fensaddler

It did happen, between 2008 and 2010, in the UK, for one. It can happen here, even if most of those in the property industry with a vested interest tell us it won't (the same people sang the same song in the UK). The complacency here alarms me. And it *does* matter if you are about to buy or sell. You don't want to buy at the top of the market or sell at the bottom if it. Right now, I'm looking at selling near the bottom of the UK market, and buying near the top of the Melbourne market, and I can assure you it's not a pretty sight...

I appreciate (genuinely) your emotional honesty. I get, absolutely, the trauma of bullying (been there). I also know from close family members the damage caused by alcohol dependency. But (there has to be one...) you were the sort of child who gets bullied, because you got bullied. Clearly it is possible to be good at sports, a risk taker, and the sort of personality approved of as an example by school, and still be both bullied and lacking the necessary social support. But not all migrant kids get bullied, probably most of them don't get bullied, certainly not to the extent of causing genuine emotional trauma. So to suggest a direct, causal link between migration (contributory, possibly) and later problems is IMHO probably overstating it. You and I do agree that it is hugely important to support and listen to our children, and take their issues and concerns seriously. As parents we are all imperfect, but most of us genuinely do our best. And sometimes the best and the only solution we can offer is to walk with them through a problem, and help them to deal with it, rather than teaching them to avoid resolving things, or facing things, that they can't change. One sage piece of advice from my mother - 'there is only one way round a problem, and that is straight through the middle of it'. And that partly explains why I and my family are in Australia in the first place, because it was an attempt to deal with the impact of the GFC on our job security, and on the social fabric of the town we lived in.

You'll need the job first - and bear in mind that not every job will qualify for a 457 visa. There are limits by occupation and income, for example. Your prospective employer will then work with you (probably through a migration agent) to secure the visa. How you go about finding a job will depend on which industry you are in - some companies and sectors will actively recruit, in others there are specialist recruitment agencies that will recruit overseas. In some sectors you may well be on your own in finding something. Also worth understanding what the 457 visa is there for - it is set up to allow companies a route to bring in skilled workers in occupations where there is a skill shortage amongst the Australian workforce. If you are not amongst those occupations, 457 isn't for you.

Absolutely, try it in rush hour or by public transport. You'd be doing well to keep it down to an hour...

Clearly some people agree with you but this seems a rather extreme response. I'd suggest, without personalising it, that if kids emerge from a family with a whole series of substance abuse and psychological issues, then the cause is likely to be much more complex and deep seated than migration. Otherwise most kids who migrate would be screwed up by it into adulthood, and patently, they are not.

Based on my own experience and the discussion here, I very much doubt that most decisions to migrate are based on aspirations which are as shallow and materialist as a bigger house and more money, though I’ve no doubt it might appear that way to an adolescent who thinks all adults are dull breadheads. Moreover, and again looking at the discussion here, I very much doubt that most parents undertake migration without appropriate discussion and consultation with their children – and indeed many migrate in the expectation that their children will have a better life as a result. That doesn’t mean they provide their children with a veto, or allow them to run the family – because few minors are in a position to make the sort of life decisions that adults have to. When I was 14, the main cause of my angst was being at grammar school. That was, I believed, something visited upon me by parents who didn’t understand. Of course, I survived. Being there may have been the least worst option for me, or I may well have been happier somewhere else. In the end no one knows, and my parents, as most parents, tried to do the best for me in the context of their own experience and assumptions. I daresay that if they had inflicted migration on me at the same age, I’d have blamed my angst on that, probably with no greater accuracy or insight than I blamed it, at the time, on their choice of school. There is a huge difference between ‘my child may be depressed’ and ‘my child may be depressed and it’s my fault because of the decisions we’ve taken as a family’. Just because a teenager is miserable and angst ridden (in the normal range of 14 year old experience) or depressed (also not uncommon, but needs addressing) does not mean it is the fault of the parents, even if the teenager thinks it is.

It's not the spiders you need to worry about. The flying cockroaches were a surprise, but its the clouds of bush flies in the summer that are the pain...

Now I understand. I got your comments mixed up with the OP's...

Apologies if I read into your post more than was there. I think the advice from snifter and VERY STORMY looks sound. Nine months is a relatively short time, and I think you will all get through this. Good luck.

When we came out our daughter was 12, and has now just turned 15. She has settled brilliantly, with a strong circle of (really good) friends. Yes, she did miss people back in the UK, and still does, but her home is here - indeed she reminded us the other day that whatever the failings of the rather iffy suburb we live in now, its a lot better than the town we lived in back in the UK! I think what helped for her was us coming out together with the mindset that this was for keeps, so we had to make a go of it, however tough it got. I sense a little from the OP that they are still not quite committed to staying, and this may be part of the issue for their son. I do know of one family who came from the States with a son of similar age to the OP and he similarly did not settle at once, unlike his younger siblings. But after two years or so, I know he has settled much better - so it may be for the OP's son as well a teenage phase that will just pass. And yes, teenagers are flaming hard work!!

Didn't tip the gang who moved us in originally, as they were surly and unhelpful. I did tip the guys who moved us between houses as they went out of their way in difficult circumstances, and did an excellent job cheerfully. But generally, tipping is far less part of the scene here, because people tend to be better paid in the first place. I can't remember the last time I tipped in a restaurant here - it just isn't part of the culture in the way that it is in the UK and particularly the US.

Let me be blunt. I've lost money on my UK house in the last ten years. Because that house is not in the south east I'll be lucky to see any great price rise. So any increase in prices over there is good news for me when I come to sell in six months time. I don't give a jessies what it signifies for the UK economy or access to the housing ladder. The problem where I came from is anyone having a job, not the price of houses. And getting a bit more might give me half a chance of buying something in Melbourne before prices there force me to move so far out that I'm buying in Indonesia.

Yes, this was how we did it. Shipped our stuff several weeks before we ourselves left, then moved in with family. Arranged a short term furnished rental online before we came out, and whilst we were living there, sorted an unfurnished place ready for when our stuff arrived. We ended up camping in the new place for a couple of days waiting for our container to arrive, but by then we'd made friends who were more than willing to lend us stuff that we needed. I think most people head out together - this is such a big deal you really want to be all together to support each other and enjoy the newness of it all.

Yes, about the only program which really deals with country issues is on ABC. It's good enough to watch even if you have nothing to do with the country...

Like you, I worry about anyone who thinks they will 'live the dream'. Work is still work, commuting is still commuting, bills are still bills. House prices are painful and its a pricey place to live. But given that you have to do the work, commuting, bills etc stuff somewhere, Melbourne is a pretty good place to do it.

Those looking for employment in market research will find the AMSRS (Australian Market and Social Research Society) website very useful, but particularly the following page http://www.amsrs.com.au/careers/career-development-specialists Other recruitment consultants are available, and have a web presence. They often advertise in MR industry publications overseas and in Australia.

Hi jojo - you have a PM.

Yes, that is what I have always understood to be the case. Your best route is to contact one or more of several specialist market research recruitment agencies, and then to get sponsored on a 457 visa. You can then move to PR through one of the two routes open to you as a 457, with the support of your employer. I stress that we are very fortunate in the market research industry to have several active, specialist recruitment consultancies who are very capable in this process, and employers who are used to, and comfortable with, an international exchange of skills between countries (plenty of Aussies and Kiwis go to the UK, for example, and plenty of poms and others come this way).

Good luck flower...might be time to get that portable a/c!! Not quite as hot in Melbourne!

Sounds like you're a fellow classic car fan and from the same part of the world as me (approximately...). Did the Cortina come with you?

'Market Research Analyst' and 'Marketing Specialist' are both in the skills list suitable for 457, but not for direct migration. Both are used by market research professionals and market research companies in securing a sponsored job/appointment over here. Your best bet is to approach the companies (there are several which advertise through AMSRS) which specialise in market research recruitment in Australia. They will be able to advise about whether there are suitable vacancies, and whether you have skills which are needed.

Crikey Tina, you have my sympathy. Melbourne, me included, was wilting after five days, never mind eight - and you had the heatwave longer and hotter up north. It is a concern as to how we adapt if this is going to be more like the norm, rather than a 1 in 50 years freak occurrence. Our evap cooler at home wasn't touching it either (I'm told by those in the know that once it starts climbing into the 30s, evaps aren't much use), though our modern wall mounted aircon in the family room kept up the fight. I guess we'll all have to relocate to Tassie - there's plenty of room for a few million Victorians down there...

The real cost of living exchange rate has been 2 - 2.2 for a long time. This was the advice I got when I moved out here and it remains entirely valid - and it is the only worthwhile comparison for wages. The rest is just noise, and only matters if you are moving capital about or buying goods from abroad. So the exchange rate heading towards 2:1 is great for us when we sell our UK house (there has to be some good news from that money pit...) but not so great for my CD collection.

Nothing compared to Cairns of course - having been up there (albeit briefly) the humidity makes it an entirely different ball game...

The point very thoroughly made by the august ladies and gentlemen of the BoM is that this heatwave was exceptional, that whilst we have seen heatwaves of this type in this part of Australia before, its intensity and duration was exceptional. There was also a nod to the fact that these events appear to be becoming more frequent, and therefore, in all likelihood, we will see it again, and more often. From the perspective of this part of Australia adapting to and coping with this sort of weather, it was evident that the public transport system was on the edge of folding up on day 5 (not so much warped rails and grass fires, as the fact that the aircon units on trains were beginning to fail because they could not cool down at night), and a lot of industrial and commercial aircon systems were in the same state - by the afternoon of day 5 the aircon system in the office where I work was clearly on the edge of giving up, probably for the same reason. Human memory and perception is not always reliable, but the comments from many long standing Melbourne residents has been that 'we didn't used to get it this bad', and that seems at least partly borne out by the BoM report.