It's torture looking at the weather in Perth knowing that my visa expiry date is looming (ok, still have 4 years), but IT in Perth pays sh!t compared to London. Just wondering whether I could earn more if I went back to furniture making / kitchen fitting than working in IT ?

I just want to come out and windsurf. The only other option is to divorce the Wife and leave the kids and become a full time windsurf bum [}:)]

The cost of living is not cheaper here than the UK. (London may be the exception) If anything it is slightly more expensive.

Can't speak for the rest of aus but just living here for 5 years (Perth) and looking through the job adverts and I reacon in Perth you are better off doing a trade than a "professional" job. Have you ever visited this site britishexpats.com/forum/ Lots of rubbish spoken but occasionally some good info. Someone on there might work in the furniture making/kitchen fitting biz and be able to give you some answers..

If it makes you feel any better you can't windsurf in perth at the moment cause of this rubbish weather. The summer seabreeze season is over and now have to wait until winter for a possible once/twice a week storm.

This is a far more reliable measure of the cost of living in various countries,

www.pintprice.com/

see you all in Tadjikistan!

leftfield said...

The cost of living is not cheaper here than the UK. (London may be the exception) If anything it is slightly more expensive.

I've done both, living (and working in IT jobs) in non-London UK, and non-Capital City Australia, and in my practical experience, cost of living is higher in the UK, and quality of life is lower there too.

That doesn't mean it is cheap to live here, mind you, and if you have a marketable skill that pays more than IT, you probably should take advantage of that as technology is not a huge industry here.

As for location, I personally think that if you have flexibility you should stick to the east coast. There are more opportunities, and I don't think the wind profile is so different as to make a difference to your sailing experience. West Australia has some reliably windy periods, and you can always schedule your holidays to take advantage of that predictability.

There *are* some large IT houses in Australia, (TechnologyOne springs to mind) so depending on your experience you should be able to find a fit in that industry too.

Dylan.