jonbclark

You can't just pass your test in NSW depending on your age you may need to prove you've driven a certain amount of hours before you can progress from your L plates to your P plates and only when you get your P plates can you drive unsupervised. The fulls details are on the RMS website. If you are going to be central I wouldn't bother especially if there is only one of you its not the easiest process!

Well we must be lucky then, we moved on a 457 and live in the Hills district within the area of many good schools and currently rent a 4 bed house for around 600 a week. No pool or fancy garden but enough space to live in and in a nice area within reach of parks, schools, shops and commutable to parramatta as well. We paid school fees for 2 years albeit for only 2 kids then got pr and now have citizenship so it is possible. Yes you have to be aware of the negatives but also lets have some positives too! Sounds like the original poster has done her homework regarding school fees and catholic schools etc. my daughter goes to a local gymnastics club and yes it does cost just under 200 a term but that's for around ten weeks of lessons so around $20 a lesson or 10 pounds which I don't think is too bad. She doesn't compete so doesn't need team kit I buy it from Big W ? If you do a lot it can be expensive but there is also a lot that is cheaper or free and certainly within the hills district you can do as many different activities as you can afford to there are so many things on offer.

Hi josh, we're in Bella vista which is just next door. I (Sarah Jons wife) am a stay at home mum to twins who are 9 and Jon works full time for Woolworths. Happy to meet up for coffee if you fancy a chat, there are quite a few local English mums in the area. We moved from Bedfordshire in 2011. I also have a local friend who is English and married an Aussie and she has a son who is a similar age if your daughter needs a playmate

There is one pub next to woolies hq It's quite a decent one but not much nightlife near bella vista itself. The commute can be awful with woolies being part of the Norwest business park and all the work ongoing for the new rail line locally as well. We live in bella vista and I'd say the suggestion of parramatta is quite a good one then you can always use public transport to get to the city for more nightlife if you need. Good luck with the move its a nice part of the country to live in

Can't tell you about that specific school but most of the public schools in the hills area are pretty good. Has your wife joined the Facebook group Hills District Mums? There are lots of friendly helpful mums on there who can give local advice. Good luck. Sarah (Jons wife)

We are just down the road in Bella vista and as Ellie says all the schools are pretty good. Some people prefer some schools but your house will pretty much determine which school you go to as many don't accept out of area students generally. School catchment areas are normally on the school website. I have friends in Beaumont hills who's kids go to the local public primary and they are very happy with it. It s a lovely area, close to good shops at rouse hill and lots of local amenities. Any of the local districts would be good for children lots of parks, schools, activities, shops etc

I see I'm not allowed to post links, hmm! There is one group called mums away (sydney) and another called Over 40's In Hills Area, Sydney and we're not too far from Penrith. Some of us have kids at school but there are a few that have older kids as well so feel free to join the groups it might help. The first year is definitely the hardest and it is harder to meet people with older kids as well. Good luck :-)

Hi! Are you on facebook? There are quite a few groups on there that people use to meet up etc. Where abouts are you? There are quite a few expats in Sydney some with/without kids you dont mention any? (this is Sarah, Jon's wife)

Depending on where you end up many schools run cheaper clubs especially for things like chess & choir etc

We don't do any team sports currently but as the others have said there are registration fees as well as weekly fees for those. My daughter does gymnastics and we pay around $18 an hour weekly, this doesn't run in the holidays. My son goes to taekwondo and we pay $66 per fortnight but for this you can attend as many times a week as you like and they run classes 6 days a week. (we tend to go twice a week) Swimming lessons for us are $166 per month and this is once a week for two children.(so works out around $19 each for a 30 minute lesson) I have found sports/activities quite expensive here hence our kids do two things each and nothing else but ours were only 4 when we moved so we didn't have as much experience of uk costs to compare them too.

Congrats! We took our test at the end of November and are only just getting our ceremony later this month but that could just be our area of Sydney some take less time. I can't wait for my ceremony although I'm not looking forward to paying for 4 new passports for the family

Our surgery already has a sign up saying they won't be passing on any additional fees and bulk billing will still apply. We have online booking available and I never have a problem getting an appointment I may need to wait a day to see a specific gp but can always get an appointment the same day if I will see a non specific gp. Maybe we are lucky I don't know (we in suburban sydney)

Have you looked at the Hills District? Covers areas like Castle Hill, Beaumont Hills, Rouse Hill, Bella Vista, and a few other surrounding suburbs. We live in Bella Vista but don't commute to the city but many do via train/bus/car I've not heard a bad thing about any of the local schools either and the area is great for families with lots of parks and open spaces and still within an hour to the city/beach etc

No they didn't mention how come they could give me one I was just thankful at the time that they did

re the three month six month thing if you are on permanent visa you have to get a nsw licence within three months of moving here. If you are on a temp visa like a 457 you don't have to get one at all but if you choose to or need to for other reasons then you have to have lived here for six months continuously so if you leave for a holiday etc then you start that six months again and also your licence is only valid for 12 months at a time.