How's life in NZ/Aus?

Chocolate fiend

Mackman wrote: »

It took a while, but I finally got my Citizenship

Just got to get my passport now, $300 :eek: Found out that both my daughters need theirs too, $900 on passports before we come home for a holiday at christmas:(

Congratulations. I am doing my test today. How long after your test did you do the ceremony? We are going home at Christmas as well and I would prefer not to have to get 5 new passports before then!!

Mackman

Chocolate fiend wrote: »

Congratulations. I am doing my test today. How long after your test did you do the ceremony? We are going home at Christmas as well and I would prefer not to have to get 5 new passports before then!!

It was about 2 weeks after the test I got the acceptance letter. I immediately contacted my local council office, cause they are the ones who do the ceremonies. I was lucky that the were doing one a few weeks away, so I managed to get into that one. They only do them every 3 months in my local council so i was lucky.

My advice is as soon as you get the acceptance letter, call them and find out when the next one is and try to get into that. Good luck!

WillieMason

https://www.independent.ie/business/jobs/free-flights-offer-to-irish-people-living-in-australia-if-they-move-back-for-jobs-37489867.html

WillieMason

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/over-24-000-irish-become-australian-citizens-in-past-decade-1.3769608

Danger781

With rent prices being as ridiculous as they are in Cork / Dublin.. How does Sydney fair in comparison? We're just back from a few weeks in Oz and loved every minute over there.. Debating making a move over next year.

A quick look online seems to indicate that there is a lot of options but that it's probably twice as expensive as Cork? Or have I just been looking at the wrong places?

Would be looking at anywhere within 30-45 mins from CBD..

Mellor

Rent is expensive. But wages are higher. It's also a different currency.

Chocolate fiend

Rent is crazy, we were paying about $1000 a week for a decent place in Sydney, you could get places for less but we have 3 kids and needed the space.
We have moved to Victoria now and are paying half that per week.

Danger781

Chocolate fiend wrote: »

Rent is crazy, we were paying about $1000 a week for a decent place in Sydney, you could get places for less but we have 3 kids and needed the space.
We have moved to Victoria now and are paying half that per week.

Was that in / near city area? Or were you further afield?

We stayed in Randwick while in Sydney and loved it there. Pretty close to city and really close to Coogee.

I actually see an apartment for rent in the building we stayed in for $600 per week. When changed to euro that's a couple hundred more expensive than Cork but not a stark difference. Just had another look and found another one at $450 per week unfurnished. That's only a tad more expensive than I'm paying right now out in the shticks..

Danger781

Danger781 wrote: »

Was that in / near city area? Or were you further afield?

We stayed in Randwick while in Sydney and loved it there. Pretty close to city and really close to Coogee.

I actually see an apartment for rent in the building we stayed in for $600 per week. When changed to euro that's a couple hundred more expensive than Cork but not a stark difference. Just had another look and found another one at $450 per week unfurnished. That's only a tad more expensive than I'm paying right now out in the shticks..

Most rentals in Australia come unfurnished so if you're planning on coming for a longer- term stay it would make the most sense to look at unfurnished rather than furnished listings.

Chocolate fiend

Danger781 wrote: »

Was that in / near city area? Or were you further afield?

We were in Naremburn which is Lower north shore, probably one of the more expensive areas, but once we moved there and got the kids into school it was somewhere we had to stay rather than uproot them again.

I know you probably know this but a holiday is very different to living here, it is great and we are very happy but it takes a bit of getting used to and is generally expensive.

Mellor

Chocolate fiend wrote: »

... is generally expensive.

I think people overstate the expense because they can't get fixated on a particular exchange rate.

Some things are more expensive, some things are cheaper. I think it balances to be about the same.

Danger781

We were warned and warned again before going over about how expensive Oz is gonna be.. After spending six weeks there I don't see what all the fuss was about.

Groceries were maybe a few euro more than they would be back home (Especially when we were lucky enough to be near Aldi), but the price difference between most of the essentials is almost negligible. Hell I wouldn't even mind paying a small premium for fruit and veg since their produce is nicer.. I miss the shepherd avocados!

Petrol was much cheaper in Oz than Ireland. I filled our rental car for half the price of what I put in at home.

Picked up a $30 Sim Card which lasted me the two months that I was there with more than enough data. Plus I had a data bank feature so I could transfer data over to the next month if I didn't use it.

Maybe it was the time of year we went but we picked up some awesome bargains on clothing as well. Even at full price I don't see how it was any more expensive than at home.

The main thing that I saw a significant price difference in is beer and alcohol.. mad expensive in Oz even in an offy...

Outside of that I think everything else was pretty much on par with Ireland.

Chocolate fiend

Mellor wrote: »

I think people overstate the expense because they can't get fixated on a particular exchange rate.

Some things are more expensive, some things are cheaper. I think it balances to be about the same.

You could be right. We have been here for 6 years and as our children are getting bigger they are costing more, things like activities, school etc. when we left Ireland we had two toddlers and an infant, so had no benchmark for those expenses.

Mellor

Chocolate fiend wrote: »

You could be right. We have been here for 6 years and as our children are getting bigger they are costing more, things like activities, school etc. when we left Ireland we had two toddlers and an infant, so had no benchmark for those expenses.

I say that's largely it. Inflation also plays a part.

I'm here ten years. I was paying €4.50 a pint when I left. So paying $9 or $10 now feels expensive. But when I go home, prices aren't $4.5 anymore or close to it. There's also the craft beer explosion in recent year raises the price of beer in many bars.

As mentioned above. Bottle shops are more expensive. Petrol is cheaper. Fresh Veg is expensive. Milk is cheaper, etc.

Something to keep in mind as well, is min wage. In Ireland is €9.80, in Australia it's $18.90 ($23.60 for casual). That increase in base wage trickles up to professional wages from what I can see.
Relative is wages, I'd expect Australis to be cheaper than Ireland.

Noo

That's exactly it. It may seem more expensive to a tourist who is constantly applying exchange rates, but when you are living and working here the cost of expenses are a much lower percentage of your pay than back in Ireland. Thats the real gauge of things.

monreader

It is one thing that bothers me about NZ. The cost of things here are very similar if not more expensive than Oz, while the wages here are a lot less than Oz. While I love this country, I can see myself going to Oz in the future for the money that can be made there. Do not even get me started on the ludicrous prices that you see here in the touristy towns were everything just jumps in price and you pay and arm and a leg to do any tourist activities.

Danger781

Danger781 wrote: »

We were warned and warned again before going over about how expensive Oz is gonna be.. After spending six weeks there I don't see what all the fuss was about.

Groceries were maybe a few euro more than they would be back home (Especially when we were lucky enough to be near Aldi), but the price difference between most of the essentials is almost negligible. Hell I wouldn't even mind paying a small premium for fruit and veg since their produce is nicer.. I miss the shepherd avocados!

Petrol was much cheaper in Oz than Ireland. I filled our rental car for half the price of what I put in at home.

Picked up a $30 Sim Card which lasted me the two months that I was there with more than enough data. Plus I had a data bank feature so I could transfer data over to the next month if I didn't use it.

Maybe it was the time of year we went but we picked up some awesome bargains on clothing as well. Even at full price I don't see how it was any more expensive than at home.

The main thing that I saw a significant price difference in is beer and alcohol.. mad expensive in Oz even in an offy...

Outside of that I think everything else was pretty much on par with Ireland.

This has been my experience too. Coming from Dublin, I've found almost everything here costs the same or cheaper, even when converted to euro. Out of interest I used this website to compare the cost of living between the two and found it pretty accurate
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

WillieMason

Noo wrote: »

That's exactly it. It may seem more expensive to a tourist who is constantly applying exchange rates, but when you are living and working here the cost of expenses are a much lower percentage of your pay than back in Ireland. Thats the real gauge of things.

Australia is much cheaper to live in when you add everything up

Danger781

Danger781 wrote: »

We were warned and warned again before going over about how expensive Oz is gonna be.. After spending six weeks there I don't see what all the fuss was about.

Groceries were maybe a few euro more than they would be back home (Especially when we were lucky enough to be near Aldi), but the price difference between most of the essentials is almost negligible. Hell I wouldn't even mind paying a small premium for fruit and veg since their produce is nicer.. I miss the shepherd avocados!

Petrol was much cheaper in Oz than Ireland. I filled our rental car for half the price of what I put in at home.

Picked up a $30 Sim Card which lasted me the two months that I was there with more than enough data. Plus I had a data bank feature so I could transfer data over to the next month if I didn't use it.

Maybe it was the time of year we went but we picked up some awesome bargains on clothing as well. Even at full price I don't see how it was any more expensive than at home.

The main thing that I saw a significant price difference in is beer and alcohol.. mad expensive in Oz even in an offy...

Outside of that I think everything else was pretty much on par with Ireland.

Nail on head.

When I hear people talking about how expensive it is in Australia it tells me they probably drink alcohol quite frequently and could possibly be smokers too.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

monreader wrote: »

It is one thing that bothers me about NZ. The cost of things here are very similar if not more expensive than Oz, while the wages here are a lot less than Oz. While I love this country, I can see myself going to Oz in the future for the money that can be made there. Do not even get me started on the ludicrous prices that you see here in the touristy towns were everything just jumps in price and you pay and arm and a leg to do any tourist activities.

NZ is very expensive for the cost of food groceries in relation to wages. Alcohol and tobacco are also obviously very costly here and decent clothes cost a fortune.

AngryHippie

Smokes are a crazy price.
Intentionally punitive government measure to decrease smoking rates.
it definitely helped me kick the habit. I still buy the occasional pack if I'm having a big weekend, or going camping or whatever, but 90% of the time I don't event think about them anymore.

regarding booze, home brewing is relatively easy and it is legal to own and operate your own still, so its not as big an issue. Reducing the amount we drink is not the worst life choice anyway.

monreader

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

NZ is very expensive for the cost of food groceries in relation to wages. Alcohol and tobacco are also obviously very costly here and decent clothes cost a fortune.

Yes while I love this country so much, it's what I hate about it. Yes I am living a much better life here compared to Ireland and am I able to save a lot more, but when I know more money could be made in Oz, it's playing with my mind on where I want to go. I unfortunately got back on the cigarettes the past few months and every time I come out of the shop after buying some, I want to give myself a slap in the face.

AngryHippie

Another 4 years of these clowns

Peregrinus

AngryHippie wrote: »

Another 4 years of these clowns

Nitpick: 3 years.

AngryHippie

it doesn't make it 25% better....and unless Labour and the Greens can get their act together and come up with a plan for QLD, it will be 6.

Its shambolic.

mandrake04

Ha Ha a great result for the working man, Billy Boy lost the the un-losable election. Take your redistribution of wealth and shove it up your ass.

el diablo

Well done Australia for booting out the Commies. Hopefully a similar outcome for Canada in October.

Citizensmith_Australia

Want to come to Australia as a skilled migrant? Plenty of teacher jobs up for grabs, we just can't get enough of them at the moment.