llessur

The spiders thing is a bit of a fallacy - at least in Adelaide. I swear I see fewer spiders here than I did back in the UK (especially inside the house) and in SA there's only really the redback to worry about which, whilst you will see a few of, providing you don't make a habit of sticking your ungloved hand into dark webby confines around your garden or in your attic etc then you'll have nothing to worry about. If you do get bitten most bites don't need treatment and, if they do, an antivenom is available. I think there's only been one death due to a redback bite in the last 60 years. The other states however, do have a few nasty spiders. I wouldn't be quite as comfortable sitting on my lawn in some parts of NSW for example due to the funnelweb. I'd be more worried about brown snakes here in Adelaide. More so in the hills than on the plains. They are a genuine threat and a bite is always serious news. Again, though, sensible precautions such as knowing what to do if you come across or are bitten by a snake and avoiding areas they are likely to be (such as long grass in the summer months) should keep you out of trouble. The reality is though, most Adelaidians living in metropolitan areas will have nothing to worry about on an average day

It depends on what you mean by not wanting to be too far from the beach. Moving to the hills or Flaggy (i.e. east) is quite far from the beach compared to lots of other suburbs in Adelaide, but then on the other hand nowhere in Adelaide is hugely far from the beach - you're maybe a 20 minute drive to Brighton/Seacliff from there. You probably wouldn't want to do the drive to the beach every evening, but once or twice a week would probably be OK. If you want to be genuinely close to the beach then you'd be better off looking towards the western suburbs. Seacliff, Brighton, Glenelg, West Beach, Henley, Grange, Semaphore etc. You can go further south but the commute to the city becomes longer (depends on where you'll be working etc and how close you want to be to the action). Some of these suburbs can be pretty pricey (Glenelg, Brighton, Henley etc) but you can often just move a suburb or two over and things become a bit more affordable (i.e. Glengowrie/Marion, North Brighton, Grange). There are also plenty of suburbs between the city and the beach which are still fairly affordable. Best to check out house listings on RealEstate - search via the map view and you'll get an idea of what's available for how much. There are lots of other things to think about when considering a suburb to move to. Where you'll be working, what you want to do on weekends, whether you want to be car dependent, whether you want access to public transport, whether you want amenities other than a supermarket and hot chicken shop within walking distance etc. Some of this you can research online, some you'd be better off renting when you get over and getting the feel of different locations. Nowhere in Adelaide is particularly unsafe, although some northern areas around Elizabeth don't have the best reputation.

A lot of the time discussions in the South Australia section of this forum relate very much to residential areas of Adelaide, but the city itself receives less attention. I have a little bit of an interest in architecture and urban development so I thought it might be interesting to those who aren't hugely familiar with Adelaide to know about some of the development work which has been re-shaping the city over the last few years. After remaining relatively unchanged for a lengthy period of time, the skyline has really started to grow over the last 5 to 10 years - with new apartment, office and hotel buildings taking shape. At 132m, Westpac House (formerly the State Bank Building) has been Adelaide's tallest building since 1988 (one of only three buildings over the 100m mark in the city). However, two new contenders for the title are currently under construction and starting to be quite visible on the skyline. At 35 storeys high, the Adelaidean building on Frome Street will be 135m tall and house a mixture of residential apartments as well as a Crowne Plaza hotel. It's currently standing at around 25 storeys so there's another 10 or so to go. (Image courtesy of the Sensational Adelaide development forum) At 40 storeys high, the Realm apartment building will equal Westpac House's height of 132m. The building was designed by renowned architects Elenberg-Fraser and features a geometric arrangement of perforated gold screens for sun/wind protection and floorplates which change shape throughout the height of the building. It's starting to look pretty stunning (Image courtesy of the Sensational Adelaide development forum) Whilst not in contention for the new tallest building, there are also a few other 100m+ buildings which are either proposed or under construction. The recently-completed Kodo apartment building on Angas Street (103m): (Image courtesy of the Sensational Adelaide development forum) The 115m Luminesque building on Currie Street will house a mixture of apartments and Adelaide's first new international 5 star hotel (Sofitel) built in 30 years. It is currently under construction and due for completion in 2020: There are also a couple of 100m+ student accommodation buildings in the pipeline - a 124m building designed by Woods Baggot approved for Twin Street: And a 118m building approved for North Terrace, directly opposite the University of Adelaide campus: All in all it's a very exciting time for the city skyline

I'd echo Curly's comments about signing up to agencies. I had similar problems finding work in my field when I first arrived 7 years ago - applied directly to lots of jobs via Seek etc but with no success. In the end I signed up with several recruitment agencies and took a number of short term contracts which were vaguely related to my field of work. Eventually I found one which enabled me to move back into my original field of work and after a while was made permanent. That was five years ago now I think the work is there in Adelaide, just a lot of it is advertised on a contract basis first. Plus, short term contracts will get some local experience on your CV, which I think is also looked upon favourably by employers. Signing up with agencies also gives a good opportunity to discuss your CV with a recruitment consultant - when we first moved over I was sticking religiously to the UK mantra of 'anything over 2 pages is a sin', but after a while realised that many employers over here will see that as too short and would prefer something a little more meaty from a resume. That was several years ago though so things might have changed in the meantime - it's worth looking in to though.

Have added a suburb guide for Bowden to the Poms in Adelaide forum just in case anyone's interested in moving to a rapidly gentrifying inner-west suburb with superb transport links to the CBD, new Royal Adelaide Hospital etc.

PS - Have added a suburb guide for Croydon/West Croydon to the Poms in Adelaide forum. Much the same as the above but with a few updates as things have changed a bit in the last year or two

I agree that in order to write such an article you’d have to be one of the residents who is happy with their situation in their chosen city. There will of course be other residents who are not and look for opportunities elsewhere. I think that with Adelaide it largely comes down to employment. If you can find employment in your required field and feel that you have the necessary job prospects to not have to worry about relocating in the future then I think it could work very well for you. Melbourne and Sydney (and to an extent Perth and Brisbane) are larger than Adelaide and, by default, have more employers in a greater range of industries. For those who cannot find an appropriate career path in Adelaide then these cities would probably be a better option. I absolutely love Melbourne and we visit often. I enjoy Sydney too – although to a lesser extent as it feels a little more harsh and less ‘arty’ than Melbs (more like London). However, even with the increased salaries that are on offer in those cities, we could not afford to live anywhere near the CBD and would be out in the suburbs a good 30-40 minute drive from the action. I wouldn’t really therefore consider myself as to be living ‘in Melbourne’ – I’d be living in a suburb of Melbourne and would be able to visit occasionally (and to be honest if I spent 30-40 mins every day commuting to the CBD I’d be much less inclined to make the same journey on the weekend to visit for leisure). So with regards to how well Adelaide would suit residents ‘outside of the PR’ – well, I am one of those people. I moved to Adelaide in 2012 when I was 32, having lived most of my life in a very bustling city in the UK and I certainly had reservations that I would find Adelaide a little dull. However, both my wife and I have secured good jobs in our chosen industries, with promising prospects for the future. We have bought our own 3 bedroom house on a large block in a beautiful and friendly heritage suburb 3km outside of the CBD. Our commute to work is less than 15 minutes by train (including the walk at each end) or 20 minutes by bike through lovely parklands. We rarely use the car – only occasionally on the weekends. When we do, it’s a 10 minute drive to a beautiful beach – we often pop down to watch the sunsets and have an ice cream. Our social lives are at least as good as they were in the UK – we are loving exploring all of the new bars and craft breweries that have been popping up over the last few years and we still see a fair amount of live music (although admittedly we do not see as much as we did in the UK, partly due to there being fewer acts which we would want to see - Melbourne would indeed be better here - and partly as we’re getting old and ratty). We have built up a great group of friends (none of whom have problem finding work, I know of only a couple of people who have moved interstate, but we have also picked up a few people to our group who have moved here from Melbs and Sydney so it pretty much balances out). I get to visit possibly the most attractive sporting ground in the country every other week to watch the footy in the winter and the cricket in summer – again, it’s 10 minutes from home and it costs $30 a game or less if you stand. On the weekends it’s a 10 minute trip into the CBD for shopping, eating and leisure (granted, I’d love an H&M and a few more smaller stores like the ones on Brunswick Street in Melbourne but I do OK here). Alternatively, it’s a 30-40 minute drive to two of the best wine regions in the world (which bodes well as we both love our Shiraz). It’s wrong to compare Adelaide with the bigger cities. It will never have the range of employment options, shopping, eating and leisure that Melbourne and Sydney do. But Adelaide is not Melbourne or Sydney. It’s a smaller “boutique” city with its own offerings, which have undoubtedly improved tenfold over the last five years or so (and show no particular signs of stopping). It doesn’t have the traffic, it’s still completely affordable to live a stone’s throw from the CBD, in the middle of the city, or right by the beach – whatever you prefer. I haven’t been bored on a weekend since we arrived over five years ago, despite hailing from what is possibly the most leisure-focused city in the UK (which I made full use of over my years there). When we finally decide to settle down and pop out a couple of kids I know it’s going to be such an easy city to live in. Parks, walks, beaches – no overcrowding or air pollution. Adelaide’s been great for me. Your experience may vary.

How timely - here's an article published in the Adelaide Review today which is worth a read. Talks about how much Adelaide has changed in the last decade. http://adelaidereview.com.au/features/general/coming-home-one-decade-changed-adelaide/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TAR 120517&utm_content=TAR 120517+CID_c7f65b6caa0eb93ec2632b8bda2035d6&utm_source=Editorial Newsletter&utm_term=Read on

I've found that the higher salary more than balances out the higher price of certain goods. Plus, unless you're over here on holiday or you're using up savings from overseas it makes no sense in comparing prices between the UK and Australia. Just look at it as a % of your wages or, as I still do, work everything out in pints of beer.

Wow, I wasn’t in Adelaide in 2007 but it doesn’t sound like Adelaide today. Depends on your point of view I guess – seems perfectly respectable to me (and I'm originally from leafy Sussex). As in any city there are more upmarket areas and less ‘desirable’ areas – the CBD’s a pretty safe bet though. Plus, as in any city (and as much as I love public transport), you do tend to get all sorts on the buses. Not sure what it is about buses...

Blimey, I should go into marketing myself – selling Adelaide to a Sydneysider. I'll put that on my CV. Adelaide will be a tad cooler than QLD in August – probably around 17 degrees (according to the internet). Depends on whether you were planning any sunbathing… In all seriousness though, I wouldn’t rule the place out based on one visit in 2007. If you’ve got the time it’s worth checking it out for future reference. if you do decide to head over will be happy to share some eating/socialising tips.

I first came over to Adelaide in 2010 (moved permanently in 2012) and in the six years since my first visit the place has changed incredibly. There is so much going on now that it feels like a completely different city. Not that booze is the be all and end all but they changed the licensing laws back in, I think, 2012/13 and gave the green light for small bars to open in the CBD (yep, until then only large hotels were allowed – go figure). In conjunction with an incredibly progressive mayor and a city-focused state government the place has genuinely changed immeasurably since then. The options in the CBD for eating and socialising are so much greater than they were back in 2012 (I think 60+ new bars have opened in the CBD since the law changed and a good number of great new food places too). Coupled with the redevelopment of the Oval/bringing footy back into the CBD, plentiful foodtrucks and the ongoing apartment boom, the city feels so much more alive than it did when I first arrived and there are still cranes throughout the city building new stuff. A laneway culture is gradually being developed and there is a project in place to pedestrianise a couple more CBD laneways in the coming months which should build upon this even further. Since you last visited the tram line has been extended through the CBD to the north-west of the city (my neck of the woods) and there is a new spur going in this year towards the east (with more extensions planned for the future). As mentioned before, it's a really easy cycling city as it's so flat and the cycle path network is gradually expanding through the suburbs and the CBD. In my opinion the weather is fantastic. Late spring and early autumn are just beautiful – it tends to sit at 23-27 degrees for several weeks on end with very little rain. Summer is hot – often in the 35 degree range but can hit 40-43 several times during the season – but humidity is low so it’s not overbearing in my opinion. We head to the beach loads in spring, summer, autumn to walk or sit and watch the amazing sunsets. Winter is a mixed bag, we get quite a bit of rain (despite being the driest state) but full days of rain are quite rare, when it does rain it usually stops within an hour and due to the low humidity the pavements and roads dry up pretty quickly so you forget it happened. There are some nice sunny days in winter too. There are mixed opinions about employment – like I say neither myself, my partner or any of our fairly large group of friends seem to have had any trouble in finding work. Obviously it’s a smaller city though so options won’t be as plentiful as Sydney and Melbourne and I’ve heard stories from new immigrants who have found it difficult to find something in their chosen field. I love it here, it suits me just fine in my 30s and we can afford to buy a house 5 mins drive/train/tram from the CBD and 10 mins from the beach whilst not really missing out on many large city conveniences (although I’d quite like an H&M – hopefully there’ll be one opening up soon if rumour is to be believed). It's obviously not Sydney or Melbourne and will never have the range of activities, venues, events etc found in such large cities. But I've come to appreciate that as a positive (i.e. no overcrowding, bugger all in the way of traffic jams, you can almost always get a seat on the train etc) - and both of these big cities are cheap and quick flights away. Even if you never consider moving here I’d recommend a weekend in spring to check it out.

People might laugh at this one but have you considered Adelaide? My partner and I are the same age as you guys and Adelaide suits us perfectly. The city has changed so much in the last 4-5 years and is growing in vibrancy all the time – there’s a great café culture, loads of small bars and eateries, various festivals, a pretty good live music scene, plentiful craft breweries, footy and cricket at the Oval etc. Cycling culture is growing pretty quickly and there's some fairly decent infrastructure in place now, with more planned for the CBD in the next year or so. Plus the weather’s great (it doesn’t get humid like the GC can and winters are nothing like those of Melbourne), there are superb wine regions to the north and south and everywhere’s close to a beach (especially if you head to one of the beach-side suburbs like Glenelg, Henley etc). House prices are still realistic – we’ve just bought our first house (a 3 bedder on 600sqm a stone’s throw from the CBD) and we’ve had no problem at all in finding work. Well worth a look if you haven’t been before.

One thing I have heard about bringing European cars into Oz (and I don’t know whether it’s true or not) is that Australian cars are fitted with glass which gives a higher level of UV protection. If you bring a European car over (especially an older one) then you might be more likely to be sunburnt just whilst out and about. Also the upholstery and dashboard etc can degrade more quickly. Again, not sure if it’s true or an old wive’s tale but something to bear in mind. You might want to budget for getting the windows lightly tinted (I think most tinting films offer UV protection) if you choose to bring it over. Also, does it have air con? If it doesn’t and you’re not moving to Tassie then you might want to reconsider. I’m sure there are plenty of other considerations regarding taxes, roadworthy inspections, higher insurance premiums (if they’ll insure it at all) etc – I’ll leave that for someone more knowledgeable to advise on.

My final timeline was: Date applied - 27/06/16 City/Council area - Adelaide/Charles Sturt Online / Paper - Online Date received the acknowledgement email - 27/06/16 Date of the Citizenship Test - 12/09/16 Date of ceremony offered initially - 15/11/2017 (couldn't attend as interstate) Date of ceremony attended - 26/01/2017 Type of ceremony (Urgent/Normal) - Normal

Under the new rules it will be four years from the start of his PR (i.e. issuance of the 100 visa) - providing he meets whatever other requirements are asked. That means he'll be eligible in August 2020. Under the old rules he would have been eligible in October 2018 (assuming he met all other requirements)

Mate, I reckon you'll be fine. I feel these changes are more geared towards giving the Dept of Immigration more power in situations where, for example, a guy brings his family over as his dependents and then leave his non-English speaking wife and kids sitting in the house all day not integrating into the community. These changes will make it more important for the whole family to learn English and to integrate into Aussie life, rather than just the main visa holder. I think this is a good thing, but for 90% of applicants won't change much. Try not to worry about it until the full details are released - I strongly suspect that not all aspects of the announced changes will apply in every situation (e.g. I would have thought it quite possible there would be an exemption from the English test for native speakers and/or those who have already passed their IELTS for their initial visa application). Might as well wait for things to be clarified before worrying

There's some info on this thread: https://www.pomsinoz.com/index.php?/topic/49381-Student-Loans It's a couple of years old but still relevant. You'll likely find that you'll be liable to pay significantly more than you would have been doing via PAYE back in the UK - the exchange rates and cost of living calculations used by the SLC don't tend to work in your favour (although on the plus side you'll pay the loan off sooner). Whilst the SLC can be a nightmare to deal with (refer to other thread) if the calculated repayments are too high then people have had success in asking them if a lower amount can be paid. Whilst many people do just ignore the debt when moving overseas, I personally wouldn't as I have read that the UK and Australian governments will be cooperating more closely on unpaid student loans in future so it is entirely possible that they could chase you for the money over here. That'll be after they've applied penalty fees and moved you over to a commercial interest rate as per their T&Cs on non payment. Even if they don't catch you over here, because it's technically a Government debt, next time you head back to the UK they can stop you at the airport and prevent you from leaving until payment arrangements are made. That's if they can pull their fingers out and find you of course. Up to you as to whether you want to take the risk... One thing to bear in mind if that their overseas payment assessments are valid for a year - if you've only just arrived and are ​currently not working and can prove you're living off of savings then it might be worth getting an assessment now as you'll not be liable for payment for 12 months. Or, as someone said above you could ask for a year's grace period - haven't heard of that before but it could work. Of course they might just say no... Oh, and payments aren't pre-tax or PAYE over here as there's no system to do that, nor are they tax deductable. You'll need to either pay manually every month using a debit card over their website or set up a direct debit from a UK bank account. I think some people get a credit card with zero fees on international purchases specifically for this but my opinion is they just stick you with less competitive exchange rates - they get their money one way or the other. Also, the minimum payment amounts listed on the SLC website relate to the default payment amount that will be applied if you go AWOL and they eventually catch up with you. If you keep in touch with them then they'll calculate a payment amount based on your salary (hence my comment above about getting an assessment done now if you're not earning very much yet). All in all it depends on how long you plan to be over here. If you're only here for a couple of years then sod it and just get back in touch when you get back to the UK. If you're here permanently then it might work out easier in the long term just to make arrangements to pay it off monthly.

This is not how I read or understood it. The announcement by Turnbull was along the lines of "applicants will be asked to demonstrate that they have integrated into Australian society, for example by joining clubs or by providing evidence that they are employed and their children are in school". He used being in employment as an example of integrating into Australian life - of which there are many variations. A spouse not working due to bringing up a newborn baby sounds pretty legitimate and is hugely commonplace amongst both new and established Australian residents/citizens. Presumably you'll be able to provide evidence that you're working and that your wage is enough to support your family (I doubt claiming state childcare benefit would count against you because everyone who has a kid does it). Plus by then you might have evidence of your kid attending kindy etc. Maybe you support an Aussie rules or NFL team and have membership? Perhaps you or your wife assist at local community events or something child-related (apologies, is it obvious I don't have kids nor know very much about what they get up to?)? I'm pretty sure that as long as you're both not sitting at home on the dole, not speaking English, not sending your kids to school and never attending any community/sporting events etc then you'll be just fine. If you're really worried then you've got a few years to get involved in some stuff which you know would look good on your application. But, this is all just speculation until the full details are announced.

Other than the previously mentioned voting rights and consular assistance, the other benefit that I was always worried about was that whilst I do not plan to leave Australia other than for holidays, if either of my parents in the UK have no other option than to rely on me for care in the future (I have my sister and her family in the UK so hopefully that's unlikely) then my other half and I have agreed we would need to move back to the UK temporarily to look after them. My understanding is that the initial PR visa is valid for 5 years, after which a Resident's Return Visa (RRV) needs to be applied for if you are planning on travelling outside of Oz. I think this is valid for another 5 years. If this expires whilst you are outside of Australia then it can be difficult to be granted a visa to get back in and you'll need to go through the rigours of proving genuine and continuing ties to Australia (which presumably can be difficult after you've spent 5+ years living somewhere else). Citizenship is forever - therefore if circumstances change in the future and I need to leave the country for 5-10 years (highly unlikely I know) then I know I'll always be able to return. This is a pretty far-fetched scenario and as such probably won't be a worry to most people but I like the certainty.

I'm sure they'd take childcare and other caring roles into account in these cases. Similarly, I can't really see they'd discriminate against someone who chooses not to work because their partner is a high income earner. The overall spirit of the announcement seemed to suggest they were looking to avoid awarding citizenship to people who had deliberately chosen not to integrate into Aussie life e.g. people living on welfare despite being physically and mentally able to work, not learning to speak at least a basic level of English after four years of residency, not integrating into the community through clubs, events etc. I would suspect that the main drivers for citizenship will be meeting the residency requirement, passing the citizenship test and passing an English language test (which may be waived for those who are from a native English-speaking background). My gut feeling is that the other factors relating to how you integrate into the community would only come into play in terms of applicants from high-risk countries during an extended citizenship interview (i.e something longer than the one I had as a UK-born migrant where I basically said hello and confirmed my name/address). In reality, the big change here is the residency requirement. The citizenship test could certainly do with beefing up as in its current form is nothing more than a tick-box exercise implemented purely so that the government can tell voters they subject applicants to what sounds like a scary exam when in reality it's just a very easy 20-question multiple choice questionnaire which you can attempt repeatedly until probability dictates you'll score 70%. I don't imagine it will be much different in its new incarnation, but of course most voters won't know that...

Yep, I moved for love - came over on a 309/100 partner visa after I met a girl back in the UK in 2009 who turned out to be an Aussie. We emigrated in 2012 and (finally) married last year. The one thing I would add to the above advice is that it definitely takes time to settle in fully to a new country. The pull of family and friends back home will always be there but it does diminish over time as you gradually build up a support system here. It's obviously different with new friends as you do lack the 'history' that you would have with many people back home but, again, a history does build up again over time. I would say it took me two years to feel settled. Other than the first couple of weeks after the emotional goodbyes, the first few months were great - it all felt like a bit of a holiday, but then the reality of what I had done set it. I would say months 6-18 were the worst in terms of home sickness and I genuinely considered moving back home on many occasions (with the other half obviously). It made it more difficult that I had no old friends to talk things through down the pub, and no family around to hassle with my worries. But, after about two years (and I've heard the two year milestone mentioned many times before on this forum) I started to feel much more settled. I had built up enough of a social life to give me options as to what to do on a weekend (that grew further over time as well although is still nowhere near the lifelong network I had back in the UK) and I felt much more comfortable with work and Australian life in general. I think that before you migrate here it's so easy to think of Australian as UK: Southern Hemisphere Division and when you get here you realise it's actually very different in so many ways - some subtle, some not. It takes a long time to settle in to that but I've now come to really appreciate little things that I thought were crazy when I first came over. In short - my advice would be that, providing you're happy in your relationship, see it through to the two year mark. Your friends and, seemingly, your flat will still be there if you decide to return (and two years is nothing in the grand scheme of things). I'd say that 10 months is too short a period to determine whether you will ever feel at home here and, in my experience, was smack bang in the middle of my most homesick period. If it had been easy for me to move home at the 10 month mark I almost certainly would have done. But I'm extremely glad I didn't now. Besides, look at all the political and economic rubbish that's going on back in the UK. I'd be giving that a wide berth for a few more years if I had the option.

Have just stumbled upon this and had to add that I highly recommend Croydon/West Croydon as a place to consider if you are moving to Adelaide. We moved there in 2014 and absolutely love the place. It has so much going for it - there's a great 'village centre' with retro furniture shops, multiple cafes (including a crêperie, a great wood-fired pizza place, a cafe which is great for breakfasts and a fabulous bakery), a children's park with BBQ area and the railway station. On that note, it has got great transport links with the CBD being a mere 7 minute ride by train or a 15 minute easy bike ride through beautiful parklands and along the River Torrens, multiple bus routes or, if you must, a 10 minute drive by car. There are a range of cute little parks in the suburb and a really friendly and slightly arty community atmosphere. Unlike many Aussie suburbs you see a huge amount of people out and about either walking or cycling through the streets. Every now and again the main street (Queen/Elizabeth Street - it changes halfway along) gets closed off for community events which are very well attended. Welland Plaza shopping centre is an easy walk across Port Road and has a Coles, a bakery, pharmacy, fruit and veg shop, Sushi Train, newsagency, post office, butchers etc. Perfect for the weekly shop. As for beaches, Henley Beach or Semaphore is a 15 minute drive by car, or you can hop on a train to the quieter Grange beach and also be there in about 15 minutes. The airport is 10-15 minutes by car and yet the suburb is nowhere near the flight path. The whole inner West seems poised to really take off on the back of the Bowden development and suburbs along the train line such as Brompton, Croydon, Woodville etc are becoming pretty sought after. Can't fault the place. West is best.

Back again for the final stage of the journey. Here's my timeline so far: Date applied - 27/06/16 City/Council area - Adelaide/Charles Sturt Online / Paper - Online Date received the acknowledgement email - 27/06/16 Date of the Citizenship Test - 12/09/16 Date of ceremony - TBC Type of ceremony (Urgent/Normal) - Normal

That's the real bonus for me. You don't get those weeks on end where you feel trapped in the house every evening after work and all weekend because it's just too miserable outside to contemplate leaving it. You very rarely get even a day like that here - even when it's bucketing down you normally just have to brew a cup of tea, wait half an hour for it to stop and, if you're really picky, wait another 10 minutes for the sun to dry everything off again outside. You can then step out of the front door without evening realising that it had rained at all. Of course, you do get the odd few days when it does rain continuously for a few hours - especially if you live up in the hills, but they really are few and far between. Most of the time it's very stop-start stuff which you can easily dodge. To be honest, I wouldn't be worrying about the winter - it's the (albeit fairly infrequent) summer heatwaves that can get annoying. Anything between 25 and 35 degrees is lovely - which luckily is most of the summer (and a fair bit of Autumn/Spring too) but the occasions where it tops 40 for 4 or 5 days in a row can get a bit uncomfortable. But that's true of anywhere in Oz - as Tyke says, at least we don't have the humidity to worry about down here. We have AC in one room and ceiling fans in the bedrooms and do just fine. The house heats up a bit, we have a few sticky nights and lose a few plants in the garden - but you only have to put up with it for a few days and you're back to the sweet summer again :biggrin: