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Brown family journey
Posted 26-09-2007 at 10:09 PM by brownfamily
Hi all,
Not sure if many of you will remember any of my original posts, but I thought I would start a blog to help others going throught the same journey!
We are on a temporary 2 year Student Visa as OH is on the bricklaying course in Nambour that started in June this year. On the student visa you do have to be self sufficient for two years which means paying schiool fees for children/college fees etc etc.
We have bough a house at auction in Mountain Creek (near Moololaba) on the Sunshine Coast and moved in within three weeks. We initially rented a house when we first arrived, but within weeks we knew it was the place that we wanted to be and started looking for a house.
Contrary to popular belief you can actually get a mortgage on a student visa as long as you have appx 40% to put down as a deposit. Also it is relatively straight forward to obtain FIRB (foreign investment review board) approval as you are not a permanent resident and the standard time that this takes is 30 days. In addition you can actually get Oz life insurance as well, as long as you are planning on applying for PR in two years.
We also got our Queensland driving licenses and bought two cars within the first couple of weeks, which was great because it meant that we were mobile!
My two children have both been at school now for their first full Aussie term and are loving it! My son is 10 and he goes to Mountain Creek State Primary and my daughter is 13 and she goes to Mountain Creek State High. The only thing that I would say about the High School is that you get loads of 'Assignments' which was a bit of a shock to the system for her and she spends loads of time doing her homework now
There is soooo much to say but I am concious of doing a really long blog so if anyone wants to ask anything about student visa/house renting/buying/schooling then please feel free to ask away and I will try and help!
Heather
Not sure if many of you will remember any of my original posts, but I thought I would start a blog to help others going throught the same journey!
We are on a temporary 2 year Student Visa as OH is on the bricklaying course in Nambour that started in June this year. On the student visa you do have to be self sufficient for two years which means paying schiool fees for children/college fees etc etc.
We have bough a house at auction in Mountain Creek (near Moololaba) on the Sunshine Coast and moved in within three weeks. We initially rented a house when we first arrived, but within weeks we knew it was the place that we wanted to be and started looking for a house.
Contrary to popular belief you can actually get a mortgage on a student visa as long as you have appx 40% to put down as a deposit. Also it is relatively straight forward to obtain FIRB (foreign investment review board) approval as you are not a permanent resident and the standard time that this takes is 30 days. In addition you can actually get Oz life insurance as well, as long as you are planning on applying for PR in two years.
We also got our Queensland driving licenses and bought two cars within the first couple of weeks, which was great because it meant that we were mobile!
My two children have both been at school now for their first full Aussie term and are loving it! My son is 10 and he goes to Mountain Creek State Primary and my daughter is 13 and she goes to Mountain Creek State High. The only thing that I would say about the High School is that you get loads of 'Assignments' which was a bit of a shock to the system for her and she spends loads of time doing her homework now
There is soooo much to say but I am concious of doing a really long blog so if anyone wants to ask anything about student visa/house renting/buying/schooling then please feel free to ask away and I will try and help!
Heather
Total Comments 3
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You're so brave - I wish i were youHeather,
Without going on too much, I have been following you and your family's journey as much as I can and what you are doing is what me and hubby would have to do to get to Oz. Hubby doesn't have any formal recognised skills etc and he is already 42 so time is not on his side. I would have to apply for Student Visa and am interested in doing Child Care Co-Ordinator course for two years. We would like to go to Brisbaine/Gold Coast. Really want to go ahead and apply for everything and get it all underway but do have some doubts. Self sufficient - without being nosey or rude - in your opinion how much money would we need to go out there on the above basis. We have a 4 yr old son and we know about school fees, medical etc. Is the money thing something you were concerned about or are you quite comfy!! in that respect (I sound soooo cheeky - sorry!!) You mentioned you can get a mortage on a Student Visa so that's cleared that one up for us. My husband would prefer to buy somewhere for cash but it just depends on how much we have left after paying off for everything else. Are you both working the 20 hrs per week and if so what kind of jobs are you doing? Also, has your husband fitted in well with the course or is it totally NOT how he thought. (I know you said he's done bricklaying so it's easier for him in that sense but study wise is he finding it hard to adjust to that kind of everyday life? These are questions I can think of right now and any info, help, advice would be greatly appreciated. You are all so inspiring and I hope we can be as positive and determined as you.  Charlene |
 
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Thank you!!Hi Charlene,
Thanks for your comments, it was really lovely to read. With regards to money I would say a very rough ball park figure would be £40-50k. This includes school fees/college fees/rent/bills etc. In addition, if you wanted to buy your own home then appx £70k for the deposit & legal fees (40% of purhcase price of house). As for being 'quite comfy'.....I wish  We used the money from the process of our house sale back in the uk to fund the adventure. Unfortunately we didn't have 1,000's sitting in the bank! I did my rough calculations/budget before we came out, so I knew roughly how much it would cost. The benefit being that we have actually managed to buy a house within a few months as opposed to two years. Money was/is something that I was concerned about, but to be honest sometimes you just need to take that leap. The way I looked at it was, that if the very worst case scenario happened it would be a very expensive 2 year holiday! You would spend £40-50k following your dream and it was our only option to get into Australia, so we took it! OH is working the 20 hours per week doing his bricklaying on Thu/Fri. The money isn't excellent at the moment cos he needs to lay more bricks so that he can get his speed up, but the main thing is that he is working and he is getting his 900 hours signed off for TRA. As for me, I try not too work (only joking!!) I have done a few weeks paid work at my son's school and the pay is quite good there, but it was only casual work. I need to start looking for something permanently really, but wanted to settle the kids in first before I even thought about it. OH is fine with his course. I think it is a bit frustrating at times cos he has done a lot of it before, but the people on the course are great and I think that makes all the difference. As for the study, he is absolutely fine with that, no problems at all. Sorry for the long blog, but just wanted to make sure that I answered all of your questions! Please let me know if there is anything else you wanted to know. Good luck in whatever it is you decide, I am sure you will make a success of it.  Heather |
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hi heather
what a coincidence we are the brown family and are looking to go to melbourne on a student visa OH wants to do bricklaying...at TAFE victoria. I am having trouble finding anyone doing the same. can you give me an idea of your 'timeline'.? when did you apply for place on course? when didi you apply for visa? etc etc thanks suzanne |
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Recent Blog Entries by brownfamily
- Brownfamily update (11-01-2008)
- Brown family journey (26-09-2007)
