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07/17/2009 03:44:33 PM · #1
I am quite seriously considering moving to Australia, Henný has been obsessed about the country since I can remember and although I have never been there it seems like a cool place to live. We are thinking about moving next year and currently gathering information.

First off, what about me working there as a photographer? Do I need any specific rights or tests to be able to do so or can anyone who owns a camera make a living as a photographer? Here in scandinavia you need to be licenced to be able to work as a professional photographer. I know I would never start off working straight away as I have no client base and am a foreigner but I would eventually want to work as one full time, like I do now.
07/17/2009 04:35:25 PM · #2
You don't need a licence to be a photographer over here....there are some people here who call themselves a Professional that should never even own a camera. If you stick to the cities there are a lot more photographers and therefore you can choose to specialize....if you base yourself in the country you need to be versatile and handle all sorts of photography.

Once you have been a pro for 2 years you can join the AIPP....I am not sure if this includes pro time outside of Australia.

Australia would love to have you and Henny. I can't wait to catch up with you.
07/17/2009 04:40:34 PM · #3
I belive that Aussie Land is one of the harder countrys to get into to. It is not as easy as saying, oh i am goign to move there, they have a point system.

Here is some info for you :
//www.immi.gov.au/skills/applicants.htm
07/17/2009 04:42:48 PM · #4
Originally posted by JulietNN:

I belive that Aussie Land is one of the harder countrys to get into to. It is not as easy as saying, oh i am goign to move there, they have a point system.

Here is some info for you :
//www.immi.gov.au/skills/applicants.htm


Hmmm....if that is the case, how come half the people that are here, got in. I mean....I understand ya gotta be a convict, be cheeky, live dangerous, red hair helps, loud mouth but like to have fun. Whats so hard about that???? LMAO!
07/17/2009 04:44:32 PM · #5
while I know nothing of austrailia (aside from the whole prison colony thing) I do know about major moves. The best thing you can do if you haven't already is spend some time there first. Make sure you can tolerate the weather, the customs, the accents... you know, important stuff! I moved in the USA from Oregon (cool, green, mountains, sparse population) to Florida (hot, flat, rude people, hurricanes), and it can be a shock to the system and hard to undo if you change your mind after the fact!

Here's the bottom line though, my commencement speaker at my college graduation based his speech on one premise: "Do neat stuff". Don't worry about gaps in your resume, or what people will think. Chase your dreams and live your life!

Josh

PS. I just had a tooth pulled and much of that is the vicodin talking.
07/17/2009 04:46:24 PM · #6
Originally posted by Judi:

Hmmm....if that is the case, how come half the people that are here, got in. I mean....I understand ya gotta be a convict, be cheeky, live dangerous, red hair helps, loud mouth but like to have fun. Whats so hard about that???? LMAO!

The days of transporting undesirables to the antipodes is long past -- countries have found flying them into California to be much more economical ... ;-)
07/17/2009 04:47:33 PM · #7
I moved to Canada last year and it was the best thing I ever did. I spent six months in Australia a while ago and much as I liked it I didn't want to live there permanently.

I do agree with try before you buy as it were...
07/17/2009 04:55:02 PM · #8
Absolutely....I do agree with what has been written here. Try before you buy. It is a huge country with a lot more unpopulated areas that what you are probably used to. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you like. There are a lot of photographers, but room for many more. It is a huge land with something for everyone...but, not everyone can acclimatise to our country and our ways.

Aussies have a big heart...but they are also proud people. The country areas are always screaming for more people...whereas the living costs seem to be much higher in the city areas. So it is a matter of weighing up what you want to do and where you want to live. Sponsoring in the country is not as easy as in the city...! Everywhere has a different expectation of fees and demands. Where I live for example, I cannot charge as much as the city photographers, yet the people out here don't care for wedding albums. But, on the other hand, a lot of my work come from interstate clients that require me to cover a massive area, which is cheaper for them then to fly out a photographer.
07/17/2009 05:02:15 PM · #9
Originally posted by Judi:

Absolutely...It is a huge country with a lot more unpopulated areas that what you are probably used to...


I thought Iceland was ALL unpopulated. Of course it's smaller, but...
07/17/2009 05:04:13 PM · #10
Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Judi:

Absolutely...It is a huge country with a lot more unpopulated areas that what you are probably used to...


I thought Iceland was ALL unpopulated. Of course it's smaller, but...


Hahahaha...no sweet....Australia has less people per square kilometer than any other country I think. Out here you can go for a few hours between service stations....! The other night we travelled over 1000 kilometers and only saw a handful of vehicles.....!
07/17/2009 05:11:31 PM · #11
Haha, thx for all the good advice, wich it is but this is not exactly something we just decided just this morning on a whim. "Try before buy" is good advice but seriously, what is the worst that will happen? We wont like it and move back? Life is too short for worries about such matters and the worst thing that will happen is that it will cost a year or two of our lives and a lot of money, I would rather have that than spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been. Although I was born here in Iceland I wasn´t raised here so I know about "big moves".

Thx for the info Judi, that is what I thought after already searching on the web but I wanted to be 100% sure, I am licenced here in Iceland, obviously and it would suck to have to go through that process again.

We are mostly looking at the Gold Coast, a friend of her still lives there. Where exactly do you live Judi?
07/17/2009 05:14:29 PM · #12
Originally posted by LalliSig:

Haha, thx for all the good advice, wich it is but this is not exactly something we just decided just this morning on a whim. "Try before buy" is good advice but seriously, what is the worst that will happen? We wont like it and move back? Life is too short for worries about such matters and the worst thing that will happen is that it will cost a year or two of our lives and a lot of money, I would rather have that than spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been. Although I was born here in Iceland I wasn´t raised here so I know about "big moves".

Thx for the info Judi, that is what I thought after already searching on the web but I wanted to be 100% sure, I am licenced here in Iceland, obviously and it would suck to have to go through that process again.

We are mostly looking at the Gold Coast, a friend of her still lives there. Where exactly do you live Judi?


I live in Emerald Queensland, about 10 hours North West of Brisbane. Or about a 1.5 hour flight. It is nothing for people to drive 6 hours in a day to do some shopping....so in Aussie terms....not that far...but in US terms...a long, bloody way...lol! I am about 2.5 hours from the coast. Where I live the income is in the top 10% of the countries highest earners. That is why there are so many people out my way.
07/17/2009 05:17:05 PM · #13
Originally posted by Judi:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Judi:

Absolutely...It is a huge country with a lot more unpopulated areas that what you are probably used to...


I thought Iceland was ALL unpopulated. Of course it's smaller, but...


Hahahaha...no sweet....Australia has less people per square kilometer than any other country I think. Out here you can go for a few hours between service stations....! The other night we travelled over 1000 kilometers and only saw a handful of vehicles.....!


It´s probably similar, we have about 2-3 people per square kilometer and I think it´s about the same in Australia, it´s about 20 million people and 7.7 million square kilometers?
07/17/2009 05:19:06 PM · #14
Originally posted by LalliSig:

Originally posted by Judi:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Judi:

Absolutely...It is a huge country with a lot more unpopulated areas that what you are probably used to...


I thought Iceland was ALL unpopulated. Of course it's smaller, but...


Hahahaha...no sweet....Australia has less people per square kilometer than any other country I think. Out here you can go for a few hours between service stations....! The other night we travelled over 1000 kilometers and only saw a handful of vehicles.....!


It´s probably similar, we have about 2-3 people per square kilometer and I think it´s about the same in Australia, it´s about 20 million people and 7.7 million square kilometers?


Yeah something like that. Most people who move to the country, miss the city. They go back for a holiday with the intention of moving back to the city...but always come back to the country shaking their head. There is no personal space in the city...everyone in your face. Where as out here I can drive for 5 minutes and there won't be a soul in sight...room to escape and beautiful big skies...no smog.
07/17/2009 05:23:40 PM · #15
Originally posted by Judi:

...no smog...


Just brimstone and sulfur...

07/17/2009 05:28:05 PM · #16
Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Judi:

...no smog...


Just brimstone and sulfur...



Hahaha...too funny!

To give you an idea...Australia is officially larger in land mass than the US but only has roughly 21 million people. As an example, yesterday we drove about 200 kilometers....we were in snow in the morning, then passed through numerous massive waterfalls and ended up at the beach in the afternoon. And yet, I have in the past driven 24 hours and been on the same straight road with the same boring bushland. This country is huge, yet demanding. With 8 out of the 10 most dangerous snakes, yet it doesn't stop us from spending most of our time outside. I have experienced snakes in the kitchen and redback spiders in the toilet...heck only last year I had to call on my neighbour to kill a venomous snake next to the toilet I was sitting on....but we take it in our stride. It is an awesome country, with something for everyone. But alas, it isn't for everyone.
07/17/2009 05:34:22 PM · #17
Trying to be a little serious here, but I have done the immigration thing before with moving to a different country. It is not easy. Especially Aussie land and New Zealand.

You can not just decide that you want to move there, you have to have a career that they want or you wont get in. You have to have a fair amount of savings as well. You can not be a burden on the Country, if you have any medical problems , they will not let you in, just in case you can not get work, then have to have free medical, housing benefits etc.

A couple of years ago, in NZ, they wanted migrants with specific jobs, people moved there, and are now being kicked out cos of the recession, people that where granted green card status. But as there is a shortage, they are now the first to be literally kicked out. People who have uprooted their families and bought houses etc. There is NO recourse for these people.

There even in Aus used t be an age level, you had to be under 30 or your ap was tossed out. That may have changed in the last 10 years.

07/17/2009 05:42:10 PM · #18
Originally posted by JulietNN:

Trying to be a little serious here, but I have done the immigration thing before with moving to a different country. It is not easy. Especially Aussie land and New Zealand.

You can not just decide that you want to move there, you have to have a career that they want or you wont get in. You have to have a fair amount of savings as well. You can not be a burden on the Country, if you have any medical problems , they will not let you in, just in case you can not get work, then have to have free medical, housing benefits etc.

A couple of years ago, in NZ, they wanted migrants with specific jobs, people moved there, and are now being kicked out cos of the recession, people that where granted green card status. But as there is a shortage, they are now the first to be literally kicked out. People who have uprooted their families and bought houses etc. There is NO recourse for these people.

There even in Aus used t be an age level, you had to be under 30 or your ap was tossed out. That may have changed in the last 10 years.


That is one thing that amazes us. Yes there is a recession....apparently. But when it hit I thought that I would finally be able to catch up....NOOOOOO! My work tripled. It went crazy. Out in the country areas there is work everywhere. And I am not talking farming. In our town there are about 13,000 people, no traffic lights and yet there are pages of available work. Our unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Australia. If you want work, youwill get it. That is what I was referring to about the difference of city to country. Last week I was talking to an old school friend of mine who lives near Sydney. She applied for a standard reception job in which she has many years experience. The employer told her he had over 500 applicants and they are still coming in...so the chances of getting a job are much slimmer. Whereas out here we have a problem. The council for example has 32 jobs open for builder/labourers. They had 8 applications. The problem is they haven't got enough housing....and yet they are trying to get people into the town to help build the houses...but they have no where for them to live. Catch 22!
07/17/2009 05:49:49 PM · #19
Well, so far I've learned that global warming is basically the Aussie's fault with all the driving they do...
07/17/2009 05:50:29 PM · #20
Originally posted by Judi:

Originally posted by JulietNN:

Trying to be a little serious here, but I have done the immigration thing before with moving to a different country. It is not easy. Especially Aussie land and New Zealand.

You can not just decide that you want to move there, you have to have a career that they want or you wont get in. You have to have a fair amount of savings as well. You can not be a burden on the Country, if you have any medical problems , they will not let you in, just in case you can not get work, then have to have free medical, housing benefits etc.

A couple of years ago, in NZ, they wanted migrants with specific jobs, people moved there, and are now being kicked out cos of the recession, people that where granted green card status. But as there is a shortage, they are now the first to be literally kicked out. People who have uprooted their families and bought houses etc. There is NO recourse for these people.

There even in Aus used t be an age level, you had to be under 30 or your ap was tossed out. That may have changed in the last 10 years.


That is one thing that amazes us. Yes there is a recession....apparently.


Probably because recession took a wrong turn in the outback and got lost.
07/17/2009 05:52:32 PM · #21
Originally posted by yanko:

Originally posted by Judi:

Originally posted by JulietNN:

Trying to be a little serious here, but I have done the immigration thing before with moving to a different country. It is not easy. Especially Aussie land and New Zealand.

You can not just decide that you want to move there, you have to have a career that they want or you wont get in. You have to have a fair amount of savings as well. You can not be a burden on the Country, if you have any medical problems , they will not let you in, just in case you can not get work, then have to have free medical, housing benefits etc.

A couple of years ago, in NZ, they wanted migrants with specific jobs, people moved there, and are now being kicked out cos of the recession, people that where granted green card status. But as there is a shortage, they are now the first to be literally kicked out. People who have uprooted their families and bought houses etc. There is NO recourse for these people.

There even in Aus used t be an age level, you had to be under 30 or your ap was tossed out. That may have changed in the last 10 years.


That is one thing that amazes us. Yes there is a recession....apparently.


Probably because recession took a wrong turn in the outback and got lost.


Ya..probably!
07/17/2009 06:14:26 PM · #22
Careful, for the first few weeks the blood will rush to your head. And don't forget to rotate your photos 180.
07/17/2009 06:33:35 PM · #23
[quote=JulietNN]

A couple of years ago, in NZ, they wanted migrants with specific jobs, people moved there, and are now being kicked out cos of the recession, people that where granted green card status. But as there is a shortage, they are now the first to be literally kicked out. People who have uprooted their families and bought houses etc. There is NO recourse for these people.

Where did you hear that!!!! First of all we dont have a green card and nobody get kicked out of New Zealand once they have been allowed to immigrate unless they have done something terribly wrong.......
07/17/2009 07:00:01 PM · #24
//www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1197713/Expats-paradise-lost-New-Zealands-jobs-crisis--just-weeks-named-best-place-make-fresh-start.html
//www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/5753544/British-expats-forced-from-New-Zealand.html
//nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/5709304/nz-accused-of-anti-immigrant-work-visa-policy/

and hundreds more articals if you look for them

Message edited by author 2009-07-17 19:00:21.
07/17/2009 07:05:17 PM · #25
G'day Larus,

As they said it can be hard to get residency, but if you can line up a job first and have them sponsor you its a lot easier. Australia is a big big big big big country with a vast variety of climates and personalities, have you thought where you'd like to move to? You may want to stay out of the Queensland outback, thats Judi's turf and she might send the boys around if serious competition shows up, you don't want this showing up on your doorstep:

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