is there a website for looking at house prices and locations covering the whole country? something like www.rightmove.co.uk ?

also, do you know of any schemes where visitors could come over for a kind of holiday but stay in a house with a family rather than hotels so that they get to see how real life is day to day? or even house swap for mad people who want to come to the UK?

 

Gotta love all the Aussie threads each winter in the UK!

Various sites:

www.realestate.com.au
www.realestateview.com.au
www.domain.com.au

www.carsales.com.au - For cars but someone will post that question up next.

As a very general guide, Melbourne and Sydney are more business centers for a lot of multinationals however each city has a good size center. Swings and roundabouts for all but in general Sydney will be the most expensive like London, Pops would be best advised on answering that although he has posted up prices before.

As for living over here. The backpacker visa is available for 18-30 year olds for 1 year and extendable to 2 years after spending 3 months working in a farming type role (there are some work limitations on this visa). Alternatively a normal ETA visa (holiday one) is 3 months but doesnt allow you to work. If you have a trade you can apply to migrate which is what my brother did and is happilly here as a Carpenter.

 

thanks for that

lol at the car one as that will be next i'm not bothered about cars, i know you can get some decent ford utes to tow my bike trailer

i would qualify for the skilled migrant visa as i have checked. just need to talk the missus round. we're a bit old for the backpacker visa but would not want to work anyway - just have a long visit where you get to see real life (how the services work, what supermarkets are like etc, etc, all day to day stuff) rather than just be on a long holiday

 

I'm on the working holiday visa (backpacker) at the moment. There is a guy at the hostel who used his a few years ago (you only get one) and he managed to get a holiday visa for a year. He had to have a certain amount of money in his bank, I think equivalent of $500 a month, and references from his old workplace

 

hire a house for a couple months mate. apply for your skilled work visa so you get a resident visa and you can go and come as you please for 5 years.

 

I know you know, but he proberly doesn't understand the way you have put in regards to the visa's
You get you skilled worker visa 136,which intitles you to live here for the rest of your life. But it also comes with a residents return visa which you need to come in and out of the country which is valid for 5 years, after that you just go and get another one.
I got in before they changed the rules, so after i had spent 712 days in total here i could apply for my citizenship, which personally i think anyone who doesn't do this is silly. Still not done mine but will do it early this year as i have had other things on my mind.
If you need help on areas in sydney i'd be more than happy to help

POPS

 

Ps, was 39 in sydney yesterday but only 28ish today

 

some good advice there gents, thanks very much

looking on the aus government website, applying for the visa cost over 2000AUD right? so you have to be serious that you will use it if you apply for it?

 

It cost quite a bit more than that once you add on all the other fees, plus it aint as easy as just saying im a painter/sparky/plumber and so on.

 

i appreciate that pops. i know it's based on age, job ability to speak english etc but i would qualify if do it within the next 5 years or so

i've seen plenty on tv and the net about you getting much more for your money with houses in most areas (waterfront etc excluded) than over here, but how doe sthat compare with wages so that you can see what you can afford in real terms? i.e over here to afford the mortgage on a £200k house you need to be earning £40k pa or whatever, so do the jobs over there pay the equivalent?

what could a degree qualified mechanical engineer specialising in Heating Venting and Air Conditioning expect to earn?