crosbyx4

Hi we have been living in melbourne for 15 months initially on a 457 visa but now have PR (nov2012) ..... we have bought a house and are very settled here and have no intention of moving back to the uk and therefore want to make fiancial plans such as moving uk pensions and making investments / plans for retirement in au ..... can anyone reccommend anyone who can give us advise (pref independant!!) thanks

I took my GCSE certificates down to the local education department of the council and somebody just put a few words on headed paper to confirm that my education was in an English school and this was enough proof to recieve my registration, failing this as someone has suggested if you have your certificates certified then they should have on them thatit was an English education board ?? Hope this helps good luck ...... !

Hi all we arrived in Melbourne end of Oct...... living in the Monbulk area ...... we have two boys aged 9 & 11 and we are settling in well . If anyone wants to get in touch or call in for a cuppa they would be welcome x

ps ....get yourself the australia mag it has a detailed list in every issue of things to do before you move .....

we got here on sunday the appartment that we had organised from the uk unfortunatly turned out to be unsuitable for us .... if you find something that appears to be a 'bargin' just be careful because there is probably a reason why they are cheap !! try and book something well in advance to give yourself more options ..... you will def need a car and access to the internet so that you can look and search for rentals etc once you get here ...... and have a really good drive around the areas you are looking to be living ..... we have found longer term rentals (6-12months) to be really competative so make sure you start looking asap when you get here and allow yourself 2-3 weeks so you dont panic rent. we ended up with a self contained (washing machine, cooking facilities etc) two bedroom appartment which is very comfortable .... internet access (which you pay extra for) but its not cheap (expect to pay $180-$250) we wish we had looked for a weekly rate from a b&b for which there are some lovely ones out of town, look at appartments in villages out of the towns some of them are amazing and much cheaper than town\city......but you would need a car good luck

hi we stayed at the premier inn, was reasonable would def recommend plus there is a shuttle bus that takes you straight to your terminal .... good luck

have arrived in melbourne!!! (got here 23rd oct) and after a very busy week we have a car and have signed up for a rental !!! unfortunatly when we arrived on sunday the appartment that we had arranged in st kilda for our first few weeks here was very poor to say the least and def not suitable for children so we checked straight out ..... after we had been travelling for 30+ hrs it was not fun then trying to arrange somewhere else when we didnt have a clue where to start but came across the meridian which is not cheap but very secure, clean modern with great friendly staff so would def reccommend. after looking around all areas surrounding knox we have secured a rental in Monbulk which looks like an amazing village in the mountains so we are really excited ! rentals are really competative so anyone out there thinking they will walk straight in to one from our experience its not that easy unless your not fussy about presentation of the property ..... we were really lucky to find what we did and it helps that the estate agent was really friendly and helpful. short term rental is very expensive looking back i would have opted for a b&b in the outlining villages much more reasonable but if you are looking for an appartment you will pay for it. good luck to anyone out there just starting to look to get out here if i can be of any help just message me x we now just need to get the children in schools and await our container !!

thank you everyone for advice it is greatly recieved as we have never been to melbourne or moved anywhere outside the north east of england therefore need all the help we can get!! ha ha

that should say knox :confused:

We managed to find a reasonable appartment in st kilda just for two weeks when we land so we can have a look around to find something more long term ...... any advice on areas around know greatly welcome x x

suppose thats the price for being in championship..... being the optomist if we continue playing as we are we will be re joining the premier next yr then all will be well ha ha ....... in the mean time i will brush up on computer skills and trawl the net for radio coverage !!!!

good idea i will have a look on facebook ....... I will be happy if i can get radio coverage on internet !!! tv would be a bonus !

We are moving to Melbourne end of Oct and just wondering if there are any Boro fans out there?!! (Middlesbrough football club). I listen to every match in the uk and just wondering if any fans out there manage to keep up to speed with uk football - listening / watching ........ please give me some good news ha ha

hilview looks amazing such a shame you already have a booking x

Thank you everyone for info looking at the options you have suggested now ........moving to melbourne looks like it has some really good options thank you x