our savings if Garry didn't find a job. We don't touch our savings or my wages!!

[Diane]

Apparently the only growth industry in Adelaide these days is the Aged Care industry, so if you are able to work in that, or prepared to retrain, then you may be ok. I haven't heard of Early Years education crying out for workers to be honest - I think in a lot of cases the jobs on the "in demand" list were in demand a couple of years ago, but local people and school leavers have subsequently retrained or done apprenticeships and the demand has therefore lessened. The mines were always a fallback safeguard for work, but I have also recently heard of a couple of mining companies that have a freeze on, and people working there say things are slowing down.

 

Perhaps we have more in common with Spain than its mediterranean climate...

 

Only you know what will suit you and your family, but don't come out here with rose coloured glasses on - and as many have said, if you have a secure job in the UK, think really hard about whether now is the right time to come. One cannot live on sunshine alone...

[Guest LittleMissWildChild]

As the others say, it really depends as some people are luckier than others. We have been here since mid Feb (started job hunting mid March, as we were travelling for the first month). Hubby got a job right away as a service engineer. However he has found out that his qualifications in the UK are worth diddly squat and he will need to do an adult apprenticeship if he wants to be able to do the work he used to do at the same level in the UK. He had no problems really getting a job, but the only work he has been able to get has been very low paid and on the other side of the city. He is paying to do some more courses, and he is thinking of doing the apprenticeship as well. I worked in Customer Service Management/Office Management/Operations Management in the UK (including management in a call centre environment) and I have not had any luck, I've had 1 interview (which was a waste of time as the company hired internally in the end - legally they had to advertise externally but had no plans of hiring externally). My CV has been checked by a couple of recruitment consultants and they all say it is fine. There seems to be work out there but I have been told there has been a lot of redundancies lately so there is a lot of very good competition out there. Both have told me the job market is very unusual at the moment, but they expect it to bounce back at some point in the fairly near future. We're quite lucky in that I am Aussie (hubby is on a 309), and we're staying rent free with family, so it doesn't really matter if we're on pittance - or not working, and I know I'll get something eventually. However, if I was arriving here without any support or family help, having to pay rent and bills, and actually needing a job to survive... I'd be worried.

Edited April 26, 2013 by LittleMissWildChild

[Rabeah]

To be honest it was never so quiet on the job market in Adelaide before. The announcement of Holden to fire 400 staff has a huge impact on the industry here, the so called riffle effect or domino effect. It would effect thousands of jobs. Primary teachers are not in high demand really. I would say it depends on good luck or bad luck. Call centre manager is not supposed the right area here, for example Telstra had outsourced it Call Centre to overseas (India). But you might be lucky or not. Migration is like a 'game', being at some place to the right time, being the right candidate for that position etc.

But at the moment things are slowing down. Aged care and Home Community Care are - like Diane mentioned it - the only growing parts of the labour market currently.

For instance, public bus companies Torrens Transit and Transfield advertised positions as bus drivers (they provide the training) and got stuck with hundreds of applications!!! My hubby applied there and nothing happened even he has a South Australian heavy rigid driving licence. He never heard anything back, so things must be really worse at the moment.

[Rabeah]

Hello LittleMissWildChild, I just read your post. European qualifications don't count in Australia very much. If you don't have an 'Aussie certificate' don't expect too much, Australians don't care about British certificates. Only if it's a high demand area, for example motor mechanic, diesel mechanic, nurse or doctor, they take you on here for a good salary. My hubby also was underpaid and now they made him redundant due to recession in the automotive industry. I have a job which is at least one income, but one of us is searching for a job since we arrived 15 months ago.

[milly]

Gormusoglu mentioned that 'there is'nt a shortage of people in Australia, only a shortage of qualified people' & wondered why that was the case.

We arrived in Adelaide in 1973 with two children. During the 1980's when they were leaving school there was not sufficient training for them & employment benefit was handed out instead. Inspite of the goverment saying, even then,that there will be a skills shortage in 20yrs time. It certainly came to pass!

[Guest time4fusion]

Hi Kathy, we moved over three years ago and have never looked back. My husband found a great job really quickly, i set up my own company, we bought a house & have 4 young kids who have all blossomed out here. They are sporty, love the outdoors and have many friends and interests. We have built up a great social network which offers support in place of the family we obviously miss. Our quality of life is exactly how we wish. Outdoors, beautiful weather, quality family time and living near the beach. Yes, the cost of living is high but its all relative as we have certainly found more opportunities out here than in the UK. We have previously lived in Switzerland & France prior to living in Adelaide and here is where we fully intend to stay as anywhere else has not compared. We personally could not be happier but then Adelaide offers what is important to us as a family and that is not the same for everyone. You need to think about your own reasons for moving out here and if you really want it, you will make it work for you! We have relocated several times as a family previously and have found Adelaide a really easy place to settle and due to these experiences, I have found myself helping many fellow Brits with whole relocation experience. Good Luck with yours & please feel free to message me if you have any further questions.

 

Lisa

Edited April 26, 2013 by snifter
Removed URL as per forum rules

[SwanseaJack]

Hi all

 

Thank you very much for your honest responses. We have a lot o think about now. Stomach churning as i write this. Shall take the advice of contacting agencies etc

 

Many thanks

Kathy

[robeaves]

My advice. Just go for it, what's the worst that can happen. You only live once, in my honest opinion is it not better to have tried and failed then to have never tried at all and be wondering what if.

 

We have had one of the hardest years of our lives but are now on the up and up and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Life here is fantastic 110% better than what we had in the uk. We don't find prices to be that high, yes some things are higher but some things are also lower and our wages are certainly higher so this more than compensates. I only work part time, 30 hours a week and my gf works full time, 9-5, we have no children yet so that's one thing we haven't had to worry about in our situation.

 

If your prepared to work hard and start from the beginning again then you will go far. You may even have to change career, i did and I wouldn't look back.

[Guest Guest75]

My advice. Just go for it, what's the worst that can happen. You only live once, in my honest opinion is it not better to have tried and failed then to have never tried at all and be wondering what if.

 

We have had one of the hardest years of our lives but are now on the up and up and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Life here is fantastic 110% better than what we had in the uk. We don't find prices to be that high, yes some things are higher but some things are also lower and our wages are certainly higher so this more than compensates. I only work part time, 30 hours a week and my gf works full time, 9-5, we have no children yet so that's one thing we haven't had to worry about in our situation.

 

If your prepared to work hard and start from the beginning again then you will go far. You may even have to change career, i did and I wouldn't look back.

 

I know this is not what happens for everyone or the attitude they have but it is a heartening post to read. Some of us just did have to go for it and either get it out of our system . I have known quite a few older folk in the UK who wistfully wished they had made the move when they had the chance.

 

​Life is not an easy and protected / cosy path.

[serena]

Hi Kathy,

I feel for you!

We've been here 4 and a half years and are returning soon. I see no recession, there are lots of jobs but it takes time to find one, plus in Adelaide an Aussie will be considered before you as a migrant. It's different from the UK, employers expect a lot for their money, if you're not seen to be making money they don't want you. House prices are getting higher and higher, but you can get 100% mortgages. I've met teachers that just do agency work as it's hard to get a full time position. It takes 10 years, I've been told to be eligible for tenure - a guaranteed job at a school. Up to that time all teachers 'apply' every year for their jobs.

The main thing I like about here is that it's so laid back, there are lots of opportunities - especially for the self employed, the skies are big and blue, lots of beautiful birds in the trees (noisy though), if you like beaches there are lots, cold water and sharks though!

What I don't like is the obsession with bigger' better and more money, the dangerous creepy crawlies, the lack of choice/quality in the supermarkets and the food in general, the 'I'm alright Jack attitude, and the low standard of education. Having said all that though, the only reason we're returning is because we just don't feel like we fit in. Even after nearly 5 years. Maybe we were too old when we migrated to change - I don't know.

If you have good jobs and a nice home there I would seriously consider giving that up. But if you don't try you'll never know, we didn't have much to lose in coming here - and are going back to even less. I have met people who want to leave but can't because their kids now have a life here and they don't want to leave them. Our son is 7, so still young enough for it not to make a difference yet, I couldn't bear that to be us.

This is just how we see it, you must follow your heart.

Serena

[Guest AngPhil]

We arrived in August 2012 and both my OH and I have found jobs. All the poms we have met are working and have been really quickly. I think if people have been in Adelaide for a while it may think it is slow, but after arriving from the UK where it is diabolical, there is no comparison on the job front. In the UK we could never have survived on one salary, we could do that easily here.

 

Getting a permanent primary teaching job seems to be hard, but if you are prepared to do something a bit different until you get yourself known, then you'll be fine.

 

Both our children have a much better life style here and are loving it, we are spending more time as a family and we are so pleased that we have made the move.

 

As has been said before, some people have a glass half full perspective, we are definitely in that camp.

[SwanseaJack]

Hi Serena

 

Thanks for your heart felt re sponse. Ice to hear the positives on this thread. I will e 40 next year but as said am willing to go on supply as long as my husband s working I am hoping things should be fine.

 

Sorry to hear you are coming back but t least after 5 years you know what you do and don't want.

 

Thanks again kathy x

 

Hi Kathy,

I feel for you!

We've been here 4 and a half years and are returning soon. I see no recession, there are lots of jobs but it takes time to find one, plus in Adelaide an Aussie will be considered before you as a migrant. It's different from the UK, employers expect a lot for their money, if you're not seen to be making money they don't want you. House prices are getting higher and higher, but you can get 100% mortgages. I've met teachers that just do agency work as it's hard to get a full time position. It takes 10 years, I've been told to be eligible for tenure - a guaranteed job at a school. Up to that time all teachers 'apply' every year for their jobs.

The main thing I like about here is that it's so laid back, there are lots of opportunities - especially for the self employed, the skies are big and blue, lots of beautiful birds in the trees (noisy though), if you like beaches there are lots, cold water and sharks though!

What I don't like is the obsession with bigger' better and more money, the dangerous creepy crawlies, the lack of choice/quality in the supermarkets and the food in general, the 'I'm alright Jack attitude, and the low standard of education. Having said all that though, the only reason we're returning is because we just don't feel like we fit in. Even after nearly 5 years. Maybe we were too old when we migrated to change - I don't know.

If you have good jobs and a nice home there I would seriously consider giving that up. But if you don't try you'll never know, we didn't have much to lose in coming here - and are going back to even less. I have met people who want to leave but can't because their kids now have a life here and they don't want to leave them. Our son is 7, so still young enough for it not to make a difference yet, I couldn't bear that to be us.

This is just how we see it, you must follow your heart.

Serena

[Jessica Berry]

Hi Kathy

 

Everyone's migration experience will be different and no one can say whether it will be the right move for you and your family, only you will know that. It depends on your expectations and what you picture your life will be like. We have a good life here, but that has taken time, effort, determination and there have been ups and downs along the way, the same as many other people.

 

As has been previously said the job market is very tough. It is supply and demand. Some jobs/skills are still in demand and for other jobs there are far too many people competing for the same roles. Some people will arrive and get work straight away, being in the right place at the right time and with the right skill set. On the other hand, I know of people that have been out of work for periods of 12 months, 6 months, 3 months, aussies and poms.

 

My personal approach has been to embrace any opportunities or experiences that come along and I believe you learn something new everyday. I also believe you have to take a proactive approach to your career to give yourself the best chances of remaining as employable as possible. I have gained Australian qualifications, paying for them all myself, at one point I was working fulltime 40 hours a week and attending class 2 evenings a week. The last qualification I gained, it only ran in the daytime, so I took approx 10 days annual leave to attend.

 

I have never been the sort of person that would say 'I am not prepared to do that, or I am not working for that salary', I always look at the bigger picture. The first job I had in Adelaide was a perm position and I was on $17 a hour. I was grateful for the opportunity and happy to have a job and gain some Australian work experience. Having this job also meant that we were able to get a mortgage and buy our house. Six years later the skills I learned in my first job have just helped me secure another contract position and I have had the recruitment agency chasing me (usually you are at their mercy!!) because they know it is a hard to fill role and they are going to make money from placing me.

 

My partner works in IT and his skills have been in demand since we arrived in Adelaide, but we don't take anything for granted. We have taken steps so that if he was in a position where he was out of work, he has other skills that would make him more employable than candidates he would be competing against.

 

Some people embrace the migration roller coaster ride and others don't, some flourish and some flounder, everyone is different.

 

Jessica

Edited April 29, 2013 by Jessica Berry

[trevorpayne]

Life is to short for what if's.

There is work here maybe not in your chosen profession but if you are willing to adapt and have a go, then I would come.

All the best.

​

[guspjmh]

I don't think there is a universal "truth". People will have different experiences based on their attitude, luck and ability to find work.

 

Life's too short to wonder "what if" though!

[Anne B]

It seems as if most of your worries are around getting work as a teacher.

 

​The system does work a bit strangely here, in that most newly qualified teachers have to go and work out in the sticks or in low socio-economic areas first, often for several years, and it can take years to get a permanent position in a nice suburb in Adelaide. I am not an expert on this, I just know a few Australian (not British) teachers, who had to do their time in places like Whyalla and Port Pirie. I would recommend you research this as much as possible. Have you been to South Australia before? Would you be prepared to live out in the sticks? I reckon that for most migrants the answer would probably be "no".

 

In general the Australian economy is headed downhill, obviously nobody can really predict what will happen (how many predicted the GFC?) but I am increasingly reading about harder times ahead. The economy has been doing really well, much better than the UK, but economics goes in cycles (what goes up must come down). Just today the government has confessed to a $12billion black hole in their finances due to reduced revenues, so tax increases and benefit cuts are likely to be on their way. I also read an article recently saying that now or yesterday is about as good as it will get for most Australians, and that harder times are ahead. The mining boom is slowing down, the high Aussie dollar is crippling manufacturing and exports and people are tightening their belts. South Australia has always been the poor relation of the other states (NSW, Queensland, Victoria, WA). There's only just over a million and a half people here - by comparison that's less than Essex(!), so the opportunities are limited. It's easy to get carried away thinking about the good weather and the beach lifestyle and forget about the boring bits. The exchange rate at the moment is awful, people who came over before 2008 had it much easier than now.

 

All this means is that things here will probably get more difficult, whether or not it will impact you directly, who knows? I suppose you need to ask yourself whether you are prepared for a period of unemployment. Have you got enough money to get through if times get lean? What benefits will you be entitled to? Look at the worst case scenario. Do you have a Plan B? Obviously nobody wants to have to think about things like that but if you are prepared for the worst then it probably won't happen!

 

I hope I am not being too negative, just realistic. It's easy to say life's too short to wonder 'what if', but that works both ways. I sometimes wonder 'what if' we hadn't have come.....

Edited April 29, 2013 by Anne B

[SwanseaJack]

Hi Anne

 

Thanks for you honest response we hope to go out in August to carry out a work and lifestyle reccie. Hope to learn more first hand.

 

Thanks again

 

Everything is helpful

 

Kathy

[Guest sithewindows]

Thank you Lisa for a very possitive reply to this post, lots of us are reading some of the recent posts on here and wondering if we are making the wrong decision by moving to SA. After your reply I think we are making the right one

Hi Kathy, we moved over three years ago and have never looked back. My husband found a great job really quickly, i set up my own company, we bought a house & have 4 young kids who have all blossomed out here. They are sporty, love the outdoors and have many friends and interests. We have built up a great social network which offers support in place of the family we obviously miss. Our quality of life is exactly how we wish. Outdoors, beautiful weather, quality family time and living near the beach. Yes, the cost of living is high but its all relative as we have certainly found more opportunities out here than in the UK. We have previously lived in Switzerland & France prior to living in Adelaide and here is where we fully intend to stay as anywhere else has not compared. We personally could not be happier but then Adelaide offers what is important to us as a family and that is not the same for everyone. You need to think about your own reasons for moving out here and if you really want it, you will make it work for you! We have relocated several times as a family previously and have found Adelaide a really easy place to settle and due to these experiences, I have found myself helping many fellow Brits with whole relocation experience. Good Luck with yours & please feel free to message me if you have any further questions.

 

Lisa