I dunno, i had a few drinks tonight, and bad advice(downunder guys....)

So ive always wanted to travel, but here i am 27, good skills,a professional set of tools, a mortgage and a company that treats me OK but not good, but i ran into a younger friend that basicly skipped from country to country a pennyless bum with no skill set and did great for himself, and he says downunder was the best for him. Now ive been wanting to travel and see the world, but i'm afraid i'm too tied down with my $450 a month mortgage(not a lot but when you count insurance, utilitys, ect it gets pricey)


What is your take?? i'm not really looking to make a fortune, just see the world learn some stuff in some different shops and tread water safely BTW i'm making $16 usd an hr for a 40-60 hr week in a machine shop training 3 guys and working tons of OT, now that said i can hammer weld pretty well and sling lead OK and pretty much do anything hot rod too and i'm the sort of guy who had a hard time finding more than 2 or 3 people to have an intelligent conversation with a traditional car show. Lastly i'm not afraid to sleep on shop floors or live offs oxy/accetoline cooked top ramen(do they even have that there? instant noodles...)

 

My advice......remember that the grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence.

 

get your ass to New Zealand

 

Sounds like you need a vacation.

 

grass is always greener, but yours will be to if you fertilize. explore your options here.

 

HA, right now its like the pacific northWET down here. Come on down, with that attitude you will do alright. BUT......most stuff down here is stupid expensive!
Come down, buy a shit box car and tour the coast.......you wont want to go home.

 

Grass may well be greener,..however there is no reason you can't try both.

First off, credit to you for having the brains to get some security and buy a property for your future. I still wish I had at 27, rather than at 33...

That being said, I travelled when I was 25, saw a lot and most importantly changed a lot. One of the most important years of my life, and one of the best. Buying a property is a long term investment,..travelling the world is a long term investment of a different kind.

Can you rent your place out, cover your mortgage, travel and see some stuff? It doesnt have to be a 5 year trip, just do something and make the most of it. Even something small is an achievement,...dont live your life regretting what you could or should have done,..

Thats my post Coopers Pale Ale advice

 

You want to question what you have in THIS economy? Be thankful for what you have. Go to work Monday HAPPY that you have a job.

 

You guys see that's the kind of stuff i'm trading off, the grass might not be greener but i could care less, as long as i'm treading water. I just basicly want to get out and see the world, and learning some stuff at some other hot rod shops might be a good enough bonus too. Before this house i'm buying stumbled into my lap i was figuring i'd get my model t showcar drivable then see if i could bum around the country shop to shop and learn enough to start my own shop and be confident that i can not go broke/rip people off. Basicly do the kind of 'aprentice' stuff a blacksmith would have to do before he was recognised as a master in the 1700's

 

In what you said, I think you have your answer Shaggy,..make it happen man!

 

If you can rent your house out then give it a go. BUT whatever you do, don't get off the plane saying you are hoping to find work. You'll be 1/2 way back across the Pacific before you know what happened.

 

I think you have really been drinking too many..
Be Thankful for what you have...

 

Maybe he should come by boat then

 

Come on down,

 

Ouch!

 

Half way back across the Pacific,..what on holiday in Hawaii?? This trip just keeps getting better and better!

 

So you're feeling "tied down" now at 27, it won't get any easier as you get older.
How bad do you want it?

 

Nothing ventured nothing gained,and if you dont have a wife and family all the much easier.
Why not ask some aussies on the forum if they might know of any jobs out here,finding a job before you leave the US could take some of the stress out of the decision.

 

Do it. You can work jobs until you have enough money to make it to the next town/city/state/county. As long as you understand that you'll have to learn to live cheaper than you thought possible. Frankly I think you auto skills will serve you well in getting jobs. Hell you can even try to make a book of it....might be some interesting hot rod stuff to read.

 

the grass is either the same color or drying out no matter were you go.ive been to a few places in my lifetime. what really happens is you just trade one set of problems for another.to me it seems you are just in a funk, or regretting owning a house. a house means you are here and here you will stay.maybe you feel you werent ready for that kind of committment.hell son you are the lucky one. you have grown up and have something to show for it. i wish i had taken your route sooner instead of later.icthy feet gets most of us at one time or another.sometimes it passes and sometimes it will eat at you until you go.ill be 57 and i still get the urge to go but i know in my heart this is where i should be.land, and house and a big shop.got a few cars and a couple bikes.i got that by staying put and busting my butt.it does feel good to lay your head down at nite in a place that you own.your house.but we all want something different so follow your heart . your young you still have plent of time to tie yourself down with a morgage or what ever. if you want to travel. go.rent out your place and spend some time on the road.and you will always have a place to come home to.life is very short,live it.get what you want out of it or you will regret it later. this i know to be true.or sober up and go to work monday happy you have what most people want. lol

 

Once you go,you won't come back! Good luck! See you there in eight months!

 

Shaggy nice idea but getting in the country isn't as easy as your thinking. I spent over 8years out there and ended up getting my citizenship. The company i worked for did most of the work and paid for most of the cost. Ive seen alot of folks post similar things and there's a few things to take into consideration.
Firstly you can't just go and live there, you need a visa. You need to be qualified in what you do and your "skill" needs to be in demand. Then if it is, you can start looking for a sponsor and apply for a visa. It costs a fair bit of money, various medicals, interviews and there's no guarantee that you'll get a visa and costs aren't refundable. If going to Australia you'll also need a good amount of money in the bank (£5k) i think it was for me, to show you can support yourself until settled in work.The only visa you'd get is a 12 month back packer visa which if i remember allows you to work for any one employer for no more than 3 months.
Sorry to piss on your fire with this but folks here think they can just disappear and start a new life and it just isn't that easy. Of the Brits i knew out there, over half of them came back to the UK. They thought life would be one long holiday but living and working there was totally different to the 3 week holiday they had the year before and on which they based their move over there.
Look into it, see how much money it will cost, how much work it takes and you'll scare yourself. They make it very hard and try to put dreamers off applying so beware.

Good luck

 

I'm not being sarcastic , but at your age you have to make your own decisions

 

Shaggy,
When I was '27 I owned nothing more than an extra pair of blue jeans a hand full of T shirts and an old beat up motor cycle. I didn't travel the world but I did see the USA.

I can't say that I did well for myself but I do know that life is lived in minutes and there is no reason to miss all that fun.


That said it is a personal decision to travel when the rest of the world is saying sit tight and amass a fortune.

 

Getting a 457 visa will be your first hurdle. You have to have that to even get a bank account. You will not be allowed to have an Oz credit card. To rent you will need a letter proving your employment status, bank account info, picture ID and passport. There is also a bond to be paid to the rental agency and is, IMHO, organized theft. they just want a piece and come up with the most chickenshit of reasons to steal money from you. They tried with me and got some, but not what they wanted. Rent, you are paying $450 a month, you can do that here as well, only every week. I'm in a run of the mill queenslander and I'm paying $450 a week for three bedrooms and a bath. Food is twice what it costs in the US. Utilities are absurd and getting higher. Fuel is about $6 a gallon. The exchange rate is about even, but that makes a difference when you get cash. Use an ATM card, don't mess with a money changer, you get hosed. See if your bank has an agreement to waive fees with one or more of the Oz banks. I use my BOA card here with Westpac and have no fees. Get a prepaid cell phone, internet is hella expensive if using a broadband plug in, get TPG unlimited if you can commit for a year.

I'm not trying to change your mind about Oz, but I think you need to come here with your eyes open to what is going on. I came here almost three years ago whe I paid $.85 USD to the $1 AUD, when it got up to $1.07 USD to the $1 AUD you really feel it when your wages don't change. Since you will be paid in Oz funny money you won't feel it that way unless you have to convert any USD savings.

Folks are nice, but like to bring up stereotypes about the US which gets annoying. The okka will be difficult to understand right away but you will get used to it. Nobody speaks strine except Paul Hogan who is the last surviving Australian larakin, so for God's sake don't ask about bruce throwing shrimp on the barbie because they won't know what you are talking about. Ozzies like to shorten polysylabic names and words and add an "o" to the end. For example if your namie is Damian, you are Damo. Do not ever try this with the word Aboriginal, it will be considered racist. I have not seen a single Fosters here, its all export and is piss anyway. You will not find an Outback steakhouse and nobody will know what a bloomin' onion is and will be curious why a yank is talking like a pom.

If you are single you probably won't stay that way, if you are married and coming here alone, you probably won't stay that way. Depending on where you live, the quality of women varies. To my tastes, the most gorgeous women were in Perth where they are very active athletically, when I was in Bunbury, not so much. Brizzy has some honeys and so does Sydney. For my money, WA is the way to go. Great surfing here, there is a great outdoor culture here and sports is a way of life. Ironically, Oz has passed the US for obesity which they like to blame on us. Footy is AFL not soccer, which is soccer, they call NFL gridiron here. Rugby is religion. Barrack (cheer) for whoever the local team is. The man is measured by what team he barracks for and is the difference between being a good bloke and a feral subhuman. Cricket is boring, but there are devotees who just love the game, I can handle a 20/20 though. (look it up) Beer, drink the local stuff, drink to excess and NEVER wedge when its your shout. (look it up).

Hope this helps.

 

Nothing Ive ever done WORTHWHILE was sensible, or really made any sense.

I have lived a crazy full life though.

 

Know the difference between a dream and a plan.

 

Rent your place after you stash a little bit of cash or sell if you have some equity and DO IT! I often wanted to travel to new places and try to make a go, not a vacation but live there. I landed one of the best jobs in my area at 21 and then had a child, married, divorced, remarried, another child........ So ever since 21 years old a had some very strong reasons to stay put. Now, at 41, one of the only things I regret is not ever tryong "something new". At 27 with no kids or wife there is no reason not too. If you find after 3 years things aren't working out you'll be 30 and still be plenty young enough to try something else. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

The best advice yet....

 

A $450 mortgage? Try $2300 where I live.

You're young only once. Now, if your had a wife and kids, I'd say your stuck where you are, but if you don't, rent the house out and see the world. Who knows, you may want to settle down some place else. No amount of money can replace life's experiences. Here I am, 61 and I've only been to Hawaii and Vegas. Now retired on a fixed income. Too old and too set in my ways...