Bobbsy

I went through all the paperwork about 7 or 8 years ago. Even though it often seemed that they only handed out a visa when the weight of the paperwork matched my weight, in the end it was worth it and I've loved my new life down here since August 2007.

+1 for what Alaska said. We actually see fewer spiders here than we did in the UK (they seemed to love our bathtub there) and, when we do see them, 99.9% are immature huntsmen which aren't much more dangerous than the common British house spider. I should say that, in common with a lot of our neighbours, we have the house sprayed every spring. That said, we also indoctrinated our lad (who turned 3 a few weeks after we arrived) that spiders are dangerous and to be avoided. We did too good a job and now, even at 9, he's still scared of them and panics every time he sees even the smallest baby one that he could easily stomp on.

One thing to consider that's not been mentioned is the age of your stuff. If things are relatively new that might make shipping a better idea--but if you have things that would be replaced in the next year or two then ask yourself if it's really worth shipping. The list of places above has the ones I'd suggest but I'll just give a +1 to Fantastic Furniture for the "furnish a room for $200" kind of deal and Super A-mart ( personal favourite) who, for me, have the right mix of price and quality. Don't forget to haggle, particularly in Super A-mart. We've bought a fair number of things from our local branch and always managed 20-25% off the marked price that you'll see on their website. ...and I have to agree about that Crown comparison. It totally ignores haggling (a part of any big purchase here) and sales.

I grew up in Canada and feel right at home...shopping centres here are more or less identical to Canadian ones, even down to K mart being common. The only difference is that there they have shopping centres because of the cold; here it's because of the heat!

Even if you can't be scruffy surely you must die of the heat if you wear the same clothes you worn all your life. I wouldn't wear shorts and a T shirt to an office...but I wouldn't wear a wool suit either. Something lighter and less formal is totally acceptable--dressed up for me would be cotton trousers, an open neck cotton shirt and, if necessary, something like a linen jacket.

Don't automatically accept the tales of how expensive things are in Australia. The reality is that SOME items are more costly, many are about the same and I've even found some things cheaper. Do you research online--compare electrical prices at Comet with those at The Good Guys or Harvey Norman (but take 10-25% of any Aus online prices as haggling is the norm. Do similar with furniture between your favourite shop in the UK and Super Amart (for mid range stuff) or Fantastic Furniture for the economy end of the market. Bedding may be one of the items that IS more expensive here (though there are frequent sales at all the main outlets--we've never paid anything like the "regular price"). Also, be aware that there are minor differences in the sizes of beds and mattresses here. You can generally make English stuff work but it might be a bit loose or tight depending on what size you go for. Yes, you can be asked to pay duty on any goods less than a year old--but, unless you rub their noses in it by (for example) leaving bedding in the original packaging it's unlikely they'll check in detail (but if they do, don't blame me!). Yes, there are restrictions on wood. Generally, professionally treated/painted stuff will be okay--but any "raw" wood will be stopped. Having said all that, I'm with snifter. We only brought personal stuff and bought new (or second hand) over here. That worked for us and the only regret is that we didn't leave even more stuff behind. Edited to add: Oh, and we've been buying our toilet paper at Aldi lately--a 24 roll pack of 3 ply really soft stuff is $8.99. If you're a hardier soul (or bum) than me the 2 ply is even cheaper. Is it really worth shipping?

Golly there must be some fashionistas here on the PIO. I'd never know the difference between a T shirt or jeans sold here or at ASDA/Tesco. As for the quality of manufacture, I doubt 90% of what's on sale is made in the UK or Aus...it all comes from sweat shops in Pakistan, Bangladesh or India.

+1 We half way furnished our house with second hand stuff when we arrived...we went new for the stuff we really cared about but things like our dining room table, bedside tables, guest room beds (but with new mattresses)and a ton of other stuff cost almost nothing second hand. Similarly, my stepson is a fashionista but hangs out at St. Vinnie's. He's picked up two different designer jackets in mint condition for $5 each over the past 2 weeks. Heck, I've even found six really good second hand mic stands online for a fraction the new cost! Oh, and my hi def video camera came from Cash Converters.

The Pom Queen has it in one. They literally don't make them like that any more. If you go back and really compare things, the cost of appliances as a percentage of the average household income was considerable higher 30 or more years ago--but what we were buying was built infinitely better. Frames and sheet metal were heavier and stronger, wiring and electrics were simpler and heavier duty and so on. There also built in such a way that maintenance is much more difficult as well. Nowadays, to keep costs to a minimum the quality is also at a minimum and things in our throwaway society are designed not to last. Frankly, besides the price, I'm sure there also an element of planned obsolescence forcing you to buy new every few years. The amp and monitor speakers I use in my home recording studio are presently 36 years old. Nothing I could buy today could last a fraction as long.

We've had several good experiences shopping at Super Amart including a large corner sofa. Their prices are definitely lower than Hardly Normal but, at least on the things we've bought (sofa, king bed, chest of drawers, TV stand, etc etc.) the quality has been excellent and, at least in our local store, the delivery is incredibly fast. Once they got there (with our bed) before we got home. If you do go, don't forget to haggle. We've always got 10-25% off the listed price and/or extras thrown in for free.

I bet the British banks would have said "no" in 2006 as well but since then they've eaten up something like a half a trillion in tax payers' money. Yes, the tax SHOULD come off shareholder profits rather than customers but we all know that won't happen. However, it's also fair to say that, in the event of an insolvency, the depositors will also benefit rather than losing all their money.

Exactly. The tax SHOULD come out of bank profits though I'm far from naive enough to believe it won't be passed on to customers. However, if the government is expected to insure the banks (and, more importantly, their depositors) against insolvency then the banks should pay for this insurance policy. Whether this revenue is ring fenced or just goes into general taxation matters little since the government would have to spend far more than the revenue from a 0.05% tax generates if one of the major banks goes under--but it's a start. In any case, this is the precise opposite of Cyprus and alarmist headlines like "Rudd Doing a Cyprus" smack more of a Murdoch newspaper than fact. As for the $250,000 thing, again remember this is NOT being taken from individual accounts--just from the banks assets in general. This is simply a way of limiting the banks' liability rather than benefiting the rich. As for Rudd being a "narcissistic egomaniac" it more accurate to say that he simply refuses to play the games demanded by the men in grey suits that lurk in the background of both parties. Rudd is the closest thing I've seen to an honest politician (an oxymoron I know) but I believe he genuinely has the interests of his country and its citizens as a priority instead of the special interest groups (miners like Gina Rinehart spring to mind) who bribe and bankroll most politicians. Judged on his track record, he was a good leader who made Aus the only developed country to not go into recession and also kept his promises like the apology to the aboriginals and the withdrawal from Iraq. This last point is important. I hope you've all read the Wikileaks documents showing that Julia was helped in her coup by the Americans (from as much as five months before her "night of the long knives" because they were unhappy that Rudd was not toeing the US line on things like China, Afghanistan and Iraq. Did we really want a PM installed by a mix of the party backroom boys and the Americans because they wanted somebody who'd do what she was told? Finally Abbott. Frankly his stance on the NBN alone is enough for me to see what an incompetent loser he is. He's flip flopped his way from being totally anti anything like the NBN to now proposing a "solution" that engineers agree is unworkable and will, in the long run, be more expensive than the fibre to the home solution the "real" NBN is installing. This is just one example of Abbott not knowing what he's doing--but it sums up his policies (or lack thereof).

Er, I just went and read up on this. Isn't it really the exact opposite of Cyprus since the revenues from the deposit tax will go into a "financial stability fund" to protect savers from bank collapses. Perhaps if Cyprus had charged a 0.05% tax a decade ago they wouldn't have needed a 20% tax today after the place basically went bust. And, yeah, Abbott is an utter embarrassment. His total inability to formulate and stick to policies, coupled with his bigoted "Christian" values should render him unelectable.

Hmmm...so many thoughts to reply to. First off, I'm sorry but home made healthy eating is cheaper than buying processed stuff if you do it right. Even if you're using stuff from the out of date section--and you can't count on anything being there--you can also get clearance fruit and veg cheap at the end of the day. If things are really tight I can make a big pot of vegetable soup or potato soup that'll last our family of 3 about 3 meals. It'll cost between 20 and 30 cents per person per meal and be a heck of a lot healthier than a diet of donuts and penguin bars. Too busy to cook? A soup takes around 10 minutes of prep then just simmers by itself for a while. That might be longer in total than something zapped in the microwave but, in terms of actual work, it's little more. It's not just soups of course. Using the cheapest cuts of meat I can make hearty stews for only slightly more per person per meal than the soup. Pizza has been mentioned. Depending on the topping, I guarantee I can make home made for less than the cheapest in the supermarket freezer. The only thing you have to watch when things are tight is that you need a stocked pantry--the jar of supermarket brand tomato paste may cost $1.50 but, once you have it, will make toppings for probably 12 or more pizzas. Another person said something about it being a different world with people only shopping once a week--and processed food lasts longer. Partly true--but anything that spoils can just be cooked in the first few days for one meal, then served as leftovers later on. Planning menus is difficult? Aw, c'mon. Planning a week takes a couple of minutes and, so long as you stick to the plan there's no waste. Have limited time due to work? Before I retired I was a commuter--on a train at 7AM and not home again until between 7 and 7:30PM. I got round this by planning my menu so I made anything that took time to cook at the weekend so I could reheat leftovers later in the week. Otherwise I'd plan in things that could be quickly cooked. It just takes a small amount of planning. On the topic of teaching cooking at school, this certainly happens but I think it's far more important for children to see cooking done as a matter of course AT HOME. The best instruction in cooking at school is pointless if, at home, the children get a steady diet of microwave pizza and penguins. Sorry, but I see most of the objections to healthy eating as excuses not fact.

I think we're talking about two different groups of people though. Somebody trying to eat on the £1.66 per day is going to struggle horribly and I agree it would be darn near impossible to create a balanced diet on that. However, there are also the people out there who, as per Perthbum's original post, claim that they can't afford fresh food and have to eat supermarket processed food and takeaways. I call bunkum on that--processed meals and take-.aways cost far more than buying fresh food and cooking for yourself. We had a "cheap" takeaway tonight to celebrate Friday and, for what we spent on one meal, I could have fed the whole family for two or three days...with far healthier food.

For once I have to agree with you 100% but would just like to add that I think the other part of the problem is that too few people know how to cook anymore. If you can cook fresh food (and do a bit of planning) you can eat really well for very little money. Just as an example, maybe have roast chicken with all the trimmings on Sunday--chicken, potatoes, veg etc. If you leave at that, it would be expensive but, unless you have a large family, there'll be enough meat left on the chicken to make a curry or maybe a chicken and veg pie on Monday. Then, on Tuesday, pull all the little scraps of chicken off the bones and simmer the carcass most of the day to make stock. Add a chopped onion, a chopped potato or two, some chopped carrot, at handful of something green (beans, leek, whatever), maybe a handful of frozen corn the chicken scraps and, if you like, half a tin of kidney or haricot beans. Simmer until the veg are tender and you have a lovely soup, probably enough for at least two meals. or, instead of the veg, add chopped onion, finely chopped celery a third of a pack of cheap spaghetti broken into really short lengths and a bunch of parsley, either dried or fresh finely chopped. Simmer for 40-60 minutes and you have chicken noodle soup. One chicken providing 4 meals. Or, if you're even more broke, potato soup can be just some potatoes, chopped onion and a mix of stock (i.e. water and a veg stock cube) and milk makes a nourishing meal for the family for pennies a serve. Or throw in a couple handfuls of frozen corn and call it corn chowder. All these ideas--even the original roast chicken dinner--work out cheaper than taking the family to Maccas. You just have to know how to cook and have a bit of imagination to eat well on very little money. I know...been there, done that.

Sorry, missed that there had been more traffic on this query. Anyhow, I've been taking advice from the pensions adviser who set up the scheme in the first place. He basically agrees with what Andrew from Vista financial said and we're working out what's my best option even as I type. For Andrew, the reason I say that I have no expectation of a UK government pension is that I'd signed papers to opt out for the company scheme I'm now living on. I was on this opt out for the entire time (31 years) I spent working in the UK. ...which answers the other question. Prior to August 2007 I was in the UK for 31 years and prior to that I was in Canada.

Interesting that your licence took 4 weeks, Nohea. I had to renew my licence last December (five years being the maximum duration...time flew). When I first got my Queensland licence, they handed it to you then and there so the new system was a surprise to me. However, the temporary licence seemed fine--except it included wording about only being valid for x weeks (think it was two but I don't have it any more) and that if the permanent licence didn't arrive in that period you had to go back and see them. As luck would have it, I was in hospital when that period expired with no photo licence--and the real thing turned up in about 4 weeks like yours. I put it down to the Christmas rush but I'm now wondering if this is the norm--if so they should get rid of the dire warnings about the temp licence expiring.

You should still worry. They have an uncanny ability to take the worst licence photos you've ever seen!

The hard part can be the proof of a permanent address. If you were sorted out quickly with an address then that's no problem but, at least in our case, we weren't "permanent" for about 3 weeks then it took another month or so before we had paperwork like a utility bill to be used as proof. That page I linked to lists are the acceptable stuff and the "proof of address" part is tucked away at the bottom of the Category B ID section. FYI, I've had my Qld licence for six years so if there's been a change it was before you got here--however, the list on the web site looks the same as I had to work to.

As others have said, it's a relatively easy straight swap here in Qld...but it's a bit more than just proving your address. You have to have the whole "100 points of identification" routine with you, including some proof of address. This won't be a problem after you get established and have the various paperwork associated with living here but you might be nearer the 3 months period before you have the bits and pieces. ID requirements for Queensland are listed HERE. As I say, none of this should be a problem...just don't want you queuing at Main Roads without all the right paperwork!

I lived in fairly-central London (Notting Hill) for my first six years in the UK and never bothered owning a car. The mix of tube, bus and taxi, along with a car rental when I wanted to head out of London was WAY cheaper and far less frustrating that trying to own and park a car. When we moved out into commuter land, we did buy a car--but even then I used the train to get to and from London. The car was for around home out in the sticks and for long trips like camping holidays in Scotland. Too bad they're not putting enough of those fines into improving the Underground. It was sad watching it deteriorate and get excessively crowded over the 30+ years I was using it--all the while while fares rising to stupid levels.

Adobe (I use some of their Creative Suite software) have just slashed their Aussie prices after being thoroughly humiliated at a Parliamentary committee hearing. Would that the others would feel the same humiliation.

Yeah, I see that the actual maths involved is basic stuff--just not the point of having to reverse such a long list of operations. I was actually wondering if this was trying to introduce some of the skills of algebra without the scary x. After all, the last box are just a silly way of representing something like: x/2=7 (again no division sign) and so on. Personally, I find "reversing" more confusing than solving for x but that's just the way I was taught. In any case, I can see far more real world applications for a bit of algebra than a long series of boxes. Believe it or not, I still use algebra in my daily work at age 60!

Our lease said the same--I think it's a standard wording. However, a bit of negotiation with the landlord gave us permission to hang things so long as we used proper picture hooks and small nails--turned out their bigger concern was things like tape or blue tack that tear the surface of the wall. Strangely, the managing agent (probably to justify their existence) actually specified a maximum number of hooks--but this was so big we'll never hit it.