pumpkinpie

You’ve all been super helpful, thank you. Seems very complex and un-achievable sadly. we’ve loved in Aus 13 yrs and this is the first time they’ve mentioned living in Aus. Seems we are a bit too late, They aren’t wealthy, so reckon it’s unlikely to happen. Their house is worth about £350k, but other than that no further assets. thank you for your advice.

Hi all, Im a bit overwhelmed by the information on how to get parents to Aus. There’s a hint of a possibility that my parents want to move down under. They’re in their 70’s. How do we go about it? Is it only doable if all their children are in Aus? My brother is in the uk, we are now Aus citizens. (Husband and two kids) I hear bridging visas are the way forward as a permanent visa can take 15 plus yrs plus to be granted. If they can get to move, how does it work with Medicare? I appreciate this may not be a straightforward question/s but would like to know where to start with it all. thank you,

Hi, We lived in Breakfast Point for a year. The majority of residents are oldies and asian. Its a very quiet place to live, but very safe. I liked it, we just picked a not so good apartment. Ground floor, so felt like we lived in a old fish bowl. You do need to be careful here in terms of securing a private spot. There aren't many unless your high up. It has a lot to offer, onsite IGA with a HOYTS dvd rental box which we really miss - sad i know!! Pizza, Thai, Beauty, Dental, Hairdressers etc. Not forgetting the lovely Country Club with beautiful views of the city (bridge inc) and also has great tennis courts, kids lagoon pool - unheated, heated outdoor pool, library and a few exercise classes. You also have the Cabarita ferry stop with half hourly ferries to and from the city (about 30 mins) There are beautiful walks along the foresaw. There is also a punt car ferry service 5 mins drive away that takes you across the Parramatta river to Putney. Its a good spot to live if you're working in the CBD. The negatives for us were; The old people tend to be very political. Each building has its own committee where they hold regular meetings and each garage has a notice board where people basically complain about the slightest thing. This can work as a positive, in terms of residents being passionate about where they live and take great care in ensuring everythins is 'just so' but on the negative side it can be really irritating. They have very strict STRATA rules, for example, no hanging out washing or putting items in you 'garage space' (if its an open space as opposed to a locked space.) If you do this you can eventually get a fine. Also, BP has really grown, more so than people imagined. Thus causing it to be a car park!! Many apartments only come with one garage space leaving people with 2nd cars parking on the streets. This is fine, but because of the population here, they're running out of spaces. Hoep this helps a little. PM me if you want more info!

Lovely to hear from you all! I must add my husband is 36 & I've just turned 35, so not so much a young family I guess!! We leave Blighty tomorrow so once we're back and settled in Melbourne I'll be sure to get in touch! Thanks for replying too!

Hi, Myself, husband and two children (aged 1.5 and almost 5 yrs) have just moved to Bentleigh after 4 yrs in Sydney. We're currently in the uk visiting family but once back in melbourne we plan on throwing ourselves into Victoria life. Are there any young families out there in the Bentleigh area who would be up for meeting? I was only in Melbourne for 10 days before our uk trip was upon us, so not really had time to get into the swing of it all. Hope to hear from you!!

Thanks you, thats helpful. I know he'll be 3 km's from a tram stop, so a bit of a distance. All the journey planner routes advice a bus into the city, Southern Cross then trains, trams etc. Where abouts in the South are you?

Dh may have found a job in Port Melbourne. (We currently live in Sydney) Can you advise on family friendly areas to live that would work using public transport for his commute. I've looked on the journey planner at random suburbs but they all seem to take 1-2 hrs. Places I've looked are Doncaster, Balwyn, Sandringham, Brighton, burwood, Camberwell etc etc... Any ideas would be helpful! Thanks!

We're in Sydney and our 19 year old babysitter who is a uni student training to be a teacher charges $20 per hour. Before we found her, friends had babysitters who were anything from $20-30 per hour. We leave snacks out for her, but she doesn't eat them. I know when i used to babysit as a teen i used to look forward to the treats and didn't hold back eating them!

Thanks for the info re the rail link. Not sure if surburbia is our thing, but we did get a nice feeling about Rouse Hill, all so new and clean. I guess renting would help us identify if it is suited for us. We do love where we currently live, but we could never afford our dream home here. Sydney is soooo expensive!

Hi all, Please can you give me a heads up on the Rouse Hill area?! We went over the weekend and thought it looked really nice. We saw some of the show homes at Kellyville Ridge, which blew us away! We currently rent an apartment in the Inner West, which we love but are outgrowing it and to afford a bigger place here would be almost impossible!! Rouse Hill would actually enable us to buy a place, however we'd rent first in the area to see how it suits us. So, can you shed some light on how Rouse Hill is suitable for families, we have a 3 yo and one on the way. Are there daycare centers, family friendly restaurants/coffee shops? How easy is it to get to the city on public transport? i hear there is a train station at Schofields. Also, where will the new rail link be? Also, how do Kellyville Ridge and Kellyville differ? Are these places to consider too? Thanks!