Ya but if you make a direct sydney melbourne comparison, i feel sydney have a vibrancy which melbourne don't. Afterall sydney is around alot longer than melbourne. Melbourne feels more european while sydney feels more contemporary.
Both have excellent arts, sports and events venue.

I disagree.

1. Even though M'sian are epitome of laziness, at least you don't pay 20-30% of your average salary towards tax which goes towards funding those lazy aussies in terms of unemployment benefit. And FYI their public service like hospitals are as dreadful as in M'sia. The waiting time is a killer. Secondly super annuantion (the equivalent of EPF) is very risky in that it's actually a unit trust fund where one can very well lose money. On top of that they charge exhorbitant management fees. Imagaine your EPF instead of getting 5% returns they tell you they lost money and they still charge you a $200.00 management fee. It's what the aussies are facing with super.

2. Cheap labour or not i don't know. But if you have a family to feed, mortgage to pay and bills to foot, any job would be better than no job. Imagine in Australia where you have a house mortgage to pay, children to feed, taxes to pay etc and you just bought a new mercedes (quite cheap at 60-70k) then one fine day your employer tells you they are laying you off to relocate to Asia. How would you feel? I would panic and maybe even faint! And if all other companies in Aus doing the same, you will literally live on the roadside!

3. I don't think outsourced jobs will stop unless Australians demand for lesser money which is not possible or until Australians develop skillset which makes it more valuable for the companies to operate out of Australia instead of overseas. That means 1 person in Australia must be able to do 4-5 person job elsewhere. Otherwise how to justify in terms of cost?

4. Alot of ok to do people in Malaysia (i.e. those with degrees working in respectable jobs making a decent living in M'sia) think that Australia is godsent. But unless you have a skill that Australia really needs, the chance of you getting a similar job in Australia with a similar pay is very,very slim even if you're a PR (worse if you're a foreigner). I have relatives who work in in very respectable position in Malaysia and left everything to migrate to Australia, only to find that they cannot get a similar job or pay in Australia despite sending out thousands of resume and spending almost a year to look for jobs. Ending up alot of them become croupier, petrol pump attendants, etc which pays them slightly above min pay. They live a megre existence looking at every penny they spend, something which they never do in Malaysia. And people still think they have a better life but I'm like whatever. If i have to watch every penny i spend, cook at home, cannot afford vacations, etc, I would rather be in Malaysia where I can enjoy all these benefits with money comming from my respectable job.

Spot on! So unless yr in an in demand job (could be blue or white collar) job prospects and advancement is pretty hard to come by For that same reason many aussies are starting to migrate out of aus to asia.

Ok maybe that is too extreme la.
I know there are glass ceilings but not necessarily due to bias (at least not all the time)
And yes, alot of companies these days have this 360 degree evaluation where you are evaluated by all your peers as well as your boss.
This is not particular to Aussies only.
However, I realise a lot of Asian especially Malaysian don't do well because they cannot socialise with the Aussies. Like typical Malaysian mentality, we prefer to stick to those who look and speak like us and form a clique. I've seen it many times. And this might be misintepreted as being rude by the aussies.

A$ 60-80k is gross pay. Once you take out the taxes 20-30%, super annuation and medicare or private insurance, you will find yr take home pay is only a$36-48k p.a or a$3~4k p.m. after paying off yr housing mortgage (you cannot use yr super to pay for), car mortgage, gas, parking, etc, you will not be left with much. No way you can go out to eat every weekend, no overseas holidays, no fancy branded stuff,etc. you cannot afford it.

Ya and some people deem that as a better life. And i'm like are you sure? This esp goes to those who are mid level or senior mgr in malaysia earning a comfortable >rm10k and threw it all away to go to aus to start over again.

Depending on sector, but generally you are dead wrong.
Dollar to dollar, Malaysia pays alot more for white collar jobs like finance.
Aus pays more dollar to dollar for skilled blue collar jobs compared to malaysia like foreman and technicians.

You have to understand there are braodly 2 types of people who migrate. One group are those genuinely wants a better living standards and another group who are just bitter at the gov and wants to get out of the country. Allthough both groups will overlap each other to a certain point.

Those who are bitter at the gov and choose to migrate, everywhere else in the world is good for them except Malaysia. Even timbaktu is better.

But for those who migrate becuase they want a better living std then better think twice. Becuase going to Aus, you might end up worse-off. Consider all the angles. Like employment, salary,etc. Yes it "seems" Australia pays better but really is it? Unless you're in one of their critical skills shortage jobs like nurse, doctors, etc you are probably not going to transfer your seniority over. That means you start from scratch at the bottom. Not a good idea when you're in your mid thirthies or fourties and made to report to someone who is 10 years your junior who probably knows lesser than you. Also they won't pay you that much as compared to what you're currently earning. Then there is the heavy taxes, glass ceilings, etc.

Then I'm also amased at people who are in managment earning like RM 20-30k a month in Malaysia who migrates to australia and leave everything behind including their well paid jobs to "let their children have quality university education ". I'm like ya, you're an idiot. With RM 20-30k p.m. salary and todays family of average 2 kids, you're telling me you cannot afford to send your kids to Australia which cost like RM 100k-RM150K a year? With RM20k-30k you'll be earning something like RM 240-RM 360k a year excluding bonus! They forfiet all that and go take a A$5k p.m. job in Australia! Are you kidding me????? Look at your opportunity cost!

Ya, me.
I'm earning more than my australian counterpart

This post has been edited by mercury8400: Feb 8 2013, 05:21 PM

Train is almost always late. And very late in Sydney

In sydney, the train is late almost 50% of the time.
It ranges between 10min late to 1 hour late.

This post has been edited by mercury8400: Feb 10 2013, 12:30 AM

Its people like you that we are talking about when we comment about the bad points of going to Aus. Firstly have you obtained a PR? If there are loads of jobs in yr field why don't u apply from msia instead of going there? How deep is your pocket? How long can you last in Aus if you are on yr own?

There is only so much you can rely on yr friends.
Ending up, you might be one of those we talked about. Those that work in petrol kiosk or 7-11 for min wage without realising yr potential esp when yr still young. You don't want to be caught in a situation when yr 40 and still working in 7-11 earning slightly above min pay. No point.

It's not all negative.
If you've got a PR and a job settled, i believe its going to be good.
The working culture and lifestyle in Aus is one of the best in the world.
People really talk about effectiveness and efficiency during working hours but they stress on quality time with family after working hours.
They have more respect for personal family time compared to in Malaysia.
Also people here are more liberal and respect your opinion unlike Malaysia where certain authority trying to "impose" their beliefs on you.
The weather is great, the people generally friendly and if money is not an issue (assuming you have an ok paying job) the eateries, cafes and bars are great!

1) I know for a fact that many people who sutdied to become a doctor gets a PR after they finish med school. Besides, if there was no shortage, it wouldn't appear on their critical skills needed, correct?

2) No. I've seen people with MNC experience got discounted becuase they do not have the relevant experience in Australia. I think it is becuase Australia is not known as a global or regional hub (unlike Singapore, HK, NY or London) their business needs mainly caters to local Australian business.

3) You are assuming salaries stay stagnant at RM 20-30k p.m. every month, every year which is NOT the case. As cost of living increase so is their salary. And if you compare a A$5k job in Australia and a RM 30k job in Malaysia, there is no comparison. You will have a better living std with RM30k compared to a A$5k job after tax. And if your children is smart enough, they could also secure scholarship from private institutions in Malaysia or even from Singapore.

It seems you are one of those people i mention who just hate everything about malaysia without proper consideration. I guess for you, even timbaktu is better than malaysia so there is no point comparing becuase obviously you just want to get out of m'sia. good luck!

Yup no point arguing coz some people already have their mind set that anything is better than M'sia.

I didn't know stating one's point or sharing views involves name calling like "It seems that you are wrong and you are only making an ass out of yourself by assuming" or "Gosh how old are you? Are you so immature and stubborn to accept another person's point of view". This is new to me. Perhaps you would like to enlighten me on your brand of "my view, you accept"

I understand yr point but there are other countries which are better than both Malaysia and Australia. Namely Singapore.

Singapore has one of the world's most welcomming policies towards foreigners - those that can contribute to the economy.
In terms of economy, Singapore has a very robust diversified economic model based built on skills and talent of its people instead of natural resources
In terms of lazyness - well i don't think there is an argument there. You are hard pressed to find a lazy Singaporean.
Education - one of the best in the world
Politics - One of the most stable in the world (although that is begining to change)
Job opportunity - Plenty. Well paying ones too if you are in certian sectors like services
Family - great with many incentives thrown in by the gov including subsidised housing, baby bonus, etc
It also has the benefits of being culturally similar, similar food and nearby to Malaysia.
Income Taxes - one of the lowest in the world

Yea it has its drawbacks namely high prices of vehicles, private housing, cars and over-crowding. But those are small price to pay for the advantage you enjoy as a foreigner or PR.

This post has been edited by mercury8400: Feb 12 2013, 08:13 PM

Small price to pay for safety, education and infrastructure - all of which rivals the best in the world (or maybe even surpass them)

umm no?
You can always ask the recruiter who are they representing.
Even in the interview you can always reject the company.
Interview is a 2 way street i.e. it is to determine if you're the right person for the job and if the job fits your own requirements.
Think of it as a willing buyer willing seller situation.
You are there to sell your services and they are there to buy your services.
Either party can withdraw their interest during the negotiation period which is during an Interview. There is no obligations.
This does not only apply in Aus but allpy worldwide

Aiyah, do you know what is Singapore's favourite pastime?
Complain la! They complain all the time. Happy also complain. Not happy also complain. Busy also complain very free also complain.
You will just learn to ignore them.
Besides most Singaporean haven't seen/don't know the situation in Malaysia or elsewhere that is why they have nothing to benchmark against and therefore they complain.

About worklife balance again i disgress.
I think its more to do with company culture/job requirements than anything else.
If you are an auditor or work in certian jobs like accounting then too bad lo. Everywhere is the same. Even in Sydney auditors work late, investment bankers work late, etc.
I mean i work for a non-asian company and people go home at 5.30 sharp or 6.00 pm. everyday, unless they have urgent things to do.
Most of the time by 7.00 the office is quiet (only the accounting folks left coz they need to do the month end close, etc which is part and parcel of the job la)
So worklife balance is good at least for me.
And the efficient public transport means it takes you an average of 30 min to get back home.
Perfect if you ask me.