pinkk8

Can I ask if it is only worth applying for a 155 visa if you plan to return on a permanent basis at that time? I am returning for a holiday next month but plan to return permanently in the next few years - will a tourist visa jeopardise this at all?

We are back in London now. We have a two-seater sofa for sale, it is bright blue originally from Argos about 5 years ago. It is in good condition. We also have an ikea dining table for sale, it has chrome legs and a frosted glass top. Seats 6 people. It is also in good condition. Let me know if you are interested in buying either of these items.

They are not long term residents, they are Australians.

2004 VW Golf for sale 2.0 litre engine. Approx 120,000 km. Good condition with safety certificate and registration. We are near Brisbane city centre, let me know if you would like to view it.

I thought syllabus was Greek not Latin and the plural was therefore syllabuses?? Like hipopotamus. Would be interested to know which is right.

I am a teacher in Brisbane and I found a job really easily (4 days) - but I don't know if that was just luck. I teach a shortage subject at secondary level. Saying that, I really don't enjoy teaching in the QLD system for various reasons. There is a growing number of IB schools in Brisbane and they readily recruit any UK teachers with good CVs due to their A level experience. SMART teachers is an agency that is really active here and they have offices in London too, might be worth contacting them? Best of luck. I can't wait to come home though and have just lined up a job back in the UK, heading home before the Olympics.

I don't know if I'am different to others but I work in Melbourne for 2 weeks every July/Aug and find it similar to a London winter. When the sun is out it is beautiful but you still need a coat IMO! I have been in Melbourne in winter with a maximum day time temp of 4/5 deg. I (respectfully) disagree with suggestions that it is similar to a UK summer. Saying that I LOVE going there in winter because it is a really lovely sized city to walk around and I prefer to do this in a fresh temperature. I haven't been to Townsville but if it is anything like Brisbane then winter is the best season in my opinion, lovely day time temperatures with little rain (chilly mornings and evenings).

I didn't mean to cause you any offence. I didn't write this for an Australian audience. Coming on PIO and having the occasional vent helps me. I never express the views I share on here to Australian people because I think that would be rude - it's like calling someone's mum fat. My partner and I have been together 10 years and we try not to say negative things about each others country.

My apologies, you clearly do not have a chip on your shoulder :wink::biggrin: I thought it would be obvious that I don't mean every single Australian person (my partner included).

I don't hate Australia but what I dislike about Australia has nothing to do with suburbs, cities or even states. I have travelled around a lot in Australia, over the last 15 years, and on bad days the thing that p***** me off most is the personality of the country. I really hate the arrogant nationalistic b******ks that fills the radio, tv, car bumper stickers, minds of Australians....I wish they would get the massive chip off their shoulder and become a member of the wider international community....innit. I think this aspect can be difficult to swallow as a new immigrant and probably gets people's back up, other new immigrants arrive and love it as they think the nationalism and xenophobia are what Britain is missing...these are the Brits I'm glad have emigrated.

I think with your CV you should be ok. I am in secondary and not in the ACT so Quoll may know more. Although I see many teachers struggling to get permanent jobs, good teachers are snapped up. I walked in off the street to the most sought after school in the city as was employed on the spot. I think UK teachers are well respected. Saying that, I will warn you that I haven't enjoyed teaching in Australia for several reasons, I really feel that my career has been on pause here. Good luck and hopefully you will enjoy it more than me!

Yea that might work. Moving for love is the only reason I am in Aus!

I disagree with that. It was a maximum of 4 degrees in the day when I was there for work in the winter - bitter cold. Maybe it depends where you come from in the UK. I love Melbourne as a city, unless you can't afford to live in it properly - the spralling suburbs are depressing but the city itself is lovely. I think it is probably the nicest of the Australian cities but that might be because it has the most European feel. Personally I wouldn't move to the other side of the world to live somewhere that was like where I came from.

I would say that your daughter should complete her GCSEs, if she is really bright you could then put her into a school doing the IB here (there are not that many). This would enable her to have the best chance at both education systems - especially as you are coming to QLD. QLD year 12 is not well recognised at all in the UK - many good Unis in UK require QLD students to complete a foundation year before they can start Uni. This is not the case with NSW or VIC due to their externally examined high school exams. I personally do not rate the QLD education system and would think very carefully about bringing my child out who is nearing school leaving age, if you changed your mind after a year or two and wanted to return to UK you would have a bit of a nightmare.

When there are so many of us living in "no man's land" its surprising how it can still feel so lonely! We are not necessarily in the majority on PIO but there are lots of people in this situation with you. I like setting small goals/things to look forward too and I try to avoid thinking about it all too deeply....not sure is that's good advice though.