Living in Victoria

Ju-Wayne, Theatre Nurse

My name is Ju-Wayne. I'm a registered nurse and I work at the operating theatres.

I had a few years experience in the Philippines prior to moving to New Zealand, and worked there for seven years in the same field but we wanted more adventure, so it just made sense to move to Victoria.

My colleagues at work - we are diverse, everyone has something to offer professionally and socially. There's never a dull moment at work. From surgeons or colleagues, nurses and our techs, it has been really supportive and it's just fun to be at work.

Our work-life balance here in Victoria is better because of the work culture that we have, wherein our manager is really supportive with our schedule requests.

When the time comes for play, we play big - we travel and we do mini road trips here and there. So for me that's a big tick for flexibility. We've been chasing waterfalls, lighthouses; there's lots of theatre. You just choose where you want to go and Melbourne gives that variety for us. On a Friday night we're already asking ourselves ‘what are we gonna do tomorrow?’ because there's so much to offer.

Having made the decision of moving to Melbourne is a no-brainer and we love it.

Siomha, Medical Officer

I'm Siomha, and I'm from Ireland, and I work as a doctor.

I actually knew very little about Victoria in general. I suppose when you're from so far away, when you think of Australia, you think of Sydney.

But the more I read up about Melbourne, it really seemed like it was going to suit me as a city. I really am interested in the arts, and theatre and films. So, there’s so much of that here. And then there's so much on your doorstep. It's a really great base to have, so even if you just have a long weekend off work, you can go and do something completely different, get out of the city and try something new.

Working as a doctor in Victoria has been very beneficial from a learning point of view. Because there's more staff on the ground, there's just more time to for our seniors to explain things, to allow me to try an intervention first, with their supervision. Even though it will take a little bit longer, there's time to allow for that. I've been lucky to find some really nice mentors within the area that I want to specialise in. And they've helped guide me into a Basics Physicians training program, which I've started just a few weeks ago.

The community in Regional Victoria has been really supportive of us, and have made a big effort to get us involved in local events, and particularly the pub quiz every Thursday, which is really fun. You can have hobbies and interests, and just have a little more control of your life than I felt like I did when I was at home.

So, I definitely recommend the move to anyone who's considering it.