natasha2106

Hi all, we are a family of 4 currently working and living in SA, we have been here for 4 years. However, the job market here is so slow it is almost at a standstill. Hubby was made redundant as a metal machinist and it took him almost 6 months to find another job. He finally got another job but the salary has dropped by $20,000. This is just the way it is, because so many companies are closing the remaining ones can offer ridiculously low wages and know people will take them as they have no choice - which is exactly what happened to us. We are now struggling here financially and have started driving for Uber to try and make up some lost wages, however, this is poor too. We thought about jumping ship and moving to perhaps Brisbane/Gold Coast/ Sunshine Coast areas but can see that there are not many jobs for metal machinists either, showing on seek.com. So my questions are: Are there any metal machinists here who can give any advice on job markets in these areas for hubby, wages etc. What is the Uber driving like in these areas, what are the earnings like, here in Adelaide I drive 40 mins into the city everyday and turn it on and I'm lucky if I pick up one or two a week in the morning before work. I work on a Friday night until around midnight and only can pull in around $100 - $140. Uber is still very new and very slow here in SA. If anyone can offer any advice on this please. We need to work to live and currently living to work as we have no choice, not good when we are a young family thanks

Hi We are flying with Cathay Pacific on the 14th April and we have looked on the flight tickets and it says that we have laptop charger points on each seat. Now this may be a very stupid question, but .... I have phoned the airline and asked what type of adapter we would need to bring in order to plug our laptops into the charge unit and we were told that we need to have M Power Adapter and that we can buy these from Currys. I have looked at currys and there is no M Power adapters listed. Could anyone tell me if they have flown with them before and what the adapters/plugs are we need as we have two children flying with us and to charge the laptop would be a godsend!!! Don't want to turn up on the day and realise we don't have the charger required and the laptops are no use Any help would be appreciated. thanks all See you all soon:err:

Hi all, We decided to ship our belongings with *********. Cutting a very long story short, I really regret every choosing them as a shipping company and I wouldn't recommend to anyone ever!! We booked them to arrive on the Friday to pack up our household belongings, they arrived a day early and then said they couldn't come back on the Friday. They did come back after several phone calls and emails!! We had filled in all the forms confirming that we fly out on the 14th April and that we want our belongings to be delivered after 18th May, as we are in a furnished rental for 4 weeks so won't need our belongings before then. However, after ringing them today to find out if we could add an item to our belongings (which are mean't to be in storage) we are told that they have been loaded into container and it is ready to be shipped, and was then told that our belongings are expected to arrive on the 9th April.........we don't even fly out until 14th.!! So after my rant, my question is : Does anyone know what the costs are to have your shipment sat on the dockside of customs for any length of time, as we cannot collect our belongings until May as we don't have a rental to go to until after 18th May. I will be arguing with ********* about any charges, but just want to get an idea of what it is going to cost so I know what I will be up against. Any advice would be greatly received. Natasha

Hi Iron Chef Does this also work for motorbikes as we have two that we would love to bring over with us?? If it does I will send across details. Thanks Natasha

We have just shipped our belongings and used letton Percival and they come in half the price of the shipping company insurance. Good luck

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can answer his question we have some glass and delicate Christmas baubles we are sending in the container next week, is it best for me to wrap these in some bubble wrap before putting into the Christmas box of decorations for the shopping company? As I don't think the shipping company r going to wrap them individually ?? Not sure what other people have done? Thanks natasha

Thanks for this very interesting read

Hi all, does anyone know where I could get a comparable finance/budget sheet from like the ones they use on wanted down under? I would like to do some comparisons for coatings of living etc and cannot find anywhere that has got a list showing everything that is payable in oz, as I heard that they don't pay council tax - can someone confirm this pls. thank you Natasha

What channel and time is the show on? thanks Natasha

Hi Bob, we are in a bit of a dilemma at the moment regarding our dog. He is a long haired German Shepard and will be 12 years old in April, we fly out in April to Adelaide but we are struggling to find a suitable home for our beloved dog, he is very temperamental and cannot just go to anyone due to his nature and age, is there a limit on the age of a dog to take into oz? We were hoping he would stay here with family but this option is not possible, but we did feel that the flight and move may be too much for him due to his age but any advice you could give would be most gratefully received. Many thanks Natasha

Hi Bob, we are in a bit of a dilemma at the moment regarding our dog. He is a long haired German Shepard and will be 12 years old in April, we fly out in April to Adelaide but we are struggling to find a suitable home for our beloved dog, he is very temperamental and cannot just go to anyone due to his nature and age, is there a limit on the age of a dog to take into oz? We were hoping he would stay here with family but this option is not possible, but we did feel that the flight and move may be too much for him due to his age but any advice you could give would be most gratefully received. Many thanks Natasha

Hi, does anyone know of a website we can look at to get an idea of what the wages would be for a cnc setter/operator (metal machinist first class). We have been told that as long as our TRA skills comes through fine we can go for a 175 visa, so we can go anywhere, but I would like to get an idea of the wages for different areas so we can get a comparision. Thanks all Tasha

Hi All 176 Skilled Visa Looking to move to Adelaide Husband is a CNC Setter - Engineer AQF Completed April 2011 IELTS Completed June 2011 TRA Submitted in August 2011 - still awaiting a response

We are using an agent but we are not happy with them. On being told in February this year that our visa process would be straight forward, I have ended up spending hours of my own time researching and then sending it to the agents as they have not sent me the correct forms. My husband is an engineer and we were told that he had to complete the AQF - we were then given a form to complete where he ticked what he knows and has worked on to gain enough points. However twice they sent us the wrong form stating that it was suitable to his job role and in fact it was nothing like it and he couldn't score the points required. After spending about 3 hours researching one Sunday morning I found the correct form which was relevant to his job and sent it Monday am to the agents and told them that this was the relevant job role and if this is what we could complete - which turned out to be correct form and he then went on to pass the points. We have since had to complete the IELTS test to gain extra points as told we required extra points for the visa and we are still waiting for our TRA skills assessment to come back we have been chasing now since August and have been told that there is nothing they can do but to sit and wait. My husband and I are so tempted to drop our agents and move to another, but with the TRA pending we don't know how is best to proceed and really sceptical about using another agent. I think its down to personal preference regarding doing it for yourself. The forms we have had to sign which the agent has completed for us, really is not difficult, my 7 year old daughter could have filled in half of them.

Hi Can anyone please help us?? We started our process in February 2011 and have completed the IELTS and AQF (as husband hadn't completed apprentiship), we submitted our TRA skills assessment in July after the new points system came out, we have tried several times through our agent to get an update but they keep telling us that the tra haven't replied to any applications under the new points system. Has anyone applied to the TRA since July 2011 and have you had a response yet, or are you still waiting for a reply or update. Please let me know how your getting on as I feel that we are just being forgotten and am getting tired of keep chasing our agents who keep telling us the same thing. thanks Natasha :mad:

OMG! I can't believe they are now requesting more money for another department to process the application. We placed the TRA in July for my husband as Metal Machinist and he has completed the AQF too. We have been told that they haven't replied to any applications since July to our agents - but I cannot understand why they aren't giving updates. Starting to get frustrated as my husband turns 33 in February and then we won't get the amount of points due to his age!!!!:arghh:

This may be a really stupid question, but i really need to know it so that i can start sorting out costings. We have been looking at the cost of new builds online and some of the houses look amazing. however, the price you see under the house, is this just for the house, do u then have to buy a plot of land for it to go on or is it all included. Sorry if this is a really stupid question, but can't find the answer anywhere. thanks tasha:confused::confused:

Hi all, we have started the 176 state sponsorship visa. We have appointed an agent but are struggling with the AQF, as I don't get the impression that they fully understand my husbands job. My husband is a CNC Setter/Operator which is Austrailia is classed as a Metal Machinist (First Class). We have sent the initial AQF application off but now have to complete the stage 2 application form, but the agents keep sending us Metal Fabricators/Mechanical Engineer form which we have to complete and then get a score of points based on equipment he has used. The problem we have is that the machinery listed is all to do with Fabricators and welding and not relevant to my husbands job which is working with spindles, lathes, milling etc. I have spoken to our agent and they have said that there is only one form but I find this really hard to believe as we cannot gain points based on a job he doesn't do. Can anyone offer any advice please, or if you are a metal machinist (First Class) and have had to complete the AQF could you please let us know if this is correct that you have to complete this Fabricators application form? Please any help or advice would be mostly appreciated as we are on such a tight deadline as we have been told come the 1 July the chances are we won't be able to lodge our visa as we won't be eligble so we are desparetly trying to get it done asap. Thanks Natasha

Hi all, have been reading on here and have now become very confused. We have spoke to a couple of agents regarding starting the ss 176 for adelaide. They seem confident that we shouldn't have any issues with the visa process. However, we have read that some states require you to have a large amount £20,000 or so of money in a bank account to complete the process, is this the case or has it changed. We have the money tied up in our house and we don't intend on selling it until we are granted our visas. Does anyone know if this is the case for SA, as neither of the agents I have spoken to have said anything about having funds available??

My husband and I are about to start the 176 sponsored visa with a view to move to Adelaide, however the agent we have been speaking to say that they won't take the case on if they think it won't succeed. The problem we have is, my eldest daughter who is now 10 is by a previous partner, but my husband has brought her up as his own since she was only a few months old. She has no contact with her biological dad and hasn't seen him since she was 5. So wondering has anybody had any problems with the visa process when there is a child moving and there is another biological parent. Any advice would be most appreciated as we don't want to submit anything if this is going to cause us problems, as we would rather try and resolve anything that may be an issue before starting. Thank you.

Hi there, we are about to start the 176 state sponsorship visa, but our agent has quoted us £2400+vat for their fees and then £2000 + for governments fees, medicals etc. Can I ask which agent you have had the quote from, so that we can get a comparision. Sorry not been able to answer your direct question.

Hi, My husband and I are thinking of moving out to oz. We are planning a holiday out for next year to come and get a feel for the place and travel so that we can get an idea of the areas we like. However, i have read a few posts on here and tend to get the feeling that the cost of living compared to uk is very expensive. With the cost of living much higher than uk, are the salaries higher too to compensate for this?? Also what is the cost of housing like, what do you get for your money???? Is the pace of life better in oz than uk, or is it pretty much the same??? Still not sure whether it is the right thing to do, maybe we need to come out for a holiday first to see the country before making any rash decisions. Any help or advice much appreciated. Thanks Natasha:smile:

Hi everyone, I have only just registered to this, so still new to it all. My husband has said for years that he would like to move to oz, however I have always said that it is too far to move. I have thought about it, but could never make my mind up. After speaking to a customer the other week, hearing what life is like in oz and his travels etc I was hooked, it sounds great, and now am ready to start looking into moving. My husband and I have since had long discussions about moving, we have two daughters, 7 & 4, and feel it is probably the best time to move whilst they are still young. We are planning to visit Oz next year and I don't know where I start with all the planning. We are going to go over for a holiday but also use it as a guide to what life is like and have a general look around different areas to live. If anyone could advise me as to the starting point of all this, I would be most grateful. Are there any places you would recommend visiting when we come over for a holiday, what do we need to apply for, I have seen all different numbered visas, but not sure which is which. Is it wise to apply for visa before we have visited or wait until we have and have found an area which we would like to live first. I am really struggling with what to start with first, where do I look, where do I travel to?? Any help or suggestions please. Thanks Natasha

We went to an emigration expo and found a really nice family run agency to complete our visas. We are going to apply for the permanent residency visa as my husband hits the criteria on the skills shortage. We have been quoted £2700 but have to pay for the medicals separately, and i think there was one other fee we had to pay can't remember what. Does this sound familiar costings?? Spoke to a couple of other agents at the expo but couldn't get a quote and didnt feel very enthusiastic with them. Can anyone give us an idea of overall cost for agent and cost of medicals and any extras there may be to consider. Thanks Tasha

After long chats with oh, we have decided to put our rekkie on hold to oz and the money we were putting away every month to save for the trip we have decided to pay it off our loan instead so that in approx 9-10 months we will have paid the loan off and then have twice as much to save a month so would put us in a better financial position, also if husband loses his job at least my wage would pay the mortgage and wouldnt have to worry about the loan aswell. Anyway just rang barclays and asked if we can reduce the term 21 months left and pay double a month to pay it off earlier. They have said NO!! They said they cannot offer a reduced term cause they won;t let me have a new loan i said i don't want another loan i want to pay this one off asap, but apparently they have to apply for a new loan to clear the old loan with the lower terms!!!!! How frustrating I hate banks they are just greedy - they said save the money yourself and when you have enough to clear the whole loan you can repay the loan in one go but they will charge penalty for clearing the loan early and then charge me one months interest on top!!!!!!! Can u believe it, they make more money off my interest each month, more than I would earn from interest on the savings. Sorry for the rant just want to sort things out and the bank just wont budge... Tasha:arghh: