WelcomeIf you are new to Poms In Oz and migrating to Australia or currently living in Australia feel free to say hi to all the other either in or moving to Oz.
I jumped the gun and posted a question without saying hello - not used a forum before!
We are a family of 5 - kids are 7, 4 and 1. We like the idea of moving to Oz but from reading this forum and taking advice, we have managed to get a 4 month sabatical from work so that we can come over and suss out where we want to live or more importantly that we can earn a living. At present my OH is a gas engineer and I sell antiques so we want to find out about opportunities for him 'cos he has got a good job here with good pension and am not very good at the stay home mum role so I need to make sure I can work (maybe my outlook on life may change when we get there!).
We will be Oz between April and July and the plan so far is to buy a motorhome to tour round in, we just sold our one here in the uk, the only thing is they seem very expensive so I am going to have to investigate this further. Hiring will cost around £5000 for 4 months which seems xpensive.
We would love to be able to meet up with some expats while we are travelling round so will keep an eye on the pio meets.
We are open to suggestions on where to go and what to see and if anyone else has been on a 4 month trip with young kids - any advice would be greatly recieved.
One last question - Does anyone think we should start the ball rolling with visa before we go - can this be done? We were going to use an agent but were shocked when we found out the whole process would cost us over £6,000 including their fees (£2000 agent, £1500 visa, vetassess £1200, medicals £1200 etc) so we thought we might save some money doing it ourselves.
The trip sounds fantastic, and I dont see why there is any reason you can not start your skills asseement before you go.
Its a difficult one knowing where to go we went on our research trip to Brisbane and it was fantastic, we travelled up and down the coastal areas of the sunshine and gold coast and then crossed the border into NSW.
Thanks for the reply, I am exited and nervous about the trip because it is going to cost us alot of money and I hope we are not being too caucious by coming for such a long visit - the same amount of money would pay for us moving to oz but we just don't know where to start with location and jobs.
Thanks
Viks
We started the visa process before taking our trip to Oz. After visiting it confirmed everything we thought and we were so pleased that we werent going to have to wait a year or more to get there! Just waiting to sell the house now!!
We used an agent as we didnt want to risk getting anything wrong and lose out on all the money it costs. We used Visa Bureau and they were great!
Good luck with the visa and I hope you enjoy your trip down under as much as we did!
Hi Viks Wow sounds great - i wanna travel round aussie one day in a camper van - my hubby has already done this but says i would love it too - i really cant wait. We are on the Central Coast NSW so if your out this way give us a yell and love to meet up you - have fun gizmo
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Just wanted to say hello and welcome to PIO. Personnally I would start the process asap as there is a great deal of waiting to be done and at least you can spend some of that time trekking round Australia!! All the best!
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Hiya and welcome to poms,,id start the ball rolling before you go ,as the others have said it takes aggeess,,,,,, camper vans arent cheap to hire but if you can finance it ,its definately the best way to have a look around at your own pace,good luck with the kids but they will be fine ,tire them out on a beach and then drive,lol,,if you get up around the Gold Coast Hinterland be sure to drop in here for a brew and let the kids unwind a bit !!!
Cal x
Thanks for all the replies and offers for visits - if we are in the area will take you up on them!
Last night I was getting cold feet and thinking the rekie might be an extravigance on the money front and should hold off and do the same rekie but once we have the permanent visas - oh now I don't know whats for the best.... Scared to make such a move without a rekie but think its going to cost us so much money that could be spent on something else!
I think you are doing the right thing by spending time in oz, deciding where you want to settle before making a permanent move.
If you are aiming to start your trip in Sydney you can try the Kings Cross car market (not the prettiest of places)! for a vehicle, although with 3 children you might find all the vehicles for sale are a bit on the small side, mainly camper vans and cars. We found our campervan advertised in the "Sydney Trading Post", it also covers a wide section of NSW. Alternatively google "travellers auto barn" as they offer a buy back system so at least you won't be spending the last few days of your trip trying to sell your vehicle.
Hope this info helps, good luck and enjoy your your trip!
