[BinFord]

Then you are welcome to the land of Kangaroos

Originally Posted by hellmet

The primary reason for trying to emigrate is a better standard of living / lifestyle and peace of mind, so staying in India forever is not an option.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Hi There,



P.S : Please be careful while choosing your city. I had a bad feel(read unsafe for indians) about Melbourne in my 3 day stay there in central area

Can you please provide the reasons for saying that Melbourne is not safe for Indians, I have very close relatives staying out in Melbourne for almost 5 years now without any problem whatsoever. Did you face any untoward incident ?

Regards
Dieseltuned

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Can you please provide the reasons for saying that Melbourne is not safe for Indians, I have very close relatives staying out in Melbourne for almost 5 years now without any problem whatsoever. Did you face any untoward incident ?

Regards
Dieseltuned

All these instances were in the central area. Near central station(1km radius).

Day 1 : First evening(rather late night around 11ish) I was outside a turkish take-away joint with my friends when some drunk guys came up shouting abuses(tikki-takka kebbabs, indians bla bla bla) out of nowhere. I couldnt get the reference as it was my first day there. My friend asked me to ignore and get inside the restraunt.

Day 2: Around midnight was in a bus, where I noticed this indian lady waiting for her male friend/colleague(not sure of the relation)to close down the shop they run. Around 3 guys came and touched her at the wrong place and ran away. The lady just turned around, her friend ignored.

When i asked my friend (has been staying for 4-5 years there now), he said these are normal in India as well hence I shouldnt pay heed to all this. Melbourne is pretty posh a city no doubt when compared to Adelaide and I had a blast those 3 days clubbing, partying, driving(to great ocean road) but these small instances left a bad feel which will last for sometime to come till I visit the city again. I have been to 3 European countries as well but never had such an experience. Had high hopes from these so-called-developed-nations where people prefer going leaving India for a "better life".

The reason I compared the safety to Adelaide is , I never saw anything even remotely close to this in my 2 months stay here. People are very warm and I am yet to see a single case of bullying or brawls whatsoever.

P.S : These are based entirely on my personal experience and I have no intentions to hurt anybody's feelings.

[LTAutoMad]

SoumenD,

I see your observations are based on your 2 months' of experience in Australia! Funnily enough, a friend who was visiting from India had the diametrically opposite experience, getting abused in Adelaide while he found Melbourne much better!

Melbourne has the largest concentration of people of Indian origin. I have spent 21 years in Australia, 16 of them in Melbourne. My children are born & brought up here and regularly take public transport to school - so I am really aware of the security situation.

My intention is not to defend Melbourne or Australia, but just to reiterate that one needs to be practical and have one's wits about when living anywhere in the world.

Honestly, how many of us will permit our sisters / daughters to walk around unaccompanied in an Indian city late at night? How many of us would walk through the notorious slum areas of our own home towns late night?

It is no different in any other country - just because a country is developed does not mean there are no criminals - every single country has got the full gamut of criminals ranging from petty pickpockets to thieves to rapists to mass murderers.

One has to be careful and be aware of the surroundings any time, let alone late night in a strange country.

Australia is without doubt one of the safest countries in the world to live in, but like any place there are more than enough junkies & other scum floating around looking for easy targets. People who look new to a place or look like they won't hit back are obvious targets. Just like you would do even in your own home town in India, you need to know where to go & what to do to be safe when you are alone or late at night.

Obviously the larger the city (Melb/Sydney or Mumbai/Delhi or LA/NY for that matter), larger the criminal population.

By the way, Soumen, be really careful if you are in Elizabeth or other such northern suburbs of Adelaide!

[benbsb29]

Well said, LTAutoMad. Even for a smaller city like Brisbane, the hub of nightlife area called the Fortitude Valley is considered not safe late nights, if not vigilant. This applies to all, and not restricted to non-localites.

As with anywhere else in the world, its important to trust your instincts and be generally aware.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by LTAutoMad

SoumenD,

I see your observations are based on your 2 months' of experience in Australia! Funnily enough, a friend who was visiting from India had the diametrically opposite experience, getting abused in Adelaide while he found Melbourne much better!

Like I said right at the start because a gentleman(Dieseltuned) asked specifically. Those incidents/observations are based on purely my 'personal' experience.

Originally Posted by LTAutoMad

By the way, Soumen, be really careful if you are in Elizabeth or other such northern suburbs of Adelaide!

Thanks for the warning. I stay in CBD.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

All these instances were in the central area. Near central station(1km radius).

Day 1 : First evening(rather late night around 11ish) I was outside a turkish take-away joint with my friends when some drunk guys came up shouting abuses(tikki-takka kebbabs, indians bla bla bla) out of nowhere. I couldnt get the reference as it was my first day there. My friend asked me to ignore and get inside the restraunt.

Day 2: Around midnight was in a bus, where I noticed this indian lady waiting for her male friend/colleague(not sure of the relation)to close down the shop they run. Around 3 guys came and touched her at the wrong place and ran away. The lady just turned around, her friend ignored.

When i asked my friend (has been staying for 4-5 years there now), he said these are normal in India as well hence I shouldnt pay heed to all this. Melbourne is pretty posh a city no doubt when compared to Adelaide and I had a blast those 3 days clubbing, partying, driving(to great ocean road) but these small instances left a bad feel which will last for sometime to come till I visit the city again. I have been to 3 European countries as well but never had such an experience. Had high hopes from these so-called-developed-nations where people prefer going leaving India for a "better life".

The reason I compared the safety to Adelaide is , I never saw anything even remotely close to this in my 2 months stay here. People are very warm and I am yet to see a single case of bullying or brawls whatsoever.

P.S : These are based entirely on my personal experience and I have no intentions to hurt anybody's feelings.

Hello SoumenD,

Thanks for sharing your experiences in Melbourne. I have narrated these incidents to my family members in Melbourne and they agree that post evening hours the place gets pretty desolate. But, that is true for any city across the globe. It is our personal sense and responsibility to be agile about our surrondings if at all we need to venture out in the late hours.

I have personally moved around in New York city pretty late with friends and can say that this scenario exists there as well.

Cheers
Dieseltuned

[satan's_valet]

Has anybody here worked with Y-Axis consulting for emigration purposes?

I m thinking of getting in touch with them to check about Canada migration and would appreciate any pointers on the same.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by satan's_valet

Has anybody here worked with Y-Axis consulting for emigration purposes?

I m thinking of getting in touch with them to check about Canada migration and would appreciate any pointers on the same.

I've not used their services but the feedback I got from some people who have contacted them and in online websites is that it's not good.

As long as your credentials are not fake, just follow what the Country's Immigration Website. English speaking countries have detailed guidelines and make use of Expat Forums as well.

These agencies are similar to RTO Agents. You can do what they can do as long as you read the instructions correctly.

[satan's_valet]

Originally Posted by kiku007

I've not used their services but the feedback I got from some people who have contacted them and in online websites is that it's not good.

As long as your credentials are not fake, just follow what the Country's Immigration Website. English speaking countries have detailed guidelines and make use of Expat Forums as well.

These agencies are similar to RTO Agents. You can do what they can do as long as you read the instructions correctly.

Thanks Kiku.. I went through the online reviews myself and found a lot of mixed ones. Hence posted the question here to see if any members have used their services.

[kiku007]

You are right. In fact I head a rumor that NZ Immigration had black listed Y-Axis.

I hope you are aware of the Canada Express Visa program. Google about it.

[LTAutoMad]

Hi satan's_valet: With these countries that offer skill-based immigration visas (Canada, Australia, New Zealand), if you qualify comfortably (based on your qualifications, skills, work experience, age, English test etc), it is a cakewalk - then you don't need any agents. You would be just wasting your money with them.

If you don't qualify, then you will be wasting a lot of money with these agents, chasing a mirage!

As others have said, please go through the individual GOVERNMENT department websites (make sure it is the government one and not a private one that looks like government, with advice designed to make you go with them) so that you have the LATEST selection criteria.

In most cases, you would be able to assess yourself. The "hot skills" mix changes all the time. Plus you will have an idea of the fees.

But, if you are finding that you would lose points (for e.g. on age) or are not sure that your skills would be approved etc, then a REPUTABLE agent can help you as they would know of potential loopholes (e.g. extra points if you agree to live/work in a particular state). Remember, they are in it ONLY for the money and even the most reputed ones will make you pay through your nose!

New Zealand immigration is far easier than Australian and so lots of Indians have used it as a back-door entry into Australia (NZ permanent residents can work / move freely into Australia).

Is Canada your final goal or the US? Then, it may be a different kettle of fish - for e.g. there is a e3 US work visa quota specially for Australian citizens (don't need to be born here) which is usually unfulfilled most years (unlike the H1 which finishes in days).

Good Luck!

[hdus001]

Originally Posted by LTAutoMad

New Zealand immigration is far easier than Australian and so lots of Indians have used it as a back-door entry into Australia (NZ permanent residents can work / move freely into Australia).

I dont think this is right. You need a NZ citizenship to be able to work/live in Australia.

[LTAutoMad]

Yes, you are right, one needs to be a NZ citizen before one can cross over. But, PR> Citizenship is very simple (once it needed only 2 years in Australia). There are currently around 650,000 Kiwis living in Australia out of the total NZ population of 4.5 million - that is like @180 million Indians living in a neighbouring country!

Kiwis amongst you definitely won't like this, but the blunt truth is that for all practical purposes, NZ is like another large state of Australia (on par with NSW / VIC) with free movement of people across the borders. NZ used to be sucked dry of skilled people (brain drain!) by Australia due to its booming economy & far higher salaries, but now that NZ is booming while Australia is really struggling, it is expected that for the first time in decades, more people will move from Aus>NZ than NZ>Aus.

[satan's_valet]

Originally Posted by LTAutoMad

Hi satan's_valet: With these countries that offer skill-based immigration visas (Canada, Australia, New Zealand), if you qualify comfortably (based on your qualifications, skills, work experience, age, English test etc), it is a cakewalk - then you don't need any agents. You would be just wasting your money with them.

Hi LT, I took the online test to evaluate my qualification and did score above the cutoff mentioned. I was looking at the agency to help with the paperwork. And you are right. At the end of the day, everybody is in this only for the money and we should be careful where our hard earned money goes. I have shelved the agency for now and looking at the Canadian government's policy to understand it better.

Canada is not a fixed target as of now. I am looking at all possible options and evaluating them with each other on the basis of work, cost of living, etc. I am still at a very early stage on this whole process and have quite a long way to go.