lmtaylor

Hi Melanie Only just seen this although I see you wrote it a couple of months ago. I am also new to Wahroonga and have 2 girls a similar age to yours - 8 and 5. Originally from London/SE but been in Sydney since 2011 (Wahroonga since last Nov). Will PM you!

Yep, another vote for Surry Hills. I don't live there (and I'm not in my 20s anymore!) but I work there and I love it, loads of good bars and shops and pretty tree lined streets. Also have a look at Balmain in the Inner West. Not crazy busy but good bars and restaurants and a lovely feel to it.

Hi RobbieOZ Our timeline was as follows (186 direct entry stream, previously here on NZ citizen and 461 NZ family member temporary visas): November 2013: completed medicals, police checks, all paperwork sorted. 23 December 2013: application submitted 1 April 2014: employer nomination approval 2 May 2014: permanent residence approved You should hear any day now, fingers crossed. Waiting to hear is so frustrating. Anyway, good luck!

Hi there Simon, I don't know much about Perth but having been in Sydney 4 months now on a similar income 'swap' to yours (£46k to $150k), I would say you will have a better standard of living than you currently have. Obviously I can only speak from our situation, others may be different, but so far we are finding life here more comfortable than life was in the UK....and we live in Sydney! We are shelling out quite a bit on rent each month,but for that we are in a 4 bed place in a good suburb only 30 mins from the CBD (in the UK we were in a small 3 bed house miles from a decent town). Cost of living wise, some things are cheaper (coffees, petrol, shoes), some things not (clothes, branded goods in the supermarkets - cereals etc). One problem you might find here though is if you want to buy a house in the future....our money left over from our house sale in the UK last year is still in the UK and with the exchange rate will not be as much in AUD as we need for a deposit here on a family sized house. Anyway, hope that helps!