llessur

Before we moved I had looked at average temperatures throughout the year and thought that it was nonsense that winters could ever seem 'cold' in Adelaide. To confirm my thoughts, I remember the first week we arrived in July 2012 and took a tram into the city to sort out bank accounts. It was a glorious 16-17 degree day and I was amazed that whilst I was walking through the CBD in my shorts, T-shirt and sunnies people were walking past me in duffle coats, scarves and beanies. I thought they were mad and that I'd never be like that. One year later, and after a lovely four month summer which for the most of it stayed between 27 and 40 degrees, I became one of those people who donned a big coat and a hat on a 16 degree day. It's all relative. You acclimatise and the colder days will feel cold. But, every time I feel like having a moan about it I remember walking to work in winter back home, day after day of loathing the icy wind freezing my ears to the point of genuine pain, not being able to feel my feet from the midpoint to my toes, trying to hold an umbrella up in the wind whilst the ice cold rain drove in sideways soaking my trousers (or at least that was the story I told them when I got to work - boom boom! :wink:) and I remember it's really not that bad. Yes it feels cooler in winter than it does in summer, yes it can be a bit chilly at night. But no, it doesn't hurt. And it doesn't stop you from leaving the house. It's worth it for the summer. And the spring. And the autumn.

I must admit I really prepared myself for a shock with regards to cost of living when we moved over 18 months ago but so far I haven’t found it that bad. Granted, it’s just myself and my OH so I can’t comment on school fees etc but we both have very similar jobs to those we had back home, live a broadly similar lifestyle and have so much more spare cash at the end of the month than we ever did back in the UK. Plus we run two cars here and didn’t have any back home. I’m certainly not saying this is the case for everyone and I can’t comment on how it has changed since 10 years ago as I wasn’t in Oz then but I do wonder sometimes whether people compare prices here with those back in the UK using the current exchange rate. If I’m trying to compare costs with back home (which I try not to do any more now I’m earning dollars) then I tend to use an exchange rate of between 2 and 2.5 AUD to 1 GBP. This has a fairer reflection on the wages I’m earning in a very similar job to the one I held back home – for which I earn somewhere between 2 and 2.5 times in dollars as I did in GBP. I think this will be true for many people. Sure, some things definitely are more expensive here regardless of what exchange rate you use. Supermarket groceries for one. It’s not everything – a lot of things are around the same as the UK if not a bit cheaper - but there’s always something that really pushes the price of your basket right up. I’ve generally found this to be fresh food like cooked meats, cheeses, fish as well as fruit and veg. I think the ambient groceries tend to weigh in around the same as in the UK. Interestingly, uncooked meat doesn’t seem to be too bad. A big bonus for me is car running costs – especially petrol prices. In real terms they’re less than half what they would be in the UK. We’d be paying around $3-4 per litre over here if that were the case. Even if you insist on using the current exchange rate that would still be around $2.70 a litre. At the moment in Adelaide unleaded is around the $1.30 mark after supermarket discount. In total we pay around $800 per year in rego and comprehensive insurance for each of our cars. This works out to be around the £400 mark. You can barely get road tax for that these days in the UK. Sure, second hand car prices are higher – but on the plus side you benefit from this when you sell the car so there’s no massive net loss. We didn’t run a car back home as we couldn’t afford to. Here we run two. Most Importantly, beer by the pint works out about the same using the old $2-£1 rule. $8 here, £4 back home (I’m from the South East, I know it’s cheaper ‘oop north). Even beer from the bottle shop isn’t too bad if you buy by the case - $45 for 24 bottles here, maybe £15-20 back in the supermarkets in the UK. We certainly spend more on wine over here but then we buy better stuff. Why wouldn't you when you live in one of the world's greatest wine regions? You can still pick up the same Hardys and Wolfblass stuff that’s in the supermarkets back home for less than $10 per bottle. Works out around the same. Even rental costs seem to be reasonable here in Adelaide. We’re renting a 3 bed house with large garden, garage etc in the suburbs – 10 mins drive from the CBD, 5 mins from the beach for $400p.w. Back home we were renting a 3 bed place with no garden for £1200 per month (around £277 a week or $554 using the 2:1 rule). So far we’ve had no nasty surprises with utility bills either compared to the UK – they work out around the same. Plus we have the added bonus of not having to pay council tax as we're renting. I guess we have moved from an expensive part of the UK to one of the cheaper cities in Australia which may have skewed things a little for us. Still, our quality of life here is certainly better. Although I really do miss the pubs…

Yeah, it can be a funny old place sometimes. It reminds me a bit of the BBC TV show Life on Mars. If you've seen it and have worked in Adelaide you'll know what I mean.

Fair points and everyone's experience is different I guess so don't take my word for it. I think a lot of it will depend on what type of job you're applying for and where. When we first moved to Adelaide we were applying to relatively small businesses with very few members of staff - mainly admin-type roles. I think this is where you will be better off hiding your UK experience as small business generally aren't able to cope with high staff turnover as easily as a larger business. Of course, if you were in Sydney applying to large financial organisations then international experience is probably more highly regarded so perhaps not best to hide it. Again, for professionals - accountants, engineers, doctors etc, then UK experience is probably something that should be shouted from the rooftops. The CV length I did discuss with several recruitment agencies and got the feedback that over here longer is better. But, then again, this is Adelaide which tends to be a bit behind the times compared to some of the other cities.

I came over on a partner visa so not exactly the same but both myself and my OH took a while to get jobs when we first came over - despite both having good experience. Perhaps this isn't so relevent to your OH as he's already been here 3 years but if there are any new arrivals reading this there are a few things that helped us find work which might help you too: Tip 1: Don't bother with applying directly to companies via adverts on Seek etc. I get the impression that they're not too fussed about people without local experience. Sign up with as many recruitment agencies as possible (preferably those specialising in your field of work) and be prepared to take *anything* remotely related to your role that comes up - even if it's a really short term position. Especially if it's with a well-known company. Having any form of local experience on your CV seems to make you more attractive on the job market over here even if it's a temporary step down from your previous role. Tip 2: Read up on Aussie CV styles. They're surprisingly different to back home in the UK where I have always been told that anything over 2 pages will get your application chucked in the bin immediately and, more so now than ever, single page bullet point CVs are often preferred. Over here they prefer a much more traditional CV - perhaps 4 to 6 pages long with detailed descriptions of the companies you have worked for and the positions you have held. Make sure yours isn't too short and 'UK style'. The Seek and CareerOne websites have some info on this. Tip 3: I think this one really worked for me. Carefully remove all references to the UK from your CV. For example, don't list the address of your previous emloyers or schools/universities. Just the names. Don't mention moving, relocating etc in your CV or cover letter. Write it as if you were local. I must have submitted 40 apps before trying this and received virtually no replies. After removing any evidence of non-Australian jobs/education from my CV the number of responses increased quite dramatically. Obviously an employer could easily determine if your experience was local or not with a quick Google search, and they'll obviously find out during an interview, but it might just get you past that initial screening of applications where they 'separate the wheat from the chaff' (i.e. the Aussies from the foreigners :wink:) and stand you a slightly better chance of getting an interview and your chance to talk your way into a job. It took us a fair while to get settled and we're still both in (albeit medium-long term) contract positions but I think that's the way it goes over here at the moment. You have to work your way in slowly through crap roles, slightly less crap roles and just about OK roles and gradually be accepted by the Aussies... Don't get me wrong - I'm not suggesting there's anything particularly discriminatory going on - as an employer I would also be wary of hiring people from overseas who, despite claiming they're "here forever", might just bugger off again in 6 months because they're homesick or similar. Hiring a local must be slightly less hassle for them in the long run so I can't really blame them. I'm sure it happens back home too.

Well, can't believe it's been so long since originally putting my stats on here when I applied for my 309/100 partner visa but my PR's finally been granted - exactly two years and two weeks since the application was received by Australia House in London! Timeline is as follows: 26/09/11 - 309/100 application sent to AH by Special Delivery 28/09/11 - Email received requesting alternative form of payment (Amex not accepted by AH) 29/09/11 - Full payment taken from Visa card 06/10/11 - Case officer assigned (WP). Medicals and police checks requested plus certified copy of my OH's UK passport (we only sent a copy of the Australian one). 12/10/11 - Medical undertaken at Bridge Clinic in Maidenhead 04/11/11 - WP advised no further information required and hopes to be able to grant within 5-6 months of lodgement date (29/09) 26/01/12 - WP advised 309 visa granted 24/06/13 - Letter received from Partner Processing Centre in Brisbane requesting support for SC100 visa 08/07/13 - Documentation returned to Brisbane 14/10/13 - SC100 visa granted! The second stage (i.e. SC100) application process was a doddle compared to the initial application - all they wanted was a stat dec from myself and my OH stating that our relationship was still genuine and continuing and the completion of a really short (2 pages from memory) form that seemed to just be confirming our current address etc. Other than the pre-paid delivery acknowledgement I sent with my second stage application I received no other contact from the Partner Processing Centre in Brisbane. I still haven't had an official confirmation letter/email from them but VEVO shows my SC309 visa is no longer active and that I'm on a new SC100 visa - this was confirmed with DIAC by phone just to be sure! Anyways, I'll be sure to drop in from time to time and will put the final touches to my timeline in a couple of years or so when, hopefully, it'll be citizenship time..... Best of luck to those who are still waiting!!! :wink:

I'm not a local but I thought it was the case that St Kilda *used* to be much more of a dodgy area than it is now and has been gentrified somewhat in recent years. Sometimes a place's previous reputation can linger on despite modern reality being completely different. For example, my hometown of Brighton back in the UK used to be quite a hole back in the 70s/80s and I'm amazed at the number of times non-residents have slated it as such in recent years when in reality it's an utterly different and much nicer, safer place to be than it was back then - despite there being a few remaining areas which have yet to fully catch up. The old reputation is hard to shake...

NAB have a good migrant bank account which you can set up before you leave - it's a 'no fee' account which is a good thing. We've been with NAB since we came over last June and they've been great so far. http://migrant.nabgroup.com/en/new-main-landing-page/australia Best of luck with the move!

It has been really good - we didn't have jobs lined up (we're on a spouse visa - my OH is the Aussie) so we took the opportunity to travel for a bit before settling down - drove the Stuart Highway to Darwin then across The Kimberly to Broome, down the West coast to Perth, on to Margaret River and then back to Adelaide across the Nullabor. Took us about 3 months and was fantastic - such a beautiful and enormous country. We've found the transition from Brighton city centre to the Adelaide suburbs a little bit tough sometimes - it's great in the summer but now it's winter we really miss the closeness of pubs, shops, cafes, pubs, and pubs. Still, it's a different way of life and my liver could do with a rest to be honest. There are some great places here but you have to travel to find them - makes getting home a bit of a trek. Perth is lovely, we half considered staying put when we were on our travels but we didn't really have enough money to settle down and my folks were coming over to Adelaide for Christmas so we had to head back really. We've just got some semi-permanent jobs here so hopefully things are now starting to settle down and we can begin living like real people again and have a holiday or two, buy a better car etc!

We were just round the corner then - where Upper Gloucester Road meets Buckingham Road - just opposite the Eddy pub. Man I miss the pubs... Hope Perth goes well for you - we spent some time there and it was amazing. We really loved Fremantle too - we're half contemplating moving there one day!

We've visited Melbourne a few times - although my OH's been a lot more being the Aussie half of the partnership. We've always had a good time there and there seems to be more than enough in the way of entertainment (either paid or just wandering through the city) to keep us occupied. Plus we have a fair few friends there now (a lot of my OH's friends moved to Melbs from Adelaide in their mid twenties - as well as knowing a few people from back in the UK who live there now) so hopefully we'll have some friends to do stuff with too. I can sort of see the attraction of the burbs, especially if you've got a family, but after a few months of renting in the burbs here in Adelaide I get a bit restless when I think that this could be *it* for the rest of my life. I'm definitely a city person :wink: Ah, I've never actually been to Prahan - just going from what some friends have told us. Presumably they meant the top end of Chapel Street. That's probably a good thing, like I say I like grime - reminds me of home. Yeah we've got a car but even here in Adelaide we try to rely on public transport as much as possible. We're lucky that we have a bus that goes straight to the CBD from the end of our road - we bus to work and back and also if we head into the city on the weekends. We only really use the car for shopping or for longer trips. Melbourne's tram network is awesome though. It's so sad to think Adelaide had a really comprehensive network until it was all ripped up in the 50s.

We moved over to Adelaide in June 2012 on partner visa to spend a bit of time with the OH's family. We always planned to move onto Melbourne soon after as we'd prefer to be in a bigger city (we're city folk I guess) - we've got a rental here in Adelaide at the moment and have toyed with the idea of staying put but we had a talk last night and are still going to pack up and move, probably just after Christmas. If we don't do it now then we probably never will. Not sure exactly where we'll head yet but want to be as close to the CBD as possible - we have a friend who owns a rental in Prahran and if we stick to our planned timing then it looks like it may be available for us by the time we look to move which would save us a huuuge amount of hassle in sorting out a rental from interstate and would give us a base to look for work. By choice I think we'd probably like to live in Fitzroy, Brunswick East or possibly Carlton but if we have an easy rental option for our initial arrival then we can't really turn that down. Plus, Prahran's still pretty nice, if not a little posh. Personally I love the grungy, arty, busy feel of Melbourne - it feels a bit more 'real' to me somehow. Perhaps I'm just used to things being a little bit damp and mouldy back in the UK and am looking for some home comforts :wink:. I'm a bit like my Dad - I've always felt a bit trapped in the suburbs and I prefer an environment where there's a lot of people around me. I remember when we were looking to move house when I was little that my Dad wouldn't even look at anything in a cul-de-sac or close. Now I've done it myself I can see why - things can get a bit stale, seeing the same 5 or 6 people over and over again. A bit like the Truman show. Mowing your lawn. Putting the bins out. Washing the car. Same day each week. Week in week out. Year after year. Until you die. Or fall over and break a hip and have to get someone called Ted in to do it all for you. Sure, in the city you can be woken up at 5am by a pack of drunk students working their way home across your front lawn, but it keeps things unpredictable and occasionally I like to be reminded that there's something else out there... Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent now. Melbourne's great. Move there.

Ahhh, we moved over from Brighton just over a year ago. Still miss it a lot - I always knew it was a brilliant place but didn't quite realise how brilliant until I left :biggrin:. I don't miss the weather though. Well, apart from the first 30 minutes when it snows. After that it gets boring and a bit sludgy. How is the place? Still good? Say hello for me...

Ah, it's been a while since I posted on here but things have been so busy since we moved over to Adelaide just over a year ago! I've never lived in Melbourne but have visited a couple of times and love the place. Adelaide is very pretty, feels quite compact (unless you live waaaay out in the suburbs that is) and, like several other people have mentioned, would be a fantastic place to bring up a family - great amenities, lovely beaches, plenty in the way of parklands and public open spaces. However, saying that, we've been used to city life back in the UK and have struggled just a little bit in getting fully settled here in Adelaide (even though this is where my partner hails from) as it does feel sleepy. The strangest thing to me is that the CBD really is just that - a business district. Very few people live in the city centre compared to the average city back in the UK so after 6pm on weekdays and on weekends 80% of the CBD is very quiet indeed as it comprises mainly offices. Even the cafes in some areas shut on weekends as the passing trade just isn't there. There are a few main streets which are a bit more lively - Rundle Mall/Street for shopping, Hindley Street for bars and *ahem* other services, and Gouger Street for a great selection of places to eat. Of course, there are some real gems of places (shops, bars, restaurants) scattered in other areas that are open outside of business hours but you have to look for them and it can sometimes be a slightly eerie walk to find them. I watched a film a few years ago about an apocalyptic situation where all but three people on Earth just disappeared. No carnage, no wreckage. Just empty streets and buildings as far as the eye could see and a sort of 'echo' about the place. The CBD feels a bit like that outside of working hours. Melbourne however has much more of a 'London' feel about it. But a clean and friendly London. Like how you'd make it if you designed it again. Buzzing on the weekends and evenings, multiple shopping/eating/entertainment areas and a lot more choice if you want to head into town after work or on the weekend. Really depends what you like and how much you use (or want to use) the city/CBD. If your lifestyle involves going to work and then heading straight home to be with the family and on the weekends driving out to some fantastic scenic places, or the beach, or the park, or BBQing in the garden and doing the majority of your shopping in out of town complexes then you'll have a great life in Adelaide and you'll save a fair few dollars too! Some of the best wine regions in the world are right on the doorstep, the hills are fantastically beautiful at all times of year, it feels safe (lunatic drivers aside) and the airport is so close which is great for family visits and holidays. Providing you don't live right out in the furthest suburbs you'll still be within relatively easy access of everything. If, however, you work in or near the CBD and fancy a drink after work on a Friday, want to buy dresses in trendy little boutiques (my OH, not me), like the buzz of a busy city atmosphere and want public transport that runs regularly on anything other than a main road, perhaps you like a little art and/or live music all year round or you like those cafes full of vintage sofas and lampshades and people with thick rimmed glasses, rockabilly haircuts and I heart Morrissey badges, or if you want sushi/dumplings/noodles/baklava/colorful Chinese cakes at all hours day or night and want a decent chance of seeing an international band/show/play etc when they come to Australia then you'll probably get on a little better in Melbourne. We genuinely love Adelaide but we're 32 and 27 (won't tell you which of us is which age), have no plans for kids in the next couple of years at least and on the weekends are more likely to take a walk through the city for a couple of pints over lunch, do a spot of shopping and then see a band/show or something than we are to head up to the hills and buy some (very nice) German sausage so our plan has always been to move over to Melbourne. We're a bit behind schedule as we haven't been able to save quite as much money as we planned but we should be there within the next 6 months. Either way it's bloody great here. You won't go to far wrong :wink:

Have heard good things about Moneycorp so would definitely give them a try. However, it's also worth checking out the Amex International Payments site - not sure if it's up and running completely yet but I've made a couple of transfers as part of their pilot roll out of the system and the rates/fees have been really competitive. I'm not sure if these good rates are just for the pilot roll out though. Worth keeping an eye on when it's fully launched over the next few weeks...

Have just found a couple more promising Aussie bands after this year's Great Escape new music festival in Brighton. Worth checking out: Red Ink Jinja Safari Ben Salter Oliver Tank

OH flew back to Oz with them last year and couldn't fault them. She didn't notice the seats being uncomfortable and said in-flight entertainment/food was good. Based on this experience (and the fact that we wanted a stopover in HK) we're flying out to Adelaide on 20th June with them. Will let you know how it goes. I love flying so looking forward to it!

We're not shipping much - just three tea cartons. Went with PSS as they seem to have a buy two boxes, get a third free offer on at the moment. That's 90kg of stuff in three big boxes, door-to-door including collection for about £140 all in. Not too bad I reckon - but then I'll be honest and say I didn't really do that much shopping around...

This is absolutely how I see long haul flights - if someone told me that I could sit in a reclining leather chair, watch as many movies as I liked and have meals and snacks brought to me for twenty-odd hours I'd jump at the chance... Needless to say I love long haul flights

Ah, my OH would be much better at this one than I am as she's the Aussie amongst us but have got into a fair bit of Aussie stuff since we've been together. I'm not too hot on the punk side of things but I reckon it's worth giving the following a try. Some are becoming quite well known on the international scene nowadays so you might already be aware... Cloud Control The Jezebels Machine Translation Dappled Cities Angus and Julia Stone Lisa Mitchell Sia Holly Throsby Sarah Blasko Midnight Juggernauts Paul Dempsey I Heart Hiroshima The Grates The Panics The Temper Trap Interestingly, although we're in the UK we have managed to see all but four of the above live in the past three years. I think I'm going to miss the music scene here in Brighton. Also, it's well worth keeping an eye on the following: http://www.soundsaustralia.com.au/ http://www.beat.com.au/ http://www.polyesterrecords.com/ Happy hunting!

Nice story - really glad it has given you the clarity of mind and that you still have the opportunity to move back. At least you won't be troubled by the 'what if' bug for the rest of your life! Best of luck for you and your family's future in sunny Perth! :biggrin:

Or perhaps the national "let's all leave work just after lunch and get trollied on G&T" day. I would be firmly behind that one.

Yes, they were marching as part of the 'March for England' event which for some reason descends upon Brighton each year on the weekend closest to St George's Day. They don't have any support in such a diverse city such as Brighton so I don't understand why they do this - they all arrive on the train from London and Crawley and I believe they just come down to Brighton because they know there'll be a lively counter protest and they're looking for a fight in the name of 'patriotism'. I am not at all trying to suggest all those who want to celebrate St George's Day are in the same bracket as those who march for the EDL or other groups - I am just suggesting that the very notion of St George's day has been hijacked and probably forever tainted with images of drunken shaven-headed men with iron cross tattoos swaggering their way through the streets at 11am and yelling racist abuse at anyone they deem not to be 'English' enough. My point was that for a national day to be successful and to not be hijacked and essentially given a lingering air of jingoistic racism by extreme groups it needs to be whole-heartedly embraced and promoted by the government of that country. If this had been done for St George's Day for the last twenty years or so then these comparatively tiny actions by groups such as the EDL would hardly be noticed. However, instead they make headline news because nothing else of note is happening. Because its name has been unfortunately dragged through the mud somewhat, I simply wonder if St George's Day might be a bit of a write-off. A bit like the whole Dwain Chambers argument going on at the moment - is it really worth the hassle of tarting up a previously disgraced drug cheat to represent your nation in the Olympics, or would we just be better off telling him "thanks but no thanks" and finding someone with a cleaner image to run for us? The latter would probably be better all round. The trouble with St George's Day is that, rightly or wrongly, it tends to conjure up images of middle aged, middle class flag-waving twits as commonly seen sobbing on the Last Night of the Proms passing little hankies around and dreaming of days when schoolroom globes were largely pink and Britannia ruled the waves helping to spreading our sturdy railroad systems (and syphilis) around the ungrateful colonies. Actually, those days possibly aren't something to be too proud of depending on your viewpoint. Also, it really doesn't help that as a nation we have largely disgraced ourselves in the international football arena - the seemingly endless world cup footage of groups of 20+ stone men with their faces painted white and red yelling abuse at foreign policemen before throwing up the lager they had for breakfast in the streets can't really be classed as A1 promotional material. Nor does the fact that to the outside world, a 'holiday' for many English people seems to involve putting on their best England football shirts and gold chains, hopping on an Easyjet flight to some tired Spanish seaside resort before tying a St George's cross towel to the hotel balcony and then spending the whole week wandering between numerous English bars whilst sampling some of the finest English breakfasts that "Dave's English Cafe" has to offer. Of course this isn't true for most people but it is unfortunately the image we have gained. What works for shiny "new" countries like Australia, or the historical "underdog" countries such as Ireland won't necessarily work for an aging colonial power with an arguably chequered past like the UK or, if you want to be specific, England (after all, you wouldn't hold your Grannie's 90th birthday party in the lapdancing club you celebrated in your 18th would you?). If we have to have a national day then it needs to have some damn clever marketing behind it to avoid it looking a bit like one of those YouTube videos of American soldiers urinating on the dead bodies of Afghan villagers. For example, is it really St Paddy's day any more, or could it equally be known as International Guinness and Leprechaun Hat Day? I'm not sure how much of a place that nationalism really has in an ever diversifying world. I find it ridiculous that so many Brits are so set against the idea of a unified Europe when history has so horrifically proven what can happen when it exists as a collection of nations. Plus, culturally we have so much in common with our European cousins that the nationalistic arguments just don't make sense. Massive countries like China, India, Brazil and Argentina are all steadily growing in power and influence so Britain and, even more so England, are becoming smaller and less significant as each year passes. Perhaps our time as an individual nation is coming to and end and a far more prosperous and secure future exists as a fully committed member of the European Union (once they've sorted out the financial mess that is). Just my personal view - Happy St George's day if that's your cup of tea... :wink:

Having watched the absolute dross of the EDL march (or try to march) through the streets of Brighton yesterday (and the same in previous years) it has taken away all the shine of St George's day for me. As far as I'm concerned the misguided shaven headed football chanting crowd of this type of group have taken away much of the remaining inventive to celebrate the day - both the flag and the day have both been forever tainted and not really worth celebrating anymore. The trouble is, unless the government whole heartedly throws support behind unilateral celebration of a national day then it will always end up being exploited and tainted by the far right groups. Let's just have a new bank holiday in the middle of summer, call it "the non-denominational national go to the pub for the sake of it day" and get it over and done with. No more flag waving please...

We fly out on June 20th too - Adelaide to start with, we'll end up in Melbourne eventually though. Can't wait - the past few weeks at work have been so tedious. Not the most productive time of my working life! Best of luck with your future plans