Carlos Marcano wrote: > Colin wrote: > > > = >> As a part foreigner living in Australia and about to get belted by the >> real Australians here Id' say..... >> = > > = >> For jobs you are really needing to look at either New South Wales >> (NSW) or Victoria (Vic), these two states tend to have the most >> electronic jobs advertised, Queensland (land of humidity and heat) >> does have a very small (compared to the above mentioned states) though >> there are some bespoke places on the Gold Coast and in suburban >> Brisbane. Here is where I get shot - my impression is that for it's >> size NZ fights far above it's weight in the electronic industry >> compared to Qld - I know that from job hunting. >> = > > Nice tips. > > = >> I can't really comment on the schools here apart to tell you that >> there are public schools (for the British - that's a state school) and >> private schools, most private schools are either denominational or not >> exactly attached but still proclaim certain a form of >> denominationality - most private schools are subsidised by the >> federal government - so most aren't that expensive (thinking of UK >> private schools here). >> = > > I don't think I understand the meaning of =93denominational=94 in this c= ontext. > = Denominational means a religious school. Truthfully the public system in Australia isn't bad. There are selective = high schools (at least in NSW) that you have to pass a test to get into, = I went to one of those and it was a fairly pleasant experience. There = were 2 fights the whole time I was there (7 years) and I was involved in = neither, well actually only one was a proper punch up the other was one = guy getting a whack in the face after taunting another for 40 minutes. Other schools it seems to be more of a problem. The universities seem ok, though I'd recommend steering clear of UWS at = least the Penrith campus. Unless you are doing something that they value = (teaching or the like). Try to stay away from science there, engineering = might be ok. Usyd and UTS are much more highly regarded. University of Wollongong is regarded highly and seems to have quite a = reputation amongst students as a nice place to live on campus its 1.5 = hours out of sydney, so kids can live there "away from home" but still = close enough to get mum to do the washing. Our "dream" is to move out to Bega/Merimbula, where my better half's = family is and half of mine, ~450 or 600km away depending on which way = you go, both take the same time, 6-8 hours. Live on a property there = whilst the kids are in primary school, (still a ways off yet), as that = seems to give a nice grounding and appreciation for life. Then move to = Sydney when its time for the children to enter high school. So they can = have the social interactions and facilities that they need. Also if you say that you intend to move into a regional area of = Australia it would be looked on very favourably when you are trying to = immigrate, there is a real migration of people from country to city at = the moment and there is some call to mandate that international migrants = be made to live outside cities for some period to combat this. I'm not = saying its a good idea, but if you volunteer that you plan on doing = that, it might help with your application. There are already schemes = pushing doctors and teachers to first serve in regional Australia before = they come into the cities. > = >> Healthcare (I'll try not to get political) is a bit of a mixed bunch, >> it consists of a bias towards private insurance, but there is a >> medicare funded health system - but it isn't always free (coming from >> a land of state benefited health I find many thinks strange). >> = > > Ok. > = My father fell over at a job site recently, basically removed the ball = from the bone in his shoulder/arm. He has private cover but was admitted and had most of his treatment = under the public system. He had the operation to put a steel ball in = done privately, but if he didn't have private cover it could have been = done in the public system. It was all done at a public hospital He spend just over a week in there and most of that was due to them = worrying about his heart (which was the healthiest one they had seen). = If not for that they would have done the operation on the day or the = next day they said. Basically I feel if you have a major health problem you are going to be = looked after and pretty well too. Its when you have lower level issues = that you get moved down the priority list and start to feel the = runaround. GP (family doctor?) care can be free if you find a bulk = billing doctor, though they are getting rarer these days. > = >> House prices are ridiculous in NSW and Melbourne, Gold Coast, Sunshine >> Coast - rest of Qld is reasonable (average 3-4 bdr =3D AU$300 - 500K) >> Western Australia is too far away to worry about (apologies to WA'ers) >> weather is nicer than Qld (my opinion) dry, but the mining boom has >> seen WA become very expensive. >> = > > So you would need to have around AU$100 =96 170K as =93first payment=94 (I > don't know the english term, in spanish is called =93initial=94) and the > rest through a bank credit, right? > = Typical deposit is 10-20% so on a 200K house you would deposit $20k. We got a 220k house and repayments are $700 a fortnight. We were quite lucky, we got the second worst house in the street, its = 90% asbestos, the paints peeling off, I've seen walk in wardrobes bigger = than our kitchen, but our feeling is after we get the asbestos removed, = renovate the inside of the place (who puts carpet in the bathroom!?) and = put a small extension on we should sell it for ~$350k or more likely = rent it out for around the mortgage payments. We are living in Penrith (well Cambridge park) though which is well west = from the city. Regarded as a somewhat lower class area. This is our "castle" = http://www.vapourforge.com/jake/general/cambridge-ours.jpg the inside is = starting to look better though ;-> This is a view from our front verandah = http://www.vapourforge.com/jake/general/cambridge-street.jpg We are 10-15 minutes walk from a highschool, a primary school and a = private high school. I think theres also another 2 schools a bit further away. 20 minute walk to UWS university penrith campus, 10 minute push bike or = go to the uni and catch the bus to get to the tafe. Small strip of shops 10 minutes walk up the road but we always wind up = driving 5-10 minutes to the major shopping centre in Penrith proper. Trains are 10 minutes walk away, then its an hour to the city. Between = 40 and 120 minutes to drive to the city depending on what time of day = you want to do it. > = >> Cars are cheap so long as you don't want to buy European models (my >> Peugeot 207 just cost me AU$36K compared to a Hyuandai and similar >> which are about $16-20K). >> = > > That's what I have found online. > = Large cars are really cheap in Australia at the moment. I got this http://www.vapourforge.com/jake/general/hotness_scaled.JPG = for $5500, its a 1999 model Au falcon 4L straight 6 with 230,000 Km on = it and manual which dealers add ~$2000 to the price for, cos us boy = racers like it. mint condition inside, some fading of the paint on the outside, but then = red will do that. 14 seconds even on the 1/4 mile (measured at WSID) If your going to be cruising on the highway its not too bad on petrol, = and its a common LPG conversion. When used as taxi's they seem to hit 800,000Km without too much trouble. = I've replaced the door locks at $180 each (2 of) and a radiator bottle = also $180. It looks like they are the most common failures on this model = as none of the wreckers have any. Don't buy Holden, those are what the peasants drive ;-> (although I might be biased, being a "ford man", If you come to live in = Australia you'll understand, Ford Vs Holden is a national past time) An old (late 90's) laser or corolla or something (small/mid size car 4 = cyl 2L) can be had for ~$2500 and they are typically ok, if you can do = the maintenance your self. If you get a corolla there's a fair few parts available, hell there's so = many of them you will probably find the bit your looking for on the side = of the road before the duct tape wears out. There is also a world class robot wars competition running here ;-> http://www.robowars.org/forum/ which should keep you entertained lol -- = http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist