# Working Life In Aus



## Twid78 (Apr 28, 2010)

Hi All,

There has been a lot of coverage recently about the Australian way of life, and those who are not pulled by this must need their head testing! I, myself would like to take my family and make the venture tomorrow!

However, what I would like to try and find, is a more balanced perspective of what working life is _actually_ like in Aus. What really gets to me about life in England, is the pressures working life puts on your family. Here parents are encouraged to work full time, with your kids fitting in around your working life. Work comes first.

It seems working life in Aus is completely different, with working life seemingly 9-5 with employers and their government promoting a healthy work life balance. I am an Accountant and work long hours, and can see my future here not changing and working until im 70 (thats another 40 yrs!).

So what I would like to know is, what are your opinions of working life in Aus? could I expect as an Accountant to have a more balanced work life arrangement?

Thanks guys
Garry


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

Twid78 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> There has been a lot of coverage recently about the Australian way of life, and those who are not pulled by this must need their head testing! I, myself would like to take my family and make the venture tomorrow!
> 
> ...


I suppose it'll always depend on what you hunger for Garry and whether you're self employed or what sort of organisation you work for and what sort of whip wielding occurs.

By hunger, Australia is probably much like the rest of the developed world with there being many families by name of Jones and many others wanting to keep up with them.
And so because of about half our population being in Sydney and Melbourne and another 25% in 5-6 other capitals and that helping to keep real estate pricing very high, it certainly takes a bit to keep up with the Jones and unlike what it may have been fifty years ago many families do have both parents working and sometimes not just to have kids in private schools but for choice to have what they see are some better things in life.

Both parents working is certainly a trend that has developed more than ever in the last 30 - 40 years, houses are bigger and a home might be a Mc Mansion as we call them here, a lot of times empty but for when both of a couple are not working to meet Mc Mansion size mortage payments and if kids are about, then it might even be more Mackers for the evening meal.

It is over thirty years ago that I moved from Melbourne to Broken Hill, a semi outback mining city and one of my reasons then was to escape the rat race of daily traffic grind, it no doubt about several hundred % worse these days if what I see on visits is anything to go by.

So life ain't so great for the majority, even if they do work for the public service or organisations where they might not do too much more than the 9-5.

I have a daughter who is an accountant and married one who seems to be doing quite well for himself, having put themselves into a lot of debt from what I can gather to buy his partnership of a firm of accountants he is now apparently the major partner of.
I'd not know how many hours a week in total he puts in but one way or another with a home office as well I'd expect it'll be a lot more than an employee type.
My daughter wants to work as much as she can too and I suppose it's just what rubs off though she always had a good worth ethic and was running a department store office as her part-time job while still at college.

My tastes in life were perhaps a fair bit simpler but even working for a government utility organisation, work was fairly demanding at times until they wanted us gone with privatisation on the way and that kind of dampened the flames and so it's now nice to have the nearest traffic light over 100 km. away.

So I'm at the other extreme from city dwellers and love it.

If I was thinking of a move to Australia I'd think of looking for opportunities away from the capital cities a bit, regional towns/cities where living costs can be lower, life a little less hectic and home can be a five minute drive away to an acreage plot where you can smell trees and plants rather the air smelling a bit from fumes and the kids can have ponies if they like, that kind of stuff, instead of having to decide if it's the pub for an hour or so or work longer until the traffic peak has subsided and then get home in the dark, likely leaving in the morning when it's dark too.
I suppose a bit like having a job in an english village somewhere if that's possible - there has been a UK series on tele recently, a big guy who's a solicitor with a Ros from Spooks playing his interesting sister and he gets his old merc out occasionally - a good life you could say!

Essentially you need to design your life somewhat and decide on just what you want materially to determine what sort of life style you might have.


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## santuario (Mar 30, 2011)

hi Wanderer,

Thank you for the most comprehensive inputs! Truly appreciated. I came across your post regarding your move from Melbourne to Broken Hill and how you have made your move to AU some 30 years ago.

I will be moving to Melbourne soon as a Civil engineer on 176. Currently, looking for job opportunities from overseas, with the hope of getting job interview schedules and offers when I arrive. Your posts have truly been helpful to me and my wife! My visa allows me to work anywhere in Victoria, including Melbourne. 

May I get some inputs from you where I could find these Civil engineer job opportunities in Victoria/Melbourne? Which suburbs in Melbourne are best to live in? I also hope that the global financial crisis has improved at this time.


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