Ask Josem about visiting/living in Australia

[Josem]

i just had this AIM conversation last night.

I only made a couple of minor edits to preserve the other guy's anonyminity. my aim is "aujoz".


[ QUOTE ]
Him: hey
Him: It's xxxxxx from 2+2
aujoz: hey sexy
aujoz: you there?
aujoz: just got back from dinner
Him: lol heya
Him: yea so I've been thinking about Australia
aujoz: nice thoughts, i trust
Him: after our lease ends in August (i live witha few other 2+2ers)
Him: What's the whole deal with visas?
Him: I heard it's pretty strict
aujoz: uh
Him: especially if you're a 21 year old internet poker player
aujoz: not really
aujoz: you going for visit?
aujoz: or to live?
Him: live for like 6 months
aujoz: meh
aujoz: tourist visa is enough
aujoz: www.immi.gov.au
aujoz: apply for a tourist visa
Him: how long does that last for
aujoz: to holiday etc.
Him: and can you extend it longer if you want?
aujoz: you can apply for up to 12 months
Him: Cause I'm thinking of going to school
Him: at University of Melbourne
Him: or somewhere
aujoz: you can get a 3 month visa with no difficulty (that's the electronic travel authority)
aujoz: so you can leave and then retrun
aujoz: student visa is different
Him: Leave and Return
Him: like leave for 2 days
Him: then come back?
Him: or leave for an equal amount of time
aujoz: unless you've murdered someone, i can't imagine you being knocked back from a student visa
aujoz: the ETA (3 month visa) 2 days would be enough
Him: sweet
aujoz: but difficulty is that there are no land borders
Him: whats that mean
aujoz: so you need to fly to indonesia or nz
Him: ahhh
aujoz: like, you can't cross the US/Canada border and drive back
Him: cause it's an island
Him: lol
aujoz: ldo
Him: And you can keep doing that for like 12 months>?
aujoz: i assume so
aujoz: you can't "work" in the country
Him: where'd you get the 12 month time frame from [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
aujoz: there are two visa options
Him: the eta
Him: and tourist visa?
aujoz: one is a Electronic Travel Authority (ETA)
aujoz: the other is a tourist visa
aujoz: the tourist visa is 12 months
aujoz: max
Him: Where do you live?
aujoz: Wangaratta
aujoz: about 2.5hrs north of melbourne
aujoz: a country town of 20,000 people
Him: Is Melbourne the place to be
aujoz: i think so
Him: for 2 young 20somethings
aujoz: casino is much better
aujoz: sydney would be reasonable
aujoz: if you're looking to study, Uni of Melb and Uni of Syd would be the best two unis
Him: I had good grades and good SAT scores
Him: is Melb a good school?
aujoz: the australian high school system produces percentage rankings
aujoz: everyone at Melbourne would have a score of over 90%
aujoz: (ie, top 10% of population)
aujoz: everyone at Monash would have a score of over 85%
Him: i wonder what transfer details are like
Him: transferring from a US school to there
aujoz: easy, i'd think
Him: if its even possible
aujoz: depends whether you want a degree from your uni
Him: We use the SATs in the states
aujoz: or a degree from melb uni
Him: I'm not in school anymore right now
Him: so I'd transfer there and get a degree there
aujoz: you'd probably get close to 1:1 accreditation
Him: I went to a really good business school
aujoz: although your american stuff wouldn't transfer direct to Aust. content courses
Him: How's the tuition
Him: I couldn't udnerstand the website
Him: all the stuff about supported place
aujoz: supported place = subsidised by australian govt
Him: oh so if you're like an aboriginine
aujoz: no
Him: you get cheaper tuition?
aujoz: most australian kids straight out of high school get supported place
aujoz: like, 95%
Him: being an Xfer student, I don't think that would happen
aujoz: no
aujoz: it's only available to aust. citizens
Him: word
aujoz: you'd be an internatinoal student
Him: Man, girls with australian accents are awesome
aujoz: heh
Him: how's the nightlife in Melbourne
aujoz: i reckon girls with US accents are awesome
aujoz: http://www.monash.edu/international/...ctivestudents/
Him: likek tentative plans are
Him: move there for 6 months
Him: with one of my roommates
Him: make a ton on party poker
Him: then go back to school
Him: bleh
Him: aim died on me
Him: where's monash?
aujoz: melbourne
Him: how'd you like it?
aujoz: Melbourne Uni + Monash Uni are the two universities to consider
aujoz: i loved it
Him: sweet
Him: i'm actually wicked pumped
Him: It's closer to where my mom lives too
Him: She lives in the Philippines
aujoz: where's your mum live?
aujoz: oh
aujoz: heh
Him: yea
Him: I live in Cali now
Him: anyways, what's your name
Him: I'm Max (obv)
aujoz: i'm Michael
Him: nice to meet ya
Him: when did ya graduate
aujoz: www.myspace.com/monsu_caulfield
aujoz: i finished at end of 2005
aujoz: that was my student union
aujoz: i was president of it from 2004-2005
Him: so you owned the school ~
Him: sick
aujoz: i guess
Him: word
Him: you play on party?
aujoz: normally, yes
aujoz: but i've just moved house
aujoz: or moved city, rather
aujoz: and i don't have a home yet
aujoz: staying at a motel
aujoz: no internet
aujoz: obv i can hook you up with rakeback
Him: word
Him: I have rakeback on my party account already ~
Him: But it's inactive
Him: cause the US suckkkkssss
aujoz: i think you'll find that your affiliate will have shut it
Him: ahhh
Him: if thats the case, I'll look you up
Him: Here's a condo that i've been looking at
Him: /apartment thing
aujoz: but that myspace link shows some pics of girls etc
Him: one of the high rise things
aujoz: sure...
Him: hows public transportatioin
Him: in Australia
Him: or is it worth having a car shipped over
Him: http://www.moveandstay.com/melbourne...on.asp?id=1035
aujoz: don't have a car shipped over
aujoz: we drive o nthe other side of the road
Him: lol
Him: is it that confusing?
aujoz: uh
aujoz: dude
aujoz: i've only driven here
aujoz: so it's natural to me
aujoz: but your license is broadly transferable
aujoz: so it can't be that hard
Him: ahhhhh
Him: Hows the subway system
Him: good for stumblnig home drunk?
aujoz: depends where you live
Him: how about that condo complex
aujoz: if you live in Southbank (where that apartment is), a $A10 cab fare will get you home from just about all the main party areas (about $US7.50)
Him: sweet
Him: where's like the main street to go party
Him: im looking at the map now
aujoz: uh
aujoz: Melbourne is a city of 4 million people
Him: oh...
Him: haha
Him: don't I feel dumb
Him: thats like asking "where do I go to party in new york"
aujoz: key areas are city, southbank, chapel st (windsor), brunswick st, carlton,
Him: so what do you do now
Him: after college
aujoz: i work as a media adviser to a member of the australian house of representatives
Him: neat
Him: How long have you been doing that?
aujoz: 3 weeks in the current job
aujoz: previously did slightly different stuff for another member
aujoz: and before that i was the president of the student union
Him: you play much poker?
aujoz: previously i was playing enough for about $1k/month in RB
aujoz: on $100NL and some $50NL and some $200NL
aujoz: i desperately need to find a place to live
aujoz: and to stop living in a mtoel
Him: yea I was searching for condos and stuff
Him: online
Him: but there's no like central source to find rentals in melbourne
Him: at least not that I could find
aujoz: www.realestate.com.au
aujoz: www.myhome.com.au
aujoz: www.domain.com.au
Him: jesus
Him: you are wicked helpful
Him: haha
aujoz: yeah
aujoz: i win at the internets
Him: I definitely owe you a night of drinks if you ever come down to Melbourne
aujoz: ldo
aujoz: i go down to melbourne every weekend or two
aujoz: i was down there for easter, i think i may go down next weekend, i'm definitely going down the following weekend
aujoz: it's only a 2.5hour drive from wang
aujoz: however, i'm now going home, so send me an email or post if you want
Him: word
Him: thanks a lot man
aujoz: np



[/ QUOTE ]

[renodoc]

Hmmm. I posted in the EDF, but this thread seems more vital.

I'm going on holiday with my wife, her mom and our 6 year old in Dec. Staying about a month. Flying into BNE. Have ten days before we've booked a place on the beach in Bronte. I see you are especially partial to MEL, but my wife and her mum are from SYD and that is where they want to spend most of their time. It is what it is.

Current plan is to stay in a phat hotel in BNE for 2 nights. Then drive to Noosa and stay somewhere phat there as well for 2 more. Then fly to adelaide. I'd like to check out some wine country, drive the Great Ocean Road, and try to get a few days in Melbourne on our way to Sydney. I assume once we get to Bronte we won't need a car.

OK, give me some pointers for this trip. What to avoid, what not to miss, is there a big flaw in my logistics??? How bitchen is NYE at Sydney harbour.

thanks

[Stagger_Lee]

NYE at Sydney Harbour is fantastic. Expect some transport issues - but that is the nature of huge crowds at silly hours.

MEL is fun for people who like to take drugs and go clubbing. It is as boring as batshit for everyone else - an endless supply of the same cafe coffee.

What MEL does have is the best subsidised sporting events in the country. The place is so boring that they literally pay sporting bodies to hold events there.

The best by far is the F1 GP in March , followed by the MotoGP in October - although the bike race is slightly outside of MEL.

Other stuff worth catching is the Australian Open golf & tennis.

Aside from that - go to MEL to get a way out of the place. The Great Ocean Road is fantastic and worth the trip. The Victorian countryside is also great.

[Josem]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going on holiday with my wife, her mom and our 6 year old in Dec. Staying about a month. Flying into BNE. Have ten days before we've booked a place on the beach in Bronte. I see you are especially partial to MEL, but my wife and her mum are from SYD and that is where they want to spend most of their time. It is what it is.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's more than reasonable. I reckon that my demographic (single, 25 y.o. male would have different interests to someone married with kids visiting. Take my point of view into consideration when you consider my advice)

[ QUOTE ]
Current plan is to stay in a phat hotel in BNE for 2 nights. Then drive to Noosa and stay somewhere phat there as well for 2 more. Then fly to adelaide. I'd like to check out some wine country,

[/ QUOTE ]

Good... sounds like fun. Christmas break is the Australian summer holiday, so Brisbane and Noosa will be very, very popular and busy. I like popular things because it means that they are probably good things ("thousands of people can't be wrong") but it's not going to be isolated and quiet unless you really make an effort to get off the beaten track.

[ QUOTE ]
drive the Great Ocean Road, and try to get a few days in Melbourne on our way to Sydney. I assume once we get to Bronte we won't need a car.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you want to do this, I'd suggest flying from Adelaide to Melbourne, and then doing a daytrip from Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road. Driving from Adelaide to Melbourne is a solid 8+ hours direct, and would cost too much time wise if you're only around for a few days.

Early January will see Melbourne very quiet, almost deserted - very large numbers of people leave Melbourne around this time, with reduced public transport timetables (http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/) etc.

Stuff like the National Gallery of Victoria (http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/) has some worthwhile Australian Art at the Federation Square site.

If you're interested in sport, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (http://www.mcg.org.au) has an exceptional sporting museum, with ground tours available. It's actually an impressive "building" - with capacity for around 100,000 spectators. If you had more time, it'd be worthwhile to see a game, but the game is very slow and not suited for a 10-day tour around Australia. If you are interested, the fixture is online at http://cricket.com.au/default.aspx?s=fixture0708

[ QUOTE ]
OK, give me some pointers for this trip. What to avoid, what not to miss, is there a big flaw in my logistics??? How bitchen is NYE at Sydney harbour.

thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

Other general things:
1) You're certainly going to be doing a lot of things very quickly. If I were planning it, I'd personally drop out the Adelaide/Melbourne visit. You could comfortably fill 10 days between Brisbane/Noosa and Sydney.

2) Brisbane/Sydney/Adelaide/Melbourne flights are each going to occupy (essentially) half a day. I don't know if it is worthwhile in your tight itinerary. Keep in mind that Australia is about the same size as continental USA.

3) NYE at Sydney Harbour is very popular - http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nye/

4) Weather will be very hot. There is a very good chance at least two or more of the days will be over 100 degrees fahrenheit. Pack accordingly. - http://www.bom.gov.au

5) It takes about a day to drive from Brisbane to Sydney, from Sydney to Melbourne, and from Melbourne to Adelaide. Don't plan on doing this. - http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=E...saddr=brisbane,+Australia&daddr=sydney,+australia+to:melbour ne,+australia+to:adelaide,+australia&mrcr=2&am p;layer=&sll=-35.83967,148.05438&sspn=4.711228,9.613037& ie=UTF8&z=7&ll=-36.377068,141.778564&spn=4.678906,9.613037&amp ;om=1

6) Unless you have your heart set on Barossa Valley/McLaren Vale (South Australian wineries) consider visiting wineries two hours north of Sydney in the Hunter Valley. http://www.huntertourism.com/

7) Dropping Adelaide/Melbourne could be replaced by a visit to Canberra (1 hour flight from Sydney) which has a number of worthwhile destinations, including the Australian Parliament House (www.aph.gov.au), the Australian War Memorial, the National Art Gallery, the Science Museum (aimed at 6 year olds), etc.

[thecincykiddo]

Josem,

What kind of reputation does the University of Sydney have in terms of its masters degrees in film production? Are there better schools out there for it that are worth the extra cost, or is the UoS a good per-dollar deal? (about $A20k)

Also, how hard is to:

1.) Attend grad school as a modest-income foreigner without a car and
2.) Find a job to stay in the country for a year or so after getting the degree?

[Josem]

[ QUOTE ]
Josem,

What kind of reputation does the University of Sydney have in terms of its masters degrees in film production?

[/ QUOTE ]

The University of Sydney is, by reputation, in the top 3 Australian universities. While the order of ranking varies depending on your methodology, they are:

In no particular order within the brackets:
1 - University of Melbourne
1 - University of Sydney
1 - Australian National University

4 - Monash University
4 - Adelaide University
4 - University of New South Wales
4 - University of Queensland
4 - University of Western Australia

9 - Macquarie University
10+ - others


These are broad, overall rankings. Some others universities are very highly rated in some areas (eg, Marine Biology at James Cook University) and some of the above universities have some poor areas (eg, in my opinion, Faculty of Arts at Monash University).

A site that provides reporting of rankings of Australian universities is online at http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/bestunis.html


I don't know specifically much about the course of Film Production at University of Sydney (seriously, did you expect me to know much about individual courses at each university in Australia?)

[ QUOTE ]
Are there better schools out there for it that are worth the extra cost, or is the UoS a good per-dollar deal? (about $A20k)

[/ QUOTE ]
I'd be surprised if University of Sydney didn't have amongst the most expensive courses in a particular field.

However, the detail that you seek is more than I can provide.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, how hard is to:

1.) Attend grad school as a modest-income foreigner without a car and


[/ QUOTE ]
Not hard, I imagine.

Public transport, especially to inner-suburban Sydney, like where the University of Sydney is located, is extensive.
[ QUOTE ]
2.) Find a job to stay in the country for a year or so after getting the degree?

[/ QUOTE ]
The biggest difficulty that you'll have is obtaining a visa that allows work. Australia, like other Western nations, has a variety of immigration policies that restrict the working rights of some categories of migrants and visitors.

The Australian unemployment rate is currently at its lowest level in over thirty years.

[Josem]

Following on from a few questions about Australian Universities, an extensive publication on this is available online at http://melbourneinstitute.com/public.../MelbIndex.pdf

[thecincykiddo]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know specifically much about the course of Film Production at University of Sydney (seriously, did you expect me to know much about individual courses at each university in Australia?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously?

In the States, when someone asks about the reputation of a school in a particular field, no one would be talking about individual courses. Columbia for journalism, at the undergrad and post-grad levels; NYU for film, again, in both, etc...

Thanks. I had looked at three different programs and the Univ of Sydney's program was the least expensive, hence the question. That could, though, also be a function of a one-year program as opposed to two or more.

I'm assuming that's a three semester year. Bummer about the visa thing, though.

[Josem]

From another thread:

[ QUOTE ]

Hi,

I am actually in the process of organising a legitimate prospective marriage visa with my girlfriend from China. I've read everything ono the immi website and think I have a fair handle on the specifics of that visa. Is there any particular advice that maybe you know that people overlook when organising this type of visa? Do you think it's worth getting a lawyer? I have the time but wonder if it might not be worth paying for the adice.

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

If you're genuine, and if you have English as your first language, if you are tertiary educated, the information provided on the Department of Immigration & Citizenship's website should be sufficient. Many migration lawyers cater to people from non-English speaking backgrounds and those people who are not self-confident in navigating a bureacracy.

Make sure you read stuff literally. One situation* I've seen people get caught on is, for example, if a visa condition says:

*Multiple Entry Visa; and
*Must Not Enter Australia After 1 April 2007; and
*Visa Valid for 6 months from issue; and
*Visa Issued 1 January 2007

All listed conditions must remain true at all times. That means that you may use that visa to enter Australia on 30 March 2007. You may not enter Australia on 30 April - even if you were previously in Australia. If you are in Australia on 1 April 2007, you may remain in Australia until the expiry of the visa (30 June 2007).


Obvious ways to have someone fail a visa applications:
a) lie
b) have a criminal record
c) have previously overstayed a visa
d) etc.


I know of a number of cases of people trying to improperly import wives from eastern-Asian countries including China - I know of one case where a man sought, over a period of many years, six "wives" from China. I would not be surprised if Departmental staff were more dilligent in checking an emigrant from such country as compared to, for example, UK/USA (I have no evidence to support this - just a gut feel).

Thus, if in doubt, provide more evidence rather than less. When they ask for her work history to prove that she's not illegitimate, provide as much as physically possible. When they ask for proof of your close relationship, print out all the emails, instant messenger logs, your phone bills that you have. The $5 cost of a ream of paper is insignificant compared to the cost of being knocked back if you are genuine.

I've never, ever, seen anyone genuine getting knocked back because they have provided too much information - but I have seen many cases of people knocked back because they provided too little information.

If you run into trouble, or if you want more individual assistance, just send me an email (see profile for email address)

*I chose this example because it is particularly common with multiple entry visas such as some prospective spouse visas

[Alexos]

Josem, thanks a lot for doing this, I've found things in this thread that would have otherwise taken me months to search for.

I just graduated from university and am about to plan a ~3month stay in Melbourne with the gf. She has a law degree (but cant practice yet) and I have finance deg.(but I plan to play poker there so wtv). We'll both be 23 by then.

We plan on getting an appartment for that time being, but I was interested on how easy it is to find one in a nice area of Melbourne and for only 3 months? Is this do-able or do I have to start looking now, assuming I want it for September.

I guess it's easier to breakdown my questions in point form:

1)how long would it take to get an internet connection installed?
2)In the conversation on AIM you posted, the guy showed a nice building apptments with internet included and many other things. Is this worth it? Or should I rent a unit to get a real australian experience instead of a living like a tourist:P??
3)What areas of Melbourne (clean and secure) would you recommend?
4)Is there any place I could buy used monitors and sell them back? -->multi tabling PP
5)How easy will it be for her to get a entry lawyer type job...if not, any other decent job (clothing sales, waitress, etc)
6)Will u be in Melbourne from Sept-Dec?

Thx a lot, also added u on msn:P

Alex