Phoenix16

We will be up before our daughter, she sleeps like no one I've ever known! We usually send in the choccie labs to rouse her, then mad screaming, firstly from daughter opening pressies then secondly from husband when he remembers how redicoulsly kids toys are packed in boxes and everything has to be opened like now, then thirdly from me in despair when we realise we needed to stock up on batteries ha ha!! Then friends arrive, champers toast, more presents exchanged then a day in the sun and the pool, we do a massive platter of salad and crayfish (will be caught this weekend!) and my favourite as I'm a veggie, haloumi! Lots more champers and nibbles all day, Christmas songs playing lots of chatter and fun and then eventually we will sit down in the evening to turkey and some good old uk favourites, yes crackers (never get used to bonbons!) party hats and of course Yorkshire puddings! Eventually the kids go to bed, exhausted and happy and we sit watching the sun go down while we put the world,to rights over more champers, not s second of TV the whole day, although I would break that rule if they ever did a new Only Fools and Horses ha ha!!!

He's good!! His antibodies are mature, he worked through the worst of it while I just dismissed it as man flu ha ha!! He's doing great but looking forward to a long summer break with lots of camping tips, that's better for him than any medicine!!!

I think the biggest success we have as parents is bringing up our children well and seeing them go forth and have successful and wonderful lives, I was only ever lucky enough to have the one and the joy I look forward is seeing her grab life with both hands and living the best life she can, that's my job done and I will live happily ever after, I certainly would never want her to spend her best years looking after me, I'll be very happy in a care home home being well looked after!!!

Thank you Fifi!! Hats off to Aussie health system, they left no stone unturned, turns out he has mature antibodies for Bramah River Virus and Ross River virus too! So at some point he's had both viruses and We think it was a throwback from this!! We do have a massive mozzie infested lake behind the house .....

This is the dilemma we all face as emigrants. We don't have 1000,s sitting around in the bank account to fly back to the Uk at the drop of a hat and this does worry us at times. Luckily both sets of our parents are healthy right now and they do enjoy their long 'sojourns' in Australia with us, very much an all inclusive and full maid service for them when they come here ha ha!! But being honest, we're not close to our families, we really weren't in the uk and here in OZ family is us 3 and we love our life. We recently had a horrific 3 months with my husbands health, he was pretty unwell, we went from cancer test to cancer test and had to have some very confronting conversations, the last thing we would ever have wanted was family flying out and all the added stress that that entails, we have got through it, he is on the mend but we were clear it was something we would face together, just the 3 of us xxxx

You have to do what feels right for you. You will get many differing responses but no one can give you the definitive answer/reassurance you seek. Everyone's experience of emigration is different, everyone's reaction to the move is different, we can all argue that 'this is better in oz' 'that is better in uk' but it is very much a personal and unique experience to each family. I could 'argue' with many points you've made but what is the point, life is too short, if life for you is better in the UK go back and live it, you gave it a go and now you know where you really want to be so well done to you and I send you the best of wishes in your future xxx

It is a personal choice, I personally believe the public health care here is brilliant, however, it's also a no brainer at a certain salary bracket bexcause you get penalised tax wise for not having it, and so then you might as well use it. For me, the fact that when problems occur they can be swiftly dealt with is the bonus. The public health system is great here but nevertheless, if it's not life threatening then you will have to wait, my husbands disc replacement would not have been a priority but unfortunately for him, it was a total priority in terms of his quality of life by the time he decided to see his GP, we were then able to have the op and get on with life pretty quickly thereafter, like I said it's a personal thing xxxx

And to clarify, out or pocket expenses were approx $200, his 'support' tights, a few coffee's for me, the rest was covered. I actually didnt check with the surgeon in advance, we just knew he needed this op and budgeted $x from the savings, it was a pleasant surprise to find out it was all taken care of by the health insurance!!!

Im so with you, I do completely get what you are saying, unfortunately for us if we don't spent 10K a year on health insurance we get taxed 20K extra in tax so we really have no choice and if we have to pay insurance we might as well use it! However, I would say this, when it comes to serious health issues like cancer, you cannot ever get better treatment and going private will simply bankrupt you, ive seen that with my own eyes.........

I would suggest Freo area! Rental prices have definitely come down, with fremantle area you get the laid back relaxed feeling, beach is very close by, great community feel, good access to both public and private schools, its a lovely place! A very short train commute to the city,but if you prefer to drive just get up early! My hubby leaves the house at 6am and is at his desk by 6.20 max!

we are with HBF, Ive personally found health insurance to be amazing,we are a pretty healthy family but as ive learned you never know! Hubby cricked his neck on one of our many camping trips, after suffering for 9 months (like men do, it'll be right!) turns out after i finally got him to see a GP and then a specialist his C5 disk was degenerated and at the ripe old age of 39 he needed a disk replacement, by this time it had become debilitating,under HBF he saw the consultant, the consultant was awesome, laid out the risks asked him to weigh up his quality of life and could he 'live with it' given its a serious op, he decided no and had the op 2 days later, was told 6 weeks recovery, returned to week 3 weeks later and has been in great health ever since. 7 year old daughter had a spell of nocturia, saw a GP, specialist immediately queried kidney reflux, she saw a specialist within a week after scans etc, had a procedure, yes, low and behold her ureter was twisted and malfunctioning and was causing kidney reflux, fortunately the prompt thinking of the GP and immediate treatment prevented any long term kidney scarring and prevented ultimately kidney failure, so yes im all for private health in OZ, it definitely has its place, im not saying our experience would have been any different under the public system, it seems the GP i go to refers privately and so, having insurance, I just go with it but its been very very worth it for us as a family...xxxxx

whatever you are advised to stock up on it will eventually run out so i would say just embrace the new adventure and let go the essentials you will realise are not that important at the end of the day.....for the record I have to say im incredulous at advice given to stock up in primark.....the biggest tat and crap shop!!! so many better options here, if you're emigrating, just do it and don't worry about awful shops like Primark!!!

oh you better fill the container with a lifetime supply then....

You have to be joking surely!! $50 a week for the 'tuck shop'? Mt. daughter 's school is allowed visits to the 'canteen' (aka tuck shop) 2 times a week and maximum kitty in purse is $2 for a jelly or a cookie.

Sorry OP but I'm really really happy there is no Argos here!!! If my memory serves me right I just hated flicking through the catalogue, writing the product number on a bit of paper, queuing up to pay at a till then queuing up to wait until the product was brought to the counter then getting frustrated waiting until the person manning the counter realised my product was there and calling my number, and worst of all getting home and the disappointment of opening the box and realising it bears little resemblance to the picture and the write up!!

I'm doing a degree here in Oz as a mature student! One of my fellow students started the same degree in UK and did 1.5 years before emigrating, the time it would take to convert meant it was easier simply to start the degree again, I commented to her she must be finding it easy having already done it and her reply was No Way, the course here is very different and actually much harder (we're doing nursing). My 7 year old is in year 2, she has Maths, writing and reading homework EVERY night, the reading usually consists of a whole book of several chapters, approx 60 pages (at the moment it's generally Ella and Olivia or Geronimo Stilton type books), she should read the whole book but if it's particularly long she can do it over 2 nights and she will generally have a lexile test on one of her reading books each week (she loves lexile texts!) and in addition, the teacher allocates work on the Mathlectics website to do at home and weekends. She came home with 8 reading books and a pile of spelling and writing worksheets to do over the school holidays too, so I'm not really convinced about the UK is better than OZ schooling argument! I can tell ya, I'm over homework ha ha!!

Loving your energy and style!! Starting a new life in OZ in a camper van is class, wishing you all the very best in your new adventures xxxx

well all I can say is that I am wholly thankful for the OZ health care system. I, as a POM, have quickly acclimatised to to 'you pay for things' system over here, and can honestly say that to call my GP and get to see him the same day is more than worth the $70 minus the Medicare rebate. To take my daughter to the GP, to find out something is very seriously wrong, to get a referral to a consultant who said 'no appointments until end of August', to fax through the medical reports and be told, yes it seems urgent but the Specialist has no clinics this week, it will be next week at the earliest , to get a phone call to say he will see her tomorrow morning, to get a surgury booked for 2 weeks later, YES, I DO COMMEND the aussie health care system, and yes I feel bitter knowing under the NHS it would have been antibiotics for a further 12 months before the word specialist even came into the loop.

Whether you are single or a couple, migration is a very personal, indivividual thing, how many posts on here have been about one partner loving it the other hating it?? i believe in instincts, mine have never let me down, listen to yours...also, in my view a very valid point made in a post was about how close you are to family, it's important, when you're here you can phone them and skype them but at the end of the day you're physically at the other side of the world. Ours was a positive move but not without its emotional ups and downs, but never once have we contemplated 'moving back'. Neither of us were particularly close to family in the UK, we don't feel homesick or even particularly miss them day to day but as they grow older we just feel this underlying 'guilt' and we completely bury our heads in the sand about the 'inevitable' one day.

Sounds like your daughter will be well beyond level 7 so I wouldn't worry! I've been taking my little one swimming from 3 months old in UK and from 2.5 years old here, swimming lessons here are definitely more focused and they generally all follow the Swim and Survive program, my daughters 7 years old now, she passéd level 7 a while ago and is now on a program that focuses on stroke development, I have to say the swimming programs on offer here are fantastic.

Check out the Medicare levy surcharge as if you're salary is pretty high then you will pay more in surcharge than you will in PH premiums so that makes it a no brainier. however, if you are on a 457 look closely ay you're Ph policy, ours was very comprehensive and covered literally everything 100% however for some reason because it was a policy designed for 457 visa holder it didn't need Medicare levy surcharge requirements and we still had to pay the surcharge!

agree with all comments. You're on a working holiday visa, it says what it does on the tin. The idea is you have a great 12 month holiday with intermittent bits of working to supplement your pocket money. Many people have turned a WHV into a sponsored visa, but I suspect they had a different attitude and didn't spout discrimination laws at their prospective employers!!

Perthbum, I have 2 chokkie labs, 1 of them, Charlie, has a very stubborn and cantankerous personality, it's all on his terms, he really reminds me of YOU!!, Milo, meanwhile is just a pleaser and desperately wants love and affection, they strangely compliment each other's personality, both are a complete joy, both we could never ever envisage life without, we love them!!

AngeB, it sounds like you've had or tough. wishing you all the best xxxxx

You really aren't going to get the slightest sense of 'living in WA' on a 1 week visit!! I had never been to OZ when i set foot in my new home, the first few weeks really were a whirlwind and exciting, it gave us no realistic idea of real life here. I think the critical thinking needs to be done at home, thinking about your reasons for emigrating and working through the pros and cons and particularly looking deep within yourselves about your rationale and expectations, i don't think even a 2 week or 2 month reccie would give you a real sense of life here, Migration is a massive upheaval for the whole family, physically and emotionally, for me hubby came home one day with the dream offer and 8 weeks later we arrived, very naive and without really thinking it through. For us its turned out really well, hubby career has thrived and we have a lovely life, for me on a personal level, i gave up my career, i couldn't recreate it here, i went through the honeymoon here and loved the new, different lifestyle then crashed somewhat, for me personally it wasn't missing family or Uk it was trying to find out what my career would be for the next 20 years, Australia is different and careers are difficult to break into if you're not university educated.