halshaw

Hi Leah Not sure If I can help- PM me and can you give me the link for the AITSL stuff you are looking at?

Hi so sorry for your family- thats a horrible thing to happen. Won't insult you with platitudes but it is hard emigrating even without that news. You will have achieved so much so far here without realising it. Have you been back to the Uk for a visit yet or is it too early? It really solved my feelings of frustration and gloom when I did after a bad year out here of serious health issues, rental nightmares and ungrateful kids! However the hardest thing for all of us leaving the UK was giving away the cats especially when the ginger tom was run over outside my sister-in-law's. Life sucks sometimes! Take care x

Really admire your motivation to come partly based on the British state school situation. You'll be warmly welcomed in the private sector over here- especially in Melbourne or Sydney. Just be careful what you wish for. The Australian education system is behind the British system. There is no National Curriculum and no accountability- not as great as you might think in practice. I have taught here for 2 years and like you over the last 20 years taught in secondary, primary and special and was an advisory teacher when I left the UK. We have just bought a house so will not be moving back to UK now however my kids are 21 in March so schooling is not a factor for us thank god!

Well said Stacey and very good luck to you in the UK. I hope the economics buck up quickly. We have two 21 yo nephews in the midlands with degrees and no work as yet. The rest of the families seem to be doing OK- not much different to when we left in 2009.

Went back end of Nov, first week of Dec after 3 years in Melbourne. I would agree with jimmyay completely. I saw family & friends in North West, Midlands and London. Traffic has increased considerably onthe M1/M6 at any time of the day now. London and the SE have fared better- as ever- there is far more evidence of hardship the further north you go-a no brainer. Where we lived- East Lancs- was never an employment hotspot but youth unemployment was very evident here. Again I think it depends on Geography and your circumstances about how you find GB now. Personally from our perspective of the North West and the fact that we have 2 x 20 year olds- I found the whole trip very depressing. Also whatever has happened to the tv-the BBC? Never did I think that Oz tv would be better but the ABC gets my vote now- think BBC 10 years or so ago with proper news and current affairs programmes.

100% agree with this and you are coming at the right time of year. Your local TAFE will be Chisholm and you should approach them as soon as you get here. You may have to repeat some units but you are ideally placed to start afresh here. All the best and well done- a tradie's life down here has to be amongst the best. Good luck!

Sympathise and empathise with all of this thread and won't bore people with our rental journey but we have had most of the experiences and on the story goes. I would venture to say that those infamous pictures were not 'too bad' after our latest hunt of the slim pickings in the SE suburbs of Melbourne at the moment. We are waiting to move into the ex-property of a hoarding tenant in the next 10 days. We were 'lucky' because she did not want anyone shown round her rental. Bizarre as the situation was the tenacious agent and I got in for a look. He stayed rooted to the spot in the vestibule area whilst I - kid you not- climbed over the detritus of this family's belongings to make sure the property was large enough and had a layout our goods could fit in. However we got it after giving our life story and ATM pin numbers (no not really but it felt like it!). At a mere 560 a week we have snagged ourselves a bargain but at what cost after all what lies beneath her crap? Would be poms be prepared to either be sorely disappointed by what you find to rent out here or alternatively dig deep and buy whilst the dollar is overpoweringly high. Its tough times to re-locate. Good luck out there!

Hi try and get a reference on paper to take with you from the UK. Ask your bank to supply you with a letter outlining how long you've been a customer and your credit rating ie had an account for x years and no problems with overdrafts etc. Also make sure they supply an email address because the agent will check. Also if you have ever been a tenant in UK relatively recently get a reference from there. Our landlady from our temp holiday let in Melbourne was also happy to supply us with a reference from the get go which was also followed up on. The agents want evidence you can pay so do what ever you can to prove this. On the subject of finding a DECENT rent, hit the ground running when you get here. Sign up for realestate alerts and the week you arrive make a list- or generate a list using the app- of properties open for viewing. Be prepared to see some real grot but be quick off the mark to get to anywhere that is freshly on the market. There is plenty of crap out there. Watch out for only short leases and try to pin down the agent on what the landlord intends for the property for example is it the landlord's own and they may be back early or is it an investment that they are going to sell soon? We and friends have had experiences of all this. Lastly make up application packs- when we came we were in the queue to go round properties and returning the application PDQ or on the spot sometimes secured the deal.

Hi John Mason and Wridgways all the way. Very impressed 2.5 years ago and I see they are still going strong! Remember pay peanuts get monkeys.

I think broadly speaking that there are several issues being aired here; The basic honest/dishonest 'do I do a moonlight' and leave debt in a country on the other side of the world one which is arguably wrong but less likely to have repercussions unless you return. The landlord who rents out property as an investment ( mostly Australian because it is seen as a valid part of the superannuation/tax system down here) who perhaps should be able to take rent arrears on the chin because they may well have it as part of their managed pension portfolio. Finally the reluctant land lord likely to be UK based (but there are those in Aus who have to do it because of temporary job relocation etc). In the UK it is not seen as an answer to pension plans or as a second income in general. The ordinary family will not be investing in a second property to rent out. There are no tax breaks or other advantages in the UK pension system to do this. Most UK landlords on this forum cannot sell the family home and many are facing negative equity. The timeline for getting to Australia is tight and based on many other things so renting your house to pay the mortgage is the only way. We are tenants in Australia and into our third 'rent' because we have fallen foul of two investment landlords who 'have' to sell because of their portfolio commitments. We do not hold grudges because both are business arrangements. Renting in Australia is seen as a second class option. Owning your own home is everything. Welcome to the lucky country!!

Hi there- I too would stay put in your position. We made the move because at 17 and non-academic our kids did not have a great future in Northern England. They do now and they are safer. However I have had to start all over again- mostly because what I am trained for is about 20 years ahead of where they are up to in Victoria. Fortunately my OH profession travels well so financially it is viable here. On the other hand the high dollar and low pound have constrained us to rentals and as we go into our third year we have to move again because the owner needs to sell their investment property. We will probably buy in the next 18 mths because the ecconomic sit in Europe/UK is not likely to change soon and we are sick of the insecurity. Yes you take a step backwards don't underestimate contemplating migration from the comfort of your comfortable own home with familarity around you before balancing it with the reality of living in an insecure rental wondering when the pound will pick up so you can buy and plan again. Having said that we are better off here as a family and we like Australia overall!

IMHO you need to buy lots of leather shoes, boots, & good fitting bras/undies from M&S!! Also jeans, t-shirts, towels, bedding from wherever. Winter coats- if your coming to Melbourne or Tassie. Also scatter cushions, rugs and curtain/dress fabrics. In fact anything made from good quality cloth. It is at a premium here. All imported hence the name Manchester for household fabric:err: items. But thats just my opinion lol x

Oh good couldn't remember but definitely remember the reactions including the lady in charge of the screening area who rudely told my daughter to move out of the way even though she was just standing where we were told to wait for Singapore. Just a bad day at Manchester I guess!!

Hi get it in writing- we were quizzed at check in. You only need a grumpy check in girl and/or her manager even with Singapore. Also the ground staff at the hand luggage screening can be very unhappy if you use your whole entitlement ie 7 kg plus laptops, outer coats, handbags (business class) etc as we found when we got there. We had to haul Singapore staff down there as well. Methinks they were all jealous!!!!! All safely through with gritted teeth however. Its probably a good thing that we can't afford to ever fly business class again!!!

Hi we used PABs here in Melbourne. Rented 4 beds, washing machine & drier for 8 weeks- reasonable rates we thought?