young2682

Hi, sorry for late reply! Cost of schools (non private) are just book fees so usually between $150 and $200 per child per year depending on the school. Childcare - Daycare (nursery) is between $70 and $90 per child per day which is pretty good, even better if you are permanent residents as you can claim back 50% of that if you work. Depending on which area you move to, you can email or call the local council offices and they can give you an idea of cost too. Good luck :-)

Hi, My hubby works for Capital Smart in Melbourne but they have a site in perth, the company are always looking for painters :-) Good luck :-)

Hi all, My hubby has to do a skills test soon for our permanent residency, he was brought over as a painter but actually has ended up working as an estimator with the same company since the beginning, seeing an estimating isnt on the skilled shortage list he has to be put through as a painter. He hasnt touched a spray gun in almost 2 years and is a little anxious about doing the skills assessment.... Has anyone done this that can give us an idea of whats involved?? :eek: Thanks in advance :-)

Ha ha yes I know you can buy English stuff here but I am lucky to have a mother in law that sends me an assortment of bisto's, I am spoilt for choice! ;-)

Hi all, Sorry it has taken me so long to get around to this post, life gets in the way sometimes! Well where do I even start, we have been reflecting on our journey over the past year and wow what an adventure! One year ago, we left England to embark on the biggest adventure of our lives, the goodbyes were sad but ahead we had a sense of excitement and anticipation. I remember when we landed in Melbourne on the 5th September 2011 thinking - wow, we are really here! For the first 5 weeks we stayed in serviced apartments provided by my husbands company, it was right by the beach so we enjoyed that novelty! We then moved to a suburb near my husbands work called Berwick, we love it here, it is very family focused, only 40 mins from the CBD, 25 mins to the beach and 20 mins to the mountains, lots of bars, cafes, restaurants, parklands etc :-) The first few weeks were (we can look back and laugh) somewhat challenging, we managed to meet a few people and their generosity will never be forgotten, our first night in new rental we ate our first meal off a cardboard box and watched a tv the size of a laptop (with only 3 channels) that we borrowed from friends ha ha, but lets not be ungrateful, we were essentially starting again! The children have been our saving grace, whenever we felt down or like things werent going our way, we would look at them and see happy faces, enjoying playing in the fresh aussie air and things felt, I dont know, right I guess. The last year has been totally amazing, we have seen and done more things than in our entire lives in the UK, I guess looking back we didnt make as much effort so maybe that's our bad but a fresh start was what we needed! The best part of all is most of the things are readily available to us, within 30-45 min drive - we have Australian beauty on our doorstep, how lucky are we! Australia has more than exceeded my expectations, it is clean, vibrant, beautiful, the food is fresh and in abundance, the people are (mostly) friendly and cannot do enough for you! In fact I sometimes dread going some shops when I am in a hurry because they make such a fuss of you and conversations are plentiful! For those of you that like to complain about how 'expensive' Australia is, please remember these things - The roads are big, spacious and clean - yes the car tax is expensive but then look around you! You get tax back every year you work, that for us is a new novelty and what a bonus! You get super annuation (pension) if you are employed, between myself and my husband we get 19% pension paid by our companies. Food is more expensive yes, but it is fresher and lasts longer so you throw a lot less away, so is it more expensive in the long run? Outdoor life - pack a picnic, fill up your petrol tank and you have a cheap day out, anywhere you fancy, and unless you go to the city or somewhere very touristy, parking is FREE! All parks whether they be in the city, mountains or coast, there are bbqs everywhere, they are free and readily available to use, I love this! in the summer we drive to the beach pack a few sausages and rolls, let the kids play, enjoy a paddle or walk along the beach, have a drink and a hotdog and then go home, awesome! Trains are cheap as chips here, in fact on Sundays they are almost nothing so take a train into the city, walk along the yarra river, have a drink and cake and come home - cheap trip out! Petrol prices match the uk but dollar to pound therefore cheaper! The weather, well Melbourne is the state of all seasons but certainly the sun shines way more here which we love. In the right trade you get paid well here, both my husband and I earn 2.5 times our wages in England :-) I could go on and I know that everyones situations are different but these are our reasons as to why we want to live and bring up our children here :-) The things we miss about the UK - Obviously friends and family Bisto - we get this sent out!! Galaxy - we also get this sent! Clothing - I still shop online at Dorothy Perkins, Next and River Island who all ship to Oz but this works out because I shop in the seasonal sales! CURRY! But fortunately I have a husband that cooks an awesome curry, phew :-) We have so many exciting things to look forward to here most weekends, we spend more time together as a family and love the great outdoors, we work hard and play hard, our kids are the happiest I have seen them and hardly ever watch tv anymore :-) As a family moving to Australia there are hurdles you will come across and problems you will face, its not paradise but in my opinion close enough! Moving anywhere whether is be Australia or Scotland you will always have difficulties to face but you HAVE to put yourself out there, when we first moved here we got ourselves out there and met people and now have a great circle of friends. You have to make an effort to meet people and network yourself - especially if you have children, they are the best networking tool of all! I dont know why there is so much negativity on this forum, people are very quick to talk about the bad stuff but rarely take the time to talk about the good. So my advice to anyone thinking of moving to Australia, do your research, plan, network and enjoy! You only live once so take a chance! I am happy to try and help if anyone wants to know anything - anyway must go, off to the top of a sunny mountain for a free childrens fun day :jiggy: Thanks all, will update at 18 months xx

Hi all, Doesnt seem like long since my 3 month update, time sure does fly when you're having fun! So...... I would say now we are very settled living in Australia.... after 3 months we were still finding out things, researching and getting to know our surroundings. 6 months here and we feel that we know so much (although we probably still have lots to learn) compared to newbies arriving now! I am doing very well in my job as is my husband, we both have big prospects living here more so than we would have had in the uk. Our children are very happy here and we are so glad to see them enjoying the great outdoors. Every weekend we are out at parks, reservoirs, lakes, fresh produce markets, the list goes on. The food here is so fresh and delicious, there is nothing more lovely than wandering round the markets on a sunny sunday morning! Fruit and veggies here are not only good value for money, they last ages and taste far superior to my experience of my past food shop in the uk. Having spent a lot of time researching the different suburbs, we are going to try and move to the Dandenong Ranges, we have completely fallen in love with the stunning mountain views, and the feeling of serenity that we get when we drive towards them. The ranges are around 20 minutes from Berwick and although we love it here and have met some wonderful people, we feel that we want to be slightly more away from the 'bustle' of Berwick but still have it close by. Places that we are looking at (for those interested) are Belgrave, Tecoma, Kallista, Emerald and Upper Beaconsfield. All got great reputations for schooling and leisure activites. Life here seems so normal now, I still compare things back to the UK but mainly to justify my spending habits! We have met some amazing people, seen some wonderful things and continue to be wowed by this fabulous place. We recently visited the famous Redhill Winery which lies on the Mornington Peninsula around 50 mins from Berwick, it boasts some amazing views and wines and the atmosphere was fantastic. Sometimes we wake up and still cant believe we live on the other side of the world! I am sorry there is not more to update (its pretty early so my brain is still a bit sleepy!) but please if you have any questions dont hesitate to ask, id be happy to try and help! Thanks again to all on here who gave me the help and support on this life changing move! I will update again 1 year in :rolleyes:

Hi, I have recently been let down by my current educator due to her personal circumstances so I am now looking for a mature childminder/family daycare for my 3 year old son starting Feb 2012, I live in Berwick and need someone for casual day care Wednesdays and Thursdays 2pm-7pm and poss Fridays. Please pm me if you are interested or know someone reputable that can offer these hours! Thanks all! :wubclub:

Hi, We have had to leave our precious bulldog behind because of this new rule....... we foundonly one airline that would ship her, company is jetpets.au. No other airline will now fly the snub nosed breed.... They said they would be able to ship her from london via vancouver to sydney then onto melbourne with 30 days in quarantine. They want £3999 for the flight, then however much to pay for blood tests and xrays before hand, then £800 for quarantine costs. The more people I spoke to, the more stories I have heard about these breeds dying in transit. They are often left when on stopovers and overheat, also some have died in quarantine. My dog groomer said that one of her clients flew their dog out and it changed the temperment of the dog due to the anxiety it suffered. What you have to question is, are you willing to let the dog suffer all the stress..... We love our bulldog dearly but too much to put her through it all....... good luck with everything. Alex