Phil & Vikki

Would like to wish you all the best and from what you say it sure sounds like it is the right thing for you and yours to do. You hit the nail on the head where you said:

"Anyone moving here, please don't think life is perfect here - the weather is sometimes crap, you still have to go to work (and work long hours!), the healthcare isn't as good, its expensive and you won't pick up friends that easy but if you have dreamt of doing it"

It is true and sometimes the dream can shadow the reality. In saying that though it is one of them things that if people want to, they should give it a go. It is better to say that you gave it a go rather than what if? In these times of uncertainty there may be more people thinking of going back to what they know. But at the end of the day it is a life experience that will live with you forever.

Good on you for doing what you really want to do and we wish you all the every best.

It sure does not make for good reading and hopefully things will not be as bad as that. However, you only have to look at the shops that are going and ask yourself what is going on. Hopefully, thinks will not get as bad as the UK and Europe.

Currently we are with Optus paying $30 a month. However, we are seriously thinking of leaving them and going for the the TPG sim only deal. They give you more data and minutes (that can be used overseas) for only $18 a month. There does seem to be some good deals coming out at the moment and Virgin are doing unused credit roll over.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply's. We are looking around $750k for a house really. had a look on domain at area's like Pymble, Gordon, Nomanhurst, Thornleigh. We've been told that places like french forests, St Ives, and around those area's are nice but haven't been able to get there yet to have a wander around. Anyone have any opinions?

Cheers

Vikki

For us, we are still trying to figure out is it is greener for us or not. We have not been able to move into the 'dream ozzy house' yet and if we want to it is going to cost a small (well big) fortune. The cost around 800k, by the time you convert this back to UK pounds, you cound get a really nice house for that price. So either way, if you want a nice house either here in Australia or in the UK, you are going to have to pay. We still have to work hard here as we did in the UK for every penny that we have and it is as easy to spend it here as it is in the UK. We are in Sydney and recently there has been so much rain and cold weather it remands us in being back in the UK. So for us we are not living the 'dream' yet, but we hope to start to soon.

When considering coming out here, people have to remember that there is no easy ride and it will be hard here just like in the UK. Most people have to work hard for their money, be it here or in the UK. The wages may seem far better here, but that is most of the times balanced out by the cost of living. The beaches are nice and the job prospects are good here and yes Australia does seem to be doing far better than the UK economically at the moment, but with every up, there is always a down. We do not know how long it will take, but they usually come.

In saying all of this though, we would still say to anyone considering moving out her, to give it a go. Like one of the big issue sellers was saying on New Street in Birmingham, a few years ago, 'give it a go, your mom will never know'. It is better to of tried and failed than not tried at all. It is true, it can be greener out here, but it most of the time takes a great deal of work to get it green.

Hi All, just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for us. We currently live in north sydney but are looking at buying a house. We both work in north sydney and the kids are settled in daycare and school and we don't really want to move them. We have been looking at north sydney/waverton/chatswood area's but the houses (looking for a 3 bed place) are either not what we want or too expensive. Can anyone suggest any nice places within about 20/30 mins drive (and if it has a train station even better) of north sydney to move to? Or if anyone has any suggestions of place that are not that nice so we can stay away from them.

Thanks all, Vikki

We took a few adapters over with us and then slowly phased them out. We went to bunnings and brought a few of the ozzy plugs and put them on the electrical items that we used. We found that easier than trying to get the adapters to fit the plug sockets here in oz. However, in the short term, the idea of going to ikea and getting a few four way plugs.

Oh yes forgot to mention that Costco appears to be really good out here too. We used to go to the one in the UK quite a bit, but have not been to the one here yet. Everyone we speak to though says it is really good and when we get a car that will be one of the first places we visit.

We have not read all the replies, but thought we would add our ideas to the pot. We were initially worried about the food bill before we moved out here, but when we got here we found out that it was not that bad. We usually are able to get our weekly food bill down by a third on the amount you originally quoted. If you are willing to shop at local markets and shops like aldi, the food bill can be managed. That is for the four of us. We only shop at places like woolies and coles when they have the specials on. We have found that making soup is good around this time of year. It is healthy, good and filling and the best thing is that it is nice and warm, something we have found that we need in the winter.

Hi Stevo, sorry to hear that your moving back to the UK. We hope that is has not all gone pear shaped for you out here and wish you all the best with the move back.

Thanks for the reply, that is not as bad as we thought. If the cost is coming in at that figure, it may be a viable option.

We are living in Sydney currently and was thinking of bringing out our cat from the UK. Does anyone know how much money we would be looking at to do this and what kind of timelines are involved?

Was sent this the other day and thought that it made for an interesting read for anyone who is thinking of renting out their house in the UK when they move to Oz:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-2152701/Taxman-target-buy-let-landlords-taxi-firms-Del-Boy-London-market-traders.html