Poca&Dan

I think you may be over thinking it, I don't think you apply as grad nurse as that means something different over here -it's an actual program that newly qualified nurses chose to do. I think you just apply for overseas nurse as regardless your visa situation you were trained overseas? I registered with the old body too but I suspect the process is much the same - documents neede will include your ID, quslification and a letter from NMC that states you are a registered nurse? Hope that helps?

This was exactly me and my hb when we arrived in aus everything slipped into place:regular holidays, double pay, great appartment friends and social life but the pull was still there! We got married in aus and I thought we were set until hb asked if we could go! It was a mix of wanting out first child close to family and our visa expiring! We needed to go back as we'd always wonder what if but as soon as we stepped off the plane we knew we'd made a mistake! We're lucky enough to be able to come back which we are doing but it's not the same story for everyone! I know people eho've come back and really love it! I guess the only thing you can be certain about is how uncertain life is! My advice would be to tell you to try it but the most sensible advice I could give you is if you're happy with your life in aus-stay it gets easier and tbh UK is quickly deteriorating! My fantasy of bringing my kids up in UK were quickly dashed when I realised there is little future here for the next generation

You talking 'bout me??!! Haha yeah I made the stupid plunge to move back and 6 months later I'm on my way back to aus!!! In hindsight we needed to do it to see for ourselves but our lives are not in UK! I'm officially a pingpong Pom!!!

I completely agree, I was homesick for so long and on a daily basis struggled with whether I wanted to be here or there, we literally were staying forever one day and going home the next! Not sure why this occassion we saw through with our plans, but we did? Literally in Oct we decided to we wanted to go back and in Nov we flew home - how impulsive!!!! Only to return and discover we had changed a lot more than we thought and really there is nothing here for us! Our main deciding factor for coming home was having children and now we are home we have moved 2 hours away from family beause my it was the only place my HB was offered work and are now thinking our 'future' children would be better off in Aus! Anyway the good news is I am a nurse so getting back shouldn't be that difficult but we have got ourselves into a financial hole coming home so it's not a case of rectifying our mistake now but learning from our mistake and giving it a year or two to save and decide whether moving home was a mistake or not! My only fear now though is becasue I made such a wrong decision I daren't trust myself to make anymore 'big' decsions for fear of that being an even bigger mistake!!! I fear that in ayear we will be quite settled yet I'll convince myself life was better in Aus pack up and move back to be back at square one! Argh I am literally going insane! I thought by coming home it would put to rest all my daily thoughts about returning!!!! How silly! And so my saga continues!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think that the interesting thing about reading all of these blogs is how different and individual everyone's experience is which makes it hard to answer the question! I have come such a long way in the 3 years I have been a member and still don't know what to do for the best! I was homesick the moment I jumped off the plane, I knew/I thought this is definitely not for me! 2 years later my husband and I impulsively jumped back on the plane and came home only to discover we had completely changed as a couple and there is just nothing here for us in the UK anymore! We have been home 3 months now and are trying not to repeat our mistakes but honestly I wish I could just jump on a plane and go back! I honestly don't know how we have been so careless! And the funny thing is, a girl I worked with in Aus is also coming home, my immediate reactive thought was to email and warn her about coming back, but it's not my place or my experience to tell her she is making a mistake! I guess you've just got to live with your decisions and try and rectify them if you are not happy!

Thank you for that post, it is lovely to hear you have settled back in at home and that the recession is not too bad. Your post brought a little tear to my eye, I relate to everything you said, not belonging, the longing for a good curry, and quite strangely one of the things I miss the most is Tesco!!! Good luck I hope it continues for you!

We brought 2 suitcases and shipped over 2 boxes! I brought over my saucepans as they were a good set and that was the thing I missed/needed the most whilst waiting for my boxes! Bring little, makes it more exciting, plus when you move into your rental you'll have less stuff to move!!!!

I think you should do b or c but not a! Oh dear contrary to everyone else! My advice is....If you don't go to her wedding and she really is a true friend you won't lose her, you will of course miss out on that special moment but I would explain to her your reasons; it sounds like your partner needs to come to Oz in order to work, and by the sounds of things in England a money making opportunity can't be ignored and your friend shouldn't judge you for that. She is also in throws of 'love' and so should be more understanding of your situation of not wanting to be away from your partner for 2 months and have him do it alone! Second, I agree 2 months will fly by - I wouldn't ever want to do it, but it would go quickly, but what you have to ask yourself is how important are those first 2 months? What happens if he gets to Oz and loves it, and is out exploring and finding you a place to live and making friends and connections, and the 9 hour time difference makes it difficult are you going to feel jealous? Are you going to feel regret for just not going and ultimately knowing you stayed to make someone else happy - you said in your original post that you wanted to do b! On the other hand what if he gets there and he hates it, what if he misses UK and you and can't settle and doesn't like his job, no friends, finds it difficult to find a place? Are you going to feel guilt that you didn't go with him and that he had to do it on his own? Are you going to wish you were there helping him, what if you arrive 2 months later and love it all the time he has got into his head that you will return to UK? Those first few months shape everything, and I understand that not everyone is lucky enough to have the support of another or one person has to go before the other, but if I had the choice I would want to be by my partner side every step of the way much like i'd hope he would me! And like I said before if she really is your friend she will understand why you are not staying! I'm assuming that you didn't just decide last week that you were coming to Oz so she must know that this is something you have been planning, she'll want you to be happy. I get married this year and my best friend will not be here to celebrate, I admit there is a small part of me that is mirked off because she didn't save her money to come out, but I would never hold that against her as I love her and I miss her dearly. I know this is slightly different circumstances but what I am trying to say is by not going to her wedding you won't burn bridges, you burn bridges if you come to Oz and never speak to her again! It's all about communication! Hope this helps!

Hi Thank you for that, yes am a nurse! Hahaha, whenever I have looked into PR I have never come across the 3 year thing but looking a 'booklet 5' it says that if I don't have the 3 years experience I can apply for excepional circumstances where the employer states it is a position that they can't fill, though after reading what you have written I guess that falls into the critical skills category? My other thought was whether I should just apply in October, but that will only be 1 month before my 457 expires, is there some kind of bridging visa between the two? My last resort would be to apply for another 457 and then at the end of the year apply for PR but tbh after I do this visa I never want to have to go through the visa process again!!!! And that seems like a lot of hassel!

Hello, It's been a while since I have been on here, have been in Oz now for just over a year and am now at the stage of applying for PR. My employer has agreed to sponsor me and am now just getting the paperwork together (hoped I'd never have to do that again!!!)! Anyway I am just reading through the requirements and it says I need 3 years post qualification fulltime experience and I don't have that - I will have it in October, but my current visa runs out in Nov, so need to get my app in! When I looked into PR before we left UK I don't rememeber that being a requirement, but you did need 1 years FT experience. Have I just read this wrong or am I going to struggle? Any info would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Thats what I thought, I hated it when I first moved here it just felt like no-one wanted to rent to us! We are moving out this weekend so will prob hand the keys in on Monday.

Please go to YouTube - 2/14 Inkerman Street, St Kilda to view the flat online.

Sorry forgot to add the price! It is $380 a week and is going up to $400 in Feb. This is around the price you would expect to pay for a new build 1 bed flat in the area. We found the rental market very competitive when we first arrived to the country, we were rejected a lot. - I think going up against other aussies and having no rental history in Australia, no Aussie references etc really went against us! We found this place being let by a small family run business and they were really good with us, I guess they weren't so picky! So now we are moving out we thought we would pop it on PIO to give you all a headsup - if anyone else is new to the country and finding it difficult to find a rental! Hope this helps!

Hi all, Just wondering if there is anyone is coming to Melbourne or has recently arrived and are looking for accommodation in St Kilda? I am moving and so my flat is available for renting. It is a one bedroom flat with a balcony and 1 secure off street car space. It is a brand new build, I was the first person to live in it. It has all modern fixtures including gas top stove, dishwasher and space for a front loader washing machine. One of 6 appartments in the block. It is located on Inkerman street (corner of Barkly Street) and is close to the tram lines to both the city and chapel street and Balclava train station is a 10 min walk. It is roughly equal distance to Fitzroy and Ackland Street and is about 5 minute walk to the beach. I love the apartment but am moving closer to work. If anyone is interested please send me a PM and I will send you the details. Thank you and good luck with your travels! Poca

Hi, Reading your post brought a tear to my eye! I am feeling the same (though I do not have children so my heart really does go out to you!), and sometimes hearing 'you haven't been here long, it gets easier' is a bit like rubbing salt in the wound! Then you feel you can;t talk to anyone about it as everyone says that! My homesickness has just come on this last week and at first I thought I had ruined my life, OH has a fantastic job and we have settled really quickly and smoothly, but like you my heart just doesn't sit right here! I have had a long discussion with OH about what I am feeling, and he has agreed that if I cannot settle we will go home, but he really wants to stay for the next 2-3 years. I know people say you have to give it a few years to really say you have tried, but when you are in this situation that feels like a prison sentence! Nothing can prepare youf for the feeling of being trapped by a country! Like an earlier poster said, children are adaptable, as long as they are in a loving environment they will be fine, you just need to sit down a talk to OH, see if you are on the same page and go from there, and ultimately, like myself, one of you will have to make the sacrifice! It is ultimately down to who is going to be able to cope better with their own misery?! Unfortunately for my OH in our relationship, he will cope better than me! If you want to chat with someone who is feeling s**tty as well, give my a pm! Poca x