perthbound2013

Hi Clare We are in Mont Albert and the wife works in Northcote - we arrived in March this year. I don't know about any groups but would be happy to arrange a catch up over coffee or something stronger. We're nearly a year in and loving everything about it with of course some frustrations here and there.. Andre

Like others have said - whether Australia has worked out for them is a personal experience so you're unlikely to find an overwhelming response either way. I have to say that I do think I have a better quality of life in the six months we have lived in Melbourne. Why? I lived in London with my wife and 4 year old in a two bed flat with no communal garden. I worked long hours in a stressful city job and my typical work day included leaving home at 6.30am and returning around 7.30pm. In most cases, my son would be still asleep when I left home and be in bed when I returned. My wife worked Saturdays and some Sundays in retail so most weekend i was on my own with my son which was ok during warm weather as we found activities and family to visit. During the 6 months or more of winter and autumn, it was dreadful. Staying home during the rainy days or visiting the same boring indoor play centres. No parks nearby and the one we could drive to was a no go area. All of this with the regular work emails during the weekend to take care of. Now in Melbourne, we live in a three bed house in a gated community with a large garden and a communal swimming pool, gym and Sauna for the same rent as our 2 bed flat in London! I receive the same wage in a more junior and laid back role. I leave home at 8am with a easy drive to work. I finish at 5pm not the dot and home by 5.30. I receive an RDO every other Monday which means i have a three day weekend twice a month. No more squashed tube to ride to work - easy drive. Saturdays are a mixture of swimming, tennis and footie classes for my little one - all outdoor even during the winter months. Sunday and Monday, the wife is off so we go exploring every Sunday as a family. Every other Monday, me and the wife have a day off together which in 10 years of marriage in the UK, never happened. We are growing a group of friends through play groups and birthday parties and work. My son was automatically accepted into one of the best primary schools in Melbourne because we live within the boundary. In contrast, he was rejected for all the five schools we applied to in London before leaving. So we are healthier (we have both lost weight), more active, better off, spending more time together as a family and couple - and i haven't mentioned holiday loading yet! Yes, we miss family but we were well aware of that when we moved so we get on with in. A better life for my son is the important factor and so far, that's in Australia. You do have to make an effort to get out there, meet others, have people around, go to others. We have found that putting the effort in with an open mind has helped us achieve a better quality of life so far. Life is a journey - sometimes the luck of dice works but I would rather have thrown the dice that wonder what if in 20 years time. Good luck with your journey. Andre

Im in Melbourne and we pay rent monthly. We didn't have a choice as we preferred to pay bi-weekly to match our salary process. rent was advertised weekly as all the others. It does seem to vary from estate agent to estate agent

In response to byrned: That's a bit of a cheap shot.. If i didn't notice, this website is called Poms in Oz (i.e. for those in Oz to discuss living here or for those wishing to move wanting to find out info from others who have done the journey). That's what I do on here - I am returning the favour as I received lots of helpful info when I was looking to move. What gets me are people who have moved back to the UK, clearly hating Oz and their experiences here (not a description of everyone who has moved back but some) and then stay active on this forum to try an justify their move back to the UK, including putting their negative experiences across. I would find another website if I ever found myself in that situation.

I wouldn't go as far as blaming the gutter press on this one. If you have lived in the UK for the last 18 months, you will have noticed the rising tension and the fact that the EU and immigration is all most people talk about. And prices, yes, I mentioned that it is relative to your situation but if you are from the South East, I would argue that most prices points are very similar.

Although I do understand that many people move here and back for different reasons, but I really want to try and bust some myths on this thread. I am surprised that people use the "it used to be so much better and cheaper 20/ 30 years ago".. Show me any developed country where house prices or land were not a bargain that long ago and of course they have changed substantially today. Happens everywhere, including the UK. The Oz is expensive debate is relative and depends on your situation - I moved from the south east 4 months ago and I can assure you that house, cars, fuel, public transport, going out, entertainment, are either on a par or more expensive (i.e. property) than Melbourne. Food is a little more but I can live with that, considering I earn almost double compared to the UK. The racism card... If you have been in Oz and cite racism as a reason for moving back to the UK, you might find yourself in for a surprise. The rise of UKIP in the last 18 months is certainly dividing the nation with plenty of racist undertone to fuel the debate. Life is what you make it - here or in the UK. Me? loving Melbourne and Oz. If it carries on, I'll stay, if not, I made a go of it and will go back but I certainly won't stay on the forum and trying to "help' others by giving them negative views of Oz - people have to go on their own journey, if you ask me.

Hi.. We moved to Melbourne in March 2014 from London. So far, so good. Loving it in fact. We moved over on my wife's 457 and she started work two weeks after arriving which went by very quick. We were in a holiday apartment for the first two weeks provided by her company and the first few days were a mix of finding a rental, cars, kindy and exploring as much as we could in Melbourne. We managed to find a 3bed rental in Mont Albert and the our container arrived a couple of weeks after we moved in. Luckily, the wife's company provided rental furniture as we moved out of the holiday apartment sooner, so we didn't have to camp out in the new house.. Was great when the container arrived though! We're paying $550 per week but it also has a shared pool and gym for the 10 properties which is great. We were in there most days not as expected not so much now! I was meant to take three months out of work to settle out little one but that didn't work out. Our little one started kindy after a month just opposite our house and I was then restless. I applied for a job which was very similar to the one in the UK and worked out well. I started at the end of April and enjoying it so far, although have to drive across the city into the west which is a challenge sometimes. Easier than driving across London during rush hour though! Loving the Aussie work pros, including RDO's (can't say no to three day weekends), Holiday Pay Loading (get extra money whilst on holiday!) and long service leave after 10 years.. Can't wait! So things are going really well - both at work, little one in kindy full time and just registered him for school at one of the best primary schools (public) in Melbourne. Didn't realise that when we moved, so it was a nice bonus. As we live nearby, he has a guaranteed place which is wonderful. We applied for the best and closest 5 schools before we moved here in the UK. He was not accepted for any so if we had stayed in the UK, we would have most likely have to put him in private (at crazy costs) or he would have to travel quite a distance out. Standard of living - we are better off here. Rent is about the same as our mortgage back in the UK. we spend under $200 per week on food which is a little more but not much difference. We are out much more than in London, even in the winter. We have a great park with a children's area right next door. Our little one goes to Swimming, footie, and tennis classes and he's coming along so well. He loves the outside and has even mastered his scooter which is something he couldn't do in the UK due to lack of safe space in London or lack of good weather to go outside! Wife has just started a bsbysiiting club with 6 other mothers from kindy which is great as the little one gets to play with his buddies from kindy during the weekend, and we get to know the grownups. Looking forward to spring and summer and trying out some of the beaches! Will be applying for PR after 2 years and at this point, we can't see us going back. Andre

Hi I think longterm, Reservoir is a great choice. My wife has a business in Northcote (we are both here on a 457) and her business partner is from Reservoir. As the city expands out, the inner suburbs start to receive high levels of investment. Northcote is going through it now and Reservoir will be in the same position in the next five years or so, so getting in now should be good, property investment wise. Not sure much about the area in Dole Reserve but I'll ask my wife's colleague tomorrow who lives there and come back to you on that. Andre

No probs Kevin. Was tired of seeing all the negative posts elsewhere so had to respond somehow. As you've said, it's not London and http a great start already. Where you from in London by the way? we travelled over to Melbourne from Wembley just 8 weeks ago. If you need any help or advice before or when you get here, give me a shout. andre

You really think that most immigrants to the UK are welfare tourists?! Lived in London for over 30 years with many friends from Europe - all of them working extremely hard, 10 hours plus per day, 6 days per week. If only some of the millions of brits on welfare had the same work ethic! To UKIP voters, all I say is be careful of what you ask for. Where will the jobs come from when the 2 million brits living in Europe are sent back home after the UK pulls out?

ps. My username is a little misleading. Was meant to go to Perth last year but all change at the last minute and wife was sponsored on a 457 to Melbourne, so here I am.

ah ah yes, agree on the insulation as I write here shivering away.. lol. but still wake up with a smile in my face knowing that I'm in Melbourne.

In the spirit of keeping things balanced and to stop me moaning on a different thread, here is your opportunity to list some of the things that you love about Australia. I'll kick things off.. Weather - great to have sun in the summer and spring as its meant to be! Higher wages (helps with some higher costs) Laid back, friendly people (I'm from London so I am comparing to my daily commute on the Tube and working in the city!) Drivers sticking to speed limits! Reasonable house prices (again, comparing from London where the value of my 2 bed flat can get me a 5 bed new build in Melbourne! Coffees and coffee culture. Never ending list of places to visit - things to see and do. Wide range of sports available for children (competitive instead of everyone wins like in the UK). Parks everywhere with children play areas. School placement policy - guaranteed places if living within a certain distance of a school (my little one was rejected by his three closest schools in the UK) Would love to hear others. Remember - this is a positive forum - if you hate something, there is another forum that you can use. Andre

Hi Ben ive picked up your posts on here as I notice you moved over to oz with a Specsavers partnership. My wife is going through the same process - she's been approved for a retail director and we are comming over for the 2 week reccie May/ June. Have loads of questions - hope you don't mind! Do you have an email address or can I send some questions over via here? Cheers Andre