The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Australia rush continues unabated and is only growing in size. However, there are some early signs of trouble in the land of milk and honey.
The first and immediate problem is accommodation due to a housing crunch all over Australia and especially in Perth.
The crunch is due to both inadequate construction during the pandemic, and also large scale migration within Australia and from other countries to Western Australia or Perth which managed the pandemic much better.
Rents have gone through the roof and Bhutanese people including couples flying to the country are taking a leap with no place to stay.
The hospitality of Bhutanese in Perth has literally run out of space as they accommodate family and friends.
Desperate messages asking for room or board in social media are only growing by the day.
The Australian government has already said that the work hours’ cap will be brought back from June end this year, which means that Bhutanese students cannot work long hours and will have to stick to 20 hours per week legally or risk legal action.
There is then the matter of the recession expected this year and what that could do to the temporary jobs and service industry jobs that many Bhutanese rely on.
People forget that during the pandemic, foreign students in Australia had to form lines at food banks for aid and many returned back to their countries.
In the longer run as large numbers of Bhutanese head there it is okay as long as they have a career plan to get a permanent job where they pick up skills and experience and get paid better over time.
However, doing odd jobs to make a living there will be difficult in the long term as while the earnings may be much more than in Bhutan, it will not be as high when compared to the Australian living standards for the many planning to settle there.
It is a good thing to learn caution from the misfortunes of others.
Publilius Syrus