New in Melbourne

[limeychick]

Hi all,

Just wanted to introduce myself as a newbie on PIO. I have just moved to Melbourne with my partner, we have been here 7 weeks now and settling in well.

Unlike most of you moving to Oz this move wasn't a life time dream, it was very much thrown upon us. One day my partner called asking if I fancied living in Oz for a bit and then within a month we have given up our home and are now living here! It's been a huge whirlwind and probably the craziest 2 months of my life but it's been worth it, so far.

We have no idea how long we are going to stay so I think this makes it easier for us i.e. I don't miss home so much especially at the moment - what's with the weather in the UK; floods and hail in July!

I'm sure the homesickness will come in time but at the moment it's all good, the 3rd and 4th week I felt quite depressed but blame dark evenings for that. Our Visa is for 4 years but if things go well and are still here in 2 years we will probably apply for our skills visa.

I look forward to giving any advice I can to those back in the UK, especially to those on business sponsorship and reading about all your adventures.:)

[peppa]

hi limeychick

what an adventure you have been on.. we are planning on moving to melbourne next march ish... is it as lovely as people say? where abouts are yOu living? we are trying to decide on that at the moment- our short list keeps getting longer!

any advice would be great

peppa and co. x

Peppa 31, owen 30, mackenzie 10, poppy 7 finegan 1, lilac 5months.

[MarkandTrace]

Hi There..
Glad your settling in well.
We where granted our 457 Visa today..but new last night when we looked on the government site.
My Husbands company over here has companies all over the world lots in OZ too.So thats where we are off to Victoria as soon as this house sells.
We are not to sure where to live just yet...thought either Mornington..Brewick....Cranbourne..Bentleigh..Lang Warren..Oakleigh..he he not many.
Where are you Melbourne its self.We are hoping to after two years go for permanent residency I was also told you can after 1 year if you have worked all that time.
My son is coming on our visa too...but my Daughter is 22 and dependent but lives at home,she couldn't come on ours so we have gone for a years working Visa for now.If Kirsty likes it then we will apply for a second Visa.We can then sponsor her after the two years as she will be the last remaining relative.
So any help on shopping for bedding etc will be a great help cheers.
Kind.
Regards.
Trace....

Originally Posted by limeychick

Hi all,

Just wanted to introduce myself as a newbie on PIO. I have just moved to Melbourne with my partner, we have been here 7 weeks now and settling in well.

Unlike most of you moving to Oz this move wasn't a life time dream, it was very much thrown upon us. One day my partner called asking if I fancied living in Oz for a bit and then within a month we have given up our home and are now living here! It's been a huge whirlwind and probably the craziest 2 months of my life but it's been worth it, so far.

We have no idea how long we are going to stay so I think this makes it easier for us i.e. I don't miss home so much especially at the moment - what's with the weather in the UK; floods and hail in July!

I'm sure the homesickness will come in time but at the moment it's all good, the 3rd and 4th week I felt quite depressed but blame dark evenings for that. Our Visa is for 4 years but if things go well and are still here in 2 years we will probably apply for our skills visa.

I look forward to giving any advice I can to those back in the UK, especially to those on business sponsorship and reading about all your adventures.:)

[andyandyvonne]

Originally Posted by limeychick

Hi all,

Just wanted to introduce myself as a newbie on PIO. I have just moved to Melbourne with my partner, we have been here 7 weeks now and settling in well.

Unlike most of you moving to Oz this move wasn't a life time dream, it was very much thrown upon us. One day my partner called asking if I fancied living in Oz for a bit and then within a month we have given up our home and are now living here! It's been a huge whirlwind and probably the craziest 2 months of my life but it's been worth it, so far.

We have no idea how long we are going to stay so I think this makes it easier for us i.e. I don't miss home so much especially at the moment - what's with the weather in the UK; floods and hail in July!

I'm sure the homesickness will come in time but at the moment it's all good, the 3rd and 4th week I felt quite depressed but blame dark evenings for that. Our Visa is for 4 years but if things go well and are still here in 2 years we will probably apply for our skills visa.

I look forward to giving any advice I can to those back in the UK, especially to those on business sponsorship and reading about all your adventures.:)

hi limeychick
great to hear your settling in, like everyone else dying to know where you are.
i suppose we will all be asking you loads of questions in the near future, where is this and how much does that cost , whats it like, you know how it goes.
so hope you enjoy your stay however long it may be, and look forward to hearing from you again
best regards
andy (kangeroo jack)

[Rue 66]

Hi, glad to hear you have settled into your first few weeks in Melbourne! How are you finding it - have you got jobs yet and where are you living????

Loads of people on here seem to be heading Melbourne way so we are all keen to know what you think of the place, we are hoping to be out there earlyish next year (still waiting for Visa approval at mo !).

Jus playing with these smiley thingies - cute ain't they!

All the best
Gill, Phil and Harry (8) - and waiting for that Green Light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

[newnico]

Hello, Limeychick

Read your other post with great interest, especially as I'll be settling in Melbourne in November. I thought what you said rang absolutely true, particularly in terms of being realistic about the negatives, yet enjoying the positives. For me on three trips so far one of the nicest things has been chatting to people everywhere and the fact that no-one hangs back from offering advice and information, which can be really helpful. I love the feel of Melbourne as a city. Whereabouts are you living? Did you find rental property OK? That's my biggest worry at the moment.

Anyway, welcome to PIO. Lots of us are still stuck in Blighty but you'll probably find quite a few in Melbourne already. And there's also Britvics, which like PIO is nice and friendly and organises meets. Hope you continue to enjoy life there, and let us know how it's all going. It can be very reassuring to read the negatives as well as the positives, cos you think if that's the worst that can happen, well I'm not bothered.
I know what you mean about the USA, too. Spent three years there when younger, had a green card but to the final day people were telling me what a cute accent I had, it gets you down. Also lived in France, much easier, they carry on treating you as a foreigner, but not in a bad way. Our first year, one of our neighbours asked if we celebrate Christmas in England. I still see that as a missed opportunity. If only I'd thought quicker, I could have said ANYTHING and she'd have believed it.

[manykids!]

Hi thanks for your reply to my question about sponsership, it was good to hear from someone who is actually there in Oz and doing it! In answer to your question, no its not me who will be the sponsered one, but my husband -and no we are definitly not having any more children -four is enough! I assume that as you are looking for work that a spouse can work on a sponsered visa, I currently do supply teaching a few days per month -not enough hours to qualify for a skilled visa unfortunately -and would like to do the same once settled in Oz.

Anyway glad all is going well for you, look forward to hearing how you get on in future
Zoe x

[limeychick]

Hi all and thanks for your replies lovely to hear from so many of you.

Feel free to ask questions I’ll do the best I can to answer. To answer those so far:

So what am I doing here:
I am a spouse on a 457 visa accompanying my partner who is working in the Melbourne, CBD as an IT consultant. I am not working at the moment but am in the process of looking.
We don’t have children so all my experiences are from a 30 somethings POV working and living in and around the CBD. Most comparisons I draw are based on the fact we previously worked and lived in London.

Firstly, 457 visa
There are no work or training restrictions as a spouse on the sponsored visa.

Secondly, property & locations
Yes the rumours are true, there is a rental shortage in Melbourne but it depends on what you are after. If you are looking at a 2 bedroomed apartment and have a budget less than $450 in the CBD then you will have a lot of competition. Having said that we found our 2 bedroomed place which is lovely, fully furnished, gym and leisure facilities and 15 mins from the CBD – although we are paying reasonably highly for it.

I live in East Melbourne which is considered a reasonably prestigious address (we didn’t know until we moved in, a pleasant surprise which explains the high rent).

The property agents do a good job of scaremongering, they warned us of competition for properties they advised us to be early for the viewing and told us to be prepared for at least 40 other viewers – in reality the agent was 15 minutes late and no one else turned up! Conversely a viewing in the centre of the CBD on a lower priced property did have throngs of people but we didn't like it.

note: Property viewings are unlike the UK and mostly rely on open house viewings booked on selected dates.

I have no personal experience of any other suburbs or further a field but have friends who live in East Brunswick and Carlton – once I get a better picture I’ll post what these are like.

What I know so far: Fitzroy & Brunswick - Arty and thespian, Carlton – Italian, Docklands – very new, still developing similar to London Docklands 5 years ago lots of restaurants and quite windy, South Yarra – great shopping, considered a bit P.O.S.H, St Kilda beach– lovely beach area reminds me a little bit of Brighton, lots of promenade development going on.

Lastly, shops
I’m not so familiar with shops outside of the CBD, especially for kitting out a home as we have a fully furnished place, but they do have IKEA here so that would be my first point of call, plus there is a huge department store in the CBD called Myers it’s the equivalent of House of Frasier/Selfridges. There are quite a few Homeware stores around as well I’ll check the names next time I’m in town and post them if that's of any use.

Sorry for the long post but seemed a few questions to answer, hope it's some help, tell me to shut up if it's too much info!

[lef237]

Hi All and welcome to the newbies!!

I'm 30 and came over here on my own in January, working in IT the CBD. Through one of the other message threads (Hello Melbourne) I'm trying to arrange some drinks in the CBD maybe for next Thursday? If any of you fancy coming along top send me a message and I'll sort out some details over the weekend and post them out. The more the merrier, it'll be great to meet up with some other Poms

Enjoy your weekends
Leanne

[limeychick]

Sounds like a great idea, let us know where you're planning on having it and what time and how we'll recognise you and we'll pop along.