SophieTheSoph

I was meaning more in the sense of the function of voting as an overseas person - i.e. without a constituency and therefore without candidates, as opposed to which party to pick (I know who has my vote already ). e.g. if I vote for the Greens, which MP am I electing (or not)?

I am planning to vote in the forthcoming election in the UK but can't find any info on which candidates get your vote if you're an overseas national, i.e. who (individual) are you voting for? Is it based on your last know uk address or something? I know this forum always has someone who knows the answer to everything, so thanks in advance Sophie

Yes, I've been reading their posts with interest Paul1Perth! Would love to move that far down, but OH will be at college for a couple of years in Bunbury at least. We might make it as far south as Busselton - lets hope everyone there is as friendly!

Thanks Burmans - I'm hoping there will be enough bits and pieces around to keep me going for a while, and maybe a 'proper' job in my field will come up some time. I am resigned (and excited) to think that the move will offer all sorts of new and interesting opportunities beyond my previous experience, so if my career takes a whole new direction, so be it. A good test of my versatility and resilience!

Thanks sussex boy - nice to know that its workable in Bunbury on a bit of a budget! Looking increasingly likely that we might make the move in the new year, hopefully by then everyone will be ready to start advertising all the good jobs again...

My partner and I are considering a move to Bunbury area from Sydney, where we've been for the last 18 months. The big motivation is that my OH wants to retrain at TAFE, and Bunbury seem to do the best course. Plus we love the outdoors, and aren't 'big city' people anyway, so never planned to stay too long in the big smoke. Our main concern is around work and living.... I am an experienced marketing manager for the not-for-profit/government sector, and earn good-ish money in Sydney. I know this kind of work will be very unlikely to come up in Bunbury, but I am ready and open to a change, from admin type jobs (I am very organised and a good project manager) to even something like cafe work. Very much seeing it as a chance for a total life change, and would be quite happy not to sit in front of a desk all day! We've obviously researched rental costs and so on, but most jobs advertised online in the area don't give any idea of salaries or hourly pay. Does anyone know what the going rate is for cafe work? Or a fairly simple office job? Or, conversely, how much you would want as a minimum salary in the area to support two people (while OH is studying)? We're both very frugal with money, and ready to try a different way of life, but equally don't want to be idiots about it! Thanks, StS

Thanks VERYSTORMY - really useful. We moved over here with nothing last year, and I rather like the challenge and excitement of the unknown! I guess moving is always a risk, but you have to take a few chances in life I think! Good to know there are some removal options. I quite like the idea of driving all the stuff there! Sophie

Thanks for the replies ali and Paul1Perth I'm quite excited about the change in pace actually - definitely one of the attractions for us. My partner commutes 90 mins each way to work every day so would be nice for him to wrestle some of that time back! They do have some jobs on Seek etc, but I suspect that a lot of stuff just goes locally. Just need to pluck up the courage to make the leap... Sophie

My partner and I are hoping to relocate from Sydney to SW WA over the next year. Can anyone give us the inside scoop on Bunbury/Bussleton/Margaret River? What are they like to live in? Are the people friendly? Are they the kind of places where jobs are more word-of-mouth than advertised on Seek?! Any advice gratefully received Sophie

We moved to Sydney just over a year ago, and while we love its 'big city-ness' we are more outdoorsy small city/town type people. Luckily we knew this before we came, and have always been planning to move on to somewhere smaller eventually. We are thinking/hoping/planning to make the move from Sydney to Bunbury/Bussleton in WA over the next year, and I wondered if anyone had any tips for: How to find jobs in small places (do we need to be there first?)? How to physically move our stuff? Differences/observations? Is moving without a job very risky? (I will do any job, and we have savings to keep us going if needed) Any advice or tips from you lovely PIOers would be very welcome :smile: Also planning a couple of specific posts on the jobs and WA boards. Sophie

My partner (33) is interested in a complete career change, following our move to Sydney 9 months ago. He's interested in becoming a surveyor (land, etc. rather than quantity/building). He's done a bit of research on where to start with training, but as a 'mature' student with family commitments he wants to make sure he's makin the right choice before he leaves his steady job and embarks on 4 years of study and the bottom of the ladder again. Are there any land surveyors (or similar) who would be happy to have a chat with him about the job and/or put him in touch with someone he could do work experience or shadowing with? Any contacts or advice gratefully received! Sophie (on behalf of Ru)

Sorry Dave - hadn't checked my notifications for a while! We've lived all over the south west in the UK, and are originally from Newbury (boyfriend) and Nottingham (me). We're up for a meet up in Feb/March - bbq, drink, whatever!

Hi all My boyfriend and I are in our early 30s and living in the Eastern Suburbs too. We'd be up for a drink if we're free when you go out - can never make too many friends! StS

Hi Playghirl Sorry fo the delay in replying. I got a job and started just after new year, so have been on super relaxation mode in the evenings to make up for the shock to the system after going back to a 9-5 after so long! I think we must be 4 months in now, and as I mentioned I have found a permenant job, which is great. The pay is good, and the people seem nice and luckily for me its only a 30 min walk from our appartment (in Clovelly) to work (on the UNSW campus in Kensington). I found and applied for the job myself - the recruitment people I spoke to seemed to be all talk really! Not very good listeners, though to be fair to them I guess the few months pre-xmas were fairly quiet. Anyway, its always nice to get a job from your own hard work, plus to know that noone is making a commission off you! My partner is still looking, and has been assured by recruiters that the market will start to pick up in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed. We're generally loving Sydney life - beachy x-mas, watched the Coogee 9pm fireworks from the Clovelly carpark with a couple of beers and a pizza (best new year for ages in my book!), lots of swimming and a great day out at the (free) launch of Sydney Festival yesterday. I guess we'll start to feelless like tourists now I am working and have the normal working week routine. Glad to hear you're doing ok too Mary. StS

Ours took 3 weeks to get through customs, then another 2 for the delivery agents to actually bring it to us, so 5 in total. And I had to do all the chasing! We got our stuff last Friday - so nice to see all my familiar things again! Hope yours comes through quickly. StS