Generalis

Hi we also live in Narangba. Been in oz for 5 years now. We have a daughter in high school here and a son in primary. If you want to meet up pls send me a pm. Hope to hear from you. Sam

Oops we thought they were lol

and as you know the expense is massive

Hi we brought our two cats out. They were about 8 and 9 years old. They did their time in quarantine then flew them up to Brisbane. They were very annoyed at us for a day or so and then they got on with it. One was long hair and suffered a bit with the heat and found all the bugs a bit daunting at first but they had a good life here. They have both passed now but I don't regret bringing them. Its up to you really. If you could leave her and this person sounds nice thats not a bad thing to do as you know cat will be looked after.

Hi is there a meet up soon? Not been to one for years. Might be good to get out and about again meeting new pio 'ers.

Hi Tiff82 Im in Narangba been here 5 1/2 years. Have a girl 14 and boy 9 so our kids might be too old but if you're interested in a meet up Im happy. I work weird shifts as a nurse and at uni at the moment and husband is a 9 - 5 guy. But he loves poker nights, meet up with a drink or two and days out. PM me if you're interested.

We have a set of friends here and their daughters have just gone back to UK. Although they loved it here with the climate they found they missed their friends and remaining family in UK. Also night life here is so much more expensive that they anticipated and they miss the club scene in Newcastle so I think this was a factor. That and one of the girls boyfriends was here for a while and he went back for his mum so one girl followed and so did the other.

Our story is good too. Been here 5 and 1/2 years now. Came out me hubby and 2 kids. Husband got a job after a week and I stayed home for a while and did a bit of casual work. Found it hard to get a job as a secretary but then decided to retrain as a nurse. Did a diploma course now on the last few weeks of bachelor course. Kids are doing well at school. One more than the other. One may have autistic tendencies so just trying to get that properly assessed. One paediatrician said it may have been because of the emigration when he was 3 that he is acting up now. We have a good life here though. We bought a house couple of years ago have the nice cars and pool so it would look like living the dream. It does have its great, good and bad times tho and you just go with it. We miss our family and friends in the UK but some have shown they are not the people we thought they were which is sad. On the whole tho we are happy and that's what matters.

Fast forward and Im still training believe it or not. I qualified with Tafe Diploma in nursing and now in last year of bachelor degree. Its been a long journey.

Beautiful pics

It looks to me like the white line reflecting off the road. Stop trying to knock money off they need money more than ever to go back. Typical poms honestly you get me mad

Hi everyone, not been on here for a while but wondered if anyone could help. I would like to bring my mum over on an aged parent visa and apply onshore. I have been reading up on this and keep seeing a condition of 8503 not being put on the visa and wondered what kind of visa my mum would need to come out on that would not have the 8503 condition normally attached to it. Can anyone help please? Then we are thinking of applying for onshore and getting bridging visa until application looked at some 15 years later. My mum would be ok as she would be living with us but we cannot afford to pay the $42k for contributory parent visa and mum has no money to fund this. Thanks Sam

Hi Chantel School sounds brilliant and like you said an opportunity not to be missed. Maybe you could look us up when you arrive? balance is fine really. EN training at the moment is 1/2 day Monday and Wednesday Thursday 9 - 4.00 and working Saturday so its fine and I'm home remainder of days with the children and when they are at school I do my assignments/reading/shopping etc etc as you will know as a mum. Usually got a party/BBQ or beach day with friends going on every weekend. Sometimes need a break from the weekends as they can be hectic. We've got a good network of friends and there's always someone willing to lend a hand which really helps. Speak soon x

Hi Chantel Congratulations on making the move back. I dont think they would do an apprentice style of training as its considered old fashioned but some of the lecturers where I'm studying have said it was better when it was on the job training and they said then there is talk of doing something similar but think it might be a way off yet. The hospitals like you to be competent in a task before they will let you go and do anything with patients. The ANMC (Australian Nursing Midwifery Council) might be able to give you further information http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au I know for nursing they are very strict about what you can and cannot do if you havent had formal training. They like their bits of paper. One good thing tho you are australian so if you decided to study you would get fee help which means you can pay it back once you start working and earning money. I've got to pay my fees as not a citizen yet but its manageable. Also not sure how soon you want to come back. I know of people who have done their 3 years training in uk and then come here fullly qualified and if you did in UK you may get bursary allowance? The only thing with retraining is it will take you out of the workplace or mean that you can only work part time or (full time) if you dont mind being extremely busy and stressed? The Gold Coast travelling to Brisbane will take about an hour and half each day from speaking with friends at the weekend as they currently live in Robina and said its getting too much for them travelling as they have a new baby. I'm not trying to put you off but these things can make or break a situation. Would you consider training to be an Enrolled Nurse? They have a unit on mums and bubs and you could work in a hospital as a nurse like after care of babies and upskill while you are in work. En training takes 18 months as opposed to 3 years straight without much income coming in. EN salary would be about 55k with shift allowances but there is always the option of upskilling after and gets you into the industry. I did it this way so that I could hope to get a job after a short time and start earning some money finally. I have got a job as an nurse assistant AIN and only work 1 day per week and for this they want you to have a certificate III in aged care. I dont have this but they say that because I'm doing EN I have equivalent to that as I'm already done my first practical placement. AIN jobs get paid about 40 something k plus shift allowances so maybe you could go down that route get your certificate III and work and train? Just thinking of ways to get you training while being able to earn something. Try emailing ANMC for advice as I may not be 100% on this as I'm doing general nursing. I have a friend who is a midwife though and she really enjoys her work and works at the Mater Hospital. Maybe you could email their HR and ask them? Good luck anyway and hope I havent put you off. There's always ways around it. Sam

Thanks Kev just seen it and replied. Yes re the benefits they have made a big difference. I would probably say without them it would have been more of a struggle with the cost of rent which is easily our biggest expense Sam