Hello guys!!!

This post you talk about a very fun (but important and fair) debate. Which city is the best in Australia? Melbourne or Sydney?

Yes, I know. In Brazil the debate is between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. “Rio has beaches, São Paulo has nightlife and restaurants. Rio has a better weather, São Paulo has a better economy”. Etc etc. Which one is better? These are debates that will always have two sides of a story.

I’ve heard A LOT this question: Should I go to Sydney or to Melbourne? Well, I will try to help you a little bit.

First of all is just my opinion, and I understand that people are different, and have different priorities. Some of them prefer a good weather, some of them prefer better nightlife, and so on. In my point of view, there are clear advantages in each city.

Melbourne has a much better nightlife, with more options of bars, restaurants, festivals, parties and etc. Sydney in the other hand has a better “day life”, which means nice beaches, nice weather, nice parks, lots of options of leisure outdoors, etc.

Melbourne is colder (personally I LOVE cold weather). In Sydney probably rains almost the double, but the weather is better overall in terms of temperature, sunny days, winds and etc.

Some people say Melbourne’s public transport is better, and cheaper. Rent is also a little bit cheaper there. But I’ve heard some people saying that it’s a little easier to get higher salaries in Sydney.

See? They are just 2 awesome cities, with high quality of life, low violence, lots of opportunities and fun. It really goes down to what you prioritize. I’ve been living in Sydney for more than 2 years and 3 months, and I love the city. I’ve visited Melbourne 3 times already and also loved there. But I know that being a “tourist” is different than to actually live in the city.

In the end, I think that the only way to REALLY know this answer is to visit both cities and live the experience. As I said, each person is different. And here in Australia I am sure that not only in Melbourne and Sydney, but also in Brisbane, Adelaide, and lots of other places you could live a very decent life. We are talking about one of the best countries in the world to live.

Do you have any good or bad experience that you would like to share? Any information to help in this endless debate? Write on the comment section and share with us!

See you guys!!

Hello guys!

Today I will talk about a very important subject: the first steps you will have to take before coming to Australia. This is an essential part of the whole process and if you are really thinking about coming to study here, I am sure this post will be very helpful.

First of all, you have to look for trustworthy travel agencies/agents. You can look for references and reviews on Google, Facebook, or even ask your friends. I personally asked lots of friends who had been here and they gave me many contacts and names of agents. I started to look their reviews and feedbacks, to see if I could trust in them. This is a vital step, because if you do a little research you’ll see lots of scammers who sell “dreams” but are always telling lies and just getting people’s money. So the advise I give you is to REALLY search about the agents or agencies you are talking to.

Many agencies just want revenue, so they get lots of students and don’t give them any personal advise or assistance. They just copy and paste the same information to everybody, many times promising that “a student can find 1000-dollars jobs and pay all bills with 300”. You must be careful to not be deceived here.

Yes, you can make some money! But what many agencies don’t say is that you still have to attend classes, to study, to do assessments, and that STUDENTS CAN’T WORK more than 20 hours per week. I’ve seen many Brazilians arriving in Sydney without any notion and knowledge of how things are here. Imagining they will get nice jobs in 2 days, even if they don’t speak good English. So this is what happens: they come with a low amount of money saved, and in 3 or 4 weeks they are desperate to pay bills and to find jobs! The worst part is that the agencies don’t have any responsibility when they do these things.

OK, you really trust the agent or the agency. What’s next? Search information, look for blogs, pictures, news, join facebook groups, ask your friends about references and about their personal experiences. I know each person has a different life but you can still get some useful information doing that research. Before I came, I searched for hours about weather, wages, rents, groceries, internet, restaurants, culture and etc. I spent a lot of time getting information about some cities like Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and etc. I looked for future possibilities regarding visas, permanent residence and jobs. I read the advantages and disadvantages on others’ point of view, to avoid any “surprise” when coming to Australia.

After I got enough information, I decided for a specific agency which I really trusted, and which really gave me lot of professional assistance. I felt comfortable, so I decided to go ahead with them.

If you have any questions regarding agencies, or any other important information you thing might be useful, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and ask me! I will answer and try to help as much as I can. I know that these decision is huge in many people’s lives. Sometimes you are quitting a job, saving a lot of money, or even putting all your effort and bets in something. You must make the right decision, then.

See you guys!

Hey guys!!

Today is Saturday, and I normally like to work on Saturdays because the payment rates are higher than during the week.

But today was my wife’s birthday, and we had to celebrate! We called some friends from our previous jobs or classes to celebrate at the Pool Club in the city. Bunch of Brazilians together, so you already know what happened don’t you? We had a good time, had some beers, drinks and etc.

It’s funny because when we come to a new country, we don’t know people, we get no friends and we have to create these relations again! Many people suffer doing that, because they’re so used to their old friends from school and childhood, that they think it’s very difficult to get this level of friendship again.

In fact, this happens to me. I’m used to my friends from school, friends that I’ve known for 20 years. I made some friendships here, it’s true, but I feel it’s not the same, unfortunately. This is something that you will have to deal with.

If you are planning to come to study here, the advise I give you is to be free and open to new friends, new people, new cultures and habits. I am here for more than 2 years and still working on that. If you are more outgoing, use this in your favor to make new nice friends. They will help you a lot in many ways here in Australia. When you are sad because of the distance from your family, or when you need another job and need some indications/references.. or when you want to hang out with someone, drink some beers and talk about life.. they will be here for you.

And in the end, you will have friends all over the world.

See you tomorrow!

Hello guys!!! Today I will talk about how to have a pet in Australia!

This is another question my friends and family have already asked me many times. In Brazil is pretty normal to have dogs and cats (and other animals) at home. Here in Australia I found out that this is very common as well. The country has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. More than 60% of Australian households own pets, according to RSPCA (they’re the main public body regarding animal welfare in Australia) .

But of course, when you are a student things are much more difficult. First that you don’t have your own house (99,99% of times you are just renting it), and second that you don’t have the stability to think that much in advance. When you buy a pet you are talking about 10, 12 years at least with them in your life, and as a student you never have this assurance of staying that much time in Australia. So this is a very serious obstacle, and you must think a lot before deciding to own a pet. Don’t be selfish, because if you have to go back to your home country, there is a big chance that you will have to abandon the pet as well.

If you will really take the pet back with you, or if you have a strong plan to stay here for all that time, than you have to see if your rent policy allows pet. This is terrible, because I would say that 90% of the apartments have a strict “no pet” policy. In Brazil everybody can have pets, even if renting an apartment. Here everything is more bureaucratic, everything demands time, and etc. This is very annoying to be honest. Me and my wife are planning to have a dog, but our apartment does not permit pets. We had to talk to the strata agent and promise that we will train the dog, we will clean the house more frequently, we will send pictures of everything, etc. We also offered a “pet fee”, so the owner could have a little extra warranty that his house will be preserved and nothing will happen.

Not to mention that you MUST train your dog, and I am talking about paying for a private and professional trainer to teach him the basics. No, this is not a joke. It seems bizarre to think about it in Brazil, but here everything must be done this way.

Also, you have to contact the breeders and it would be better to opt for a breeder which is registered in a council. This gives you more safety in terms of the health and quality of the animal you are buying. I’ve seen many people buying pets from websites and in the end everything was just a fraud. I know, this is sad.

Well, in the end everything comes down to the owner of the apartment accepting or not the pet. And you have can’t do anything. If he accepts, perfect! Go for it! If the owners decline your offer, you will either have to look for a new place which accepts pet, or stay there without a pet.

I personally think that there should be some laws regarding this matter. It’s pathetic how difficult is to have your pet accepted. In the other hand, pet owners must have common sense and train their pets! In the end everything could be much easier, but I also understand that sometimes the apartment owners don’t trust and don’t have enough warranty that their units will be preserved.

That’s it guys! See you soon

Hey guys! How are you today?

As I told you earlier this week, I got a new job! This time in my area of study! Even though I love my current job, I realized that this opportunity will be better in the long term for my career. I still have to work until tomorrow at the restaurant, I am already missing the people and the environment over there.

I am not sure, but I am suspecting that the guys will do a “farewell party” for me after work. Nobody told me but I saw some people chatting and laughing behind my back, and this is a normal procedure in the restaurant. If you have been working for enough time there, they always make a party when you leave. Let’s see.

The fact is that here in Australia you will make new friends no matter where you work. For example, I personally prefer to NOT work in Brazilian restaurants. First of all, I want to practice my English, and second that I want to know new people, discover new cultures. Of course it’s easier for me to deal with people from my country, but it’s very interesting to talk to people from all over the world. In the restaurant I am working, we are twelve nationalities. From Brazil to Nepal, Poland or South Africa, we have different habits, languages and tastes.

Remember that nobody will take these experiences away from you, and you can always learn different things everyday. If you are planing to study here, probably you will work a lot with people from different places, and you must know to respect their differences but also to understand that not everybody will be nice to you. This happens a lot here! For me the most important thing is to always be respectful, and good things will come from there.

See you! Tomorrow I will tell you if I got a farewell party or not hahahah

Hey!!

Today I will continue my post about the distance and difficult to live far from home. Yesterday I was talking about how complicated can be to live abroad, and that technology plays a large role in helping connecting people who are far from each other.

Now, I am going to talk about the other part… The opportunities and advantages you may have living in another country. In my case, for example, I have much more job options and a better salary than I would have in Brazil. My friends who finished university are still struggling to get decent jobs, while I can work in a nice place even before graduating. Other big factor is the violence. Brazil right now is so violent, that even if you live in one of the best places in the country you still don’t even know if you will go back home safe! This may sound crazy, but is 100% true. And I am sure that many people think about coming to Australia just to be in a safe and fair country. And I totally understand them.

Australia has also one of the best education systems and structures in the world. Many top tier institutions, where you can get a certificate or bachelor that will be respected and valued all over the world, giving you good opportunities to get nice jobs and develop your career. Don’t forget that the whole infrastructure is awesome. Good public transport, good hospitals, safe city, nice places to visit, nice restaurants to go, etc etc. And of course, a excellent weather and wildlife. What else would you expect?

So, I believe that everybody must weight the pros and cons before deciding to live abroad. Of course you will miss your family and friends, your home, your routine, etc. But in the other hand you will have lots of opportunities and experiences that may enhance your chances of having a nice life/career. In the end, you can always go back home, of course. If you want to know MY opinion, it is a big “yes” for the question “does it worth to live far from home?”.

See you soon!

Hello everybody!

Today I am going to answer the most common question everybody asks me: is it difficult /does it worth to live far from the family?

This is a very complex question, as you all know. You have to analyze it from many points of view, and weight them to see the final answer. But my first comment is that, YES! Of course it is very difficult to live far from family, friends, your culture, your routine and etc. Don’t think people in Australia are just living their dreams and being happy all the time. Sometimes is very tough to be in the other side of the world, specially for me who come from Brazil (it is literally 15000 km away from Australia). The time difference is huge, and Australia is 13 hours before Brazil, so communication is also a little bit difficult! Sometimes my friends and families are sleeping and I am working, and then when I go to bed everybody in Brazil is waking up! Sounds crazy, isn’t it?

The good thing is that technology gives us the huge opportunity of communicating live with our beloved ones. We can do Skype, FaceTime, or text them via WhatsApp and etc. This helps a lot. One day my friends from Brazil went to a dinner and called me via Skype. So I could be there with them, chatting and etc. That was very nice!

This question is so complex that I will separate it in two parts. I will continue it tomorrow, and meanwhile you could drop some questions about how I manage to live far from family and friends, or any suggestion about the blog.

Thanks a lot guys! See ya

Hello guys!!!

I am so happy to tell you that I got a new job! I was working in Hospitality industry, as waiter, bartender, and similar roles for the last two years.

After getting experience inside big restaurants and venues, I felt I’ve developed some nice leadership and managing skills. So I decided to try moving on to a more important role.

I started looking for new opportunities in administrative roles on companies, but as a trainee or in an internship. As you know, I am a student here in Australia, with working hours limited to 20 per week. So I can’t just apply for normal full-time jobs, unfortunately.

After some research, I started to apply for some nice part-time jobs in companies like Hello Fresh, Subway, Zara, Myer, hospitality, travel and marketing agencies as well. Then after some time, I got an email and a call from Mantle Hospitality Group, saying they liked my application and wanted to do an interview with me. So I met with some managers and after a two-day process with other 40 candidates, they called to congratulate me for getting the job!!

Now I will work in the administrative part of Babylon Restaurant, which will open next 30th of May, in level 7 of Westfield on Pitt Street. I will work with customer service and satisfaction analysis, as well as measuring the team performance adjusting them to company’s goals.

I am really excited with this opportunity! Let’s see how it goes

See you guys!!!!

Hello everyone!

Today happens the Federal election in Australia, and as we all know, politics are a difficult subject to talk about. I am not going deep in this matter, but I’ll just say that I really hope that the best candidate wins.

I mean, the best candidate for immigrants. Because I hope they all know how important we are for this country, in terms of cultural value, economic value, etc. It’s sad that some people still think that immigrants are enemies or that they don’t deserve respect.

Well, I can say for myself and for many people I’ve met in these 2 and a half years in Australia, that we really want to be part of the society, to add value and to help everybody to make this country a better place.

I can’t complain, because I’ve NEVER EVER suffered any kind of discrimination here, but I know that this happens a lot everyday, and I strongly disapprove it. If you are thinking about coming to Australia, I hope you understand that this is not your country and your culture, so probably you’ll have to adequate yourself a little bit, but with respect and honesty everybody can have their own space.

Remember: respect people, their cultures, their thoughts and habits. Don’t judge. World will be a better place.

Have you ever suffered any discrimination? Have you ever seen something like that? Write on the comments, so we can share experiences and help each other!

See ya

Hey guys

As you know, Australia is a big country with thousands of beaches and lots of nice places to visit. Many students use their weekends or holidays to travel inside the country.

You have lots of options, like renting a car and driving to Melbourne, or Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, etc. But if you want something closer, you can still go to Palm Beach which is like 1-hour drive from the city, or even places like Port Stephens and Blue Mountains, a little bit further (around 2-4 hours).

The good thing here is that car rentals are not expensive, and we have many close places to visit. Also, if you search on Google, you will find many websites showing all the nice day trips from Sydney. They show you the place, some pictures, the distance, which kind of road you will need to drive, etc.

If you are planning to study in Australia, be sure to check all these many beautiful places of the country. The fact is that around NSW, Queensland and Victoria you will always be able to find interesting beaches, sightseeings and etc.

But remember, be careful with all the kangaroos on the roads.