Route to Savvyness

While searching the net in August last year about wealthy men in Australia and how to become one, I found this website of 21st Century Academy, www.21stcenturyacademy.com. This website made a big impact on mu outlook about money, employment, business, investment and life. Although I'm a fan of Robert Kiosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and Warren Buffet, currently the richest man in the world, I still became fascinated by the story of this young Australian guy who managed to raise himself up from being broke with $150K debt to being a multi-millionaire in just a couple of years. His name is Jamie McIntyre.

At first ,I thought this website might be another get rich quick scheme like some scams on the net. But because I was really that curious about the ways to be rich, I still went on to his site and read his story and some of his financial strategies.

I found out that his ways to financial freedom is not really different to what I've read on some How to Become rich books. The principles are still the same. You have to be involved in Business, Properties or Shares in order for you to be wealthy. What interest me in his teachings was that he explained most of his strategies in Australian setup. As an Australian Migrant who aspires to be rich one day, it is but right to listen to successful people who made it too in Australia, Isn't it?

He also tackled good questions like If Australia is considered to be one of the wealthiest nation in the world and why 90% of its people are not rich? Why working 40 years of your life and relying just on your superannuation upon retirement is not a good plan and Why working smart not hard is the better way in the 21st century and etc... It also struck me when he said that with internet and faster communications being available, wealth can also be accumulated rapidly and transferred than ever before. This means that even new migrants like us can be wealthy too and get the dreams we always wanted.

Though I have not applied 95% of his teachings, I hope this blog would be the start. That someday, I may also be known to many readers and to many advertisers as well but most importantly be able to share what I knew and have learned to help other aspiring to be rich person like me.

Quality of Life After Migration

While I was searching for my blog ranking at google, I stumbled upon this interesting thesis about the comparative study between Filipino and Vietnamese migrants in Australia. It's all about their quality of life after migration. I found it very educational especially for those who are seriously contemplating to move permanently to Australia and to migrants who are still adjusting here.

click this link: acqol.deakin.edu.au/theses/Jehobo.doc
by Debbie Jehodo.

I totally agree with this thesis saying that the level of proficiency of migrant's English plays an important factor on his mental, physical and material well being. Also the ability of the migrant to establish social support and gain friends tends to be very helpful in the well being of most migrants as it avoid one from stress and depression.

Food Star

One of our favorite resto in Melbourne is Food Star located in Sunshine. It's an All you-can-eat resto with plenty of food varieties. They've got sushi's, shrimps, octopus, steamed fish and gigantic mussels which is my all time favorite. I can eat 2 to 3 full plates of these mussels simmered in white vinegar as my appetizer and main dish as well.

For the meat varieties, my family loved the fried chicken. Though its an ordinary dish, the way it taste brings back the memories of the famous Chicken resto in our country "Max's Fried Chicken". It really taste the same. We just need to bring our very own tomato sauce to go with this chicken and that's it. Then they also got lamb shanks which you really don't want to miss if you're in Australia. They've also got ham which suits my taste because its quite sweet. Roast beef is not bad at all. Taste better with their gravy sauce.

Their soups are quite simple but you can choose from 3 different kinds. Most of the time they serve chicken and corn soup, cream of mushroom and pumpkin soup. You also get to choose some Italian dishes like pizzas and pastas.

You also got to choose from varieties of deserts from fresh fruits, pastries, cakes and sundaes. Coffee and tea is free. They've got a vendo machine in the corner for coffee and hot water for tea. In totality, Food Star Family restaurant is a safe choice when you like to treat family or friends because of the varieties of food. You won't go wrong because the price is not that expensive. It ranges from $13 to $20 depending if your having weekday or weekend dinner or lunch.

I like to go back there sometime soon as I already miss these gigantic mussels and the fried chicken..See you all there!

Daylight Saving Time

It was a beautiful sunday morning and we are preparing to get dressed for the 10.30 AM mass when I just realized that today is the start of the Daylight Saving Time(DST) wherein local clocks have to be forward adjusted by one hour. We missed the mass as we are totally late but there's an afternoon mass to make up. It's good though that they make it on Sunday when we start to hit DST as we won't get late from work.

DST, which signals that summer time is almost approaching, is being implemented in most parts of Australia. Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory adopts change at the same date for time change which starts today and will finish on 5th April. 2009. Western Australia is yet to change their clocks on the 26th October and will finish earlier on 29th March 2009. Queensland and Northern Territory do not observe DST.

All Australian states who adopts DST always start at 2.00 AM when time changes.

Back on deck

After a month's silence, I am now ready and charged up again to write down our family experiences during the past weeks. Ever since my father visited us, our time was mostly spent on traveling, eating out, watching movies etc.. We tried so much to let them enjoy the beauty of Australia and I know he did. Me and my Wife also enjoyed our holidays specially we did spend our time with our little kid Enzo though it felt just a little short.

Since my parents just got back to Philippines a week ago. I am now ready to write again. I felt many things has happened and I want to share them all to you. There are couple of topics and issues I would like to share to you immediately. Topics like Our work experiences here in Australia, The good restos and cool places that we just discovered lately, the sights and thoughts in visiting our relative in Adelaide and the impact of US financial crisis to migrants and companies here in Australia.

Also I would be documenting on this blog our 2nd child's progress. He or She is 3 months old now in the secure and comfortable domain of my wife's womb. Here, I would also write what are the system in place for pregnant women particularly the medicare support, government incentives and doctors advices about pregnancy.

Again I would like to let you know that I'm back on deck, charged up and ready to roll. Cheers Mate!

A Visit to Adelaide part 1

It was a refreshing and exciting to visit to Adelaide "the capital city of South Australia". For one, I had a good break from a straight 4 months work. Second, I was able to meet up with my cousins there and thirdly, I have seen the beauty and the difference of Adelaide and Melbourne City. Adelaide is 716 km away from Melbourne.

One of the differences that my wife and I had observed is that Adelaide City is very simple. Adelaide is quite easy to tour around in. It's relatively easy to drive in Adelaide. Apart from the fact that we're using satnav (GPS) when we stroll around, Adelaide City is not congested after all. The streets and road signs are very visible. The streets are very well structured that it wouldn't confuse a first time visitor.

Since the road is not too congested, going from$ one place to another within the metro is not troublesome. There's also ample and big shopping centres to go to. You can go to Westfield Marion, Westfield Tea Tree Plaza , Westlakes shopping Centre and Harbour Town where you can buy some signatured clothing at bargain prices.

Adelaide offers good sight seeing spots as well. There is Glenelg bayview which is comparable to Melbourne's docklands where you can find yachts and nice restaurants along with it. The weather is also good. Considering its warmer there than Melbourne in an average of 4 degrees which is good on winter but terrible during summer. There are also fast food centres that we can normally go to like Hungry Jacks, KFC, Subway and Mcdonalds. But, what Adelaide still don't have is Krispy Kreme Donuts. We had to buy 4 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts inside the Tullamarine Airport the night before we left for our Adelaide trip.

There were also plenty of banks and ATM Machines for NAB, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac etc... You can also find Bunnings Warehouse for your hardware needs, Mitre10, Radio Rentals and Cashconverters to name a few. Car dealers are relatively easy to see. Just a quick stroll to the city, you can find all the car showrooms from Holden, Toyota to BMW and Porsche. In short, Adelaide is a very livable place in Australia. For a migrant who wants simplicity, peacefulness, and cleaner environment, Adelaide I would say is not a bad choice after all. I myself, fell in love with the City of Adelaide.

Useful basic skills to bring to Australia

When you migrate to Australia you will notice that the cost of services are relatively high. Services like haircut, car repairs and maintenance, plumbing and even small electical works. That is why, I would strongly suggest for you to at least have some basic knowledge if not skilled on these aspects for below reasons.

1. Auto / Car maintenance and trouble shooting. If you bought a second hand car as most of the migrants do during the settlement stage, it will be very handy to have some basic skills in car maintenance and trouble shooting. You should plan when to have your car serviced for preventive maintenance. You shouls at least have a know how on certain parts like fanbelt, top and bottom radiator hose and basic stuffs in service like spark plugs, oils, filters etc...Knowing the basics can save you some amount as getting someone to do these for you will definitely cost you 40 AUD per service at a minimum.

2. Haircut. Having your hair cut will cost between AUD 9 to 25 for men and AUD 15 to 30 for women. If you know the basic in cutting hair, it would save you about AUD 25 to 50 a month. You can invest in a haircut kit for AUD 30 in Kmart and off you go.

3. Driving. If you've been driving for quite sometime, then i congratulate you. That means half of the battle is done, you just only have to adjust for the right hand drive car and the rules in driving in Australia. Hiring a driving instructor in Australia cost about AUD 30 to 45 / hour. The cost include the use of their car and petrol together. If you're driving quite long enough, 2 to 4 hour driving sessions would be sufficient to get you through getting your driver's license.

5. Computer trouble shooting. You may also earn from this like what my cousin does. He earns AUD 30 to 50 per service or repair. If you don't have the time to do this, at least you save the amount by doing it on your own with your computer and not having to get the service of someone to do it for you and pay for it.

These is are the basic ones that I could think of based on what appears to be very vital in Australian living. Definitely once adjusted, we can all afford to pay for the services but what we are after is the savings that it could make doing it on our own. In this way, we can spend the money to some other important things to attend to.

Fight against homesick

Homesick is one of the biggest challenge for migrants to overcome especially on the early years and adjustment stage. There were some migrants who did not successfully battle over this struggle and resorted to go back to their respective home countries. There are some who passed through this and able to overcome though I think that this is a continuing challenge that all of us migrants have to get through each time. We could really not get away with this as it is really hard to forget where you had your roots grew up and where your being was molded. To help you fight homesick, here are few tips that I could share with you.

1. Always think about the reason why you migrated. Having to bear in mind the reason and the goals you set out in migrating could be very helpful whenever you are being attacked by homesick. For as long as you know that you've got so much things to do to achieve all these goals, your mind is kept busy and could block negative thoughts. If you are a parent, think about the future that you can now offer your kids and the global exposure you are giving them.

2. Building relationship to other people. Meeting new people around your area and building good relationship to them can also help out. Having some people whom you can spend some time out and enjoy the company could make your weekends busy and enjoyable. Again, block you from negative thoughts.

3. Keep the communication line open with your family and friends from your home country. There are cheap and convenient ways of keeping the communication line open. You can chat via YM (Yahoo Messenger), talk lively via Skype or even emails. Being updated on what was happening could ease out the feeling of homesickness. Talking to your friends and family very often could make you feel like you are still with them as you are totally filled in with much information about them.

4. Spend time discovering and exploring the country you migrated to. Devoting time to explore and discover about your new home could be a very interesting activity. Everything is new for you. Bear in mind that you have to be socially conscious and aware of your surroundings and event to cope up. There are so much to learn and discover which I am sure you will like especially that you migrated to a first world country.

5. Think about the benefits that you now have which you never had before. These are the things that we should be grateful for and one of the factors we considered before migrating. Examples are government subsidized health care and school fees, family allowances, more organized transpot system, workplace safety and some other free services being offered. Thinking about all these could make you realize how lucky you are to get to wherever you are and that there's no reason to turn back.

There's nothing wrong to be grateful to our mother countries. It will forever be part of who we are and what we have become. This is just a matter of moving forward to where we are better off and where the future looks brighter.

Picking up Dad and Mother in law at Melbourne Airport

Last Monday night, 25th of August at around 10.30pm, we picked up dad and my mother in law at the Melbourne Airport. It has been 10 months since my father last visited us. He's staying here for 30 days vacation but my mother in law will stay here for one year.

Its my fourth time to be picking up relatives at the airport. Each time I do it, it seems getting easier and quicker. The first time I did it, I was quite scared. I can only suggest that you follow the signs going to the parking area. If you are just picking up someone, just go to the short term parking area. It only cost us A$6.00 for a good 40minutes park. You can also use your credit card on the kiosk. If you will just gonna take a taxi cab, it would still be alright because there are heaps waiting outside and won't take you long to wait. Inside the airport, there are also a lot of coffee shops you can go to. There's also Krispy Kreme donuts as well that can make waiting a little more pleasant.

Picking up relatives or friends from the airport is always an exciting task. Just need to make sure you are quite familiar with the parking areas and waiting areas before you do so. For more information about parking fees and relevant information, you can visit this link.http://www.melbourneairport.com.au/to_from_airport/parking/short_term.asp

Using A Migration Agent

Using a migration agent to arrange your visa application may also be a wise decision if you are in these situations.

1. You don't want to do it on your own. The aspect of migration is a very tedious process, we could say, from filling up the forms to writing some correspondence to the embassy. You may want to get the service of a professional migration agent to handle all of these matters. They know exactly what to do in every situation. Bear in your mind though that all documentation requirements like birth certificates and academic records should still be completed by the applicant. They will tell you what you need in your case.

2. You are very busy person. If you are working and has family of your own, you may not have enough time to visit the Australian Immigration website. It takes time, determination and enough excitement to study all those requirements. The informations you need to know to process your visa are all there. The website explains clearly the process you have to go through and fees to pay for. It is really possible to do it on your own as I did it on my own when we processed my family's visa. However not everyone I know is capable as it really eats up too much time especially in getting on the website. It has to be visited very often as legislations keep changing.

3. You want it quick. Getting a migration agent will definitely hasten the processing because they know the process better than you do. They know what forms you need to fill in, the assessing bodies that is suitable for your skills if you are applying under skilled category and all other requirements needed in your case. They will also guide you on what documents and paperworks you need to accomplish beforehand to save time and get things done simultaneously.

4. You want some level of certainty and assurance. Migration agents conducts initial screening during the 1st stage of the process. They will tell you if you have a chance to successfully migrate or not. Though the outcome still lies in the hands of the migration case officers, you can basically rely on the assessment of the migration agents as they are experienced enough to know.

5. You're after a good quality information. If surfing the web still doesn't satisfy your curiosity, you are better off getting a professional advice. Joining social forums on the net about migration process is also a great way to gather information especially if you are applying on your own. There's no better source of good advices but the professional ones.

There are a lot of migration agencies in the market today. Be sure to study them first. Look at their track record. Be sure that they are also registered at the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA). Agents registered at the MARA are bound by code of conducts. You can be assured that they'll conduct business in a professional manner. MARA imposes sunctions to agents that breaks the code of conduct.

Just a word of advice though, even if you get the service of the professionals, you still have to do your part in providing necessary documents in order to make everything flow so smooth and in a faster phase.