What advice would you give someone from USA that wanted to move to Australia?

1. 97

   peeplesposted 13 years ago

   What advice would you give someone from USA that wanted to move to Australia?
   
   What should someone know before moving to Australia? We are thinking of making it our retirement location.

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2. 0

   Curiadposted 13 years ago

   I can't give advice, but I have always wanted to go there. I will be following this closely!

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3. 60

   luckykarmaposted 13 years ago

   You need to realise that we are straight forward, we don't analyse everything like the Americans, we don't have shrinks to sort out our problems, we say Maths not Math when talking about money, if you are doing one sum it's a Math. If it's more than one sum or amount is Maths....makes sense hey?
   
   Be prepared for rules and regulations, if you are driving on the left side now you drive on the right side here. You can't bring any drugs into this country. You will need to have some education and skills to survive the job hunting, there's not a lot. If your husband is prepared to work in the Mines or for the Mines he will earn heaps of money per week but it's tough.
   
   Homes will cost between $300,000 upwards, and that's not a mansion, that's a basic home in a not so wonderful suburb.
   
   You can make heaps of friends here, as we have lots of clubs, organisations and Meetups online to get you into the swing of meeting people.
   
   We vote for the Council elections and for a new Prime Minister every 3yrs. We call a spade a spade and we don't like people who want us to live the way they use to in their country.
   You need to get a good mind-set on how to interact.  There is every culture under the sun here, but not overly crowded, one can walk across the streets!....the Gold Coast where I live is a gem if you love the sea, mountains and much much more. Beaches go forever!!!
   
   Public schools are cheaper than private schools, but with private schools you need to book in early to get your children listed, they aren't cheap. What is these days?
   
   We have a fairly good train and bus system, and cruises up the river. Wonderful country holidays to die for, and the weather is second to none, you won't find weather anywhere in the world like here, our dollar is pretty good. Queensland is the BEST STATE to settle in, up north they have lots of flooding and cyclones, out west, too dry and problems, down south too cold, Western Australia is beautiful, expensive but there's work in the mines or for the mines, which means you don't have to work underground. A cleaning job or cooking job will bring home $150,000 Oer Year, but they are long hours, 11hr days and not much of a social life, you are too tired to do much, but they make the money and move out to buy a home. That's what the young ones do.
   
   If you need to know more please write, I'm happy to answer anything.

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4. 73

   livingabroadposted 13 years ago

   Hi peeples,
   
   I'd agree with some things luckykarma says, however I have some of my own points to make. Where are you from in USA exactly? If its California I wouldn't leave! Having only lived and worked in Cali for 4 months I can only compare it to living in Australia for a year.
   
   Be prepared for being a long way from everything and anyone you know. It's such a huge country (1 and 1/2 times the size of Europe) with only 20 million people. It's like a village in the middle of nowhere. The only other western civilisation around in the region is New Zealand as you know. Perfect vacation destination as well as many other cheaper Asian countries right on your doorstep.  Fantastic
   
   Most Australian's do actually believe that it IS the best country in the world and there are many reasons why that statement could be true. Don't disagree with them, as luckykarma mentions, you'll be fighting a losing battle, trust me!
   
   The health care system is good and you don't pay through your nose for it when you are working. However, if you are retiring there I suppose you'd have to look into it? I also read something about retiring in Aus as a UK citizen and believe I would have to pay $100,000 AUD to do so. Might be worth looking into as a US citizen.
   
   Yes they do get a lot of sunshine, and yes they do have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. If your ginger like me, you'll need to be careful!
   
   The wages are great, but this is because the prices of most things are also very high. Be aware.
   
   Stunning coastline, Great Barrier reef, surfing and great weather. On the whole a friendly bunch too! Wish I had stayed another year or two looking back. Lot's of places to be discovered and if you like road trippin' this is the place for you!
   
   Not much in the way of Australian culture if your into that kind of thing. You'll have to go to Asia for that, except of course the thousands of years of inhabitance by the Aboriginals who now subsequently seem to have been left out of society.
   
   Hope you find this helpul and good luck in making your decision.

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