Weekend Breaks

Question from Anthony:
Hi Guys !! I look up to you, for the help and info that you guys are extending forward.. its truly commendable...I wish I knew about this community when I arrived here.

I am in Melbourne for about 5 months and I have been through all the phases of house & job hunting. Now its time for a break !!!! Since I am here with my wife, we need to break the usual monotony of work and home. We are looking forward towards venturing out more often and checking out some beautiful places here.

Can u suggest a few places that could be a nice weekend break. It could be anything from beaches, to dining, to sight seeing and not to mention cost effective as well :-)

I am sure,all would agree that , if you don't socialize out here, boredom will get you..

Answers:
From Rajan
Hi Anthony, I personally do not know in monetary terms that how much are you willing to pay but following are few places you can go to (Some near to Melb and some far away but within Victoria)

Just one thing to be noted that I personally find YHA as the best and cheapest place to stay if you are a back packer or do nto want to spend much on staying overnight or for couple of days.

1. Great Ocean Road, further than Geelong and a lot of tour companies conducts tours for these places.
2. Mecedon Ranges (If you like lakes, agriculture, wineries etc.)
3. Yarra Vally
4. Mt.Buller, Mt.Baw Baw and Mt.Hotham (If you are into snow and ski, part of north east Victoria)
5. Gippsland and Phillip Island (Penguin parade is pretty famous from Phillip Island)
6. Grampians National Park (It took me about 3 and 1/2 hours to get there but it's a nice place to go to if you like bush walks and rock climbing on the way you would come accross wind farms and other historical places)
7. Dandenong Ranges, Puffing billy, Sky High, (take train from Belgrave for Puffing Billy. On the way to the Dandenong ranges try lunch at Miss Marples 'where mountain highway finishes' )

From Ahmad:
Rialto observation deck...Puffing Billy Railway (thats a must..it starts from near the Belgrave station and takes u on a scenic ride through the Dandenong Ranges...

From Michelle:
I agree with Rajan that the youth hostels are an excellent cheap choice for accommodation. You should also check backpacker directories if there is no youth hostel at your destination. In some places you can hire an onsite van at a caravan park. The prices are similar to Youth Hostels, but with a wider range of destinations.

1. For Spring through to Autumn, I would recommend coastal towns, such as Lorne. In summer the beaches on the surf coast are a great attraction, but the wild seas in winter make a great view too. In winter you can still bushwalk (in the forests), see koalas in the wild if you're lucky, and you also have the cafes and pubs of the town.

2. I would recommend a visit to the Mornington peninsula, especially in the warmer months. At this time of year, the beaches are cold, but there are other attractions to visit, like wineries, Sorrento is a very picturesque little town and there is a very good mineral spa centre. You can relax in the mineral springs all day for $30, all less than an hour's drive from Monash Clayton.

From the Orkut Melbourne Community, reproduced here with permission from Rajan and Ahmad.

Campus Accommodation at Monash

Harpreet asked:

hey...how do i ask 4 campus accommodation at Monash??

Rajan replied:

Have you applied through any agent like IDP ? if yes then ask them. Otherwise just call Monash International Student cell and they should be able to arrange it. More details are on the Monash uni site.








From the Orkut Monash University community. Reproduced here with permission from Rajan.

Laptop for WiFi

Hey guys I'm planing to get my laptop and come over there so can you all tell me what are the net connections? What are the rates of Wi-Fi?

From Ahmad:
Primus, Optus, TPG, Telstra...all run at about $49 per month for the unlimited high speed packages. check these webites:

www.optus.com.au
www.telstra.com.au
www.primus.com.au
www.tpg.com.au

From Rajan:
Mate when you say WiFi

There are different technologies which can be used at different placed in Australia. Main city areas are covered by "hot spots" by Telstra and some other providers. Your device should have a wireless card either inbuilt or you can use PCI (for desktop) and PCMCI(for laptops) wireless (802.11 based technology) cards. Most of the good cafe's, colleges, Tafes, airports and Universities have this facilities too. But you need to subscribe as it needs keys for decrypting the information which travels on wireless signals.

Do a Google search for "hotspots in Australia" you will find info.

You can even use a converter for 3G technology which lets you use your mobile phone chip for browsing internet. 3 and Telstra are main players. Same will apply for some GSM and CDMA technology but would not be as good as 3G.

For any internet or broadband related comparisons and views of users best site is whirlpool.net.au go to its discussion forum

Ahmad responded:
Plus the fact that the 3G based internet providers (3, Telstra, etc) tend to be very expensive...3's data package is $49 for 1Gb...

Holmsglen TAFE

Hi Rajan,
Very kind to see you helping everyone over here.
I'm coming in July 07 to Holmesglen TAFE Institute to do my hotel management course...
Q1. Hows this college
Ahmad answered for Rajan:
It is one of the best known TAFE institutes in Australia, and is the largest in Victoria. It does not stand up to the standard of unis, but still is a good institution.

Q2. Will I get a part time job easily because my age is just 18
A:
Very vague question. Finding jobs is not easy, but certainly not too difficult. How easily you find them depends on how dedicated you are in finding them.

Q3. What about accommodation
A:
Slot yourself into temporary accommodation for the initial few weeks, and then move out to a shared house when you find suitable partners.

Q4. What about pr how is this process...does it take a long time
A:
It can take some time. You can only apply after you finish your degree. Most TAFE courses get 40 or 50 points on the SOL, so it can be very difficult to pass the points test.


5. Do I need to buy a laptop from here ..is it needed

This is something only you can answer. You would need a laptop in my opinion, and they are expensive in Australia.


6. What is the scope for hospitality in Melbourne

The scope is not bad but getting a PR with such occupations is another issue altogether...

Reproduced from the Orkut Melbourne Community with permission from Ahmad. All the responses were provided by Ahmad.

Accommodation For July

Huzefa wrote:

Hey Rajan,
I've completely read your thread and your blog and it has been an immense help.

I'm coming to Melbourne around July 2007 for my accounting pg at Deakin. I visited the sites you mentioned but there is a lot of information there and I'm not being able to single out an appropriate dorm for me to book before I arrive. Since after landing at airport I've no-one in Melb to go to I need to book a dorm or a hostel room before hand. When should I contact the landlord as mentioned on these sites for information on availability of rooms and should I send them fees in advance if asked?

Help me out Rajan please I'm right now not even close to being prepared to leave for Melbourne.


Rajan's response
Your uni should be able to find a temporary place to stay at if you do not know anyone here. This will allow you to meet new people at the uni who will be looking for accommodation too. Alternatively you will see a lot of advertisements on the uni boards where people already have taken a place on rent and looking for house mates. I am sure you will manage to find it soon.

Reproduced from the "First time in Melbourne? Few tips for you" thread in the Orkut Melbourne Community with permission from Rajan.

How to search for an address or instructions for driving

Many of you who are new to Victoria will be looking for means to find out how to get to a place ? There are few good sites which can be used for such searches, all you need is the address where you want to goto ?

1. www.streetdirectory.com.au -> This is electronic version of MELWAY (everyone here knows what this means). All you need to do is to fill the address and then hit search, you can even move maps to see what are the places around.

2. Second comes to this catagory is www.whereis.com , its from Sensis, a well known name in Australia also producers of UBD and part of Telstra.

3. If you are looking for driving directions there is another good tool which can be used is www.tavelmate.com.au

4. Yahoo and Google direction searches can be used as well.

This post is copied from the Melbourne Community on Orkut: Rajan's thread, First time in Melbourne? Few tips for you, with permission from Rajan.

Rajan, will these clothes be sufficient?

Will these much clothes will be sufficient ???
like i m bringing in Feb...
5-6 jeans
4-5 kargos
2 formal black trousers
1 comlete formal suit reymond
6-7 half sleve t-shirts
5-7 full sleves
6-7 printed shirts
3-4 formal shirts
3-4 jackets (formal + informal)
anything + or -
advice will be highly appreciated
thanx in advance

That is more than enough i guess.

This post is copied from the Melbourne Community on Orkut: Rajan's thread, First time in Melbourne? Few tips for you, with permission from Rajan.

Rajan's advice on jobs and immigration to Melbourne

Hi Rajan, I must say that this person is really amazing and I wish that Rajan gets all the good things in his life for the effort he is putting in just to help others. Great work buddy. Let me tell you about myself. I am Raaj here and I am a Delhite, coming to Melbourne on a student visa in January. Just want to ask what are the opportunities for hairdressers there? I am a hair stylist here with Loreal and I want to do a lot of hair cuts there. Can you help me in that? I mean can you tell me about the demand for hairdressers in Melbourne and is there any racism against Indians, and what is the living cost for a bachelor like me for say a month? Take care, thanks.

Hairdressing.... a really good prospect....heaps and heaps of jobs if you are good at it. Everyone is looking for hairdressers. You should not face much problem after being trained by Loreal. Living costs are not as high in Melbourne as compared to Sydney. But still as I said before in this thread. It depends on your preferences.

Thanks Rajan, you are a real sweetheart, and can you please tell me that do you have Indian food easily available there or not? And how much would a room will cost me? And the most important thing is how much do hairdressers like me who will work part time earn in a day? And how much is enough if I want to lead a normal life. I am just looking for a rough idea of living cost for a month. Take care dear and I must say that you are really nice.

I do not have any friend who is doing hairdressing as a job so I would not be able to help you in that regard. For living expenses, if you will be sharing with other people it would be about $1000-$1500 a month. But I saw people living of on less than that. But its all about priorities.

Architects

Thinking of immigrating to Australia, Melbourne soon. Any ideas if there are any good prospects for architects, photographers and social workers? Would really like to get to know someone who already lives there so I can get some insight into what its really like to settle in Melbourne career wise and education wise..because I'm planning to continue with my studies as well...like in social sciences or something...

Architects, have prospects but since I am only a IT engineer I most know about IT and cookery (through friends). For photography I am not sure.. but I guess if your work is exceptional then you might find good work. Social work: are you talking about old age care? If that is so then yes there are heaps and heaps of jobs. But you might have to get police clearance as well as some local experience as a volunteer. Nursing is also in demand. Not enough nurses in Australia.

Hi rajan ... first of all HATS OFF to U .. its really helpful to find such info for the first timers like me ... I will be joining Uni of Melbourne for Master of Telecommunications Engineering ... i ll be coming for the Feb intake ... any idea about the prospects in the telecommunications sector .. i also want to know bout INTERNSHIPS during the semester breaks as we have here in India ..I don't have any idea bout what's the common practice in Australia... does your UNIVERSITY name have any impact on finding jobs at all ... I have chosen Uni Melb because of its ranking.

Melbourne University is one of the best universities in Australia in almost all the faculties. Its well known for Medicine and related studies.

For telecommunication internships I would not have clue. I am aware of people who did really well in telecommunications and then joined come ISP or telco companies. But I could not still tell you about any internship programs.

Hello Mr Rajan,
I will be in Melbourne soon for a two year course on accounting. . .and looking for PR . . .do you have any advice for the terms of the PR for my kind of study?

Accounting is everyone's choice these days. Currently its getting you good points which you need for your PR. Look at the MODL list from immi.gov.au

Its on the list, but this gets reviewed every year or 6 months... one of these... so we do not know how much demand will be there in next two years since everyone seems to be doing Accounting... but we all hope for the best... best of luck with your studies and move to Melbourne.

Hi Rajan, no words for your appreciation but still wanna say great work for for all students,
I was about to come to melb but changed my mind for the next two years as per the MODL list, because you are right its changes in every six months and who knows which course would be in demand after 2 years especially for those who want PR, and PR also depends on points...I think now the Australian government has introduced a new policy that every student will have to work for a certain duration in their respected field(course) to get PR. My sister and Jijaji are there but don't have PR yet...one more year to get that. They also advised me to come after some time so that I can get points from their PR. Can you please put your opinion on the PR process? Your suggestion or advice?

You Sister is right, I would recommend you start working in India and file for residency from there. Since your sister will be a resident in Australia you should get the points needed.

From the Orkut Melbourne community. Republished here with permission from Rajan.

First time in Melbourne? Some tips for you. Rajan's advice thread.

Advice from Rajan for Indians thinking of studying and working in Melbourne.


Can I use my electronic items?
The Australian standard is 240 volts with frequency of 50Hertz. Most of the universal converters are available in super markets.

Happy wrote:
If I want to drive taxi part time there in Melbourne then what should I do?

Happy...my question to you is why do you want to drive a cab? Just because a lot of friends told you that they are doing the same here? Its easy money but a bad job..especially when you are dropping people home when they do not know what they are doing (Drunk)... anyway you asked this question so I can tell you that you need first of all a Full Victorian License ... you need to clear driving tests for this. then you need to attend a course with the Taxi directorate. Then they also give you exams. Look for taxi Directorate Victoria on Google for more information.


Gorav asks:
Can you please tell about job prospects in the IT field? I've enrolled for a masters in network computing from Monash in Feb'07 session. Its a 1.5 yrs course. I've seen other postings in different communities and they've suggested that its really a bad time for guys in this field, thats why now I'm feeling a bit afraid of making this investment. Please help.

Hi Gorav, I did my Masters of Network Computing from Monash. Its a good course but problem is Australia has not grown up to be a really good market for IT professionals. Prospects for programmers are not many as compared to China, India, USA, UK and Germany.

The rest is all about luck. You never know. I know people here who work for companies like TCS, Infosys, EMC and other. Depends on how hard you can try and how good you are. You also require a reference. As a fresher its a hard and long way to go.

Hey Rajan, I have my real sister also there, she's in Canberra workng with Accenture.....will her reference do? Or i'll still have to struggle a lot!!!

Buddy. MNC from Monash lets you decide what you want to do. Its up to you to go for programing based subjects or the ones related to Network Security and System Administration. All depends on you that what do you want for you.

If you are really good at programing and you can prove that. I would suggest you to work for MNC in India and after having experience move where ever you like. If you sister works in Accenture ask her what she can do for you. She would be able to tell you better than me.

Vicky wrote
How much money can I carry from India to Melbourne. I am coming on a student visa in Feb 07 ?

Rajan's advice
In my understanding you do not need to declare if you are carrying less than $10000. I am not sure if you get questioned in India about this. If you want to bring more than $10000 then you need to declare it in Australia.


Vicky wrote
But Sir, what about travellers cheques. How much money should I take?
I mean the expenses of accommodation and all before I get a job there ... and what about jobs. What kind of jobs are there? Are call centre jobs easily available there?

Rajan's advice
Vicky, that is the hardest question you can ask us. It all depends upon where you want to live and what facilities you want to have.

Fully furnished places will be expected to be expensive, so do the ones closer to the city and universities.

Best is to stay in a university campus for 1-2 weeks and meanwhile start looking for people who are looking for house mates. Believe me there are a lot of them

Vicky responded
“Thanks sir ... just sir my question is still not answered fully...
well I am getting temporary accommodation for $220/ week with meals for a single ...later I will look in some suburban area for share accommodation... so what amount should I carry with me as a travelers cheque so that I can manage before I find a job to earn my living?

Rajan's advice
Vicky, the question you are asking is very broad... there are so many things which matters like do you want to live close to the city ? Close to uni ? Close to public transport ? All these places will be expensive to live in.

To be on the secure side at least keep $A5-8K with you. In case you will find it hard to get a job which can pay for your accommodation.

Sumit wrote
“Hey Rajan, I will be there in July, but at that time I will be just 18 years old. Will it make any difference to anything like my job?”

Sumit, your age not not affect your working capability. 18 years is a good age except for few jobs which involve driving because you will not have a full license.

Networking Jobs
Hi Rajan .... I am a Networking Engineer with 7 years of experience in a Large Scale ISP network. Can you please tell me what is the job prospect of such Network Engineers in Australia?

Hi There,

Telling you the truth there are jobs in the market. But not as many jobs as the professionals who are here. Usually companies promote internal staff to the next level. Still there are chances to score a job but you might have to start with small job. But we never know if luck is with you, you might get a good job in the beginning (Usually as we say you could be in the right place at the right time).

Cheers,
Raj


I am flying in Plane for the first time. What should I carry?
In your hand luggage you should carry
a) your passport and student visa, aeroplane ticket, money, important documents and valuables
b) Items that will be declared at Australian Customs
a spare copy of the front pages of your passport and visa
c)emergency clothing and a jacket
d)suitcases and other luggage should be 'LOCKED' and tagged with your name, address and contact telephone numbers.

From the Orkut Melbourne community. Republished here with permission from Rajan.