ayatollah

Wow, I came back to check on this thread and that's quite the discourse! I was looking to convince my wife to move a number of years ago, and she even said yes! I pulled the plug because I knew that she wasn't ready. It hasn't come up since then. In the past couple of years, I've made a contact in Australia and have been working on projects with them. There now may be the opportunity to move over to do even more lucrative work, but it still comes with the realisation that it may not be right, who knows how any of us feel in the future? We are looking to evaluate all options to see if it could be done. If we move, I will have a lucrative job waiting for me, where I am my own boss and can decide if I want to take 3 months back home. Working from home on the job is entirely possible anyway. If this is to happen the money needs to be right as well. It may only be for 4-5 years anyway and I would hope to be able bring family members over to help with some of the home-sickness. This has been a very judgemental experience, accusing me of constant nagging is almost upsetting. Sometimes opportunities arise that are hard to turn down. I'm also on the fence and need to be convinced it is the right move, now I have kids it will be hard to take them away from their grandparents and friends. So, we are assessing our options and would have thought there would be a bit more of a convivial chat about this...I'd hope this isn't the general welcome people receive.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. The kids are 9 & 6 so not really critical years yet. I definitely wouldn't want the kids to miss out on their education and the idea would be that the whole family comes back for 3 months in the year. It's not ideal, just working through all the scenarios, but distance learning would be an interesting avenue. We did it for a whole year anyway in Covid!

This is quite a strange one but trying to evaluate options. I may have the opportunity, next year, to move to Hobart, but my wife has a lot of things that need to fall in place. One of which being that she wants to be back in NI for the NI summer. Has anyone come across anyone that has been able to work with split schooling such as this? Any advice? Note - This will not be a nail in the coffin of the move if it isn't feasible.

Tell her that the colours that they take on are different when you're in Australia. Either that or tell her you flushed them down the loo! Then use that as an explanation as to the why water flows down the toilet/sink!

Tell her that the colours that they take on are different when you're in Australia. Either that or tell her you flushed them down the loo! Then use that as an explanation as to the why water flows down the toilet/sink!

Just tell her that you did bring them, and buy new ones! She's 4, she'll never know!

Just tell her that you did bring them, and buy new ones! She's 4, she'll never know!

The shipping won't be much, we'll just be shipping essentials so don't envisage a large outlay. Reading around it seems like £5k would be approximately the cost for the dogs, with flights around £1.5-1.8k, I can see £10k being about right. But I could be wrong, haven't looked into it all. We have to sell our house, which should net us around £15k, and 2 cars, around £2k, pay off some stuff, maybe £5k, so we should be in good enough shape. That's another thing though, selling the house, that could prove to be long and arduous and we won't be able to pay for anything until that is done. So that could be another delay! Everything really adds up, in time and money, whenever you start to think about it! Dunno about relocation allowance at the minute, I'm pretty sure they'd help us out to some degree, I suppose I'll have to wait and see.

Thanks for the info lebourvellec. I think we will leave the application until after the baby is born but I'll try to get the ball rolling regarding the sponsorship. I just think that asking someone if there will be a job in a years time for me is a bit strange. But I suppose asking now won't do any harm. Another question...dogs. We would be looking to move our 2 dogs over, would we need to start planning for the various vaccinations, etc, now? Gonna need about £10k for all this aren't we! With dogs, flights (how much is it for a baby anyway?!), shipping...It's an expensive business this. I'm gonna have to give up everything until we go to afford it!

Ok, it's been a couple of months since I've been on the forum. Last I was seen I was discussing trying to convince my wife over the opportunity to migrate with a young child. She is pregnant, due in November, I think we have came to an understanding about moving to Australia. We will be looking to move to Tasmania (Hobart), we have family and friends based there and one has always said that he would do his utmost to get me sponsorship to move over. (He is the manager of an IT firm and I am a software developer.) My wife would also love to study nursing, and we have seen that there is a 2 year fast track course in Hobart. I think I read somewhere recently that this might be being discontinued though. So my questions are: - With my wife looking to study Nursing, if there is a course in 2014 she will need to apply by August 2013. Which means we will have to have a PR visa. Is this timescale doable with an employer sponsored visa? - With the child on the way, we would need to include the child on the visa application. Does this mean we have to wait until November before we can apply? Would this impact the timescales for the visa, bearing in mind the date we would need to have PR by? - When would be the earliest you would advise travelling with a new born baby? I was thinking 6 months, which would bring us into May 2013 before being able to travel. - Should I begin the process of getting in contact with the family friend with the job offer now? Seeing as we may not be moving for up to a year would this not be premature? - What should the chain of events be for us in this situation? Is there anything else we need to do? Is there anything else you need to know for an informed decision?

Pics or it didn't happen!

Why are the flights from inside Australia so much more expensive than from outside?! I was just browsing the other day and saw return flights from Heathrow to Sydney for £599. Booking inside Australia is so much more expensive!

Seriously?! That's what you got from that post?! I think it's quite obvious that the child would take precedence and I am ecstatic at the prospect. I just thought post up, maybe with some support from others who have been in a similar situation but still make the move. Actually your post has quite annoyed me, so judgmental.

For years I have been trying to convince my wife to move to Australia. My dad lived in Tasmania for 13 years so I have close ties there, including a 15 year old sister. 2 years ago we took a trip out and seen family and friends in Perth and Tasmania. My wife absolutely loved it, a fantastic time was had and upon returning she was adamant that she wanted to move to Australia, Tasmania in particular. Even though I wanted nothing more in the world, I decided to have the sensible head and calm here down a bit. I said we'd think about it and talk in a month's time. I knew she was still in holiday mode and she wouldn't be making a decision based on that feeling. So a month went by and we broached the subject. And sure enough, her enthusiasm had died. I knew this would happen, so I hadn't got my hopes up too much. She kept saying that I should have sorted it when she wanted to go, and if we had have done it then, then she felt like this after then it would have been the wrong decision. While I was a bit upset, I accepted it as I don't want to force her to do anything she doesn't want to. That was all fine. Until about 2 months ago. She brought up the subject again. She said she had been thinking about it for a long time and said that she really wanted to do it. I brushed it off initially as folly, but she kept going on and I got excited! I sat her down and tried to explain everything that we would have to do, the expense, the pain of leaving family/friends, etc. But she was coming back with the fact that we already have a lot of friends in Tasmania and a community to walk straight into. She was in the perfect frame of mind, so I started making enquiries. In Tasmania I had met a lot of people, who were friends of my dad, and one of them offered me a job. I couldn't take it at the time but enquired again there when my wife had this change of heart. He said the job was still there if I wanted it and they would sponsor me for it. He said to name a date, it didn't matter when. So we were planning to go over this time next year, we wanted to have our 30th birthdays at home, which will be Jan and Feb next year. We got quotes for our dogs, belongings, etc. But we never committed to anything, thankfully. Because now, it turns out we might be pregnant. While I am over the moon at this, it is still very early stages and we are not getting carried away. But I know my wife will not want to move anywhere with a child. She has already said that we will have to move it back another year if we have a kid, but I can see this being an indefinite wait. As I say, I will be ecstatic if everything is confirmed. But this is a double edged sword and I might be losing out on Australia. Hopefully, it does just mean putting it off for another year, but I don't know if I'll have a job waiting for me then, and don't know if we'll be able to afford it with a child! But at the minute it's all guess work, and we know nothing for sure yet, but it feels weird to have one brilliant thing maybe happen in my life but another brilliant thing taken away. Just thought I'd share.

Ok, so I don't know if anyone was down at the Fleadh in the New Sydney but you missed a great weekend if you weren't. Here's a video of one of the acts that played over the weekend, and a good friend of mine.

A 12 inch trampoline isn't going to be much use! :wink:

My grandad, in 2000, went to see my aunt in Perth and while out walking in a bit of bush they came across a snake. My grandad being an old time Irish MENTALIST thought it would be a good idea to pick it up. He grabbed it's tail and picked it up, holding it for a photo. When they showed the picture to the locals they were completely shocked and began to inform him it was a brown snake and was extremely dangerous! My grandad brushed it off as if it was nothing. He is a hero of mine! :laugh: Thankfully, you aren't very likely to come across many snakes in Tassie!

Sounds very much like a Tiger snake. There are only 3 types of snake in Tasmania, the Tiger, the Copperhead and the Whip snake. Only one that this sounds like it could be is the Tiger as it can come in all sorts of colours and patterns, but the black with yellow/orange belly is particularly prevalent. I'd avoid it at all costs! :wink:

Yeah this is definitely true. I know for a fact that my other half would really struggle at most parts of the test, and that is no slight on her, it just seems really hard. Luckily it'll be me that has to do it! :wink:

I have loads more but I'll post this one for the minute! Wineglass Bay in Tassie by the way!

I know, I just used 2 years as an example for Employer A, as I said in my first post you need 2 years experience but it doesn't have to be with the same employer.

That's what I was referring to. You need to have 2 years experience with at least the previous 12 months at the nominating employer. But the previous time you have spent doesn't have to be with that employer. Don't know if I explain that right. Example: Work for Employer A for 2 years. Move to Employer B for 1 year. (Need new 457 visa) Employer B sponsors you for PR (856). So you need to have at least 2 years experience inside Australia with the past 12 months being with the nominating employer.

When having had 2 years work experience inside Australia, a company can sponsor you for a PR visa without the need for you to get a skills assessment, it doesn't have to be the same company you were working for. So your real "security" comes when you apply for your PR. But it is very common practice to hire overseas workers on a 457, and upgrade to PR later, so I wouldn't get to worried about it.

I'm just going to throw out another reminder here that the Fleadh 2012 is NEXT weekend, from the 9th! Anyone, regardless of being Irish or not, should head to the New Sydney Hotel to find out more information! Best weekend you'll have! :wink:

I'm intrigued by this whole process. I am currently thinking of applying and have just under 4 years experience as a .Net developer. My problem is I have worked for 3 companies in these 4 years and I will be able to get references for the most recent 2. But the other one I don't think anyone will even remember me! I was there for 9 months and it was a huge company, actually the biggest company in the world Citi, so what's to say that they will be able to provide an adequate reference, listing duties and technologies used? I remember reading a while back you only need the previous 2 employers references? I assume by people's comments on here that this is incorrect? Should I get in contact with Citi and "remind" them of my work? Or what would be the best way to approach this?