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Marisawright

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Everything posted by Marisawright

  1. Marisawright
    ...which is something I really struggle to understand. I can understand people fancying a new adventure - but it 's not a better country, just different, so I wonder why people with families are willing to invest so many thousands of dollars in getting here!
  2. Marisawright
    It might make you feel better to remember that UK to Australian travel plugs are just letting you change the shape of the prongs (if that's what you call them!), they don't do anything else . It's not like a transformer that's changing the voltage. So provided you buy a reputable make rather than a Pound Shop or eBay version, they're pretty safe. The only thing to watch is not to plug more than one high-powered device into the same powerboard.
  3. Marisawright
    Yes, only conjecture - and I'm absolutely sure that it's not supposed to work like that. It certainly wouldn't be official policy, and anyone caught doing it would be ticked off. I'm just saying that you're dealing with human beings, not automatons, and they're going to behave like human beings. After 30 years of supervising office workers, it's the kind of behaviour I've seen time and time again, so I doubt department officials would be any different. However it's not going to be noticeable to the outside world unless the department is snowed under, that's when people start making those kind of choices.
  4. Marisawright
    I think it's inevitable that it does make a difference. Let's face it, if you were in their shoes, wouldn't you do the same? You're ploughing through hundreds of applications, a lot of which will have mistakes and hiccups in them. It's nearly time to go home and you've got a pile of applications on your desk. One of them bears the name of a good agent, one whom you know always does a great job. You could pick up the next application in the queue, but you might get bogged down and miss your train - or you could pick up the one from that agent, which you can process quickly and get home in time for dinner. That's one aspect. The other is that when we know a document is from a source we already trust, we're more likely to take it at face value. That's human nature. So they're less likely to query information on an application from a trusted agent, so they get processed quicker.
  5. Marisawright
    Personally, I feel much safer walking around Melbourne CBD at night than I did in Sydney - but I can't speak for Brisbane. I also feel very comfortable using Melbourne trams at night, because the tram stops are all on main roads so you're not having to walk down side streets to get to stations, or waiting on a platform. Melbourne people seem to be real night owls, too, so there's always people around. I agree, the newspapers love to scare people. They know sensationalist stuff sells papers.
  6. Marisawright
    There's a lot of publicity right now about African gangs in Melbourne. Most of the trouble is in the outer suburbs to the north. I'm sure you're aware that things like burglaries and home invasions can happen in any city, and in fact wealthy suburbs can be a bigger target sometimes (because there's more to nick). On a normal news day, they go unreported because of that - but with all this talk of the African gangs, the newspapers are reporting every single incident, so it looks worse than it is. Personally, I'd say no major city is safe for a woman to wander around the streets late at night! The good thing with Melbourne is that trams and buses run very late, and some all night - and I feel they're pretty safe. I wouldn't be so keen on the train, because the stations are sometimes away from the main road. https://www.bobinoz.com/blog/21582/crime-statistics-in-australia-finding-safe-suburbs/ You also have to remember that suburbs change over time. Melbourne house prices have shot up in recent years and that is pushing people out of the centre, into the next ring of suburbs. Because of that, they're rapidly being gentrified. Someone who lived in Melbourne 10 or 15 years ago would think of Collingwood as being really rough, but they would be surprised what it's like now.
  7. Marisawright
    I think he was just explaining the reasoning behind the regulations. I guess there could be insurance issues if you did have a fire...
  8. Marisawright
    I'd say two years is not enough. There are a lot of hidden costs in migrating - you've got to give away your current furniture, or sell it for peanuts (or perhaps put it in storage, which is an extra cost), then when you get to Australia you've got the cost of replacing the lot (you won't find a furnished rental flat, you'll have to provide all your own stuff). I was surprised how much it cost just to replace pots and pans, bed linen, and all the other little stuff! Alternatively, you could ship it all over - which costs a few thousand, of course. Then when you come back, you'll have to do it all in reverse. To get your money's worth, I'd be aiming for a bit longer.
  9. Marisawright
    In NSW you have to be licensed, so the electrical shops wouldn't sell them to you (or at least they didn't a few years ago). Of course you can buy them on eBay.
  10. Marisawright
    aha, it's good to know the reason behind it.
  11. Marisawright
    If the evidence is there, then submit your complaint. It will take time for them to investigate, so you will have to be patient.
  12. Marisawright
    Didn't you notice, when you lived here, that all the plugs are sealed on to the leads? It's the first thing I noticed when I arrived. That made me curious - why couldn't you just take them apart like British plugs? Then when I started work, I discovered what the rules were.
  13. Marisawright
    You've been told how to make an official complaint. That is your only option. However, why does your agent owe you a refund? You don't get a refund just because your application was refused. He did the work.
  14. Marisawright
    There's absolutely no reason why customs would insist on the plugs being cut off. As others have said, buy a power board. Australian plugs are different. Legally, you're not supposed to change them yourself, you're supposed to get a licensed electrician to do it.
  15. Marisawright
    There's a TSS visa for three or four years, which is what you may be thinking of. It's basically a temp contract position - an employer has to sponsor you, and you have to leave the country when the job ends. Unfortunately, I've never heard of even private schools offering such visas to primary teachers. The employer has to prove they couldn't find anyone locally, and that's unlikely to be the case. A working holiday visa is her best bet, if she's young enough.
  16. Marisawright
    It means you HAVE TO enter Australia BEFORE 22nd March. It doesn't mean you have to settle permanently by that date, but it DOES mean you need to book a flight right now, because you must visit Australia before 22nd March.
  17. Marisawright
    No customs charges unless the goods are under 12 months old - but in practice, let customs prove it! If it's no longer in the box and has been used, how can customs prove you haven't owned it for 12 months? Having said that, I certainly wouldn't be buying new stuff in the UK specially to ship to Australia. Appliances might be cheaper over there but then you've got the worry of it possibly getting bashed about it transit. If you've got decent furniture and appliances that still have a few years left in them, IMO it's best to bring the lot.
  18. Marisawright
    Sure
  19. Marisawright
    OK, I'll bite. How have they developed?
  20. Marisawright
    I always feel guilty when I read about "empty nesters". I don't have children and until my own friends were old enough to see their kids leave home, I had NO idea it was such a wrench for mothers when their kids leave home. None at all. I left home at 19 without a backward glance. Of course I was fond of my parents, but I assumed they'd be glad to see the back of me and my sisters, as they wouldn't have the work of looking after us any more. I thought they'd relish having all that free time.
  21. Marisawright
    Why can't I seem to delete a post these days?
  22. Marisawright
    This was in Victoria. I moved to Sydney a year later and have never heard it called Durex since, so I'm guessing it might be a Victorian thing. Different states have different slang for things.
  23. Marisawright
    No, and I dont see why they should. If the couple made their decision to retire abroad, then they should've made sure their chosen country has adequate health care, so they don't need to fly back to the UK when they have problems. Remember, if they go back to the UK and become residents again, then they could access care no problem. It's only to stop health tourism.
  24. Marisawright
    Oh boy, I'd forgotten about that. I came across it shortly after I arrived, in my first job. My manager (good-looking, but I could tell he fancied himself) had asked me to help him organise our training materials. We went to a big boxroom out the back, alone, miles from the office. We were busily packing some of the stuff into boxes when he said, "Where did I put the Durex?" I froze. What seemed like an age later, but was probably only a few seconds, he said, "Ah! Here it is", and held up a roll of sellotape. I was so relieved, I got a fit of the giggles. What made me laugh even more was the thought of a Brit going into an Australian shop and asking for Durex. When the salesperson handed him the sellotape, I could imagine him looking at it and thinking, "Crikey, these Aussie blokes must be tough!"
  25. Marisawright
    ....but not too far out. You were in Essendon, which I quite like. I wouldn't go any further north, though.
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