amyt

Hi,

 

That is still the most upto date content.

 

These resources might be of use to you. - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxSAhiEs5XzvX3lNSnRxc3NWcU0

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

Knowing your friends - their lifestyles, expectations, maybe an idea of their incomes? - and how similar they are to yours should give you some indication of how you might fit in. No one can know for sure, of course: many are surprised by what they took for granted and didn't realise they would miss, particularly family and friends. Sydney is a particular problem, for reasons explained: there are many Australians who can no longer afford to live there.

Presumably your friends who love it are coping well financially?

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

Yes lots of people still come to Australia, but did you know that about half of them end up going home again? And remember, every one of those people went to all the trouble and expense of migrating, so they must've been convinced it was going to be worthwhile when they went. So I think it's good that you're confused, because it means you're realising that it's not as straightforward as you originally thought.

 

Yes a lot of us emphasise the negatives but that's because we know you (and others like you) are arriving on these forums with a picture of Australia that's unrealistically positive. We don't need to tell you the good stuff because that's already in your head.

 

Australia is just another country - if you look at living in America, Canada, France, Norway, every country has good aspects and bad aspects. Nowhere is perfect, it's just a case of finding a balance of good and bad that you can live with!

 

You may think I've sounded negative about Australia but for me, the balance works out in Australia's favour (and I'm another one who would love to live in Sydney, if only I could afford it but I can't). For my husband, the balance works out in favour of Italy - I'm just lucky he's hesitant about settling there because he doesn't speak the language, so we haven't had to come to blows over it! There are many other members of these forums who've tried Australia and discovered that the balance for them works out in favour of England or Scotland.

 

You've really got to make your own decision but you need the information to be able to do that, which I know is hard to get when you're thousands of miles away.

 

And I'd second the view that as a carpenter, your husband would stand a good chance of getting work in other parts of Australia. I believe there's a fair demand in Brisbane at the moment - miles more affordable, shorter commute.

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

I have just looked through to see who posted and you have a mixture of people living in Australia and UK and I do not think you got replies from any of the known "anti-Australia" thinking posters. I think the issue is simply that you have asked for realistic advice on living in *Sydney* and the fact is, it is a very unaffordable city for most people. You said you wanted realistic and I think your replies have been that.

 

My own replies on here have been to caution against Sydney. Not because I don't like Sydney, I think it is a fantastic city and easily my favourite in Australia. But I think that chances of making a success of the move will be higher in a less expensive location. I think you shouldn't be too swayed by one job offer as there will be jobs elsewhere and your skills are portable. My own experience is that we ultimately left Sydney because we were not able to work anywhere else due to niche occupation for my OH and we could only see years ahead with huge financial burden of either high rents or huge mortgage. So really just trying to caution you so that you could hopefully avoid what hapened to us.

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 ... ☹️

I would say that after 18 months in Sydney you'd be able to do it on $150k - just - and it will depend upon what area you decide to rent in. If you need to commute to Bondi then don't even consider the North side of the harbour IMHO, we currently rent in West Pymble and I commute to Ultimo, I leave at 6.40 to get to work in 35 mins, if In left at 7 it would be an hour, worst case (heavy rain storms, poor drivers and driving conditions and traffic everywhere) it has taken 2 hours, when school holidays are on 20-25 minutes, BUT Sydney is great for a young family, we have a just 7 and a soon to be 5 year old and they love it here, the school we are in is great and I genuinely enjoy the drive to work as I get harbour views on the way in and cross the bridge every night on the way home...I earn less here than I did in London but overall the balance (for me / us) is better here, you will find your own way once you decide to move somewhere, you'll make expensive mistakes and you'll discover some great deals and savings also....just like anywhere in the world.

 

If you are committed and plan properly then you'll be fine, if you think its easy you'll fail, its hard, much harder than you can ever imagine at times and much more rewarding than you could ever have thought at other times. I wouldn't change it currently for anything, the Upper North Shore isn't for everyone, as Captain Roberto says its conservative and quiet on evenings (but after London maybe we enjoy it for that reason), however we can drive to the beach in 30 minutes or jump on the train to the CBD in 40 minutes....the best of both worlds.

 

In short, it doesn't come cheap, if money is the main reason you're moving then don't in my opinion. If you are willing to forego some 'luxuries' for a 'lifestyle' then perhaps its for you.

 

Good luck

Flapper

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

We we would come up to the hunter vally from Sydney about every 6-8 weeks for our escape , we have bought land to build our own place, my wife has secured work locally which is a massive help , it's been a bit up and down for me but getting lots of private work now ,not sub contracting. If I have quiet times I call my contacts in Sydney and work down there , the down side is its a 2- 2.15 hrs trip both ways. We can afford to build a house we could only dream of in Sydney up here with out the Masive mortgage. We did miss living on the northern beaches for a while but not now, driving through the vineyards to go to work is pretty good., we have also made a lot more friends up here than we did In Sydney. , The only cost of living difference is the cost of homes.

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

I am actually a bit worried for you to be honest. If you sell your house you say you will have a 35,000 buffer, that's great. However, I am not sure that you would ever be able to get on the housing ladder again in Sydney. Think seriously about location before you come over.

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?

Hmmm. I though't I'd replied to this, but I can't see my post so I obviously hadn't pressed 'post'. Mind you, I have a bad cold and am currently in a Lemsip-induced delerium, which may be why!

 

I think that if it is only your husband earning a salary, things would be way too tight for comfort. We managed on a similar salary to this when we first arrived a bit under 8 years ago, but it just wouldn't be possible now. You would probably need to factor managing on one salary to start with into your budget (it may take you a while to find a job) and perhaps sacrifice things like a second car until you get on your feet (that's if you have two - we manage with one easily where we live). That said, providing you aren't too worried about living away from the more expensive areas of Sydney, then once you both have jobs you should be okay. It wouldn't give you a life of luxury, but you wouldn't be close to the breadline either, in my opinion. You would of course need to budget for things like childcare during school holidays, school and associated costs (my kids go to public school and I have always got my hand in my pocket!), transportation costs to and from work, rent etc, and in fact I'd always recommend that anyone who is considering making the move to Australia does as much research in this regard as possible and do a budget by using supermarket/insurance/rental company websites etc to get an idea of costs.

 

With regards to areas, Sutherland Shire is nice and we've been really happy here, and wouldn't consider moving to a different area of Sydney. We came from deepest darkest Suffolk, right out in the countryside, and find the area we live in the perfect mix of quiet-ish but with amenities nearby. It is doable to Bondi Junction on the train from Sutherland Shire (with a walk/drive/cycle to one of the stations) on the Illawarra and Eastern Suburbs train line (www.sydneytrains.info). People often snub Sutherland Shire as being a bit 'lower class' or bogan/less desirable or something, but I don't really understand why. It is easy to get around, easy to get to the city, the airport and down the coast, it is family friendly and has excellent schools. There are loads of suburbs to choose from which are generally green/leafy and on the edge of the Royal National Park, many of which are far more affordable than other areas of Sydney (although prices are going up here too). Rent varies, depending on whether you live a bit more inland or by the coast (more expensive for obvious reasons)

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.

aha!

 

Well without meaning any upset to other posters on PIO, but I tend to find that most comments and advice on here to have a generally cautious/negative tendency. I'm sure these people mean well, but it's not that helpful in my experience.

 

I haven't lived anywhere else in Australia, but I'd agree with @Rallyman and say that Sydney does has lots to offer. In our case it takes a little while to get things moving, but we seem to do ok here. It's hard to explain really. Some things are expensive (rent/mortgage/property) - groceries are probably a little more expensive for soem things (vegetables out of season etc), but some food is cheaper.

 

But loads of things are way cheaper, including all forms of transport (trains, buses, fuel). Cars are maybe equal. Wine is cheap! They have H&M.

 

To cut a long story short, it should feel like everything is more expensive, but once you get into the swing of things, we feel like we do ok here. It all seems to somehow balance out, I can't say how exactly, but it works. We never had spare money in the UK and we don't have loads here, but we get by, and we eat out more here.

 

My wife is a clinical care specialist (Nurse) and I am a designer/animator and we do ok (although it probably works best when we both work full time). We are also from North Wales and feel that life has a whole lot more to offer here. Summer is coming, it's warming up again. We think it's good. Our kids do more outdoor stuff, and my eldest went to a gig with her mates last night with her mates in the train. That would never happen in Wrexham... They al have mates in school from all over the place. Their parents are from Singapore, India, China, Hungary, Iran, Manchester. There are even a few Australians!

 

This is our perspective coming from a not so exciting town in Wales. Sydney works well if you think positive, get your head down and get the work done and just get on with it.

 

Also if it helps, our income this last year has been maybe a bit more like $130 - $140 - but should go up by $20k this year as we are now both in a better place workwise. So I think $150k would be ok. I have mates who have quite 'fancy' higher paid jobs, but they have young kids and their wives don't work, and they do ok too.

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?

Why don't you look at Newcastle? Work is available, plenty of nice places near the beach to live and you have friends there. More affordable and not far from Sydney. Why not keep your home and then if things don't work out you will have somewhere to go back to and you will have scratched your itch.

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

We came over and started off in sydney , my wife a chemo nurse and myself a carpenter , between us we earned good money and have a good life style far better than back in uk ( we are from north Wales ) and yes the weather does make a difference to me agree what your husband has said. I feel we have achieved more here in 6 years than I would have in that time in uk .

Good luck what ever you decide to do

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

Newcastle is a lot harder market to break into work wise than Sydney also wages are a fair bit less . A lot of companies up Newcastle way ask for your carpentry licence , they don't in Sydney plus there is far more work about down in Sydney.

Its a lot better to work in the heat than the cold and that's speaking from experience , that's what I find ,if it's too hot wrap up and go home .

He will need to do his white card as well its a health and safety card , also have a read up on BCA or framing codes things are done a bit different out here than uk.

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.

Sooo excited we found out this morning we have been granted our 189 visa yay!!:ssign19::ssign19::smile::jiggy:

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

If you score 60 points for an invitation, it doesn't matter how those points are made up. He could be 49 years old and he'd still be likely to be invited as long as you can claim 60 points.

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