Too young?

Ray_Ray

I'm 18, and have been thinking of heading down under. Two mates of mine who are older ( both 20 ) are going and asked if i wanted to join. I'll be 19 when we leave, and i have the money to do it. I'm just wondering if maybe I might be a bit to young to just up and leave Ireland.

anybody had similar experiances?

For what its worth i really do want to go, just not sure if its too soon.

Thanks

Mr Benevolent

Plenty of 18-19 year old backpackers in Australia. In fact most of them are.

amybabes

there is only a couple of ways i can see your age being a disadvantage:

1) work - do you have any qualifications/trade? there is work here but if u don't have a trade or training in something, you might find it a little difficult.

2) finding a place to live - if you are trying to lease a house or apartment, they want references for the last 2 places you have lived plus references from employers etc.....kind of ridiculous how much info is needed on the applications, im 23 and my bf is 27 and we found this hard.

Other than that i think it comes down to individual maturity and independence....i lived with 4 irish guys when i first got here all 27-30, and none of them were able to turn on the washing machine or boil an egg. they went through all their savings in the first month living on takeaways and bringing their clothes to the launderette.
By the end of my 3 months living with them i had them boiling eggs and and cooking oven chips and the likes!:D
have you lived away from home before? also have you had to budget for rent and living expenses before?

Mellor

I know loads of people, boys and girls alike, that can't cook it nothing to do with age



OP, if you want to come over then go for it.
Age won't stop you getting a job, nor a place to live

Father Damo

Confab wrote: »

Plenty of 18-19 year old backpackers in Australia. In fact most of them are.

Plenty of English etc alright, barely ever met an Irish one. Most Irish who arrive here are here to live, rather than do the extended holiday thing (live like they are on holiday mind But still, alot more who have intentions of settling here)

Id probably go for it, but then again Im glad I waited until my early 20s. From age 16 to 19 Ireland was as much fun to live in as Australia is now for me. The fact we used to get an occasional bit of sunshine helped I think

Zambia

Father Damo wrote: »

Plenty of English etc alright, barely ever met an Irish one. Most Irish who arrive here are here to live, rather than do the extended holiday thing (live like they are on holiday mind But still, alot more who have intentions of settling here)

I once again don't see how this is a true statement unless someone polls the WHV's as they arrive?

Father Damo wrote: »

Id probably go for it, but then again Im glad I waited until my early 20s. From age 16 to 19 Ireland was as much fun to live in as Australia is now for me. The fact we used to get an occasional bit of sunshine helped I think

I have to agree with Damo here, at your age Ireland is fine I think you would be cashing in a WHV far to early.

You would come over here and end up working in kentucky fried crap looking to score the other staff. Something you can easily do in Ireland.

Father Damo

Zambia232 wrote: »

I once again don't see how this is a true statement unless someone polls the WHV's as they arrive?

Only known of around 6 Irish who have returned home in my one year here. Which is a pretty small number considering the amount of irish i know here. cant think of many who have any intention of going, everyone wants to score sponsorship, student visa, de facto, whatever it takes. I think girls suffer a little bit more from homesick but most lads i know would rather die than go home.

I have to agree with Damo here, at your age Ireland is fine I think you would be cashing in a WHV far to early.

You would come over here and end up working in kentucky fried crap looking to score the other staff. Something you can easily do in Ireland.

As said though, is Ireland as good as it was when i was that age? 16 to 19 were my days of partying all summer from Thursday to Sunday and coming home as the sun came up. I barely saw an actual sunrise since 2007. Its a different country these days, not just economically.

Zambia

Father Damo wrote: »

Only known of around 6 Irish who have returned home in my one year here. Which is a pretty small number considering the amount of irish i know here. cant think of many who have any intention of going, everyone wants to score sponsorship, student visa, de facto, whatever it takes. I think girls suffer a little bit more from homesick but most lads i know would rather die than go home.

Really is life that crap back in ireland?

Father Damo wrote: »

Its a different country these days, not just economically.

Thats sad to hear

amybabes

my sentiments exactly - whatever it takes to stay here........
that's how most irish and english people that i know think of it.
just said goodbye to 2 english boys i know, they were supposed to be getting sponsored but it fell through and they didn't have enough time to do the fruit picking - they are devastated going home:(

Ray_Ray

Thanks for the replys everyone appreciate it.

Suppose the thing is Ireland has really changed alot in the last few years. When my two sisters were my age they both had 2 jobs.

I have applyed to over 30 jobs in the last two weeks and havent even got an interview.

There is little to no work here.

In the time since I asked the question first I've decided I am going to go for the year. Hopefully get three months regional work done so i can get a second WHV a few years down the line.

@amybabes. I wont be as bad as those lads you lived with :P Well capable of washing and ironing clothes and also not a bad cook ( well thats my opinion anyway!! ) :D

Zambia

Ray_Ray wrote: »

Thanks for the replys everyone appreciate it.

Suppose the thing is Ireland has really changed alot in the last few years. When my two sisters were my age they both had 2 jobs.

I have applyed to over 30 jobs in the last two weeks and havent even got an interview.

There is little to no work here.

In the time since I asked the question first I've decided I am going to go for the year. Hopefully get three months regional work done so i can get a second WHV a few years down the line.

@amybabes. I wont be as bad as those lads you lived with :P Well capable of washing and ironing clothes and also not a bad cook ( well thats my opinion anyway!! ) :D

best of luck drop into the forum to get advice.

The best advice is to get the regional work in as soon as possible. If you are looking to get a second WHV.

cerey

Come out on a holiday Visa first to test waters and see if you like it. Otherwise you will be throwing away your WHV!!!

If you decide to stay and want to work then can jump on return flight to NZ or bali, etc etc (cheap as chips) and will have your work visa back within days of applying.

Only thing about your age, as mentioned above is work experince/qualifications. Difficult over here to get decent job when you are on a visa, nevermind if you dot have either of the above.

My suggestion, come on a holiday visa, if you like it, apply for a student visa and do a uni course over here (will need at least 12k, but can work on this visa too), once you have studied here for two years you can apply for perm residency.

As boring as it sounds, you need to think of the long term. I came over here and just partied last two years, which was best time of my life, but now have to face going home. I really should have planned it so I could get Perm residency or sponsorship

But as I said, you can have best of both worlds if you come on hol visa, party for a few months, and then decide what to do.

Plus, ( I didnt say this) can get away with a bit of cheeky work for cash on hol visa if stuck for money

Hope this helps. Very jealous. Wish I had gotten some advise before I came :mad:

pclancy

Ray Ray just go for it mate, you'll have a blast just be cute with your cash.

I wish i'd emigrated at 18 instead of drinking and drugging myself to bits in Portlaoise for all those years before I copped on to life...you'll have a great experience and it will open your mind a lot more then if you stayed at home bored and jobless.

Zambia

pclancy wrote: »

Ray Ray just go for it mate, you'll have a blast just be cute with your cash.

I wish i'd emigrated at 18 instead of drinking and drugging myself to bits in Portlaoise for all those years before I copped on to life...you'll have a great experience and it will open your mind a lot more then if you stayed at home bored and jobless.

Dont be so hard on yourself not much else to do in that prison so I hear?;)

pclancy

Yeah when you get sick of your PS3 and degree studies theres not much to do in there

Tigerandahalf

Chap..you are never too young or too old. The country is in a mess back home. If you can get out of it for 2 years you would be doing v well. There is nothing at home and the social scene will get worse with less young people and cash around..espec in the rural towns.
The student visa option is not the greatest..big money for a ****e course and you would be working and studying all hours. Get a WHV and see how you go. If you don't have a qualification out here it's hard to get work and the pay won't be great. However, compared to home it's the better option..plus sun and hot girls in bikinis is always a bonus.

irishturkey

I wouldn't be worried about throwing away the WHV. Australia is just one of many places to go. If it doesn't work out here, theres Canada, Thailand... etc. Go for it. You'll love it anyway and as far as I'm concerned, if you want to work in Australia, you'll get work.