But Australia is so far away...

Almost every time I mention Australia to someone, his/her reaction is: So far way? My parents have mentioned that I should try to go somewhere closer (Europe preferably). I didn't argue with them, but I didn't agree. I told them that many things can change in 1 year and a half (that's when I plan to leave) and that we'll see.

I realise this is a big change for all my family. And I'm willing to let them get used to the idea first and then tell them that I did my best to make the idea to become real. No reason to upset them if I don't have anything settled.

But I digress... The answer to the above question is that I feel that I would be happy there. And I believe that happiness is a very important aspect of life.

Why would I be happy? This is such a more interesting question and I'll answer it in a future post.

Solving point 2 on the TODO list

With the current economical situation (this so called crisis) it got really hard a find a cool job (meaning a job that would bring material and profesional satisfaction; meaning a job that would make you happy).

The important this is (and I'm going to write it uppercase): DO NOT GIVE UP!
Yeah, I know it sounds silly and all that. But it sounds silly because everyone says it, but few do it effectively.
It's so much easier to let go.

I can't even begin to think how many people told me that there aren't any cool jobs available and that I should stay put yada...yada...yada... It was easy not to listen to them, I had viable sources that stated otherwise. And I was so confident about my competence and experience that I couldn't give up.

So, after some time, 3 months to be more specific, I landed in a small company, as an application developer (occupation present on the MODL list), with a hefty increase in salary and in a cool team by my side.

I guess the next period will be a little bit harder for me, but I'll handle it.

TO DO LIST

There are a couple of things that must be done before emigrating to Oz.
This is going to be a checklist that will help me keep track of my objectives (not necessarily in order).

1) Obtain a passport.
2) Make 1 year of experience in a MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List) occupation.
I've chosen Computing Professional [specialising in Java]. CRITICAL
3) Take the General IELTS Exam. CRITICAL
4) Save 2050 euros for covering 2 months expenses once I get there.
5) Find out the best price for a one way airplane ticket. CRITICAL
6) Decide in what city I'll start my Australian adventure.

to be continued...

Cost of living in Australia

How much money would one need to get settled in Australia and not worry about anything for 2 months?

Friends in Australia would be a great thing to have, but at the time I wrote this article I wasn't that well connected so I just googled variations of the following words: australia/melbourne/sydney living costs/cost of living. And I'm resume what I found to be relevant.

According to Taylor's College (last updated in Nov 2006) the Total monthly rounded costs are:
Melbourne: 1700 AUD; Sydney: 2000 AUD

According to Australian Catholic University (last updated in May 2009) the Total monthly rounded costs are:
Melbourne: 1300 AUD; Sydney: 1400 AUD


I will consider the money objective accomplished when I have 1700*2 = 3400 AUD spare money. That's around 2050 euros.

These would add to the other costs (plane ticket, visa costs, exams that I'll have to take etc.)

Money, get away (Pink Floyd)

I'm the kind of guy that is into the idea of having a safety net in case I fall. I agree that the most beautiful things in life are free, but it's different when someone else provides you the the means to get through every day life.

So, I won't emigrate to Australia (all by myself) without enough money that would allow me to buy accommodation/food for up to 2 months (nothing fancy, just everyday needs).

At this moment I think this is an important aspect to take into account if you emigrate to another country. And that period of time should be enough to allow me to find a job and adapt to the new living conditions/culture/people.

Next stop: the calculus for this sum of money and the way I plan to raise it.

Australia VS New Zeeland

I originally wanted to go to New Zeeland.

I have an image of New Zeeland as being one of the purest (virgin woods, low pollution etc) countries on Earth while being technologically advanced and having a strong economy. I will not go into the reasons I originally wanted to go there.

New Zeeland has a rather strict work visa selection process.
If you want to make sure you get a Skilled Migrant visa you need to obtain 140 points in the Points Indicator. That proved to be impossible for me (as I'm quite young and I don't have all the required skills).

Australia is encouraging immigration
For the same type of Australian visa (General Skilled Migration Program) I scored well over 120 on the Points Test that I took for free on Synch1.

That made me think for a little (seriously, just a little) about my options. This was doable in a medium length of time. Wow! I can do this. Australia, the country-continent, kangaroos, koalas, deadliest species of animals, The Great Barrier Reef, The Great Sandy Desert, The Daintree Rainforest, Uluru and so many more I haven't heard of yet.

This is the best moment to leave, I'll do it!

Making some financial decisions

I'm happy to be able this post from my phone, on my trip back to Bucharest from home. Sorry for the missing formatting :)

I'd like to talk about an important decision I made in order to rise the money I'll need for my departure.

A little background first: this year I've finished my undergrad courses. For the last 4 years I've lived in a student dorm in a room with other 2 students.

Starting this fall I will loose my right to stay in the dorm. So, I'm faced with 2 choices:
1) I'll move to a 2/3 rooms apartment and find apartment mates.
2) I'll buy a place in the student dorm (illegal, but overall cheaper).

Both choices have advantages and disadvantages. Main advantages: no 1 offers a lot more comfort; no 2 is really money efficient.

My decision is made: I will sacrifice my personal comfort.

Later Edit:  My initial to buy my place in a student dorm successfully failed. The price was too big for the living conditions that it offered. So I went with moving to an apartment.
Now I have my own room (that I'll make as welcoming as possible), no one disturbs me and in a very short while I'll adapt to the new neighborhood.
I estimate this move will cost me at most 700 ron per month, so I'll have to be careful with the ways I'll be spending money if I want to save money.

Are you ready?

The best way to tell if you are ready to leave for Australia is to do this:

Close your eyes and imagine that in 10 minutes someone will knock on your door and tell you that everything is ready for your departure (for the sake of the exercise, don't imagine that he's lying): starting from plane tickets, to the visa, to the job you're been wishing for, to the apartment, even a AWD car...

Try to imagine every little detail you can think of has a convenient and reasonable solution.

But this man tells you this wonderful spell will wear off if you don't start heading towards th airport in 2 hours (that's plenty of time to say goodbye to your relatives and pack a little bag with personals).

Now open your eyes... are you ready?

If you're not ready try to think about what's holding you back. Write them down on a piece of paper. Really. Write them down; that way you'll be able to explore them and find more than one solution. I know it sound silly, but why not try it?

P.S.: What I like about this execise is that it can be applied in many circumstances.

The why's

Because it helps me is the best answer (the simplest) I can offer to anyone who is curious why I've decided to put some effort into this blog.

It helps me track progress.
It helps me see the steps clearly.
It helps me get used to thinking in english.
It helps me to be motivated in the search for information about this subject.
It helps me to learn the tech behind blogging.
And last but not least, it could ease the decision/process of those who wish to be more than tourists in Australia.

Getting from point RO to point AU

Do you remember all those math problems in school that started something like:

A plane takes off from point A and travels with a speed of 800 kmph towards point B. What is the distance between the two points if the plane arrives at point B after 19 hours?

Let's substitute point A with any airport in Romania and point B with Canberra (the capital of Australia) International Airport (and let's disconsider that this airport is used only for internal air traffic).

I'd like to say that getting to Australia is as simple as the above question, but this is not the case.

Truth is, with all the other details of the trip solved you have to make at least one stop on the way. As you can see, getting to point B gets complicated fast.

The best way to achieve the dream of immigrating to Australia is breaking the whole process in manageable chunks and making baby steps towards the destination.