Zoot

What I find odd is that you can keep 2 dogs and 2 cats but are not supposed to have 4 dogs or 4 cats or 3 dogs and 1 cat - huh? How crazy is that!!

As for cats running around killing all the small wildlife - that is a good joke. Sure you get some cats that kill everything in sight and others that dont, but clearance of land for housing also kills animals as it destroys their habitat, cars and trucks kill masses of wildlife so it is a multifaceted problem not just restricted to cats.

What about a pharmacist? If you regularly get your prescription from a pharmacy then they may be an option.

It is hard when you have moved so far and things arent going too well. I would also suggest he starts looking for something else. If they want to know why he wants to leave his current employer he doesnt have to get into all the details, just says that the employer wants him to move to Melbourne now but having just arrived and gotten the family settled he is not keen to uproot them again. A perfectly good excuse and part of the reason. Unfortunately it does seem that there are employers who take advantage of the 457 visa and hold it over people's heads.

Is there anything in his contract to say he would pay the employer the costs for moving you over?

Just hang in there!!!

Personally would suggest you do your licence in the UK and then it is a simple matter to swop it over when you get to Oz. At least in the UK there are friends and family who can watch the kids or activities they can be involved with when you are busy learning to drive. When you get to Oz it is going to be go go go, get kids into school, sort out all the ins and outs of living in a new country and add the pressure of learning to drive to that and it sounds like a recipe for disaster. I know many people have done it and coped fine but easier to learn where you know where people can recommend a suitable school etc. Less than a year to learn and pass you should be fine. Contact a driving school get them to run you through the whole process - some of them probably offer a course of lessons and can pretty much give you a heads up as to how much you are looking at for lessons and how many lessons you would need on average to go from learner to licenced.

What about him looking into a short term house share or boarding house type of approach. That would probably be cheaper than a hostel, would give a feeling for the area where you as a family are considering settling and is a fixed address whilst sorting out all those other day to day things. Hostels and furnished apartments can work out very expensive and if you are wanting to save money so that you have something in hand when the family is finally together again any saving is worth it.

What about someone from the bank? They may not "know" you but they would know of you surely as you would keep an account with them.

Minister of religion?

Any of your neighbours "professional" people that you have at least had a nodding acquaintance with?

I think the only feasible way is a company sponsored job....can anyone offer any help on the best way to get this? What is the best way to apply for jobs from over here? All the jobs advertised are saying only to apply if you have a visa in place.

How about contacting companies directly that deal with your line of work - even ones in the same industry and see if they arent looking for staff. Unfortunately if it is an agency job they wont deal with people who need a visa unless the company specifically says it is prepared to sponsor.

Two I know that do small quantities are seven seas worldwide and u-bag. Have heard of people using both and being pretty satisfied with the results. Also check out excess baggage companies.

A lot of the vets work in conjunction with the rescue organisations to rehome cats/kittens and some of the large pet supply stores have a pet rescue element to them as well.

Else check out gumtree for your area - there are always people on there looking to rehome cats/kittens. However be careful if it is a pedigreed animal you are after as some of the advertisers on gumtree can be dodgy and it would then be better to make contact with the organisation that represents that type of cat who would be able to direct you to a reputable breeder.

Just curious why do you not want to go to South Australia?

Also have you checked out the availability of your type of work in Melbourne? If your skill wasnt in demand for Victoria does that mean they are over supplied with people in your line of work and would you be able to command a better salary if you went to South Australia?

I would suggest at least giving South Australia a go and then if it doesnt work out at least you can say you have tried. I think the concept of a moral obligation is that if has been described you cannot find work in the State that sponsored you or you receive another offer they are not going to stand in your way BUT under normal circumstances you would be expected to stay for the 2 years.

The salvos and other op shop are good for plates, mugs etc. and you can also get furniture (may not be the greatest but when you are setting up all you are looking at is function when you are sorted worry about style). Also check out community notice boards and garage sales. Also ask around at work, at your church (if you are a church goer) or if you belong to a club there are often people upgrading or downgrading and wanting to get rid of stuff.

You can pick up a basic phone at the post office, some of the supermarkets have phone sections (needs to be a larger branch of the supermarket probably in a mall), then of course there are the electronics stores which sell a wide range, some convenience stores also sell phones - of course you can always try cash converters. One thing to be aware of though is that some of the cheap phones are network locked so that makes it difficult for example if you choose a Vodafone but find that where you land up living doesnt have good reception and another network would have been better. So probably better to try get one that is not network locked initially so that at least you can try the different service providers and see what suits you.

If it is only the Oz plug you have an issue with then why not get a phone in the UK and just buy a new charger in Oz?

There was something on the TV about cats hating the smell of citris so you could always put orange peel or such like around where the cats are hanging out to deter them.

Pretty much anywhere would be fine - I cant think of anywhere that is completely unsuited for young families so it is more a case of what your family enjoys i.e. if your children are particularly musical or sporty then you may find a particular area better. also where are the opportunities best for work at least that way you can afford to give them the opportunities you would like to be able to.

I think that Adelaide is a great place for young families there is always something on often for free and being relatively compact (certainly in comparison with cities like Melbourne or Sydney) it is much easier to get around.

But summers are HOT very HOT (temperatures can go over 40 degrees), winters are cold and wet (but not freezing).

Perth is also a great place, beach culture, pretty laid back but can be a bit far from the east coast states (may not be a problem for you).

Schools - each state has excellent schools and each one has rubbish schools just like anywhere else in the world so again unless you are looking for a particular kind of school it is more a case of finding an appropriate school in your chosen state.

At the end of the day it is where you and your family would feel most at home and you may even find that to be somewhere like Tasmania or Darwin.

Yeah very common, apparently when they do the shots for migration they are not supposed to include the lepto but because it is part of the usual batch of shots that dogs receive (and if you dont know to tell them to specifically exclude it) it shows up as a positive when they do the blood tests.

All you do is wait a while - the next blood test should come back at normal levels showing that the high reading was due to the lepto in the shot and not the actual disease.

It is such a pity - an incredible opportunity to go and see another part of the world, to live there and there is even an offer if she doesnt like it to return and she isnt willing to consider it.

Whilst it sounds harsh I think the parting may be the best thing for the relationship. I can see potential problems in the future. Even if you stayed in the UK you may find a year or so down the line that for you business to prosper you would need to move to a different area where perhaps you were better located for clients - this issue would then arise again.

Perhaps she will reconsider when she hears how you are getting on. If not better you sort these issues out now before there are kids involved.

Talk to your landlord but you may be able to find someone else to take over your lease so there would be no loss to you or the landlord. Why not put the details on the forum there may be someone who is desperately looking for something in the area you are currently in.

There are heaps of post on the forum where the one partner loved Oz and the other didnt and they had to decide what was the best whether to return or stay. Nobody can tell you definately what to do it is between you and her. Some couples have chosen to stay some to go and for each that was the right decision at the time.

It is quite short notice to give her to come to that sort of a decision (not sure if Oz is something she had ever contemplated before) BUT at the end of the day this is going to be the first of many decsions you will need to make as a couple (that is if you see this as a long term for every after type of relationship). How you resolve this one will set the tone for the rest of the relationship where there are going to be areas where you will want to do different things.

Is there any particular reason why she is not keen on Oz, is it Oz or just leaving the UK that she is not happy about? Does she have a good job that she is reluctant to give up? Is it that she doesnt want to leave family?

I think for your peace of mind you need to go to Oz. Putting distance between you and your GF whilst hard initially will help you to work out whether you would rather return to the UK and her or stay in Oz with this job you have been given. Perhaps with time she will change her mind and the idea of taking a working holiday to Oz will grow on her. Nobody says yshe has to stay there for the duration of the holiday visa if she hates it she chucks it in and returns to the UK. You need to get Oz out of your system either one way or the other and she needs to decide whether she wants to stay with you and head to Oz. Perhaps if she could identify what her objections to Oz were you guys could work those issues out together .

Not easy making a move to a new city.

My advice hang in there. I guess if you had accommodation where you felt more at home that would also help you feel more settled. As you are on your own why not consider a house share situation. It will be a bit more homely than a motel and you may even get some good house mates into the bargain. That will at least give you a chance to catch your breath, look around and then find something else that suits you better. Break it down into a series of smaller steps.

Maybe work out for yourself a couple of short term and medium term goals. So if you think that ok if I stay in this cheaper shared accommodation for 3 months I will have saved enough for the deposit for a better type of accommodation then you dont get so hung up on the non ideal accommodation cause it is part of the journey not the destination.

Look for ways of saving money and doing free activities. At least if you are out and about you can forget your worries for a while. See if there are others from PIO who are in that area who you can get together with - will at least help you to feel less isolated.

The wobbles you are having are natural - dont give up and go back, I think you would always wonder what if.... You are on your own which makes it also difficult and lonely but on the other hand you dont have to worry about moving children from schools or having a wife who isnt on the same page as you. You admit you have recently moved so you are still feeling a bit unsettled, give yourself credit and dont beat yourself up. Perhaps work out some alternatives for yourself e.g. if after 6 months I am no happier, then what? That will at least take the pressure off you from a NOW decision and gives you a chance to see how things pan out.

When you hit a stumbling block you ask!! That is what most of us do - there usually someone who encountered the same problem and solved it (usually through asking as well). What is good is that there are so many people who are going through the whole process that there is usually someone a stage ahead of you and where the info they give is pretty fresh and up to date.

Just FYI a lot of the libraries also have WiFi so can be another place to use when you are sick of Maccas and when you want to save credit on your dongle.

I had the Optus dongle but the problem I found was that it would keep losing signal (I was near the city and not in a black spot). Then you have to go through the whole log in routine again and as you are charged each time it makes the connection you can run through your credit very quickly without doing much. Also it didnt give you warning that your credit was running low so you would just not be able to connect and would have to figure out if it was a technical issue or whether you had run out of credit. It is a great concept in that you can be anywhere and use your computer but the costs are high for what you actually get.

Wow cricket I cant believe the strain you have been through. Glad that you are making a success of things in the UK and that you are back where you feel at home. Had things been different and your ex not had an agenda with the move to Oz your story may have been hugely different so dont blame yourself. To me it seems like your kids like putting you in the middle of their quarrels - your son struts his stuff telling everyone how well he is doing and your daughter takes the moral high ground - yup typical sibling squabbles. Seems to me it is time to focus on you and whilst they will always be your kids they are adults now and responsible for their decisions. They must take the consequence of their actions either good or bad. If your son chooses to buy everything for his wife and run into debt doing so - good on him. He is the one who has to make the repayments. I have met many people who seem to have the same attitude that his wife has so dont feel it is somehow a failure on your part. There is a definate sense of entitlement amongst a lot of young adults - we are entitled to all the good things in life, our parents/society etc were all rubbish, treated us badly and now they owe us. Tough you owe them nothing!!! We may not like the decisions our parents make but our response to those decisions is up to us and is not our parents responsbility.

You gave them a chance to live and work in another country - terrible parent you are.

Take the time for you and your life, no more free hand outs and dont let them see their attitude gets to you (may be just trying to provoke a reaction). No fun if the person you are hoping to hurt doesnt appear to care one way or another.

That is a tough one - you definately sound like you need to go back even if it is just to settle things in your mind. Sometimes distance gives us rose tinted lenses and we need to check things out to know if it is reality or a dream. Dont make your decisions around your children - staying for them or going and expecting them to come along are both unrealistic options. They have their own lives and you may head back to the UK and then they meet someone and are off somewhere else. Have you discussed this as a family? Perhaps dont burn your bridges here in case you want to come back. Maybe give it a year or so in the UK and see how you find living back there, whether you settle in again or whether you feel that it is not the place for you. 8 years away your life has changed significantly from when you were living in the UK.

If you want to use an agent - rather go with one who has been recommended on the forum there are heaps of dodgy ones out there who will happily tell you you qualify, take your money and then do nothing or stuff the whole process up.

DIY or agent - your choice but also not an either or - some people have booked an initial consultation with an agent just to confirm that they are on the right track with their occupation etc and then done all the actual work themselves.

Reasons to appoint an agent:-

your nominated occupation and what you actually do are not a simple one on one match

you dont handle all the form filling well or you dont have time to minutely check everything (remember though you will still need to go around and collect all the documentation yourself)

you are coming up to a critical birthday when delays may mean you no longer qualify

you or someone going with you have health or other issues that may cause a problem with the visa and you need the expert advice of an agent to guide you through it

But if everything is very straightforward no reason why you cant do it yourself.

I think the cost for the 887 was about $230 and then it costs about $40 to get your Australian Federal Police Clearance which you do before applying for your visa (you can wait till they request your police clearance but they seem to process the 887 quite quickly I think they say 6-10 weeks so not likely for it to expire)