Single Black American female in Sydney

Hello D.Cstudent.

Welcome to Expat.com!

I hope you will find answers to your questions.

You have also the jobs in Sydney section where you can post an advert.

Thank you,
Aurélie

I'm black and live in Sydney! It is a beautiful place and Aussies are very lovely people!!! Not a lot if racism at all! But you will meet a few idiots here and there!!! You will love it... But I must warn you, Australia is not very multi- cultural in comparison to the US and the UK, so that may make you feel out of place a bit!!!! Come o et though,it's a love place!

Thanks for the reply. How expensive is it there? i hear its pretty expensive and coming out of school and wanting to move is a bit scary for me but i won't let the fear stop me. May I ask where you are originally from?

Damn auto correct, I meant it's a lovely place! I'm from south Africa. I worked with an African American before and he did say he found things expensive, but the
minimum wage is $20 per hour so if you take that into consideration, it will work out to be the same.... Plus we don't tip here, so that's a bonus...lol.. Don't lev fear stop you, explore the world. Get in touch when you come over and I will show u around!

Wow $20 an hour why is it so much? Even like retail its 20? And no tipping wow. That's cool, I'm so use to tipping that will be so weird but awesome lol. Here in the U.S minimum wage is 7.50. When I get done with school I'll be a Chiropractor so hopefully I can find a job there and I can afford to live there. I think that's my biggest thing though, first coming over and trying to get a job and a place to stay and just getting on my feet before everything starts to come together. I surely will keep in tough!

Hi D.Cstudent,

Please visit immi.gov.au that has more information about the different visas are available to come to Australia. Since it looks like it will be about 3 yrs before you plan to go to Australia, what you see in the website will likely change in regards to the visa requirements. It seems to change often. In order to work in Australia, you must have a work visa.

The easiest one for people under 30 yrs old is called a working holiday visa (WHV). But this is only  available for some countries. However, this is only a temporary working visa up to a year. But you can only work for one employer no more than 6 months. Therefore, this WHV will allow you to work for two different employers.

Check out the organization in Australia that would apply to assess the skills of chiropractors. It is probably best that you have some work experience in your field after you graduate so that you would be more marketable to Australian companies that are in need of a chiropractors. If you are unable to sponsor yourself through the skilled migration program, the alternative is to get sponsored by a company in Australia.

Yes, it's true that they don't tip in Australia. However, I don't think it's quite true in the hotels with porters,etc. Just because I saw people giving tips and of course was obligated to do so.  I think it's mostly in restaurants and bars?  $20 may seem much but I wonder how much more would a person get with tips?  I guess it depends what type of establishment and if there are a lot of customers. To sort of compare prices to some extent. Think of those soft drinks from the vending machines. It's usually maybe $1.25 or $1.99 in the US. If you buy in Australia, that same size could be $4 depending where you buy it. Items might be more expensive since they likely have to import a lot of items from other countries.

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to post that minimum wage in Australia will be going up to $15.96/hour on the 1st of July 2012.  It is currently $15.51/hour.   

Also, I do tip in Australia, but ONLY if the service is good.


Regards,

Joe

Thanks for the post. 15.96 is way more then 7.50 here in the U.S. Ill be a chiropractor so hopefully I can come over and practice. I just wish I knew how to go about trying to find a job there as a doctor. I noticed the housing market is fairly expensive. Is it a big deal there? It seems like I would struggle just trying to live there with the prices I've seen with buying a apartment.

Housing is VERY EXPENSIVE here.  It's best to just live with room mates that you like and share the rent. 

Instead of having monthly bills, your bills will commonly be due weekly OR fortnightly (every two weeks).  If you were working full-time and making about minimum wage, and bringing home about $500 per week after tax is deducted, and you wanted to rent an apartment on your own (about $250-$450 per week) your life would be a bit of a struggle. 

Everything you buy here costs more, but everyone here gets paid more, so it's not really an issue.  The cost of housing, however, is MUCH more expensive, even after you factor in that people get paid more.

Hi D.CStudent,

Since you are not scheduled to graduate until 3 years from now. I wouldn't get worried too much about how much more expensive the housing is in Australia. It will likely not change in 3 years. I would say don't target getting minimum wage but to get a job as being a doctor which would be higher pay. I have no clue what the job market is for a chiropractor is in Australia. But it would probably be a good idea if you can get a 1-2 years of work experience in the US before you move and try to find a job in Australia. It will make you more marketable since most skilled migration visas require a specific time of work experience.

Check some Australian job websites such as mycareer.com.au and seek.com.au to see what the job market is for chiropractors in Australia and the avg pay they get depending on work experience.

D.Cstudent wrote:

Thanks for the post. 15.96 is way more then 7.50 here in the U.S. Ill be a chiropractor so hopefully I can come over and practice. I just wish I knew how to go about trying to find a job there as a doctor. I noticed the housing market is fairly expensive. Is it a big deal there? It seems like I would struggle just trying to live there with the prices I've seen with buying a apartment.

Hi D.cstdudent

Dont worry about trying to find a job before you come to Australia,, there is so much work here in so many fields, chiropractor you would get a job easy, alot of bad backs over here for sure hehe, actually i recommend  coming here to work but relax and have a holiday and you will most deffinatley find a job when you want to when your here.

Rent is  very high here, but you can rent a room for 1 month at a cost of between 600-800 per month= 150-200 per week, plus bills food travel etc etc your probably talking about spending 400-500 dollars  per week , thats not holidaying lol your profession will most likely get you 30 dollars plus an hour ..

Feel free to ask any questions about Australia i will be happy to answer them

Cheer Eoin

Hi SBA
I think you should do just great.I work in the Workers Compensation Industry.Rental is pretty expensive give me a call
0424693700.
Regards Damien

Thanks Damien1. Sorry for the late reply. School started like 3 weeks ago and hit me like a ton of bricks. I just found out my school was just out there and Perth for the world chiropractic conference. I wish I could have came. Thanks again.

I'm saving up money to come out there. I'm hoping to have at least $20,000. Granted I get a job pretty soon which I hope I can how long would that last me out there? I hope long enought to find a place to work.

That would last you a four to five months if you're a little austere in your living.Do you have any pictures of your self always nice to put a picture to words.
My email address is [email protected]
Warm Regards Damien

Hi,
    Firstly, anyone with health care qualifications, is in high demand in Sydney.Getting work will be no problem for you.
    In response to your possible anxiety, regarding race, for example, where I live, is very multi-cultural, where people from : Vietnam, China, Korea, Lebanon,Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Ethiopia,Sierra Leone, Senegal, Etriea,South Africa,Zimbawe, Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany,England, Ireland, Scotland, Tongans, Samoans, Cook Islanders, New Zealanders,  and the Balkans, all seem to co-exist peacefully. The above listed nationalities are people that I know, the list obviously is far more extensive.
Currently, two out of every three Australians are not second generation. Australia, for the first half of the twentieth century, had a very rigid immigration policy, which was finally overturned in 1973 to make it illegal to deny immigration on racial grounds.
Is in most large cities of the world, various ethnic groups form enclaves in different locations throughout the greater city area. This happens in Sydney, where different ethnic groups settle. Australia has embraced multi culturalism, which has made it a very diverse country, in terms of cultures, religions etc.
Depending upon where in the States you come from, the pace of Sydney will be either fast or slow. There is substantial difference even between suburbs, so a lot depends on where you will live.
I would like to wish you the best for your future trip. I think you will be very welcome.
                   Best Regards,
                     Spindly

Hi, as a chiropractitioner, you may be interested in joining the following Chiropractitioner Assoc of Australia. The following link will provide you with a lot of information about the career in Australia:

http://chiropractors.asn.au//AM/Templat … tion=Home1

Suggested wage for a Chiropractor is usually $60-$80 for a first visit (session) thence $50 to $60 per session thereafter.  Medical standards in Australia are extremely high and you may need to check to see if your American qualifications are recognised here ... sometimes some overseas medical qualifications are not automatically accepted without doing a Bridging Course when you arrive.  I suggest you contact the Chiropractors Asscn of Australia to check this out.

Other than that, I don't think you will find the cost of living in Australia too high although rents are higher in the inner city areas of Sydney and Melbourne.  However, our wages here are much higher than in the UK and America so it balances out.  The great thing is that our quality of life (here in Australia) is unbeatable - enjoy!

Hi, I do not think you will have any trouble in both finding a job (especially Sydney) and definately no trouble in finding friends.

Piqui01, I am afraid you are absolutely wrong about Australia not being multicultural. Australia, in fact, is one of the most multicultural countries on earth.  Just because you don't see a huge population of black people in the cities does not mean that Australia is not multicultural. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Australians have parents or grandparents born overseas. There are literally millions of people living in Australia who come from all over the world.  In the sad old days of the White Australian Policy (under the racist Liberal government headed by Menzies) most immigrants originated from the UK, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and Scandinavia.  However, thank goodness the Labor government disbanded this offensive policy and now we welcome immigrants from every nation on earth.  We have large populations of Australians from every south-east Asian country eg the Vietnamese (who are very popular immigrants into Australia because of their fantastic work ethic), China, Korea, Japan;  also a rising number of immigrants from central Asian countries eg India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and countless Europeans originating from everywhere from Russia, Italy, Spain, Greece to Turkey.  Add to this melting pot our growing population of people from all over South America, Africa, the Caribbean and the middle east, Australia is a huge big melting pot of diversity.  I used to work in the NSW State education system and the large majority of schools in large cities teach a variety of different languages ranging from Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, French, Greek - you name it.  You may be new to this country so you are not aware of how truly diverse Australia is but you are right in saying that (generally) most Australians are very laid back, friendly and hospitable.  We take people as we find them.  Australia has its share of bigoted, narrow minded racists ... there is not a country on earth that does not have these unfortunate people within their midst, however, this country rarely sees the depth of political, racial unrest that plagues many countries in the middle east, Europe and America.  We are, indeed, the lucky country.  Australians abhor extreme fundamentalism (whether they be Islamic or Christians) and we will not tolerate people importing their sexist or racial hatreds into this country. We do, however, welcome EVERYONE who is willing to stand up on their own feet, contribute to society and live a productive, happy life by respecting our laws and the rights and beliefs of other Australians (whatever they may be).

You must have understood my message, I am saying the same as you. I do not see any trouble in assimulating in Australia, a great country!