A couple formerly from might church made the move down under almost a year ago. While they were still here, they were driving a Kelisa and working hard to pay their mortgage. They are in the usual “surviving” mode just like many of us. Work was tough then, with the usual long hours making up pretty much their lives.
They are now renting a pretty decent place in the Melbourne suburb. After both of them landing a job and having worked for a few months, they purchased a 5-year old Honda CRV. They have been travelling around Australia; living life the way it should be.
With the Australian govt paying first home owner a grant of circa AUD15,000; I won’t be surprise if they get themselves a place of their own. Yes, the Aust govt gives grant for buying your first house. As long as you are a resident, you get the grant. There is no such thing such as Aussie-putera.
And you know what? At 5.30pm on a working day, the husband would be at home cooking dinner already.
There are many reasons why people view the grass on the other side being much greener. For me, the above is more than sufficed. I want to live in an environment where I don’t need work my soul away to have a decent living.
And just to digress to let you in on a very interesting observation – throughout my 10-day trip to Melbourne, I have met quite a lot of people (obviously). And having been in conversation with so many of them, only 2 individuals asked me what I work as – one a Malaysian, the other a Singaporean.
It does show who prioritises career in whose life, isn’t it?
P/S: I was quite tempted to say that I work as a janitor or garbage collector. I wonder how the Malaysians and Singaporeans will view me if I say that.
2 years go… Dear Mommy… Farewell Mom… It was not meant to be a surprise
They are now renting a pretty decent place in the Melbourne suburb. After both of them landing a job and having worked for a few months, they purchased a 5-year old Honda CRV. They have been travelling around Australia; living life the way it should be.
With the Australian govt paying first home owner a grant of circa AUD15,000; I won’t be surprise if they get themselves a place of their own. Yes, the Aust govt gives grant for buying your first house. As long as you are a resident, you get the grant. There is no such thing such as Aussie-putera.And you know what? At 5.30pm on a working day, the husband would be at home cooking dinner already.
There are many reasons why people view the grass on the other side being much greener. For me, the above is more than sufficed. I want to live in an environment where I don’t need work my soul away to have a decent living.
And just to digress to let you in on a very interesting observation – throughout my 10-day trip to Melbourne, I have met quite a lot of people (obviously). And having been in conversation with so many of them, only 2 individuals asked me what I work as – one a Malaysian, the other a Singaporean.
It does show who prioritises career in whose life, isn’t it?
P/S: I was quite tempted to say that I work as a janitor or garbage collector. I wonder how the Malaysians and Singaporeans will view me if I say that.
2 years go… Dear Mommy… Farewell Mom… It was not meant to be a surprise
24 comments:
But seriously, the Aussies and Kiwis know how to enjoy life more than we do, I think.
well, of course there are also some struggles that migrants face too.
first of all is the adaptation to the working culture.
many close friends of mine who studied and graduated here found it hard get into the workforce and also took some time to adjust to the working culture when in it.
for starters, they like to hire people who have "local experience", if you're a new migrant it's a catch-22 situation.
you just moved here, obviously you haven't work here before, so how can you get "local experience"? but without "local experience" how can you get a job?? some highly trained professionals had to resort to lowly jobs like telemarketer, salesmen for a few months before they got a decent job.
and then when you finally got your job, there are expectations too. you climb to the top based on "merits". you hardly get there by connection. if someone is used to the whole "connection" thing, then they find this difficult to adjust.
and then there's the "work hard, play hard" scenario. some offices have Friday work drinks where the bunch of them go out to the pub after 5pm and drink/ socialise. Asians are not very used to that sorta thing.
And also there are other struggles on your day-to-day life. Really depends on what your values are. Some people feel that they can't take it and eventually went back to Msia. But if your values are for equality, justice, good work-life balance, then in the long run you'll be better off. So are your children.
"gives grant for buying buying your first house."
bliss.
=)
Over there, janitors, garbage collectors...jobs that people do not wanna do, especially the elite, highly-educated ones who think they're too good for such menial tasks, can draw high salaries. Heard of a guy from China - a house cleaner - now the boss of his own cleaning company with employees that he brings in from China! Opportunities abundant, just have to work hard...unlike the locals!
Australia's a wonderful place. But the recession is now on and getting a job isn't going to be easy ... but who said life was meant to be easy?
hahahah they will think that u "jump aeroplane"!
yeah..that's y i sleep whenever i can instead of working my ass off =P
hehe..aussie-putera
Life is where the heart is and Australia 'acts' like one...Thanks for sharing Zewt...Even during this difficult time of mother-of-all-crisis, the people that lead this nation think of inhabitants' welfare first.
lol.. Janitor? How about professional environment hygiene caretaker? lol..
Yeah, in Malaysia people always ask you what you do for a living. In other countries, especially Western countries, they don't care.
But is it really true that grass is greener on the other side?
depending on which industry you're in, you might still be working longer than 5.30pm but certainly shorter duration than in M'sia.
lol..i work as a janitor bfore..pretty good pay..wakakaka.
Hearing a lot from Down Under, it seems that even the British will need to take anti depressant when they encounter how life is in Australia.
i'm a maid in Melbourne :P
Hey, I hope you enjoyed your trip in Mel as much as I did.. just dont feel like coming home huh? :D
day-dreamer - not enjoy life... it's just living life. it's normal.
pavlova - well, i think i am all ready for it. i dont think i am person who made it due to connection. and yes, it's all about the children. and hey... even if you dont make it big in career there, what's the big deal? life is not about career.
nurul khairunie - hello there, welcome to AZAIG. yup... tell me about it.
suituapui - the story i heard is plumber.
tunku halim - well, gotta wait for a while.
huei - well done! :P
j or ji - nice term eh? hehe.
fi-sha - yeah, which is why i am very jaded and very lost on whether to totally give up in this nation or not.
acute critique - hahahaha... what a name!
foongpc - well, the thing is... there is no grass here, it's not mud... so the grass is definitely greener there.
whoalse - nothing compares to here man.
neno - hahahahaha... share your exp!
ven - hahaha... cos the british are all filled with the non-england natives now.
justjasmine - hmm... why? how?
gina - most definitely.. yeah, so sad to come back!
lol..was workin at football matches previously..the kns agency din pay me..when he eventually pay me he short change me..so got fed up n quit..
then fren intro me another job..as a janitor at an office..i need money to travel..work for 2.5 hours after class from mon to fri..n i get 400 pounds per month..why not..
plus, i get free toilet rolls each day..oh ya, n i get to go into the gents..wakakaka..thank God i m not cleaning msian toilets..i think gif me 5 hours oso not enough to clean..
neno - kakakkaa... get u into gents... hahahahahahaha... eh, work in football match...as what? wow, i am jealous!
behind counters..selling hotdogs, chips, drinks for football fans lo..some of my frens got better job..they get to serve in super VIP box..kekeke..luckily i not interested in football..
work once in robbie williams concert (think is robbie la..always mix up the singer's name n the actor's)..i prefer working in concert..esp selling alcohol..tips are good..
but janitor oso not bad la..kekeke..no nd to face irritating customers..jus tons n tons of toilet bowls..
neno - toilet bowls better than customers... hmmmm. ok!! wow... jealous about the football job. i will probably be watching the match rather than serving the customers.
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