sp4rkman

Hi All, We moved to Brisbane in March 2014, but I was fortunate to have a job lined up before we arrived. My company is actually struggling to find IT Support (2/3rd line) staff so if you have a visa, are experienced in IT support and heading this way soon, then PM me your CV. No need to be in OZ yet as we're interviewing people from NZ etc via Skype. I know it's tough finding work out here from the UK - I was fortunate as I had a good contact. Regards Sp4rkman

After much faffing around, we think we've finally secured a rental in Murrumba Downs. We have a 3yr old daughter (she'll be 4 in January) and I'm interested to find out more about child care, kindy etc in the area so I can get back to work ASAP. Until I find child care, are there any play groups in the area? Many thanks.

So what suburbs come to mind??

My husband, 3yr old daughter and I have just arrived in Brisbane and are currently in a holiday let looking for a longer term rental. We like the look of North Lakes. My husbands office is based in Fortitute Valley but is very customer based (all around the city) so he needs his car to commute from day to day. Does anybody do this commute regularly? How do you find it? He's spent hours travelling the M3 from Fleet into London and would really prefer to avoid that kind of disastrous commute. Thank-you.

Hi all. Our VIC state sponsorship was approved in April and we've finally got our visa grant letter last night. We're looking to come and activate in May. Can anybody suggest some purse friendly places for a young family (couple with 2.5yr old) to stay while we check things out? Also, can anybody currently in Melbourne give some feedback on the place. Are you enjoying it? How do you find the high cost of living etc? (we're originally from SA, now living in UK).

Hi all. Our VIC state sponsorship was approved in April and we've finally got our visa grant letter last night. We're looking to come and activate in May. Can anybody suggest some purse friendly places for a young family (couple with 2.5yr old) to stay while we check things out? Also, can anybody currently in Melbourne give some feedback on the place. Are you enjoying it? How do you find the high cost of living etc? (we're originally from SA, now living in UK).

I posted this on the "Life in Victoria" section but haven't had a response so am not sure how active that section is. (and my impatience may be coming to life here :wink:) It's been almost 4 years to the day, but we finally got a CO today (originally 176 Family Sponsored and changed to 176 SS - Victoria in April) It's been an absolute rollercoaster getting to this point. So much has changed since we first applied and we are now wondering if a move to Oz is still for us. We have a moral obligation to live in Victoria for 2 years but the cost of housing/living really scares us. We dont want to blow our life savings on rent and then not be able to afford to buy a decent house due to the cost. I dont want to commute an hour each way (i already do that) just to be afford something decent. We've managed to save enough money to afford a mortgage on a nice 4 bedroom house in the UK and we're wondering if that's the route that we should just go with. What we're craving is a more outdoor lifestyle, especially for our 2yr old. Some better weather. More open spaces. Not sure if we'll get this in Melbourne. I'm sure many of you are shouting at the screen wondering how we can not be excited about finally getting a CO. Four years is long time and we've moved on a lot in our lives since we first decided to emigrate. We also harbour a lot of anger towards Australia for forcing such an emotional rollercoaster on us. Can we ever forgive Australia for that? Can we learn to love the country after the way so many of us have been treated in the immigration process. So, I guess i'm just reaching out to those who took the plunge and moved to Melbourne and hoping for a bit of positive, and even negative, feedback. Is australia (Melbourne in particular) really the land of plenty? Or is it just not worth it?

Hi all, I bought the booklet and CD before doing my IELTS last year. If anyone needs this to prepare then let me know. Happy to post it on at no charge. sp4rkman

My occupation is ANZSCO Code: 263111 Occupation: Computer Network and Systems Engineer Date wasthe 20th April

Hi all, Our Victoria State Sponsorship was approved last week and everything has been submitted to DIAC. We've been doing a lot of research into Melbourne as this is where everyone expects you to go. However, how many people settled outside of Melbourne? If so, where? I work in IT and wondered if there was IT work elsewhere in the State? I understand Melbourne is my best bet but we're looking to avoid the rat race, the traffic and crowds. Our move to Australia was to find a better life and be able to spend more time as a family. Melbourne looks lovely, but it's a big city after all. If i wanted a long commute and crowded trains, I could always just stay here in the UK. I hope to hear from you. Jonathan

Hi, Our SS came through last week. It took 13 weeks in total. Sp4rkman