Thinking of Moving to Australia

[Tahoenite]

Hello everyone, my wife has recently become more and more interested with the idea of relocating to Australia. She asked me to look into some aspects of the country with you, I was hoping you would be able to give input on some things that would help make decisions.

Here are some of the bigger questions:

How well are Christians and Christianity received?

How good in the middle class job market?

Are most people content with the government or do they believe that it is not helping the citizens?

What is the perception crime and criminal activity, ie how close and severe do crimes seem to be?

Is there any kind of entitlement attitude especially from younger people?

Ok this one is mine, how often do scary wild animals (crocs/snakes) come to populated areas?

These are probably first of series of questions, any and all advice would be welcome.

 

[Worldslaziestbusker]

Hello Tahoenite
As of the 2006 census, Anglicans made up 19 % of the Australian population, Catholics accounted for 26 % and another 11 % were other Christian denominations. The Pentecostal churches have undergone the greatest growth in recent years, though it is thought this represents a change in church attendance rather than conversion of previous unbelievers.

The economy weathered the global financial crisis reasonably well through a combination of government spending and the knock on effects of a resources boom in the west of the country. There was a national recession in the early nineties that pushed sustained unemployment to record levels but the middle class job market has been pretty good for the last decade.

Bad-mouthing the government is a national sport, so you'll likely find it hard to find anyone who says anthing nice about the politicians that represent them, but we have one of the worlds' most stable democracies and freedoms that people are dying to gain in other nations.
For my money, it's becoming a bit of a nanny state, with prophylactic legislation in place of common sense.

The perception is that crime is running rampant and that we are all about to be murdered in our beds. The perception comes from our rabidly sensationalist media.
The reality is that per capita, violent crime is trending downward in most categories, but this doesn't help people, hyped up by the media outlets concentrating on the stories that sell advertising space, sleep at night.

There is a tremendous sense of entitlement in all demographics of Australian society, but it is the Baby Boomers and Generation Y who are soaking up the most resources per capita. The credit spending habits of both cohorts are scaring the economists and are, if the sensationalist media are to be believed, likely to put us all in the poor house despite all the uranium, coal, iron ore and gold we are exporting.

The scarey wild animals are overrated, hyped up by Steve Irwin and Australian travellers wanting to wind up their hosts. There are a handful of deaths annually from sharks, crocs, snakes and spiders combined. Crocodiles are only a problem in the far north and if you avoid swimming in the rivers, camping near the rivers or fishing from small boats, they can't get you. Snakes don't thrive in built up areas and so are rarely seen in the cities and their suburbs. I've seen around fifty snakes in my lifetime (36 years) despite lots of time bush walking. Only one was in someone's backyard.

I hope this information is useful.
Some of it was off the cuff but I checked key facts and stats using the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.
Cheerio
WLB

 

[TheDag]

How well are Christians and Christianity received?

Depends really. I find I am well received however I know people who are very anti-christian for various reasons. Naturally there are a number of lobby groups with the most vocal being gay & lesbian who are anti-christian and who can blame them considering some of the stuff that has been said. I try to live my life by example and casually drop into conversation that I'm christian and I find people are keen to talk to me about my faith even those who I know hate the church. So depends on if your in peoples face or not.

How good in the middle class job market?

don't know will have to leave this to people with more knowledge. My job and the area I'm studying for are not middle class.

Are most people content with the government or do they believe that it is not helping the citizens?

I've had some good experiences with politicians so I am a bit less cynical than I normally would be. Of course I am a rather cynical person! Bashing the politicians verbally is what people do. Since the first european settlers were convicts it has become part of our make up to be anti-authority although that is fading away a bit.

What is the perception crime and criminal activity, ie how close and severe do crimes seem to be?

Generally crime levels are going down however it does depend on where you live exactly. In my area crime is on the increase. I however have no problem with walking the streets at night or my wife walking the streets late at night.

Is there any kind of entitlement attitude especially from younger people?

Like many places there is an attitude of I pay taxes so I deserve this or that. However the wealthy take large amounts of government money each year. Around 40 % of the welfare budget goes to wealthy people not the single mothers who make up around 1% of the total welfare budget.

Ok this one is mine, how often do scary wild animals (crocs/snakes) come to populated areas?

gotta agree this is over exaggerated. Wild animals are very rare in built up areas. You may have heard of dingo attacks. These have been wild animals that have gotten used to humans through them camping nearby. Shark attacks are pretty rare as well. The last few I've heard of have actually been people swimming in areas where locals won't go. You can generally find out the safe beaches. Patrolled beaches are a good place to start.

These are probably first of series of questions, any and all advice would be welcome.

If you decide to make the move then the kind of work the two of you will be looking for should play a role in where you live. If you ask here where the best place is you will just get arguments which in reality are based solely on where people live. So if you have questions along those lines try to be specific about what you want to know.


Also depending on where you come from it is worth noting Australia is an egaletarian country (excuse poor spelling). that is we tend to use first names. As an example I used to work for a company that was in Australia's top 20 companies. Even the cleaners said "hi Stuart" to the highest person in the company. As a newspaper boy I used to be on very friendly terms with doctors and professors. Be prepared if you are not used to this.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

Hello everyone, my wife has recently become more and more interested with the idea of relocating to Australia. She asked me to look into some aspects of the country with you, I was hoping you would be able to give input on some things that would help make decisions.

Here are some of the bigger questions:

How well are Christians and Christianity received?

Pretty well, apart from the usual suspect groups. You shouldn’t have any problem finding a good church.

How good in the middle class job market?

Pretty good, as the economy here has performed better than most of the world during the economic downturn. Unemployment is around 5% average.

Are most people content with the government or do they believe that it is not helping the citizens?

Most people would be somewhat discontented no matter who was in govt. that said, there’s certainly no civil unrest here.

What is the perception crime and criminal activity, ie how close and severe do crimes seem to be?

Most categories of crime are low here compared to a world average. Assuming you’re from the US (most ppl on these boards are) then crime levels in general will be lower.

Is there any kind of entitlement attitude especially from younger people?

Probably, though of course it depends who you ask. I wouldn’t call it a huge problem though, just some people who need their expectations re-aligned.

Ok this one is mine, how often do scary wild animals (crocs/snakes) come to populated areas?

IMO you’re more likely to see wildlife in an Australian city than elsewhere. That said, the only place in a city that you’ll see a croc is the zoo. If you live near bushland, you’re quite likely to see the odd snake, but if you leave them alone they’ll leave you alone. You’ll probably encounter poisonous spiders, but again, just leave them alone and they wont bite you.

Not so sure about the Drop bears though. Nasty things, drop bears…..

 

[Montalban]

Hello everyone,

G'day! Most of my answers will relate to my own city - Sydney

How well are Christians and Christianity received?

In Sydney there's a large anti-religious pageant called the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras - where they often mock some religious leaders.

Depends then what sort of Christianity. In Sydney itself there is an area called 'the Bible-belt' which is generally the suburbs that are north-west of the city. An area generally called "The Hills". Moslems tend to live in the south, and south-west. Especially Lakemba, and the Canterbury-Bankstown area.

Jews concentrate in the eastern suburbs. There's a Baha'i temple in the north, but not well represented. Where I am, in the west we're truly 'multi-cultural', with Hindus, Moslems, Christians, etc.

Generally too the more expensive suburbs are in the north, and the east especially those closest to water - such as the harbour, and the beaches.

The poorest suburbs are in the south-west, whether they be closer to the city such as Lakemba, or further out near Campbeltown (such as Claymore).

There are some outer-westerns suburbs that are poor (just north of Mount Druitt there's a few like Shavely). And in the inner-city area there's an Aboriginal 'slum' near Redfern called "The Block".

One huge Christian group there is called Hillsong which I think are now exporting their brand over-seas

How good in the middle class job market?

Employment is good. But it's like most places, IT, doctors, etc. you can get a job anywhere

Are most people content with the government or do they believe that it is not helping the citizens?

Depends. I support the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and they're in power both nationally and in my state. However state Labor are terrible as a government. Sydney has no long-term urban planning, never really has. Our roads sprawl out. Unlike Melbourne - if you see a map of central Melbourne, it's all perfectly aligned streets.

What is the perception crime and criminal activity, ie how close and severe do crimes seem to be?

Sydney has a relatively high crime-rate compared to other places in Australia but it's the largest city in Australia (also the oldest and the only 'world-city' in Australia)

Is there any kind of entitlement attitude especially from younger people?

I've no idea what this is

Ok this one is mine, how often do scary wild animals (crocs/snakes) come to populated areas?

Crocs are in the tropical north. Snakes are Australia-wide. Australia has 9 of the top 10 deadliest snakes. However in urban and built up areas you're not likely to see them. I've lived in Sydney most of my 42 years, and I've never seen one in Sydney.

Sydney does have a deadly spider, the Sydney Funnel Web spider. There's also a lesser deadly spider the Red-back Spider (I think it's related to the Black Widow).

We also has a coastal deadly creature the Blue-ringed octopus, which lives in some rock pools. There's no cure for its poison. However most people don't annoy it and so there's no incidents. Though if you do get bitten you better hope that there's someone who can give you CPR until the poison works its way out of you.

There are sharks in the seas and harbour, but shark nets keep most at bay.

There's no major diseases in Australia like rabies, or malaria. Because we're an island continent we've been able to keep out a lot of other diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, mad cow disease, and anthrax. Quarantine and Customs get super annoyed if you come here with food items because some of these may contain pests or diseases.

The tropical areas, as well as having sharks, crocodiles, and several diseases I've just mentioned (such as Ross River Fever) also have cone fish and stone fish, which are nasty. There's also a jellyfish called the Box Jellyfish which have horrible stingers on them.

There are some local diseases such as Ross River Fever, but they're in the tropical north. I think they might have Dengue Fever too

These are probably first of series of questions, any and all advice would be welcome.

You're more than welcome

 

[Tahoenite]

Thank you everyone for the great advice.

 

[Montalban]

Thank you everyone for the great advice.

Also, we didn't get as badly burnt by the global financial meltdown thanks to some timely intervention by the government.

 

[vscola]

Hello and thank you
Tahoenite is my husband and I asked him to look around for me.
I have had it on my heart for years that we would be leaving the United States. I know this might sound odd, but for the past few months I have been feeling pulled to Australia and New Zealand.
I am currently a student (again, after working for well over a decade) and in four years should complete my training to become a Pharmacist.
Thank you very much for your advice, it is all very much appreciated (and any more is welcome!)

 

[Montalban]

Hello and thank you
Tahoenite is my husband and I asked him to look around for me.
I have had it on my heart for years that we would be leaving the United States. I know this might sound odd, but for the past few months I have been feeling pulled to Australia and New Zealand.
I am currently a student (again, after working for well over a decade) and in four years should complete my training to become a Pharmacist.
Thank you very much for your advice, it is all very much appreciated (and any more is welcome!)

Lots of opportunities for pharmicists (Note on terminology: we don't call them 'drug stores' but chemists, or pharmacies, but chemists is more common)

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

You'll have an easier time finding work in Australia than NZ though. That's why we get so many Kiwis over here!

BTW - where are you thinking of settling if you come to Australia? There's a big difference to climate, housing costs, etc based on where you go

 

[Montalban]

Hello and thank you
Tahoenite is my husband and I asked him to look around for me.
I have had it on my heart for years that we would be leaving the United States. I know this might sound odd, but for the past few months I have been feeling pulled to Australia and New Zealand.
I am currently a student (again, after working for well over a decade) and in four years should complete my training to become a Pharmacist.
Thank you very much for your advice, it is all very much appreciated (and any more is welcome!)

I think Australian culture is different from America (that is, if we even have a culture )

Self-depricating humour is a big part of Australian culture. We generally don't like people who overtly try to impress others.

We in fact like to cut people down to size. Here, it's called the "Tall poppy syndrome" (which can be negative). It is the idea that the tall poppy flower that stands out above the rest is the one you cut.

Our sports affinities are different from America too.

In summer the national obsession is cricket.

In winter however we stand divided as three major football codes compete. There's Aussie Rules Football that dominates most states. There's Rugby League with a devote core in Sydney up to the north of Queensland. And then there's Rugby Union, the father of both Rugby League and American Football which still wears an image of being the football loved by elites in Sydney and Brisbane (all the posh schools play it)

Soccer (which claims to be the real code to be called "Football" is played nationally, but in the summer so as not to compete with the other codes that dominate).

 

[Worldslaziestbusker]

Hello Tahoenite
I don’t want to discourage you, but in May, Senator Evans announced that the professions eligible to apply to immigrate to Australia under the skilled migration program was being dropped from 432 to 181. Pharmacists were dropped from the list, but amazingly, chiropractors weren’t.
WLB

 

[Montalban]

Hello Tahoenite
I don’t want to discourage you, but in May, Senator Evans announced that the professions eligible to apply to immigrate to Australia under the skilled migration program was being dropped from 432 to 181. Pharmacists were dropped from the list, but amazingly, chiropractors weren’t.
WLB

That would get anyone's back up!

 

[Inbox24]

Hello and thank you
Tahoenite is my husband and I asked him to look around for me.
I have had it on my heart for years that we would be leaving the United States. I know this might sound odd, but for the past few months I have been feeling pulled to Australia and New Zealand.
I am currently a student (again, after working for well over a decade) and in four years should complete my training to become a Pharmacist.
Thank you very much for your advice, it is all very much appreciated (and any more is welcome!)

Pharmacist eh? I graduate next year!

Where are you studying at the moment?

 

[joey_downunder]

Advice from a too frequently moving army wife:

If you're thinking of moving to Australia then remember that job opportunities can be very different from state to state. Don't limit your jobhunting to capital cities because you could find work in areas where nice houses are more affordable i.e. below $400 000 AU. On the East Coast there are quite a few large regional towns with populations greater than 50 000 people.

Western Australia is the really booming state now the mining crisis is nearly over. The number of jobs can be very high in certain areas e.g. remote mining towns in Western Australia where they are crying out for health professionals and all other non-mining workers. No point moving there if the employer doesn't at least give a very good rent subsidy otherwise you can't afford to live in one of those places.

Areas with large populations of senior citizens would be promising e.g. Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast in QLD, south west WA, Geelong region (south west of Melbourne VIC -and that's where I am at the moment!), coastal areas of northern NSW.

 

[TheDag]

what mining crises? it isn't much of a crises when they are still offering six figure salaries

 

[Montalban]

Western Australia is the really booming state now the mining crisis is nearly over.

There's a boom in mining? Is it a 'crisis' because they're earning so much money that they don't know what to do with it all?

 

[joey_downunder]

TheDag - I would never have thought the global downturn was a crisis either except for living in Karratha (NW WA) for a couple of years. As soon as the GFC started the number of white utes with the orange mining flag on the bonnet driving 'round town dropped dramatically. The whole Pilbara region depends on mining. The town felt quite different for a while. It's good that things seem to be returning to normal now.

6 figure salaries sound great to East Coasters (talking like a Westie now!)- now consider gas and petrol at least 30-40 cents more expensive, groceries way more expensive, rent for a very average house starting from $1500 per WEEK which makes it necessary for people to share houses a lot. There were never any houses vacant though. One of our neighbours had people in a caravan in the front yard paying them rent. That is why if someone is considering moving to a mining town for work they must arrange accomodation first. The caravan park in Karratha is permanently booked out.

 

[Montalban]

TheDag - I would never have thought the global downturn was a crisis either except for living in Karratha (NW WA) for a couple of years. As soon as the GFC started the number of white utes with the orange mining flag on the bonnet driving 'round town dropped dramatically. The whole Pilbara region depends on mining. The town felt quite different for a while. It's good that things seem to be returning to normal now.

6 figure salaries sound great to East Coasters (talking like a Westie now!)- now consider gas and petrol at least 30-40 cents more expensive, groceries way more expensive, rent for a very average house starting from $1500 per WEEK which makes it necessary for people to share houses a lot. There were never any houses vacant though. One of our neighbours had people in a caravan in the front yard paying them rent. That is why if someone is considering moving to a mining town for work they must arrange accomodation first. The caravan park in Karratha is permanently booked out.

The problem is you're talking about a 'mining crisis' based on the observations of a single mining community. In general the mining companies are going quite well. For instance, when people stop buying some metals, they buy gold, which is always a good inventment in a 'crisis', and like.

 

[vscola]

BTW - where are you thinking of settling if you come to Australia? There's a big difference to climate, housing costs, etc based on where you go

Where I can find a job! But if I had a choice, Melbourne looks lovely!

Self-depricating humour is a big part of Australian culture. We generally don't like people who overtly try to impress others.

We in fact like to cut people down to size. Here, it's called the "Tall poppy syndrome" (which can be negative). It is the idea that the tall poppy flower that stands out above the rest is the one you cut.

That sounds very much like my personality (blending and and being part of a group verses trying to get myself heard). I cannot comment much on sports, but with two little boys at home I will be learning!

Hello Tahoenite
I don’t want to discourage you, but in May, Senator Evans announced that the professions eligible to apply to immigrate to Australia under the skilled migration program was being dropped from 432 to 181. Pharmacists were dropped from the list, but amazingly, chiropractors weren’t.
WLB

ACK ... this changes many things! I had not heard that at all (I did know they stopped accepting applications for a short amount of time). I hope this is not a permanent change. I don't suppose you might know where I could find some more information about this please? Pharmacists were still on the list I saw, but I do not know how recent it was.

Pharmacist eh? I graduate next year!

Where are you studying at the moment?

Congratulations! I am doing some undergraduate work still at the moment (I hope to start pharmacy school next year). I had wondered if it would not be better to try to attend school in Australia (even though it would mean starting over). That would mean moving much sooner (which I would LOVE) but my husband (Tahoenite) is not as thrilled with that notion I have been working in the medical field (allergy testing and treatment) for over 10 years. For some reason (one I am not sure I fully understand yet) I decided I needed to return to school to become a Pharmacist.

Again, I would like to say thank you for everyone who has commented and offered advice. It is SO appreciated!