Kellie23

Hi ya, I'm not a parent but I'm just asking on behalf of my parents. I've been in Australia for 2 years and my parents would like to come and live here also. We would like to know if there's a visa that they could come over to Australia on for a year? Is there a holiday visa that would allow them to stay for a year? Also what is the age for an aged parent visa? The contributory one? if mum and dad came over for a year and decided to go ahead with the parent contributory visa how long is the current processing time taking roughly? Thanks in advance

are you living near oxenford? Just wondered as I shop there!

Hey Bora, lovely to hear from you. Thanks for the info. We have now been here 7 months and we just can't see this being forever! The kids are happy don't get me wrong but it's a lot harder here than we expected and really really missing family and friends in UK. I think it's a double whammy in terms of i now appreciate things more about the UK that I previously took for granted and Life here hasn't been what we expected. Yes the weathers better and it's a beautiful place. We just keep talking and talking comparing etc etc you know how it is. Our biggest worry is going back and regretting it mainly as we want to do the best for the kids. Im not that impressed with the education here so far and when I've spoken to other poms expecting reassurance they only confirm my suspicions. We have financial worries here that we never had in UK either which Is harder. Just everything Is so very different. We are going to give it more time but I'm just asking questions on here to get as much info as possible. How are you doing?

been on the Gold Coast now of 7 months. Two of my children are 8 and 9. Years 3 and 4 here. I just wondered for those who have lived here and then gone back to the UK with school aged kids how has this effected their education? and how have the kids felt?

Thanks everyone for your comments its true it's still early days for us and we will of course give it more time. My OH is happy even though works harder for him here, he is really positive and feels it's a better life for kids here especially once we have teens on our hands. However we do discuss about the impact of no other family around for them. We both grew up with all our family around, grandparents aunts cousins etc and ours won't have that here. Yes australia is definitely different to the UK in lots of ways. Whether that works out to be "better" depends on where you came from and where you go! I can only speak going from kent to the Gold Coast. I've been to nicer places in UK but couldn't afford to live there as hubby had to be able to commute to london. Here he earns the same (ish) but is working 15 mins away. He can cycle to work which pleases him. (When it's not torrential rain or too hot) its such a huge decision to emigrate and I've only now realised just how huge it was! Back when we were doing our visas you kind of get fixed on the bad of where you are and the good of where your going and looking forward to the change and the adventure. One thing I would not wish on anyone is those goodbyes! I still can't think about those it's too painful. We are lucky that we have had visitors already and more coming this year and both our families are so supportive with whatever decisions we make no matter how hard it is for them. Our friends are still our friends and with current technology it's so easy to keep in touch. For those who emigrated 30 years ago I take my hat off to you as technology wasnt what it is now so you guys were really brave and strong. Anyway im off to bed, happy easter all wherever you are

Hey James, Thanks for replying and don't apologise. I was full of questions on here before we made the move. This forum was my lifeline there's lots of lovely people on here. It's a huge move and you will never know unless you try it. For some it's everything and more and for others it doesn't live upto expectations. But Australia is a big place and I can only speak for the Gold Coast. My husband is a diesel mechanic and I work with both adults/ children with Autism or learning disabilities. Having a family member already here will certainly help you feel more settled and give you that support. Good luck with everything

Hi everyone, those who are thinking about emigrating, those who have done it and those who have gone back to UK. Here's my opinions and feelings so far..... so me, hubby and our 3 children 9,8 and 1 emigrated to the Gold Coast in September last year. We sold our house (big mistake) and we left our jobs and we set off for a "better life down under"! Our lifes in the UK were not bad at all but the normal stuff everyone moans about in Kent where we came from did do our heads in. Like the amount of traffic, rubbish, foreigners and the worry about what it would be like in the future there for our children. We had Australia in our minds and wanted to give it a go rather than have regrets. So we have been here six months. Kids are loving school now but we have been concerned how far behind the UK education system it is here. This we have now decided doesn't matter if the kids stay here and finish all there schooling here it's only a problem if you keep comparing. we have made friends really easily. hubby happy at work but has to do overtime to be able to get by. we have found cost of living really expensive. Especially things like Internet, mobile phones and tv packages. There's just not the choice here and unless you go with Telstra the signal can be non existent! We shop in aldi a lot but can't get everything in there, so quite annoying going to lots of different stores. I really miss my tesco's online shop. You can online shop here with Coles or woolies but it's def more expensive for groceries here. we have bought a house here already as the renting malarkey I just hated! If anyone wants more info on that then inbox me but in reflection we probably should of carried on renting. Soon as you buy you lose rental assist from centrelink and you have to pay water rates as well as water usage and also council rates. So a big difference it ends up being between renting and buying. plus the upkeep of house. Lots to consider there. We decided to buy to see if that helped us feel more settled. The weather! Well sept, October and November were perfect. But since December it has rained ALOT and been very hot and humid. This weekend has been rubbish as it's just rained the whole weekend and we find ourselves with less to do here than in the UK. As when it rain it's torrential not just drizzle. Im actually missing the seasons already! Never thought I'd say that. I'm also missing our sun holidays staying in different parts of the UK at caravan parks. I'm missing lots about the UK that I totally took for granted whilst there. Especially how close everything was as here we are totally reliant on cars. we have had visitors already. My brother and then my cousins which was lovely but hated the goodbyes. We have my in laws coming in June for three weeks which we can't wait for and then my parents coming at Christmas. I hate the bugs here! Especially the Mozzies, the flies and don't get me started on the huntsman spiders! I've also had the worst luck and had a snake in the garden! I was then ready to get back on a plane! The hardest part of all is having no family support and dealing with the guilt of taking the kids away from there grandparents. Really missing family and friends loads. the beaches here are amazing, the amount of space we love, the many parks for the kids is great and it is a more outdoor lifestyle when the weathers ok. But then again the UK can be just as outdoors but you need to be more prepared I guess. There are lots of sport on offer here for the kids which is good. So so have we done the right thing? You tell me because I'm fed up with constantly thinking is this for us or not? Is this forever? I still can't imagine this being forever. By time our visitors have all been we would of been here 16 months so I'm wondering will I know the answer by then. The worst thing for us now is if we decided to go back and then regret it! The same problems will still be there (mainly too many people living in a small place) or maybe if we tried somewhere diff to kent be interesting to hear if others have had same feelings as me? How have others felt after moving back? The cost of migrating from visas, shipping, flights and setting up here is unreal! I'm just hoping it's all been worth it! be good to hear others opinions take care and happy easter Kellie

So thought I would come on and update you all on how we are getting on and what we think so far after 2 months. Moved from Kent to the Gold Coast on a 189 visa. me, hubby and 3 kids. Aged 9, 7 and 23 months. I'll list all the positives first: hubby landed a job straight away (diesel mechanic) at a local bus garage, so handy as we can survive with just one car as he can cycle to work. He has settled into work really well working 6-2 and getting some overtime in too. Already had a couple of bbqs at work and they ordered pizza in to celebrate the Melbourne cup! All paid for by the boss. In his free time hubby is enjoying his cycling tackling different mountains here like beechmont and Tamborine. The kids have settled far better than expected and much quicker than I thought too! My son struggled on his first couple of weeks at school in terms of friendships but I think that's a boy thing as it's taking him a bit longer to establish friends, he said he found the boys over here quite immature and silly, I chatted to a few people about this (other poms) and they said there sons found this too and they felt it might be because they start school a year later out here. My daughter made friends straight away and loved school here much better than UK, I'm sure that might be because they seem a lot more laid back at the school so the kids have more freedom. An example; the bell goes and the kids go into class grab a fruit snack and sit eating it while they take the register, also they can kick a ball about before school and after school and during breaks, all stuff they were not allowed to do in UK school. Not saying it's better or worse but just giving you an idea of some differences. The major difference is how big the primary school is! It's the size of a UK senior school! Think there's 1200 kids there as opposed to just over 400 in their uk school. But the area it covers would be same as an area where we lived in the UK that would have maybe 20 primary schools in if that makes sense. I have asked the kids if they would want to return to UK and they say no way! The kids are enjoying there other activities cycling, swimming, girl guiding and surfing lessons! They are loving the lifestyle here. We have also purchased a yearly pass to the theme park/waterpark here $70 for the year each and go as many times as we like. Every Sunday we go to the beach and most afternoons we are in the pool. The weather has so far been glorious in the two months so far we have had 3 nights that have been uncomfortably hot but we have then put the A/C on. me and my youngest have been to loads of playgroups which are far superior to the ones in the UK, ,most aRe free and the facilities are amazing. We have made some lovely lovely friends. Everyone's so friendly. We have had one hospital trip so far and cost was covered on Medicare. My daughter had a bad ear infection where blood came out and as it was a Sunday we went straight to the hospital, they treated her promptly and wanted to see her again for a follow up visit. so far electric has been €80 for the month. gas is on bottles so you get them and apparently they last ages we paid €270 for two full bottles but that was more expensive being the first one as you pay for the actual bottles too, so far not switched over to the 2nd bottle yet and people have said one bottle lasts them 6 months or more. The gas supplies our hot water and gas to the hobs. petrols cheap here. Uniforms for school are expensive. And we have to buy all the kids stationary and books. If your on PR u can claim centre link bit like child benefit. That helps a lot. Unless you earn loads then you can't get it. advice to anyone arriving join the local Facebook selling pages as you can pick up so much on there as lots of people seem to move about and get rid of loads. Also people don't mind you asking questions on the groups, the community here have been so helpful. Negatives: the biggest negative is missing family and friends in uk especially grandparents who would norm be just round the corner to lend a hand with the kids. The driving! Man there's some bloody terrible drivers here! Oh and a massive neg is the nightmare trying to get internet! There only seems to be Telstra as the main supplier but if all the ports are taken you can't have cabled internet only option is a mobile pocket wifi! So frustrating as you plan to skype family but you don't get a lot of data, so ours is $65 a month for 12g of data and that has to last the whole month, well one skype session used 1g! Can't download too much as that uses heaps and kids need the net for homework! Another thing is mobile phone coverage that can be a nightmare and quite expensive. Also tv package seems expensive too. I've been shopping in Aldi and I'd say my food bill is on par with uk. That's about it really, sorry for the essay! But hope the info helps a few of you thinking about making the move Kellie x

So far so good, everyone I have met has been really nice and offered loads of info. I can't comment yet on the after school part as kids are off here at mo, they go back tues after a bank hol weekend. I'll come back and let u know. X

Hey, we are in PAC pines and kids are starting at PAC pines primary school next week. I managed to secure a rental from the UK. I emailed the managing agent and I had to give proof of funds and pay 6 months up front but I thought this was better than wasting money on a hol let. I must add though I knew the layout of the rental as we stayed in one last year that our friends have so I knew what we were getting. Paying 425 a week. I had to arrange electricity too which I did through origin. Gas is on cylinders which you have replaced when one runs out you switch to the other and get that one replaced. Once I know how long they last and how much elec is oh and water I'll post on here to give people idea of costs..

@hawkmoon1704 yeah nothing prepares you for those goodbyes! I was the same as your wife. Everyone said once your here and busy making a life here you will be fine and they were right. We still miss everyone of course but so busy sorting everything here you don't have time to think too much. Before we left I was thinking thinking thinking second guessing ourselves, panicking and thinking oh god what have we done but not felt like that here. Just get that final goodbye done and get on that plane! Good luck and safe journey. Where you heading? Hey I see your from Corby I have family there.

Hey tina we are in PAC pines! Danny got the job, starts Tuesday hooray! We shud meet for coffee in a few weeks. Your in coomera right? X

Hey, we had loads! We had 5 suitcases, a travel cot and a buggy then we had 5 hand luggage suitcases too! I packed snacks, spare clothes, toothbrushes, toys into our hand luggage. Lots to keep kids entertained. We did night flight first which helped as lil one 20 months slept most of that. When she was awake she had half hour of running up and down the plane but everyone was so nice and friendly and I think they quite liked her stopping and saying hi. The staff on singapore airlines were absolutely amazing they were really friendly, very helpful and when Rose was going into their space on plane behind curtains they were playing with her. I think I expected it to be horrendous and was pleasantly surprised. We wore her out at heathrow and at singapore airports in the play areas they have, very handy. My other two who are 7 and 9 just watched films and played on their iPads, my eldest was sick on both flights bless her which is why I packed spare clothes for everyone. Didn't need the spare clothes as she was sick in a bag but I've been on flight where someone was sick and had no spare, so wasn't taking any chances. The staff bought her out warm water to sip and kept coming to make sure she was ok. Def recommend singapore airlines

So after starting our visas last September 2013, we arrived at Brisbane airport last weds morning as permanent residents! The goodbyes in the UK that last week were unbelievably hard. More difficult than you can possibly want to imagine! Seeing my dad and my father in law crying was heart wrenching! Never seen them cry before. You have to be soooo brave to do this move that's for sure! So here we are a week later me, hubby and our 3 children. So far we are in our rental property, very nice. We have got mobile phones- signal no where near like UK! We have arranged tv, landline and internet package. We have bought furniture and are in process of buying a car. Hubby has job interview tomo morn, kids start school next week and then we can better judge what life here will be like. Weathers been great and kids loving the pool, parks and beach! Plenty of that. I will update again in a week or so kellie

Thank you everyone for your replies. I do love this forum with some really kind and genuine people on here. I will post when we arrive and let you know how we are getting on. We are saying goodbye at the house as I could not bare an airport goodbye. I'm going with the mindset that it's an adventure and life experience and it doesn't have to be forever, otherwise I'd probably just crumble to the floor! I'm trying very hard to be strong as don't want to upset the kids. This has to be the hardest part of all, makes the visa process a piece of piss! Makes selling the house look easy! Nothing prepares you for this part!