ok,,,,, , has anyone come over as a lone parent (of 1) please?? is it doable??,,

ok,,,,, just wandering if anyone has attempted Adelaide/other area as a lone parent.... is it "do-able?"??

I am outgoing, sociable etc... But it is obv. a big big thing,

any thoughts please,,,

hope to stay in central suburbs/poss Hallet Cove,,,,

Do you cope with being a lone parent without support where you are? If so, you will probably cope just the same in Adelaide. Will your child's father permit the child to leave UK? That's often the bigger hurdle to jump over.

ok,,,,, just wandering if anyone has attempted Adelaide/other area as a lone parent.... is it "do-able?"??

 

I am outgoing, sociable etc... But it is obv. a big big thing,

 

any thoughts please,,,

hope to stay in central suburbs/poss Hallet Cove,,,,

Hallett Cove isn't central it's south (sorry a bit picky but that's just the way I am). There are lots of people over on Poms in Adelaide that live down that way though. Not sure if any of them are lone parents, but might be worth asking on there.

I did, my son was 16 so didnt need to rely on family for support. Need to be aware as Quoll says though that you may need permission depending on circumstances

Do you cope with being a lone parent without support where you are? If so, you will probably cope just the same in Adelaide. Will your child's father permit the child to leave UK? That's often the bigger hurdle to jump over.

Sure Quoll. Thank you.

Hi,

I ended up a lone parent and found it very hard indeed without a support network. Everyone is different I know, but firstly I would think how easy you find this will depend on how young your child is, what sort of visa you would be coming on and what your intentions are for finding work, financing yourself.

If you are not entitled to concessions of any sort due to your visa status you will find child care can be very expensive. This certainly had an impact on me as child care was so expensive compared to the weekly wage I could earn, so it wouldn't have been cost effective to work. I couldn't obtain any financial help at all from the government and had to be totally self reliant when it came to money.

As others have said, ask yourself - how do you cope right now? If you rely on a friend, neighbour or family for anything at all, how would you cope if that person disappeared? That's how you'll feel in Oz, because it will take a long time to make new friends.

I'd say unless you can get permanent residency, it won't be economic for you to come, because on the shorter term visas you're not entitled to childcare rebates (and childcare is very expensive), and of course you can't get any benefits either.

Also consider the cost of moving. You'll need money for: air fares, moving your belongings, a few weeks' stay in a hotel till you find a place, a rental bond (a month's rent) plus rent for the first month, a car (even a cheap second-hand heap here is $5,000), buying furniture etc again if you don't bring it with you (flats here are rented UNfurnished). You'll need several thousand dollars. Can you afford that? If you can, what happens if you don't like Australia after all? Will you be able to afford to do the whole thing in reverse, or will you find yourself stuck in Australia?

Finally, I'm probably reading too much into this, but there's a thread here somewhere from another single mum, who came to Oz with the idea of starting a new life after divorce. She is unhappy and wants to go home, and says she's learned that coming to Australia just because you're running away from something isn't a good reason. So, if you're moving with the idea of "starting a new life" after separation or divorce, I'd strongly recommend starting that new life in some other part of the UK or Europe, not halfway round the world in Australia. Emigration is a very stressful thing to do, and it makes an enormous hole in your savings - which is not the best basis to start again.