Considering moving to vic. Trying to get a skilled visa as my occupation is on the demands list so expect to pass. After reading many of the threads i can't find anyone with any regrets. So I am asking the question does anybody who emigrated to oz especially victoria melbourne had any regrets and is selling up to move back to old blighty. From blighty it does seem like the grass is greener in oz than dudley west midlands england. And the weather here on april 12th is a high of 8c central heating still on and not been of hardly since october, and forecast more rain tommorow. Also if i stay in england paying 1200 council tax petrol 94p a litre, pensions in crisis, retirement age will be lifted to 70, homes too expensive for starters, brother in law paying 130,000 for two bed flat so not much hope of kids getting a house. Taxes keep going up, tax freedom day is in june now, (what is it in oz) tax freedom day is when you calculate how much of your annual salary is tax. Plus made redundant 2nd time in 12 months and wages crap. Really hate britain now. Also schools are poor. NHS is shutting hospitals as they are all over budget by millions, very few NHS dentists so everyone needs to go private. And britain is getting worse. Is Oz better than this?
:lol: Anything has to be better than this! All your hates are the reason we are applying! Go for it, what have you got to loose? We are at the same stage as you, posted our TRA application today!
The hardest part is leaving family behind but our parents retire in few years so they can stop in oz for few months and flight returns are around the 500 mark which is well worth there while. Reading in the papers today about many pensioners cant afford retirement. Also my cousins cant get on the property ladder. So have to go really for my kids futures and reaching old age in the uk is a nightmare as each year passes by. I worked out that will need to save 200 a month for 25 years to get a 5k a year pension whereas at rates 10 years ago would of paid up 23k. At least in oz we wont have big fuel bills and will be able to retire and walk the dog round all those lovely parks and see the sights anytime of year. The great escape is on.
The thought of growing old here is very depressing, sitting in the cold not being able to afford the bills, but hey sitting in Oz is far more appealing! Grow old gracefully, have a round of golf, walk along the beach or just sit in the huge back yard in the sun! sounds bliss. We don't really have the problem of family....we don't see them an awful lot anyway, however my sister, hubby and their children are also applying so that is a wee bit more comforting. I do undertsand your concerns, now we are really going for it I think everything enters your head, am I doing the right thing? won't know until we've tried.
Glad we're not the only one's with these thoughts.
Hi Arnold, we are just up the road from you in Bristol. Our application is in and we are hoping to get the final yes(fingers crossed) in the next couple of weeks. We also have two kids currently aged 2 and 7.
Thanks to this website and others we have got alot of info from people who have already made the move. There are lots of downsides to moving half way around the world, but these seem to be outweighed by all the good points. Good schools, good weather, decent food and sunshine to keep the arthritis at bay in a few years. The UK seems to be going to the dogs and we can see nothing in our future but doom and gloom! If you are wealthy its a great place to live, but, if like the majority you have to work hard for a living its becoming a sad, dirty, grey place to spend your days.
We are hoping to go south of Perth to start a new, virbrant life and give you children the best future we can.
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Bored in Bristol - ready to fly out 21st August for good.
Considering moving to vic. Trying to get a skilled visa as my occupation is on the demands list so expect to pass. After reading many of the threads i can't find anyone with any regrets. So I am asking the question does anybody who emigrated to oz especially victoria melbourne had any regrets and is selling up to move back to old blighty. From blighty it does seem like the grass is greener in oz than dudley west midlands england. And the weather here on april 12th is a high of 8c central heating still on and not been of hardly since october, and forecast more rain tommorow. Also if i stay in england paying 1200 council tax petrol 94p a litre, pensions in crisis, retirement age will be lifted to 70, homes too expensive for starters, brother in law paying 130,000 for two bed flat so not much hope of kids getting a house. Taxes keep going up, tax freedom day is in june now, (what is it in oz) tax freedom day is when you calculate how much of your annual salary is tax. Plus made redundant 2nd time in 12 months and wages crap. Really hate britain now. Also schools are poor. NHS is shutting hospitals as they are all over budget by millions, very few NHS dentists so everyone needs to go private. And britain is getting worse. Is Oz better than this?
Hi there I grew up in Stourbridge/ Amblecote not far from Dudley and can honestly say that I would never go back there from where we are in NE Victoria. We have moved around a lot in the UK and were living in south Bristol before spending a few years in Belgium and basically can say that if you are willing to work at the move you should be more than happy. The people who seem to have the most difficult time of it are those with VERY strong family and friend ties who have never moved out of their comfort zone and find the shock too much. It becomes really difficult if it is easy to move back and just slip into your old circle of friends etc. For us though we have moved so many times that we came here fully aware of the work involved in making a new place home.
We are living about 2-3 hours from Melbourne towards the NSW border and can go into the mountains whenever we like, and even manage day trips to the beach. The kids have settled really well here and they are far more relaxed than they were before. I can honestly say that things are easier in the sun because even if it is cooler here the sun is shining most days.
Good luck with your move.
Nicky :D
i agree totally with all of you on this post!!! Who wants to work til they are 70????
This coutry will be in a state in a few years time,especially for the next generation,we have 2 kids and are lloking forward to something different,,a better lifestyle and not to pay through the nose for everything that you do, especially when the weather is c--p!!!
And as the saying goes if it dont work you can always say well at least we tried!!!!!
Check out paul gallagher's post in expat & arrival's gossip. I makes interesting reading and perhaps puts things into perpective a little. After all, it's easy to get all starry eyed about moving down under!
It's worth bearing in mind that this is just one man's opinion. Australia simply wasn't his cup of tea. And there don't seem to be many like it on this forum. Most people's comments seem to be positive. His comments certainly haven't put me or my family off.
There is a reply in the thread from an Aussie in England who can't wait to get back home.
In the end I think you just have to do as much research as possible and keep your expectations realistic. Like anything else in life - its what you make of it.
To us, Australia is all about opportunities. Its still a growing country with loads of room, affordable housing, good employment opportunities and decent weather for most of the time. But only a fool would believe it is a utopian paradise. There's no where on this planet like that!
I warn you though, they are brutal on that website. Not like the nice friendly bunch that you get on here.
The majority that are unhappy seem to be in Perth. Haven't heard too many complaining aobut Melbourne. It shocked me reading some of the things people put but we got over it and decided still to go for it.
Agree with Tom, keep your expectations realistic, Australia has it's problems too, it's easy to get caught up in the excitment of the whole process ... for us (and this is only a personal thing), we gave ourselves a bit of breathing space once we got the visa (6 months), it helped us to put things into place in aus, (accomodation, schools, bank , jobs etc), and I'm sure that security has helped us settle very quickly. We still work but the quality of the time we spend together as a family in comparrison seems far better here than back in the UK.
