WoollyMittens

Hey there Woollymittens! Welcome to the AGP!

The Aussie governments view on the interwebs is an interesting one. Kill it all to protect a few.  I might be overexaggerating but its close to the point.

I would also like to welcome you to the AGP.

Wolly! A huge welcome and thanks for listening to the AGP... we are in the process of planing the upgrade for the AGP site, so you never know we might need the help of the odd coder here and there. Heaven knows I can't code to save myself... the odd basic stuff but nothing impressive.

Thank you for the intro and we will see you round the forum!

Welcome woollymittens, it's good to see new members - good luck with your application to come to the land of Oz. 

I hope that you like vegemite. 

Hello, welcome to the forums.  You'll love Aus.  I moved over here from the UK ages ago and got my citizenship a couple of years ago... never moving back to dark damp Europe, even if it does get a bit hot here from time to time!

Thanks for the warm welcome to the forums. I feel at home. :)

Moving to Australia is a lot easier for UK citizens I bet, but I'll get there. You'd think they'd see some use in an internet developer.

I don't think it is easier for UK citizens these days.  The only favour you get is not having to sit a driving test as both countries drive on the same side of the road, but I think now they've dropped that requirement for other countries as well.  You don't get any more visa points for having a UK passport.  Anyway, good luck with it, you'll love it when you arrive!

Passing cars on the wrong side is the least of my worries at this point. :) I didn't know that UK citizens had the same requirements. That's nice to know.

I know a lot of people that got in relatively easy, compared to what I'm going through. It really makes me wonder if I am too pessimistic. For anyone inquisitive, this is what I wrote to prove my "technical competence". I suppose it could make for an interesting read on web-design and javascript:

http://www.woollymittens.nl/default.php?id=technical-biography-classbehaviours&cat=portfolio#channelItem

Woohoo! I got my ASCO number. That means that my experience is recognized as a C# web developer by the Australian Computer Society. Now to apply for a work permit and permanent visa for Victoria. This is gonna be aaaawwweeesome.
 

That's good news.  Good luck with the visa application

Yush! I got the results of my English language test:

YOUR RESULT
Candidate Number 000224
Listening 9
Reading 6.5*
Writing 8.5
Speaking 8.5
Overall Band 8

That's step 2/3 of my visa application right there. In summary I am apparently a proficient English speaking C# expert. Now all that remains is a medical test, forms and waiting... lots and lots of waiting.

To celebrate I'm going on a looong vacation Australia next spring. Any hints, tips and tweet-ups are greatly appreciated.

* Yeah... I know... Shame on them for allowing True, False and Maybe in their stupid questions. Tri-logic booleans don't work that way in my head.

Splendid news one step closer!

Hi Wooly,
 
I assume when you talk about your vacation in Spring that you're talking about the Australian Spring which starts in September.

I think that you mentioned somewhere that Melbourne will be your main destination - why have you set yourself on Melbourne (the city that can have 4 seasons in one day)? I'm from Melbourne by the way.

Yes yes... your spring of course. Who am I to be selfish enough to project my hemisphere on everyone. 

I had to start my visa application fast, because soon I will be too old for the "youth" bonus points to apply. Melbourne seems to have the most creative (web-design) businesses. Sydney, the obvious choice, seems more corporate.

I hope to be in Melbourne for the "Parklife" event and then travel via Sydney up the coast to Brisbane and maybe fly up to Cairns if I get a special deal on the internal flight. Of course my travel buddy has a say in all this. Maybe it's monumentally stupid to try and see so much at once, I tend to be overambitious.