Jump to content

So we've landed!


BrendanH

Recommended Posts

57 minutes ago, SurferMan said:

My wife had an op the other day. Dad had all three kids on 3 outings in one day, and the weeks total at 9 outings. (We home school) They are improved models of their father. Lets say i aged a decade in 24 hours....:P

How old are your kids @Surferman?i feel I aged a lot since my kids were born too :)

 and they still don't let us get a full nights sleep at 19months old!

@RYLC (not sure why its not tagging) - cant you just see under your account whatever you posted without going to each Forum discussion?

Edited by Sweepea
Wrong name
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had 3 good experiences with Centrelink and 1 not so red hot one. But even the bad one was better than 99% of my experiences in SA with Gov. That said, I had a mind blowing one once at Pretoria where the DHA guys was a frigging legend. Respect Bobby, you know who you are. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Sweepea

 

Son - 9. Legally he is not allowed to work but that is a crying shame because he already knows everything. I could make a killing from the Sage of Perth.....Training wheels for puberty....sigh. 

Girl - 8. Eisch, princess, prima donna, drama queen, Picasso on the walls and the gentlest kindest heart you will ever see. My totally unbaised view of course! :P

Girl - 3, going on 10. Energy bunny, still sneaks into our bed far too often and rubs her dads number 2 crew cut hair and calls me "puppy bum" Gotta love it. 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Sweepea said:

@RYLC (not sure why its not tagging) - cant you just see under your account whatever you posted without going to each Forum discussion?

 

 

Will do thanks.  I also have to check more than this site.  Such a pain.  I love technology but.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So that over with.

 

Another huge negative... Sensitive types may choose to look away round about now.

 

The topic of finding accommodation. I'm really not to sure how any new migrant to Australia ever finds a place to stay without having a job first. So far, after viewing roughly 15 properties we have fallen into a familiar pattern.

 

1. Arrive at the viewing on time. Strike up a bit of a conversation with the agent to develop a rapport.

2. Agent asks if we have found employment yet.

3. We say 'No'.

4. You can literally see the body language of the agent change as the wall instantly comes up despite offering to pay three months in advance and show that you have enough savings to stay afloat for four to six months.

5. Apply for the property.

6. Never hear from the agent again.

 

It's pretty disheartening, especially considering that no school will accept a student without proof that you live in the area so our kid's education is suffering.

 

We've changed our strategy and are trying to apply to postings by private individuals instead.

 

The plan was to find accommodation, get the kid into school as quickly as possible and then apply for any casual job to supplement our income while we find jobs in our field. It is generally the approach that gets advocated and made sense in theory but it looks like one of us needs to get a job first before we will be taken seriously as a potential tenant.

 

In hindsight, if we knew all this we definitely would have booked more than 3 weeks of temporary accommodation on landing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if it's you but I seem to remember that you were coming to your brother in Canberra. If that's the case, can you use his address for school in the mean time?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And as a stretch with the employment situation, can you say that you are an independent consultants working for yourself (which you are right now and half of Canberra could answer yes to that job description)?  Telling them that you are newly arrived might be too much information straight off the bat. Perhaps if you have to say you're new to Canberra not that you are fresh off the boat. 

 

There is is also a thread on here from somebody who prepared a pack of paperwork to hand over to agents.   I'll see if I can find it. 

Edited by RYLC
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, RYLC said:

And as a stretch with the employment situation, can you say that you are an independent consultants working for yourself (which you are right now and half of Canberra could answer yes to that job description)?  Telling them that you are newly arrived might be too much information straight off the bat. Perhaps if you have to say you're new to Canberra not that you are fresh off the boat. 

 

There is is also a thread on here from somebody who prepared a pack of paperwork to hand over to agents.   I'll see if I can find it. 

 

Thanks RYLC,

 

I recall the exact post and we started out with the exact same pack you are mentioning. For the last few applications we have started scanning in all our documentation and sending it via email thanks to our $28.00 all-in-one printer. Definitely a very worthwhile investment for someone who has just landed.

 

I suspect that it is just a numbers game at this point and having extra time in our short term rental would have made a huge difference. We have been fortunate that the person (Who is a great guy.) from whom we are renting the short term accommodation went out of his way to write us a phenomenal reference letter which we hope tips the balance in our favor. 

 

We are definitely working hard to avoid becoming too negative as a defeatist attitude very quickly becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@BrendanH let us know if it makes a difference going to private owners. As you say you need to stay positive but its only natural to feel disheartened after so many viewings so definitely time to change tactics...Will work out great if you could use your brothers address to get the little one into school.

Note to self - book more than 3 weeks short term accommodation. Sounds like you are renting from a great guy.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have considered using his address but at the end of the day I am concerned that something borderline unethical like that could end up biting us in the ass if we get caught. Also the Canberra Times ran an article about this kind of fraud recently so it is out there.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, BrendanH said:

I have considered using his address but at the end of the day I am concerned that something borderline unethical like that could end up biting us in the ass if we get caught. Also the Canberra Times ran an article about this kind of fraud recently so it is out there.

 

Brendan I've been thing about the school enrolment issue and wondering whether it would be worth checking with a few local schools whether they would be able to assist. If you tell them that you are new to the country, can't get a rental and need to rely on your brother then they may make an exception for you. . I would imagine that you might have used your brothers address for Medicare so in the system that is your address.   People move and change address all the time so it is normal to do this at the school. 

 

The newspaper article you mentioned is the type of thing printed every year as a bit of a warning  but really has no effect on the die hard system rorters who have no intention of changing their behaviour.   It is not meant to penalise new migrants so if you explain this to a local school you could get enrolment. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A bit late on contributing to the Centrelink issue, @BrendanH also having (had as of today) the same experience with Centrelink. After the third very frustrating visit (with a 6 and 8 year-old) and holding on to three futile calls for almost an hour, today I decided to stay on  the call to the point where I can actually talk to someone. An hour and a half later (thanks to the person on this thread who gave a practical advice to put your phone on loudspeaker and do something else, which is exactly what I did) our claim is processed with backpay. At this early stage of looking for employment, every cent helps. PS Willing to give this up at a blink of an eye to be a contributing taxpayer.

 

For the newcomers, I think its about expectations, prepare yourself if some things don't work out as efficiently as you thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So today is a bit of a better day. We have finally had one of our property applications accepted. It is in a neighborhood with a great school which we believe will be a great fit for our son (It seems to have a very similar feel to his old school.). The suburb is nice and it more importantly it is well within our budget. The apartment block would not have been my first choice but it is a start.

 

Once again I must say how awesome our landlord is. He was planning to move back into his place once we left and when he heard that we were battling to find a place he rearranged his life to ensure that we could stay for longer if we needed to.

 

So now the next big one is to find a job but we are starting this weekend in a bit of a better position than we were a few days ago.

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, BrendanH said:

 

 

So today is a bit of a better day. We have finally had one of our property applications accepted. It is in a neighborhood with a great school which we believe will be a great fit for our son (It seems to have a very similar feel to his old school.). The suburb is nice and it more importantly it is well within our budget. The apartment block would not have been my first choice but it is a start.

 

Once again I must say how awesome our landlord is. He was planning to move back into his place once we left and when he heard that we were battling to find a place he rearranged his life to ensure that we could stay for longer if we needed to.

 

So now the next big one is to find a job but we are starting this weekend in a bit of a better position than we were a few days ago.

 

 

 

I think you're starting to see what so many of us love about Oz and the Aussies. Some will go out of their way to help. Of course there are exceptions - and this is not a whinge about Aussies, it's about human nature.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great news Brendan!

 

Hopefully things just keep getting better from here on out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy for you Brendan, upwards and onwards, pray the job hunt is a little easier! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@SDTCPT and @Mara - Thanks. In hindsight I think we did ok. Finding a place in one of our preferred suburbs and schools in just over a week was probably not bad going. I think our expectations were just a bit off.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done. ;) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So we spent the morning at the Bus Depot markets and at the Canberra Glass Works. The market is very much like the Red Shed and Waterfront Food Market except that they are not priced for rich international tourists. The quality of the food and general crafts are exceptional. It is really cool to see an old French Chef working the dough for the food he is cooking and serving right in front of your eyes. It does not get fresher than that.

 

The Glass Works are based in the old train depot (A really beautiful and well restored building.) and you can watch the glassblowers doing their thing inside from the gallery.

 

In terms of a tourist attraction, everything we saw today is more than a match for the tourist attractions in Cape Town.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So it has been an eventful week or so. Two interviews and a verbal job offer later and I am feeling good. Not to mention the interview I am going to in 30 minutes.

 

I will probably take the offer even though I will be starting in a very junior role and it will be a change from being elbow deep in code to a customer facing consultant role but if this isn't a good time to reinvent myself then what is?

 

It is also a good company with an excellent reputation and global footprint.

 

To be honest I am pretty proud of what I have managed to accomplish in less than a month here.

 

 

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I am 2 for 2 for interviews turning into verbal job offers today. I know that until they are on paper they mean nothing but I can't help it that a small part of me feels 10 feet tall and covered in spikes right now.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, TacticJourney said:

Well done @BrendanH!  If you don't mind me asking, what industry are you in?

 

I am a programmer. It is quite interesting because conventional wisdom is that it is extremely difficult to break into the industry here in Canberra without citizenship and security clearance.

 

Maybe it is just good timing but there do seem to be jobs out there for us if we look hard enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have heard the same.  Most job adverts specify that you must be a citizen.

 

Dont sell yourself short. You must have made a great impression at the interviews to get 2/2.  Good luck and hope you enjoy the new role!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...