That's so cool. Australia is so diverse in cultural heritages but most of us consider ourselves Aussies. You're an Aussie who was born in Argentina 😊😊.
My parents emigrated with us three kids to Australia in 1964 from England. I thank God every day my Mum and Dad had the foresight to leave the UK to come to Australia ❤
Moving to Australia in 1990 I doubled my income as a Path Lab scientist and halved my cost of living. I moved from London from a share flat to my own two bedroom apartment for considerably less that I had been been paying. Food at Prahran Market was fresh, great quality and cheep. So I doubled my wages and halved my cost of living. I was 4 times better off. What’s more Aussies are prepared to give you a go. I managed successfully to change careers four times! From Scientist to Personal assistant to marketing exec to crafting teacher! That couldn’t happen in the UK! I’ve lived here for longer than I did in the UK and I have zero regrets.
@@prixiedcrz as an English born Aussie ( I was 10 when my parents emigrated) I lived in rural l NSW initially then moved to Sydney (NSW) where I lived for 40 years. I've lived in every state except Tasmania and me, personally, I loved Perth (WesternAustralia), Darwin (Northern Territory) and Brisbane ( Queensland) much better weather and great lifestyle. I've lived just south of Brisbane near the Gold Coast for the last 12 years and I'll never leave Queensland, I love it here ❤❤
I stumbled across this video and I'm glad I did. Welcome to Australia, it was so refreshing to hear people say how happy they are being here. During and after covid all I seem to hear is whinging. We are a lucky country, not perfect, but we have a lot of things going for us. People don't really appreciate Australia until they travel abroad. Your sense of humour, attitude and positivity here will be well received here.
@@ThatJohnstonLife Firstly welcome to our Great Southern Land. Name of a song actually. But what you're noticing in the supply chains are 25 years in the making. We have had the complete opposite to what the European Economic Union had. You had to pay people to produce stuff that went to waste.
@@ThatJohnstonLife 2nd part of our supply chain is most people here got focused on cheaper nasty products from China. Thus a great imbalance occurred over the decades, add to that 2 years of pandemic and every fault in the system shows. Enjoy your stay. Think about Citizenship because the way the world is travelling in Late April 2022 I can think of much worse places to be. Cheers Aussie Jeff
@@ThatJohnstonLife .... Kiwi here ... but my grandparents moved from the UK to Australia at the end of the First World War ... would've been interesting to know their take on the pros & cons ... but the former must've outweighed the latter because they stayed in Oz (like you, Queensland) for more than 40 years before retiring back to Blighty.
As a recently retired Australian I'd have to say that super is one of the best things about working here. Not having financial stress in your retirement is fantastic.
Super the biggest con. A lot of people could have done with their money that was put into super.you don't need that much ,about $250 in super and the full pension.for a couple .less for a single. At one time some of our tax went into a separate government account for a pension when we retired till some smart politician decided it would be best in consolidated revenue, probably to pay their own inflated entitlements when they retire,
@@joycebaron672 I'm not sure what you are talking about. You can choose your own super fund (which I did). In fact, you can run your own super fund (but I wouldn't do it). In the years leading up to my retirement, I put as much into super as I could to minimise my tax (and thus reduce consolidated revenue for the politicians).
@@BobHutton minimising tax is good, but if you have your own home ,even with twohundred and fifty thousand in super ,put that into a pension stream and with the pension you will still get about twelve hundred a week to live on As a couple and can still have a good amount of savings , you would need so someone on the radio on talkback .a million and a half or more in super to get more or less the same return . Like I say big con. Doesn't affect politicians their super is subsidised by the taxpayer besides the rest of their entitlements. Enjoy your retirement were enjoying ours .
I stumbled across you guys and I am hooked. As an Australian myself, it helps me see and appreciate what we have here even more than I already do. And seeing a young immigrant family seeking opportunities for their children embrace their life here gives me hope that we will continue to be a lucky diverse multicultural nation. I really should go do some work now, but I've already lined about about a dozen videos first. Keep up the good work!
There was never any empty shelves and out of stock items before the shutdowns...all our businesses were exceptionally fast and efficient in logistics but alas the current situation has affected everything...even stuff from Europe. Even the USA and the UK are having problems with empty shelves for many months.
Just been back to South Africa for a family visit and believe it or not, they had NO empty shelves. Shelves were over flowing everywhere. Not sure if it’s because they manufacture a lot of it themselves or what, but when I got back to Australia I could actually physically see the gaps in the shelves and the lack of choices available.
Long service leave. You get that after 10 years. I was able to get 3months off and did a round the world trip. In nursing it's 17 weeks extra leave after 10 years service on top of 6 weeks annual leave each year. You also accumulate long service leave each year. We get a public holiday in Victoria for a footy match and a horse race.
I worked for the Police, and 10 years after I had a baby so with maternity leave I had 6 months off on full pay. But boy was I happy to go back to work for adult conversation, loved my baby just a better mother working.
Im on the sunshine coast QLD , il tell yu you will never look back ,i love my bikes dirt and road jetski's beach,bush walks, scenery, outdoor sports , we got it all, you will love it
@@1953beetle yeah we like barbys beaches sun and I specially love beer regardless of where its from lol just sort stuff out and hopefully be over in next couple of years
I first visited Australia in March 2004 and when renting a car in Sydney my son and I were chatting with the clerk about various things when she mentioned getting "bump up" when on vacation. When she explained what "bump up" was the expression on our faces spoke volumes. She blushed red with embarrassment describing how she got paid more not to be at work. In the US, many people are not not even guaranteed vacation leave and to get paid more when you're not at work??!!! The Us is a "workaholic" place. We would be a lot better off mentally if people had more free time and the money to enjoy it.
Leave loading was a condition won by the Union movement specifically because people who were forced to take Leave during School holidays had to pay significantly more for their holidays because Hotels had higher rates at the school holiday times. We enjoyed explaining this to Americans we met last time we were in Europe. Seeing their faces when we talked about working conditions (Sick Leave), Public Holidays, Superannuation, Maternity Leave, Leave Loading and even the 4 weeks Recreational Leave for ALL, it was delightful. When we got Long Service Leave they thought we must have been lying, it was the equivalent of saying we came from Mars!
Leave loading was brought in to make up for not being able to work overtime while on holiday. Overtime used to be worth working before they started taxing it to hell.
It was explained to me many years ago that Leave Loading was originally won by shift workers because they are generally paid an allowance for working out of normal hours but when they take leave they lose that allowance. It was therefore intended to maintain their income closer to their working one. For some reason when it was introduced it was applied to all (or most) workers. Despite other explanations posted here it seems odd that people will be paid more when on holidays than when they are working productively.
Around the mid to late 70’s that probably ran into the 80’s we had a big add campaign to ‘Do the right thing and put it in the bin’ this made people more conscious and aware of littering and it was frowned upon to litter. We also do have workers paid to picking up litter throughout the city and suburbs, also if you get in trouble and sent to do community service you will probs be picking up litter too. But overall it’s not socially accepted to litter.
If you were in trouble at school - it was the dreaded "Scab Duty" where you collected papers off the ground. Kids now get Gloves / Pick Up Grabbers & Rubbish Bag. We just used our bare hands & washed them after ripping the papers in half to show you had more than you did LOL.
I'm relatively new to the channel but definitely excited to watch more! my spouse and I have been looking at Moving over to Australia from the US for awhile now and watching your videos makes me feel even more excited!
I agree with the job finding bit. I was in Oz from '87-'89. My wife went for 7 job interviews over 2 days and got all 7 of them. Took none of them and got a different one.
Glad you are enjoying your time here, about the litter thing, yes it’s about respect for others but more importantly it’s about being a team mate, playing your part and looking after the rest of your community. If you want to do well here in Australia then be a giver and a team player and look for ways to help others in your community, nothing pisses us off more than those that just take and don’t give back to their community.
Love your take on life in Oz. To put supply and costs into perceptive … I follow a vlogger from the US. Who now lives in Australia. She’s mentioned costs and unavailability many times until she went back to the US to visit last month. She did a cost comparison of food and other things there and was totally stunned to find that things cost even more in the US now than in Australia. Unfortunately the whole world is changing at a bizarre speed and what’s happening here is happening everywhere. I have relatives in the UK and they’re telling us it’s the same thing is happening over there. Availability problems for some things of course are local supply chain issues, especially food related, but many are world wide issues. Tissues is due to shortage of pulp timber which is largely imported. We make some pulp here but not nearly enough.
I think it's all relative, things are more expensive in Australia but our wages are higher. When my daughter was doing a gap year (actually 2) in London her wages as an 18 - 19 year old, working for an events company, a nanny and a teachers aid was just over 1/2 of what she was earning at McDonalds as a 15 -16 year old in Australia.
@@jase026 I’ve not 100% yet but she is willing to research and look into it I think the outdoor life and quality of life for our daughter is swinging it also the wages we can earn she works in childcare over there it’s in demand big time. Where are you from mate?
@@Ironz89 I'm in the UK. I have 2 kids. My earning potential put in Australia in considerably more than UK. Better quality of life for our kids. But my wife does not want to be away from her family. Where are you from?
@@jase026 we are in the uk Lincolnshire. My partner has a close knit family parents and brothers that’s the only thing at the moment but she is in agreement it would be better life for us all . It’s her skills that will get us a visa for Australia so she has a zoom meeting next week with a potential employer and sponser. I’m a hgv driver in the uk and the hours and being away from home are one of the main reasons I wanna move to Australia. I can work in a warehouse in Western Australia perth area for 30 dollars a hour 4 8 hour shifts and 6 hours on a Friday it’s a no brainier and earn 6/600 pounds a week
Really enjoying your videos. Very well balanced views and you have a great sense of humour. Glad to have you and your family in Australia. Unfortunately supply chain issues often come back to the fact that we don't make much here anymore and that we rely so heavily on Asian suppliers, particularly China.
I'm an Australian, this is a pretty great list. One point for anyone considering moving out - Superannuation is not always on top of your income. Some jobs, the salary quoted is including superannuation. It's a minor point but something to consider when applying for jobs.
At the time leave loading was introduced the unemployment rate was low and a great many jobs had regular overtime, in fact jobs were often advertised as having regular overtime to draw in workers who wanted the extra income. Some workers would leave a job and go elsewhere if the overtime was reduced. They got used to relying on the extra money and since many places close down for three weeks at Christmas and all their employees must take their leave then, the drop in pay at the most expensive part of the year was really felt. When you added in shift workers who got extra for working odd hours there were enough people grumbling for the unions to push for a leave loading and they got it.
I didn't know that there were industries here that still had leave loading! I worked in federal government (payroll & conditions officer) back in the early 90s, & they canned it then, nearly 30 years ago. When he was taking about 17.5% loading I thought 'whaaaa? Who has that still??'.
@@MsCateStar Yes, I once worked for the Federal Government, we had to work different shifts each day, round the clock. Overtime, weekend penalty rates, different rates on Saturday (time and a half fot the first three hours then double time), on Sunday (double time) and working on public holidays (double time), even triple time if working on Christmas Day, different rates for the hours if starting work earlier than 7am. 5 weeks annual leave, one week was in lieu of having to work on most weekends. Plus the 17.5% loading, it all became a nightmare for the clerical pay staff Australia wide. So a compromise was worked out with staff and unions and and an average loading, including the 17.5% was incorporated. Making it much easier to work out fortnightly wages. Yes, this all happened a long time ago about 30 years. Long service of 4 weeks leave kicked in after 10 years service and then an extra 3 days leave accumulated each year on top of the annual 5 weeks leave. When I retired I had many weeks leave accrued which was paid out.
Disability support and aged care are really in demand atm because of the pandemic. Many workers in these fields were on working visas, and to renew the visa you have to be outside of Australia. During the pandemic, once you left, it was too difficult (and at some points in time impossible) to actually get back in, so many employers lost a large percentage of their staff. My workplace is still recovering, we just can't get enough staff to regularly cover shifts.
John, do Aussies dislike us poms? I have found making friends really hard, and I’m a happy sort of soul. I’ve been here since 2006, and I’m yet to find an Aussie who wants to be friends. I try to talk, and they sometimes look at me like I’m nuts lol. Maybe it’s me? I don’t know. My husband is an Aussie, but even his friends wives aren’t too friendly. I’ve sort of resigned myself to being a bit lonely here. Maybe I’ll find a yowie to be friends with lol. 👍🏽🏴🇬🇧🇦🇺🌸
@@pommiebears Hi PB, maybe it depends on where in Oz you live. I've lived in W.A. for most of my life and "Poms" are generally accepted as friends as they fit in fairly naturally - we share the same language, values and sense of humour. The only exceptions were once known as "Pommie whingers" but that description could apply to people of any nationality with that disposition. Maybe you need to find others with similar interests,
You mentioned the supply chain. Please keep in mind that Biscoff is imported. If it's out, then it's out. It comes from another continent that may be having its own supply chain issues (especially lately), so yes, you're right - first world problems. :)
Annual leave loading is the best!! As everyone else has said this "out of stock" thing is due to Covid (imports and local items) and it is a world wide issue that has the flow on affect, never like this prior to Covid. Still no Toilet Paper in Melbourne with a one pack limit 😡 never any tissues either so l hear you. Agree on the friendly neighbours only been in my current home for a year and great friends with all our neighbours from moving in day so yes we are a friendly bunch👍
Not all Aussie awards have leave loading. Some wages are ‘annualised’. Ie they add in every additional payment you are likely to be entitled to throughout the year, then divide it by the number of pay periods you have during the year. It means you know exactly how much you will get each pay.
Indeed. I worked in the print media for 19 years (highly unionised) where leave loading was incorporated into your salary/wage as part of your salary package. We didn't get 17% 'extra' when we went on leave. Being unionised, we had fantastic conditions and benefits.
If you're a teacher and want to travel, look into term contracts in different states. I'm in regional WA (red dirt, outback area) as a teacher, and we have such a shortage that we basically hire anybody who shows the slightest interest. Plenty of teachers stay for a term while they visit the national parks in the area, then move on.
Remember England is just about the size of Victoria our smallest mainland state. Distances in Australia are huge. Driving from Melbourne to Cairns is the same distance as London to Moscow! With Covid-19 shutting down distribution centres/factories/borders affect people in other places. There weren't shortages before Covid-19 except if there was a natural disaster.
I think England is smaller than the state of Victoria tbh. My parents came to visit, and the plane goes over the NT to get to Sydney. My dad got all excited thinking they’d land soon, he was disappointed when he saw it was still several hours until the plane got to Sydney lol. People don’t understand how enormous Australia actually is. 🌸
@@pommiebears so true. I have to laugh when I read these ppl sharing planned itineraries for their 1 or 2 week trip to Oz (and why you'd fly that far to spend so little time is beyond me!) and all the things they think they'll fit in (eg.Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Uluru, Kakadu and the Reef) 🙄😏😆
It used to be June in Queensland but because most of the public holidays were in the first part of the year, the LNP moved Labour Day (the first Monday in May) to October. Then Labor got in and wanted Labor Day back in May, so moved Queen’s birthday to October instead. Her Majesty mustn’t know where she is.
Do you miss friends and family? Close connections? My 3 children were born here and this really helped to make new and long lasting friendships. I immigrated from Scotland in 1979, love love love it here!. Don't measure your quality of life in $$ it is so much more than that,. I still love Scotland and go back every year (except with COVID situation), as my family still live there. Leave loading, casual worker loading, long service leave, annual leave, healthcare system all excellent. The Superannuation system is excellent. My husband is a Head Teacher in Newcastle NSW. I worked for the Federal Government and so my Superannuation contribution was 15% from my employer and 10% from me. The pension situation in UK appears to be much less favourable. Enjoy you new life in Australia !
Grab yourself a bag of potting mix and a couple of pots and plant some seeds from the last capsicum (pepper) you bought. They grow easily and save you a lot of money. The only difference between green ones and red ones is the time in the ground before picking. The price of capsicums is incredibly volatile for some reason, so just grow some of your own.
On the subject of the cost of things here is Australia, wait until you do your first trip back to Blighty. As a regular traveler back to the UK, I cannot get over some of the prices there. B & B's, hotels and train travel are particularly expensive there. Additionally, for some products I buy there, I notice a 1:1 cost ratio which due to exchange rates make them double what I would pay here. Glad to hear you are finding all the benefits of living here, it is the best move I ever made.
Thanks, that was fun. The Leave Loading thing was introduced in the 70s because the Government decided that the workers needed a holiday to be more productive, and the assumption was that once a year you would have a holiday away from home, which of course comes with extra costs. The loading was intended to cover those costs. Two things: in the days of enterprise bargaining in the late 90s, many employers and unions negotiated to roll the leave loading into a salary increase, so it is sort of absorbed into your fortnightly paycheque and you no longer notice it. Your employer obviously kept it! The other thing is that you might find that you don't *have* to wait until the end of the year to claim it: In most workplaces you could/can claim it just once a year, but it could be any one of the times you chose to take some leave. Things may be different for you because of the teaching and the fixed holiday periods. About the "out of stock" thing: it's basically the size of the country and the "just in time" logistics that big supermarket chains use. Possibly made worse because you arrived in the middle of the Pandemic and supply chains were stuffed. Let's hope the problem improves somewhat as things settle down, but it will never be quite as efficient as the UK: big underpopulated country versus little densely populated country is just the fact of it 🙂 Sorry, got a bit carried away there....
They are lucky they live on the East coast, we here in Perth rely heavily on road transport to get most of our goods from the east. With the pandemic, the huge delay in our shipping and panic buying (why toilet paper?) we go for weeks without some items, and I'm talking about every day items, not specialty ones. BTW, I had never heard of Biscoff until this video, I thought it was some kind of UK item.
in regards to grocery shopping, don't necessarily rely on individual items for Coles and Woolworth because the store itself doesn't order in. the main office decides what and how much of stuff each store gets. try independent grocers and places like IGA. Also like when there was a meat shortage, Coles had less and less meat but a butcher shop had no problems getting pretty much everything
The out of stocks isn’t a standard thing. That has really only started since Covid. I’m hoping that it fixes itself soon. Glad you’re enjoying Australia.
Leave loading you'll actually get for every holiday taken, not just end of the year. There is no holiday or christmas pay usually, not like in Austria where you'd get a 13th and 14th month salary. You get paid weekly in most jobs, also pay rent weekly! Another thing you wont expect is that you can buy alcohol only in bottle shops. Not in supermarkets, not in petrol stations, only bottleshops are allowed to sell alcohol. But they do offer very handy drive throughs for that as well! Shops are generally open EVERY day is another thing we did not have in Austria. Another thing: there are no church bells ringing in Queensland. Not like Austria where you'd have a church with belltower in every village, sometimes even 2 or more and they'd chime their bells every quarter, half and full hour and even longer at mass on Saturdays and Sundays. One more thing: you'll find public BBQ grill-stations in nearly every parke or beach in Australia. Everyone can use them, sometimes with a coin, sometimes even free. Just leave them clean for the next person and put your rubbish away. Parks are big for celebrations like birthdays, parties etc. One more hint: Do NOT go topless on the beach, you might get fined! Aussies are prude that way. There aren't many nudist beaches either, very vew actually! And the loveliest thing is you'll be able to join clubs and get into Club Restaurants like RSL or Surf Live Savers etc. and enjoy cheeper food and drinks because as club they pay less taxes. There are no guns in Australia (or very, very limited, not like in the USA) generally there is very little crime and nearly no road rage. People smile at you even at traffic lights. Police is mostly very nice polite and friendly. Enjoy Australia and stay friendly and polite mates! Life is hard enough, so don't make it harder for anyone! Keep smiling! 😇😁👍
Hi, you actually get annual leave loading for all of your allocated holidays no matter what time of year you take them. Which is usually 17% on top of your regular pay. As a nurse I also get base pay for public holidays even if I'm not rostered on for that day. :)
Unavailability of goods is a new experience to most in Australia as well. But being a relatively small market at the end of a supply chain disrupted by a pandemic and congestion (remember the Suez constipation?) has consequences. Even local food supplies have been disrupted by covid and natural disasters in production areas. Regardless, I think you're better off here than trying to survive the consequences of Brexit.
There are various reasons for some things being unavailable. Shortage of pallets was one that surprised me but containers for importing things in are in short supply too. From what i understand the shortage of lorry drivers in England means things are in short supply there too. The lack of working tourists and students mean that some fruit and vegies can't be picked at the same rate they usually are so then prices go up. The floods are also contributing to the shortage of some fruit and vegies that couldn't get delivered. Even the best supply chain manager is going to struggle at the moment. I work in the electronics industry and we were asked to help out an old contact with supply of a particular chip. It usually cost around USD7. We had to pay $53 yes 53 to secure some for him and he was prepared o pay that amount to keep his project on time.
Actually made me laugh out loud that Biscoff was the product called out. That has really only appeared on the shelves in Australia within the last 12 months or so. Some "basic" staples in Europe are just not high priority supermarket items in Australia. Just teach the nippers to eat Vegemite like normal Aussies 😁
I thought leave loading was 18% in UK I was told its its 25% in Ireland and most E.U> counties One of the reason that some things are more expensive in Oz is because of the other benefits we get. The extra percentages added to the hourly wage rate to cover sickies and workers compo and so on . the few cents added is well worth it in the end.
Moved to Aus when I was 7 from the UK. My first impression was not good - yellow grass everywhere and green seemed to be not a thing. Of course, early summer is not a great time for grass 🤣 but I’d highly recommend getting on board with Christmas in July for your more traditional Christmas meal and embracing the bbq meats and salads for the Dec Christmas. It took my family 40ish years but we got there eventually.
Another alternative is to go to the Australian Alps for Christmas. I come from the Northern Tablelands. Summers are warm, it not excessively so. I grew up with hot lunches and it was quite comfortable eating them. In fact there were years when Christmas Day was down right cold (it snowed on Christmas Day the year my parents moved there). I am pretty sure the temperatures will be fairly mild near Thredbo, Perisher and so on most Christmas Days, as they are at even higher altitudes.
Just a hint to save money, speak with your HR Team in getting paperwork filled out regarding Salary Sacrifice. If you make regular deposits into your Superannuation, check to see how much your contribution is and how much you can deposit into Super to bring your wage down to the next tax level. In other words, I get paid each fortnight, I contributed $50 a fortnight into my Super , but if I increased my contribution to $100 a fortnight, BEFORE I was taxed on my wage, then I would get taxed on the lesser wage, so would pay less tax, which then brings my wage up, because I now was in a less tax bracket AND I was also making a bigger contribution to my Super. Win Win with Salary Sacrifice. When I did this, it worked out that I was actually getting more money in my pocket each fortnight because of the tax break. I also got more back on my tax return each year. And the best part is that its all legal.
Advice from an oldie... Put some more into your Super. If you leave it until you're old, it's too late to grow that nest-egg. Every time you get a raise, put 25% of it into a long-term savings account (or shares), put 25% of it into extra Super payments, enjoy 50% of the pay rise now.
Mate, you are right about the great scenery across Queensland, but it is a really big state, so most of it won't be on your doorstep. But worth the trip, definitely 😁
@@ThatJohnstonLife just as an example, it takes less time to drive from Brisbane to Melbourne than it takes to drive from Brisbane to Cairns. The roads are not as good in country QLD, so everything just takes a long time (and there are often limited services and activites along the way). Pays to plan well and there are always plenty of people willing to give you advice and help.
Welcome to our little oasis guys! I'm so pleased your experience has been positive and you've been welcomed. I can see that you're already adding to our national family. Sorry about the stock issue. We're working on it 🤣
@@kennytaylor8903 Melbourne/Victoria is better than Sydney or NSW anyway! Haha the good ol’ Victoria/New South Wales rivalry! Victoria is so much better though. Enjoy it!
Prior to covid there were less shortages, I never saw tissue shortages until recently. As an Aussie, I’ve never heard of Biscoff (Apparently made in Belgium). During the 2000 Olympics many British thought Australia was cheap- the exchange rate was about 2.5 to 1. Times change.
My accountant tells me that long service leave is exactly 8.66 weeks because, back when it was first introduced, it was calculated that it took that length of time to travel by boat to and from England with time to visit relatives. Times change, but Aussies don’t surrender holidays. Recent government efforts to remove overtime were rebuked by asking them to work weekends and after hours first.
Supply problems ha try living in WA . There's one rail link across the country and one major road and both were recently cut by rain at the same time. We couldn't even get chocolate.
Regarding costs of stuff, I was talking to someone in NZ yesterday - its cheaper for them to buy groceries from Australia, including import cost! Their fuel prices were over $3 a litre recently!
Great vedio. Came to sydney over Christmas from UK and loved the country. Traveled to Melbourne and Goldcoast too was stunning and people are so so friendly and relaxed. 🤔 do you compare teaching in UK vs Aus and the standard of education? And hoe many months holidays do teachers get is it same as term dates like UK?
Not all industries have leave loading. Many industries leave loading is incorporated into your salary/wage as part of your salary package. This means you don't get 17% extra in your holiday pay.
yes that's true, many larger companies do this to streamline their expenses (as wages are a fixed cost) , and also, if you've saved up your annual leave over one month, and all of a sudden they make you redundant or you resign from your job , thats an extra 17,5% your lump sum your employer has to pay you out. When business go to get loans or lines of credit from banks, this is seen as too much of a liability , when workers save over 1 months, especially when you get regular pay rises. It's like a financial ticking time bomb that they will have to expense in one hit.
Great to be reminded what a great place we live in. Wonderful to be reminded how awesomely lucky we are. I’m also a Queenslander (Sunshine Coast)...Welcome....🦘🦘🦘
Some quick advise for you, is to make sure your super is in a industry super fund or government fund. Make sure you remove any of the insurances from your super, they are a rip off. You get a massive tax reduction if you pay some extra into your super if it is pre-tax contributions, important to start doing ASAP, think of it as the tax man is adding to your savings! Glad to see you are enjoying Australia
Compulsory Superannuation was introduced 30 (?) years ago instead of a wage rise at the time. Since then, the level has increased slowly (will be 12% of wage level in a couple of years). The money comes from the employer, and goes into an employee-nominated managed fund. Short term, the added cost of employing someone is not welcomed by employers. Long term, income from superannuation decreases the pension paid by government, thus reducing the tax burden. It is a great idea. Basically compulsory savings that you can not get hold of until retirement. An asset that goes to your children if there is any left when they inherit.
And if you’re not here (Australia) until retirement you can get your super paid out, but not the full amount. If your are going to be here a long time keep the one super account so you get a good amount at the end.
The money comes from the employer in the same way your salary comes from your employer. It's 12% of the employees regular salary taken off the top pre-tax and paid into an investment fund on your behalf by your employer. It's not an extra. Over those 30 years (more like 60 years if you work for the government) wage rises set by the regulators have been kept fractionally smaller than they would have been so that the super contribution could be gradually raised to what it now.
Yes, do not look too closely in big cities...but generally speaking it's much cleaner than most european cities! And do not look on Queensland Highways where you'll fund tires, pumpers, mirrows, other car parts very often because there is no annual check up on cars, so they do rust a lot and get shabby. Cars rust more in humid weather and living in salty areas near the beaches of course.
Funnily enough, I used to get leave loading in my old job here in the UK too. It was called "Holiday Pay Supplement" - Basically the idea is that you shouldn't be financially disadvantaged for taking your annual leave, so if you can show that you earn a certain amount per month on average due to overtime then you should get that paid also during your leave. I was blown away when I got the letter saying I was getting an extra £400 at the end of the year in HPS for the first time lol.
When you go to the outback be prepared for it to be VERY hot in summer (by your standard) your typical summer's day in the outback usually hovers between the mid 30 to mid 40s. Winter will usually have cold frosty mornings, but the upside to that is the day will be dry and not too offensive. Your best bet being poms would be autumn or spring. the bureau of met has a website with the average temps for just about everywhere in the country
As a fellow Queenslander, it's nice to see these videos. Welcome. Your perspective's of us is actually EYE OPENING for us! We don't have a lot to complain about after all! (Except our Pollies) they're bad all over the World. LOL.
Really fair assessment of your experience in Australia. Just a few points. Some things are expensive. Out of season produce for example. The answer is buy the in season produce. Australia has the luxury of having a wide range of climates so most fresh fruit and veg can be grown here. The supply issue is a world wide issue due to COVID. Hopefully it will improve sooner rather than later. Superannuation was a major step forward in providing employees with a guaranteed lump sum at retirement (generally 60 plus) when a pension or income stream can be withdrawn from that sum tax free. Introduced by the Labour Party treasurer Paul Keating in 1992.
In the US, not all public holidays are observed by employers. Retail usually doesn't recognize Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving... or ANY of the major holidays. Most other employers will recognize those, and Memorial Day, Labor Day, New Year's Day, and Independence Day as a paid day off work, but I've worked for a few employers who don't. Typically if you want every holiday off you have to work at a bank or be a federal or state employee... otherwise it's not really a guarantee.
In Canada, we only have 11 public holidays per year. But, we do have a day off honoring the Queen,but not the current Monarch. On May 24, we get Victoria Day off.
It varies between states in Australia....usually around 11 to 12 per year. Melbourne/Victoria has a public holiday on the friday before the AFL grand final and on Melbourne Cup day....always the first Tuesday in November.
It's not 15 public holidays in Queensland. I count 9 for the Gold Coast. It's probably 15 if you count all of the regional public holidays but these aren't state wide so even though there are various days at different times it's really one each region. ie Brisbane has Ekka show day around mid August and Gold Coast has GC show day at the end of August but no-one else gets these.
Getting prepared to move to Australia from US. Thanks for the videos. FYI the US has 11 federal holidays. It was 10 but we added 1 last year for Juneteenth.
Kind of makes sense, as demand dictates prices. So if everyday items were cheap, demand was not as strong, hence the demand for labour to supply more of the product is not strong either. But I guess at the end of the day, it all depends on what trade / profession you are in.
In NZ we don't get extra when we take our leave, but our leave does get carried over and we can just keep accumulating it if we don't use it all up, we also get sick days, which are also accumulative, ACC so if we have an injury and can't work the government pays 80% of your wages and covers the cost of medical expenses. Our pension scheme, Kiwi Saver can also be accessed to help provide a deposit for first time buyers to get on the housing ladder.
Thanks..I really enjoy your videos..its great to hear you say positive things and truthfully acknowledge the negatives..look forward to you doing some more travelling and posting your impressions...especiially in the outback areas which I love👍
Great Video. Casual disability work includes 25% casual loading above full/part-time rates which is for your sick and annual leave. In NSW Health is is only 10% casual loading for the same things. So you are ahead. Glad you like the land down under. If you move to Sydney check out Global Disability Service as they are after experienced disability support workers.
Yeah, supply chains were never an issue before covid/ diesel shortages/ train line flooding/ global supply problems. Even in my little outback town 7 hours from Perth, we never had things out of stock for more than a couple of days.
It is pretty popular (the Biscoff cookie butter/spread but probably the biscuits too) where I am in Victoria, Australia. It was out of stock for a while recently for some weird reason here in Vic too (I only tried Woolies) but it’s back now thankfully! It’s rather addictive! Always have a jar in the cupboard!
Like how he points out the public holidays. He should of also mentioned the high sick call rate before and after a public holiday. It’s very normal to happen.
Do they have Long Service Leave is the UK? I’m in QLD so I got 8.68 weeks of LSL this year (you get 13 weeks in South Australia 😒) plus my Annual Leave 4 weeks, public holidays and my 2 weeks of personal leave (which i use 😅). So all up I can take 14 weeks off this year and be paid. 16 weeks off including public holidays. Might just throw some unpaid leave in there and not go to work 🎉
I am glad you have found your place in this wide country. I hope you will find the rest of it just as special. The north is not grim here, no, not at all. ; ) Don't forget about long service leave.
The thing with Holidays in America is very few of them actually are a day off for workers. For a lot of workers you might have to work through thanksgiving, memorial day, Christmas,etc etc.
Also, the ability to have off on a holiday is very industry and state dependent even with federal holidays. Like someone else said, pretty much the only people that get off every federal holiday are state, federal workers and bank/financial services workers
Welcome to Australia. The Queens Birthday. It comes from the fledgling town of Sydney worked straight from 26 January 1788 until they could afford to have a day off which happen just before June. It was decided to have the day off on King George 3 birthday and it has been since in NSW the Contries first holiday. Shopping yes the shelves were never empty before covid.
Fellow Queenslander here. If you want an island holiday and to feed some wild dolphins get yourself over to Moreton island & Tangalooma resort. It’s a short ferry ride from Pinkenba just outside Brisbane.
The out of stock problem is COVID related. Staff shortages in both manufacturing and distribution and a bit of panic buying thrown in. Just recently the floods have also had a big impact on the distribution system. Also anything imported from China can be a problem. They don’t like us so as well as banning many imports from us they also slow down exports to us. Also I’m sorry but I’ve never heard of Biscoff. Is it a UK product?
@@stevenbalekic5683 If it is Biscotti then I found them bland and totally boring, hopefully Aurora becomes excited about a more interesting Aussie biscuit.
@@marieravening927 I think I was wrong. Biscoff is that Lotus brand biscuit shaped like little rectangles. They are very sweet and there is even a spread made with them.
Biscoff is the flavour de jour in the UK & Europe for a few years now. In evening from ice cream, desserts, syrups, coffee, cakes etc. Based on a Biscoff biscuit, probably more popular than the biscuit is the spread - think Nutella, but biscuit flavoured spread. It's available in my local woolies & Coles, but can't say I've noticed a shortage on it.
@@MsCateStar yeah, I bought the Biscoff spread once about a year ago but no-one liked it, it was too sweet and sickning. I do like the plain little rectangular biscuits though...they are very sweet but it is much more tolerable this way. I have seen the round Biscoff biscuits with cream filling but it looks too sweet to me.
Hi, born and bred Aussie and live in Brisbane. Just returned from a trip to Melbourne and country Victoria. My husband and I thought Melbourne was very grey, dirty and graffiti tags on everything. But I can totally recommend the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles. Spectacular coastline. Stay overnight in Apollo Bay. Also went to Ballarat's Sovereign Hill, Daylesford in the Macedon Ranges and then the Dandenong Ranges. Nice to see the autumn trees cause we don't have the same change in seasons.
We migrated from Argentina to Queensland 40 years ago ..and we are blessed everyday we are here Mate !
That's so cool. Australia is so diverse in cultural heritages but most of us consider ourselves Aussies. You're an Aussie who was born in Argentina 😊😊.
What you like there ?
You studied in Australian University ?😮😊
My parents emigrated with us three kids to Australia in 1964 from England. I thank God every day my Mum and Dad had the foresight to leave the UK to come to Australia ❤
Moving to Australia in 1990 I doubled my income as a Path Lab scientist and halved my cost of living. I moved from London from a share flat to my own two bedroom apartment for considerably less that I had been been paying. Food at Prahran Market was fresh, great quality and cheep. So I doubled my wages and halved my cost of living. I was 4 times better off.
What’s more Aussies are prepared to give you a go. I managed successfully to change careers four times! From Scientist to Personal assistant to marketing exec to crafting teacher! That couldn’t happen in the UK!
I’ve lived here for longer than I did in the UK and I have zero regrets.
How did you cope with the distance from family/friends etc especially if you’re super close to your family?
Yes ,if I have my family in Europe .😮
hi, what's the best advise that you can give for me as a single lady like me who's planning to move to AU and whats the best city to move in ? thanks
@@prixiedcrz as an English born Aussie ( I was 10 when my parents emigrated) I lived in rural l NSW initially then moved to Sydney (NSW) where I lived for 40 years. I've lived in every state except Tasmania and me, personally, I loved Perth (WesternAustralia), Darwin (Northern Territory) and Brisbane ( Queensland) much better weather and great lifestyle. I've lived just south of Brisbane near the Gold Coast for the last 12 years and I'll never leave Queensland, I love it here ❤❤
I stumbled across this video and I'm glad I did. Welcome to Australia, it was so refreshing to hear people say how happy they are being here. During and after covid all I seem to hear is whinging. We are a lucky country, not perfect, but we have a lot of things going for us. People don't really appreciate Australia until they travel abroad. Your sense of humour, attitude and positivity here will be well received here.
Aww cheers bud, really appreciate it
@@ThatJohnstonLife Firstly welcome to our Great Southern Land. Name of a song actually. But what you're noticing in the supply chains are 25 years in the making. We have had the complete opposite to what the European Economic Union had. You had to pay people to produce stuff that went to waste.
@@ThatJohnstonLife 2nd part of our supply chain is most people here got focused on cheaper nasty products from China. Thus a great imbalance occurred over the decades, add to that 2 years of pandemic and every fault in the system shows. Enjoy your stay. Think about Citizenship because the way the world is travelling in Late April 2022 I can think of much worse places to be. Cheers Aussie Jeff
@@ThatJohnstonLife .... Kiwi here ... but my grandparents moved from the UK to Australia at the end of the First World War ... would've been interesting to know their take on the pros & cons ... but the former must've outweighed the latter because they stayed in Oz (like you, Queensland) for more than 40 years before retiring back to Blighty.
Exactly I spent 7 years in Philippines. Not a pleasant experience. Nothing to do with people, it's the upper echelons. True mini America.
As a recently retired Australian I'd have to say that super is one of the best things about working here. Not having financial stress in your retirement is fantastic.
We're very lucky to live in Australia.
Super the biggest con. A lot of people could have done with their money that was put into super.you don't need that much ,about $250 in super and the full pension.for a couple .less for a single. At one time some of our tax went into a separate government account for a pension when we retired till some smart politician decided it would be best in consolidated revenue, probably to pay their own inflated entitlements when they retire,
@@joycebaron672 I'm not sure what you are talking about. You can choose your own super fund (which I did). In fact, you can run your own super fund (but I wouldn't do it). In the years leading up to my retirement, I put as much into super as I could to minimise my tax (and thus reduce consolidated revenue for the politicians).
@@BobHutton minimising tax is good, but if you have your own home ,even with twohundred and fifty thousand in super ,put that into a pension stream and with the pension you will still get about twelve hundred a week to live on
As a couple and can still have a good amount of savings , you would need so someone on the radio on talkback .a million and a half or more in super to get more or less the same return . Like I say big con. Doesn't affect politicians their super is subsidised by the taxpayer besides the rest of their entitlements. Enjoy your retirement were enjoying ours .
@@joycebaron672 super is only a con if you join someone like AMP or other private companies. We had an RC about that. So you’re delusional
I stumbled across you guys and I am hooked. As an Australian myself, it helps me see and appreciate what we have here even more than I already do. And seeing a young immigrant family seeking opportunities for their children embrace their life here gives me hope that we will continue to be a lucky diverse multicultural nation. I really should go do some work now, but I've already lined about about a dozen videos first. Keep up the good work!
Cheers Matt, appreciate it
There was never any empty shelves and out of stock items before the shutdowns...all our businesses were exceptionally fast and efficient in logistics but alas the current situation has affected everything...even stuff from Europe.
Even the USA and the UK are having problems with empty shelves for many months.
It's definitely a problem all over
Never an issue pre-covid
You can't really expect a UK item to be restocked during the pandemic when flights were very few and far between. Time to try a new bikkie Aurora!
Just been back to South Africa for a family visit and believe it or not, they had NO empty shelves. Shelves were over flowing everywhere. Not sure if it’s because they manufacture a lot of it themselves or what, but when I got back to Australia I could actually physically see the gaps in the shelves and the lack of choices available.
Very true. Australia had a great supply and demand regimen and covid has knocked it for six.
New Zealand is "the land of the long white cloud" Australia is "the land of the long weekend".
Should be on their crest
Actually Australia is the land of the long metal fence
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣So true! Love it♥️
NZ has taken a _vowel_ of silence.
Nah, I heard that NZ is "the land of the wrong white crowd". Apologies to our Kiwi friends - said in jest😉
Long service leave. You get that after 10 years. I was able to get 3months off and did a round the world trip. In nursing it's 17 weeks extra leave after 10 years service on top of 6 weeks annual leave each year. You also accumulate long service leave each year.
We get a public holiday in Victoria for a footy match and a horse race.
Awesome
I worked for the Police, and 10 years after I had a baby so with maternity leave I had 6 months off on full pay. But boy was I happy to go back to work for adult conversation, loved my baby just a better mother working.
My mum is a teacher, she used her long service leave to get in extra long weekends; took Mondays and Fridays off and worked the other 3 days.
Love this me and my partner are on about moving to Australia to give our new born daughter a better life style
Im on the sunshine coast QLD , il tell yu you will never look back ,i love my bikes dirt and road jetski's beach,bush walks, scenery, outdoor sports , we got it all, you will love it
@@fearnobeer9077 sounds amazing hopefully be there soon
Do it! Our lifestyle is great
A tip:I hope you like barby's,the beach and Aussie beer.
Take care anyhow,OK.
@@1953beetle yeah we like barbys beaches sun and I specially love beer regardless of where its from lol just sort stuff out and hopefully be over in next couple of years
I first visited Australia in March 2004 and when renting a car in Sydney my son and I were chatting with the clerk about various things when she mentioned getting "bump up" when on vacation. When she explained what "bump up" was the expression on our faces spoke volumes. She blushed red with embarrassment describing how she got paid more not to be at work. In the US, many people are not not even guaranteed vacation leave and to get paid more when you're not at work??!!! The Us is a "workaholic" place. We would be a lot better off mentally if people had more free time and the money to enjoy it.
People can't keep working forever
Do you mean she got "holiday pay"? Because Unemployment Benefit is not enough to live on.
Capitalism at its best. Money is more important than happiness.
Leave loading was a condition won by the Union movement specifically because people who were forced to take Leave during School holidays had to pay significantly more for their holidays because Hotels had higher rates at the school holiday times. We enjoyed explaining this to Americans we met last time we were in Europe. Seeing their faces when we talked about working conditions (Sick Leave), Public Holidays, Superannuation, Maternity Leave, Leave Loading and even the 4 weeks Recreational Leave for ALL, it was delightful. When we got Long Service Leave they thought we must have been lying, it was the equivalent of saying we came from Mars!
I love confusing Americans too
Leave loading was brought in to make up for not being able to work overtime while on holiday. Overtime used to be worth working before they started taxing it to hell.
Brett K it was for lost overtime earnings. Not what you said.
It was explained to me many years ago that Leave Loading was originally won by shift workers because they are generally paid an allowance for working out of normal hours but when they take leave they lose that allowance. It was therefore intended to maintain their income closer to their working one. For some reason when it was introduced it was applied to all (or most) workers. Despite other explanations posted here it seems odd that people will be paid more when on holidays than when they are working productively.
@@hinterkress sorry, but it was in recognition for people who worked overtime and that they couldn't earn that money when they were on holidays.
Around the mid to late 70’s that probably ran into the 80’s we had a big add campaign to ‘Do the right thing and put it in the bin’ this made people more conscious and aware of littering and it was frowned upon to litter. We also do have workers paid to picking up litter throughout the city and suburbs, also if you get in trouble and sent to do community service you will probs be picking up litter too. But overall it’s not socially accepted to litter.
The way it should be
If you were in trouble at school - it was the dreaded "Scab Duty" where you collected papers off the ground. Kids now get Gloves / Pick Up Grabbers & Rubbish Bag. We just used our bare hands & washed them after ripping the papers in half to show you had more than you did LOL.
There are fines for littering. $200 for dropping a cigarette butt out the window of your car.
@@wendymccabe1625 I saw a lit butt set fire to the nature strip when I was driving for a work visit. It was put out by the RFS volunteers in Summer.
We had "Pick it up pig" in the 80s. It was very effective
I'm relatively new to the channel but definitely excited to watch more! my spouse and I have been looking at Moving over to Australia from the US for awhile now and watching your videos makes me feel even more excited!
Happy to help Wyntr
I agree with the job finding bit. I was in Oz from '87-'89. My wife went for 7 job interviews over 2 days and got all 7 of them. Took none of them and got a different one.
Glad you are enjoying your time here, about the litter thing, yes it’s about respect for others but more importantly it’s about being a team mate, playing your part and looking after the rest of your community. If you want to do well here in Australia then be a giver and a team player and look for ways to help others in your community, nothing pisses us off more than those that just take and don’t give back to their community.
Totally agree Tamara
Love your take on life in Oz. To put supply and costs into perceptive … I follow a vlogger from the US.
Who now lives in Australia. She’s mentioned costs and unavailability many times until she went back to the US to visit last month. She did a cost comparison of food and other things there and was totally stunned to find that things cost even more in the US now than in Australia. Unfortunately the whole world is changing at a bizarre speed and what’s happening here is happening everywhere. I have relatives in the UK and they’re telling us it’s the same thing is happening over there. Availability problems for some things of course are local supply chain issues, especially food related, but many are world wide issues. Tissues is due to shortage of pulp timber which is largely imported. We make some pulp here but not nearly enough.
Sounds like it's a world wide issue then
I think it's all relative, things are more expensive in Australia but our wages are higher. When my daughter was doing a gap year (actually 2) in London her wages as an 18 - 19 year old, working for an events company, a nanny and a teachers aid was just over 1/2 of what she was earning at McDonalds as a 15 -16 year old in Australia.
Which vlogger?
SmDont tell me we are cutting down old growth firsts in Tasmania to make tissues!! IDE rather have a snotty nose and keep the Quolls.
Gonna show my wife this video! Desperate to get out there. Keep those videos coming mate.
I agree mate me and the wife are making plans
@@Ironz89 how did you convince her? My wife is still against it
@@jase026 I’ve not 100% yet but she is willing to research and look into it I think the outdoor life and quality of life for our daughter is swinging it also the wages we can earn she works in childcare over there it’s in demand big time. Where are you from mate?
@@Ironz89 I'm in the UK. I have 2 kids. My earning potential put in Australia in considerably more than UK. Better quality of life for our kids. But my wife does not want to be away from her family. Where are you from?
@@jase026 we are in the uk Lincolnshire. My partner has a close knit family parents and brothers that’s the only thing at the moment but she is in agreement it would be better life for us all . It’s her skills that will get us a visa for Australia so she has a zoom meeting next week with a potential employer and sponser. I’m a hgv driver in the uk and the hours and being away from home are one of the main reasons I wanna move to Australia. I can work in a warehouse in Western Australia perth area for 30 dollars a hour 4 8 hour shifts and 6 hours on a Friday it’s a no brainier and earn 6/600 pounds a week
I moved to Australia 35 years ago from New York. I made a great choice and am convinced I live in the "lucky country".
I bet your life is so different now Margaret
Really enjoying your videos. Very well balanced views and you have a great sense of humour. Glad to have you and your family in Australia. Unfortunately supply chain issues often come back to the fact that we don't make much here anymore and that we rely so heavily on Asian suppliers, particularly China.
Thanks so much John!
I'm an Australian, this is a pretty great list. One point for anyone considering moving out - Superannuation is not always on top of your income. Some jobs, the salary quoted is including superannuation. It's a minor point but something to consider when applying for jobs.
Thanks for the info Matthew
At the time leave loading was introduced the unemployment rate was low and a great many jobs had regular overtime, in fact jobs were often advertised as having regular overtime to draw in workers who wanted the extra income. Some workers would leave a job and go elsewhere if the overtime was reduced. They got used to relying on the extra money and since many places close down for three weeks at Christmas and all their employees must take their leave then, the drop in pay at the most expensive part of the year was really felt. When you added in shift workers who got extra for working odd hours there were enough people grumbling for the unions to push for a leave loading and they got it.
Thanks for the info
I didn't know that there were industries here that still had leave loading!
I worked in federal government (payroll & conditions officer) back in the early 90s, & they canned it then, nearly 30 years ago. When he was taking about 17.5% loading I thought 'whaaaa? Who has that still??'.
@@MsCateStar
Yes, I once worked for the Federal Government, we had to work different shifts each day, round the clock.
Overtime, weekend penalty rates, different rates on Saturday (time and a half fot the first three hours then double time), on Sunday (double time) and working on public holidays (double time), even triple time if working on Christmas Day, different rates for the hours if starting work earlier than 7am.
5 weeks annual leave, one week was in lieu of having to work on most weekends.
Plus the 17.5% loading, it all became a nightmare for the clerical pay staff Australia wide.
So a compromise was worked out with staff and unions and and an average loading, including the 17.5% was incorporated.
Making it much easier to work out fortnightly wages.
Yes, this all happened a long time ago about 30 years.
Long service of 4 weeks leave kicked in after 10 years service and then an extra 3 days leave accumulated each year on top of the annual 5 weeks leave.
When I retired I had many weeks leave accrued which was paid out.
Disability support and aged care are really in demand atm because of the pandemic. Many workers in these fields were on working visas, and to renew the visa you have to be outside of Australia. During the pandemic, once you left, it was too difficult (and at some points in time impossible) to actually get back in, so many employers lost a large percentage of their staff. My workplace is still recovering, we just can't get enough staff to regularly cover shifts.
Glad you guys have found how blessed we Aussies are in a great many areas.
Continue enjoying the people and place.
We will. Thanks John
John, do Aussies dislike us poms? I have found making friends really hard, and I’m a happy sort of soul. I’ve been here since 2006, and I’m yet to find an Aussie who wants to be friends. I try to talk, and they sometimes look at me like I’m nuts lol. Maybe it’s me? I don’t know. My husband is an Aussie, but even his friends wives aren’t too friendly. I’ve sort of resigned myself to being a bit lonely here. Maybe I’ll find a yowie to be friends with lol. 👍🏽🏴🇬🇧🇦🇺🌸
@@pommiebears Hi PB, maybe it depends on where in Oz you live. I've lived in W.A. for most of my life and "Poms" are generally accepted as friends as they fit in fairly naturally - we share the same language, values and sense of humour. The only exceptions were once known as "Pommie whingers" but that description could apply to people of any nationality with that disposition. Maybe you need to find others with similar interests,
@@pommiebears usually good natured ribbing. it was, after all, the english who helped establish this great modern nation.
You mentioned the supply chain. Please keep in mind that Biscoff is imported. If it's out, then it's out. It comes from another continent that may be having its own supply chain issues (especially lately), so yes, you're right - first world problems. :)
Annual leave loading is the best!! As everyone else has said this "out of stock" thing is due to Covid (imports and local items) and it is a world wide issue that has the flow on affect, never like this prior to Covid. Still no Toilet Paper in Melbourne with a one pack limit 😡 never any tissues either so l hear you. Agree on the friendly neighbours only been in my current home for a year and great friends with all our neighbours from moving in day so yes we are a friendly bunch👍
Glad to hear the neighbours thing is still alive and well...
Not all Aussie awards have leave loading. Some wages are ‘annualised’. Ie they add in every additional payment you are likely to be entitled to throughout the year, then divide it by the number of pay periods you have during the year. It means you know exactly how much you will get each pay.
Indeed.
I worked in the print media for 19 years (highly unionised) where leave loading was incorporated into your salary/wage as part of your salary package. We didn't get 17% 'extra' when we went on leave. Being unionised, we had fantastic conditions and benefits.
If you're a teacher and want to travel, look into term contracts in different states. I'm in regional WA (red dirt, outback area) as a teacher, and we have such a shortage that we basically hire anybody who shows the slightest interest. Plenty of teachers stay for a term while they visit the national parks in the area, then move on.
Great to know,! We are awaiting PR .. hoping for the best😊
Fingers crossed!
Remember England is just about the size of Victoria our smallest mainland state. Distances in Australia are huge. Driving from Melbourne to Cairns is the same distance as London to Moscow!
With Covid-19 shutting down distribution centres/factories/borders affect people in other places.
There weren't shortages before Covid-19 except if there was a natural disaster.
I think England is smaller than the state of Victoria tbh. My parents came to visit, and the plane goes over the NT to get to Sydney. My dad got all excited thinking they’d land soon, he was disappointed when he saw it was still several hours until the plane got to Sydney lol. People don’t understand how enormous Australia actually is. 🌸
@@pommiebears so true. I have to laugh when I read these ppl sharing planned itineraries for their 1 or 2 week trip to Oz (and why you'd fly that far to spend so little time is beyond me!) and all the things they think they'll fit in (eg.Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Uluru, Kakadu and the Reef) 🙄😏😆
The Queens birthday public holiday is the second Monday in June in Australia. Even though her actual birthday is in April.
The public holiday varies from State to State.
It used to be June in Queensland but because most of the public holidays were in the first part of the year, the LNP moved Labour Day (the first Monday in May) to October. Then Labor got in and wanted Labor Day back in May, so moved Queen’s birthday to October instead. Her Majesty mustn’t know where she is.
Do you miss friends and family? Close connections? My 3 children were born here and this really helped to make new and long lasting friendships. I immigrated from Scotland in 1979, love love love it here!. Don't measure your quality of life in $$ it is so much more than that,. I still love Scotland and go back every year (except with COVID situation), as my family still live there. Leave loading, casual worker loading, long service leave, annual leave, healthcare system all excellent. The Superannuation system is excellent. My husband is a Head Teacher in Newcastle NSW. I worked for the Federal Government and so my Superannuation contribution was 15% from my employer and 10% from me. The pension situation in UK appears to be much less favourable. Enjoy you new life in Australia !
Grab yourself a bag of potting mix and a couple of pots and plant some seeds from the last capsicum (pepper) you bought. They grow easily and save you a lot of money. The only difference between green ones and red ones is the time in the ground before picking. The price of capsicums is incredibly volatile for some reason, so just grow some of your own.
Gonna try that in the next veg bed
On the subject of the cost of things here is Australia, wait until you do your first trip back to Blighty. As a regular traveler back to the UK, I cannot get over some of the prices there. B & B's, hotels and train travel are particularly expensive there. Additionally, for some products I buy there, I notice a 1:1 cost ratio which due to exchange rates make them double what I would pay here. Glad to hear you are finding all the benefits of living here, it is the best move I ever made.
I am moving there next month. Glad to have seen this video. I look forward to our new life down under.
Good luck Ayman
Thanks, that was fun.
The Leave Loading thing was introduced in the 70s because the Government decided that the workers needed a holiday to be more productive, and the assumption was that once a year you would have a holiday away from home, which of course comes with extra costs. The loading was intended to cover those costs. Two things: in the days of enterprise bargaining in the late 90s, many employers and unions negotiated to roll the leave loading into a salary increase, so it is sort of absorbed into your fortnightly paycheque and you no longer notice it. Your employer obviously kept it! The other thing is that you might find that you don't *have* to wait until the end of the year to claim it: In most workplaces you could/can claim it just once a year, but it could be any one of the times you chose to take some leave. Things may be different for you because of the teaching and the fixed holiday periods.
About the "out of stock" thing: it's basically the size of the country and the "just in time" logistics that big supermarket chains use. Possibly made worse because you arrived in the middle of the Pandemic and supply chains were stuffed. Let's hope the problem improves somewhat as things settle down, but it will never be quite as efficient as the UK: big underpopulated country versus little densely populated country is just the fact of it 🙂
Sorry, got a bit carried away there....
They are lucky they live on the East coast, we here in Perth rely heavily on road transport to get most of our goods from the east. With the pandemic, the huge delay in our shipping and panic buying (why toilet paper?) we go for weeks without some items, and I'm talking about every day items, not specialty ones. BTW, I had never heard of Biscoff until this video, I thought it was some kind of UK item.
in regards to grocery shopping, don't necessarily rely on individual items for Coles and Woolworth because the store itself doesn't order in. the main office decides what and how much of stuff each store gets. try independent grocers and places like IGA. Also like when there was a meat shortage, Coles had less and less meat but a butcher shop had no problems getting pretty much everything
The out of stocks isn’t a standard thing. That has really only started since Covid. I’m hoping that it fixes itself soon.
Glad you’re enjoying Australia.
Leave loading you'll actually get for every holiday taken, not just end of the year. There is no holiday or christmas pay usually, not like in Austria where you'd get a 13th and 14th month salary. You get paid weekly in most jobs, also pay rent weekly! Another thing you wont expect is that you can buy alcohol only in bottle shops. Not in supermarkets, not in petrol stations, only bottleshops are allowed to sell alcohol. But they do offer very handy drive throughs for that as well!
Shops are generally open EVERY day is another thing we did not have in Austria. Another thing: there are no church bells ringing in Queensland. Not like Austria where you'd have a church with belltower in every village, sometimes even 2 or more and they'd chime their bells every quarter, half and full hour and even longer at mass on Saturdays and Sundays. One more thing: you'll find public BBQ grill-stations in nearly every parke or beach in Australia. Everyone can use them, sometimes with a coin, sometimes even free. Just leave them clean for the next person and put your rubbish away. Parks are big for celebrations like birthdays, parties etc.
One more hint: Do NOT go topless on the beach, you might get fined! Aussies are prude that way. There aren't many nudist beaches either, very vew actually!
And the loveliest thing is you'll be able to join clubs and get into Club Restaurants like RSL or Surf Live Savers etc. and enjoy cheeper food and drinks because as club they pay less taxes.
There are no guns in Australia (or very, very limited, not like in the USA) generally there is very little crime and nearly no road rage. People smile at you even at traffic lights. Police is mostly very nice polite and friendly. Enjoy Australia and stay friendly and polite mates! Life is hard enough, so don't make it harder for anyone! Keep smiling! 😇😁👍
Hi, you actually get annual leave loading for all of your allocated holidays no matter what time of year you take them. Which is usually 17% on top of your regular pay. As a nurse I also get base pay for public holidays even if I'm not rostered on for that day. :)
Unavailability of goods is a new experience to most in Australia as well. But being a relatively small market at the end of a supply chain disrupted by a pandemic and congestion (remember the Suez constipation?) has consequences. Even local food supplies have been disrupted by covid and natural disasters in production areas. Regardless, I think you're better off here than trying to survive the consequences of Brexit.
Absolutely
There are various reasons for some things being unavailable. Shortage of pallets was one that surprised me but containers for importing things in are in short supply too. From what i understand the shortage of lorry drivers in England means things are in short supply there too.
The lack of working tourists and students mean that some fruit and vegies can't be picked at the same rate they usually are so then prices go up.
The floods are also contributing to the shortage of some fruit and vegies that couldn't get delivered.
Even the best supply chain manager is going to struggle at the moment.
I work in the electronics industry and we were asked to help out an old contact with supply of a particular chip. It usually cost around USD7. We had to pay $53 yes 53 to secure some for him and he was prepared o pay that amount to keep his project on time.
Actually made me laugh out loud that Biscoff was the product called out. That has really only appeared on the shelves in Australia within the last 12 months or so. Some "basic" staples in Europe are just not high priority supermarket items in Australia. Just teach the nippers to eat Vegemite like normal Aussies 😁
@@fridaytax I don't even know what Biscoff is.🙂
I thought leave loading was 18% in UK I was told its its 25% in Ireland and most E.U> counties One of the reason that some things are more expensive in Oz is because of the other benefits we get. The extra percentages added to the hourly wage rate to cover sickies and workers compo and so on . the few cents added is well worth it in the end.
Moved to Aus when I was 7 from the UK. My first impression was not good - yellow grass everywhere and green seemed to be not a thing. Of course, early summer is not a great time for grass 🤣 but I’d highly recommend getting on board with Christmas in July for your more traditional Christmas meal and embracing the bbq meats and salads for the Dec Christmas. It took my family 40ish years but we got there eventually.
We're gonna do it this year!
Another alternative is to go to the Australian Alps for Christmas. I come from the Northern Tablelands. Summers are warm, it not excessively so. I grew up with hot lunches and it was quite comfortable eating them. In fact there were years when Christmas Day was down right cold (it snowed on Christmas Day the year my parents moved there). I am pretty sure the temperatures will be fairly mild near Thredbo, Perisher and so on most Christmas Days, as they are at even higher altitudes.
Loved the natural, "G'day." Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Just a hint to save money, speak with your HR Team in getting paperwork filled out regarding Salary Sacrifice.
If you make regular deposits into your Superannuation, check to see how much your contribution is and how much you can deposit into Super to bring your wage down to the next tax level.
In other words, I get paid each fortnight, I contributed $50 a fortnight into my Super , but if I increased my contribution to $100 a fortnight, BEFORE I was taxed on my wage, then I would get taxed on the lesser wage, so would pay less tax, which then brings my wage up, because I now was in a less tax bracket AND I was also making a bigger contribution to my Super. Win Win with Salary Sacrifice.
When I did this, it worked out that I was actually getting more money in my pocket each fortnight because of the tax break.
I also got more back on my tax return each year.
And the best part is that its all legal.
Advice from an oldie... Put some more into your Super. If you leave it until you're old, it's too late to grow that nest-egg. Every time you get a raise, put 25% of it into a long-term savings account (or shares), put 25% of it into extra Super payments, enjoy 50% of the pay rise now.
As a bloke that has lived in the outback all my life, highly recommend visiting.
Glad to have your lovely family here in Oz and so pleased that you are settling in and enjoying life. Love the channel 💕
Thanks so much! 😊
Love how open you are to saying you are impatient and make mistakes
Thanks Terra
Mate, you are right about the great scenery across Queensland, but it is a really big state, so most of it won't be on your doorstep. But worth the trip, definitely 😁
Thanks for the info!
@@ThatJohnstonLife just as an example, it takes less time to drive from Brisbane to Melbourne than it takes to drive from Brisbane to Cairns. The roads are not as good in country QLD, so everything just takes a long time (and there are often limited services and activites along the way). Pays to plan well and there are always plenty of people willing to give you advice and help.
Welcome to our little oasis guys! I'm so pleased your experience has been positive and you've been welcomed. I can see that you're already adding to our national family. Sorry about the stock issue. We're working on it 🤣
We need more people like you in this country😊🇳🇿
Moving to Sydney in may from Denver Colorado here in the US
Why Sydney? Perth is a far more laid back place to live and being such a huge state, has masses to offer in variety of scenery. Cheaper housing too.
@@marieravening927 I’m going to boronia Victoria actually sorry, I’m moving there because me and my girlfriend were separated during Covid
@@kennytaylor8903 Melbourne/Victoria is better than Sydney or NSW anyway! Haha the good ol’ Victoria/New South Wales rivalry! Victoria is so much better though. Enjoy it!
Hey Kenny good for you. Sydney is fabulous!
This has been one of your best guys... glad you're here (even if you're now Queenslanders ;) ).
Prior to covid there were less shortages, I never saw tissue shortages until recently. As an Aussie, I’ve never heard of Biscoff (Apparently made in Belgium). During the 2000 Olympics many British thought Australia was cheap- the exchange rate was about 2.5 to 1. Times change.
My accountant tells me that long service leave is exactly 8.66 weeks because, back when it was first introduced, it was calculated that it took that length of time to travel by boat to and from England with time to visit relatives. Times change, but Aussies don’t surrender holidays.
Recent government efforts to remove overtime were rebuked by asking them to work weekends and after hours first.
Supply problems ha try living in WA . There's one rail link across the country and one major road and both were recently cut by rain at the same time. We couldn't even get chocolate.
Ouch
Regarding costs of stuff, I was talking to someone in NZ yesterday - its cheaper for them to buy groceries from Australia, including import cost! Their fuel prices were over $3 a litre recently!
Petrol price sitting around $2 a litre in Australia right now. Seems crazy but that’s a global thing.
@@smokeandquills
There's a video I saw, about petrol being 10cent a litre in Australia in the 70s and apparently that was,expensive.
That's because of 15%GST on fuel and the Labor govt wouldn't cut the fuel excise.
Great vedio. Came to sydney over Christmas from UK and loved the country. Traveled to Melbourne and Goldcoast too was stunning and people are so so friendly and relaxed. 🤔 do you compare teaching in UK vs Aus and the standard of education? And hoe many months holidays do teachers get is it same as term dates like UK?
Not all industries have leave loading. Many industries leave loading is incorporated into your salary/wage as part of your salary package. This means you don't get 17% extra in your holiday pay.
yes that's true, many larger companies do this to streamline their expenses (as wages are a fixed cost) , and also, if you've saved up your annual leave over one month, and all of a sudden they make you redundant or you resign from your job , thats an extra 17,5% your lump sum your employer has to pay you out.
When business go to get loans or lines of credit from banks, this is seen as too much of a liability , when workers save over 1 months, especially when you get regular pay rises. It's like a financial ticking time bomb that they will have to expense in one hit.
Welcome to the Sunny Coast! It’s a magnificent part of the country and there’s so much to see and do. I love it here.
Great to be reminded what a great place we live in. Wonderful to be reminded how awesomely lucky we are. I’m also a Queenslander (Sunshine Coast)...Welcome....🦘🦘🦘
Thanks Kathy
Some quick advise for you, is to make sure your super is in a industry super fund or government fund. Make sure you remove any of the insurances from your super, they are a rip off. You get a massive tax reduction if you pay some extra into your super if it is pre-tax contributions, important to start doing ASAP, think of it as the tax man is adding to your savings! Glad to see you are enjoying Australia
leave loading came in sometime during the 70s . it is to compensate for overtime you forgo during your holidays.
With all the other extras I forgot that!!
Compulsory Superannuation was introduced 30 (?) years ago instead of a wage rise at the time. Since then, the level has increased slowly (will be 12% of wage level in a couple of years). The money comes from the employer, and goes into an employee-nominated managed fund. Short term, the added cost of employing someone is not welcomed by employers. Long term, income from superannuation decreases the pension paid by government, thus reducing the tax burden. It is a great idea. Basically compulsory savings that you can not get hold of until retirement. An asset that goes to your children if there is any left when they inherit.
And if you’re not here (Australia) until retirement you can get your super paid out, but not the full amount. If your are going to be here a long time keep the one super account so you get a good amount at the end.
The money comes from the employer in the same way your salary comes from your employer. It's 12% of the employees regular salary taken off the top pre-tax and paid into an investment fund on your behalf by your employer. It's not an extra. Over those 30 years (more like 60 years if you work for the government) wage rises set by the regulators have been kept fractionally smaller than they would have been so that the super contribution could be gradually raised to what it now.
On how clean it is it depends on which state you’re in
Yes, do not look too closely in big cities...but generally speaking it's much cleaner than most european cities! And do not look on Queensland Highways where you'll fund tires, pumpers, mirrows, other car parts very often because there is no annual check up on cars, so they do rust a lot and get shabby. Cars rust more in humid weather and living in salty areas near the beaches of course.
Funnily enough, I used to get leave loading in my old job here in the UK too. It was called "Holiday Pay Supplement" - Basically the idea is that you shouldn't be financially disadvantaged for taking your annual leave, so if you can show that you earn a certain amount per month on average due to overtime then you should get that paid also during your leave. I was blown away when I got the letter saying I was getting an extra £400 at the end of the year in HPS for the first time lol.
What!!!! Never saw it in the UK at all
Try going north to jungles islands etc. I remember amazing in my youth...
We will do soon
When you go to the outback be prepared for it to be VERY hot in summer (by your standard) your typical summer's day in the outback usually hovers between the mid 30 to mid 40s. Winter will usually have cold frosty mornings, but the upside to that is the day will be dry and not too offensive. Your best bet being poms would be autumn or spring.
the bureau of met has a website with the average temps for just about everywhere in the country
Like your attitude about Oz. Enjoy your stay.
Thanks S P
Your wry sense of humour tells me you guys are fitting right in here, so good to see. All the best!
From a new Aussie bro
Welcome to "the land downunder" 😉
Thanks Robert
As a fellow Queenslander, it's nice to see these videos. Welcome. Your perspective's of us is actually EYE OPENING for us! We don't have a lot to complain about after all! (Except our Pollies) they're bad all over the World. LOL.
I don't think there is a good politician
Really fair assessment of your experience in Australia. Just a few points. Some things are expensive. Out of season produce for example. The answer is buy the in season produce. Australia has the luxury of having a wide range of climates so most fresh fruit and veg can be grown here. The supply issue is a world wide issue due to COVID. Hopefully it will improve sooner rather than later.
Superannuation was a major step forward in providing employees with a guaranteed lump sum at retirement (generally 60 plus) when a pension or income stream can be withdrawn from that sum tax free. Introduced by the Labour Party treasurer Paul Keating in 1992.
True, we have a lot to thank Paul Keating for. BTW, he was already PM in 1992.
@@paulsz6194 OK. 3 decades is a long time ago
@@jimr4354 yes that’s true. I was trying to be polite about it, no il l will intended.
@@paulsz6194 That's fine. Acknowledged. No offence taken.
In the US, not all public holidays are observed by employers. Retail usually doesn't recognize Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving... or ANY of the major holidays. Most other employers will recognize those, and Memorial Day, Labor Day, New Year's Day, and Independence Day as a paid day off work, but I've worked for a few employers who don't. Typically if you want every holiday off you have to work at a bank or be a federal or state employee... otherwise it's not really a guarantee.
Not making me a fan of the US work life balance
In Canada, we only have 11 public holidays per year. But, we do have a day off honoring the Queen,but not the current Monarch. On May 24, we get Victoria Day off.
It varies between states in Australia....usually around 11 to 12 per year. Melbourne/Victoria has a public holiday on the friday before the AFL grand final and on Melbourne Cup day....always the first Tuesday in November.
Everyone else seems to get a day off for the Queen except the British
It's not 15 public holidays in Queensland. I count 9 for the Gold Coast. It's probably 15 if you count all of the regional public holidays but these aren't state wide so even though there are various days at different times it's really one each region. ie Brisbane has Ekka show day around mid August and Gold Coast has GC show day at the end of August but no-one else gets these.
Getting prepared to move to Australia from US. Thanks for the videos. FYI the US has 11 federal holidays. It was 10 but we added 1 last year for Juneteenth.
What's a Juneteenth?
@@ThatJohnstonLife it’s the celebration of the day that slavery was finally ended in the states.
How things have changed, we moved to Brisbane from the UK in 2001 and remember thinking how cheap everything was and hard it was to find work.
Kind of makes sense, as demand dictates prices. So if everyday items were cheap, demand was not as strong, hence the demand for labour to supply more of the product is not strong either.
But I guess at the end of the day, it all depends on what trade / profession you are in.
In NZ we don't get extra when we take our leave, but our leave does get carried over and we can just keep accumulating it if we don't use it all up, we also get sick days, which are also accumulative, ACC so if we have an injury and can't work the government pays 80% of your wages and covers the cost of medical expenses.
Our pension scheme, Kiwi Saver can also be accessed to help provide a deposit for first time buyers to get on the housing ladder.
Thanks..I really enjoy your videos..its great to hear you say positive things and truthfully acknowledge the negatives..look forward to you doing some more travelling and posting your impressions...especiially in the outback areas which I love👍
Great Video. Casual disability work includes 25% casual loading above full/part-time rates which is for your sick and annual leave. In NSW Health is is only 10% casual loading for the same things. So you are ahead. Glad you like the land down under. If you move to Sydney check out Global Disability Service as they are after experienced disability support workers.
Thanks for the tips, bit don't think I could ever move to Sydney
Yeah, supply chains were never an issue before covid/ diesel shortages/ train line flooding/ global supply problems. Even in my little outback town 7 hours from Perth, we never had things out of stock for more than a couple of days.
I’m in Studio City California and I’m watching this
Biscoff ain't exactly a highly sought after item here.... stock up and keep a couple jars in the cupboard on rotation. Sorted.
Never heard of it
@@MON-ud7sw It's not bad... I prefer Speculoos myself.
It is in our house
It is pretty popular (the Biscoff cookie butter/spread but probably the biscuits too) where I am in Victoria, Australia. It was out of stock for a while recently for some weird reason here in Vic too (I only tried Woolies) but it’s back now thankfully! It’s rather addictive! Always have a jar in the cupboard!
Like how he points out the public holidays. He should of also mentioned the high sick call rate before and after a public holiday. It’s very normal to happen.
😄 🤣
Do they have Long Service Leave is the UK? I’m in QLD so I got 8.68 weeks of LSL this year (you get 13 weeks in South Australia 😒) plus my Annual Leave 4 weeks, public holidays and my 2 weeks of personal leave (which i use 😅). So all up I can take 14 weeks off this year and be paid. 16 weeks off including public holidays. Might just throw some unpaid leave in there and not go to work 🎉
I am glad you have found your place in this wide country. I hope you will find the rest of it just as special. The north is not grim here, no, not at all. ; ) Don't forget about long service leave.
Great. Thanks for Sharing of what you are experiences..
Full support here.
Thank you too
Looks like you have seen the Sunshine Coast and its hinterland, but have you also seen the Scenic Rim and the Granite Belt?
The thing with Holidays in America is very few of them actually are a day off for workers. For a lot of workers you might have to work through thanksgiving, memorial day, Christmas,etc etc.
That sucks
Also, the ability to have off on a holiday is very industry and state dependent even with federal holidays. Like someone else said, pretty much the only people that get off every federal holiday are state, federal workers and bank/financial services workers
Hey guys.. like the video.. welcome to the convict country and hope you enjoy your time here in Australia..
There was a national movement started years ago “Keep Australia Beautiful”
we never had any problems with outer stocks till the covid
Welcome to Australia. The Queens Birthday. It comes from the fledgling town of Sydney worked straight from 26 January 1788 until they could afford to have a day off which happen just before June. It was decided to have the day off on King George 3 birthday and it has been since in NSW the Contries first holiday. Shopping yes the shelves were never empty before covid.
Lol, I really love your vids you are so funny with no airs and graces.
Cheers Grahame
In Vic the Queens bay holiday is in June.
Good video hopefully more people will move to Australia. Such a large country with such a small population. 26 million. Plenty of room and jobs.
Fellow Queenslander here. If you want an island holiday and to feed some wild dolphins get yourself over to Moreton island & Tangalooma resort. It’s a short ferry ride from Pinkenba just outside Brisbane.
In the US I get 6 days off for public holidays. Thé other 7 are just bank holidays and only banks and public sector employees typically have off.
The out of stock problem is COVID related. Staff shortages in both manufacturing and distribution and a bit of panic buying thrown in. Just recently the floods have also had a big impact on the distribution system. Also anything imported from China can be a problem. They don’t like us so as well as banning many imports from us they also slow down exports to us. Also I’m sorry but I’ve never heard of Biscoff. Is it a UK product?
Biscotti...I think it's an Italian type of biscuit.
@@stevenbalekic5683 If it is Biscotti then I found them bland and totally boring, hopefully Aurora becomes excited about a more interesting Aussie biscuit.
@@marieravening927
I think I was wrong. Biscoff is that Lotus brand biscuit shaped like little rectangles. They are very sweet and there is even a spread made with them.
Biscoff is the flavour de jour in the UK & Europe for a few years now. In evening from ice cream, desserts, syrups, coffee, cakes etc. Based on a Biscoff biscuit, probably more popular than the biscuit is the spread - think Nutella, but biscuit flavoured spread. It's available in my local woolies & Coles, but can't say I've noticed a shortage on it.
@@MsCateStar yeah, I bought the Biscoff spread once about a year ago but no-one liked it, it was too sweet and sickning. I do like the plain little rectangular biscuits though...they are very sweet but it is much more tolerable this way.
I have seen the round Biscoff biscuits with cream filling but it looks too sweet to me.
The night skies in the desert are amazing. You'll love it.
Hi, born and bred Aussie and live in Brisbane. Just returned from a trip to Melbourne and country Victoria. My husband and I thought Melbourne was very grey, dirty and graffiti tags on everything. But I can totally recommend the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles. Spectacular coastline. Stay overnight in Apollo Bay. Also went to Ballarat's Sovereign Hill, Daylesford in the Macedon Ranges and then the Dandenong Ranges. Nice to see the autumn trees cause we don't have the same change in seasons.
P.s. we flew to Melbourne and our hire car was $550 for 6 days including insurance.
I'm thinking of moving from USA down to Oz. I'll try your migration service.