Younger OnesA forum especially for teenagers and the younger ones making the big move down under. Its here to discuss all things with migrating and living in Australia.
Hi everyone i'm a 17 year old lad and my mum and dad have been speaking to me about moving to ustralia they have got the ball moving now and i'm not sure i want to go and i know my mum and dad wouldn't force me but i don't know if at 17 bye the time they move nearly 18 i'm too young to live so far away from all my family i was just wndering if anyone could help me or just throw some general advice my way well thanks in advance
Hiya Im also 18 but turning 19 soon and we have just recieved out visa's. Were going to be living near perth and at 1st i didnt want to go and i felt just the same about not being able to support myself yet. Ive now decided that i am going to go and give it ago, as everybody says you can always come back! My boyfriend of just over a year has also decided that he wants to apply for a working holiday visa's and come over with us, so hopefully all goes well. Good luck message me if you want to chat some more.And if anyone else around my age is moving over to perth i would love to try and make some friends before i go. Thanksss x xx
Hi Britlad
I can only echo what's been said on here already but just to say that I have a 17 yr old lad who has come with us - we have been in Oz since end Feb so only just over 3 months and he is settling incredibly well.
He left behind the most fantastic, scatty bunch of friends and it was incredibly hard for him but he still keeps in touch via msn/myspace etc but he is gradually making new good friendships here with equally lovely scatty kids!!
He turns 18 in Sept when the whole place will open up even more for him - can go into clubs/pubs etc!! and is even talking about moving into a shared house in Brisbane with his new found friends from his place of study at that time (coz money grows on trees an he doesn't have a job hehe) I think he will return to the UK once his study finishes coz that is where his career is likely to take him but he talks about it less and less as time goes on.
Like everyone says, treat it as an adventure, if it works for you great, if it doesn't you are likely to be old enough to return to UK and fend for yourself and have a wonderful life experience.
My son is will be 17 this year and he says he does not want to go. Obviously, he'll miss his friends and it seems like a big move. But Kdal is spot on, if you treat it like a long holiday then you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. If your parents are applying for permanent residency then you will be on their visa. This means you only have to live in Aus for 2 out of 5 years to get your Aussie passport(and keep your British one). Then you can come and go as much as you please for the rest of your life. See it as an adventure, i hope my son does.
all the best
Darren
I have always been lead to believe that you have to have citizenship in order for you to come and go as you please???? Perhaps someone can tell me if this correct or not as I too have an 18 yr old son in the same boat as Brit Lad, however, after much deliberation he is all fine about going. If you do decide to stay here in the UK Brit Lad consider also if your mum and dad can afford to give you financial backing. I know we will not be able to and as for him staying with grandparents is not viable as ell as they are only on a pension. It's an opportunity for you to have a grand adventure, all be it another one, give it a go as they say he who dares wins!! LOL
Good luck and if you need to talk to someone your age then I have 2 sons one 16 (17 this year) and another son 18 at mo. just send a pm if you want to.
Cheers for now,
Helen
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176 Submitted online 24/01/08. Visa Granted 25/07/08.
Hi everyone i'm a 17 year old lad and my mum and dad have been speaking to me about moving to ustralia they have got the ball moving now and i'm not sure i want to go and i know my mum and dad wouldn't force me but i don't know if at 17 bye the time they move nearly 18 i'm too young to live so far away from all my family i was just wndering if anyone could help me or just throw some general advice my way well thanks in advance
Hello britlad,
We arrived in Adelaide in Nov 2006 with our then 17 year old son. He didn't like the idea of coming and leaving all his mates at school and his swimming club.
As the school year doesn't start until January we decided to let him have a break from all studying from Nov until Jan. But as he was a good swimmer we got him into a club straight away.
He never looked happy and told us that he wanted to go back to the UK, and was always up until the early hours chatting on the MSN to his mates in England.
He gave up swimming after becoming a South Australian champion in the 100mtrs BS and began school in Jan.
It was only when he was at school that he started meeting some really good lads, and decided to take up "footie" as his new sport. He now loves it here and enjoys going out at weekends to the clubs in the city.
We as parents feel that he is a lot safer on the streets of Adelaide at 3 in the morning than he ever was in Bexleyheath (Kent). It bought it home to us when we found out that one of his old classmates was knifed to death in Sidcup a couple of weeks ago.
He is now enjoying his life here, and Australia will have a lot to offer him. He has good friends that I hope will last a long time.
Hope you have a good life in whatever you choose to do
I have always been lead to believe that you have to have citizenship in order for you to come and go as you please???? Perhaps someone can tell me if this correct or not as I too have an 18 yr old son in the same boat as Brit Lad, however, after much deliberation he is all fine about going. If you do decide to stay here in the UK Brit Lad consider also if your mum and dad can afford to give you financial backing. I know we will not be able to and as for him staying with grandparents is not viable as ell as they are only on a pension. It's an opportunity for you to have a grand adventure, all be it another one, give it a go as they say he who dares wins!! LOL
Good luck and if you need to talk to someone your age then I have 2 sons one 16 (17 this year) and another son 18 at mo. just send a pm if you want to.
Cheers for now,
Helen
You can come and go as you please until your visa runs out (5 yrs after granted) but after that would have to reapply for a residents return visa. Citizenship can only be obtained after 4 yrs of living in Oz now unless validated before 1st July 07 and yes, that when you truly can come and go as you please for good!
Also, I go along with Helen, if you send us a PM I will pass your details on to my son too.
Only being honest at first you may find it hard as you will know no one, I dont know if you plan on going to uni? but the hardest thing will be finding friends if you just plan on coming over and doing nothing it wont take long before you are missing your friends and want to move back.
If you put yourself out there and say hello to people and tell them what your about it wont take long for you to find yourself a great group of mates, being 18 you can drive as well as drink (hopefully not at the same time) Cars are more expensive to buy, but insurance is alot cheeper than the UK. (maybe you could use blackmail on your parents for a car, ie i'll come if you buyme a car!! lol)
Travelling around Oz in hostels are a great way to see Australia find work and meet peoplebut i take it from your thread the reason for coming is to be with your family.
Apprenterships are a great way to get a start, Jobs in the building industry are well sort after, If you want to further your education and uni isn't for you you can look at a tafe course.
There are plenty of jobs in Australia for un skilled workers its the same as the UK work is there for people that want to work.
Sport is also a great way to meet people and Australians love there sport but be warned you will take some stick for being a pom when it comes to cricket and dont mention the rugby lol
Good luck, i guess what im trying to say is get out there and mix, people are very friendly in Australia. Do it now before you get to tied down with work etc, i meet that many people that say IF ONLY!!!!! dont be one of them..... make the most of what life throws at you, you are young if things dont work out everything you left will be waiting right where you left it.
All the best
Geoffrey
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Kind Regards
Geoffrey (32, an aussie!!), Tracy (35), Jake (7), Jessica (2) & Joseph (1)
Hey :) my names Holly and im 17 and im moving to Perth next summer when I'll be 18 after my a-levels. When my family first mentioned it I was sooo against it, im still not 100% sure but I know it'll be better for my family and we can have a much nicer house and stuff. I didn't want to go, cos I thought I could just go to Uni here so I wouldn't live with them anyways, but I realised that I didn't wanna leave them - also what would I do for christmas andholidays at Uni ! Id have no family lol.
Im also worried cos we move in the summer, and Uni starts in January sometime so there's a whole 6 months of nothing! But I see it as a sort of adventure thing so maybe it'll be great, who knows :) message me if you wanna chat some more, I never see posts from 17 year olds on here lol (:
Hiya
We emigrated in August last year, our 17yr daughter and 15yr have had no problems adapting to life here, I thought we would of hand problems with them leaving all there friends but they are happy and settled they keep in touch via the net with their uk friends but its got less and less over the months, when I have asked them if they think it was the right decision to move they both said yes! This is the land of opportunity. hopes this helps Pip
Thanks everyone Bye the sounds of things most 17 year olds do settle and i have been offered an apprenticeship out their with my dads company so i have a job to go out their too. I am still not sure and another question is how much is insurance out their and cars because i am taking my lessons and would really like to know if its cheaper out in Oz than it is here well thanks again
What a lovely sensible lad you seem to be........it is a tough choice but if you decide to go Im sure you wont regret trying it.
My O/H and I took my 17yr old out for a 6 week holiday Dec 07, and whilst he loved it he made the decision he doesnt want to live there with us......He has cousins who live there and they get on really well, but he also has older siblings here (UK) who he said he couldnt leave behind.
To say I was dissapointed is an understatement but we have ploughed on ahead with our plans to move to OZ by the end of 09. NOW, he tells me that when we get there he will follow us out about 2 months later for a long long holiday..........not sure how long he means!!!! He will be almost 19 by then. One other thing is, all his mates here tell him he's crazy for not going with us and how lucky he was to have had the 6 weeks there.
Everbodies advice on here is spot on, give it a try, you have nothing to lose but stand to gain some wonderful life experience!!
Good luck on you decision.
__________________ Wendy & Colin 176 visa Vetassess passed May 08, Ielts passed June 08. App lodged online Sept 08. Meds & xrays done October 08
