Do you want to program upside down?

Good evening everyone / day / morning, to whom, what is closer at the moment. I’ve been reading this resource for a long time and have always been especially fond of articles that somehow motivated me, made me think, and encouraged me to change something in my life. Therefore, I decided to try to inspire, or so to speak, mentally help those who want something, but, like all normal people, they doubt it. Specifically, tell about my immigration to Ozzy. I’ll make a reservation right away for those who like to write something like: “multi-letter”, “not overpowering” ... I apologize in advance, because I love “multi-letter” myself, and when I don’t like to go to twitter, I advise you.

A little bit about yourself

My name is Alexey, was born and raised in western Siberia, and more specifically in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. By the will of fate, he became an IT specialist, in particular, a C # / ASP.NET programmer, and after 5 years of hard work I wanted a lot of money and more perspectives, for which I actually went to one “black” company, where SAP products are actively implemented and used. So I became an SAP BW / BI developer and subsequently a team lead. Everything was great, but the soul since the last year of the university was eager to live at sea. I understand that this is trite, but the cold really bothered me. Fortunately, my wife’s thoughts looked in the same direction. I did not care where, most importantly at sea. And she dreamed of a land on which people walk upside down. They decided on that.

Preparing for the move

I began to actively collect a bag of money, and my wife registration of all documents. Unfortunately, my English left much to be desired, therefore the wife of the main applicants for the visa (linguist by education). Preparation and obtaining a visa took 4 months. Then we packed our bags and our labrador named May, and flew in the hope of a better future. You can find out more about visa methods by clicking on the links at the end of the article.

Before leaving, I read many articles and podcasts that made me reconsider my attitude to moving and how cool I am a developer / architect and how they will take me everywhere with arms and legs. As a result, we determined for ourselves a period of 6 months, during which work should appear (I did not want to work as a dishwasher and a waiter) and until that time there should be no talk of panic and nervousness. I ask you to pay attention to future immigrants, it is really important to sit down on the ground and take off the general’s stitches. It really helps and show off supposedly: "Yes, I won’t hit my finger on a finger for $ 3000 / month," to nothing at all. If it’s difficult to overcome yourself, then it seems to me better not to try to leave my native country, where you are a god and a king. I want to note that these are not only my observations, but also some of our compatriots on this continent.

Work searches

Freelancers like those traveling to Thailand, it seems to me it will be difficult and terribly unprofitable. Therefore, one must go here for permanent, or on a contractual basis, work with mandatory sitting in the office and other related things. Based on this, the speed of the Internet is absolutely not an important quantity. I can only say that for video chat with family and friends is enough.

Actually, the first thing I started to look for work, and exclusively on the specialization of SAP (I did not really want to return to writing code, and I forgot a lot). Unfortunately, not everything is as simple as I thought. For the response on job sites, I used a translated resume, which, I must say, worked very well for Moscow recruiters and potential employers, but it was completely indifferent to the Australian HR. It turned out that I was fundamentally mistaken and the resume needed to be redone.

For better or worse, but local hunters do not want to think about seeing your resume, they use a program that searches for the keywords of the vacancy in your resume and if the required percentage is not gained, then in the trash. Sometimes it reached the point of absurdity, in CV 4.5 years of experience -> it takes 5 => result - “We have carefully reviewed your resume; unfortunately, your skills and experience do not match Accenture's current needs. " Thanks one, I learned the meaning of the word "unfortunately". It turns out that the resume has passed the first screening, you need to create a CV for each vacancy with the necessary set of keywords, but simply copy-paste and do not hesitate to exaggerate, the main thing is not to get into an interview.

A couple of real examples of quality lies of exaggeration.

• He has 9 years of experience in the construction industry. Trying to get a job as a carpet specialist, he creates a new resume in which he, of course, has been working on carpets for 9 years. The result is obvious - they took it!
• Another guy is trying to get a job in a big company and naturally does not have local experience, but unfortunately, some large companies prefer to hire employees with local experience and local references. The guy writes a reference, saying that he worked in Australia in one company, gives the phone number of the former employer (his girlfriend). The employer called the number, was satisfied with the answer and, as a result, work in his pocket.
  

There is only one conclusion: it is possible and necessary to lie, but not to bury oneself and in no case to get caught!

Work

Exactly 2 months later, the work was received. At that time, I had two resumes: one for SAP vacancies, the other for C #. I had to memorize them, because I wrote enough there. As a result, I became a Software Developer in one Australian-American startup. Three months of the trial period during which I work under the contract, for which I needed to get ABN, aka IP. Which in turn took about 10 minutes to fill out a form on the website of the tax department and waiting for a letter with a number within 10 days (up to 28 officially). Before that, we also received TFN via the Internet, it’s a TIN, but without a salary in envelopes they will not take a job without it as a waiter with a good salary.

This is my first startup experience and I must say I did not expect the office to be in the center of Brisbane, with leather chairs, huge desks and powerful computers. If only because in the “black” company I never dreamed about this.
It’s nice to work, the schedule is from 9am to 5pm. Many people don’t particularly stay, but if you really want to, then please, but no one will pay you for it, which you naturally familiarized yourself by signing the contract.



Australians are punctual people, moderately lazy and moderately hardworking, by and large there isn’t much difference, except that in Russia we plow after school hours for “thank you” and the most funny thing is that we love to do it, the Australian will not do this because family and his health are 300 times more important for him. And it’s completely normal not to go to work if you have some kind of event in your family like your daughter’s concert in the local choir, telling only the phone manager that you will not come, because family is the first.

I get the salary in my bank account, having previously issued the company an invoice for the payment of my services. At the end of the year (in June) you need to pay taxes, before writing off some amounts of money for the funds necessary for work, such as buying a car, gasoline, mobile phone, office and everything that comes to mind, what you supposedly need to conduct your business .

A few numbers:

• s / n Waitresses - from $ 18 to $ 24 per hour;
• s / n junior C # developer - from $ 60k / year less taxes, it turns out about $ 4000 per month;
• s / n SAP BW developer - from 90k / year, net of taxes, about $ 5700 per month;
• s / n Senior SAP developer - from 120k / year on hand about $ 7300 per month;

Taxation here differs from Russian and has a complex step structure. The percentage of taxation is curled directly from your salary.

Taxable amount	Tax
0 - $ 18,200	Nothing
$ 18,201 - $ 37,000	19c for every $ 1 over $ 18,200
$ 37,001 - $ 80,000	$ 3,572 plus 32.5c for every $ 1 over $ 37,000
$ 80,001 - $ 180,000	$ 17,547 plus 37c for every $ 1 over $ 80,000
$ 180,001 and above	$ 54,547 plus 45c for every $ 1 over $ 180,000

Real estate. Food. Transport. Education

Real estate in Australia is expensive, both buying and renting, we rent student-type apartments with a shared kitchen 8km from the center, where only one bus goes per hour for $ 1050 per month, including utilities, TV and Internet 20mbit. If you want to live in the center in a two-bedroom apartment, you need to cook from $ 500 per week. And this is just Brisbane, which is even smaller than Peter. In Sydney, the price is about 2 times higher. But, of course, you can go closer to the sea about 40 km from the center and rent a house of 120 squares with a garage and unfurnished for $ 350 per week.

As for food, it is also more expensive than in Russia, for example: bread from $ 1 to $ 4, milk from $ 1 to $ 3. Tomatoes are still a luxury for us, because the hand does not rise for $ 10 per kilo. But the meat, such as beef and lamb 3-4 dollars per kilo. But the products are always fresh, because they are Australian grown, so you will not find frozen food other than pizza, ice cream and shrimp.



It seems that only rich people smoke here, not everyone can afford $ 20 per pack.
The cost of alcohol is the same as in Russia, except that beer is $ 3.5 per bottle of 0.375, but if you take a package of 24 bottles, you will get $ 1.45 apiece.

Public transport, specifically in our city, is very developed and is considered to be the best system throughout Australia. Yes, indeed, buses, trains and boats go like clockwork. Payment in them by special cards (go card) for which you first need to throw money at any newsstand. Of course, you can pay in cash, but it is 40% more expensive than with a card. On the roads for buses, separate lines. At stops, the per-minute schedule of each route. But there is one fare that is not sour, for example, from home to the center $ 3.70, but since my wife is a student, we bought me a student travel card, which gives a 50% discount on travel. And also, after 10 trips, everyone else is free, the counter is reset every Monday. Thus, transport takes about $ 40 per month.
Taxis are entirely Toyota Camry and Prius, equipped with meters, GPS and cashless terminals. From the center to the house ~ $ 20.

Mobile communication in Russia is just a gift, because in Australia it is expensive, and the quality is the same. In particular, by choosing a post-paid tariff for $ 30 per month, you get 450 credits that you can spend on calls and SMS, as well as 400 MB of traffic and, of course, on-net calls are free. Cost per minute ~ 98s + 40s per connection, 1 sms ~ 30s. If you want mobile Internet, then it will cost $ 40 for 12GB and a modem as a gift.

And a little about education. Education in Australia is cool, fun, modern, technological, just like in Harvard movies, but terribly expensive. We pay $ 12k per semester for a master's degree in marketing.

Cars

The car here is a necessary means of transportation, and it doesn’t matter what year and what mileage, the main thing is to go. When buying a new car, all associated bureaucratic papers are drawn up by the dealer for you. You only need to give him a suitcase with plastic notes. However, buying a used car is very quick and not troublesome. It took us 5 minutes to register, the seller passed the inspection, insurance is included in the registration. One thing surprised us when, when filling out the next form, they asked me eye color, hair color and skin color, apparently the state wants to know everything about the drivers.

Second-hand cars themselves are slightly cheaper than in particular in Surgut, but their mileage is huge, for example 150,000 km for 2006 Honda Fit, which is normal.
Everything would be great, if not for the fines, the cost of gasoline and parking. Liter 91 ~ $ 1.40, an hour of parking in the center of $ 4.20 or $ 20 per day.



Parking in the wrong place is certainly possible, but expensive ($ 150 fine + $ 200 for a tow truck; an excess of 17 km will cost you $ 220) and hopes that it doesn’t need to be carried out, specially trained people who photograph violations and write a fine go to the center, and also, if necessary, call a tow truck. By the way, you yourself can hit another driver if you notice a violation with the help of a nearby parking payment terminal.
The only thing that was difficult the first couple of days was to drive on the left side with the right wheel on the mechanics.

Social

In my deepest conviction, it is quite easy for us, modern Europeans, to assimilate in this country. Of course, it will be difficult to make reliable loyal friends of Australians, all the same, we have a slightly different mentality, and in general I think making real friends at the age of 30 is problematic, but possible. People here are always smiling and wishing each other good, and not because you have a bag of money, but because the friendly nation as a whole, although they were former “convicts”. The first one I greet and find out “how are you?” Every morning is the bus driver. And if I suddenly run out of money for go card, then there is a big chance that I will go to work for free. Coming out of the bus, I will definitely say “thank you” and in return I will receive “thank you, mate”.
Once, I was standing at a bus stop and couldn’t understand what bus I could take, it bothered a woman passing by and she hastened to help me.
In a word, what country, such people. Nobody is trying to fool you or to fuck something, on the contrary they are very gullible.
This, of course, does not apply to Asian immigrants, of whom there are very many. So they absolutely do not want to assimilate and do everything as they are used to in their dirty and squalid countries.
There is one big problem with the Australians, they like to drink a lot, and after they get drunk they really like to walk the streets and shout something. From the side, they are similar to our ordinary hooligans, but they will never touch you, because, as the law is above all and for a broken jaw, you can get 5 years in prison.

Entertainment

To begin with, there is a sea, and therefore surfing, personally, this is enough for me.
But seriously, as probably in any large developed city, there is always something to occupy yourself with. We have all the weekends scheduled. Nearby are many islands with emerald lagoons. For children and adults Australia Zoo, Warner Bros Movie World, Sea World, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and more.
And if you want to drink beer in good company, then there are a lot of different pubs with live music.
The city administration regularly holds various festivals. The calendar on Facebook is just packed with events.

Total

Australia is not a place to go to work on the seashore and cheap life. Everything is really more expensive here, if you compare in absolute numbers, but could it be otherwise in a country that has been in the 3rd place in terms of living for many years ?! Of course, in Moscow you can easily get $ 60k per year, but at the same time live in a huge city full of chaos and danger.

In Australia, I like that I can have dinner sitting on a green lawn, see the sun all year round and feel the heat, if my feet suddenly get tired, sit on clean, washed asphalt at night. I am here because I can not worry that something will happen to my wife or unborn children on the street in the evening, or that some drunk official or his relatives will harm me. There are no traffic jams due to the collision of cars on the road, the system is thought out so that people simply exchange contacts of insurance agents and go home. It's funny, but you will be fined if you did not go to the polls, because it is the holy duty of a citizen of a democratic country.

If you are not satisfied with something, write to the government about it, and if this is not enough, then go to the square and rally, but you will go home on foot, and not in a wagon. And the police are respected here, not afraid.


Here people don’t rush about their new Audi or BMW or a big salary, they can easily sit and drink beer with you, and if it weren’t for the business card, you wouldn’t know that you have the executive director of IBM Global Services. And even more so, nobody is important when talking on iPhone 5, although they call themselves “apple persons”, but not for show off, but because they are fans of this company, like Petersburg fans of Zenith.

It is very funny to watch the Ferrari standing at the traffic light, which starts instantly and picking up 60 km / h continues to drive at this speed, the law is the same for everyone.
Of course, this is not a paradise and at first it will not be easy, but it's worth it!
If you want to know more, please contact. With pleasure, I will help than I can.

References:

www.gday.ru - immigration forum
www.immi.gov.au - Australian immigration department
www.seek.com.au - job search
www.ato.gov.au - tax department
www.translink.com.au - transport system
www.gumtree.com.au - the most popular resource for private announcements