Leaving Australia to live overseas.

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Anyone else done it through IEP? It's just when I bring this up with family they always just talk about how much it costs to just get over there and do the application
 
Angus Young said:
Who here has left Oz to go live overseas?

Tell us your story.

Why?
Where?
How long did you last?
Regrets?
Good move?
Difficult etc etc
Click to expand...
10 hour days working as a labourer in Perth starting at 6am doing assignments under bullshit time limits. On a back brace for half the shifts over the last 3 months of it.

Have a Bachelor's degree and a Graduate Diploma. Job market very poor in both fields. Finished Grad Dip at end of 2017 then set up Plan B by getting TEFL certification.

I am now teaching English in Taiwan. Currently 3 months into it. I am really enjoying it. It may not be a long term career but it sure is a hell of a lot more enjoyable than what I was doing back home. And my happiness has increased substantially. And I can use my brain.

I am currently trying to complete a tourist map in English of the city I am working in, just to make some use of uni qualifications on the side.

No regrets so far.

Need to come to Taiwan with an open mind.....you can't just fully replicate your hometown lifestyle over here. I know a few British and American hipsters here who try and do that then wonder why they spend so much money and whinge about so many things etc.

The mentality of the Taiwanese is quite different from Mainland Chinese and Westerners. People who are arrogant, obnoxious and/or holier than thou are heavily frowned down upon a lot more so than back home.

Local food is tasty and cheap. Rent and electricity is dirt cheap relative to Australia. Healthcare is well funded by the government (a small tax is taken out of the monthly pay to cover for it).

Very little nanny statism nonsense.

-

I don't know how long I'll stay here. I suspect this will be far from my last living destination.
 
Last edited:

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Angus Young said:
Who here has left Oz to go live overseas?

Tell us your story.

Why?
Where?
How long did you last?
Regrets?
Good move?
Difficult etc etc
Click to expand...

Do you mind if I do the reverse? I left the US to live here for a couple of years...

Why? Back in 1975 there were few teaching jobs in my home state of Illinois. Being 22 years of age I decided to take a chance and apply for positions overseas.

Where? I was accepted for teaching positions in Quito Ecuador, Bogota Columbia and somewhere in Victoria. I chose Victoria.

How long did you last? I signed a contract with the Victoria Education Department for one year minimum. I lasted over three years with them. In 1979 I transferred to Catholic Education Victoria and taught in the Eastern and Northern suburbs. I lasted 23 years with Catholic Ed(one was actually in Perth).

Regrets? The first month. I almost quit. Being 23 and having a teaching job in the Western suburbs of Melbourne was, errr... challenging. On the whole? It was by far the best decision I have made in my 66+ years. My only real regret in all of my first 25 years here was moving to Perth 30 years ago. I only stayed one year. I'm really a Victorian at heart.

Good move? Ah, yes. So much so that after 17 years back in the US being caregiver for my now deceased parents, I came back here in 2017 to spend my remaining days.

Difficult? Yes. New country. New food. New language. New culture. Having to choose a footy team to barrack for. After I completed my first school term in late 1975, it became sooooo much easier. The Western suburb kids taught me so much. They will always hold a special place in my heart.

After I returned to live in Chicagoland in 2000, I attended my high school class' 30th Reunion. I hadn't seen most of my former classmates since 1970. I never was so bored. Almost all who attended had never lived further than about 20 km from their childhood homes. I had little in common with them.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
 
The Dice Man said:
I left with not much money, not much idea of where I was going to end up and landed well and truly on my feet in a foreign land. My wife and her family were hugely supportive and helpful and I doubt I could have done it alone at my age at the time(late 30s).
Click to expand...

Good to hear it can be done at that age!

May i ask the reason of why you left to begin with?
 
revo333 said:
Good to hear it can be done at that age!

May i ask the reason of why you left to begin with?
Click to expand...

My now wife was on a 6 month internship visa so had to leave Australia and we didn’t want to part, so I went with her fully aware that I only had a 3 month Schengan visa. I stayed 2 and a half years fighting in the courts to stay but I eventually had to leave. We went back for a year in Oz, got married and did everything correct and returned to France.

When I met my wife in late 2011 I’d never left the east coast of Australia, since then we’ve traveled in 22 different countries. She really changed my life.
 
Why? Having moved from a small country town in WA, to Perth, to Sydney, when my partner said to me that she'd like to move back to Germany after 14 years in Australia, I had no real reason not to. We had no family in Sydney, and at that stage, a 1.5 year old with 3 cousins her age in Germany. Seemed like a no brainer.

Where? Ironically, we moved to 10 mins west of Dortmund where the in(out)laws live. Partner hates them - follows a second division club, so its been good to have two stadiums close by that we both like going to. After 3 months we moved to Hamburg for work, and to live closer to some of our Australian friends.

How long did you last? Still going strong 1 year on.

Regrets? Hardest thing for me has been dealing one person in my immediate family back home having a long term illness, and feeling like I should be back there to support. Of course, the affected person has told me straight out I cant put my life on hold for them - never makes it easier though.

Good move? It's been great. Some things over here are done so much better in Australia - like 40hrs free child care per week, seamless healthcare, great public transport, good standard of living, having a really beautiful city to live in, lots of good football, but also the fact that where I live is a destination for many of my friends who like to travel, so I've always got my door open for visitors. It's also nice getting up at 6am on Saturday and having half an hour till bounce-down!

Difficult etc etc. Adjusting to life here was tough at the start. Little things you take for granted - supermarkets being open on a Sunday, being able to do gardening on a Sunday, being able to pay everywhere with card just doesn't happen here - at all. Being away from friends sometimes gets to me, so its good to have a couple of long time australian friends here. Also the bureaucracy is appalling. Paper trails everywhere - buying a car/getting health insurance etc can be incredibly frustrating until you figure the system out. On a lesser note - its impossible to watch the NBA here unless you get up at 2am, so thats really a no go.
 
Lived in UK for 10 years.

Why? Grew up in WA, keen to see a bigger world. Sydney and Melbourne looked like bigger versions of Perth, not that different.

Where? Most time in Cambridge, but also Birmingham, Worcester and Glasgow.

Regrets? None at the time. Missed the summers here most. Realised this on annual holiday in Greece, thinking I wanted this for more than 2 weeks a year. Not a regret but I could have stayed there and been on a more prestigious, international career path. Gave that up because I preferred playing cricket on the weekends rather than working.

Good move? Yes, gave me a much broader perspective on life. Loved the NHS, access to rest of Europe, access to world's greatest galleries, museums, theatres etc.

Difficulties? Just the usual to start with, different bureaucracy etc. English people can be difficult to get to know well.
 
swingdog said:
Lived in UK for 10 years.

Why? Grew up in WA, keen to see a bigger world. Sydney and Melbourne looked like bigger versions of Perth, not that different.

Where? Most time in Cambridge, but also Birmingham, Worcester and Glasgow.

Regrets? None at the time. Missed the summers here most. Realised this on annual holiday in Greece, thinking I wanted this for more than 2 weeks a year. Not a regret but I could have stayed there and been on a more prestigious, international career path. Gave that up because I preferred playing cricket on the weekends rather than working.

Good move? Yes, gave me a much broader perspective on life. Loved the NHS, access to rest of Europe, access to world's greatest galleries, museums, theatres etc.

Difficulties? Just the usual to start with, different bureaucracy etc. English people can be difficult to get to know well.
Click to expand...
Do you get access to the NHS while just on a visa? Or do you have a UK passport?
 
Trotts said:
Yeah its a great place, but in saying that maybe ask me again in April next year after a full winter. Apparently it costs about 7k to get permanent residency, so more than likely will be back in sunny Perth next July..
Click to expand...
Did you come back to Perth?
 

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Moving to Switzerland next week. Doesn't even feel real yet, I haven't even started packing my things up. Nervous as **** as this wasn't even on my radar 2 months ago so I haven't really had much time to process it but a job opportunity has come up and with no commitments back here it's pretty much the perfect time for me to do it. Gonna be a trip waking up to this every day

csm_bea_aussen-19_01_81e3bc7166.jpg


rundsicht_panorama_dorf_.jpg
 
HotSausage69 said:
Moving to Switzerland next week. Doesn't even feel real yet, I haven't even started packing my things up. Nervous as **** as this wasn't even on my radar 2 months ago so I haven't really had much time to process it but a job opportunity has come up and with no commitments back here it's pretty much the perfect time for me to do it. Gonna be a trip waking up to this every day

csm_bea_aussen-19_01_81e3bc7166.jpg


rundsicht_panorama_dorf_.jpg
Click to expand...

Moving to Luzern?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
wadistance said:
Nice, right at the foothills. What work are you doing over there, fairly small town, no?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I'm a chef, got a gig at a small hotel through a friend of my old Tafe instructor. Gonna be a fairly big change up going from a busy Adelaide cbd restaurant to a quiet village town but its exciting. Apparently a couple of people in the kitchen don't speak English too well either so there's gonna be a bit of a learning curve I think.
Have you been before?
 
HotSausage69 said:
Moving to Switzerland next week. Doesn't even feel real yet, I haven't even started packing my things up. Nervous as **** as this wasn't even on my radar 2 months ago so I haven't really had much time to process it but a job opportunity has come up and with no commitments back here it's pretty much the perfect time for me to do it. Gonna be a trip waking up to this every day

csm_bea_aussen-19_01_81e3bc7166.jpg


rundsicht_panorama_dorf_.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks fantastic, have a great time.
 
HotSausage69 said:
I'm a chef, got a gig at a small hotel through a friend of my old Tafe instructor. Gonna be a fairly big change up going from a busy Adelaide cbd restaurant to a quiet village town but its exciting. Apparently a couple of people in the kitchen don't speak English too well either so there's gonna be a bit of a learning curve I think.
Have you been before?
Click to expand...

Not personally, but a friend has previously skied there.

Most Swiss are pretty good with English that I’ve encountered. Definitely recommend getting on babbel and start learning German. Once you get the basics you’ll learn so quickly with immersion, and the community will love it. I’m jealous! Not much snow or landscapes up here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
HotSausage69 said:
Moving to Switzerland next week. Doesn't even feel real yet, I haven't even started packing my things up. Nervous as **** as this wasn't even on my radar 2 months ago so I haven't really had much time to process it but a job opportunity has come up and with no commitments back here it's pretty much the perfect time for me to do it. Gonna be a trip waking up to this every day

csm_bea_aussen-19_01_81e3bc7166.jpg


rundsicht_panorama_dorf_.jpg
Click to expand...
I am envious, though after 17 years back surviving Chicago winters, I am ever so grateful I will never see snow again! Enjoy your time there and while traveling, especially while you're young. Luckily I did mine after I moved to Melbourne in 1975. I've had over forty years of memories that I can relive. Now that I'm retired I'm not physically able to travel like I had hoped. But I'll never forget walking on the Great Wall of China, one of my childhood dreams. It was 39 years ago, but seems like only yesterday. Best of luck.
 

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Leaving Australia to live overseas.

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