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Hi, please could someone tell me if there is a Clarks shoe shop or equivalent in Australia that does width and half sizes for children - especially school shoes. Thank you :biggrin:

We just downloaded forms from school and they said take them in when we get over there. (Ocean Grove). Kindie is very difficult to get into mid term I have been told as we have one that has started school already in Uk and not due to start in Oz until Feb next year. Told near on impossible to get into Kindie for a part term. We have resigned to being beach bums for a few months together. The school says they will accommodate the children without problem. Moving 2 Melbourne, do you know if the process is straightforward for claiming child benefit? We are PR visa holders.

Hi Mark, my OH had to do a skills assessment for carpentry before getting his visa. We went through Go Matilda who were great and they gave him a check list to tick off what he has done and he wrote a letter for his boss to sign covering all aspects of work he has done and what hand/power tools he has used. What visa are you trying for?

Go Matilda are superb. Every time I emailed I got a response within minutes, even over the weekend! They have been brilliant throughout our application and you get to speak to the same person with any enquiries which is really handy, so you don't have to go through it all again each time. Alan from Go Matilda is often on here offering his support and is very helpful. We paid as we went - so each time we had to do supporting evidence ie skills assessment we just got the bill through for that. It was really helpful to pay as you go as its not such a lump sum all at once. As I said though the best thing is that you get one person dealing with you personally. I emailed so many silly questions and always got a good and immediate response. I think it is mostly an email communication thing, modern world and all! I preferred this as it is so much easier to take in and re-read information given to you than trying to remember what has been said on the phone. Definitely recommend, they are superb. We got our skilled independent visa with skills assessments and some complicated child issues and it took roughly 18 months to complete. We were very happy :biggrin:

Hiya, we bought a couple of car seats from target when we went to Melbourne in March for same age as you have. I was told the 6 year old only needs a base but I prefer mine to both have a back on them. They cost $20-$30 for a booster seat with no back on. The substantial car seats with internal harness for younger ones cost $225. They are quite different to uk car seats as they harness behind the cars seat as well as with diagonal belt.

I agree, good idea to invite the girlfriend too. Cost less in the grand scale of things. Hope he changes his mind. Our 18 and 22 year old daughters consented to validate this year but refuse to move to Oz for good with us next year. It is a very difficult situation.

Can you not go bankrupt and then if you do return to the Uk the debt will not bite you when you get back. As far as I can tell you get three years to do this remotely from Australia and you can appoint someone in Uk to go to court on your behalf so you don't need to come back to Uk to do it. Don't know how long it takes or if they look into your monetary situation to take anything off you in Oz bailiff wise, perhaps someone has more info for you on this? Would be a way to finalise it above board and lets you sleep without worrying about debts catching up with you x

hi, i'm a carpenter going to ocean grove in july 2013. I was just wondering about job prospects for me and if there was much of a market for hand-made garden things eg. playhouses, bird boxes etc. Sites are my prefered line of work (first and second fix mainly) but don't want to do that forever, after a few years i would like to be working from home selling stuff that i've made. Is this just a pipe dream?

A quinny xtra has a reclining seat :biggrin:. Best and cheapest normal umbrella fold buggy I have had is either a silver cross 3d or a mamas and papas pliko (pliko switch faces parent too). You can pick these up for a bargain on ebay. I am a self confessed pramaholic and have had about 150 pushchairs!

We put our house on market with a rubbish estate agent, locked in for three months and they showed NO ONE around! Got some great advice from a friend though and it worked a treat......... We got round a different firm. Haggled a 1% inclusive of vat price and offered the young chap that came round the cash incentive which worked out about £500 to sell it within 2 months...... it worked! You must give them a deadline. The young lad was very keen to make a bit of cash in his pocket (the older ones generally have more money so won't put that much effort in). Our house was in prime position in window, double page spread with loads of pictures. He gave the specs to everyone, whatever size house they were looking for! He really put the effort in. We took the pictures ourselves - our daughter is an artist and knows quite a bit about photography, but just play about with different angled shots to optimise the space. We placed fresh bowls of fruit in kitchen, glasses of wine in lounge etc to sell a lifestyle as well as house! We thought at first it best to let the estate agent show people around but then realised that a clean, tidy house looks quite sterile if you are selling to a family, so it actually is better to once again sell the lifestyle and we used to be playing badminton in the garden with a nice roast dinner cooking and table laid up poshly for a family dinner. Worked a treat. Second person to look round bought it. Have a go, what have you got to lose? Good luck x

thank you all for your well wishes, your help and advice has been very much appreciated and keep in touch for that drink redlee71. Best of luck to everyone on your new ventures x

Hi redlee71 we are moving to Geelong area near Melbourne. With the help of all the feedback on here we have just booked my husband's one way flight to Melbourne in early July (Singapore airlines as it seems the cheapest at the moment). Myself and the two girls (4 and 6) will be booking a flight for the end of September. I think it works out best for us this way and then the older ones will be settled in their Uni in Uk and I can help them sort everything. Also I can make the most of the summer hols with the little ones and they get another six weeks off at christmas in aus too. This also means that our 4 year old will only have to wait until February to start school in aus (she is starting in uk this Sept). We will be filling the container before my husband goes so that hopefully it will arrive before we do. I will have a look on the internet for a house to rent and send hubby along to view it. We have been out in March to see the area in person so we know where exactly we want to be.

Go Matilda. Without a doubt. First class service and you feel very well looked after. The same person will deal with you - giving you the personal touch and continuity you need for a swift and smooth process. They answer any questions within minutes whenever I have sent emails - very reassuring. Good price too I thought. Best of luck with your venture.

well i think there is work here although not a massive amount and it all depends on the price. i've been a chippy for 15 years working for and as part of my dad's business and in that time i've seen it change from firms wanting a quality job and paying for it to just whoever put in the cheapest price (thank the eastern europeans for that!) regardless of quality!! they think that once our work is covered up with a lick of paint then people won't notice whether it's good, bad or ugly! as i've only just left my dads business to become self employed so i haven't really had to go out looking for work as dads always had work coming in. also be careful when it comes to getting money out of people as in the 4 1/2 years since me, my dad and my brother started a limited company we've been knocked for £47,000!!! it's a miracle we're still going to be honest as we were only a little family firm, i don't think it's the norm however and as long as you don't let your bills get too big so if you do take a knock it won't be too bad. not trying to scare you but i just hate to see people do the work and don't get the rewards for it! rant over. how long have you been over, has it been a worthwhile experience? we're looking at staying at least as long as it takes to get dual nationality for me, the wife and my two little girls. hopefully we'll stay there a lot longer but that's the initial plan, then when there older they can come and go as they please.

thanks mate, we are heading to the geelong area as there appears to lots of building work there and as i'm a carpenter in theory i should be ok for work. not counting my chickens (sorry chooks) though! the only plus side to buying power tools here is that my dad is vat registered so i should be able to get it back which may make it a bit cheaper. where are you based at the moment then and why are you coming back if you don't mind me asking mate?

Should i buy new power tools in the uk and ship them over or just buy them in oz?

Will my washer dryer be compatible with Oz fittings? thanks

Yeah, we got ripped off by taxi for $50 and stood around waiting for the booked taxi for 45 mins, rubbish! Skybus next time for us too!

Hello, we will be shipping a 20ft container to Melbourne from Essex and just wondered how long we should expect it to be from door to door? Is there any time of year that takes longer than others? We are looking at next July. Also recommendations very gratefully received for best shipping firms. Thanks:biggrin:

Not yet, just booking flight for hubby to go over in July and I will be following with 4 and six year old in September. Sold house in January. Good tip for selling house in a hurry is to offer a cash in hand incentive to a young estate agent, give them a two month maximum. We haggled for 1% including vat too. Are you moving to central Melbourne or outskirts?

Have a great time in Melbourne, we validated our visas in March and spent a week in Melbourne, fitted so much in to do. Make use of the free bus and free tram that circles the city. When are you looking at moving out for good?

Hiya, did a lot of reading up on this too. Ours are 3 and 6. The younger one was better actually. We packed backpacks for the girls with toys, books, learning games etc but they hardly touched them! Usually mine don't watch a lot of tv at home but on the plane it's got to be done! I get sick and ears pop badly on planes and two weeks ago flight from Venice was awful but on the big jumbo planes I just didn't get any of it - didn't even need to suck sweets. Much, much, much more comfortable flight. As long as they have cuddly toys, warm enough clothes, as it sometimes gets really chilly, and the tv in the back of the seat all is good. We did straight through flight on way home from oz in april and the time went pretty well. I was uptight too before hand but it really was not bad. They get lots of stuff to eat and that takes up time, as does the trips to toilet! Ours slept quite a bit. Best of luck, I'm sure they will amaze you and be super. Children are so adaptable x

thank you all for your help

Hi, any experienced opinions would be very gratefully received please! My husband and I are moving to Melbourne next year on 175 visas (already validated). Our older two daughters are staying in Uk for Uni, starting in September. My husband is thinking of going out first on his own to set up work and rental property etc. I want to stay until eldest daughter graduates (mid July).She will be continuing with a teaching degree afterwards. Hubby is a carpenter. We also have two younger daughters - 4 and 6 years old. It would be nice for them to finish the school year before we move. Has anyone sent hubby out first and how did it go? Any input would be great, fors and againsts please? Thanks

Hello, please could anyone tell me if we are able to receive any financial assistance when we move to Melbourne next July? We have a 175 permanent residence visa which we validated in March this year. We have a 4 and a 6 year old. My husband is a carpenter and I shall be looking for teaching assistant work. We only have £7,000 to go out with and are concerned incase we do not secure jobs quickly enough to fully support ourselves. Please could you tell me if we would be able to claim any social help what so ever and if we can do this immediately or if we have to wait a certain amount of time to claim. Also how do we go about making a claim? Is there an equivalent to housing benefit, child tax credit, child benefit...and would we be eligible for them now or later? Thank you