T-bone

Hi Y'all! This is a loooong one.....! I have a little dilemma that I know many people wrangle over and I wondered if there's anyone out there who may have followed through and come out the other end, so to speak. I count my blessings that I have an Aussie PR as well as a U.S. PR, but I cannot decide on where I should settle. I moved from the UK a number of years ago, and as much as I love the UK I'm content at the thought of not returning (at least that's one decision made). I keep bouncing back and forth between NYC and Perth. They're obviously quite different from one another and I love them both for different reasons. I now find myself slightly confused as to the direction I now need to take in my life as I just cannot keep moving back and forth. It's quite a wrench both financially and emotionally each time I make the move (I think I've now moved five times between them.....maybe six). I'm currently in NYC with a fantastic job and the beginning of an awesome career. I say the beginning, I'm not exactly a spring chicken, however I've switched over careers and now a VP in Global Markets and Banking for a great company. The environment is a little aggressive for me, although the money is good, but anyone who knows NY will agree that it really needs to be stellar to have the perfect lifestyle.The great thing is - I have mountains for skiing 90 mins away, lovely beaches over at the Hamptons 90 mins away, and of course a little old city for work/playing. On the flip-side I've been offered my old position back in Perth within Commercial Banking, which is similar but not quite so glamourous. The company is amazing and I really do mean amazing. I love them completely and my work colleagues were/are fantastic people. I simply adored working for them before plus I love Perth completely, even though it's a little sleepy/soulless at times. I lived in the city centre and love the fact that Perth makes an effort every weekend throughout the summer and has so many free events. The people are somewhat more friendly than NY and the air is sweet and pure (this is a big tick for me). The money is half what I earn in NY, which makes things "OK", but not exactly luxurious. My dilemma: My GF won't/can't come with me. I've been with her for a few years and she doesn't have an Aussie visa and doesn't want to lose her GC, therefore her feet are firmly planted stateside. I often wonder why she's with me as she's a lot younger than me, far more intelligent (MBA, CFA, CPA), incredibly attractive and highly principled, so she's going to dump me at some point, right!?! I often think she'll wake up and see the light and then bugger off, but that said she loves me completely and is giving me space and time to sort out my dilemma, not that I have much time as the company in Perth want me there in a couple of weeks. I'm completely torn as I simply love Aust, and Perth, and I love my old company and the people, BUT, I also love the U.S. and NY, and of course I love my gf, but I fear I'll resent her if I hang up my Aussie PR and stay in the U.S. which will result in us separating. My current job is good but I don't really like the people a great deal as they're somewhat aggressive in nature. I feel I'm a kitten in a lion's den at times! I have to question if I'm strong enough to walk away, or indeed stupid enough as I have it pretty good in the U.S.. People appear to like me (and my accent) and I've made business contacts in various locations in California, opening up a gateway for an internal transfer to a less aggressive environment with my current bank at some point in the future. Having said that, I do not wish to base my future on my job - Anything can come along and blow the wheels off, such as the next finance meltdown, so I need to control my career and not allow it to sway me - Plus, I'm not exactly the best Corporate Financier in the world, I feel I'm more Benny Hill than Warren Buffet! Question: Have you gone through the same? Have you had the strength to up and go and leave your loved one for no other reason than simply wanting to live elsewhere? Did you go running back? Have you been undecided between USA and Australia? I'm making myself a little sick with all the indecision as I have no one to confide in and could do with some opinions, and a stiff drink....or two! As mentioned at the beginning, I know I'm truly blessed so I'm thankful for my dilemma's.....kinda!

I'd sandwich it between two other pieces of news that you know they'd love to hear and then place a large glass of wine in their hand. Then I''d bring it up again a day later, whilst you're both out doing something you love (hiking, beach walking, cycling, etc.) and start talking about the benefits of healthy lifestyle whilst both of your endorphins are raging. Always good to talk about these things when you're both feeling happy!

Bangkok. HK and Singers are great but Bangkok has bucket loads more culture.

V line app for your phone is a good train timetable app. That should give an indication to train journeys and times. I absolutely love Perth to pieces but I personally have always found the work is better and higher paid in Melbourne, but then I don't work in the Resource industry and I'm not a Tradie. Melbourne definitely doesn't have beaches as good as Perth, but they are lovely in their own right. The mountains are breathtaking too! As you say - Life is short and it's great to experience all of it if you can!!

You only need to give it a scrub with some hot soapy water and ensure it's free of dirt and mud. I took three bicycles and a motorbike and scrubbed them up myself and never had any drama's.

Mereweather, just next to Charlestown is a great place. Lovely beach and REALLY friendly people. I lived in old Valentine and Eleebana on Lake Macquarie for a while and it was stunning, but for me a little boring. Belmont has a good buzz though. I was advised by local people to avoid Toronto, and the people who live there, but every time I wandered into the area (which was almost every weekend looking to buy a boat) I found the people to be fine. T

I used The Emigration Group (TEG) and thought they were excellent.

I know it's stating the obvious but...... You have five years to return on a PR and if you felt at the end you wanted to go you could "probably" obtain an RRV for another year. The passport gives you unlimited time. Personally I would obtain the passport and switch off when I returned to the UK, rather than keep thinking "If I want to move back my window is X amount of years".

I've always felt that I'm a Lesbian trapped in a mans body, therefore I'll be applying straight away! :wink: T

Ooooh -Just seen this.....I lived in Tea Gardens for a while a few years back and used to swim every day in Jimmy's Beach which is perfect IMO. I drove the Jeep to Little Gibber and camped over with an open pit BBQ on the beach at the weekends. I don't know if that helps or I'm too late.....either way I hop you have(had) loadsa fun! Tx

Hi M005 - The advice has always been research, research, research, but you hit the nail on the head - It's only when you get boots on the ground and see through your own eyes that you get a true picture of what the location is like. Even the Economist reports on the worlds most liveable cities is a subjective report. My advice to anyone is to go see for yourself before you jump in. Most people wouldn't buy a car without seeing and test driving, so why make a complete change to your life without testing first!? Good luck with the lovely Sunny Coast! T

My advice is to head south! I come from Chelmsford, which has just been granted city status. It's growing at a great rate and has some of the best schools in the country as well as being a university city. It offers easy access to London, within 30 minutes, and is within 90 mins drive of 6 international airports, so taking off for the summer hols in Europe is cheap and easy. There's a second railway station planned and an extension to the city centre shopping is already under way. It was the sunniest place in the UK a few years ago but I think it's been knocked off the perch now. It's also close to the coast and TOWIE frequently films there....What more could you want ;-)

Hi all, Posting this on behalf of my gf as she's not on PIO. We're moving to Melbourne at the end of July on our PR's (although would prefer to move to Perth but lack of work means it isn't happening). Would be pleased to hear from anyone if they think her experience/skills match any available jobs. She's on Linkedin/Seek, etc. T ........................................ QA Manager with over 20 years experience working within tier 1 Investment banks, responsible for the Electronic Trading Technology space specialising in server side end to end testing for all EMEA Equities and GLOBAL F&O algorithmic trading flow. Managing QA cycles for all algorithim upgrades, BAU and major releases, business requirements and key milestones. Allocating resources in a global capacity with teams situated in EMEA, APAC and AMRS. Lead all deliverables, communicate progress, escalate defects and ensure all releases comply with strict compliance and trading control regulatory requirements. Responsible for the ultimate sign off of the releases into production, assist rollout and support once in production beta burn in phase. Technical strengths lie with Linux, Unix, Sybase, SQL, FIX, Transact Tools, various Algorithmic engines, various OMS’s ie Fidessa, GL, Charles River.

There is always doom and gloom by UK press and a minority of economists when there's an increase in the property market. The UK has had a four year drop in prices and now a recovery is under way. London has bucked the trend and assuming the international buyers pull back (example; taking the current issues with Russia into consideration) there will probably be a hiatus, which isn't a bad thing, but there will not be a bust. The fact is salaries are on the increase and when you have this situation you have an upward drive on prices. The change in legislation on pensions alone will drive up the buy to let market, and when you have buyers that can't get on the housing ladder - they rent. This demand will again drive up the buy to let market. The simple fact is that demand will outstrip supply for at least 10 years, and therefore there is likely to be a general increase in prices during this period. Most economists are actually predicting a 14 year period of sustained growth in UK house prices with perhaps a few pauses in that time. Why anyone could "hope" there is a crash in the London/UK housing market is a pretty weird thing to say (jasepom). No one wants their house, which is their financial security, to lose money and I personally wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Good site! Thanks Bobj. I'll have fun playing with this today!

The inmarsat information now makes it more than theoretical. All that remains is to find the debris including the black box(s).

Why are the Malaysians not handing the Aussies a copy of the cargo manifest? Surely this is needed to identify debris from the flight and is a minimum given the situation. What ARE the Malaysians hiding?

The worse possible news for the loved ones. There is no doubt now that it crashed in the Indian Ocean. Hopefully this will now trigger the undersea search. http://news.sky.com/story/1231059/malaysia-plane-crashed-into-the-indian-ocean This dreadful event will definitely change the way airlines operate in the future.

A news conference to be held at 2pm GMT today. Looks as though they're going to confirm the debris is from flight MH370. Relatives are being informed "the news" in a meeting at 1:30pm.

So do the NY Times feel Hawaii should change their flag too?

So...now it seems Malaysia Airlines CEO lied and the flight WAS carrying a whole batch of lithium-ion batteries, which have been responsible for 140 other mid-air incidents, including a cargo plane crashing in 2010, and not "tonnes of mangosteens" as first stated. Dirty rotter trying to cover his butt! What else have they lied about I wonder!? Looking more and more like a fire overcome the crew....

Maybe airlines should also carry EPIRB's, assuming they don't already. Anyway, I found this timeline (one of many) floating around. It purports to be accurate.... 1.07 am – Last ACARS transmission. 1.19 am – Last verbal communication “All right, good night” from the plane; believed to be the co-pilot 1.21 am – Transponder stopped transmitting (turned off or failed) 1.30 am – Civilian (primary) radar lost contact 1.37 am – Expected ACARS transmission; not received 2.15 am – Last military primary radar contact 8.11 am – Last (hourly) satellite handshake

They're still saying it was human intervention, innocent or otherwise, with the course change, and that it was impossible for it have changed without human intervention. The facts as it stand at the moment is the aircraft changed direction BEFORE the last transmission OR entered two new waypoints in the FMS. Couple this info with the lack of distress call and switching off of ACARS and the transponder 12 minutes later and the investigating authorities still think it's highly suspicious. They're leaning towards George engaged and taking the aircraft way out to sea before binning, due to some sort of catastrophe happening, but obviously they don't know if that's correct or not. Interestingly it's reported that British satellite communications company Inmarsat informed the Malysian authorities of the 7 hours suspected flight time and possible southern arc flight path, 3 days before the Malaysian authorities widened their search. They felt it was more likely to be the southern arc due to the restricted airspace in the northern. Inmarsat have also stated if the Malaysian Airline invested £6 into the correct configuration of the box then the flight would already have been found.

Sky news is currently reporting that Malaysian investigators are saying it's the co-pilots' voice. So he reported all was OK, if indeed it is his voice, after the transponder was deactivated.

So who were in the two jump seats? Were there any pilots "Dead heading"? Do Malaysia Airways actually know? Would the pilot, who has over 18,000 flight hours really have a flight simulator for a hobby, REALLY? Why would anyone steal a plane, fly it for 6-7 hours, then drop it into the Indian Ocean to commit suicide? Surely they would steal it then deck it without the elaborate ruse.