lindsayloo

Hello! My partner and I are looking to move back to the UK with our son sometime in the next 12 months and have a lot of questions! Can anyone help with super? We have been here for almost 8 years, and have PR. Can we take our super with us? Also does anyone know how long citizenship takes and if we were to apply would this affect us being able to take our super with us? we are considering getting citizenship to keep our options open in the future. We have a house, bank account still in the UK. Does this mean we are ok to just move back? is there anything we need to be aware of? Thanks in advance

Hi there How did you find the groups? Im from the UK and live in Cheltenham and im also looking to find some groups for myself and my 7 month old boy.. Lindsay

Hi there Im currently 24 weeks pregnant, not working, bored, lonely and a bit fed up! Ive been trying to find a 'pregnancy' or 'mother and baby' group locally so I can try and meet other mums or mums to be but ive not been very successful... im originally from Nottingham and have been here a few years now but non of my friends have kids and im desperate to make some friends who are in a similar situation - surely im not the only mum to be around Cheltenham who would love to meet up with other pregnant ladies to discuss babies, names, labour anything really! Hope to hear from some local pregnant ladies - fingers crossed :biggrin:

Hi guys Just to add some bits that im aware of about this. Cooper, cats are not meant to roam here especially after dark but ive never heard of any laws enforcing the secureness of your garden. My cats are mainly housecats but are outside whenever we are in but only in the garden. In both of the gardens weve had here they have had pretty high fences but not so high that they couldnt jump them if they decided to! But I spent many hours watching them and it might sound daft but clapping my hands whenever it looked like they wanted to jump up to stop them and hey presto they have never once in 2 years jumped the fence. As judgemental said they have to be microchipped (but they have to be to enter the country anyway) and you also have to register them with your local council and pay approx $30 per year per cat. Also with regards to the pet bond, have never paid this or heard of this. You obviously have to pay the standard bond but never heard any mention of an additional pet bond. Weve just had points in our lease agreement that we will pay for any damage and also have the carpets fumigated when we leave. Lindsay

Hello again, just saw this post about Coles and realised id just posted to you about the cats! My good friend came over from Leeds and has a job at Coles. She is a buyer, a very busy job but a good company to work for. Apparantley there are more English people working there than Australians! They are striving to be more like the Asdas/Tescos of the UK and so bringing the people over with experience. What will your other half be doing there? Have you guys discussed areas where you'd like to be based? Just a tip if you are thinking about it. As the Coles offices are based in Tooronga, if you wanted to live near to your partners work then you might want to think about areas such as Malvern, Armadale, St Kilda East... We lived in Malvern for 2 years and adored it. Its fairly quiet and family orientated but has great parks, big tree lined streets and is really safe. And also easily accessable to get to the city if you were working there as there are trams and trains in Malvern that get you there in under 30mins. In terms of Coles itself I dont have a massive amount of info for you, but its definately a decent company to work for. Good luck with the move, Lindsay X

Hi Chester09 We too bought over a cat from the UK and then got another cat here. Weve been in Melbourne for 2.5years and whilst there are the odd property/landlords that dont accept them weve havent really found it to be much of a problem at all. Our very first property was brand new, never been lived in and the landlord was fine with the cat. They will often put a clause in your lease in which if the cat causes any damage you will have to pay for it etc but as you probably know (unless you have a pair of rascals) that cats over approx 2 years old are pretty well behaved anyway, most of the time. Just to add that we recently moved and upon enquiring about the cats being allowed we were told that given the current climate (recession etc) there are alot more properties out there for rent and landlords are actually being forced not to be so picky in their 'pet' decisions given the fact that it could result in them not being able to rent out their property if they say no to pets, given the fact that many properties have been on the market for 3,4,5,6+ months they arent in a position to be picky. As quoted to me be a real estate agent! When we got here 2.5years ago the race to find a place to live was extremley hard but now you have a pick of the bunch at much better prices too. Im sure you will be totally fine. Let me know if you need any details about bringing the fur babies over, will they be in quarantine at Spotswood? If so, brilliant, they were fantastic and couldnt recommend them highly enough. Good luck with everything, Lindsay XX

Hi Poms Im really hoping this post will stand out to anyone who has had IVF treatment in Australia as I really need some advice. Me and my partner have been her for 2.5years, we have a sponsored 457 visa valid for 4 years from next month (just transferred as partner starting a new job) and have recently found out that in order to conceive, our only chance is to have IVF (ICSI). We were initially advised that to do this it will cost us $12,000 and that Medicare do not cover any of this. However after speaking with a Patient Liason Advisor today at Melbourne IVF she advised that there have been quite a few couples over time in our situation and gave me some 'item numbers' to quote to Medicare so they could tally them up with the system with our details to see if we would be able to claim any cash back through Medicare. At first the lady at Medicare was adament that we wouldnt be able to but when I pushed and asked her to check the item numbers I was given by MIVF she said they were all covered....:jiggy:She actually seemed as surprised as I was! But obviously couldnt deny what was in front of her. Im hoping to hear from anyone who is also here on a temporary basis and has gone through IVF that can give us some information on your own experience? Im extreeeeeeeeeeemley happy if we do get help because let me tell you $12,000 is a massive financial burden especially with the success rates being 30-40% per cycle. Im hoping and praying that what I have been told today is correct but I cant find any information anywhere about it (I personally think they are trying to keep it under wraps and not advertising the fact which is fair enough really...) Anyway look forward to hearing from anyone soon, im not sure where is best to post this so apologies if you see it popping up all over the place! Thankyou Lindsay X :hug: PS our Medicare card is the reciprocal agreement with 'Visitor' stamped at the bottom...

Hi there This website might be of use to you, they often have specials if you stay for a few nights. They are listed in order of price, so you should be able to find something to meet your price range. Its really easy to use and is very well run. www.wotif.com Good luck Lindsay

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your replies. Im sorry I couldnt make it on the 17th it was the last weekend my partners parents were here and we had lots planned but thanks for the invite, id love to come along to the next one. Nic and Lauren, ive sent you both messages, would be great to meet you. Lindsay X

Hi, my name is Lindsay (26) and ive been living in Malvern, Melbourne for around 18 months with my partner (33). Ive made a few great friends but am looking to meet a few more people like me who enjoy shopping, cinema, girly nights, drinking, dancing and socialising! When you have a group of friends who you leave to go to the other side of the world it can obviously be hard and id like to meet some like minded people....im sure theres plenty out there! Im also available to offer advise to anyone coming over here so let me know if you have any queries on renting, furniture hire, areas, work etc etc and ill be happy to help. Look forward to hearing from some friendly people soon! Lindsay :v_SPIN:

Hi there Its cold in the mornings (well was today but yesterday was sunny and lovely) it can be lovely and warm in the sun but windy and cold in the shade. Id definately bring some warm clothes as im still using my winter coat, but dont think ill need it for much longer as it is definately warming up. Average days at the moment are 16-18. Linds

Hi Mark and Caz! I live in Malvern with my partner, we are also working professionals with no kids (yet) and we both work in the city. We are 26 and 32. Initially before we arrived we wanted to live near to the beach but we found an amazing brand new apartment in Malvern that we just loved! Weve been living there for 16months now and I just love living in Malvern. I do understand what people have said about being closer to the action but we can be in St Kilda on a tram from outside our front door in 15mins, Chapel Street on a tram in 10mins and at the beach in 20mins. Id say Malvern is more of a family suburb and can certainly be pricey but it’s beautiful. Lovely parks and trees, I also feel really safe there. We went out into St Kilda the other week and there was a riot outside a bar, literally 20-30 people fighting which was like being back in Nottingham! I then realized that im so glad I don’t live around that area J we did consider moving when our lease expired in June purely to experience a different area as were not sure how long we’ll be in Australia for and we considered moving to South Yarra/Prahran but ive just head too much about burglaries in the area and just wouldn’t feel safe. (of course everyone has their own opinions and no offence at all to anyone that lives in these areas, this is just based on my experience and things I have heard J) so we stayed put and im glad we did. Living in Malvern we are right on a tram line, and a train into the city takes around 15mins. Malvern has a big road called Glenferrie Road which I just adore! It has everything you need including supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, clothes shops, post office, hairdressers etc etc. There are also gyms and swimming pools in the area too. Anyway price wise, we pay $575 a week for our 2 bedroom apartment, and id certainly say that for a half decent 2 bedroom place in the area you’ll be looking at $450-$600 per week. With regards to bars in Malvern there aren’t many, we tend to go to Chapel Street or into the city which I don’t mind. I like the fact that there aren’t many near to where we live, and as mentioned before we can be at these places within 10mins… Let me know if you need any help or have any queries, PM me anytime and let me know when you arrive and we should all go for a beer! Lindsay and Dan

Hi Martin and Sue Hope you are both well J I wanted to give you some advice from my experience on bringing my beloved cat Mila over to Melbourne. We used a really good company called ‘Pet Air Uk’, they allocate you your own vet who is on hand to speak to you at any time throughout the process. I understand how you must be feeling, it took me a long time to decide what to do. When Mila was in quarantine I was allowed to visit her twice a week and initially she seemed to be ok, the lady at Spotswood Quarantine in Melbourne really looked after her for me and genuinely adored cats. Mila didn’t eat for a while and was pretty nervous throughout quarantine but it wasn’t until I got her home that we realized what an effect the whole thing had had on her. She arrived in Melbourne in June 07 and it’s literally taken until a few months ago for her to settle down. She became very depressed and unhappy, she hated to be stroked, touched and would even spend all her time in another room to us! She was very unsettled and it was really worrying. After a few months we decided to get another cat which we thought could either make things worse or better and initially she was very upset but now 16 months down the line she is fine. Shes loving and playful and very friendly. Whilst im sure she doesn’t have any long term effects, the first year wasn’t pleasant. Any sound or bang would really upset her and if we even got the hoover out of the cupboard she would run and hide under the bed covers. Im not sure that I would put her through that again and whilst ive had her from 8 weeks old and shes my little baby, im not sure that if we ever end up going back to the Uk that I would take her with us because of how she was. I think you need to consider the cats nervousness, are yours cats afraid of loud noises or the hoover? Are they quite timid? I don’t think that by bringing your cat over it would affect them seriously long term but you do need to consider what happened in my experience. How old are your cats? Please don’t let my experience worry you or put you off too much, I understand how much you must love your cats and how you don’t want to leave them behind. I just wanted to let you know what happened to mine and be honest.. Yes a lot of properties do have a no pets rule unfortunately, so this may be a struggle for you. But I do believe that you would find a few, maybe it would be worth getting your vet to compose some sort of letter on your cats temperaments/personalilties so that’s landlords know that cats aren’t particularly destructive (apart from mine who chews phone chargers, and has wrecked my sofa haha) I also have a clause in my rental agreement that states we would pay should any damage be done, so this would be worth mentioning to a potential landlord, I cant see why anyone can argue with that?... Good luck with your decision and your move J Lindsay

No worries guys, glad you found it helpful. And yes its perfect if you have someone come to stay as you cant rent it for the period they are with you! But bear in mind you would have to pay delivery and pick up charges and the less time you rent something the more expensive it works out as. You may find that a trip to Ikea would be more cost effective. We picked up our spare bed frame for $129 and matress for $200 and its a pretty good bed. Let me know if you have any more queries and good luck with everything Lindsay :cute:

Hi Emma Did you book it in the end? My partner flew with them last year and he preferred it to Emirates. Im sure it will be fine :cute: Lindsay X