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Thank you so much that's really helpful if you

Hi all, does anyone know which are the most up to date course revision books we need for the Pearson Acamdemic test. I've emailed company direct but am still waiting a reply. The ISBN number on their website seems to be a 2012 book. Is that the most up to date version or is there newer out? Any links to where we can get them?

We are going to look into Brisbane. A few hours online has shown plenty of work for carpenters there. My sister is going to put us in touch with her friend who lives there with a family. I'll post a new thread on the Qld page to get some info so apologies if you see my name pop up again with similar questions. Thank you all again for replying and taking the time to help

their situations are different, my friend who lives in Cronulla does not have children so less responsibility and my friend in Manly does have a family but her husband had a very well paid job. My husbands friend did many years in Sydney but has settled with his family in Newcastle and wouldn't go back to the busy city of Sydney. So it has been difficult to get a comparison with what our life would be like

Thanks Marisa I do appreciate the time you've taken to replying I agree it's best we have all the information including the negatives to avoid making an unwise decision. I'm certainly going to give some thought to Brisbane instead then as it might offer more of what we want for less cost. I don't know a lot about the suburbs in Brisbane but an old work colleague lives in Caloundra and my sister has a friend who lives in Brisbane so I'll make enquiries

Thanks Bungo and I do appreciate everyone's honesty and views and it is indeed what I asked for when I started the thread. I guess I perhaps wasn't expecting it? My husband would go self employed sub contracting I expect as he can earn more. It's not so much the job offer we were fixed on as he might not even work for that company, but more that there did seem to be a lot of work for carpenters in Sydney so we felt he had a good chance of work there. Whereas other parts of Australia we weren't so sure about his employment prospects

Thanks both for your views. I have received such a mixed bag of advice. Apart from one or two most on this thread have been very negative which has been disheartening to hear however I appreciate people's honesty. I do wonder, if Australia in terms of education, work hours etc isn't what it's made out to be for many UK migrants why so many still go? On the other hand I have spoken with a few friends who live in Australia now and they love it and would never come back, two friends who live in Sydney and two who live elsewhere in Australia. But clearly there's a reason you all feel the way you do too so it must have many down sides too. I have to say we are more confused than ever ...

thank you for your reply. It's good to read. We are definitely not doing this for the money as we earn ok here and have a house whereas we know we'd possibly not ever own a house there and will be living in a small apartment for a long time. I'd never work as a solicitor again either I doubt so would earn less. It's hard to explain why we want to go. Quality of life? The time we get together as a family is scarce and maybe we want that little time to count more? So beaches, outdoor living etc? And I know Sydney has seasons and gets cold too but when you come from Wales and it's never nice and summer weekend plans get cancelled due to poor weather all the time. We spend thousands and thousands on holidays just to have time by the sea in the sun and spend so much money trying to keep our daughter entertained over school holidays and weekends. There's very little to do where we live. We all crave an adventure. It might be hard but life is short right? I'd love my daughter to see more of the world, go to a school with international students. There are lots of reasons. Thank you again

So it it Newcastle where you are based now? My husband is keen on Newcastle given that he has a close friend living there. I don't know much about Newcastle. Would you say there is a decent amount of work for a carpenter there? What are schools like?

Thank you I will look into this area for sure

We are just sourcing opinions right now, we have not spent any money on this yet as we are investigating it all before we make any decision. If we can't afford it then we won't do it

What's the commute like from Newport to Sydney CBD and East suberbs?

Thank you this post is helpful. We have seen lots of people recommending Sutherland shire so would definitely look into that. What school do your children go to? Whilst my husbands job offer comes from a firm based in Bondi junction the work would be all around the eastern suberbs and they try and allocate work to their carpenters closest to where they live. I'd probably need to work in the CBD but would look to work anywhere that I could commute too. We would have childcare costs in school holidays but not for long as our daughter would be a teenager shortly after moving if we did indeed go for it so a few years max. Whilst we would possibly have to rely on my husband wage until I found work if we sold our home here we would probably have about £35k to bring with us as a buffer and to help set us up.

Thank you for this. I think we come from similar lives in Wales in that we used to live in the mining valleys of South Wales where there is nothing really aside from houses. Very little to do, no businesses etc so have always commuted to work and had to pay to go and do anything as nothing to do close by. We moved to a small village now nearer Cardiff but still it's quiet and we both commute for work. It's only been maybe the last 3 years we have had a bit of a more comfortable life as our earnings increased and we moved house. Can I ask where do you live now in Sydney?

we thought about keeping our home, but it has around £50k equity in it which obviously would help us hugely if we moved to Australia. Newcastle is an option. My sister visited and didn't like it there at all so that put me off but my husbands friend who lives there loves it so maybe

this is the first positive response we have had, do you mind me asking what you earned jointly? I think the issue with us is that we wouldn't earn good money whereas you did, maybe cause your wife's job allowed her to earn more than I ever could

Thanks for the advice. My husband agrees, he did 18 months working in Australia so is aware of the heat and agrees hands down he'd rather that than working on a roof in minus figure temperatures and rain. This summer in Wales we have had maybe 10 nice days lol, it's always grey and wet we were also told there is a lot of work in Sydney for my husband and I'd definitely struggle to find work somewhere like Newcastle. But from what everyone is advising we wouldn't afford a life in Sydney so maybe we need a long rethink

We live in Wales, around 10 miles out of Cardiff where we both work. Our joint income at the moment is around £80k before tax though we have managed on around £65k until recently when our wages increased. Our mortgage payments are only around £670 a month so vastly lower than rental costs in Sydney. We wanted to move for many reasons, I'm unhappy in my work and law in the UK right now is pretty depressing, so I was open to a career change, my husband as a carpenter likes outdoor work but it rains so much in Wales that means spending much of his working day drenched in wet weather clothes if he takes a job outdoors on site, we want the outdoor life, time to go to the beach and other things and not be stuck indoors, also we felt our daughter would benefit from that kind of lifestyle. My sister is also emigrating as a teacher in the next year or so though but she is likely work in the rural regions for a while so we wouldn't be close.

Congratulations! How long did it take?

Thank you all for taking to reply..much of what you have said has been out concerns and what made us think twice about applying to move a few years back. We do have a comfortable life here, both earn well and own a nice home. Maybe we are looking to move for the wrong reasons and need to rethink. We have talked about it for years and years and feel it's now or never due to my husbands age and worry we'll regret it forever if we don't. But, we don't want to move and then find we struggle to afford to live as that's not fair on our daughter either. We looked towards Sydney as my husband had a job offer, I have friends in Manly and my husband has a friend up in Newcastle. Our other thought was Brisbane or Sunshine Coast but not sure if that's any more affordable and we would not have friends there or a job offer. I hadn't planned to requalify as a solicitor there as I did understand that it's a long expensive process and for not much return. I had planned to just work in a legal setting in the CBD where I could rely on my experience but not need a practising certificate lots to think about I guess

Hi all, we are hoping to get a skilled 189 visa for my husband who is a carpenter. Only just starting process though so visa is a while off. What we are trying to figure out is realistically what to expect of Sydney, where to live etc. Family here are quick to point out that cost of living in Sydney is very high and we won't afford it, friends in Sydney say it's doable. I have a friend who lives in Manly but they earn far more than we would. my husband would probably be working for a firm based in Bondi junction with work all around the east suberbs. I'm a solicitor here in the UK, I wouldn't be qualified to practice there but would likely need to work in the CBD. We have a daughter who is nearly 11 so would be 12 probably if all went to plan. My husband would earn around $70k we think, I'm not sure for me though I'm told I could earn around $80k? So joint income of around $150k? where would you recommend living for family life, good (free?) schooling and not a dreadful commute? Also are we going to find we are permanently skint on that income in Sydney?

This aspect is really troubling us. To get the required 60 points he needs 20 for English so superior. We were advised to sit to PTE Academic test. My husband would be main applicant so it would be him who sits test. He is a carpenter and has no experience of sitting exams as such. He will struggle to pass this I think. Any tips/advice greatly appreciated

thats good to hear thank you! we best get cracking then with the application

Thank you for the quick reply, it's helpful. In all honesty I might look into a career change, 16 years in law has worn me out lol. I might use my legal experience in an advisory role rather than go back into actual practice but it's something I need to think about

Looking for your thoughts on your experiences on Visa options and the realistic prospects of us getting a Visa before we decide if we start the ball rolling? My husband is a Carpenter, and I am now a Solicitor. We started a skilled worker visa application around 7/8 years ago now and paid the first part of fees and did initial paperwork etc. However this was just before the world bank crash and the Aus mining crash in 2010 and when this happened Australia put a hold on new applications and the whole process slowed right down. At the time were did not have the money to spend on a Visa that might never come to fruition. We also had a very small child, were unmarried at the time and I was midway through my studies so made the decision to stop the process. We have always thought about it though and with my sister going in the near future it is back in our plans now. We are now married, I am fully qualified as a Solicitor and financially we are in a much better position. My husband has spoken with an Australian carpentry firm based in Sydney (East Suburbs) who are desperately trying to recruit UK carpenters due to rapid expansion of their company. They have pretty much said he would have a job with them immediately if we went. They offer sponsorship so that could be an option for us as I know sponsorship Visas are easier to apply for but then my husband would be limited to a salary of 1000 Aus Dollars a week under their sponsorship, as well as the lack of free schooling, healthcare etc and the risk of the Visa being revoked if he lost his job with them, we are advised we would be far better off as a family on a skilled 189 visa. We would have more freedom generally and with the firm to earn a higher hourly rate and price work etc. so that is our preferred option. Our concern has been my husband’s age – he is now 42 and we know that that will count against him in the point scoring process. I am younger at 34 but still older than many applying. However using my husbands as main applicant we do score the required 60 points if he passes the English Assessment. We have sought advise from a migration firm who believes we have enough to get a 189 visa. Realistically, from anyone with experience of applying as a carpenter trade, if we were to successfully complete the skills test etc. and then submit an EOI, given our ages would we likely get invited to apply for a Visa? Or would we keep moving down the list with the younger applicants jumping ahead of us? We are very keen but also realistic. The company have said that they would write and say that my husband had an offer of employment subject to a Visa if that would assist the application? My husband is a very experienced carpenter having worked as one his entire life and has experience in all aspects so I think he would satisfy the skills test relatively easily. Lastly we would be looking then to live in the suburbs of Sydney. We know Sydney is expensive and the further out you head the lower rent gets. As a family of 3, our daughter would be starting high school if we say 18 months to get there, where would you recommend considering as a suburb we could afford to live with good schools etc? Thanks all Amy