Migrants Watch Your Health!

New and not so new migrants in all countries are experiencing stress and sometimes depression as they adapt to the many aspects of their settlement. Factors like homesickness and lack of social life as they just starting back again. Missing friends and relatives that they left behind and also the foods and places they're used to go to. As they long to gain some new friends in their new country, its also hard to gain a good one because of cultural diversity and communication barrier.

Today its 8:40 am on a lovely Thursday morning. I am not at work but instead I am at our nearest medical center for a blood test. Yesterday morning at around 9:30 am at work, I was rushed in by my Australian co-worker to this same center and headed straight to the lab room to get my blood pressure and ECG test. The ECG test seems OK but what a shocker when I saw my blood pressure reached 160/100. That is why my face and hands are feeling numbed, i cant focus on my work, a feeling of lightheadedness and seems like i want to vomit. Immediately the' doctor gave me a free medicine to lower my blood pressure and advise me to rest until Friday.

It finally came to me that we should never ever neglect our health. I believe in the saying that health is wealth and that a migrant such as we should make health a paramount specially that we are all striving and working hard for our family's future. We should check and monitor our health as frequently as possible to avoid further ailments.

While waiting for my turn, i found this cholesterol awareness campaign leaflet and was terrified by the statistics that:

• One Australian dies every 10 minutes of cardiovascular disease.
• Around 25% of those who have a heart attack die within an hour of their first ever symptoms.
• Heart, stroke and vascular diseases account for 37.6% of all deaths.
• Over 51% of Australians over 25 years have cholesterol levels of 5.5mmol/L or more.

And the biggest surprise is You don't have to be overweight or unwell to have high cholesterol. You may look fit but aren't well.

Being a savvy migrant, we should always be guarding and be vigilant with our health. We still have a long way to go. Click here to send you to the cholesterol awareness campaign.

Savvy tips in Applying for a Job in Australia

One of the most frequently asked question by an aspiring or new migrant in Australia is the availability of jobs or work for them for obvious reason of survival. Questions like how long before a migrant can find a job, how do they start and where do they go to usually pop out of their minds. In my case, it took me around about two months to find the suitable one for me. I would say two months of job hunting may either be too long or too short depending upon how you'll look at it. It is definitely too slow for those whose skills are highly in demand like accountants, engineers, mechanics, I.T professionals, electricians, plumbers, doctors and nurses, etc.. On the other hand it could also be quick for a not so in demand overseas marketing graduate like me. Just to give you further information, within that period of my job hunting, I was really taking my time to find the right job for me as that was my chance to look for where I would really fit. My first job was a hard labor one in one of the biggest car companies here in Australia. I am not discounting the blue collar jobs as they are noble and decent jobs also, needless to say that they even earn more than the white collar jobs do at times. The point i am driving at is there will be a point that you need to find better job. Not just in terms of money which is important but a job that will develop or broaden more your skills and experience may it be in communications, sales, etc... Being a savvy migrant is not about getting whatever available job and be contented with it. Its about getting out of your comfort zone and finding what you really want in life and do whatever it takes to get it. Don't give up and pursue to live your dreams. After all, Australia is a first world country and offers lots of opportunities.

A very useful job site is www.seek.com.au and www.mycareer.com.au. These 2 websites often I've used on a daily basis in applying for the job i want. The response is good because upon using these free services, recruitment agents are sending me emails of whether i passed their initial screening or not. If i did, they will organize a best time for you and your prospective employer could meet for an interview. In short recruitment agents will be the one to fix everything right from the start. These job sites are very useful because it doesn't only gives you the latest job listed but also the current jobs which is in demand, the salary rates, and also teaches you to format your resumes. A savvy migrant should looked into in applying for a job.

Communication, a barrier?

When my wife and I had our son born two years ago, it was only then that we realized how difficult it is to stand being unable to respond to someone's needs when you don't even know what he's crying out for. Needless to say that he was an infant who obviously couldn't utter a word at that time. Parents' instinct and advices from "had-been parents" had saved us those days. Thank God, it wasn't too long before my son learned to speak up and communicate. Why am I telling you this? I don't intend to put my son into the limelight here but cannot think of a more vivid but simple experience, that most of you can relate to, to emphasize the power of communication.

One of the challenges in our migration to Australia is English communication. Coming from a country where English is used only second to our native tongue, adjustment was not as easy as compared to those who had English as their first language. What are the issues here? At start, speaking with the locals of Australia had been very intimidating. First, you've got to make sure you understand them. Accent and speed can make your head turn up side down. We were not used to hear their accent from back home as we did adapt more on the American one. We have never been to America but basing on some stories from our fellows who migrated there, it is a lot easier I reckon. More so if they speak too quick, as most Australian men do, that will make it more difficult as you are not only catching up with the accent but the speed as well. Aussies have their own slangs or the popular colloquial terms which can be read upon on books published solely to provide reference to these terms and definitely can also be learned through time. Second, you've also got to make yourself understandable. Think about this, If we sometimes find it hard to comprehend them because of the accent, they would also be in the same boat as you, wouldn't they?

With all these, how do you think we are coping with this challenge. Honestly, before migrating, we never thought that it will be a challenge as we thought that for as long as we know how to speak the language, we will be perfectly fine. However, for people like me and my wife who are not only after earning money but rather who wants to treat Australia as the new home, we would truly want to be "one of them". To do this, we realized that we should figuratively speak the same language. This means that we need to learn how single English word is used in Australian way. We took a few actions to improve ourselves without having to attend formal studies as we knew that practice is the greatest training. We try to learn from what we overhear from people's chat wherever we are. In this way, words and accent will get into our senses slowly but naturally. We also try to speak the language with some body gestures to make our body movements in tune with what we say. We also try to join some groups on lunch outs and different functions . Didn't we hit two birds in one stone here? I believe we did. We did not only mingle with others but we did practice the language as well. Beyond speaking the language, it is important that we are confident in conversing as it will add more impact to what we say and will make us appear to be someone who has been in the country for years.

We strive to do our best to overcome any fear that we may have and get on with the battle by continuing to converse with the locals. It won't be easy, we know, as we did accept the fact that TIME is what keeps us apart from our goal of effective communication. We shouldn't stop from fighting back the fear because in doing so, we are only delaying what needs to be done. We migrated to a foreign country and that decision had came together with the will to live by it.

Now, where are we at? After a year, we could say that we have gone far and had improved a lot. Not too close to perfect, though. We are still learning and practicing but with lesser pressure and stress, I guess. So, you guys out there who are in the same situation or fearing to be on this situation, I hope this article has given so much encouragement and wisdom to all of you.

Pros of choosing to live with Relative or Friends

Pros:

1. You don't need to worry about choosing and getting a rental property.
Its relatively easy to choose a rental property these days because even while you're still not in Australia, you can browse several online real estate sites to get an idea for the rental rates. Among those online real estate sites, i found www.domain.com.au to be the easiest to use. But the difficult part i can say is getting that property that you want. Real estate agents require you to be in Australia and see the property personally before they hand you the application form. Its a must that you have a stable work already for you to secure one because most of the time, 5 or more people are applying for the same property you choose. Its very difficult to get a property if you don't have a job. Real Estate agents will choose the best tenant applicant for their client. Its advantageous if you have a place to stay already because you don't have to worry about it and focus on some other aspects of migration.

2. Relatives or Friends can guide you and can give you precious advices.
While living with them, they can give you advices about the rules of the jungle. They can show you the right things to do especially while you are starting. Its like in the movie starwars. You're the apprentice and they are your obiwans.

3. It can save you a lot of money.
Since you are not renting, you don't have to worry about shelling out money for the bond and advances that real estate agent requires you. And most of the time, if you are really that close to them, they generally don't require you to pay them. Well, for the short term i should say. But its really good thing specially if you're just starting and if you and your partner don't have a job yet. Every dollar counts.

4. Free tour!.... yepee!
Australia is a beautiful country and offers a lot of spectacular views and sceneries that anyone could imagine. I would suggest that you take advantage the first weeks and or months of your stay there. They can tour you to the best spots and restos in town.

COST OF LIVING DOWN UNDER

In every step we take, decisions are often made from simple things to more complicated choices. Much more when we speak about raising a family that we need to ponder more on our decisions as there are more lives at stake. Deciding on where to raise your family and settle your life in is not easy I know. In our case, migrating had been an option to us but before my wife and I finally decided to migrate in Australia, cost of living was one of our concern. Well, all aspiring migrants should know how much it would cost to survive each month, shouldn't they? That is one of the aspect that should be carefully looked into. Unfortunately, unless you have a relative or friend here, information will not be available. With this, I decided to write them down for you to give a bit of a picture.

Our monthly expenses are broken up as follows: (All in AUD)
Rent: $600.00
Groceries & Food: 600.00
Clothing & Accessories: 150.00
Telephone/Internet: 100.00
Water : 20.00
Electricity/Gas heating: 125.00
Cable channel: 40.00
Mobile phone recharge: 90.00

Public transport: 160.00
Car maintenance: 50.00
Petrol/Gasoline : 250.00
Car Registration & insurance: 200.00
My and my son's haircut: 30.00
Dinning out: 200.00
Gifts for friends/relatives: 50.00
Church: 40.00
Miscellaneous: 200.00

Our monthly expenses total $2,905. Please take note of the below conditions how these costs came up to be:

• We are currently renting a 2 bedroom flat. Monthly repayment when you decide to get a home loan is roughly about $1500 to $2000.
  
• We only have one child at the moment and he's 2 and a half years old.
  
• My mother is on one year tourist visa and currently living with us to look after our child. So, we don't incur any expense for daycare centres. Average cost of daycare is $80.00/day. Government provides childcare assistance depending on a couple's combined income.
  

I hope this would give you an idea on what and what not to expect in Australian living. This is how we spend and live our life at this picking up stage. Amount may vary depending on how you would want it to be as it still will depend on the decisions you make at the end of the day. However, these figures are realistic, I would say, to live a well balanced life. Just don't ever forget that it's not how much you earn that matters but it's how much you save that will pull you through.

I'll be updating this article in the future for more detailed and helpful information to future migrants.

Migrant in Australia "after a year".

It has been a year since we first stepped in the "land down under" and I would say that we made the right decision to migrate. I know it's a bit early to tell but I want to share this view as a new migrant. Yes, Australia is a country that can give you the good life you wanted, nutritious foods, cleaner environment, good weather, cars, stable politics, supportive government and mostly nice people.

It's very ideal to raise a family here especially if you want to spend quality time with your family because you don't have to work overtime to pay the never ending bills. Well, all you need is to be just a little wise in spending your money. In a couple, one can be the bread winner and the other one could stay at home to take care of the kids and do the household chores. Isn't that what most of us want? You can do that because the government will help you financially if they have assessed your income as not enough. They also provide concession card which is very helpful as it gives you discounts on utilities, transportation, medicines etc... It's not just 5% I'm talking about but 30% to 50% discount which is no joke for someone starting a new life like us. It really is very helpful. We also have the medicare card that you can just show to health care centres and public hospitals for free consultations only that you should be willing to patiently wait for your turn.

Tax is somehow high. It can range to 15 to more than 30% depending on your salary. But on the other hand, you can feel and see the benefits of your tax payments.

You see, coming from a third world country, all of these benefits that we are enjoying are just wishful thinking. But here, its just a way of life. Other residents and some Aussies may not appreciate this that much because they are accustomed to these.

Its true that migrating in itself is hard and a tough decision to every aspiring migrant. There are a lot of hearthaches & hardships during the settlement stage. But one should always think of long term. Australia is not a perfect country and one can throw negative things about it. But i can say that its one of the luckiest country in the world. Its the country where you want to start your new life.

After a year I congratulate myself and my family and thank Australia for the support and and everything that she gave us.