fensaddler

Interesting, I'm on a temporary visa, and it didn't seem to be problem. And I played the bank off against the finance company, and the finance company won the battle...

You start again. I was worried because I had a strong history in the UK and I'd always relied on that. But it was easy enough to finance car purchase in the first week we were here and we haven't looked back since. Indeed, going for HP on a car when you get here is an excellent way of re-establishing a credit history quickly.

My advice, FWIW. I brought my 25 year old Lancia with me - purely an emotional rather than a financial decision. Yes, it will cost - shipping, inspections, taxes and re-registration over here are expensive and a lot of hassle, not least because you are new to all the regs and you get a lot of crap advice from some quarters. The general rule in Australia is if you get crap advice, go round a different way and ask somebody else - and particularly try to get an inside track somewhere (hint - car clubs are excellent at knowing who to talk to!). Yes, cars etc can travel with no problem in the container with your other stuff, and the cleaning issue isn't really any great hassle - just take it to your local hand car wash and get it properly jet washed underneath and in the engine bay, give it a good hoover out and a thorough wash. As far as VW campers go, there is a good club scene out here, and as for any classic, the climate and lack of road salt is far better for them. And a camper is ideal when you want to set out on your big lap or any other touring you want to do in this enormous and gorgeous country. If your camper conversion has been done properly, the engineering inspection should not be any problem. One final point, this may vary from state to state, but in VIC if you have a vehicle over 25 years old, and you are in an appropriate club, you can put the car on historic plates (limited to 45 or 90 days use a year, but otherwise no other restrictions) - then for a 45 day reg you pay about $80 for a year's rego, and insurance is really cheap. Way to go...

:biggrin: I think the general rule is that you are only allowed to be rude about a place if you come from there... You're right, lots of good people, though lots of them scattered to the four winds because the economy in the town has been heading south for thirty or forty years. Cracking little football club, good local beer and a wicked, dry sense of humour.

Yes, winter 81 in my home town of Walsall, I remember it well. Snow up to my knees and still made it to school (only to be sent home again). When the Sundays sang about hideous towns I'm sure they were thinking of Walsall, since only Wolverhampton is worse. Bless the place. And 81, in the middle of a recession too, which was knocking seven shades out of the place. You've had fun in your life I can see...

Whilst it is cooler in Melbourne than in much of Australia, and yes, we have had a relatively cool, windy, wet spring so far, the problem, as so many have identified, is the quality of the housing stock, especially the rental stock. Back in the UK, my house has central heating, double glazing, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. It is designed, primarily, to keep you warm in winter. Depending on the age of your house here, and the quality of the builder, you will have less or no insulation, single glazing, and blown hot air heating. In our first rental, built in the seventies, we were always cold in the winter, however much we ran the heating. The heating system itself sounded like a 747 taking off, but all the heat leaked straight through the walls, roof and windows. Our latest is a new build unit, still single glazed, but with a modern heating system and better insulation (I believe it meets the six star standard). It was built by a small builder, our landlord, who clearly took care to build a solid property. Result is that we have been comfortable this last winter. Tin roof, though, so we hear the rain. Bottom line is that Australia needs to discover insulation and double glazing, not just in the temperate areas like Melbourne, but also in the hotter areas, because this would help keep your place cool in the summer, and ensure the money spent on aircon was not wasted...

No idea, but you can only ask. We at least had a temporary address when we bought our car, and you will certainly need an address for the car to be registered to before you take it away. But I guess that doesn't stop you sorting the purchase, or at least putting down a deposit, before you arrive. The hire car(s) were just a rite of passage though... There are a lot of things you just have to leave until you arrive and trust to serendipity. It all works out after a fashion...

Actually no one knows from one day to the next what petrol costs out here because it goes up and down so much - but that is just one of the peculiarities of Australia. I'd love to buy it for $1.39 but my car only drinks 98, so we're up at about $1.65...

One thought - you say that all the cars you are looking at have high mileages. This may be because cars over her depreciate slower, and hence the value of a given car at a particular age and mileage will be higher here than in the UK. Thus if you are searching on the basis of a particular budget, as most of us do, you'll find you get less for your money here than in the UK. One result of that is that your search will throw up more high mileage cars than it would for the same search in the UK. On the other hand, with no salt on the roads, and because people look after older cars because they are worth more, cars do last longer, and often stay in better condition, than they do in the UK. On the up side, petrol is considerably cheaper here (budget about $1.50 a litre and you won't be far out), and new cars, relative to wages, work out cheaper than in the UK (it's all to do with exchange rates at the moment I think - strong A$ means cars are relatively cheap, but the new car market is also very competitive).

The internal tuner will be set to a different bunch of frequencies, but as others have said, with a set top box all will be fine (and a new plug of course...).

Excellent advice - it will be much less dreadful for all of you than you think. And more bluntly, it is the parent's role in life to let go, and allow their children to live their own life. They should be supportive of what is fulfilling to you. But that's a perfect world, and realistically, it sounds as if they are struggling to get past their own pain, resentment, loss of control, jealousy or feelings of rejection right now - you could be dealing with one or more of these emotions.

Yes, likewise. Your photocard will be fine. Just make sure all your other ID is in order and you will be fine.

"Lots of people bring their pets although it isnt cheap." And downright galling if the little furry git gets himself run over and killed a year into his stay. That's a couple of thousand quid I won't see again... The cat we have now turned up at our back door as a stray, and adopted us. Soft as...

2. Buying cars is as easy as the UK. I even managed to get finance to buy one with no Aus credit history a week after landing. The issue to recognise is that new cars (esp Japanese and Korean) are relatively cheap compared to salary compared with the UK, but secondhand is more pricey because cars depreciate more slowly. That makes it less expensive (relative to the UK) to think about buying a new car. 3. If it is anything like VIC, dead easy. Just go in with your UK licence, and go through a few formalities. No test required. 4. Like the UK, if you find a good public school, you're fine. 5. Banks are all much of a kind, as others have said. Moneycorp are well regarded. 6. TVs work fine, but the digital tuners inside them don't - there is a different spectrum of frequencies here which your UK TV won't find. You'll need a set top box or a cable/satellite box. If you've got a container full of stuff, and they are modern, you may as well bring them. Even if relatively cheap, replacing six TVs over here still costs money that you will need for other things.

Anyone know of anything similar in Melbourne - it's the curry sauce I miss sometimes... Mind, I'm probably on the wrong thread as this is the WA bit...

I doubt it is just WA, from what I have heard (and neither is it confined to Australia, based on personal experience) - any more than it is true that most poms migrate to WA. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good, chippy dig at a serious problem, eh?

Based on my experience, I think, unfortunately, that the 2-3 months you have been quoted for a 457 transfer is probably about right. I moved job, and my transfer paperwork was submitted early in July. I arranged with both the former and new employer for a move date at the beginning of September, on the basis of advice from our migration consultant that such things took about 4-6 weeks. It took until September 18th for things to sort themselves out, by which time I'd had two weeks of unpaid gardening leave. It only moved then because of special pleading by the migration consultant, who was advised that in mid-September, DIAC had not even begun to allocate cases submitted in July. FWIW I have raised this issue with my MHR (not that any of them on either side are interested in 457s, as we don't vote, and therefore don't exist) but whilst I eventually got a response indicating he might chase DIAC on my individual case, the point I was making - that waits of 2-3 months were a barrier to the effective functioning of the labour market and a hindrance for both employers and employees - got no response. However, it will only have a chance of getting sorted if 457s do contact their elected representatives and point out the problems that exist. I suspect it is just another manifestation of the fact that Australia is pretty much 'over' 457s right now, and the country is, politically, going through one of its periodic spats of pulling up the ladder. 'Fugees getting it far worse, of course...

Cheers fb67, your posts make is very clear you guys know what you are doing, and it sounds as if you have a good employer lined up if they are starting PR immediately - this is not common and is much to be cherished. Those of us who are over here (Melbourne, just coming up to two years) do worry about the prevailing view back in the UK that Aus is still a relatively cheap place to live, so we're inclined to lay the warnings on with a trowel. You've moved abroad before, and you sound like you've done your homework, so you will be fine. You're right that state education is free in NSW once you have got PR. All the very best, and enjoy the experience!

Tina - you are on about hook turns here? In which case you are sitting in the left hand lane, signalling right, and then turning right, very carefully, across all the other lanes of traffic and two tram tracks. Turning left from the right hand lane is even more likely to get you killed than a pukka hook turn. No wonder it scares you if you are doing the latter, as even conventional hook turns are a bit scary for poms.

Medicals aren't always required. It depends on the job, but with an office role it is less likely. But don't worry too much about them - if its not serious in the UK it is not serious here either. Patience is required, however! And it is against the rules for an employer to ask you to pay for, or pay back anything towards, their costs of getting your 457. If they are doing so, be very, very cautious of said employer, because they are likely to be up to no good. At very least, they should be paying for your 457 and all associated costs, and your flight out. A really good employer might be offering more than that. Finally, to echo comments of others. Do your sums - Sydney is very expensive - very, very, very expensive. And that is just the rental housing (and there is a lot of real tat at the 'affordable' end too). You'll get no help whatever with childcare costs, and you will be paying $4000 a year for your 10 year old in state school (plus uniform, books etc), rising to $5k when they go to secondary. This is a significant downside of any 457 job in NSW, ACT or WA if you have kids. My advice is to head for VIC or QLD where state education is free on a 457...

Hi Angie - I've just been through the same thing. My visa paperwork to change employers was lodged early in July, and it only came through on the 19th September - by which time I was sitting at home on unpaid gardening leave because I'd left my old job, but could not start the new one. It only got shifted that soon because my migration agent went to DIAC and pleaded my case. This used to take no more than 3-4 weeks, but processing times have really blown out, and I would not be surprised if they are not now at about three months (which is pretty poor). If you are getting paid in your old job until this all comes through, sit tight, because DIAC are notoriously unresponsive, and it's the least worst option. If you are looking at an unpaid period of downtime because your old job finishes before your visa comes through, talk to your migration agent, and see if s/he has enough status with DIAC to stand a chance of pleading hardship on your behalf - it might work and you might get bumped up the queue if they know their delays are rendering you unemployed and unemployable for the duration. Do not, under any circumstances, get tempted to work early for your new employer before your visa comes through - you probably know this, but the consequences can be dire for you and the employer. You can get kicked out of the country, and your employer may get their nomination rights revoked, meaning they cannot employ anyone else on a 457. Hope that helps. You are not alone, but yes, it sucks.

Don't know whether you watch as well as play, but you'll have Perth Glory to go and support. The actual quality of the football may be variable, but from what I have seen on TV, they have the nearest to a British style crowd culture at the Glory matches as I've seen at any A League ground.

I've worked on 2x since I've been here, and that seems to be about right, so at 2.5x he might be in for a pleasant surprise. Having said that, even at 2x (ie. it costs twice as much numerically in A$ as it does in GBP) some things are still pricey - housing (and you're looking at Perth, so very much so), some food (the price of bread!), beer etc., but then some things are much cheaper. for example petrol. You might find that your $68,500 feels nearer GBP34k than GBP28k. But either way, you will be far from starving. Perth does not have the humming night life of Sydney or Melbourne, but it does depend what you are used to, and what you want.

I’ve been giving this some more thought, because the reasons why some people do or don’t succeed in settling in Australia intrigues me. I don’t think, fundamentally, it’s about Australia. This country is undoubtedly a mix of the good, the bad and the ordinary. So the first reason for not settling may simply be that people came with expectations about Australia that could never be fulfilled. These are, I suppose, the people who watched ‘Wanted Down Under’ and actually believed it was anything more than entertainment, or thought that somehow, magically, moving to Australia would make them rich. Stories like that usually begin with the words ‘once upon a time’… There is no pot of gold at the end of any rainbow. The second reason is probably luck – some people end up in a place they like, or with a job that suits them, or meeting people they really get on with, and others don’t. If on balance you get good stuff, you have a positive view of the experience, and if you don’t, you tend to have a bad experience. I feel fortunate to have picked a city I love, to have ended up living in a part of it that I like, and to have made some really good friends. If some of that hadn’t gone so well, I might have a different view – a few months back we visited a part of Melbourne we had initially considered as a place to live. It was, to our eyes, a miserable place, and had we ended up moving there, we might have had a different story to tell. It’s also often true that you make your own luck, and that, from observation, some people seem to live out the words of the blues song – “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all”. I’m sure for some people too, emigration is the wake-up call they need to tell them they didn’t have it so bad after all, and that their family and friends, or where they come from, mean more to them than they realised. To some extent that is the experience for all of us – we miss things we never thought we would miss (and at the same time don’t miss some things we thought would be a real issue). It’s the ‘you won’t know until you’ve done it’ factor. These are the people who head back to Blightly because they miss their [mum/siblings/mates/football team/home town] far more than they thought they would. And that’s OK, if you’ve learnt more about what is really important to you in your life. Arguably there are cheaper ways to learn this, but it takes all sorts, and who are any of us to judge…? Another reason is probably who you are. Some of that may be that there are aspects of your personality or life that are never going to fit with the particular circumstances you land up in over here in Australia. I’m not even going to try and generalise about what those issues could be, and I’d observe that on the face of it, I don’t fit the classic ‘Aussie lifestyle’ stereotype to any great extent, and therefore I’m a terrible candidate for successful assimilation into Australia. And yet I’m happy here. But yes, for some people, some of the time, you’re not going to fit into Australia in the same way that I never quite fitted in Cambridgeshire – it wasn’t me, or the place, it just wasn’t the right partnership. I guess that’s just another version of the old saw about square pegs and round holes. There is another part of the ‘who you are’ aspect to this discussion, and it is the most difficult to point out. Some people undoubtedly emigrate to fix problems that can’t be fixed by emigration. Again, we could all elaborate about what this could be – but, for example, Australia isn’t going to fix self-loathing, poor social skills, a bad marriage, or even just general, non-specific dissatisfaction with the human condition. Counselling, therapy, philosophy and even religion may address these issues, but not emigration – indeed, emigration may simply make things worse. And I imagine there are more people that make a version of this mistake than ever let on – and rather than own up, if they even realise, they blame the place, or the people in the place, that they went to. And to these people, particularly, the message is – it’s not Australia, or Australians, that is the problem, it’s something in your life that you need to fix in order to be happy. Now, let me say this before the lynch mob gets saddled up - I do not know, and am not in the business of trying to speculate, which if any of these explanations applies to anyone posting here. It is not my place to draw conclusions, and I don’t know you. So I am not pointing the finger or making personal accusations at anyone in particular. Our experiences of moving here are profoundly personal, and don’t neatly extrapolate into any sort of generalised conclusions. So I am very cautious about drawing generalised conclusions from the little I know, and from what I know of the experiences and comments of other migrants. I simply offer this as a more considered contribution than the Pom or Aussie bashing and ‘blunt object’ generalities that seem, sometimes, to be being chucked around in this discussion.

Really? Again, not my experience. Whether you get judged on your accent in the UK depends on the accent you have, but I'd suggest that those of us with discernable West Midlands accents got a fair bit of judging by some people, and I imagine it is the same for a lot of scousers too. And over here, if some knuckleheads want to play the same game of knocking me on the basis of my accent, then that says more about them than it ever will about me, just as it did in the UK. Personally I feel a lot less pigeonholed by my accent over here than I did in the UK. But over here I have only heard positive comments about where I come from, and I have very many good Aussie friends who are not so small minded than to see me, or my family, as being anything other than individuals whom they happen to like. Fine, if people have come here and don't like what they find, whatever that is, fair enough (Aus is far from perfect) - write it off to experience and take the next steps in your life. But seriously - anyone making a statement that starts 'All Aussies...' or 'Aussies...' and then goes on to make comments about the characteristics of 23 million people needs to have a a good think about the sense of what they are saying.