You will probably find things esp roads have changed a lot. The govt has spent a lot of money on roads - even in Sydney we have the WestConnex (new tolled expressway) linking the West with East and it is changing every 6-12 months. Now with the govt trying to increase employment, i can envisage there will be more new roads (to create employment to combat the pandemic).

Now that you mention gravel roads, i drove from Sydney to Brisbane (1985?? when i was a student), we drove into Byron Bay (??) - i remembered part of the road was gravel. Memories for me....

Is that right? I was only there once. Byron Bay is so popular you would think there is a proper road.

I remembered i drove a small Corolla and my car nearly went off the road because you are not supposed to be driving too fast! When young, we don't know anything. Have to learn by experience.

A lot of Sydney-siders love Byron Bay and have bought there. Byron Bay property prices are high because all these Sydney people flocking to buy there.

I think Gold Coast/Brisbane will benefit from Covid. Your Covid record is remarkable!! 0 cases for so long!!

A lot of Sydney-siders want to go holiday in Queensland but cannot get in

I saw that - i think NSW will be soon. Just need to be a bit patient.

Hi all, wanna ask about the chances of working and possibly settling down permanently in Australia (Melbourne specifically) in the near future.

Currently working in the financial audit field with around 2 years+ of experience in one of the Big4 audit firms. Will be finishing my paper around mid this year (an Australian-NZ paper too - CAANZ) and will achieve 3 years experience around Q3 of this year. Don't mind getting demoted there as long as I don't start from right at the bottom (currently at senior associate level). Also don't mind to stay in the firm forever as the audit field is actually quite interesting if we take away the long working hours.

Basically the family is trying to find a new environment to start off a new life, considering that we have family issues and also the perception of having not really bright prospects in Malaysia. Parents want the issues to end in their generation and not affect the kids. Singapore is not an option for us as we want to find somewhere with a less hectic pace of life (Aus/NZ will be the best)

Been hearing some of my colleagues who are able to jump off to the branches in various parts of the world. Those who went Australia mostly went to Sydney, but I feel like I will like Melbourne more considering the perceived less hectic life there (and fooddddddd). Been considering NZ too (Auckland) but seems like the opportunities there will be less than Aus. Maybe NZ will be a retirement spot later on.

Maybe someone from similar field can advice on when should I make the jump and the chances of it?

Aussie dollar still shooting up  .

Hope it stays like that.

I think living with a stronger currency is preferable to a weaker currency esp since we are living here.

I have most of my assets in Aussie dollar and it is a good time to start buying a bit more ringgit now. The last time the Aussie was so high was a few years ago - at that time, my money was all tied up and i couldn't take advantage of the situation. I have a retiree friend bragging to me (last year) that he managed to buy a lot of ringgit when the Aussie was 3.40 (he bought a small condo in KLCC then) 

My wife is the boss and she decides where i go 

The Covid numbers are still very high in Msia and i doubt if the numbers are real. I suspect the situation in Msia is a lot worse than is currently portrayed. Makes me a little worried living in Msia. I have been monitoring the number of new infections in Msia daily. Doesn't give me much confidence in the daily number with the figure so high.

Okay - thanks for the comments.

Sydney is very safe at the moment (at least that is how i feel) - we can go anywhere and walk around without that feeling of 'fear' that you get when numbers are high.

Bloody Aussie dollar - down again this morning together with the stock market. I am getting my payout soon (in a couple of weeks) and i was going to transfer to Msia (ringgit) as the Aussie has been so strong!!

I have been talking to my relatives on the phone and it seems like you guys in Msia are quite comfortable going out most of the times - Msians seem to accept this virus without much fear or apprehension. Aussies tend to be much more careful (and obedient).

My wife is the one who really wants to go back fast. Her dad passed away last May (in KL) and she couldn't attend the burial. She has so many things to do in KL and she is quite skeptical about taking the vaccine. I am more inclined to stay back in Sydney but my wife really hates winter as well.