Well, this is not only my first time on this site, but the first time I have ever joined a forum or anything similar!!
Myself (Jody), Wife to be (Nicola) and son (Reece, 10 months) are expecting our visas in July of this year and (depending on the sale of the house) plan to take that flight as soon as possible.
So many questions for anyone who would be good enough to try and answer them, but rather than bombard the forum with 100 of them, here are a few. Any feedback would be great.....
1) Are there any clubs, networks etc to support expats in Melbourne (i.e. brits getting together).
2) Does anyone have an idea of how the mortgage scheme works there. Is it 3 times your salary, 4 times combined etc etc.
3) I am currently a sales rep, would anyone know of job availability in this sector??
4) Are we going to like it there??????? We are thinking about Pakeham or Berwick to start with.
Thanks for reading and hope to hear from anyone really........
__________________
Jo (32), Nicola (25) and Reece (10 months)
hi, we came over in November and have settled in Mornington- seems the area for us Brits!!! Melbourne has some beautiful places all over. We have decided afer 6months of renting to buy a property. My partner is self employed working for a plumbing/ water tanks company and i am still seeking work (not many jobs involve sunbathing and relaxing!). we approached the bank and explained our circumstances and she worked out how much a month we could afford. Sean just had to get a letter from his work stating that he was employed by them and it was as simple as that. so now we have brought a house and will move in april! and if it is your 1st house, you can apply for 1st time house grant as stamp duty cost so much.
There are always jobs advertised for sales reps- there are the websites; careerone and seek where you can put in your location and they show you jobs advertised in all the newpapers
Final answer to final question; you will love Melbourne- not sure about the areas Pakeham & Berwick- never been but im sure someone will let you know.
good luck
Hi Jo, Nicola and Reece.
I too can vouch for Mornington, beautiful place. Anywhere along that coastal line is lovely though. My father moved to Melbourne 4 years ago and absolutely loves it. We have been to visit twice and just absolutely love the place. He lives in Sandringham which is 20 mins on the train to the city. It has a very nice community feel, gorgeous beaches which are maintained daily, a really nice centre with shops, cafes etc and lovely costal walks. It also has very good schools. Got lots of photos if you are interested? We are moving out there in April this year after my partner receiving sponsorship. It has all come around so quickly though, we are yet to sell our house!! We are moving closer to the city, probably somewhere like Brighton, Port Melbourne, Elwood area. Just because of the links to the city really. I too was going to ask about any clubs/networks in Melbourne for the ex-pats so if you hear of any, please let me know. Anyway just wanted to wish you all the best.
Take care
Kathy (25) and Niall (32)
Many thanks for your response. I would be so grateful for any photos of Sandringham, it sounds like the ideal location to settle, my email address is jody.cooper@btonnect.com.
It is so reassuring to hear stories like you fathers who has lived there for a while now and loves it, we are obviously very nervous but that makes us want to go tomorrow!!
Regarding the expat club/social, if there isnt one already running official or not then it is something I will definitley be trying to organise wether through this site or not - im sure it would be a success.
Anyway, keep in touch and let us know of your progress.
Jody, Nicola and Reece
__________________
Jo (32), Nicola (25) and Reece (10 months)
Many thanks for your response. I would be so grateful for any photos of Sandringham, it sounds like the ideal location to settle, my email address is jody.cooper@btonnect.com.
It is so reassuring to hear stories like you fathers who has lived there for a while now and loves it, we are obviously very nervous but that makes us want to go tomorrow!!
Regarding the expat club/social, if there isnt one already running official or not then it is something I will definitley be trying to organise wether through this site or not - im sure it would be a success.
Anyway, keep in touch and let us know of your progress.
Jody, Nicola and Reece
Hi Jody,
Sent you some pictures of Sandringham to your BT account. Hope you get them okay.
Will keep you updated of our progress.
Kathy & Niall
Hi
We are also planning to go to Melbourne. Hope to get our visas within next 6 months. We went to Pakeham in October 2007 for a family wedding. We didn't get to see ALL of the area but it was fairly close to the city and seemed a nice area. We ourselves are planning on looking further away from the actual City in Geelong areas but haven't visited there yet, hoping to go out again this year for a recce.
Lesley
We are a family, Steve 32, Sarah 33 with two children Emily (nearly 5) and Harry (nearly 2) moving out late April/early May 2008 on a 457 visa. We would love to meet up with some fellow poms.
My husbands job is in Clayton South and we are looking for suitable areas to live with good primary schools and kindergaden/pre-school/nursery faciltites.
Also abit further out - does anyone know what the Cranbourne area is like?
Any help - would be greatly appriciated as its all abit confusing at the moment!
Hi
We have relatives living in Cranbourne. It seems like a nice area but we were only there a few days so not able to make a really good opinion. However, what we saw we liked. We could see the city in the didstance at from their upstairs and we caught a train into the city which was only about 20-30 mins away so close enough if you had to work there. We also have relatives in other suburbs and also Philip Island. We are hoping to go to Melbourne ourselves but have been looking at Geelong as we don't want to be too close to the city.
