Moving from Sydney Australia to NYC

[stormgal]

Originally Posted by hutais

Hi There,


I do have my heart set on Manhattan and the rent in the UWS seems ok and that area is very child freiendly it seems.

Hello - I don't want to offend anyone here, but how do you guys do it? I wonder how some are able to get a job that will actually afford you a rent on the UWS, and yet there are so many IT people and developers out of work here. Those rents are very expensive - I live in NYC myself - in fact, born and raised in Manhattan, and the only reason why I live here is because I sort of inherited my place.

But if I had to leave NYC and come back on my current salary, I wouldn't be able to afford my place (and neither would all the students/developers) who are out of work. (I am at the graduate level, by the way). Anyway, we are hitting almost 10% unemployment if not more.

[hutais]

Hi Stormgal

Firstly for us its a temporary thing 2 year max. I love Australia especially Sydney where I live and could not imagine ever living away from here forever.


Here in Sydney life is very expensive!! Our rents probably not as bad as Manhattan but food/clothes etc is alot more expensive and many New Yorkers have said to me that coming from Sydney it wont be to much adjusment. Other places in Austrlia things would be very different I do agree.

Also my husband has over 20 years experience and has worked in London,Ireland and is currently working for the largest investment bank here in Australia which apparently in NYC seems to open a lot of doors??

He has a very good reputation and he is getting quite a bit of interest from prospective employers in NYC and Boston.


Things could be different we start living there but most Aussie's we know seem quite happy to be there??

[plucko]

I have also been contacted by thePGCgroup. I was wondering if you could tell me how your experience was with them while finding a job/relocating to the US? Did everything go as you hoped? How is your husband finding his new role?

Anybody else with experience in this company is also welcome to chime in!

[hutais]

Originally Posted by plucko

I have also been contacted by thePGCgroup. I was wondering if you could tell me how your experience was with them while finding a job/relocating to the US? Did everything go as you hoped? How is your husband finding his new role?

Anybody else with experience in this company is also welcome to chime in!

Long story! But NO we didn't go with them. At the last minute they had problems I believe with attaining visas from memory??It was not a good experience.Lucky for us we discovered this prior to leaving for the US.

Here in the US you need to be employed by a US company rather than a contractor otherwise attaining an E3 visa can be a problem.

My husband was lucky to find employment here and he is employed with a US company.
His company paid for his E3 visa also and we will simply renew every 2 years.
Are you in IT?
I would suggest if you do go with them that you get your visa in Australia not anywhere else. You dont want to come over here then have issues with your visa.
I to be honest don't understand what they can offer?? They cannot "employ you" so what are they offering??

[plucko]

Oh wow...it's a good thing that you found out before you left!

Yes, I am also in IT. I work as a software developer.

From your reply I assume that your husband is now working as a a full-time employee of another company (non-contractor)?

As I understand it, I guess they "help" you to look for work in the US. It seems like they are essentially a recruitment group who hire people from overseas to work in the US.

Glad to hear that everything worked out for your in the end!

[hutais]

Originally Posted by plucko

Oh wow...it's a good thing that you found out before you left!

Yes, I am also in IT. I work as a software developer.

From your reply I assume that your husband is now working as a a full-time employee of another company (non-contractor)?

As I understand it, I guess they "help" you to look for work in the US. It seems like they are essentially a recruitment group who hire people from overseas to work in the US.

Glad to hear that everything worked out for your in the end!

No they had nothing to do with anything in our case. They have helped in the past others however there is a really crack down here with recruitment companies and contractors.My husband did it all from his own connections. He is also a Software developer.The ideal situation would be to get employment while your still in Australia.
If they can secure a full-time position for you while your in Australia I say go for it.If not just come prepared to do it all yourself which for us worked out perfectly.
GOOD LUCK!!

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by hutais

No they had nothing to do with anything in our case. They have helped in the past others however there is a really crack down here with recruitment companies and contractors.My husband did it all from his own connections. He is also a Software developer.The ideal situation would be to get employment while your still in Australia.
If they can secure a full-time position for you while your in Australia I say go for it.If not just come prepared to do it all yourself which for us worked out perfectly.
GOOD LUCK!!

Now that you have been there for awhile, how do you like it? We just got back from visiting New York City. We love it there and go every summer. We stay right in mid-Manhattan.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by plucko

Oh wow...it's a good thing that you found out before you left!

Yes, I am also in IT. I work as a software developer.

From your reply I assume that your husband is now working as a a full-time employee of another company (non-contractor)?

As I understand it, I guess they "help" you to look for work in the US. It seems like they are essentially a recruitment group who hire people from overseas to work in the US.

Glad to hear that everything worked out for your in the end!

I am a self employed Software developer ( embedded real-time ). The high tech world is booming right now and companies are crying for qualified workers. This is especially true in the San Francisco Bay area ( where I usually work ). That area is as hot as it was back in the late 90's. They are paying very high salaries.

[hutais]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

Now that you have been there for awhile, how do you like it? We just got back from visiting New York City. We love it there and go every summer. We stay right in mid-Manhattan.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE it here. There really is no other city like new York. I dont think its for everyone but for us its really a wonderful opportunity.

We planned two years but who knows maybe longer as we have no plans of returning soon.

Thank you so much for asking!

I will say I have done my fair share for New York tourism as I have had that many friends and family come over and them too love it here.

I do write a blog to keep friends and family updated but not to sure if I am allowed to post it in here?

[Bommies]

Hi, just wondering how you found pgcgroup and their fees. I also have been contacted by them via LinkedIn and just trying to see if they are legitimate as their fees for visa application is expensive