I moved to Sydney
moving idea has arisen from their parents in the 90’s, but with their professions it was impossible. In my life, from pre-school age soared mood "Be free, go to study and work in another country, see the world, choose". Conscious desire to move appeared at the university, but then in my dream was just New York, then just English-speaking countries. Finally I decided to once traveled 30 countries and realized that I was close.
We chose Australia because of the high standard of living, as well as opportunities to move here parents. I’ve never been here for a tourist – just arrived to live. I listen to podcasts of programmers living in different countries of the world, and the guys from Australia were the most relaxed and happy.
Preparation and submission of documents
From the first trial the IELTS to obtain a permanent year passed, and we moved to another three months. The letter that we now Australia resident, caught us in Greece, when we were a young man working remotely and lived in the journey.
Australia has a bold plus – an opportunity to obtain resident status by yourself, having demanded profession (SOL from the list) and typing the required number of points (at the time of it was 60, we recruited 65). The highest points are given for age, higher education, years of experience, knowledge of English.
our visa code – 189, independent professional immigration. To apply, you must pass a language test IELTS consists of four parts: reading, writing, listening, speaking. Input condition – score 6 or higher in all four parts. You can prepare yourself for this type there are plenty of resources ieltsliz.com, and the Internet have IELTS test options, where you can train. In the preparation of essays we wrote every day for a month and a half and 1-2 essays a week sent to check each cost about $ 8-9.
Next, you need to translate into English diploma and get recommendations from all places of work – in English too. Copies of diplomas and recommendations shall be certified by the Embassy of Australia and sent to the organizations involved in the specialty confirmation. Consideration was worth about AUD 500 per person.
Typically, after filling the online form for visa applicants are hanging in the queue to the half-year. Therefore, once we have expressed the desire to get an Australian permanent, immediately gathered life in two suitcases, released a rented apartment in Moscow and flew to Europe without a return ticket. Planned program remotely, and live in the journey, while waiting their turn. But to our profound shock and happiness, a letter with the request to pay the application came the next morning, after filling in the form.
It was necessary to undergo a medical examination, to take a statement from the Interior Ministry criminal record, download all the documents on the site and to pay for consideration of the application. For two it cost in 5400 AUD. After exactly a month after payment we received the status of residents of Australia.
Life is damn unpredictable, and I don’t want to make it up, but I see myself in Australia for a long time and with the joy of becoming a citizen of this country. I feel here not only at home, but in my place. In his perfect location. Sometimes just sit and rejoice without reason.
First impressions and adaptation
Cold Ocean. Maximum water temperature in Sydney in summer 25 degrees, but more often 23-24. In winter, the average air temperature during day + 15 + 16. I have no jacket, only sweaters and sweatshirts. In two years I never caught a cold and did not hurt. There are no heating in the houses, residents decide this question heaters, and many indestruct.
Stunning international society. Open, dynamic, happy. Every day you see people from all over the world, you hear dozens of different languages and accents.
Bright colors. Sydney very green city, everywhere parks, squares, palm trees, some streets are just drown in greenery.
Get used to nothing. Rather, it is used to get used to stress, traffic jams, disgusts or serness, when we go on vacation to Europe or USA. This is solely my experience, it is rather not in the country, but in my head. I am insanely happy here every day. After moving all the differences only positive.
For my two years in Sydney, parents flew to me twice winter, and in the summer we traveled together in England. But this is still damn little. Australia is too far for frequent meetings, but the mother with dad is happy to fly in Sydney for several months. Sometimes it seems to me that moving cost that at least because parents now spend Russian winters in Australian summer.
I have a lot of complexes about the language. I want to communicate perfect, know everything, do not make mistakes. But sometimes in the midst of his story about childhood I understand that I don’t know how to say half words like "Sledge", "Swing", "Stroyak". And here the game in the crocodile, the explanations of gestures and dances begins. But all around: friends, colleagues, strangers – perceive it positively. They deeply care about my mistakes. Everyone understands that the language is the case is hiring. And in general, with reading books, communication on work, friendship with the guys from all over the world difficulties I do not arise. All problems only in the head.
When my beloved man moved to Sydney, both continued to work remotely to European companies and the first 2-3 months did not communicate with anyone. But as soon as I went to work in the office, I began to call me on the first days for lunch and dinner, barbecue on the beach and birthdays. The guys in the team were insanely open and dragged us into their lives, thank you for it.
In addition to work, a significant source of friendly connections is the site Meetup.COM, there is just a billion local community for every taste, color and age: meetings by profession and all sorts of hobbies, joint campaigns in the cinema and mountains, dancing in parks, yoga on the ocean coast – List is infinite. I regularly go to the Mitaps on Programming and Board Games. We made friends with the guys from Europe, Australia and Russia. Now we travel together, we spend the ocean weekend and in campsites, we are going for lunches that flow into dinners and sitting until the morning.
In Sydney, a lot of beautiful Russian guys. They are much talented, smarter and ambitious than me, they motivate and inspire. In general, people are very open here and positive. They come from all over the ground to build life from scratch. They are the same as me, we need real friends (a wonderful coincidence, however?). But no one will run for me. You need to be active and not shy, if I meet "your" people.
Advantages and disadvantages
Sydney is simultaneously megapolis and resort. It is possible to work cool and develop, dine with colleagues on the embankment under the palm tree, at 17:30 you already swim in the ocean, and weekends spend on the coasts of crazy beauty in 200-300 km from the city.
There is a good infrastructure for recreation and sports. Starting with free toilets everywhere and everywhere and ending with grills on the beaches and in parks, open-air pools, in which you can spend all day for 7 AUD.
Sydney strongly stretched. I live in the center and go almost everywhere. I have colleagues who get to the office about one and a half hours, but they shoot at home with four bedrooms at the price of the apartment with one bedroom in the center. Their impressions of life in Sydney will differ very much from my. If you think about moving to Australia, it is better not to read me nor articles, no blogs, no forums. Look sites with vacancies, taxes, honey. insurance, social. help, real estate, demographics, temperature charts. Every trifle can be checked and make a choice based on facts.
Fly in Sydney from my hometown is expensive and 25 hours. And the whole travel is a difficult moment. Almost New Zealand and Oceania Island, so here often combine paid leave with unpaid and fly by 4-6-8 and more weeks. Recently, my colleague was returned to work, which was on vacation six months. Also distributed option to travel only in Australia, but much faster to go to major material purposes.
About expenses
I can not say that in Sydney to live expensive, because I live here at times better than lived in Moscow with the same profession. Australia is one of the most expensive countries in the world, there is only a tourist here, but a resident is excellent. I speak from your experience 27 years before moving.
The average salary in Sydney for Junior Programmers – 70,000 AUD per year, for MIDDLE programmers – 100,000 AUD, for Senior Programmers – 130,000 AUD. Work is very popular not on an ongoing basis, but under the contract. In this case, programmers get from 500-600 to 1000-1200 AUD per day depending on the level and experience. Only vacation and sick leave no one pays, and the contract lasts half a year – a year, and then it will be necessary to look for a new one with another company.
In Australia, progressive taxes, for the above wages, they will be approximately 20-30%, and the employer additionally pays approximately 9% of the salary for a savings account, which becomes an affordable retirement worker.
All expenses in Australia is considered weeks. Central and Beach District Rental Rooms will cost 300-350 AUD, studios – in 400-550 AUD, one bedroom apartments – 500-600 AUD, Two-three-bedroom apartments – about 800 AUD. The farther from the center, the cheaper. If you are 35, you are married and take off the room or share an apartment with a neighbor, no one will condemn you. This is a standard situation, especially if you want to quickly accumulate on your housing.
On city transport (buses, trains, ferries) is spent from 40 AUD per week. Parkings are enjoyed expensive, most people have cars, but almost no one goes to work on them.
Food is very high quality. If you cook at home, feed on the products of local production and seasonal fruit-vegetables from the market, 100 AUD per week for two. If you often walk around the cafe and buy European products, spending will increase by about 300 AUD.
About work
To find a job in the IT-sphere, a detailed profile is needed on LinkedIn. All jobs are published there or on Seek.Com.AU. Before the interview, it is better to view the profiles of future bosses and the whole team on LinkedIn, and feedback on the company itself on the site Glassdoor.Com.AU. These resources saved me a lot of time.
As soon as I found myself in Australia, immediately changed the city of residence in his LinkedIn profile on Sydney, and began a flow of job offers from Headkhanters, I myself responded to a couple of vacancies. A week later, I had one telephone interview and two personal. According to the result, I received two offer, one of them accepted and worked for a year. Then rested and traveled for more than four months. When returned from the journey, retraced from a programmer to analytics and data engineer (Data Scientist, Data Engineer).
Now I work in startup as a programmer with a bias analysis and development of data collection and data analysis systems. I love the team, the atmosphere and all our projects. Sometimes it’s terribly difficult for me and you have to learn a lot, but more often I just can not believe in my happiness.
If in Moscow, I often meet the word "stress-resistant", then "Good Work-Life Balance" is written here. At work on you, no one will put pressure, make linger or build a sour mine when you left for a couple of hours.
Schedule! Australians love to get up early to swim in the ocean or go to the gym, and start working day about 8 am. IT sphere is always the most relaxed, there are firms where it is customary to come in 10, but it is a big rarity. I now work from 8:30 to 17 or from 9 to 17:30. At lunch, part of the guys from our office plays the playstock, part runs or charges on the waterfront, part goes to dine in the pub. On Fridays, we definitely go to lunches to the whole department.
In the work week, IT-teams familiar me are two traditions. First – coffee breaks. A pack of cigarettes here costs about 25 AUD, almost no one smokes. Hike for coffee with colleagues is an analogue of a smoking. Coffee in Australia is a whole religion. If you come to an office with a glass Starbucks, you will laugh. Each of my colleagues have a favorite tube coffee house where Barist knows their order by heart.
Second tradition – on Fridays per hour and a half until the end of the working day, start drinking beer / cider / wine in the office and leave work early. Either, on the contrary, linger to spend time with colleagues for conversations or game ping pong. Refrigerators with beer stand on office cuisines and are replenished with bosses, and not only in small startups, but also in corporations.
The main thing
Here I learned to be polite and friendly with everyone, to smile a lot, not judge. Not to stress, be much more relaxed. Do not criticize other people’s tastes and choice even in trifles.
I know from the side, but I will not say that I have changed much after moving. Rather, I got into society, which I am very close in spirit, – where everyone goes in what and very often barefoot, support your any, even the most stupid solution and rejoice in simple things.
