JayBone

I have just got a relocation package, Mine is an internal Australian move but its the same package that overseas employees get. Flights (one way) - business class if over 4 hours Shipping up to 30m3 of personal belongings Storage of belongings for 30 days Fully furnished house for 30 days (can be extended in certain circumstances) Car hire for 30 days $5000 disruption allowance (one off payment to us for costs like breaking leases etc) No animal costs paid for, however they did find us a pet-friendly rental. Hope this helps

I was 29 when we made the move, i was in my 13th year of a career in the Oil Industry, 12 months previously I was made up to an Operations Team Leader, great salary, great prospects and a job i really liked, ticked all the boxes for me. Resigning from the job was obviously a BIG decision, i had the option of keeping it and flying to and from Australia (i worked in the Middle East) or taking a 2 year leave option. I decided on option 3, cut all ties and see what happens, i figured that with that job in my back pocket we would have never really had a fresh start and that 'have to make it work' mentality. It was a real breath of fresh air been able to do what we wanted, stressful as my wifes present earning potential is not great, i was the bread winner, so we have lived of savings. Have just done 7 months travelling around Australia and have found an even better job!! You have kids which means you have to be a little less ruthless, but, your wife is a nurse. Sounds like you have the winning ticket to re-invent yourself in any guise you want to mate - plus if you get that 'burning' desire (sorry for the pun) you could always be a volunteer firefighter in a local community, whilst building your dream job/business, and spending time with the kids. Hope it all works out for you mate, it has been a great move for us! P.S a good positive attitude to emigrating here will get you through all the difficult things like the price of bananas

I'm a smoker but i think Australia is fairly priced (cheap even if i dare say it :wideeyed:) Would rather have a 20 a day ciggie habit than 20 bananas though :biglaugh:

Personally i wouldn't be putting too much emphasis on this They are adults at the end of the day, and surely don't expect free accomodation AND transport when they come to visit? If somebody came to visit me and asked 'How are we supposed to get around whilst we are here?' i would look at them blankly for just long enough for it too sink in, and then open another beer This is your home, not their freebie holiday destination.

Keep plugging away at it mate, hopefully you will get a break one day! There are training centres opening up in Queensland to get local people into the industry that is springing up on their doorstep

Fair comment, that sounds terrible:frown: But, if the soldiers from another Batallion were doing 2 days on 2 days off you'd be pretty annoyed:mad: and would rather have their roster?:biggrin: in the same industry

Ive worked in the Oil Industry all my career, last job was 4 years in the Middle East working 4 weeks on / 4 weeks off. Previously i had done 2 weeks on / 3 weeks off . To me, 3 weeks on / 1 week off sounds like a nightmare, unless you only plan on doing it to fill the bank account up for a year or two? What kind of a lifestyle is that for a family? especially when you emigrate for a better life usually? The wage would have to be astronomical to get people to do that roster? There are plenty of 2/2 jobs around, and other attractive equal time rosters. Is it Oil & Gas or mines?

Have you considered Holiday parks, they have lots of options, cabins, motels, onsite vans etc. Try Gold coast holiday park http://www.goldcoastholidaypark.com.au/contact A google search will put up a dozen or so options, even if for really short term to buy you some time Good luck

I reckon you would be pretty good on that basis, especially if you're working! We have been travelling last 7 months on a budget of $100 per day for two of us, plus a dog. (we smoke and drink too) - and have had campsites to pay for out of that, average around $30 a day, and fuel, 18,000km and counting You have the $100 a day already between you, and extra income from work too, this should see you pretty comfortable.

Have you looked at the HAYS salary guide? Here is a link http://www.hays.com.au/salary/salarysurveyrequest.aspx Fill in the details and they e-mail you the information you are interested in, its very thorough, and for certain jobs it breaks it down into different cities also Good luck

Hi Otsmith1, We were in a similar situation to you a few years back, we really wanted to move to NZ, but could not secure a visa for there, long story! I spoke to a migration agent who informed us that we would be able to get a PR visa for Australia which gives us PR in NZ too, we thought that was a great deal ......However...... When you look at the timescales for getting citizenship, its 4 years in Australia, 5 in New Zealand. If we lived in New Zealand for the 5 years that our Australian PR lasted, we 'should' have been able to get NZ citizenship, we decided against it as it would be cutting it a bit fine, if we failed to get NZ citizenship we would have been asked to leave and had to go back to the UK as Australia would not have us as we hadnt lived there We decided, why not live in Australia for the 4 years it takes to get citizenship, and then, if we still had a desire to move to New Zealand, we could try that as Australian citizens and still be able to come 'home' to Australia. We have now been in Australia since December last year, travelled 18,000km in 7 months and absolutely love Australia, New Zealand will just be an AWESOME holiday destination! as its only a short hop over the Tasman now There is no doubt that New Zealand would be a great place to live and explore, but Australia certainly has more opportunities for people, certainly the young (like me fortunately) Hope you can make your mind up soon, and just remember, it's not a bad predicament to be in Jon

Yes I know I have been through the process. I hope you can find work in your given occupation within 12 months of landing

It's called Freedom! And it's the basic human right to be able to chose what you want to do with your life. Why are there people on here who think that been forced to live in a certain area, and forced to do a certain job is a good thing? Communism? Would you have moved to Australia at the expense of your freedom?

There is a company in Edinburgh called OE visas, we used them and they were great! http://www.overseas-emigration.co.uk/ Good luck

I went for an interview in Brisbane CBD with a big gas company and I wore trousers, shoes and a short sleeved shirt with no tie, nobody on the office had a tie on, in fact I don't recall seeing a tie in Brisbane at all when everyone was on lunch? Well, I got the job, it's a senior engineering position. I wouldn't want to work for a company who employed on grounds of appearance to be honest, would you? I also have seriously scruffy hair as I have been on the road living in a van for 6 months! I had to buy the clothes especially for the interview! Got them from a proper cheap shop too, forget the name, $70 for the job lot! Good luck with the interview/job search guys

We used Letton Percival, they were easy to deal with. We had specialist car insurance with them

However, 6.3 percent of $100k (average household income lets say) is alot less than 5.7 percent of $500k (average house price let's say) That's what I think

I'm not really sure how up to date they are. Alot of the info i have looked at around Brisbane on the site seems to tally up with the info on the brisbane government website and the ourbrisbane website, so i reckon its pretty good:biggrin: We are about to travel up to Cairns over the next 5 weeks, so i will be able to do some field research and see how accurate it is from Brissy to Cairns I think once you actually settle somewhere it will be very easy to find nice places to go, with big open spaces, rivers and beaches etc. Its not as good as been able to go into any forest or countryside etc that you please but i think our 4 legged friends will be well catered for :wubclub: The southbank in Brisbane, which is a beautiful promenade along the river is all a dog friendly area, now that did surprise me! You can even have a beer:jiggy:

I found this website last night, it also has an Iphone app which is brilliant Has loads of dog parks, beaches and even cafes and restaurants you can take your dog too xxx http://www.pawclub.com.au/ To find out where you can take pooch, go to the 'community, tab and then 'places to go' It's brilliant

Australia is very unfriendly when it comes to dogs! We have a 3 year old lab and have been traveling around oz since December, the most depressing thing has been how often we haven't been able to go somewhere. Nearly every nice area in the countryside is a national park, no dogs! Nearly all state forests are no dogs! And worst of all nearly all beaches are no dogs although most areas have designated areas, but they are usually the worst part of the beach. Finding campsites that allow dogs is really hard, again it is usually only the rundown ones. Forget going to the pub with your best friend, that is definitely out! We used to love that Not All states are the same however, SA and QLD are more relaxed, Victoria was a nightmare, even patches of grass have 'no dogs allowed' signs, we left VIC ASAP NSW was better than Vic. That said I would definitely bring her again our experience has been different as we don't spend long enough somewhere to find our feet Hope it all works out

Coopers Mild is a good compromise. 3.5%, tastes like a beer rather than a lager, and as its a little weaker it makes a good session beer, you can have a full carton and still get up the next day James Boags, Pure Blonde and Crowne are all good. If you drink wine, De Botolli is a good cheap wine. 4 litre box for $14 -$18......bargain

Is yours a classic VW or a modern one? I wouldn't have bothered if i wasn't 'attached' to my vehicle. It is alot of hassle, it is alot of stress. Would you want to replace the vehicle 'like for like' over here? if so, do the maths and see if the expense works in your favour, it certainly did in my case

You rest your case?? There have been some absurd statements on PomsInOz, but the South West of the UK having more surf culture than Western Australia is just :biglaugh:!!! People in the South West of England surf because they want to be 'seen' to surf, hence why you have seen them:wink:. People in Australia (WA included) surf because they want to surf. Surfing mostly happens on beaches that are not touristy, unlike the coast of South West England, thats why you haven't seen them maybe you could set up a surf school, been the expert an all? However, You didn't realise that the Great Barrier Reef had an impact on the surf in Northern Queensland??:goofy: People in Australia surf as part of a culture, people in the UK surf to get their **** sucked, i rest my case!!

We sold our house last year £25k negative equity!! Would have been better off renting, i will be in Australia You cant lose on houses i was always told, thanks!!

Hi Anja, It cost me $8000 all in to ship my Campervan across. This included Road haulage, shipping in a container, comprehensive shipping insurance ($60,000 valuation) with Letton percival, import tax at 10% (you will also be liable for GST at 5% (i think) if the vehicle isnt older than 1989) storage costs in OZ, inspection fees (had to go 3 times to finally get it through compliance check!) and registration for a year including 4% stamp duty. I think this was all of it?? Hope this helps. Jon