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I have just received my Permanent Residency in Australia and will receive the American Green Card by the end of this year.
I am from the Middle East and cannot decide on where to live, both countries are great and both are more like a dream coming true!! I have a lot of relatives and friends in the US (Atlanta, Seattle and New-york) while I know no one in Australia; therefore the US seems like a better choice, but my concern is finding a job. I know the unemployment rate in the US is much higher than that of Australia. I am a HR Manager at a multinational corporation. My husband is a Financial Controller at a multinational corporation as well. We both have a MBA from Spain and 9+ years of experience (and we are willing to compromise! not looking for fancy titles or similar positions )
I'd pick wherever you can find employment. Do you read The Economist magazine? Companies looking for people like you advertise there. It's international, but you should find some US and Aussie ads there, too. It's weekly, so there will be new advertisements coming up regularly.
You can do some online research, as well. Find out what corporations are located in the 3 cities you list (Seattle: Microsoft, for one). Then go onto their websites and see if they have job listings.
Another way is to take the plunge, go to the US, and hire a head-hunter (so-called) whose business it is to connect talent with the corporations who need it. If they find you a job, they take a portion of your pay for the first month or a few months to pay for their services.
Given a free choice between the two countries, I can't imagine why anyone would choose the US. They have no social safety net, where Australia has a complete safety net. You could end up homeless and starving in the US, that will never happen in Australia (exclusive of mental illness or substance abuse that means you either won't accept help, or spend it all on drugs and not rent.
Given a free choice between the two countries, I can't imagine why anyone would choose the US. They have no social safety net, where Australia has a complete safety net. You could end up homeless and starving in the US, that will never happen in Australia (exclusive of mental illness or substance abuse that means you either won't accept help, or spend it all on drugs and not rent.
It seems to be a common misconception spread by leftist media that the USA has no social safety net. Clearly the people that state that are very uninformed individuals. In fact we've got a safety net that is like a big hammock to spread out in and relax. The "poor" in this country are doing better than some in the work force with food stamps(handy little debit card now), WIC, welfare checks, 2 years unemployment, medicaid, utility bill assistance, free cell phones, section 8 housing, prescription drug programs, etc.
The big section 8 housing complex in a city nearby has BMW's, Mercedes and Cadillacs in the parking lot. With free food, housing, utilities, phones, medical care, etc., these bums work under the table or sell drugs and they are living the life.
Every time I go to Wal Mart, I invariably end up in line behind someone with food stamps(46 million Americans on federal food stamps). All of these people are 250-450 pounds in weight and have a shopping cart filled with food. Where the federal program doesn't help, the local and state governments have checks that can be filled out and used for food.
People starving in the USA? Not a chance. Only if they want to or only if kids have parents that are on drugs. One local scam going on here is people selling use of their food stamp debit card. They let you go in the store and buy $100 worth of food and then you come back out the store and give them their card back and $50 cash. You've got $100 worth of food for only $50 and they've got $50 for drugs.
Nobody ends up homeless or starving in the USA, unless they want to. And there are people that want the street life.
That will never happen in Australia? Well in Adelaide there were tons of homeless people living in the parklands around the CBD, along with plenty of homeless drunks on the street panhandling. There were articles in the local media at the time about how to move these homeless people on elsewhere. I saw the same thing in Sydney and Melbourne in the CBD and other neighborhoods. I've also seen people in rural areas living in cars or tents/campers.
Also what I never understand is why people are so desperate for a "social safety net". I'd rather get off my ass and get out there and get a job, any job, than sit around watching tv all day and smoking crack.
I would chose Australia over the states.
The US is now a third world country and going to get a lot worse.
The standard of living in Australia is much higher, go there and I would suggest Melbourne too.
Please, saying the US is a third world country is so ridiculous. With regards to the OP, the unemployment rate for individuals with bachelors degrees (over the age of 25) in the US is floating between 3.7 and 4.2%. It's even lower for individuals with masters. You will find jobs.
Standard of living is also relative. Stuff is a hell of a lot cheaper here. It really depends where you live.
Those points aside I think it's important to give both places a try if possible. They are very different lifestyles and cultures. Australia is more a social-democracy in lines with a European country where as America is it's own animal.
I have just received my Permanent Residency in Australia and will receive the American Green Card by the end of this year.
I am from the Middle East and cannot decide on where to live, both countries are great and both are more like a dream coming true!! I have a lot of relatives and friends in the US (Atlanta, Seattle and New-york) while I know no one in Australia; therefore the US seems like a better choice, but my concern is finding a job. I know the unemployment rate in the US is much higher than that of Australia. I am a HR Manager at a multinational corporation. My husband is a Financial Controller at a multinational corporation as well. We both have a MBA from Spain and 9+ years of experience (and we are willing to compromise! not looking for fancy titles or similar positions )
Any advice?
Thanks
Can your hubby try to get in with a Spanish financial institution with offices in NY? HOnestly, I am not sure how easily transferable an HR degree to the US and even Oz... you may look at taking an HR certification program to be relevant to US or Oz conditions. I do not know if there is a demand for HR folks.
I've lived in Oz, the US and Canada. Of the 3 I loved Australia the most but my allergies killed me and I returned to north america. Without a job in the US, its a tad scary (not having health cover) but once I found a job with health benefits, I'm fine. It was hard to find a job in 2008, but this year, took me 2-3 weeks (I'm in IT) and I had to remove my resume as I got too many phone calls from recruiters.
Whats better in the US would be higher salary (though I'm questioning that now that the AUD is so strong), better career options, lower tax burden, much lower cost of living (housing in Australia is very high). I can't comment on the availability of or lack of social safety net in either country I've never been to a public housing project and checked what cars people drove or what they had in their homes. What's better in Oz is the lifestyle, medical cover, more vacation time and if you want to explore Asia.. its not that bad a flight (I went to SE Asia at least once a yeaR).
I can tell you that quite a few of my MBA classmates have moved to the US and those that haven't are applying for the green card lottery. Careers are limited (in their opinion) in Oz.
I think you should visit both, if you can.
P.S. Finally, one thing to consider is when I lived in Australia, I did not see my family as it was too long a trip for my sisters with kids. I had to make the yearly crossing to the US. From the US it will be much cheaper and quicker to see your familia back en Espana.
The big section 8 housing complex in a city nearby has BMW's, Mercedes and Cadillacs in the parking lot. With free food, housing, utilities, phones, medical care, etc., these bums work under the table or sell drugs and they are living the life.
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If people are curious to see what a subsidized housing complex looks like, do a google map on
26 Winsor Rd, Portsmouth, NH
and select street view. Its not fancy and nary a BMW, MBZ or Caddy. I drove by it this evening to look for these fancy cars.
I rest my case. As Wannerroo so eloquently explained, in Australia you're only homeless if you have a substance abuse problem, and that not only does the US not have a social safety net, having a job doesn't assure you of a decent life, particularly if you have prescriptions to fill. He also very ably demonstrated why it will never change there.
Minibrngs, yes the holiday time is a big difference, and the fact that in Australia you are expected to use it, while in the US they expect you not to. Australians also take keave without pay if they don't have enough paid holiday time. There's also long service leave.
I rest my case. As Wannerroo so eloquently explained, in Australia you're only homeless if you have a substance abuse problem, and that not only does the US not have a social safety net, having a job doesn't assure you of a decent life, particularly if you have prescriptions to fill. He also very ably demonstrated why it will never change there.
Minibrngs, yes the holiday time is a big difference, and the fact that in Australia you are expected to use it, while in the US they expect you not to. Australians also take keave without pay if they don't have enough paid holiday time. There's also long service leave.
I thought what was said is anyone on welfare in the states is fat lazy and drive B'ems. I don't recall bumping into many homeless folks in the parklands that separated Adelaide and North Adelaide, btw. Perhaps off West Terrace or south Terrace but I crossed North Terrace on foot several times at night getting back to North Adelaide, not once a homeless person. So to say tons of them in the parklands.. is not exactly accurate, I should know as a former resident of post code 5006.
Actually in the US they expect you to use your holidays, this was the expectation from every firm i worked for. Also some industries are more generous. When I worked for a law firm on Wall Street i started with 20 paid holidays; I had the same with an Insurance firm: 20 days and you could carry over 5 days to the next calendar year.
My current company offers paternity leave. The logistics company I worked for paid for gender reassignment and provided $25,000 for adoption assistance. Way back they paid 100% for university (if going part time).. they paid for the majority of my first postgraduate programme.
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