Such kind words... sadly they don't reflect the whole truth. (cough, cough) for I am feeble and weak (cough, hack) :)

...and henesse is from Canadia (see the sig on his post). Consult Southpark for more info on Canadians

:D
my dad lives in Melbourne and im planning on moving to Sydney.
just wondering how the jobs for programmers were.
i'm so damn sick of the winter monthes in canada.
i want to bike all year around.

thx for your quick reply guys.

your country looks amazing.
I cant wait to come check it out before moving.

OK henesse.

for the lowdown on the IT market in OZ you could do worse than consult the recruitment agencies. Here are a couple (all equally lame, and equally good at lying):

http://www.mycareer.com.au
http://jobs.careerone.com.au
http://it.seek.com.au

Some useful info in this longwided spiel from QPL: http://www.qpl.com.au/salaryinformation.asp

Living cost is like this:

Earn $1. Give 37cents to the government
Buy some stuff, pay for elec, phone, gas, water, having fun, having no fun, petrol, road tolls, etc. all the while giving more money to the govt. take what's left (about 3 cents) and try to buy food to feed your family (pay 10% as tax). Complain about the state of anything to do with public infrastructure, particularly the roads. Oh yeah, retirees are now self-funded in OZ.

You state that you are planning to stay in the student sector: I don't think you'll qualify for AusStudy. So you'll have to pay for your own education. I know some places where you can buy a Harvard Postgrad... :D

come now....
you wouldn't want a Canadian moving to your country?
You should be happy and lucky that your getting a Canuck and not a Yank!

LOL, Harvard Postgrad sounds good!
I'm planning on finishing my studies in Canada first.
I just can't picture myself living in the canadian climate for ever (-20 to -35 is not cool)
thx for the links.

yeah, we have enough Yanks out here right Expat? :)

bike all year round? easy, no snow, good weather, at least in Sydney. It's autumn/fall here and it's 26 degrees today, normal avg day is about 22 I think they said on the wireless.

Just keep the South Park coming and get the NHL back on before you leave will ya !!!

What part of Canuck-land are you coming from?

Im from Toronto, I love this city and country but i love the your country and cities even more.
http://toronto.ca
my god summer all around is just amazing.

Yer right there bruce. We class that as impossibly cold. Although it has got down to -15 at Thredbo once or twice, but only w@nkers go there in winter. ;)


Current Conditions in Sydney: +28.8C, dry, light winds

mmmmm, Leafs fan then hey? Well, I suppose we can make an exception for ya since you bike also :)

If you play hockey, we do have leagues that most high school kids from Toronto could be top scorers in. :D Our local rink just got a team in the National Comp. Sydney has a few teams.

yeah, I suppose. At least Canadians from Canadia know how to drink beer. :)

I don't know how ANYONE lives in that weather. How did it all start?
Surely they didn't rock on up there when it was -40 degress and say: "hmm, this looks like a nice place to live.

Seriously, what's a really cold day in July in Sydney? About 14?

Toronto is nothing compared to Yellow Knife or Alert.
Average weather in alert is -45 and gets high as -60.
now thats cold.
Toronto is nto that bad if your going to live here.
but biking here in the winter is nuts.
after 2 minutes your eyes would be frozen in -15.
onlyway i could get a nice ride in is with some ski goggles and looking like an ass.

Are we talkin' celsius?

In Melbourne we rarely get a day below 10 or 11 degrees in the middle of winter, which is obviously ok. The only time it gets really cold (below 5) is very early on some clear mornings in winter, so the sun is out anyway:)

He's talking celcius but C and F at -40 is the same anyway, just F'in COLD !!!

Here's some data on temps.

Sydney averages
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averag...w_066009.shtml

Melbourne averages
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averag...w_086071.shtml

The coldest day (max) I've ever experienced was 10 degrees in September 1997. I remember it because I was riding in short nicks and one short sleeve jersey. It was bloody cold, and it wasn't really a ride to be enjoyed.

Parts of Sydney can get below freezing overnight on a frequent basis, like the Blue Mountains in the west. Riding over Berowra is very cold in the middle of winter because the wind from the snowfields blasts across the top of the plateau. Near freezing, but windchill factor makes it brass monkeys.

Other than that the place is positively tropical. Well temperate, at least.

jeee, we get at least a few days around 10 degrees every year, and PLENTY of days where it's 9 or 10 by the time I get home at about 7pm!

The coldest maximum I've seen was about 6 or 7 degrees. This only happens on those shitty days when it hails, and we usually have one or two of those every winter, and it's usually about 8 degrees

I can't say I rode in -40 but in NJ I rode in below freezing weather, ice and snow enough times to never want to do it again, except for fun ride on a mountain bike on a sunny day.

I used to commute 20kms each way to work in 2 top layers (one jersey and a thick fleecy jersey thingy), a gore-tex jacket, long tights, wool socks, gore-tex socks, booties, big thick ski gloves where you can't feel a thing because they are so thick and your fingers still freeze. Even had gore-tex pants for some really bad days.

Hardest part was the ice cream headache when starting out, felt like your head was going to cave in until about 10 minutes in to the ride.

I have pics of our cyclo-cross races in full snow, about 20 degrees F and a freezing wind blowing, insane but fun. We put on a race where frozen over puddles had to be broken through by the lead riders, awesome to watch !! :D

makes winter here look positively balmy :)

I think the Canadian is using Celsus as what we have here,don't they?

I find the big difference between you Melbourne weather to Sydney here is,you often get so much change in one day that one just doesn't know what to dress in :) One summer I was down south and it was so warm during the day that decide the single tshirt will do the job,but suddenly the night comes and it was like bloody autumn weather.

yep, they do use C's in Canada. If you live up there though you tend to know both pretty well due to the next door neighbors using F's.

One item I found and bought when I was in Canada, and it was the best thing I ever bought there, is the thermometer which to be mounted outside the window so one can tell what the outside temperature is when indoor,brilliant idea.

Well, I was going to offer some suggestions, but...

If you're single, and don't mind not having nice stuff, move here. Sorry to all my Aussie mates, but as a formerly well-off, comfortable, and spoiled American, I find Australia to be a tough place to try to make a living.

Henesse, I don't know what Canada is like, but feel free to ask me anything, either in the forum, by PM, or email. I've been here almost 2 years, and my Aussie wife wants to live in the US now.

Thx for the reply.
just one of few questions i have and thank you very much for your time.
Income bracket in Canada is the same as the US or a bit bellow.
So im guessing its going to be tough getting a job in the IT sector in auzz?

I heard even though the Australian dollar is only $ 0.09 behind the Canadian dollar compared to the USD, the income amount is almost doubled. For instance a guy making 55 - 65k in Canada/US for Programming would make about 95 - 105k in Australia. however expenditure in Australia would make that individual fall in the middle class. Is this accurate?




Yes we do use Celsius (metric system).

Munchie would know pay scales for geeks better than me. No offense, I'm from the nerd tribe. As far as pay rates and exchange rates, throw all that conversions and comparisons out the window. You'll be paid in AU$, and shopping at Woolies. I'm used to year round, fresh California produce. Beautiful fruit and veggies, cheap. Here, you get what's on offer, and pay dearly. Petrol is over a dollar a litre, and going up. Cable TV is about $100. $100! Cars are way overpriced as well. From my experience at the IPB, I can tell you NSW drivers pay more in every way. And beer is expensive too. You can probably find cheap housing if you're single and share a flat, or have modest tastes. OK, before this becomes a rant, what I'm trying to get at is that the cost of living here is really high.

Call Americans spoiled if you want, but the scale of our economy allows us to enjoy lower prices on consumer goods, and our tax system keeps more money in our pockets. The government really doesn't do anything to encourage people to earn, save, or start a business. Everything it taxed to the hilt. It's too bad, as it's a beautiful country.

I see that they're discussing Tiger's newest design in another thread. Have a look at this:

Thylacine's latest model?