LindaandPaul Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Hi We are busy waiting (patiently - not!) for our 189 visa to come through. After much thought and deliberation we settled on Sydney as we have some contacts there (although limited). However, recently I have begun to think more and more that we should try out a smaller coastal town. We have "looked" at Port Macquarie and a little at Newcastle. Does anyone have any advice to give - mainly about areas to research and somewhere where we can find work (plumber and social worker) and spend loads of time outdoors... I know this is broad but I guess I just want some reassurance that we will be able to find work, good schools, and a good quality of life somewhere outside of a main city centre. I currently commute 2 - 3 hours a day in Joburg and just can't stand the idea of doing that again, even if public transport is a good option. Thanks! Would appreciate any feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bams Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Hi thereI cant give you any input, but so want to follow your post as we are also looking at Sydney and Melbourne...Good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaandPaul Posted October 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Hi Bams Linda here. I see you got your unabridged marriage certificate - miracles do happen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heymanse Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 I can totally understand that you would want to explore the smaller coastal towns. That does mean however that job opportunities will be less than what you'd find in Sydney and surrounds. I've just done a very quick search on seek.com.au for plumbers in the Newcastle, Maitland & Hunter and Port Macquaire and Mid North coast areas - there is basically one plumber job available. Compare that to the pages and pages of plumber jobs available when you select Sydney. There seems to be more jobs available for social workers in these smaller towns and that might be worth investigating. Try the Seek website and do a bit of a search on the number of opportunities available as well as the salary ranges in these different areas. It might be worth it to start off in Sydney and once you've got some Aussie experience, then see if you can get into the market in the Coastal areas. Your hubby might even start up his own plumbing business and then the world's your oyster. Good luck with the decisions ahead. It's never an easy one and life is all about experiences and if you find that something is not to your liking, you can always change it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaandPaul Posted October 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 Thanks Haymanse - sounds like good advice. We get loads of job alerts for plumbers in Sydney... we might end up there after all! It can't be that bad seeing as you all love it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bams Posted October 9, 2013 Report Share Posted October 9, 2013 SORRY!!Hi LindaThey certainly do. After all the fighting and begging, I finally have it in my hands. Just hope that when we get to that point the CO will request it.I made the decision to rather get it than wait for it to be requested, glad I did.For anyone else battling, I do suggest making contact with the manager of the HA branch that you used.After he sent an email, it was 3 weeks till document in hand.We used Randburg and the following email address was used by the manager to escalate to HQ (hope it helps someone out there...)delford.kgongwana@dha.gov.zaMargaret.mthimunye@dha.gov.zamaria.mashingo@dha.gov.zamaria.mthimunye@dha.gov.zalehasa.lekalakal@dha.gov.za (office manager and Randburg) His contact numbers 011 793 4597 or 072 621 8449 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreR Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 My brother lives in Newcastle. I quite like it there, they have really fantastic beaches and are pretty laid back. He owns a dive shop and his wife is COO at the University medical research facility. The problem with a small town is the limited work opportunities, and if you do manage to find a job, you cant just resign and go somewhere else if it turns out to be the worst job in the world. Having said that, i'm not sure what the demand is for social workers and plumbers in those areas, its probably better than for IT, which is my field.If you like the country side, there are some fantastic places to stay in the surrounding areas, like those around Lake Macquarie and Maitland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.