Canada to Darwin or Alice Springs (job offer)

[bobbi212]

Hi Dreama!
So sorry for not replying sooner. Haven't been on this site for a long time. I didn't go through with the interview as I decided to do my MSW (ends in April ...yahoo!!!). Then I might actually go to UK instead. It's always been a toss-up between the two -UK or Australia ...rain vs sun ...crocodiles vs beer ...lol!!!

How was your interview? If you say you're now in Australia, I'll be so jealous!!! Anyways, last I heard from the recruitment agency, is that NT Government will still interview for workers who would go mid or late 2011? Chance of a lifetime but pay and benefits aren't that great. I've worked with Aboriginal community for past 5yrs so I wouldn't be going for experience. Might haggle with them for more benefits and incentives ...fingers crossed if I do!!!

Once again, sorry for not replying sooner. Keep in touch ...maybe we can explore UK as two wild and crazy Canucks!!! Ciao!!!

[dreama]

My interview with Australia is on Thursday, so I am hoping to go! I have also worked with many Aboriginals here in Canada, part of the job. The money is just as good as I would make up north here, and I don't have to freeze my buns off during a 9 month winter anymore. If successful in the job, I hope to be leaving in May. The vacation time is better than I could ever get in Canada. I'm going for the adventure and the opportunity to work abroad, so the money isn't as important as it once was. While I have worked with local Aboriginals in Canada, I think it will be a whole new ballgame with indigenous Australians. We shall see!

As for the UK, I have heard they are laying people off, and there is much less recruitment, whereas in Australia, the economy is apparently booming, hence all the new social work positions to apply for.

Congrats on the MSW!

Originally Posted by bobbi212

Hi Dreama!
So sorry for not replying sooner. Haven't been on this site for a long time. I didn't go through with the interview as I decided to do my MSW (ends in April ...yahoo!!!). Then I might actually go to UK instead. It's always been a toss-up between the two -UK or Australia ...rain vs sun ...crocodiles vs beer ...lol!!!

How was your interview? If you say you're now in Australia, I'll be so jealous!!! Anyways, last I heard from the recruitment agency, is that NT Government will still interview for workers who would go mid or late 2011? Chance of a lifetime but pay and benefits aren't that great. I've worked with Aboriginal community for past 5yrs so I wouldn't be going for experience. Might haggle with them for more benefits and incentives ...fingers crossed if I do!!!

Once again, sorry for not replying sooner. Keep in touch ...maybe we can explore UK as two wild and crazy Canucks!!! Ciao!!!

[bobbi212]

Hi Dreama!
Just wondering if your interview was successful. Are you head to Oz soon?...fingers crossed for you!!! After the freezing winter blast we've had this weekend, hot Australia sounds great!!! Yes salary is not that important. It's just I wouldn't want to be living paycheque to paycheque. Benefits were an issue. I did alot of research into cost of living ,food and such. For remote places, the rent seems crazy high. Even compared to here in T.O.!

As for the UK, I am aware. And unsure at the same time. I have personal reasons driving me to go there, I have some employment contacts regarding social work jobs and I will soon have my British passport so won't need a work visa or sponsorship. But definitely won't go without a secure job. Who knows where life takes us!!!
Chat soon, Bobbi!!!

[dreama]

The interview went well, although it was shorter than I was expecting, and went very swiftly from one question to another. They had another candidate after me, and mentioned this during the interview, so that was likely why. With the drastic time differences, and a number of different countries and offices involved, they made errors in the schedule, and someone failed to confirm on who's time zone were the interview times based. They adjusted for the correct time of day but forgot the fact that Australia is a day ahead, so my interview that was scheduled for Thursday was on Australia time, so Wednesday for me. I was taken off guard, but then realized I was ready anyhow as I had spent weeks preparing for the interview, and felt good to go. We went through the interview and then discussed salary expectations, start dates, benefits, and any questions I had. So that's a good sign.

I told them I'm ready to go for May 1st or earlier if the papers go through for the visa without issue.

As for the rent, I compared it to living in the northern territories(Yukon, NWT and Nunavut) of Canada, which is pretty much what the Northern Territory is to Australia, and they are pretty much what I expected. The rent in the north is pretty high and people pay $300,000 just for a trailer. My rent was $1270 for a very small two bedroom apartment in a crappy old building, plus utilities. In Inuvik people pay $1600 or more for the same. In Iqualuit, probably $2000/month. I had no problem making ends meet when I worked in northern Canada on the same money, and I paid off $30,000 in student loans, and a $20,000 car in just 3 years, and still took several vacations, and was able to put away some money. So I am hoping to do well in Australia, and with a great deal of travel involved, there is opportunity to see quite a bit of the Northern Territory while doing the job, which is something I'm really looking forward to, getting to know the people of the Territory.

Good luck in the UK, and you just never know when two Canadian ex-pats will cross paths again!

Originally Posted by bobbi212

Hi Dreama!
Just wondering if your interview was successful. Are you head to Oz soon?...fingers crossed for you!!! After the freezing winter blast we've had this weekend, hot Australia sounds great!!! Yes salary is not that important. It's just I wouldn't want to be living paycheque to paycheque. Benefits were an issue. I did alot of research into cost of living ,food and such. For remote places, the rent seems crazy high. Even compared to here in T.O.!

As for the UK, I am aware. And unsure at the same time. I have personal reasons driving me to go there, I have some employment contacts regarding social work jobs and I will soon have my British passport so won't need a work visa or sponsorship. But definitely won't go without a secure job. Who knows where life takes us!!!
Chat soon, Bobbi!!!

[Collip99]

Hi there

I see you made it to Alice Springs. How have things progressed for you since being there? I'm a UK social worker looking at moving to NT hopefuly early next year. I'd love a social worky insight into the Top End and NT in general.

Thanks
Phil

[dreama]

Originally Posted by Collip99

Hi there

I see you made it to Alice Springs. How have things progressed for you since being there? I'm a UK social worker looking at moving to NT hopefuly early next year. I'd love a social worky insight into the Top End and NT in general.

Thanks
Phil

Hi Phil,

I am loving Australia and living in Alice Springs was the best thing I ever did! Work is busy as child protection can tend to be. There is such a shortage of social workers here that case loads are high, but the work is rewarding for me, and I truly enjoy working in central Australia. The weather in central Australia is just perfect for me - it can get hot in summer but it's a dry heat, and nothing like the top end where it's so very humid year round.

Social worky insight - well, if you haven't worked with a primarily Aboriginal population that has been marginalized and heavily impacted by British colonization it will be an eye opener. The main issues we deal with are extensive generational alcoholism, family violence, sexual abuse, and neglect. The first thing I knew when I landed was that I could not save anyone, simply help families discover their strengths to get through it all. I had worked with primarily Aboriginal people in northern Canada, which has its similarities but also drastic differences. Many of the families I work with here still live outside. Sure they have houses but when you pull up to the house, the beds are outside, as they cook over an open fire. There are very few home visits where you will be invited outside. Instead you will find yourself sitting on the ground under a nearby tree for shade, or talking at the fence. You will often not want to go inside, as community standards of clean are not what you will have ever come across in the UK. In 40C heat, you are best off outside and upwind.

There are many families that are happy for your help, while others will curse you and wish you dead. That simply comes with child protection work I reckon. I have not had any really bad experiences with the Aboriginal families I've worked with so far, but a lot can be said for the proper approach and being culturally sensitive. The most problematic families I've had here were white folks, as it would happen. There is a lot be learned from the local indigenous population, and a lot more to learn in the future. I really enjoy working with them, and see myself working and living in central Australia for a number of years.

As for the employer - well, government bureaucracy can be found in any corner of the globe and there is no shortage of it here. I've just found a way to work my way through it without wanting to go postal on the red tape that often gets in the way of doing good work. The money is good, the benefits were good initially but I've heard they have peeled back some of the recruitment benefits from when I arrived back in April. Housing is not cheap but you can usually find something within budget. Alice Springs is a hub for central Australia so you can usually find everything you need right here. I had considered Darwin and Katherine, but decided I just couldn't take the humidity.

There are a lot of really good social workers here in Alice, but there are also a number of burnouts that you typically find in the middle of nowhere when recruitment is ongoing. They are constantly hiring so you won't have any trouble getting an interview I'm sure. You can expect to carry a caseload of about 25-35 at any given time, and as little as a dozen when things slow down from time to time. There is a lot of bush travel depending on which position you are interested in. I'm on a team that covers the entire bottom end of the NT, Elliot and south, so am usually out bush once a week, sometimes more. Learning to drive a 4-wheel drive is essential and required, but they send you on a course to learn how not to die in the desert.

There are tons of NGO's here, and services for families, which was a refreshing change from northern Canada. Most of them do really good work, however you will find burnouts and lack of staff at some of them can be frustrating. This won't be like working in the UK at all, and either you'll come to love the Northern Territory like I do, or run screaming after a few weeks. I've met some of both.

Good luck in your venture to come to Australia. You won't regret it!

[Collip99]

Wow...thanks very much for the very detailed insight. Yes, I'm a Child Protection social worker, although currently in mental health. The property prices do seem awfully scary first off, but I guess that really depends on income versus expenditure. I've got to work out whether I would choose Darwin, Katherine or Alice. I have a wife and a 4 year old son and wonder what the isolation would do. Maybe be good, maybe bad.

It would be great to stay in touch and learn from you (in return you can hear about my application process come the time )

Kind regards

Phil

[dreama]

Well, from my experience so far, having moved to Alice Springs and my good friend moved to Darwin from Canada with her two kids, each town has it's own charms. Darwin is definitely bigger, but it is a very busy city. Sure there are lots of schools and activities for kids, but Alice Springs has the same on a smaller scale, and the whole outback as a playground. If you like the great outdoors, Alice Springs is the place, but if you want access to cheap flights overseas, the hop out of Alice to the nearest bigger airport is a pain and can get expensive, but cheap as dirt from Darwin. Katherine a much smaller town than Alice Springs, and gets the same weather as Darwin - a whole lotta rain and a whole lotta humidity. Both Alice and Darwin housing prices are pretty high and going up all the time. You might hear a lot of negative stuff about Alice being crime ridden but it has not been my experience. I think we just hear about it more because the press wants to write about it.

Daycare spaces are far and few between but once your child is in school, options are not as limited. There are lots of jobs in both Darwin and Alice, but if your wife wants to work, Katherine will be much more limited. I drove through Katherine this summer (Aussie winter) and it isn't much more than a drive-thru town. Busy along the highway and not much beyond that other than housing.

I would like to keep in touch, either through this thread or pms. I've learned a lot since moving here so can probably answer a lot of questions. My team leader is also from the UK, so what I don't know I can ask her. Good luck!

[Collip99]

Maybe your team leader would love to give me a job...LOL

Alice does look nice, I have to say. Yeah, most web-reports go on a great deal about the crime and that the indigenous australians 'spoil it'. All seems a little OTT and harsh. But we are looking for a better way of life and something more 'natural'. Am I right in thinking that kids in NT start at 6? My son is four, so either daycare or home with mummy....LOL

How many posts are needed before I can PM, do you know?

Cheers
Phil

[dreama]

They have half-day preschool for 4 & 5 year olds, sometimes called a transitional year. I'm not sure how many posts you need but I don't think a lot before you can PM. Just find some random threads to post a short comment on and you'll get your number up higher.

midnight in Alice Springs now - have to work in the morning - the work day starts at 8am here in the NT until 4:21pm - strange quitting time but they say they have a reason for it. Good night!