How do you know iām not still with my bird? You see KIB, donāt try to read too much into what is said on here all the time.
No iām not, iām going to work from my laptop while over there, going on a kinda working holiday of my own, maybe for about 2 months. If i really liked the place i would consider longer term, as in a year or two. I believe strongly in having foreign experiences especially working if possible, but Ireland will ultimately be my home. Iām so skilled i qualify for 3 different areas of working visa, and hit 60 points in 2 of them . The year working visa states you have to be under 30, but if i wanted to move there for 4 years with a view to permancy i only have to be under 45.
at least some comments that arent based on hearsay or what the lad in work thinks.
To address KIBs original points about public transport being shite, I dont know how that can be thought of. Sydney has a very good under/over ground train service within the city, and a bus network that links up well. Melbourne has the trams and again, its buses are directly linked. Perth has a 4 line train system, and again, bus depots at most stations that link up with the train network. And suprisingly, Brisbane is quite similar to Perth. I had never found any issues with public transport in Australia. but I suppose I should base it on how many buses or trains go out to Bondi Junction.
Cant say I ever needed to avail of the health service in Australia, but I know many who have, and Iād never heard any complaints. hospitals and other local services are far better organised and much more modern than what is here. A simple system where the local doctor, dentist, chemist and other medical type needs are based in one central area in a suburb make lots of sense.
The education system in Australia is from what I have seen, that bit more advanced than ours here too. but in fairness, I think our education system is decreasing the whole time, and where the likes of maths and physics were tough subjects a few years ago, they have been made easier so as to improve grades. instead of improving standards to increase grades, we lowered standards.
And I wont even bother discussing the sporting developments between schools and scholarships for young people as it is so far above us its unreal.
WRT Rudd being ousted, their last election reminded me so much of how Fianna Fail were here. John Howard was not popular, and the people wanted him out. Rudd was the best alternative, but to me he seemd like a nice guy who wanted to make people happy, without really knowing how to do it. Giving out the free money as a tax incentive to help beat the recession was one of the things that really reinforced that opinion. give me my Ruddy money. But whereas at leat in Oz they will change to suit the election, here we are still stuck with the same boggers and idiots who vote for a particular party because their great grandfather was on that side in 1921.
and this change in party leadership culminating in a new PM was similar to that of the challenge to Kenny. Kenny isnt strong enough to lead, but despite his flaws, the party didnt change leadership. At least the Labour party saw the flaws and instead of just going with the flow, decided to make the change and move things on, instead of just going with the flow.
Despite his easy going nature, he still did quite a bit. Apologising to NCCs ancestors was a big step and one that Howard was unwilling to do in his tenure. His economic stance IMO was good too. while the rest of the world crumbled in the recession, Australia didnt falter that much. and the fooking miners in Oz get paid an absolute fortune. granted, they live in the middle of no where and all there is to do is smoke weed and drink beer, but they get an extortionate amount of money and arent taxed that much. I was getting email forwards of petitions from lads I know mining, and Iām there thinking, you get paid $120k, and you are being asked to pay a bit more tax? fair enough, 6% is a big enough increase, but I would imagine there would be some leeway to manouvere around it. he has a plan in motion to get a computer to be in place for every second level student too, something that is fantasy stuff here.
but his dependence on eco friendly measure was his downfall. yes climate change is important, but not the most important thing, and most of his eggs were in that basket. he didnt seem convincing enough for me, great measures, but not the forecefulness to really implement them and put reassurence in people that he is a strong leader.
I dont know if Gillard will be any better. I dont know if she will have the popularity of Rudd had with the common person. If an election that she has promised does come up, I dont know whether she will hold her PM seat. In truth, I know fook all about her, and time will tell I suppose, but the Australians are a nation that arent afraid to make a change if they feel it isnt right. the few people I have spoken to in the last couple of days sont seem to be convinced by her, but that could be more to do with the fact that they voted in Rudd, and he was disposed of by the party, and not the people.
One thing I could never understand about Australians is how they voted to keep the British queen as their head of state and the union jack on their flag the last time they had a vote?? Everyone I met while out there was real republican and said they didnāt agree with it themselves. Any ideas Aussie experts? You can give your opinion too KIBā¦
Think about this - Ireland isnt the only place with laptops, work, people wanting to skive off work by going on the internet etc
The irony of the above in bold is astounding. Getting a skilled visa without an employer sponsoring you takes a good while. There is a serious backlog. The holiday visa lasts for three months I think anyway.
Something I cant understand either. The governor general on the news yesterday is a minger too.
Public transport aint shite but it could be a whole lot better. No train stations in Bondi, Coogee, Bronte etc - very populated areas. It would make sense to put stations there. I hate buses and try not to use them anywhere.
Melbourne tram system is a joke - nearly 40 mins from St Kilda to the City. Extremely slow. Cool cycle paths though.
Just think that since the Aussies have so much money that they should invest more in infrastructure generally.
Education is very two tiered in Sydney anyway with all the private schools.
Free A&E care for Irish passport holders is great alright. You get sick in one part of NSW though and your patient record isnt accessible elsewhere in NSW. The areas bit like the old health boards at home have sickening power.
I could be wrong , but as far as i know the last time they voted to remove the Queen it wasnt a straight vote to get her out , they were also voting on how the Prime Minister would be elected , something like the people elected their representatives , who would then vote to elect the PM , Fitzy will be along soon anyway to clear this up .
so no train stations at the beaches in Sydney makes the countrys infrasturcture bad. hmmmm.
Dont know what tram you were taking in Melbourne, but the 16 or 96 I think would get you there in about 20 mins. there was one alright that stopped at every station and that took closer to half an hour, but 40 mins? no.
dont know what the issue is with having some private schools? if people can afford to send kids there, let them off, but in general, education is run very well there.
I dont see the big issue with the health system either. but Iām sure the lads in work give out about it. free A&E is good for Irish people alright, but I was talking more about Australian people who need to avail of the health service.
WRT to the Queen shite, dont get why they keep her in myself either. thiink its mostly the old people tho who want to have some sort of heritage attached to them. any young people who I talked with about it are pretty indifferent and wouldnt give a shite, but most of the older people (40+) would prefer to keep things as they are. its almost like they feel the country has a safety net by having a monarchy still over it.
. The year working visa states you have to be under 30, but if i wanted to move there for 4 years with a view to permancy i only have to be under 45.
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