Hello From Australia

Hi folks - I'm Roger, a New Jersey expat living on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of Australia. I've returned to riding after a 25 year break, which came after getting hit by a car in an intersection who didn't feel that red lights applied to them (remarkably, I walked away from that accident unhurt). Since returning to riding, I've been riding a LAMS Kawasaki Versys 650, which I really, really like, but the Tiger 900 GT Pro is very nearly the perfect bike, IMO. I don't reckon I'll be buying one in 2021 - I've progressed to the point where I'm on my full license, here, but I'd still like to gain some skill and become more comfortable on twisty roads before I step up to a more premium machine, so in the meantime, I'll be living my Tiger lust vicariously through you guys.

 

Hi @Sandi T. - I've been here for almost 4.5 years now, and outside of the fact that it's impossible to find even remotely acceptable pizza, living in Australia is amazing. We were in Sydney for the first four years, which we didn't love (we're not city people), and have since relocated to the Sunshine Coast. It's a little hot here for me in the summer, but outside of that, it's amazing. We're 5 minutes from the ocean (I've been to the beach 4 times in the last 4 days!), and everyone we've come across is amazing and friendly.

I miss the US at times - it's an incredible place, but way too many people have realized how much money there is in getting Americans to hate other Americans. Also, now that I've lived in a country with civilised health care, it would be really hard to come back...though I do miss family and friends. But in this age of communication, I see my people a couple times a week.

For me, it wasn't that difficult to immigrate - my fiancée is from Australia, so I got in on a de facto relationship visa, which gives me full rights into the healthcare and educational systems, and gave me the right to work...the only thing I can't do yet is vote. I'll be going for citizenship in the next year, so I'll actually be required to do that before too long.

The roadmap for me looked like this - I arrived on an ETA, basically a tourist visa. Before the 3 months were up, I applied for my de facto relationship visa, and was granted a bridging visa. I was on that for a year, during which I put together a small mountain of declarations from new friends and from my partner's family, proof of our relationship, etc, and was granted a provisional visa. After that, more declarations, etc, and I was granted a PR - permanent residency. That would have to be renewed after 5 years, but I'll be a citizen by then - and yes, you can hold dual citizenship between Australia and the US.

It wasn't cheap - the application fee was $7,800 AUD (about $5,000 USD) and is a lot more expensive if you're retired - in the neighborhood of $50,000 AUD, since you'll never have paid into the medicare system. And if you come in on a work visa, you don't get medicare until you transfer to a PR, which can take years, so you'd have to get private health insurance.

If you're really serious about looking at your options for coming to Australia, shoot me a private message, and I'll give you my lawyers name. He'll do a 30-60 minute consultation with you, and really lay out your options for you...it'll cost you about $150, and is very much worth it.



This is my Versys - it's been an amazing bike to re-learn on. Mostly stock, except for the windscreen, crash bars, and centerstand.

 

Thanks everyone for the warm response, and apologies for taking so long to respond, myself. I was on holiday, visiting my partners relatives, and didn't bring a laptop along. Hope everyone had/is having a wonderful holiday season!